Chapter 11: She Fulfills Her Filial Duties in Her Own Way

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Su shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, Fanghe Mountain won't do. You'd better pick somewhere else."

Zhao Shiqing retorted, "Why? Are you ungrateful? Xiao Xiaosu, I never thought you were that kind of person."

Xiao Su surrendered, "You wrong me! This young master is not only grateful but also charitable. It's really not what you think. How about this: I'll give you Yuchun Mountain instead? There are many osmanthus trees on Yuchun Mountain, and in the golden autumn of October, the entire mountain is fragrant. Your master will surely love it."

Zhao Shiqing shook her head. "I only want Fanghe Mountain."

Xiao Su sighed. "To tell you the truth, although Fanghe Mountain belongs to our Xiao family, I am not the one in charge of it."

"If you aren't in charge, then why do you always go there?" The first time Zhao Shiqing and Xiao Su fought was at the border of Baihe Mountain and Fanghe Mountain. They had fought until they were bloodied and bruised over the ownership of a single stone; at the time, one was ten and the other was eight.

Xiao Su said helplessly, "Fanghe Mountain belongs to the eldest branch of our Xiao family. As you know, when my brother was eight, my eldest uncle gave it to him to make him happy. My eldest brother lives in the capital year-round, so I have to help look after it for him, lest some unreasonable neighbor runs over to steal things."

Zhao Shiqing didn't have time to scold Xiao Su for the implication; her attention was entirely on the elder brother he mentioned.

"Your brother? The son of Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao from your eldest branch?"

Xiao Su nodded. "Yes, my eldest brother is named Xiao Zhen. He is exceptionally good to me."

Xiao Zhen?

Zhao Shiqing's heart stirred; she felt as if she had heard that name somewhere before.

She remembered now. She had heard her sister mention that when Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao left the capital, their son, Xiao Zhen, had been taken into the palace by the Emperor.

Zhao Shiqing narrowed her eyes slightly. He was a hostage. Even if Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao refused to admit they had killed Prince Liang, they would keep their mouths shut for the sake of Xiao Zhen.

Now that Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao were still alive, she wondered if their precious son would be just as lucky to escape death.

With this thought, Zhao Shiqing raised her whip, and her mount galloped away.

Xiao Su rolled his eyes. "Typical. She just runs off without even saying goodbye."

While complaining, he spurred his horse into a gallop to follow closely behind her. The two riders sped toward the Liang Capital.

By evening, Zhao Shiqing and Xiao Su arrived at Wisteria Villa.

Looking ahead, Zhao Shiqing saw that Wisteria Villa was heavily guarded, with sentries stationed every few steps. Clearly, security had been tightened.

Before they even reached the gate, a squad of imperial guards rushed out from the side, blocking their path.

As they drew closer and saw the two mud-covered children on horseback, the leading guard was startled. He lifted his robes and knelt. "This general greets the Second Young Lady."

Zhao Shiqing recognized him as Meng Hu, whom she had seen the previous night.

"General Meng, you've worked hard. With such high alert, could there be more assassins?"

Meng Hu gave a bitter smile. "The Second Young Lady is as perceptive as ever. Indeed, someone did break in this morning."

Zhao Shiqing turned serious. "What happened? Are the Princess and Consort Xiao alright?"

Meng Hu said hurriedly, "Rest assured, Second Young Lady, the Princess and Consort Xiao are safe. The Eldest County Princess has personally come to the villa to oversee things."

"My sister is in the villa?" Zhao Shiqing was excited.

"Yes, the Eldest County Princess is currently inside," Meng Hu replied.

Without time to ask more about the assassins, Zhao Shiqing entered the villa with Xiao Su.

Not long after entering, they saw Zhao Yunnuan dressed in military attire.

"Sister, I'm back!" Zhao Shiqing dismounted and ran toward her.

Zhao Yunnuan looked at her mud-splattered younger sister, then at the equally filthy Xiao Su following behind, and smiled helplessly. "How did you two get into such a state? I almost didn't recognize you."

After Xiao Su paid his respects, Zhao Yunnuan instructed a maid to take them to bathe and change.

Xiao Su followed obediently; he certainly couldn't meet Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao looking like that.

Zhao Shiqing, however, did not leave. She asked, "Sister, why are you here?"

Zhao Yunnuan explained, "Thanks to you last night, the consequences might have been unthinkable. After you left, Meng Hu sent word to me, so I came over this morning. Fortunately, I brought many men, otherwise..."

It turned out that someone had entered the villa this morning, but this time they hadn't used disguises; they had attempted to force their way in through the back gate.

Coincidentally, Zhao Yunnuan had arrived with her troops at that moment, and seeing the situation, the intruders had fled in panic.

Zhao Shiqing breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know if these people are brave or cowardly. If they're cowardly, they wouldn't dare storm the villa; if they're brave, they wouldn't run like rats the moment they saw our main force."

"No, it's not like that," Zhao Yunnuan continued. "The leader among them seemed to be suffering from an unhealed serious injury; he was limping. The others were likely his guards. In such a situation, resisting to the end would have been futile, so leaving was the wise choice."

Intrigued, Zhao Shiqing plopped down beside Zhao Yunnuan. Startled, Zhao Yunnuan jumped aside. "Stay away! Come back once you've washed up."

Zhao Shiqing thought: *What happened to our deep sisterly bond?*

"Sister, that person—the one who was seriously injured—what kind of person was he? Did you come face-to-face with him? Otherwise, how would you know he was limping?"

"Yes, not only did we meet, but I even exchanged a few moves with him. However, they were all intercepted by a youth by his side."

Thinking of that man, a trace of confusion flashed in Zhao Yunnuan's eyes. "He was very young, eighteen or nineteen at most. His face was very pale, and his lips lacked color. If not for those dark, bright eyes, he would have looked like a dead man... However, he looked..."

Seeing Zhao Yunnuan suddenly stop, Zhao Shiqing asked anxiously, "What about his looks? Was he very handsome?"

Zhao Yunnuan chided, "I already said he looked like a dead man; how handsome could he be? I just thought he looked very much like Consort Xiao."

Consort Xiao?

Zhao Shiqing suddenly thought of someone—someone she and Xiao Su had just been discussing on the road.

"Could he be Xiao Zhen? The eldest legitimate son of Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao?" Zhao Shiqing exclaimed.

Zhao Yunnuan nodded. "I thought of the same person. But shouldn't he be in the palace right now? I don't believe the Emperor would let him come to the Liang lands so easily."

Zhao Shiqing pondered. "If that man really is Xiao Zhen, he will definitely come back. Sister, you said it yourself—he's half-dead and couldn't even handle one of your moves. With so many people outside the villa now, he might not dare to enter."

"Withdraw all the men outside? What if something like last night happens again?" Zhao Yunnuan felt a lingering fear from the previous night.

Thinking of the harsh words her second aunt had said upon learning her younger sister wasn't at the Prince's mansion, and the mockery in her mother's eyes, Zhao Yunnuan felt a heavy weight in her chest.

Her sister indeed had not stayed at the Prince's mansion to wail and cry; she had left the estate and had invisibly neutralized the massive crisis looming over the Prince of Liang's household.

Her sister was never an ingrate, nor was she thoughtless. She possessed wisdom and, more importantly, courage. She was fulfilling her filial piety to their father in her own way.

"Sister, you stay here to oversee the villa. I'm going out to meet this Young Master Xiao."