The fragrance of grass by the water, the soft mud beneath the horse’s hooves, left hurried half-hidden tracks.

As she saw the houses amid the lush water and grass, Tang Xiaobai felt her heart leap to her throat.

A little closer.

A little closer.

Swords clashed, and shadows burst from the doors, finally allowing Tang Xiaobai to exhale a sigh of relief, slowly restraining her mount.

"Leave them alive."

As Tang Xiaobai spoke, several figures beside her dashed out, directly plunging into the battle in front of Moli Post.

How could Xue Shaojian really leave Shanzhou an empty city?

She couldn’t do it either!

So she only asked Xue Shaojian for half a day.

Once noon passed, Xue Shaojian would bring the Shanzhou Five Armies back to the city.

She only had half a day to complete the plan she made with Wenren Jia to find the traitor potentially hidden among the Shanzhou Five Armies.

Now, it should be successful!

The elite around Tang Xiaobai rushed out, leaving only the Gu brothers to protect her.

Gu Hui squinted into the distance, only seeing several people in the melee, all masked and indistinguishable. He couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you sure these people are spies and not Turkic people?"

Tang Xiaobai smiled slyly, "Didn’t my father say? The Turkic have ’scattered like rats and birds, rulers and ministers turning against each other, fathers and sons separated.’ How could they have any strength left to intercept a messenger?"

When she met Xin Yi in Liangzhou, she thought of it.

The disappearance of the expeditionary army had two possibilities.

One was that they got lost, and the message couldn’t be delivered; the second was that it was delivered but got intercepted.

If they got lost, she could search for them; if someone intercepted it, then the nature was different.

The ones intercepting the message could be the enemy army, or it could be an insider.

She felt it wasn’t the enemy army.

This expedition against the Turkic had many opposing generals, including Cheng Zhidu, her father’s right-hand man.

But her father said one thing.

"After the Battle of Weichi River, they scattered like rats and birds, rulers and ministers turned against each other, fathers and sons separated. If we don’t take advantage of the victory and pursue them, we will regret it later."

After that, father and son boldly split the troops into two routes for the expedition, evidently confident in their combat strength.

Tang Xiaobai also had great confidence in them.

Therefore, the army’s delay in returning must be due to pursuing the enemy.

If the messengers sent were deliberately intercepted, the suspicion of an insider was greater.

Intercepting the messenger, spreading rumors, political opponents in the court reacting to the news—these were all connected.

So, that day in Liangzhou, Wenren Jia proposed this strategy.

Send someone to impersonate Tang Ziqian’s messenger to lure snakes out of their holes.

If successful, it would remove the obstacles. If not, they might indeed be lost, and she would continue down this path to find them.

The current slaughter proved that someone was indeed intercepting the messenger.

But whose people were they?

...

Zhang Yichao sat alone atop the high city wall.

The sky was already dark on the eastern side, the mountain wind blowing cold against his face.

A sense of desolation involuntarily welled up within him.

Guarding a city all by oneself—it sounds heroic when said aloud.

He sniffled, looked at the sky, and prepared to rise and light the signal fire.

Just as he got up, he suddenly saw from his original spot soldiers and horses approaching.

His heart skipped, and he quickly squinted for a closer look.

Around four to five thousand men, that banner—

Zhang Yichao’s eyes widened in shock.

Isn’t that the command flag of the Bai Shui Army?

When they set off early in the morning, the Bai Shui Army covered the rear. If the army was retreating, usually, the rear guard would become the vanguard.

So they’re retreating?

What happened? Were they attacked?

Zhang Yichao was momentarily filled with suspicion and doubt.

By estimating the time, they should’ve only reached the area around Kuba Sea and Moli Post, experiencing an attack there?

Then, are those returning the ones who left, or did someone seize their command flag to deceive him?

Thousands strong, their marching speed was incredibly fast. While Zhang Yichao’s mind raced, they had already entered the mountain path area.

As the light dimmed, the mountains’ shadows obscured the sky, making it even harder to discern who they were.

Shibao City’s terrain was perilous. In normal times, with just five hundred men, he could block tens of thousands of troops.

But, no matter how perilous the terrain was, what use was it if he was alone?

While he mused, the army reached the city walls and began shouting, "Below the city is Deputy General of the Zhenwu Army..."

Zhang Yichao recognized his deputy general’s voice and leaned closer to look.

Torches had been lit below, illuminating many familiar faces.

They really were back!

Zhang Yichao hurriedly turned and ran to the bottom of the city wall.

As he struggled to open the city gate, he anxiously wanted to ask what had happened: "You all—"

But as soon as the gate opened, the first one to come in was that Xue surname, with a pale face, which made him swallow back his words.

He had just cursed this one, so he wouldn’t ask.

Following him was another pale-faced one, surnamed Wang.

He had just cursed their commander, so he wouldn’t ask.

After that came a pale-faced one with the surname Gu and the Duke Yan’s little daughter.

Apparently, he had cursed them too—

"We’re back!" Miss Tang greeted him proactively, smiling sweetly.

Since the little miss was the first to speak, Zhang Yichao followed her lead and asked, "Did you encounter an attack?"

"No—" The little miss thought for a moment, "Maybe?"

Was it a yes, or a no?

Zhang Yichao was about to press further when he noticed someone following the young miss.

"Ah Lin?" Zhang Yichao was shocked again.

The ragged and injured man following Miss Tang was unmistakably one of Tang Ziqian’s trusted guards, Ah Lin!

"Weren’t you with General Tang—why have you returned? Where is General Tang?" Zhang Yichao asked while looking back.

Ah Lin lowered his gaze, ignoring him.

Miss Tang responded for him: "Ah Lin was ordered to return with a message, but was attacked at Moli Post—"

...

There were ten masked men intercepting the "messenger" at Moli Post, and in the end, only three were captured alive.

Tang Xiaobai handed all three over to Xue Shaojian for interrogation, anyway, with Gu Yuan keeping watch.

Since they left Shibao City, Xue Shaojian had discreetly observed the movements of the Five Armies.

Especially after she went to Moli Post, those with guilty hearts should have revealed themselves more clearly.

These were all within Xue Shaojian’s control.

Next, she just had to wait for the news.

Now, her most pressing matter was to tend to the injured "Ah Lin."

The injuries weren’t severe—just two cuts on the arm.

Tang Xiaobai had Tao Zi boil some water, letting it cool before cleaning "Ah Lin’s" wounds.

She herself took a cloth dipped in a special solution, intending to wipe "Ah Lin’s" face.

"I’ll do it myself!" A clear, melodious voice refused, like a nightingale’s song.

It was clearly a woman’s voice.

"You’re injured!" Tang Xiaobai didn’t heed her refusal and started wiping her face.

As she cleaned, Ah Lin’s bushy eyebrows and large eyes started to fade, revealing an ordinary woman’s face.

This was Yingying.

When Wenren Jia suggested this plan to disguise as a messenger, they recommended disguising as one of Tang Ziqian’s trusted guards. This way, others would immediately identify them as a messenger sent by Tang Ziqian, simplifying the task of luring enemies from hiding.

The problem then arose: Many people recognized Tang Ziqian’s trusted guards—how to disguise successfully?

At this point, Yingying claimed to have some skill in disguise techniques, and she perfectly replicated an Ah Lin.

The plan went smoothly except for Yingying getting injured.

"Go ask Zhang Yichao for some antiseptic medicine, the best kind!" Just as Tang Xiaobai finished instructing, she heard Li Xingyuan’s voice outside the door—

"What are you doing here again?"