It took about the time for a cup of tea.
In the twilight, the tall woman standing among the scattered mountain bandits was exceptionally striking.
The short blade was still in her hand.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade.
A few specks of dark red were splattered on her jaw. Her high ponytail swayed slightly in the evening breeze, and a few stray strands of hair brushed across her brow.
She curved her thin lips, revealing a row of neat white teeth, and her eyes instantly brimmed with a youthful, heroic spirit.
That smile left the young girl dazed.
She had seen many kinds of smiles.
Her mother’s smile was dignified; the servants' smiles were fawning and sycophantic; her sisters' smiles were reserved and modest...
She had never seen a smile so unrestrained and free.
It was as if nothing in the world could stop her, as if she could simply reach out and take whatever she wanted, as if her happiness required no one's permission.
Sensing her gaze, Yun Shu turned her head toward the carriage, and their eyes met.
She asked the girl with a smile, “How about it? If a woman has a sharp blade in her hand, she isn't any weaker than a man, is she?”
The girl flinched as if burned, ducking back behind the green-robed scholar. Her hands clutched her chest, her heart pounding like a drum.
It felt as if a butterfly were trapped in her chest, fluttering its wings wildly, trying to fly out.
Her hands tightened unconsciously.
Yun Shu didn't pay it much mind. She wiped the blood from her blade, walked over to the carriage, and looked at the green-robed scholar.
“One hundred taels.”
She held out her hand, palm up, perfectly justified.
The corners of the green-robed scholar’s mouth curved slightly into a smile that was as pleasant as a spring breeze rippling across a lake.
“I will have to trouble you to escort us for the rest of the way, miss.” He took a banknote from his sleeve and handed it to her.
Yun Shu looked down.
A banknote for one hundred taels, issued by Great Yong’s largest money changer. Its authenticity was clear at a glance.
She folded the note and tucked it into the bulging old pouch at her left waist, a satisfied expression crossing her face.
“I am Pei Du of Heluo.”
The green-robed scholar’s expression was gentle, yet it couldn't hide the natural pride in his brow. “Might I ask how to address you, miss?”
The name Pei Du sounded somewhat familiar.
Yun Shu thought for a moment.
The book’s plot seemed to have mentioned him.
Pei Du was a classmate and friend of Shen Yu, and he was the first talent Shen Yu recruited for Shen Jue.
Unlike Shen Yu, who excelled in internal governance, Pei Du was better at devising strategies for battles.
He was a rare tactical military strategist.
Of course, all of that was secondary.
The most important thing was that Pei Du had brought the entire Pei Clan of Heluo to join Shen Jue’s side.
One had to know that Heluo was a place where prestigious families stood tall and talents were born in abundance; it was famously known as a land of heroes and culture.
As for the Pei Clan’s status in Heluo—suffice it to say that invoking the Pei name was more effective than invoking the Emperor’s.
Since the young girl had called Pei Du 'uncle' just now, she must be Pei Wanning, the primary wife of the protagonist Shen Jue. The book hadn't described her much, only mentioning in a few lines that she married Shen Jue at sixteen and died in sorrow at twenty-five.
At this thought, the girl’s youthful face flashed through her mind again, and Yun Shu couldn't help but frown.
In the modern era, a girl of this age would still be in school, but in this era, she was already at the age for marriage.
The command of parents and the words of matchmakers.
Even the noble daughters of prestigious families had no right to refuse, let alone the ordinary women living at the bottom of society.
If she used her identity as the Divine Lady to deliver an oracle forbidding blind marriages, it might have some effect.
But in the end, that would only treat the symptoms, not the cause.
She would have to give it some serious thought later.
She mounted her horse with a clean, swift motion. “Li Qinghe. ‘Qing’ as in clear rivers, and ‘He’ as in peaceful years.”
Inside the carriage, Pei Wanning pricked up her ears and silently repeated the name she had heard. “Li Qinghe?”
It really didn't sound like the name of a young lady from a prestigious family.
Just like the person herself.
In any case, she had never seen a woman like her.
Not only could she ride a horse, but she could also fight.
Would a man ever like a woman like that? Her mother said a woman must be gentle and virtuous to marry into a good family; she wasn't even allowed to go out and see the lantern festivals, let alone wield a sword or blade.
“It is getting late. Miss Li, let’s go.”
With that, Pei Du lowered the carriage curtain and turned to look at his distracted little niece.
“A'ning, once we reach Xindu City, I will find someone to send you back to Heluo. Don't sneak out alone next time.”
Pei Wanning unconsciously twisted the corner of her sleeve with her fingers. “Uncle, I don't want to go back to Heluo.”
“Why?” Pei Du frowned.
After a long pause, she said in a voice as faint as a mosquito, “Mother wants to betroth me to the Second Young Master Yuan.”
“I don't want to get married.” As if gathering all her courage, she looked up and stared straight at her uncle.
Pei Du let out a soft sigh. “A'ning, when a woman reaches the right age, she must marry.”
Pei Wanning’s eyes suddenly reddened.
“But Uncle, I don't want to!”
“Since I was little, you’ve been the one who pampered me most in the family. When Mother wouldn't let me go out to play, you’d sneak me out. When I didn't want to learn needlework, you’d speak up for me. Whatever I wanted, you’d grant it; you’ve always gone along with me.”
“Why can't you go along with me on this?”
Pei Du was left speechless.
After a long time, he said helplessly, “A'ning, I am only your uncle. I cannot make the decisions regarding your marriage.”
Outside the carriage, Yun Shu listened to the conversation between the uncle and niece.
She hadn't intended to eavesdrop.
It was mainly because the carriage had no soundproofing at all.
Combined with her excellent hearing, she could hear everything they said clearly.
So the little girl was a runaway bride.
Running away was good; it showed she had a sense of resistance and wasn't a puppet to be manipulated.
From the look of it, what they lacked was never the courage to pick up a sharp blade, but the opportunity to do so.
What she had to do was create those opportunities for them.
...
After arriving at Xindu City and bidding farewell to the Pei uncle and niece, Yun Shu first went to a money changer to cash the banknote.
Leaving the exchange house, she carried her huge sum of one hundred taels and headed straight for the largest restaurant in the city.
During this time, she was a glamorous Divine Lady on the surface, but behind the scenes, she lived worse than a vagrant.
Sleeping in the wild was the norm.
As for food, it went without saying—she hadn't had a single decent meal.
So, when the waiter brought the dishes out one by one, she almost couldn't contain herself.
Red-braised pork hock, glistening with a dark glaze and perfectly marbled.
There was also sweet and sour pork tenderloin, beggar's chicken, garlic-sautéed greens, and a basket of steaming hot meat buns.
Seven or eight dishes filled the entire table.
The diners at the neighboring table couldn't help but steal a few glances at her.
Could a single girl finish so many dishes?
Yun Shu answered that question with action. She picked up her chopsticks and began devouring the food like a whirlwind.
The onlookers were left dumbfounded.
Half an hour later.
Yun Shu walked out of the restaurant, satisfied, carrying the packed food for the system that was currently delivering the oracle at Creek Valley.
It was time to solve her housing problem, and then plan how to play the next move on the board.
Rate on N.U.
