“I—” Nanmen Xu’s ears flushed hot, and his whole composure faltered — not from anger, but from a deep, gnawing guilt.

If Feng Jiu’er were to follow him in the future, would he truly have nothing to offer her but hardship and humiliation at others’ hands?

He himself didn’t mind suffering — but in the future, he would have a wife, perhaps children. Could he really allow them to be wronged as well?

“I’m sorry. I will work hard. I—”

“How about seizing control of the Nanmen Clan’s military authority?” Feng Jiu’er blinked and flashed him a sly, conspiratorial grin.

Nanmen Xu said nothing, only watched her in quiet silence.

That silence, strangely enough, made Jiu’er feel a little awkward. It was only a joke — did he really have to look at her like that?

“All right, I’m not teasing you. I was only saying it casually.”

She exhaled, and this time was serious: “I truly have not taken that imperial edict to heart. What I said back there — you know — I was only saying it to provoke Nanmen Jie.”

“You and I will not be husband and wife in the future. So don’t overthink it. Isn’t being friends perfectly fine? And if you don’t like being friends, then we can be partners instead. Look at how well we work together — isn’t our cooperation just now a prime example?”

Though, now that she said it, Feng Jiu’er felt a little heat rise to her own cheeks — it seemed like, more or less, Nanmen Xu had been doing most of the actual work. Still, she was the one who had gone up the mountain to find the snow lotus, so that counted for something too.

“Going forward, let’s do this — I’ll handle the outside world, and you manage the inside… ahem, that’s not what I meant. What I mean is: I’ll go earn money, and you help me manage it. We’ll be great partners. Understood?”

“As for that imperial edict — I’ll find a way to have His Majesty revoke it himself. At worst, we could just claim that my conduct has been improper and that you wish to annul the betrothal…”

“Stop this nonsense!” Nanmen Xu’s expression darkened, and he was genuinely displeased. “If rumors of improper conduct spread, your reputation will be ruined for the rest of your life!”

He pressed his lips together and stared at this reckless, seemingly carefree little girl — irritated, and yet mostly helpless.

“You don’t like bringing up the betrothal — so I won’t bring it up. But I will not let you suffer. Trust me — absolutely not.”

Having made his vow, he left. Feng Jiu’er didn’t even have a chance to follow up with any wisdom about life.

This fellow — from beginning to end, he was like a man with a single track of thought. No matter what you said, nothing got through.

This matter would have to wait until she solved it herself. Only she was just terribly busy these days, with far too many things demanding her attention.

What mattered most right now was this: the Ninth Imperial Uncle had gone off to war, and she wanted to follow him to the battlefield.

If she was already on the battlefield, matters like marriage would naturally be put on hold. She could deal with them when she returned.

Having made up her mind, Jiu’er felt entirely unburdened. She turned and walked back toward her own Mingyue Courtyard.

……

On the back mountain, as on every training day, it was lively and full of noise.

But today, their Fourth Dragon Army had a new recruit: the Seventh Prince, Zhan Luori.

“What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’ve joined our unit?” The words slipped out of Feng Jiu’er almost carelessly.

But Zhan Luori nodded — and stepped into formation behind her.

He had actually joined their Fourth Dragon Army’s Fourth Second Unit! With this, the Fourth Second Unit finally had its full complement of five.

Still — with even the Seventh Prince among them, wasn’t their Fourth Second Unit a little too fearsome?

If there were any competitions in the future, who would dare come up against them? Whoever showed up would practically be walking to their death.

“Mu Mu!” Jiu’er left Zhan Luori where he stood, took two quick steps in three strides over to Mu Mu, patted his shoulder, and said: “Long time no see — you’ve gotten even more handsome.”

Mu Mu smiled faintly. This girl liked to joke around — after spending so long around her, he’d long since grown accustomed to it.

“Mn. Long time no see.” He gave a slight nod.

