Looking again at Feng Jiu’er, she truly showed not the slightest intention of stopping any of this. The Chief Eunuch let out a faint, helpless sigh.
The Empress had nearly gotten her killed; now that the Empress was being deposed, of course Ninth Miss Feng would be pleased — how could she possibly want to stop it?
As things stood, Feng Jiu’er would be only too glad if the Empress simply vanished altogether!
Once the Chief Eunuch had left, Jiu’er turned to glance at Zhan Luoyi, only to find her expression grim.
Qing Yun looked even more deeply troubled. After a moment, he spoke. “Miss Jiu’er, Your Highness, this subordinate won’t accompany you both inside. I…”
“You want to go back and report this to the Crown Prince?” Seeing him fall silent, his face conflicted, Jiu’er said, “If you tell His Highness right now, I’m afraid he’ll get straight out of bed to go see the Empress.”
“But as a physician, I want to remind you — His Highness’s condition right now is really not so promising. After his serious injury, then being poisoned on top of it, his body is still extremely weak, and he only just woke up today. He really shouldn’t be getting up and moving around right now.”
“As for the matter of deposing the Empress, the edict has already been issued. Even if you go back and tell His Highness now, it won’t stop the edict from being read out. Since the matter’s already a settled affair, why not wait until His Highness’s health improves a little before reporting it to him?”
“But…” Qing Yun still looked deeply torn.
Everyone knew Jiu’er bore a grudge against the Empress — he himself disliked the Empress too — but the Empress was, after all, the Crown Prince’s mother.
If Empress Rong fell from favor, it would surely have some bearing, in the future, on the Crown Prince’s standing within the palace.
As His Highness’s closest personal guard, he was obligated to report even the slightest stir from outside, let alone a matter as serious as this one.
“Just as I said, if you tell His Highness now, it won’t change anything anyway. If it’s something that can’t be stopped regardless, what difference does it make whether he hears it sooner or later?”
Jiu’er didn’t care what he thought of her, but she’d been the one treating Zhan Yuheng’s injuries before, and on top of that, it was Zhan Yuheng who’d stepped forward this time to vouch for everyone’s innocence, allowing them all to come through unharmed.
Whatever else might be said, whether for personal or other reasons, she truly hoped Zhan Yuheng would recover.
Qing Yun still hesitated, but Zhan Luoyi spoke up. “Jiu’er, let’s go check on Ninth Imperial Uncle.”
Wreaking havoc in Yuxiao Hall — whatever the circumstances, it was never going to end up being a good thing.
Even though she herself couldn’t care less about matters of imperial authority, she still didn’t want her Ninth Imperial Uncle making too many enemies.
On this point, Jiu’er had been thinking about it even more than her, and was naturally even more anxious as a result.
With her Ninth Imperial Uncle’s terrible temper, there was no telling just how badly things had been torn up by now.
“Qing Yun, I’ve said all I’m going to say. What you do next is up to you. I’m going to go check on Ninth Imperial Uncle first.”
Without a word between them, the two women quickened their pace, heading toward the main hall.
Qing Yun still hesitated. What Miss Jiu’er said was, in truth, perfectly reasonable. The trouble was, if he didn’t say anything and His Highness found out about it afterward, he was bound to blame him for it.
But being blamed would, at most, mean some kind of punishment. If it caused His Highness’s injuries to worsen, however, that would truly be an unforgivable offense.
Mulling it over again and again, Feng Jiu’er’s words really did make sense. For the sake of His Highness’s health, this matter could wait a little longer…
Jiu’er knew her Ninth Imperial Uncle had always had a volatile temper, even though on the surface he looked as ethereal and detached as an immortal.
But once he grew truly angry, the force of his outburst was nothing short of astonishing — the kind that left you utterly unable to believe your eyes.
Yet even knowing this full well, the moment she actually saw the state of the entire main hall of Yuxiao Hall, Jiu’er still jumped — or, more precisely, jumped quite badly.
Even Zhan Luoyi was stunned. In all her years knowing her Ninth Imperial Uncle, this was the first time she’d ever seen him lose his temper this badly!
The entire hall didn’t have a single spot left intact; even the walls had several large dents punched into them, and the load-bearing stone pillars had nearly been brought down by him.
From the outside, the hall might not look like much had happened, but from inside, it looked downright ready to collapse at any moment.
“Ninth Imperial Uncle!” Jiu’er dashed over, genuinely panicked. Before him, Emperor Qiwen was being propped up by several attendants, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
The most terrifying part of all was the hall itself — with the pillars in such a state, if it actually came crashing down, what would happen to everyone still inside?
“Ninth Imperial Uncle, we can’t stay in this hall any longer!”
Jiu’er’s words spoke for the heart of every single minister there.
Everyone’s hearts were racing with panic, but with the Ninth Prince showing no sign of leaving, who would dare go before him?
As long as the Ninth Prince hadn’t spoken, no one dared utter a single word about leaving. But the hall genuinely looked dangerous now — without a complete renovation, it would never be usable again.
With the Emperor still standing right there, why not step outside first and sort the rest out afterward?
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Jiu’er, hoping this girl might lead them all out of this brush with death… or rather, that she might persuade the Ninth Prince into letting everyone leave first.
Should the hall collapse, everyone present would be buried right there.
The Ninth Prince, with his formidable martial skill, naturally had nothing to fear — should it collapse, he could escape unscathed at any moment he chose.
But most of the others present were frail civil officials with no martial ability — how were they supposed to escape?
Jiu’er was perfectly aware that everyone’s eyes were fixed on her; in truth, she didn’t even know any of these men, nor did she have any particular ties to them.
But right now, human lives mattered more than anything!
“Ninth Imperial Uncle…”
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze settled on her.
What nearly made every official’s eyes pop out of their sockets was this: the Ninth Prince, who only moments ago had been a man consumed entirely by fury, was now looking at this young girl with what could only be described as a trace of gentleness in his eyes.
His gaze had actually softened! Did this mean the Ninth Prince was no longer angry?
Moments ago, they had been gripped by sheer terror, dreading that if the prince’s anger hadn’t fully subsided, another palm strike might come at any moment — one that could shatter even the stone pillars.
If that happened, none of them would survive at all.
Still, just who exactly was this girl, that she could receive such extraordinary treatment from the prince?
Some of them had perhaps heard the name Feng Jiu’er before, but had never actually laid eyes on her in person.
Seeing her now, was she perhaps the very same Feng Jiu’er of legend — the one the Empress and the Emperor had nearly… ahem, wrongfully put to death?
She really did have looks fit to topple a kingdom — though she wore hardly any adornments, her beauty was plainly radiant and striking all the same!
No wonder the Ninth Prince was so fond of this girl. But hadn’t this girl already been promised in an arranged marriage — to the Nanmeng clan, no less?
A few of them did know something about that matter, though only a little.
But seeing the way the Ninth Prince was now gazing at this young girl, so… ahem, tenderly! Whoever she’d been promised to hardly mattered now — getting the Ninth Prince to calm down was all that counted.
“I’m not hurt.” It had only been two days apart, yet seeing him again now, why did it feel as though three autumns had passed?
A sudden wave of grievance welled up in Jiu’er, though she herself wasn’t sure what exactly she had to feel wronged about. All she knew was that now that her Ninth Imperial Uncle was back, she could afford to act spoiled, could afford to feel sorry for herself.
“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I missed you.”