Given herself to him? Given him what exactly?
Feng Jiu’er blinked. She froze for half a second — and then her face suddenly went red, the meaning finally dawning on her.
“No!”
“You… followed the Ninth Imperial Uncle to Southern Wilderness — was that just to… to save the Ninth Imperial Uncle?”
Feng Jiu’er had already lost all patience, and were it not for her fear of agitating him, she would not have wanted to answer a single one of these questions.
He had the nerve to ask something so private — and now she found herself too embarrassed not to answer.
“Yes,” she said, pressing her lips together.
“Then he…”
“Shut up.” The medicinal powder had finally arrived. Feng Jiu’er took it in both hands and immediately began applying the hemostatic medicine to his wound.
“Don’t talk. I’m already irritated enough — don’t say a word.”
She really was irritated. A physician may feel a parent’s compassion for every patient, and she was not the sort to stand by and watch someone die. But did a person this gravely wounded truly need to keep talking?
Save that last breath to keep himself warm — if he kept speaking, his energy would keep draining, his breathing would grow ever weaker. How did he not have even the most basic sense of how a patient ought to behave?
Zhan Yuheng finally closed his mouth. He said nothing more. His gaze settled on her busy figure, his line of sight gradually locking onto that perfect, flawless profile of hers.
The torn flesh at his wound kept burning as if set alight — the pain was intense. And yet in this moment, a faint smile of relief curved at his lips.
So it was only because she feared she was no longer worthy of him — that she had kept up this disguise for so long, pushing him completely out of her life.
So her reason for staying at the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s side all along had only been to heal him.
Now that the Ninth Imperial Uncle had recovered, she could leave his side. Couldn’t she?
So she was still his Jiu’er after all — still the woman he should cherish most…
“What happened? What happened to my son? Speak! Have you all gone mute? What on earth happened to my son?”
By the time the Empress came rushing in on word of the news, the rescue efforts inside were still ongoing.
Mu Mu stood guard outside the curtained area for precisely this reason — to prevent people like her from barging through.
Finding Mu Mu blocking her way, the arriving Empress Rong immediately flew into a rage.
“Move! My son is in there — how dare you stand in my way!”
She gathered force into her palm and drove it straight at Mu Mu’s chest. “Move aside!”
Mu Mu neither stepped back nor dodged. He sent out a casual palm in return.
With a heavy thud — he had used only three tenths of his strength, uncertain of the Empress’s inner power and unwilling to cause injury.
But the Empress had put every last ounce of her true energy into that strike.
The collision was thunderous. No one had expected it — that the Empress Rong, who appeared to have no martial training whatsoever, was in fact a formidable fighter herself.
Mu Mu’s tall frame wavered slightly, and a thin thread of blood slipped from the corner of his lips.
The Empress did not even glance at him and immediately moved to push inside — but this time, Mu Mu, now on guard, blocked her once more.
The Empress had not expected that after taking a hit, this man would still stand his ground. Furious, she drove another palm forward — with even more force than before. Her son was in there, reportedly run through the chest by an assassin. She was nearly frantic with desperation.
Anyone who stood between her and her son would be killed without mercy.
Yet somehow, this time her palm force was thrown back at her by his counter-strike, sending her stumbling several steps backward. She nearly lost her footing entirely.
And looking at Mu Mu — the thin trail of blood from before still lingered at the corner of his lips, unwipied, but this time, he was entirely unscathed.
So it appeared that last time, this young man had used only three tenths of his power. Now he had used merely five tenths, and with that alone he had thrown her back without effort.
Then the Empress looked more carefully — and anger erupted in her. “You are one of Feng Jiu’er’s people!”
So the one inside, currently tending to her son, was truly that wretched Feng Jiu’er?
She had heard as much when she arrived, but had not fully believed it until now.
“Someone come — take this insolent wretch and have him executed!”
What was Feng Jiu’er doing, staying at her son’s side at a time like this — was it to win her son’s favor, or did she have some other scheme? But her son was this badly wounded right now — what could she possibly still want? If anything were to happen to her son, she would have Feng Jiu’er torn to pieces.
“Your Highness, Miss Jiu’er is presently treating His Highness. Please, Your Highness, wait just a moment. This subordinate will go in at once and ask Miss Jiu’er whether Your Highness may enter.”
Qing Yun came rushing out from inside, arriving in time to prevent the situation from erupting into open conflict.
Ever since Feng Jiu’er had brought the Crown Prince’s wound bleeding largely under control, he had held no further doubts about her medical skill whatsoever.
A wound this severe — and she had stopped the bleeding this quickly. On that basis alone, it was questionable whether even a handful of the palace’s imperial physicians could match her.
The most important thing right now was for His Highness to survive. Everything else could wait.
If Feng Jiu’er could save His Highness’s life, he would kneel his head to the ground and call her his master without a second thought.
But Qing Yun’s words sent the Empress entirely beyond reason. “Have you lost your mind? I want to see my son — and I need that Feng Jiu’er’s consent?”
“Your subordinate did not mean it that way. Please forgive this subordinate’s impertinence, Your Highness.”
But right now, it seemed Feng Jiu’er was performing some kind of procedure on the Crown Prince — by the look of it, she appeared to be suturing his wound…
It sounded somewhat alarming, but the Crown Prince was still conscious even now — which meant, at the very least, that whatever Feng Jiu’er was doing was working.
“Your Highness, it will only be a short while. Miss Jiu’er is still treating His Highness as we speak. This subordinate implores Your Highness to consider His Highness’s wellbeing and not to disturb the treatment being carried out inside.”
He knew that what he was saying to the Empress bordered on severe disrespect — but right now, truly no one could be allowed to interrupt what was happening in there. If anything were to go wrong with the Crown Prince because of it, what then?
“You…” The Empress clenched her hands into fists, about to say something more, when a rapid drumming of hoofbeats reached them from somewhere ahead.
“The Ninth Prince has arrived!” someone cried in a low voice.
The Empress’s heart lurched. She turned to look at the approaching figure, rider and horse drawing steadily closer.
He had not come by carriage today — he must have received word and ridden here in haste.
The figure on horseback, arriving at speed through the dust — though he moved through the mortal world, not a single speck of it ever seemed to touch him.
Such exceptional looks. Such a face to overturn a city.
If only her son’s life were not hanging in the balance, she would stand here and watch him — until she could see him no more.
Zhan Qingcheng’s horse moved at the head of the procession, charging toward this stretch of ground at full gallop — and then, less than five steps from the curtained area, it stopped with a sharp whinny.
Swift as the wind, fast as lightning — the tall figure on horseback was already airborne, landing before the assembled crowd in an instant.
“Ninth Prince!” Everyone bowed in unison. Even Mu Mu inclined his head toward him.
The Empress wanted to step forward to meet him, but she remembered what Zhan Yuheng had said to her some time ago — throw herself at him, and A’Jiu would certainly not welcome it.
She curled her fingers tightly into her palm, and finally held herself back. Only when he walked to stand before her did she compose herself to appear as calm as possible, and called out quietly, “A’Jiu.”