Chu Zhao walked slowly down the street, A’Le watching her carefully. “Miss, please don’t be angry.”
“Angry?” Chu Zhao laughed. “I’m not angry. Why would I be angry with them?”
When it came down to it, it was nothing more than petty quarrels and disdain between girls. Compared to the life-and-death conspiracies she had experienced, it was nothing at all.
She wouldn’t get angry over such trivial matters.
“I’m thinking that I must return to the border commandery as soon as possible,” Chu Zhao said.
The appearance of Third Young Master Xie in the capital reminded her of events that would happen in the future, and made her urgently want to see her father again.
Besides asking about her mother’s affairs, there was another matter.
In that previous life, the Xie clan’s reason for rebellion was that Xiao Xun had obtained his position improperly, colluding with treacherous people to seize the imperial throne.
The treacherous person was her father, Chu Ling.
The Xie clan said that the Third Prince had slaughtered the entire Eastern Palace, but in fact the Crown Prince’s son had been rescued and entrusted to Chu Ling, only to be murdered through a conspiracy between Chu Ling and Prince Zhongshan.
Otherwise, it would never have been Prince Zhongshan’s heir’s turn to inherit the throne.
This was the deal between Chu Ling and Prince Zhongshan, and the evidence was that she had become Empress.
How utterly ridiculous. She had dismissed such absurd claims as a joke. The Xie clan, unable to find a genuine reason for rebellion, had fabricated this wild story.
What kind of person was her father, Chu Ling? A disgraced official. Even if the young prince had been rescued, he would never have been entrusted to her father.
His Majesty and the Crown Prince probably didn’t even remember who her father was.
But now, she felt she needed to reconsider—
In any case, there were too many unresolved questions. She had to see her father. She couldn’t stay in the capital any longer.
A’Le didn’t know how many thoughts had passed through her miss’s mind in that instant. She gripped Chu Zhao’s hand tightly. “Miss, don’t worry. We’ll think of another way.”
Chu Zhao came back to her senses. Another way. She thought for a moment and said, “The best way is still to find A’Jiu.”
A’Jiu? A’Le momentarily couldn’t even remember who that was. Why was she suddenly talking about A’Jiu?
The miss actually still remembered this person?
Just as she was about to speak, a hesitant voice came from nearby.
“Chu, Miss Chu?”
Miss Chu? Who are they calling? A’Le looked over, and Chu Zhao had already called out happily, “Officer Zhang!”
By a general store entrance on the side of the street stood two men carrying bags large and small. Though they had been the first to speak, when the girl looked over and called out, their expressions showed some evasion.
“It really is Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said. “We just, just called out casually. If it’s inappropriate, we’ll leave right away.”
By “inappropriate,” he meant that the circumstances of their acquaintance weren’t exactly glorious. For a young lady, such matters were better left unmentioned.
Earlier, walking out of the general store, they had seen these two girls. Though their attire was completely different from the A’Fu and A’Le of before, because the memory was so vivid, they had recognized them at a glance.
Zhang Gu couldn’t help but call out, but after calling out, he regretted it. Would this girl want them to recognize her?
He hadn’t expected that Chu Zhao’s expression showed neither anger nor distance, but overwhelming joy.
This made him somewhat happy again. This girl didn’t disdain him.
“Officer Zhang.” Chu Zhao walked up to them. “I was just thinking of you all—where’s A’Jiu?”
Uh, Zhang Gu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Seeing the girl look left and right behind them, her eyes bright and shining, full of anticipation.
She wasn’t thinking of them, but of A’Jiu.
These lovers had been forcibly separated during their journey. Their marriage arrangement had fallen through, hadn’t it?
…
…
Zhang Gu looked at the girl’s excited and joyful expression, feeling somewhat sympathetic. Life was like this—things wouldn’t always go as wished. Young people would eventually have to accept this fact.
“Miss Chu,” he said quietly, “A’Jiu isn’t with us anymore.”
Chu Zhao was stunned. Not here anymore—what did that mean?
“He didn’t come out with you?” she asked, then said happily, “That’s fine. I’ll go with you to find him.”
Zhang Gu’s expression grew even more sympathetic. “Miss Chu, he, he’s no longer a courier soldier.”
No longer a courier soldier? Chu Zhao was surprised. “Then what is he doing?” Though it didn’t really matter. After all, he was familiar with the courier soldiers and could find a way. She urged Zhang Gu again, “I’ll go see him and ask.”
“Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said quietly, getting all the words out in one breath so the girl wouldn’t have a chance to imagine further. “He left. He’s not at the courier station. We don’t know where he went. After we returned, we haven’t seen him again.”
Chu Zhao understood. She recalled what Zhang Gu had said before—A’Jiu was being punished, so after completing this assignment, he had left.
No, her eyes darkened. A’Jiu wasn’t being punished. He was delivering messages, concealing his identity to deliver secret messages to her father. Once the assignment was complete, it was over.
“Where is his home?” she asked.
Zhang Gu shook his head. “He joined the courier station midway. We don’t know where he’s from, much less where his home is.” At this point, he felt somewhat melancholy. “We don’t know if we’ll ever see him again.”
This young fellow seemed very annoying, yet strangely likable.
If you treated him well, he would treat you well in return. If you treated him badly, he would make sure you felt doubly bad.