“Feng Jiu’er, don’t you think this request of yours is going too far? Everything that belongs to His Highness — do you truly intend to disregard all of it without a second thought?”
Leng Yue was not the least bit angry, in truth. The more stubborn Feng Jiu’er was, the more pleased she became.
And yet, she could not stand watching Feng Jiu’er take such advantage of His Highness — and most galling of all, His Highness did not seem to mind in the slightest.
Jiu’er knew that her current demand was indeed excessive.
But a life hung in the balance. She could not stand by and do nothing — and moreover, Mu Mu’s life perhaps had ties of a thousand threads to the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
“Ninth Imperial Uncle, give me just a little more time.” She raised her head and looked at Zhan Qingcheng’s cold, impassive face. She could brush aside everyone else’s words. What mattered most right now was the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. Emperor Ji’s fury broke through: “Feng Jiu’er, who exactly is it that you care about — the Young Palace Master of Ye Ming Palace, or our A’Jiu?”
This wretched woman had the nerve to put A’Jiu in a difficult position on another man’s behalf, and in front of everyone no less!
And yet — A’Jiu had gone soft on her! That was utterly unlike A’Jiu!
Zhan Qingcheng finally rose to his feet. He turned to Emperor Ji and said, with calm indifference: “Adoptive Father, I will go relieve Elder Shi and Ye Luosha.”
With those words, he strode out the door and did not look back once.
Regardless of whether he was willing, regardless of his mood — in this moment, he had taken Feng Jiu’er’s side.
Even if everyone stood against her, even if everyone resented her — as long as the Ninth Imperial Uncle stood behind her, Jiu’er felt that no matter how difficult the road ahead might be, her heart was warm.
“Feng Jiu’er, you have gone too far!” The moment the Ninth Prince left, Leng Yue could no longer contain her fury. She pointed her finger at Feng Jiu’er and unleashed a torrent of abuse.
“You have not the slightest affection for His Highness. Your every thought is for that Young Palace Master of Ye Ming Palace. What exactly is the nature of your relationship with him? Have you already been carrying on a secret affair?”
Leng Yue’s accusations were deeply improper — and yet neither Emperor Ji nor Long Yi moved to stop her tirade.
Clearly, both of them harbored their own grievances against Jiu’er as well.
They even found themselves wondering whether Leng Yue’s words might carry some truth. If there was no secret entanglement with Mu Mu, why would she act this way?
Feng Jiu’er paid no heed to the accusations. The moment Emperor Ji gave a slight nod, she turned to leave.
Leng Yue was not about to let her go so easily. “Stop right there! You are not leaving until you explain yourself!”
This was a rare opportunity — His Highness was absent, and for once, Adoptive Father and Long Yi were both on her side. If she did not seize this chance to make Feng Jiu’er’s life difficult, how could she ever cool the rage in her heart?
She had disliked Feng Jiu’er from the very start — had wanted to do something about her for a long, long time.
“Adoptive Father, are you really going to let her walk out like this? Do you truly intend to do nothing? His Highness now bends to her every word — are we truly going to wait until His Highness has lost everything before we hold Feng Jiu’er accountable?”
She knew precisely what mattered most to Adoptive Father and Long Yi. How could they possibly stand by and watch the Ninth Prince lose all that he had?
Sure enough, the words “lost everything” struck Emperor Ji and Long Yi like a cold blade to the heart.
Feng Jiu’er continued to ignore them and moved toward the door.
Leng Yue lunged forward, planting herself in the doorway, blocking the path entirely.
Jiu’er understood exactly what Leng Yue wanted. Until she had seen her suffer at least some humiliation, Leng Yue would never be satisfied.
But she had neither the time nor the energy to deal with this now. Mu Mu had given her his family heirloom — that chain — and fearing she might lose it, she had stored it in the hidden compartment at the bottom of the wardrobe in her room at the Imperial Academy.
They were not far from the Imperial Academy now. She needed to go back — she had to.
Ye Luosha had always wanted to examine her chain, and that was likely the very reason. She had to get both chains in hand. Only then might certain secrets finally come to light.
“I have matters to attend to. Please step aside.” She had no desire to come to blows with Leng Yue right now. Out there, people were searching for them on all sides, watching them like wolves eyeing their prey.
Whatever happened, internal strife would bring them no benefit whatsoever — the costs far outweighed any gain.
As for Leng Yue herself, Feng Jiu’er was not entirely at ease with her. What if Leng Yue deliberately lured their enemies here in order to force the Ninth Imperial Uncle to leave?
“What matters could you possibly have? You are simply in a rush to go tend to that Young Palace Master, are you not? What a pity — our Ninth Prince gives you his whole heart, yet you do nothing but wound him!”
“You have made him drain his own inner power to channel energy into that Young Palace Master and heal his injuries — yet your heart has never once belonged to the Prince. You do not care for His Highness in the slightest!”
Every word Leng Yue spoke was a knife aimed directly at Emperor Ji and Long Yi’s most tender wounds.
Feng Jiu’er knew full well what she was trying to do. The longer she remained here, the more precarious her position became.
“Please step aside.”
“And why should I?” Leng Yue refused to budge.
Jiu’er’s patience snapped. She thrust out a palm to push her away. She truly had something urgent to attend to.
But she never expected Leng Yue to suddenly strike back — her fingertips concealing a pitch-black silver needle aimed straight at Feng Jiu’er’s face.
She had genuinely not anticipated that Leng Yue would dare attempt to harm her here. By pure instinct, she flooded her palm with inner energy and drove the force of her blow forward. But then Leng Yue abruptly pulled her hand back, and the silver needle vanished somewhere unseen — leaving the power in Feng Jiu’er’s palm with less than a tenth of its force to meet her.
What had clearly been a token strike from Leng Yue was answered by the full force of Feng Jiu’er’s ten-tenths inner power, called up in self-defense.
A resounding thud — Leng Yue was sent flying by the strike, crashing heavily to the ground. Her mouth fell open, and a mouthful of fresh blood spilled out.
“Adoptive Father…”
Damn it. This woman intended to play the victim!
The thought had barely formed in Feng Jiu’er’s mind when a tremendous force came crashing toward her from the front.
The Ninth Imperial Uncle’s adoptive father was not by nature a ruthless man — he had simply been deceived by Leng Yue’s act. How could Jiu’er truly raise her hand against him?
And yet Emperor Ji’s blow carried at least seven-tenths of his power, fueled by raw fury. Jiu’er had hesitated for just an instant, and the force of his palm struck her square on, sending her hurtling into the wall. She slid down and hit the ground hard.
“Miss Jiu’er!” Long Yi had not anticipated that they would come to blows so suddenly. By the time he moved to intervene, it was too late. He rushed over at once and helped Feng Jiu’er up from the floor.
When Jiu’er opened her mouth, only blood came out. Her blood energy churned, her breathing was in disarray, and her legs had gone so weak she could barely stand.
Emperor Ji’s face was dark with fury, and he felt not the slightest remorse for having injured Feng Jiu’er. It was Feng Jiu’er who had struck first, after all.
“Yue’er, get up.” He gave a cold snort. His sympathy lay entirely with Leng Yue. He fixed Feng Jiu’er — still spitting blood — with a gaze of pure ice.
Leng Yue gripped the table and chairs, as though struggling greatly, and slowly hauled herself upright. With much difficulty she returned to Emperor Ji’s side.
Her voice came out hoarse: “Adoptive Father…I never thought…never thought she would truly be so vicious with me. I was careless…simply careless. Adoptive Father, Yue’er has shamed you.”