"So, you should be happy today, right?" Zhu Yu sighed softly, reaching out to take Lu Qing’s hand, "This time with General Bian being sent here, it’s not much different from sending us a settling pill."

"More importantly, this particular village turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us." Lu Qing and Zhu Yu had always had a good understanding, they could read each other’s minds without needing to say everything outright. "If we hadn’t come here by chance, those people might have found another opportunity to act against us.

This place would have continued to be occupied by that group of mountain bandits, and perhaps no one would have bothered them, allowing them to rob passersby and harm the local villagers within a few dozen miles.

Or, one day this place might suddenly be surrounded by troops under the guise of ’pursuing remaining bandits’ and approach the Capital... By then, I’m afraid it would cause quite a bit of trouble for us."

"So they say, the blessed are protected by providence." Zhu Yu glanced at Lu Qing in the dim light, noticing the relaxed expression on his face, with faint lines on his forehead.

Since he entered Shuo Land to investigate the Black Iron and weapons, there had been too many times where he frowned.

"Alright, don’t think about anything. With General Bian and his people ahead of us tonight, we can finally have a good night’s sleep.

Now that they are here, we should soon be ready to set off. Let’s rest well while we can!" Zhu Yu gently rubbed between his eyebrows, "This time when we set off, there won’t be any bothersome tails!"

That night, Zhu Yu indeed slept more soundly and deeply than in the previous days.

She had always had confidence in Lu Qing’s abilities and knew the runes and talismans were not to be underestimated. However, with the enemy in the shadows, and them only partly aware and having just four people, it was hard not to feel uneasy, fearing they would be outnumbered, leading to restless nights where she was half-awake.

Now with General Situ’s subordinates present, she finally felt more at ease.

After another two days, once those people were settled, almost everyone wore simple rough clothes, spreading out to stay in different parts of the village.

Even though there were no women and children here, which made it look unlike a normal village, it was still much better than being crowded in the small two-story inn.

It was clear that Bian Yong had arranged everything well, and so Lu Qing decided to set off and continue their journey.

Although their previous horses were still in good shape, and the carriage wasn’t sabotaged, they had been under the watchful eyes of those people for a long time and were too conspicuous to use again.

Bian Yong had four horses brought over for them.

Zhu Yu couldn’t appraise horses, but she had heard plenty from Yan Shu before, and could tell these four horses, despite having common appearances, were very sturdy and durable, suitable for long-distance travel.

"By giving us these four horses, will General Bian’s side be short?" Lu Qing, satisfied with the horses, knew these warhorses were a rare find; no amount of money could buy them on the market.

Despite his satisfaction, he politely exchanged pleasantries with Bian Yong.

Bian Yong smiled and waved it off, "No worries, the General can use them as needed.

I already sent word the other day, so any shortages will be replenished before long.

If you pass by the village later, if you don’t mind, find me for a rest and a bowl of wine."

After the pleasantries, he also took out a token from his chest, broke it in half, and handed one part to Lu Qing, reminding him, "Should the General travel through the mountainous paths and encounter anyone, ask them if they know the Black Tiger Boss of the Tiger Head Gang and have them present the other half of the waist card as recognition.

If they don’t know, and can’t produce the card, the General can feel free to kill them or cut them down.

If they are able to show the card, the General may further ask if the Three-color Flag is hanging in their camp; if they are brothers, they will tell the General the flag is to be raised at the third watch of the night."

Lu Qing nodded, stowed away that half of the waist card, thanked General Bian once more, and the four of them, with their belongings, set off again.

This time, there truly was no "tail" following them, so the four of them quickened their pace, traveling primarily at night for safety and resting in busy towns by day to eat and nap.

In just two days, they had thoroughly left behind the area occupied by the mountain bandits, getting closer and closer to the Jinlan Border.

This time, as they left the city at dusk and had traveled just a few miles, passing by a small grove, a bird call echoed from afar.

Zhu Yu immediately recognized it as a signal only used by Lu Qing and Lu Chao’s Hidden Guards.

Lu Qing signaled to the rune beside him, who followed the sound, while he dismounted nearby, helping Zhu Yu off her horse, leaving the three of them waiting in the grove for the rune to return.

The rune returned swiftly, bringing along a Mechanical Box containing a secret message, which was handed straight to Zhu Yu.

With guidance from Lu Qing, Zhu Yu had practiced disassembling and assembling the Mechanical Box until she became quite proficient.

She sat cross-legged on the ground, skillfully working the mechanisms to open the box, retrieving the secret message from the Hidden Guard inside.

Lu Qing sat beside her, looking over her shoulder to read the content written with musical notes along with her.

Zhu Yu could read it now, but not very quickly. The message was particularly long this time, and she carefully translated the contents in her mind, growing more and more anxious as she read, hardly able to believe it by the end.

The beginning of the message informed Lu Qing about the resolution of the matter concerning Zhao Bi’s embezzlement of tributes.

Although Emperor Jin had shown great anger at the time, imprisoning Zhao Bi and declaring a thorough investigation to ensure no leniency,

eventually, when all of the acts of embezzlement and private gains Zhao Bi committed over the years were compiled and presented to the Emperor, he ultimately couldn’t act too decisively.

In the end, all the tributes embezzled by Zhao Bi were ordered by Emperor Jin to be carried back from Duke Yan Mansion to the Imperial Palace item by item and registered, but apart from this public spectacle in the Capital making the Zhao Family a laughing stock and a subject of gossip, the Emperor, considering their long-standing relationship as sovereign and minister, and out of respect for the late Consort Zhao, refrained from punishing him harshly, instead decreeing his title to be stripped and for him to return home with his family to live out his days, barred from entering the Capital again.