By the time Bai Zhiyi arrived at Ganxi Valley, the battle was already over.

Ganxi Valley was indeed a river before, but it dried up. The riverbed, eroded by the water, meandered and became a path for people to cross.

The entrance to Ganxi Valley is only a few feet above the ground, and it gets deeper as you go in. After passing the middle, the terrain gradually rises again.

The valley was flanked by dense spruce trees. After a night of snowfall, the hillsides were covered in snow. As the biting wind blew, the groves of trees shook their snow-laden branches, causing small chunks of snow to fall.

Bai Zhiyi saw groups of soldiers wearing white cloaks on the slope of Ganxi Valley from the carriage.

She thought the battle hadn't started yet. As the carriage drew closer, she saw the corpses lying haphazardly at the valley entrance, each one riddled with arrows. Her head buzzed, and she almost fainted.

After her rebirth, she believed that Wei Jingzhuo would not die. However, after Su Wan cured the King of Xirong and the Great Jin and Xirong reconciled, she knew that things were no longer developing as she had imagined.

Since Su Wan, whom she believed should have died, survived, how could Wei Jingzhuo possibly not die?

As soon as the carriage stopped, she jumped off and rushed towards the valley entrance.

Soldiers along the way tried to stop her, but Commander Xiao, who was beside her, said, "This is Miss Bai from the Duke's Mansion, and also Madam Zheng's niece."

Bai Zhiyi rushed to the valley entrance, and when she saw the scene inside, her breath almost stopped.

In the middle of the valley littered with corpses, she saw a large carriage. The carriage was riddled with arrows, like a hedgehog. The horses pulling the carriage were also all wounded and lying on the ground, the carriage door wide open. In front of the carriage door, dozens of corpses were piled together, some were Northwest Army soldiers, and some were soldiers in white cloaks.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

She dared not actually shout, but only roared in her heart as she rushed toward the carriage.

When she left the general's mansion that morning, she looked back and saw Zhao Xian and Wei Jingzhuo talking in front of this carriage. If they were in this carriage, would Wei Jingzhuo already be dead?

The thought of entering the carriage and seeing Wei Jingzhuo lying on the seat, covered in arrows, made her breathless.

As she passed a corpse, its arm tripped her foot, and she stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

Commander Xiao, who was behind her, quickly stepped forward to help her up, asking, "Miss Bai, what are you going to the valley for?"

Bai Zhiyi turned around, revealing a strange smile, and said, "I want to see if he's dead or not."

"who?"

"Wei Jingzhuo." Bai Zhiyi broke free from Commander Xiao and continued running towards the carriage.

She rushed to the carriage, wanting to go inside but too afraid to. Her knees buckled, and she knelt before the carriage, tears welling up and streaming down her cold cheeks.

"Zhiyi, what are you doing here?" A head popped out of the carriage; it was Madam Zheng.

Bai Zhiyi was startled and quickly wiped away her tears, saying, "Auntie, I..."

Madam Zheng glanced at her and said, "So you knew all along... You saw that?"

Bai Zhiyi knew that Madam Zheng was referring to the emperor's secret edict, and nodded silently.

Madam Zheng said, "Forget it. I know you have feelings for Wei Jingzhuo. But he's gone too far, leaving our Lin family with no way out. We had no choice but to do this. Zhiyi, you're my niece, don't let your aunt down."

Bai Zhiyi said, "Aunt, I understand... I'm just a little sad."

Even though her heart was breaking, she didn't want to show it to her aunt. After all, Wei Jingzhuo and the Lin family were enemies now. She couldn't show any sympathy for Wei Jingzhuo.

Madam Zheng said, "But you don't need to be sad. We don't even know if Wei Jingzhuo is dead or not. He's not in the carriage."

"Not in the car?" Bai Zhiyi exclaimed in surprise.

"Not only him, but Zhao Xian isn't here either," Madam Zheng sighed. "The spies at the General's Mansion clearly said they all got on the carriage. How could they be gone?"

Commander Xiao also came to the carriage and said to Madam Zheng, "Madam, perhaps Wei Jingzhuo got out of the carriage and died in the chaos of battle. We are currently counting the bodies and should know the result soon."

Madam Zheng nodded in agreement, and Commander Xiao went to arrange for the soldiers to conduct a search.

Madam Zheng said to Bai Zhiyi, "Zhiyi, it's cold outside. Come into the carriage and talk to your aunt."

Bai Zhiyi was secretly pleased to see that Wei Jingzhuo was not in the carriage. However, she quickly realized that the Lin family and the General's Mansion had become enemies, so how could she face Wei Jingzhuo? Her smile, which had just begun to appear, faded away.

She entered the carriage and sat opposite Madam Zheng. Madam Zheng said, "Zhiyi, we had considered the possibility that Wei Jingzhuo might not die. We can't stay at the Lin family's place any longer. We'll head east immediately. Once we cross Xiping Pass, we'll be safe."

Bai Zhiyi asked, "Aunt, are you saying we should flee to the interior of the pass now?"

Madam Zheng lowered her voice and said, "Of course we have to escape. Our ambush of the Northwest Army convoy was a gamble. If we win, His Majesty will grant my husband a marquisate. If we lose, as long as we escape quickly, the Northwest Army won't be able to catch us."

She pointed to the various packages and boxes in the corner of the carriage and said, "My husband and I packed up all our property yesterday. If this ambush fails, we'll immediately flee to the capital to seek refuge with my sister. This carriage is spacious enough to hold all our valuables. And with four horses pulling it, it'll be even faster."

She had originally prepared three carriages to transport her valuables, but upon seeing this carriage, she found it superior to her prepared carriages in every way, and decided to switch at the last minute.

Bai Zhiyi said, "So Auntie had already made a backup plan."

Madam Zheng said, "This is a matter of life and death, how can it be treated lightly? I sent someone to fetch Xiao Fei, but I don't know..."

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