Feng Jiu’er had fully expected to be taken to the Ninth Prince’s residence this time. She never imagined that when she opened her eyes, she would find herself in her own familiar surroundings.
“Jiu’er, you’re finally awake! Quick, quick — it’s about to start.” Xiao Yingtao chattered excitedly beside her.
“What’s… starting?” Feng Jiu’er rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed.
Then she caught sight of the tall young woman sitting to one side. “Qiao Mu? What are you doing here?”
“Officer Yu arranged for me to be placed here. I’m part of your Longqi Army now, and I’ll be living in this room with you all.”
Qiao Mu looked rather dispirited, uncertain whether coming here was truly a good thing or not.
Being able to come in was genuinely pleasing, but she had heard that only students of clean and upright backgrounds were admitted here — and she was nothing but a mountain bandit. Would people look down on her?
“Isn’t this a good thing? Why do you look so gloomy?” Feng Jiu’er tossed the covers aside, preparing to get out of bed.
Qiao Mu said nothing in reply. Instead, Xiao Yingtao jumped in ahead of her: “Jiu’er, hurry up — everyone is definitely waiting for you.”
Feng Jiu’er rubbed her head. Only then did she remember the plans for that evening. She glanced at the sky outside, and immediately sprang out of bed.
“We’re in trouble — I’m actually going to be the kind of person who breaks her word. Quick, Xiao Yingtao, Qiao Mu, come on — let’s go and sort things out there.”
Qiao Mu, seeing her in such a rush, had no choice but to hurry to her feet and follow after her along with Xiao Yingtao.
Sure enough, when they reached the back hill, quite a crowd had already gathered.
Huo Yan had instructed people to prepare the bamboo skewers and slice the meat according to what Feng Jiu’er had described earlier — but looking at this enormous pile of skewers and those tiny pieces of sliced meat, how were they supposed to eat it? It was still raw.
“Officer Huo, has the Ninth Prince returned? Where is he now?”
She had been on Ninth Imperial Uncle’s carriage when she fell asleep, and had somehow ended up back in her own quarters. Though she was curious, she had not felt it appropriate to ask about it.
Now, seeing Huo Yan, she suddenly thought of the incident at the Martial Training Tower.
Huo Yan nodded. “His Highness is over at the Martial Training Tower, still occupied.”
Feng Jiu’er leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Is it related to the assassin matter?”
Huo Yan hesitated briefly, then considered: matters concerning those above were normally not to be spoken of carelessly. However, given how close Feng Jiu’er and the Ninth Prince clearly were — and he had just heard that the Ninth Prince’s own carriage had delivered Feng Jiu’er directly to Mingyue Courtyard — he decided there was no need to conceal this from Jiu’er.
“Yes.” He nodded, and assuming she was worried about Mu Mu, added, “Don’t worry — His Highness is wise and discerning. He would never wrong an innocent person.”
“Mu Mu is of course not an assassin. I trust him, and I’m not worried about him.”
Whatever other identity Mu Mu might hold, the assassin who had administered the poison was absolutely not him. Mu Mu was not the kind of person who would do such a thing.
“All right, Officer Huo — has the meat been cut to the measurements I described? Let’s get everyone started.”
Feng Jiu’er normally disliked lateness and broken promises more than anything, and tonight had genuinely been her fault. To make it up to everyone, she could only try to make the most of the remaining time.
Everyone set to work grilling the meat, following the method Feng Jiu’er had explained — threading the pieces onto the bamboo skewers that had been shaved and prepared beforehand, then laying them out on a wire rack.
The wire rack was something they had cobbled together on the spot. It was not particularly elegant to look at, but it was practical enough.
Just as Jiu’er would grill skewers together with others back in the twenty-first century, the threaded meat was placed on the rack and slowly cooked over low flames.
Then the girls spread wild honey gathered from the surrounding area over the meat, and before long, a wholly unfamiliar aroma began drifting across the back hill — a scent unlike anything any of them had ever encountered before.
“Why does adding honey produce such a strange smell?” It was the question on everyone’s mind, but Xiao Yingtao was the one who voiced it.
A sweet fragrance, mingled with the smell of grilled meat — but then the meat had been marinated beforehand, which meant it was already savory. Was something that was both savory and sweet really edible?
The smell was genuinely enticing, but could something combining savory and sweet really be eaten?
Xiao Yingtao gave voice to the question that had formed in everyone’s hearts: “Can this thing actually be eaten? Jiu’er, you’d better not be leading us astray.”
“I’ll try it.” Suddenly, a low and resonant voice carried over to them.
Everyone turned around — and could not quite believe what they saw. The Seventh Princess! Why would she have come to take part in something like this — an activity meant for ordinary folk?
Zhan Luori normally would never join in group activities of any kind — gatherings, events, or otherwise. There were even times when she would not bother attending training.
But she was a princess, and her martial ability was in a class entirely beyond anyone present, so her absence from training was simply her absence. No one would say a word about it.
Someone who could take or leave even training sessions — appearing tonight at a gathering like this was enough to leave everyone astonished.
Huo Yan and Officer Yan immediately rose from within the crowd and stepped forward to meet her. “Your Highness, the Seventh Princess!”
“I said — here, I am simply a student. Not any sort of princess.”
Zhan Luori showed no sign of displeasure. She cast a brief, cool glance at Officer Yan and Huo Yan, then looked toward the meat skewer in Feng Jiu’er’s hand. “May I try one?”
“Your Highness, allow this subordinate to taste it first!”
Hong Ying was frightened out of her wits. She hurried forward a step and reached to take the skewer from Feng Jiu’er’s hand.
The Princess was a precious and noble personage of the highest order. How could she carelessly eat something like this — something so random and unknown?
If anything went wrong — if it upset the Princess’s stomach, or worse, harmed her body — what would they do?
But at precisely the moment when Hong Ying’s hand was about to touch the skewer, Zhan Luori gave a flick of her long fingers — and the skewer rose into the air of its own accord and landed cleanly in her hand.
What formidable inner strength!
Feng Jiu’er stared at her own now-empty fingertips, momentarily dazed.
Remarkable. She had not expected the Seventh Princess to be even more capable than she had imagined. Whether in this morning’s sparring match or in ordinary day-to-day interactions, the Seventh Princess had apparently been concealing her true abilities the entire time.
She had always seemed quite formidable — but in reality, the depths she kept hidden went still further.
A faint tremor ran through Feng Jiu’er’s heart. The Seventh Princess had sparred with her for so long today, and it had been deliberate yielding all along — complete and thorough yielding at that.
As for what Zhan Luori had just done — taking the object from across the room without touching it — others might not have caught it clearly, but since the skewer had been in Feng Jiu’er’s own hand a moment ago, she had seen it with perfect clarity.
Zhan Luori — this princess — was truly extraordinary.
Zhan Luori genuinely intended to eat and was not making any sort of jest, so she raised the skewer directly to her lips after taking it.
Hong Ying grew desperately anxious. “Your Highness, perhaps allow this subordinate to taste it first. Once this subordinate confirms it is safe, Your Highness may then eat. What do you say?”
“Yes, Your Highness — please allow this subordinate to try it first.”
Huo Yan and Officer Yan both rushed to offer, for after all, the person before them was a true child of the imperial line — not a single detail could be treated carelessly.
“Meaning, you all want me to eat what you have already tasted?” Zhan Luori swept her gaze across the group, and her eyes finally settled on Feng Jiu’er’s face. “Little one, if I get sick from this, I’ll hold you solely responsible.”