After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Turned on Easy Mode - Chapter 26

They kept on at that unhurried pace. The road to the Marquis of Chang’an’s manor wasn’t long, but Wu You, inexplicably, didn’t want to go fast. She snuck glances at the girl in the wheelchair; even if that gentleness was a mask, it still calmed her heart.

Sweetness bubbled up as she replayed the rooftop moment. Her cheeks heated; Zhao Qingzi’s tone—earnest and soft—made belief feel effortless.

She’d drifted too long in this unfamiliar world; her old life’s tracks were shattered. Wu You didn’t dare stop moving. If she didn’t keep busy, longing would swallow her whole.

She stole another look at the girl in the chair; each time Zhao turned her head, Wu You would jerk her gaze away, flustered like a child caught doing something she shouldn’t.

But no matter how she dawdled, the Marquis of Chang’an’s gates arrived all the same.

From a distance, Wu You saw Zhao Qingshu waiting at the entrance. His mood lifted—then dipped when he saw Wu You trailing his sister. He wrestled with himself, then said nothing.

After handing Zhao Qingzi over, Wu You meant to slip away. She offered the siblings a brief farewell.

Zhao Qingzi frowned, clearly displeased, and was about to ask her to stay when another voice cut in—quicker, louder:

“Hey, wild girl, halt right there! I said come or don’t, and you really chose don’t?”

The nickname, the volume, the bite—no need to guess: Zhang Wenqi.

She’d walked out just in time to see Wu You trying to ghost at the threshold and took it as an affront. She’d invited her in good faith, and the girl had come this far only to bail? Of course she barked.

Seeing Wu You’s awkward face, Zhang clicked her tongue. “What, you broke? Why do you fuss over that stuff so much?”

The naked truth, flung open—Wu You flushed. This woman has zero filter.

Zhao Qingzi, knowing Wu You’s situation, only hid a smile behind her hand. Zhao Qingshu, though, was surprised. Even in a civil-over-military court, a general’s daughter shouldn’t be reduced to this… right?

Wu You gave two dry little laughs, at a loss. Zhang Wenqi wasn’t about to indulge her dithering.

The Zhangs were marrying off a daughter today; Zhang Wenqi already knew Zhao Qingshu through Zhang Boyu. But he wasn’t her target. She looked down at the girl in the wheelchair by his side—clearly the one Wu You had just been saying goodbye to. So this is Zhao Qingzi, she thought.

Too alike. She sighed inwardly. Still—good taste, wild girl. Prettiest one in the crowd. Pride pricked through her chest.

Wu You was still stewing when an arm dropped around her shoulders. She jumped.

It was Zhang Wenqi, leaning in to murmur, giddy in a way only the two of them could hear: “Nice eye, wild girl. You picked a pretty one.”

Why is she so excited—as if she’s the one who just got a girlfriend? Wu You thought, then hiccuped on a second thought: Since when is Zhao Qingzi my girlfriend? …Though letting the misunderstanding stand didn’t feel… bad.

Her heart kicked up. She had zero dating history—too busy studying in her last life—and didn’t quite recognize the feeling.

Across the way, Zhao Qingzi watched Zhang Wenqi sling an arm over Wu You and whisper right in front of her. She knew perfectly well the two weren’t that kind of “close”… and still, everything about it set her teeth on edge. Her fingers bunched the fabric over her knees, picking at it again and again.

Catching his sister’s shift, Zhao Qingshu glanced at the pair and had a guess as to the cause of her mood.

After a beat of indecision, he called over, cutting the whispering short: “General Zhang, the feast has begun. Shall we go in?”

Zhang turned toward him, then let her gaze drop to the girl in the chair. Zhao Qingzi was looking up at her with a gentle smile. Matches the rumors, Zhang thought. Mild by nature.

She glanced down—her tunic was creasing. The girl had a death grip on the cloth.

Future disciple-in-law, jealous? Zhang slid her arm off Wu You’s shoulders, meaning to go say hello properly. The instant she lifted her hand away, the girl’s fingers went still. If anything, her smile softened.

A hypothesis bloomed. Zhang set her hand back on Wu You’s shoulder. Sure enough, across from her, the girl resumed bullying her clothes, and her smile thinned.

