“Back then, I announced publicly that you had saved me when you were a child — but that was only because I knew Heng’er was filial, and I wanted to use that to make him look at you differently. Yet now, where is this special regard from Heng’er?”

The moment this thought crossed her mind, Nanmen Rong felt rage burning within her.

She had wasted so much effort on this girl, even assigning her own people to serve as the girl’s maid — yet what benefit had the girl ever truly brought her?

“In every way, you fall short of that wretched girl Feng Jiu’er. You can’t even win Heng’er’s heart back for me. Every year I give you so many rewards — rare medicinal herbs, the finest tonics — raising you to be this beautiful, but what use is it?”

Feng Jiu’er ate poorly and dressed poorly, yet she had grown up even more beautiful than Feng Qingyin. All those precious, costly tonics consumed by Feng Qingyin had been a complete waste!

In her eyes, Feng Qingyin was now nothing but a useless burden.

“Your Highness…” Feng Qingyin was filled with resentment. It wasn’t that she was useless — it was that the shameless wretch Feng Jiu’er was far too cunning and treacherous!

Originally, her relationship with Brother Crown Prince had been gradually warming, and everyone knew the position of future Crown Princess was certain to be hers.

But then Feng Jiu’er had suddenly made herself so beautiful, completely bewitching Brother Crown Prince out of his senses!

That wasn’t her fault — Feng Jiu’er had simply gone too far!

“Your Highness, Brother Crown Prince to me—”

“Silence!” Nanmen Rong glanced at the nanny, having lost all patience to hear another word from Feng Qingyin.

The nanny understood at once, and together with the maid who had accompanied Feng Qingyin, pinned her firmly down into a chair.

Feng Qingyin stared at the maid who had served by her side for years, her eyes going wide: “Qinxue, you… you’re actually helping them bully me!”

“Eighth Miss, I was always Her Majesty’s person to begin with. I—” Qinxue didn’t dare say more about the word “Empress,” and quickly changed her words: “It was Her Highness who had me serve you all these years. You should be grateful to her.”

Only then did Feng Qingyin realize that nearly everything she had done over the years had been entirely under Nanmen Rong’s watch.

Fortunately, there were some things even Qinxue didn’t know — if not for her own suspicious nature, which had made her hide things even from Qinxue, by now she would probably already be…

“Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much! Ah…”

Her sleeve was rolled up, and a blade was drawn across her snow-white arm. Blood immediately welled up and dripped into the basin the imperial physician had prepared.

No matter how pitifully Feng Qingyin cried out, the blade continued to cut into her arm again and again.

By the time the basin was filled with blood, Feng Qingyin had grown completely weak, collapsing limply into the chair, unable even to crawl.

The basin was larger than a bowl — one could only imagine how much it had taken to fill.

“Bandage her up. If this blood proves useful, draw a little more from her every day from now on.” Nanmen Rong had no intention of letting her “medicine” die just yet.

Feng Qingyin’s heart went cold. Drawing a little every day… no, if it continued daily, she would die. She would surely die!

Nanmen Rong wouldn’t stop until she had drained every drop of her blood!

Worse still, the cutting itself had left her grimacing in pain — she didn’t even dare think about what would come next.

The nanny and the young palace maid bandaged Feng Qingyin at once, though their manner remained rather harsh.

After all, this woman was of little use to the Empress anymore, so there was no need to treat her kindly.

Feng Qingyin moaned continuously — whether applying medicine or bandaging, these people were far too rough.

It hurt so much that cold sweat poured from her, hurt so much she nearly fainted.

But what worried her now wasn’t the pain — what worried her was…

Under the imperial physician’s attendance, Nanmen Rong drank down most of a bowl of fresh blood in one go, until the bloody stench finally became too much, and she could drink no more.

Afterward, she sat cross-legged to circulate her energy, calming her mind to tend to her injuries.

Feng Qingyin felt deeply uneasy. Once she had caught her breath, she carefully eased herself off the chair: “Can… can I go back now?”

No one paid her any attention. Everyone was watching Nanmen Rong, hoping her complexion would improve a little.

But Nanmen Rong’s face showed not the slightest hint of color — if anything, it was growing paler by the moment.

Just as Feng Qingyin’s feet touched the ground and she finally managed to steady herself, Nanmen Rong’s expression suddenly changed — she opened her mouth and, with a retching sound, vomited a mouthful of dark blood.

“Your Highness!” Everyone rushed forward, and the imperial physician hurried over as well, taking her wrist to check her pulse.

To their shock, her pulse showed no improvement at all — instead, it was even more erratic than before!

“The blood of the Phoenix Maiden cures a hundred illnesses — wasn’t it you who said that, Physician?” Nanmen Rong glared at him, her face full of fury.

This physician had served by her side for decades, ever since her childhood. His entire family served the Nanmen clan and were absolutely loyal.

The physician said anxiously, “It’s recorded in the Sacred Scripture — it is indeed true. The Phoenix Maiden’s blood not only cures a hundred illnesses but can also neutralize a hundred poisons!”

“This Sacred Scripture is a copy passed down through my family for generations. Though it is not the original, its contents are identical. My clan has studied medicine for generations, serving as physicians from one generation to the next — Your Highness knows this well.”

The contents of the Sacred Scripture couldn’t possibly be false — something must have gone wrong somewhere. Perhaps Her Highness’s constitution clashed with the Phoenix Maiden’s blood, though there had never been any basis for such a theory — or perhaps it was…

“Stop right there!”

Feng Qingyin, who had already reached the door, was stopped by Nanmen Rong’s sudden shout. Startled, her legs gave way and she fell to the floor with a thud.

“Your Highness…”

“Bring her back to me!”

Nanmen Rong’s hand clenched. A vague suspicion was stirring within her, and a seed of doubt was gradually taking root.

Feng Qingyin was so frightened she lost all composure, but she was already being dragged over by the nanny and the palace maids.

“Strip off her clothes — I want to see her back!” Nanmen Rong said angrily.

Feng Qingyin immediately screamed: “Your Highness, please don’t! There’s… there’s a man here, Your Highness…”

“Guards, leave!”

The guards in the outer hall withdrew at once. As for the physician, he stood to one side, turning his face away and not looking.

Soon, Feng Qingyin’s clothes were stripped away, revealing her smooth bare back to Nanmen Rong’s gaze.

The Phoenix Mark was right there on her back, exactly identical to the totem she had seen on the Sacred Relic. This proved she was truly the Phoenix Maiden!

This Sacred Relic — even Emperor Qiwen did not possess it. It was a treasure passed down through generations of the Nanmen clan, and even within the Nanmen family, aside from herself, her elder brother, and her father, no one else had ever seen it.

If she weren’t the Phoenix Maiden, how could such a totem possibly appear on her lower back?

And yet, this totem… the more she looked at it, the more it seemed somehow slightly different from the one she remembered seeing.

“Physician, you too have seen the Phoenix Maiden’s totem. Come and take a look.”

“Your Highness, you mustn’t!” Feng Qingyin immediately began to struggle. The physician might be elderly, but he was still a man!

But Nanmen Rong, in her current state, had no patience left for such concerns. Once the seed of suspicion had taken root, it quickly grew into a towering tree — one her heart could no longer bear to hold.

“Physician, come look, quickly!”