Hahaha, why didn't you say so earlier

"Neigh!"

Under Ren Tianye's firm pull on the reins, the Night-Shining Jade Lion came to a sudden halt, rearing up steadily before the carriage convoy.

Only then did Ren Tianye get a clear look at this convoy that had appeared on the main road.

Drawn by four white horses, it was a jujube-red, lacquered carriage. The carriage cabin was carved with decorative patterns resembling silver clouds, and on the roof sat a bright yellow phoenix emblem.

Looking at the two armored guards clearing the way, both wore long sabers at their waists and were clad in full silver armor, holding up two gilded tokens in their hands.

His heart immediately stirred.

This was a convoy from the imperial palace!

However, the young man of the Li family he had been hunting down had left a trail of blood all along the way, and the trail ended right here. So... did the people from the palace rescue him?

Ren Tianye's first reaction was that it was impossible.

That Li family youth was wearing barbarian clothing. Any citizen of the Great Yu Dynasty, upon first glance, would absolutely treat that boy as a barbarian.

And the Great Yu and the barbarians were mortal enemies!

The people in the palace knew this best.

As someone from the palace, how could they possibly save a barbarian?

But immediately after...

Ren Tianye shook his head... Forget it, what kind of freaking logic could you expect from a female-oriented romance novel?

He immediately rode his horse to the middle of the road, extended his halberd to block the convoy, and shouted, "I have pursued a barbarian to this place. May I ask if you have seen a wounded barbarian?"

"About ten years old."

"Wearing gorgeous barbarian attire."

Ren Tianye explained the details one by one, but the two armored guards clearing the way did not reply. It wasn't until the carriage door was pushed open that a beautiful and glamorous woman stepped out.

She wore a plain-colored palace dress that accentuated her flushed complexion, making her exceptionally stunning. Her hair was pinned up into an immaculate updo with a pure gold hairpin, giving her quite an air of authority.

"I am the Director of the Palace Bureau. Hmph, who are you?"

As soon as these words came out, Ren Tianye instantly knew who this person was.

Aunt Xiao!

The personal maid of the current Empress, Xiao Mingzhao. She had raised Xiao Mingzhao since childhood and held a status even higher than Xiao Mingzhao's wet nurse. She was the most trusted woman of Empress Xiao Mingzhao in the entire Great Yu Dynasty.

However,

Instead of staying comfortably in the Forbidden City to enjoy a life of luxury, why had this Aunt Xiao come to this bitter and cold borderland?

Could it be?

Was there some major event?

But what major event could warrant the dispatch of the Empress's most trusted Aunt Xiao?

Barbarians attacking the border gates?

With the seventy thousand Red Beacon Army stationed here, even if the barbarians attacked, they would only be beaten back.

Internal strife within the border army?

The seventy thousand Red Beacon Army was the mainstay of the two hundred thousand border troops in the northern frontier. With the Red Beacon Army suppressing things, who would dare to rebel?

For a moment, Ren Tianye couldn't guess the reason, so he stopped trying. He said, "So it is Lady Director."

"I am the Guerrilla General of Shanhe City. I pay my respects to the Lady Director. As I am wearing armor, it is inconvenient for me to dismount and bow. Please forgive me, My Lady."

"May I ask, My Lady, have you seen a severely injured barbarian youth passing through this area?"

Aunt Xiao said indifferently, "I have. He is right inside my carriage."

"Oh? Then I must trouble the Lady Director to hand him over to me."

"Hand him over to you for what?"

"To kill him, of course!" Ren Tianye said directly. "If we don't kill the barbarians, am I supposed to let them invade our Great Yu and bring disaster upon our nation?!"

"How dare you!" Aunt Xiao's beautiful eyes widened. Pointing at him angrily, she reprimanded, "He is but a youth, only about ten years old. He is in the prime of his youth."

"Hunting him down was already an unforgivable sin, and now you want to pull up the weeds by the roots?"

Ren Tianye dropped the politeness from his face and the due respect for a superior from his eyes, enunciating every word clearly, "He is a barbarian."

"A barbarian is still a child, and because he is a child, I will not allow you to kill him!" Aunt Xiao shrieked. "As long as I am here today, don't even think about touching a single hair on his head."

After saying that, she flicked her sleeves, turned around, and got back into the carriage.

She directly ordered, "Continue forward!"

"Whip the horses and make haste. We must treat this child's wounds."

The armored guards driving the carriage received their orders once more, but the vehicle could not move an inch. This was simply because Ren Tianye, a lone man on a horse, stood in the middle of the road, completely blocking their path.

Several armored guards had already drawn the sabers at their waists. The cold glint of the blades bathed in the moonlight, exuding a chilling killing intent.

However, with a swing of the Sky-Piercing Halberd in Ren Tianye's hand, his imposing aura was so overwhelming that the threats of these few guards could not shake him in the slightest.

