Chapter 23: This Time, I Shall Ensure That Dongfang Jibai Never Returns

The night was as dark as ink.

Fifteen’s figure quietly slipped into the deputy commander’s tent, their eyes meeting.

Dong Ming frowned as he saw Fifteen approaching.

This young boy was a trusted aide of Dongfang Jibai, having marched with the army for a month. Dong Ming wondered what he was doing here so late.

“A late-night visit, Fifteen of the guards, what is the matter?” Dong Ming gripped his sword hilt, watching the young guard warily.

Fifteen expressionlessly tossed a piece of black iron token to Dong Ming. “The princess commands: within three days, you must lure Dongfang Jibai to dispatch troops to One Line Sky.”

Moonlight filtered through the tent’s seams, revealing a dark gleam in Fifteen’s eyes. “They have set up an inescapable net. This time, Dongfang Jibai will have no way back.”

Dong Ming’s pupils contracted sharply. He was less shocked by the princess’s reach than by the fact that Dongfang Jibai’s trusted aide would betray him.

“How am I to trust you?” Dong Ming asked.

“To chase the light cavalry.” Fifteen murmured half a line of poetry. Instantly, Dong Ming’s tense shoulders relaxed—this was the secret code unique to the Grand Princess’s household.

“I will offer my strategy tomorrow. Everything depends on the general’s decision. If it’s too obvious, my identity will be exposed.”

Dong Ming slipped the token into his sleeve but failed to notice the silver pattern flickering on Fifteen’s cuff as he sipped his tea.

Their conversation was brief—partly due to fear of suspicion, partly because Fifteen’s duty was to guard Dongfang Jibai’s camp.

Fifteen melted back into the shadows of the trees, resuming his watch over the commander’s tent.

Over these two months, he had noticed strange things.

The little fox would slip out every full moon, always accompanied by the general.

And the general returned each time in high spirits, as if well-fed.

In the days that followed, the general doted excessively on the little fox.

That red fox was almost inseparable from the general. Even when handling affairs, he kept the little fox within sight.

Bai Yi’s attitude toward the little fox was even more suspicious.

It seemed as if the little fox were treated like a master.

Leaning against a tree, Fifteen fixed his gaze on Dongfang Jibai’s tent.

Bai Yi was handing a warm cloth to Dongfang Jibai.

The flickering candlelight cast shadows as Bai Yi lowered his voice. “Master, Fifteen just went to Deputy Commander Dong’s tent.”

“Hm.” Dongfang Jibai didn’t look up, the brush tip tracing a sharp arc on the military report.

“Master, Fifteen is off.” Bai Yi, head of the secret guards who had watched Fifteen grow up, sighed. The boy had a simple heart; he often gave generous silver to the begging old man by the roadside.

But now, he had betrayed his master.

He refused to believe it was true.

“Hm.” Dongfang Jibai responded with a grunt, continuing to write.

This was a letter to the capital. With the Dongfang family now residing in the General's mansion, Dongfang Jibai could not leave his family behind and needed to arrange everything properly.

“Master, shall I have Fifteen arrested?” Bai Yi suggested.

“No need.” Dongfang Jibai shook his head. Ink spread across the rice paper like a fierce tiger. “Let’s see who he’s sold himself to. We’ll follow the trail.”

Blowing the drying letter, Dongfang Jibai handed it to Bai Yi. “Send this back to the capital.”

Bai Yi nodded.

The little fox on the bed suddenly rolled over, exposing its snowy belly.

Dongfang Jibai’s stern brows softened instantly. His fingertips gently brushed the fiery tail tip, but the little fox tucked it away, refusing to let him touch.

Thousands of miles away, the General’s mansion.

Dongfang Mo, accompanied by his wife Zhao Susu, arrived in the capital half a month ago.

He was originally a government official in the capital, but seeing his only son Dongfang Jibai’s growing power in court, unease took hold of his heart. He resigned and returned home, seeking peace.

Zhao Susu, born in the south, was gentle and devoted, treating her husband as her world and her son as her life. She and Dongfang Mo were in harmony, never once quarreling.

Now urgently summoned to the capital by the emperor, Zhao Susu spent sleepless nights, sensing impending disaster.

Dongfang Mo comforted her daily, fearing her worries would make her ill.

“Aunt, my cousin is at war outside. Why does His Majesty insist we come to the capital?”

The speaker was Zhao Qiaofeng, Dongfang Jibai’s cousin, only two months younger.

Qiaofeng’s birth mother died shortly after childbirth. Zhao Susu, pitying her niece’s motherless state, raised her closely. Her elder brother, mourning his late wife, lingered on his sickbed and passed away within two years.

The vast family fortune fell to the young girl. Zhao Susu worried about the estate being swindled by the Zhao family’s collateral branches and helped manage it.

“Feng’er, your cousin’s achievements have overshadowed the lord. We must be cautious in the capital.” Zhao Susu took her hand, speaking gently. “Do not provoke the noble ladies or cause trouble. The emperor is watching our family. We cannot bring trouble to your cousin.”

“Aunt, rest assured. I will neither run wild nor cause mischief.” Zhao Qiaofeng lowered her eyes obediently, though the calluses on her palms pressed against the secret silver-threaded pattern on her sleeve.

She had trained in martial arts with Dongfang Jibai since childhood, skilled in archery and horsemanship, her swordplay rivaling any man.

Yet in her aunt’s eyes, she was always the delicate lady needing protection.

Zhao Susu was simple-minded, never suspecting her niece, who grew up alongside her son and had a boyish core.

“Send word that the old madam is frail. The General’s mansion will be closed to visitors for half a year,” Dongfang Mo instructed the steward Zhao Bo.

Zhao Bo, a longtime servant of the Zhao family, was shrewd and capable, managing the family’s affairs flawlessly over the years.

While the family moved south, Zhao Bo remained to care for Dongfang Jibai, attentive and reliable.

Dongfang Mo was merely a scholar with little family wealth.

Naturally, he had no servants of his own; all affairs depended on his wife’s connections.

Calling him a self-made man was unfair. Thanks to his virtuous wife’s support, he pursued lofty ambitions. She was truly worth a fortune.

Over the years, no concubines or mistresses appeared.

Zhao Susu was injured during Dongfang Jibai’s birth and never conceived again. He treated her as if they had just met, with no wandering heart.

Zhao Qiaofeng looked up at the towering mansion walls. She had been confined to the inner chambers in the south. Now in the capital, would she be trapped within these four walls as well?

Was this the life she desired?

Her mother had fought desperately to bring her into the world, only for her to become a gilded cage?

A woman’s fate should not be like this.

Her hands clenched tightly. That very night, she packed her belongings, took the little private savings she had, left a letter, and slipped out through the dog hole.

It was not until three days later that Zhao Bo discovered she was gone.

Zhao Qiaofeng rarely met with Zhao Susu. The latter did not wish to restrict her and did not insist on morning and evening rituals, inadvertently giving her an opportunity to escape.

“Madam, the young lady has run away!” Zhao Bo was drenched in sweat.

Qiaofeng was the only direct bloodline of the Zhao family. If anything happened to her, the vast family fortune would fall into the hands of collateral branches.

“What? Where did she go?” Zhao Susu took the letter with trembling hands.

Before finishing, her vision darkened, and she fainted.