Zhang tried it several times, back and forth, until even Wu You was bewildered. When that hand started to settle on her shoulder yet again, Wu You caught it mid-air.

Zhang eyed Zhao Qingzi brightening up anew and chuckled. “Nothing—just teasing you both. Come on, let’s go in. Shame you were slow—the bride’s already been fetched.”

The four entered together: Zhang Wenqi towing Wu You along, Zhao Qingshu pushing his sister behind them.

Watching Wu You’s back, Zhao Qingzi thought wryly, She really is tall. If I could stand… where would I even reach?

Behind her musings, talk up front rolled on.

“I went to Jinzhou to wipe out the bandits,” Zhang Wenqi sighed. “Thought it’d be straightforward. Turned out to be no progress at all.”

“Jinzhou’s bandits?” Wu You frowned. In the novel, the twin-swap that made Mo Ziyi “Mo Ziyi” had started with those very brigands.

Her nerves tightened. Would events march the same way? In the book, Mo Ziyi fell into the river outside the capital during a trading trip and happened to be rescued by Li Yingying, who’d snuck out of the palace.

As for why Zhao Qingzi would want Mo Ziyi dead—Wu You had never understood. Zhao did everything to make her brother happy. What joy could killing Mo Ziyi possibly bring him?

She couldn’t puzzle it out. Trying to gauge how far the plot had advanced, she asked, “Have they hurt anyone recently?”

“Yes,” Zhang said. “They slaughtered a merchant caravan. By the time I got there, only a single youth was left.”

Hearing bandits mentioned, Zhao Qingzi tore her eyes from Wu You’s back and finally listened. She felt a prickle of irritation; she’d come today to cozy up to Zhang Wenqi for intel—but a report had said Wu You was heading for the Marquis of Yongding’s manor.

Not wanting her to show up to a closed door, Zhao had lied to her brother about losing something and doubled back. Zhao Qingshu had wanted to follow, but Zhang Boyu dragged him off.

When she found Wu You, the girl sat on a rooftop, staring over the crowd with eyes like an empty sea—like she could slip this world at any moment.

Remembering that look made Zhao’s heart clench. Wu You was hiding something. She could feel it.

She smothered the tide inside and listened harder.

“If I’d been faster, maybe I could’ve saved the whole caravan.” Zhang’s voice dipped. “As it was, only one survived.”

That should be Mo Ziyi, Wu You thought, a jolt of urgency running through her. “The one you saved—who was it?”

Zhang found her oddly invested, but answered frankly. “When I asked his name, he said he was Mo Ziyi.”

So it is her. The gears were turning. She’d have to prepare.

“Shame,” Zhang added. “Twin brothers—and only one left.”

“Twin brothers?” Zhao Qingzi’s brow pinched. “My reports said a brother and a sister.”

Something was off. “General Zhang, was the one you saved the elder brother or the younger?”

The question surprised Zhang; she’d expected the little miss to keep sulking at her. “Didn’t ask. He was sobbing too hard.”

She paused, then added, “Though while he was crying, I kept thinking the voice sounded wrong. Not much like a boy’s.”

Zhao’s heart jumped. A thought took shape.

Of course it didn’t, Wu You groused silently. Mo Ziyi is a girl through and through.

She clamped down on the urge to spoil the plot. She didn’t “know” Mo Ziyi yet; blurting anything now would make no sense.

Meanwhile, Zhang and Zhao warmed to each other, talk drifting from bandits to other things—until Zhang tossed out, out of nowhere:

“Miss Zhao, do you like the wild girl?”

The blindside hit Zhao Qingzi head-on. She froze, unsure what to say.

“Wild girl is Wu You,” Zhang helpfully clarified, laughing. “I hear she confessed to you. What do you think?”

A tangle knotted in Zhao’s chest. Part of her wanted to say yes. Part of her feared that if they drew too close, her mask would crack.

Like this—just like this—was good. Not far, not near.

But is it really enough? Are you truly content?

Mortified, Wu You grabbed Zhang Wenqi and hustled her forward, calling back over her shoulder, “Don’t mind her, A-Zi. She talks nonsense.”

Zhao Qingzi watched the two bicker their way ahead, her thoughts a muddle.

Zhao Qingshu looked down at his sister and sighed. He pushed the chair and followed the pair in front.