”Miss… that’s…”

”Uncle Zhang, Young Miss is not young anymore.” Xiao Yun looked at Guard Zhang deeply. “Do you plant to let her stay in the dark forever, not knowing who her real enemy truly is?”

”It’s not that I don’t want to say, but there are too many of them.” Guard Zhang looked at Nan Hua for a moment then sighed. “I don’t want Miss to be in danger because she knows about them too.”

”If I don’t know, will I be safe?”

No.

Guard Zhang was silent for a moment then looked at Nan Hua. “Young Miss, do you know Tu Family?”

”Yes.”

Princess Hu’s maternal family came from Tu Family. Nan Hua had already investigated them and suspected that they were the one who destroyed her maternal family back then. But she still needed some deeper investigation since it had happened so many years ago and the traces were disappearing.

Only very few people still knew about the incident that occurred back then.

”They’re the leader.” Guard Zhang then looked at Nan Hua worriedly. “They have connection to the Imperial Family, so Miss, please be careful.”

”I know.”

”There are several others who are helping them, but I’m not exactly clear either.” Guard Zhang hesitated. While he was indeed protecting Madam Nan back then, he was not responsible for her all the time. There were also some matters that Madam Nan chose not to share to him.

Nan Hua nodded. She had already expected as much. “Do you know them?”

”I only know Lei Family is involved along with Su Family.”

Lei Family?

Nan Hua immediately recalled Madam Qu’s sister. The light inside her eyes turned a shade colder. She was mostly ignoring Madam Qu for the time being because she didn’t want to do anything much when the one who caused her mother’s misery was mostly her father. But it seemed that Madam Qu was also deeply involved.

She had to investigate this deeper and made sure that they paid their dues little by little even more than what she had asked them to so far.

No matter what others thought of her, Nan Hua was not a benevolent person.

She would make them suffer.

But she would not do it in the normal way where they would know that the one who targeted them was her.

”I see.”

”Miss, if you wish for me to tell many things about your mother, I can. But this place is…”

”Go to Heng Xing City and give this to a guard name Cai Bei. He’ll arrange a place for you to stay.” Nan Hua took out a bamboo stick that she had carved previously. It contained the message from her as Master Jiu.

Guard Zhang took the bamboo stick and looked at Nan Hua worriedly. “But Miss….”

”Stay with the refugee. You’ll be fine.”

”Alright.”

Even though Guard Zhang was only listening to Nan Hua’s words, he had the feeling that he could trust her words. He looked outside before walking in the way where he came, still feeling that everything was surreal. By the time he returned to his room, Guard Zhang took a deep breath and then cried once more.

He thought that it would be the end for him, but he ended up meeting with Xiao Yun and Young Miss Nan once more. Never ever in his wildest dream he expected that he would see the two of them once more.

Taking out the bamboo stick, Guard Zhang didn’t understand what was so special about it. However, he would follow what Nan Hua asked him to do. He was sure that there must be a reason as to why Nan Hua wanted him to follow such arrangement.

Meanwhile, Nan Hua returned to her room within moments.

”Xiao Yun, how long have you know Guard Zhang?” Nan Hua asked as she took off her hairpins, letting her long hair loose.

Xiao Yun was stunned. She thought for a moment before answering, “Replying to Miss, from the moment this servant worked for Nan Family, Guard Zhang was already assigned to protect Madam.”

”What caused him to be kicked out?”

”He… attacked Master Nan.” Xiao Yun was feeling awkward when she recalled that time. There was some argument between Nan Shu Cheng and Madam Nan, which ended in Nan Shu Cheng trying to beat up Madam Nan in public. Guard Zhang couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped in to stop him.

But because Nan Shu Cheng was humiliated, he sent Guard Zhang away from his wife’s quarter. And since then, there was basically no trace of him.

”I see.”

When Nan Hua saw Guard Zhang just now, she silently observed his condition. And what she saw was extremely terrible. There were many wounds on Guard Zhang’s body that was not treated properly. In addition, he had been hiding and didn’t train his martial arts, causing his body to deteriorate rapidly.

In short, no one would be able to think of him as a soldier with his current physique.

It was also the reason why Nan Hua decided to give Guard Zhang a chance and listened to him. She wanted to know what had happened to her mother’s maternal family and what actually caused her to end up so miserably.

It was all a mystery for her.

One that required a long time to investigate.

”Rest.”

”Yes, Miss.”

Nan Hua sat on the bed, looking towards the bronze mirror at the table. Her dark obsidian eyes flickered for some time before she rested on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

…

The refugee didn’t stay there much longer and departed early in the morning. Nan Hua heard about it from Shangguan Die since the latter was so bored that she even asked her servants to dig such news.

Old Madam Long also returned to the Capital City since she had been staying in the Temple a bit too long. The concubines in the Long Family Residence were unwilling to wait any longer and caused some annoying trouble for her.

She had to return.

”Speaking of which, when are you going to go back to the Capital City?” Shangguan Die asked curiously.

Nan Hua blinked her eyes. “That will depend on when Official Nan is willing to allow us to go back.”

”Then it shouldn’t be that long.”

”Why are you so sure?”

”Ah Yi sent me a letter.”