He had barely boarded the carriage when Yu Jingfeng appeared outside it.

“Your Highness.” He bowed toward the carriage, leaning slightly through the curtain.

Having slept through the morning, he had largely recovered his strength, and the moment he heard that the Ninth Prince had entered the palace, Yu Jingfeng had rushed over at once.

“Your Highness, the Eighth Prince returned to the Imperial City two days ago. Yesterday, the Emperor summoned him to the palace in secret.”

This was news he had only just received. Having been rushing back to the city himself, he had not yet had the chance to get a full grasp of everything happening in the capital.

“Mm.” The voice of Zhan Qingcheng came from behind the curtain, calm and unhurried. “Just now, I dined with the Eighth Imperial Brother at the Empress Dowager’s Ningxi Palace.”

Yu Jingfeng paused. So His Highness and the Eighth Prince had already met. Then was the Eighth Prince already aware of the Emperor’s secret summons from the previous night?

“Your Highness…”

He could not help wanting to say something more, but that might come across as sowing discord between two brothers. Yet in the imperial family, brotherhood was not the same as in an ordinary household — whether the imperial family truly knew the warmth of fraternal devotion was a question all its own.

Yu Jingfeng was concerned. Anything that might prove detrimental to His Highness had to be prevented from the start.

“The Eighth Imperial Brother has no intention, for the time being, of aligning himself with anyone.” Zhan Qingcheng offered nothing more.

Yu Jingfeng inclined his head and glanced at the guard driving the carriage. Since the Eighth Prince had brought this up with the Ninth Prince himself, it meant there would at least be no significant moves in the near future.

Of course, he was not the Ninth Prince, and he held no personal regard for the Eighth Prince, so whatever the Eighth Prince had said, Yu Jingfeng took in as mere words — whether to believe them or not was something for time to tell.

The attendant jumped down from the carriage, and Yu Jingfeng vaulted up in his place, taking the reins and driving the carriage forward himself.

The journey passed in silence. Knowing that His Highness was eager to return to the Imperial Academy, Yu Jingfeng gripped the reins tightly and never once eased the pace.

The distance from the palace to the Imperial Academy was not especially far, and before long the carriage passed through the academy gates and arrived back in the main military compound.

Yu Jingfeng had not yet had the chance to ask anyone about Feng Jiu’er’s situation when he saw Mo Bai emerge from the main hall looking thoroughly dazed.

“What’s that vacant look on your face?” Yu Jingfeng jumped down from the carriage.

Mo Bai paid him no mind, walking directly to the carriage and bowing respectfully toward the person inside. “I pay my respects to the Ninth Prince.”

“What did you find?” The low, measured voice of Zhan Qingcheng came from behind the curtain.

Mo Bai drew a slow, steady breath before speaking. “Your Highness, please come inside so we may speak.”

Mo Bai was still not quite himself. That morning, while Yu Jingfeng had slept, Mo Bai had not managed to sleep at all. He had taken out his field notes from the Southern Territories and gone through them again from the beginning. He had also revisited several books on gu parasites that he had obtained from the Nanmeng region earlier, and before he knew it, most of the day had slipped away.

Now Mo Bai’s eyes were shadowed with dark circles — he was visibly sleep-deprived, and his energy was low.

Even Yu Jingfeng, seeing him like this, could not help but feel a faint twinge of sympathy.

Though they were both men, Mo Bai’s gift lay in medicine rather than martial arts, and his constitution was ordinary at best. At times, Yu Jingfeng found himself instinctively looking after Mo Bai as he would a young woman — and seeing him in this state was no different from watching a frail girl falter.

Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze swept over Mo Bai briefly. He picked up his cup and said nothing.

Mo Bai felt a pang of quiet sorrow. Had it been any time before this, seeing him suffer and exhaust himself, His Highness would at least have offered a word of concern — the same concern he showed Yu Jingfeng and the brothers of the Feilong Shi’er Qi. But this time, His Highness was truly angry. So angry that he could not be bothered to spare him even an extra glance.

Mo Bai knew his offense was unforgivable. His only hope now was to make Jiu’er well again.

“Your Highness, Miss Jiu’er is indeed not quite right. Her feelings toward Your Highness seem… not as they once were.”

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. These were things he himself had already sensed.

Mo Bai continued, “I found a small wound at Miss Jiu’er’s temple. However, her pulse is normal, and there is no trace of poison in her body — or, for that matter, of any gu parasite…”

“She has had a gu cast upon her?” A sharp crack rang out as Zhan Qingcheng set the cup down on the table. The fine white jade cup was instantly reduced to powder.

Yu Jingfeng was also taken aback, and cried out in alarm, “Are you saying there is a gu parasite in Miss Jiu’er? Who could be so vicious?”

“No — there should be no gu parasite in Miss Jiu’er’s body at present. I can feel no trace of one.” Mo Bai leaned forward quickly, hastening to calm the Ninth Prince, whose composure was nearly unraveling.

It was, after all, only matters concerning Feng Jiu’er that could make His Highness lose control like this. For anyone or anything else, one could barely coax a flicker of change from his expression.

Mo Bai’s feelings were difficult to describe, but he composed himself quickly.

“Miss Jiu’er has no gu parasite in her body at present. But I suspect she had one placed upon her previously — only the method of delivery was unlike the usual ways of gu placement.”

“Whoever did this introduced the gu parasite into Miss Jiu’er’s body, using its venom to damage her meridians. Then, at the moment the gu entered her body, they applied a technique of hypnotic suggestion to make Miss Jiu’er forget certain things.”

“Although Miss Jiu’er’s willpower is formidable, having a gu parasite in her body at that moment would have made her extremely susceptible to hypnotic suggestion.”

“So,” said Zhan Qingcheng, his brow furrowed, his fingers slowly clenching, “someone used gu and hypnosis upon her to make her forget about this Prince?”

“Her attachment to Your Highness must have been deep enough that the person did not fully succeed. Miss Jiu’er has not forgotten Your Highness entirely.”

Otherwise Jiu’er would not have retained any memory of him being the Ninth Prince. It seemed the attachment ran both ways — not only was His Highness invested in Jiu’er, but Feng Jiu’er herself harbored feelings for His Highness that were profoundly deep. For if she had not, how could she have resisted the combined assault of a gu parasite and hypnotic suggestion with her level of inner power alone?

Zhan Qingcheng finally grew calm. He turned and cast Yu Jingfeng a sidelong glance. “Go and investigate immediately. Find out exactly how she came to be with Mu Mu.”

“Yes, as Your Highness commands!” Yu Jingfeng inclined his head and went out the door at once.

Zhan Qingcheng turned back to Mo Bai, his brow still deeply furrowed.

“Your Highness, this matter will require further investigation on my part. But for now, if we wish to spare Miss Jiu’er further suffering, it would be best to hold off and take no action.”

Mo Bai met Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze and said in a steady voice, “Your Highness, I know the weight of my own guilt. But regarding Miss Jiu’er’s condition, I beg Your Highness to leave this matter in my hands.”

“I give Your Highness my word: even if it costs me my life, I will see Miss Jiu’er restored to health. I ask for Your Highness’s permission.”

There was nothing else on his mind now. He only wanted to heal Feng Jiu’er, and atone for what he had done. As long as His Highness could be happy again, he would gladly forfeit his own life.

But if someone truly had placed a gu upon Jiu’er — then who was it? Could it really be… Mu Mu?