Xuán Zhi sat cross-legged on his bed, his mind racing with a pn. If he remembered correctly, the female lead (FL) of the novel was currently suffering in the Gu Dynasty under the abuse of her father, stepmother, and wretched stepsiblings. If he could get to her before the novel's main events unfolded, maybe he could change fate.

  But before running away, there was one very important question he needed an answer to.

  He turned to his personal servant, a nervous young man with a round face and perpetually worried eyebrows.

  “You.” Xuán Zhi pointed dramatically. “How much money do I have?”

  The servant, who had been holding a tea tray, almost dropped it. “Y-Your Highness, my name is Fàn Yi (范义).”

  “Yes, yes, Fan-Something, how much money do I have?”

  Fàn Yi, still shaking, quickly bowed and said, “Your Highness currently possesses 300 gold ingots.”

  Xuán Zhi nearly choked on air.

  Three. Hundred. Gold. Ingots.

  ‘That’s 3000 gold coins. Which is 30,000 silver ingots. Which is… a ridiculous amount of money!!’

  Xuán Zhi’s brain went into overdrive. With this much wealth, he could live like a king outside the pace! He could buy a mansion, servants, horses, silk robes, and still have enough to support the FL.

  “…Alright. We’re running away.”

  Fàn Yi: “W-What?!”

  --

  That night, Xuán Zhi, Fàn Yi, and two personal guards (who were too well-paid to question him) snuck out through the side pace gates.

  The escape pn? Simple. Walk like you belong.

  Dressed in casual robes, Xuán Zhi confidently strutted toward the exit while Fàn Yi followed, sweating buckets. The two guards trailed behind, looking around suspiciously.

  As they reached the gate, the sleepy night guard yawned and barely looked up. “Who goes there?”

  Xuán Zhi, with a straight face, said, “Just a simple schor traveling to find enlightenment.”

  Fàn Yi: (◎_◎;)

  The guard squinted. “And them?”

  Xuán Zhi cpped a hand on Fàn Yi’s shoulder. “This is my devoted student.”

  Fàn Yi nodded aggressively.

  The two guards tensed.

  Xuán Zhi waved toward them. “And these two? Hired escorts! Bandits are everywhere these days, you know.”

  The guard hummed, rubbing his chin. “Alright. You may pass.”

  Xuán Zhi grinned. That was way too easy.

  Just as they were about to step through the gates—

  “Oi, where do you think YOU TWO are going?!”

  A loud, angry voice cut through the quiet night.

  Xuán Zhi turned his head slowly… and his soul left his body.

  Standing behind them were First Princess Xuán Yan and Fourth Princess Xuán Mei, both dressed in traveling clothes with small bags slung over their shoulders.

  They were running away, too.

  Xuán Zhi blinked.

  Xuán Yan blinked.

  Xuán Mei looked around nervously, hugging her bag like a baby deer caught in a trap.

  The night guard scratched his head. “Uh… do you all know each other?”

  Xuán Zhi cleared his throat. “Nope. Never seen them before.”

  Xuán Yan scoffed. “Hah! As if! He’s my idiot younger brother!”

  The guard looked back and forth. “So… should I stop them?”

  Xuán Zhi, seeing no way out of this, quickly changed tactics. “No need! These are my cousins! We’re all going to a temple to find enlightenment!”

  Xuán Yan crossed her arms. “Temple? Is that what we’re calling running away from home now?”

  Xuán Mei tugged on Xuán Yan’s sleeve. “Big Sister… should we run before they tell Father?”

  Xuán Zhi groaned, rubbing his temples. “Okay, fine. Why are YOU TWO running away?”

  Xuán Yan rolled her eyes. “Let’s get out of here first. We’ll talk at an inn.”

  --

  Sitting in a small, cozy inn outside the capital, the four royals gathered around a wooden table.

  Xuán Zhi took a deep breath. “Alright. Spill.”

  Xuán Yan scowled. “My dear Imperial Father decided to marry me off to an old general.”

  Xuán Zhi whistled. “Ouch. How old?”

  “Fifty.”

  Xuán Zhi choked on his tea. “FIFTY?!”

  Xuán Yan’s face twisted in disgust. “And do you know the worst part? The man I actually loved—the one who swore he’d be with me forever? He took money from the Empress and abandoned me.”

  Silence.

  Fàn Yi awkwardly sipped his tea.

  Xuán Zhi awkwardly coughed.

  Xuán Yan banged her fist on the table. “I refuse to be some old man’s trophy wife! So I’m leaving.”

  Xuán Zhi turned to Fourth Princess Xuán Mei, who had been silent the whole time. “And what about you?”

  Xuán Mei looked down at her p, pying with the edge of her sleeve. “Mother… doesn’t like me.”

  Xuán Zhi’s jaw clenched. “What do you mean?”

  Xuán Mei bit her lip, then slowly rolled up her sleeve—revealing dark bruises and red marks around her wrist.

  Xuán Zhi and Xuán Yan both hissed.

  Fàn Yi’s cup nearly slipped from his hands.

  Xuán Mei’s voice was small. “She says I’m useless because I can’t learn the proper etiquette for marriage.”

  Xuán Zhi felt his blood boil. Noble Consort Yú, her own mother, had strangled her because she wasn’t learning how to be a good wife?

  Xuán Yan clenched her fists. “That woman should be dragged through the streets!”

  Xuán Mei sighed. “I don’t want to be here anymore. If I stay, Mother will just keep hitting me. So… I want to go too.”

  The room fell silent.

  Slowly, both princesses turned their heads toward Xuán Zhi.

  Xuán Zhi blinked. “…Why are you looking at me?”

  Xuán Yan crossed her arms. “So, what’s your reason for leaving?”

  Xuán Zhi cleared his throat. “Enlightenment.”

  Xuán Yan squinted.

  Xuán Mei tilted her head.

  Fàn Yi covered his face.

  Xuán Zhi sighed. “Fine! I just… I don’t want to be stuck in that pace forever. I want to see the world.”

  Xuán Yan raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

  Xuán Zhi nodded firmly. “That’s it.”

  Xuán Yan smirked. “Great. Then we’re coming with you.”

  Xuán Zhi immediately stood up. “Absolutely not.”

  Xuán Mei pouted. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want to be responsible for dragging two princesses across the continent! It’s already dangerous enough!”

  Xuán Yan flicked his forehead. “Oh, please. You think we’ll be safer in the pace?”

  The siblings bickered for the next ten minutes, throwing back and forth reasons, insults, and dramatic hand gestures.

  Just as Xuán Zhi was about to win the argument, the inn manager—a kind-looking old man—walked over with a tray of tea.

  “Now, now, children, there’s no need to fight.” The old man smiled warmly as he set the tea down.

  The three royals froze.

  The inn manager thinks we’re just siblings.

  The old man patted Xuán Zhi’s shoulder. “Son, you should take care of your little sisters. They’re relying on you.”

  Xuán Zhi twitched.

  Fàn Yi was shaking, trying not to ugh.

  Xuán Yan and Xuán Mei smiled sweetly.

  Xuán Mei csped her hands together. “See, Big Brother? Even the nice innkeeper agrees~”

  Xuán Zhi groaned, realizing he had just lost the argument.

  --