Inside the carriage, Aunt Xiao was instantly enraged.

With a loud crash, almost completely disregarding her image, she kicked open the carriage door and stepped out of the cabin once again. She was about to hurl curses when she paused upon seeing Ren Tianye's face.

"You, you are Ren Tianye?"

"Haha, I was wondering who would dare to block my way. So it turns out to be the 'true' young master of Duke Ren's family."

"Truly reckless and audacious."

"No wonder you were driven out of the Duke's estate by your fake younger brother and exiled to this bitter and cold land."

"No wonder you are despised by Her Majesty."

"Hmph, you don't have even the slightest bit of compassion, going so far as to deal a lethal blow to a mere youth. Reaching this state today is entirely your own doing."

Having recognized Ren Tianye's family background, the anger in Aunt Xiao's eyes only grew heavier. "Scram out of my way right now!"

"A good dog doesn't block the road!"

Ren Tianye's face darkened.

It wasn't because of the insults Aunt Xiao threw regarding his background.

After all, he had transmigrated into this body, and he hadn't even inherited the original owner's memories completely.

Aunt Xiao was cursing his predecessor; what did that have to do with him?

What annoyed him was that this brain-dead Aunt Xiao was insisting on taking the Li family youth away.

Even after acknowledging that the Li family youth was a barbarian, her freaking bleeding heart still flared up, insisting on treating and taking him away.

It put an immense amount of pressure on him.

You have to know, that Li family youth absolutely had the makings of a protagonist. He had shot arrows right at his heart from both the left and the right, yet it stubbornly failed to take his life.

Even while chasing on the Night-Shining Jade Lion, he was inexplicably shaken off by the boy riding an old horse, almost losing the trail entirely.

Keeping such a person alive would definitely become a huge threat to him in the future.

Today, he had to kill him!

But this brain-dead Aunt Xiao was defending him to the death!

Aunt Xiao was also the confidante of Empress Xiao Mingzhao. If he threw caution to the wind and offended Aunt Xiao today, once she returned and reported to the Empress, heavily embellishing the story, the consequences would be unimaginable.

It could even be said that there would no longer be a place for him in the Great Yu Dynasty.

"Are you still not going to scram?"

Aunt Xiao shouted coldly again.

The several saber-wielding maids under her command and the armored guards clearing the way also began to scold him one after another.

"You are just an abandoned son of a Duke's estate! Who gave you the audacity to block Aunt Xiao's carriage? Scram far away and don't get in the way here!"

"Hmph, I think you're tired of living. If we don't teach you a harsh lesson, you won't know the consequences of your arrogance!"

"An outcast of your family, a dead dog in the army, how dare you block the way? Hurry up and scram to the side, make way on the main road!"

...

As the curses entered his ears one after another, Ren Tianye's heart remained unperturbed; he was merely weighing the pros and cons.

Soon after, he steeled his resolve. Screw it, this Li family youth must die today!

If he offends Aunt Xiao, then so be it!

At worst, he would go up into the mountains and become a bandit, hiding out for the rest of his life. That was still better than being targeted by a Li family youth with the aura of a protagonist.

With a swing of his Sky-Piercing Halberd, he prepared to take the person by force.

Inside the open carriage door, the Li family youth, who had just groggily woken up, saw Ren Tianye's appearance and was so frightened that he hurriedly shrank into Aunt Xiao's embrace.

"Save... save me..."

"I, I'm scared..."

Aunt Xiao immediately comforted him, "Child, it is alright. With me here, I will certainly keep you safe."

Then, her cold eyes swept over him, her gaze as sharp as a blade as she scolded, "Ren Tianye, how audacious!"

"How dare you even harbor thoughts of disrespecting this official?"

"Can the Duke Ren Estate bear the consequences of such a crime?"

Pausing for a moment, a cunning smile crept onto the corners of her lips. Her tone turned leisurely as she said, "Ren Tianye, to tell you the truth, this official does not have an escort of troops on this return journey."

"It is just me and my people here."

"Hmph, if you dare to stand in my way again, even if I have your legs broken, no one else will know, nor will anyone serve as your witness."

"You will just have to bear the suffering yourself!"

The smile on her face grew even wider. "Do not even dream of submitting a memorial to the Emperor to accuse me. When the time comes, who do you think His Majesty will believe, your claims of grievance, or my words?"

As soon as she said this, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease considerably. The accompanying maids and armored guards broke into smug smiles.

The youth from the Li family let out a deep sigh of relief. The gaze he fixed upon Ren Tianye was once again filled with sinister malice and ruthlessness; the deep-seated resentment etched in his heart practically overflowed.

But Ren Tianye...

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Are you saying it is just you people, and there is no one else following behind you?"

Aunt Xiao sneered, "Exactly."

"Hahaha, why didn't you say so earlier?"

...