Hua Manman lowered her hands, revealing her red, tear-brimmed eyes.

"Don’t lie to me. I know I can’t go back. The Young General will never let me go."

The three of them were alone in the kitchen.

Ah Qi took a deep breath and spoke as if making a desperate gamble.

"I’m not lying to you. I can help you leave this place."

Hua Manman stared at him blankly. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He grew flustered under her gaze.

He instinctively averted his eyes, his gaze landing elsewhere. "I’m serious. Trust me."

A moment later, he heard Hua Manman softly utter a single word.

"Okay."

Now it was Ah Qi’s turn to be stunned.

He couldn’t help but look back at Hua Manman, asking as if in disbelief.

"You trust me?"

With tears in her eyes, Hua Manman nodded emphatically. "Mhm, I know you’re a good person. You wouldn’t hurt me. Of course I trust you."

Ah Qi had never experienced the feeling of being trusted so unconditionally.

A strong sense of responsibility suddenly washed over him.

’I have to do what I promised. I absolutely cannot betray Hua Manman’s trust in me!’

Then, he saw Hua Manman lower her head. She looked at her fingers and said softly.

"Actually, it’s okay even if you’re lying to me. You’re one of the Young General’s men, so it’s only natural for you to follow his orders. I can’t ask you to betray your master for my own selfish reasons."

The more she said, the more moved Ah Qi became.

He said no more, but his mind was already racing, trying to figure out how to help Hua Manman escape.

What Ah Qi didn’t know was that someone was eavesdropping outside the kitchen.

The person relayed the conversation verbatim to Xiao Hong.

The subordinate asked him if they should restrain Ah Qi now.

But Xiao Hong said, "Don’t make a scene. Give Ah Qi a chance. Let him take her away."

The subordinate couldn’t understand. "Why?"

’We went to so much trouble to capture Princess Consort Zhao. If we just let her go, wouldn’t all our effort have been for nothing?’

Xiao Hong slowly wiped the scimitar in his hand and said coldly.

"Do you know how a cat plays with a mouse?

"After a cat catches a mouse, it doesn’t kill it right away. Instead, it deliberately lets it go, only to snatch it back up right when it thinks it can escape.

"It repeats this over and over until it plays the mouse to death.

"First, you give them hope, then you destroy that hope with your own hands.

"Isn’t watching them break down in despair from the torment far more interesting than simply capturing them?"

The subordinate’s scalp tingled with fear as he listened, not daring to say another word.

...

Ah Qi unexpectedly learned of a small path leading down the mountain.

The path was so remote and rugged that almost no one ever used it.

Even the Young General had posted only a single guard there.

If Ah Qi could just find a way to lure that guard away, he could get Hua Manman out of here unnoticed.

As luck would have it, the Young General had a few too many drinks that night and went to bed early. Ah Qi quietly observed the others in the courtyard; most were already asleep, with only a few still on patrol.

Even the few men on patrol were slacking off, dozing at their posts.

Ah Qi felt this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

He told Hua Manman to go with him.

Hua Manman hadn’t expected him to find a way down the mountain so quickly.

She couldn’t resist asking.

"How did you find out about that path?"

"I happened to hear someone mention it," Ah Qi said. "I snuck out during the day to take a look, and there’s definitely a path there. We don’t have much time. We need to go now."

Hua Manman didn’t believe in such coincidences.

’This has to be a trap set by Xiao Hong.’

When Ah Qi saw her standing frozen, he urged her again.

"Hurry, don’t waste any more time."

Hua Manman pressed her lips together. "I’m not going."

Ah Qi froze, looking at her in confusion.

"I thought you were desperate to go home. Why won’t you go?"

Hua Manman looked him straight in the eye and said earnestly.

"You were assigned to guard me. If I leave, you’ll definitely be punished. The Young General might even kill you, just like he killed Ai Zhi. I can’t get you into trouble just to save myself."

With that, she plopped down on the low couch, making it clear she wouldn’t leave, come what may.

Ah Qi was even more moved to see how much she cared about his safety.

"Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Please, just come with me."

However, no matter how Ah Qi tried to persuade her, Hua Manman had made up her mind and refused to go.

...

Xiao Hong, who should have been asleep long ago, was wide awake.

He dressed, strode out of the room, and pushed open the door to ask the man waiting outside.

"Is everything arranged?"

"Rest assured, Young General. I’ve arranged everything perfectly."

Ah Qi had only learned of the path because Xiao Hong had intentionally let the information slip. His drunkenness and early sleep were also part of the act.

He had created this perfect opportunity, assuming Ah Qi wouldn’t pass it up.

In truth, the path was a dead end. Following it would only lead them to become hopelessly lost, with no chance of finding the real way down.

Once Ah Qi and Hua Manman were lost in the mountains and utterly exhausted, the men Xiao Hong had arranged beforehand would appear, pretending to hunt them down.

Those men would focus their attacks on Ah Qi alone, deliberately giving Hua Manman a chance to escape.

’Hua Manman only got close to Ah Qi so she could use him to escape.

’With a golden opportunity to escape right in front of her, how could she possibly pass it up?

’The moment she abandons Ah Qi to save herself, the facade she’s carefully constructed for him will shatter.

’Then, without anyone needing to say a word, Ah Qi will realize he’s been used.

’Knowing Ah Qi, once he realizes he’s been deceived, he’ll retaliate viciously. Hua Manman will undoubtedly suffer a miserable fate at his hands.

’Having lost her final chance to escape, Hua Manman will surely break down in utter despair.’

Xiao Hong had arranged everything.

All the preparations were made; he was just waiting for the trap to be sprung.

However, they waited all night, but the trap was never sprung.

As a result, Xiao Hong didn’t sleep a wink all night.

He was in an exceptionally foul mood as he walked out the door, his face like stone.

’I need to see what Hua Manman and Ah Qi are up to. Why didn’t they try to escape last night?’

When Xiao Hong found Hua Manman, she was in the kitchen, instructing the army cooks.

For the past two days, Hua Manman had been sharing a bit of her own food with two of the army cooks at every meal, asking them to try it. Though they were reluctant to admit it, the truth was that Si Yun’s culinary skills were far superior to theirs.

So, in the hopes of improving their own skills, they were forced to swallow their pride and ask to exchange culinary knowledge.

Hua Manman readily agreed.

She was in charge of giving theoretical guidance, while Si Yun provided the technical support.

The two worked together in perfect harmony.

Ah Qi stood quietly guarding the door.

He quickly bowed when he saw the Young General approaching.

Xiao Hong gave Ah Qi a long, hard look.

"You. Are. Very. Good."

Ah Qi was taken aback by the praise, yet flattered. "Thank you for your praise, Young General."

Xiao Hong: "..."