“I also haven’t seen you in a long time,” Xiao Yingtao said, rolling her eyes. This person was clearly sharing the same dormitory as her, yet kept vanishing every other day — appearing and disappearing like a phantom, impossible to pin down.

At first, she’d worried something dangerous might have happened out there. By now, she had grown more or less used to it.

After all, whenever she vanished, she always found her own way back.

“It’s true, long time no see. How is it you’re not as pretty as you were before? Oh — and you’ve gotten quite a lot darker!”

Xiao Yingtao had been bracing herself for a compliment — hadn’t Mu Mu just been called more handsome? But instead, she got this.

“Hmph!” Xiao Yingtao stalked to the front of the formation and refused to acknowledge her.

Feng Jiu’er was about to tease her a little more when, from up ahead, a low and cool female voice came: “Form up!”

The units immediately gathered into formation, each squad falling into a single line.

On their side: Xiao Yingtao at the very front, then Feng Jiu’er, then Xing Zizhou. Zhan Luori and Mu Mu were about the same height — Zhan Luori stepped forward, and Mu Mu fell to the back.

“Oh my, look at Qiao Mu now — quite the imposing presence, isn’t she?” Xiao Yingtao turned her head and whispered.

Feng Jiu’er hadn’t yet had the chance to warn her to stop talking when, from the front, Qiao Mu’s cold gaze swept over them like a blade.

“Xiao Yingtao, fold-knife stance — twenty repetitions!”

Xiao Yingtao shuddered from head to toe. Though her expression was one of pure suffering, she still stepped out and completed twenty fold-knife stances without a single one less.

Qiao Mu was not someone to underestimate. Though they all shared a dormitory and got along famously in private — the moment they stepped onto the training ground, she was an absolute force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t already learned this firsthand.

Feng Jiu’er could only sympathize — Xiao Yingtao had genuinely learned her lesson, but it was already too late.

Don’t mistake ancient fold-knife stances for something as easy as modern push-ups. In their era, the stance had to be performed with perfect precision, with only four fingers touching the ground.

Even someone with moderate stamina couldn’t manage ten of them in a row.

Fortunately, everyone in their unit was physically capable enough — even the women could hold on through twenty fold-knife stances.

Still, when Xiao Yingtao rose to her feet, beads of sweat already dotted her temples. It had clearly taken a toll.

Xing Zizhou’s heart ached for her. He longed to say something comforting — but then remembered it was not the moment for speaking.

He wasn’t afraid of being punished with fold-knife stances himself, but if he inadvertently dragged Xiao Yingtao into it, she might not survive another twenty.

Xiao Yingtao let out a sharp breath and returned to formation. This time, she had truly learned her lesson — she didn’t dare make so much as a sound.

Qiao Mu was now Huo Yan’s valued right hand, and her pair of eyes was nothing short of miraculous — whoever was slacking off below would be spotted without fail.

On top of that, Qiao Mu was not beholden to the imperial court, and her temperament was cold, proud, and fierce enough to brook no nonsense — she was not the least bit intimidated by the sons of high-ranking officials and nobles.

In her eyes, the Son of Heaven and a commoner were held to the same standard when it came to wrongdoing. Whether you were a princess or a prince — a mistake was a mistake, and there was no room for leniency.

Jiu’er didn’t dare say a word either. Training required discipline — without rules, nothing could be accomplished.

“Today’s training route is longer than any previous one. You will cross over Lintou Mountain, retrieve the flag from the training officer’s hands, then return immediately.”

Qiao Mu surveyed everyone below. In the past, these announcements had always been made by Huo Yan — but now that she had Qiao Mu as a capable assistant, Huo Yan was perfectly content to stand to one side and watch, relieved of the burden.

Qiao Mu continued: “Today’s training will be conducted as usual. Results will be recorded. Once this incense stick burns out — move out immediately!”

But Jiu’er felt a quiet unease settle in her chest. Lintou Mountain — it was only one mountain away from the peak where the black wolves had attacked them before…