By the time Jiu’er returned to Mingyue Courtyard, Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao had just heard the news and were on their way to the front courtyard of the martial arts hall to see what had happened.

The whole farce had unfolded quickly and ended just as fast — only now, a dozen or so elite guards trailed behind Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er…” Xiao Yingtao started to say something.

Qiao Mu pulled her back, then looked at Jiu’er. “Good, you’re back. Let’s go rest in your room for a bit first.”

“All right.” Jiu’er nodded, saying nothing more, and followed them into the residence at Mingyue Courtyard.

Of the dozen or so guards, half stationed themselves in the front courtyard, half in the back — and from the way they were positioned, it was hard to tell whether they were there to protect her or simply to watch her.

Xiao Yingtao gave one last glance at the guards in the courtyard before closing the door.

Jiu’er was changing into her training clothes, and seemed to show nothing out of the ordinary.

Xiao Yingtao lowered her voice. “What’s going on? Those people clearly look like they’re here to keep watch.”

“Every one of them is highly skilled.” Qiao Mu’s own martial ability was far beyond Xiao Yingtao’s, so naturally her judgment in such matters was sharper too.

“Jiu’er, even with the two of us together, we wouldn’t easily be able to slip past those dozen or so people.”

“I’m not planning to escape them for now.” Feng Jiu’er glanced toward the door.

Though they were obviously there to keep watch, at least they weren’t pressing in too closely. As long as they kept their voices down while talking in the room, they likely wouldn’t be overheard.

Feng Jiu’er let out a soft breath and pressed her lips together. “Besides them, there’s likely another group watching from the shadows — but here at the academy, they probably won’t dare make a move for now.”

“You mean they’ve already infiltrated the academy?” Xiao Yingtao looked startled. Surely there hadn’t been anyone else watching just now — she hadn’t noticed anything unusual at all.

“I’m not sure about that. I haven’t sensed their presence.” Jiu’er’s words made Xiao Yingtao breathe a small sigh of relief.

But Xiao Yingtao was still tense. “Then what you just said…”

“Last night when I went out, I was knocked unconscious and sent to Nanmeng Rong’s place. To survive, I sought help from the Crown Prince.” There was no point wasting words explaining all the twists and turns, so Jiu’er stuck to the essentials. “The people who knocked me out and sent me there were likely trying to use the Nanmeng clan as a weapon against the Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

“But they didn’t expect Nanmeng Rong wouldn’t actually want to harm the Ninth Prince?” Having heard Jiu’er speak before of Nanmeng Rong’s improper feelings for the Ninth Prince, Qiao Mu immediately made the connection.

“Mm.” Jiu’er nodded.

Xiao Yingtao spoke up at once. “That Empress Rong… no, wait, she’s a consort now! That Consort Rong — I’ve seen her a few times, and it’s obvious at a glance she has improper feelings for the Ninth Prince! Of course she wouldn’t be willing to harm him!”

Xiao Yingtao had never had a good impression of Nanmeng Rong, though given Nanmeng Rong’s temperament and character, there probably weren’t many people in this world who did have a good impression of her.

Though Xiao Yingtao’s words carried clear bias against Nanmeng Rong, crude as they were, they weren’t wrong either.

Qiao Mu looked at Feng Jiu’er, her eyes wary. “So now you’re effectively trapped by the Crown Prince. How are things on that other front?”

By “that other front,” Jiu’er knew exactly what she meant.

Jiu’er said, “Right now, I have no way of knowing what’s happening there myself. I can only leave it to fate.”

After today’s commotion, the Ninth Imperial Uncle should be able to sense something. Now it all depended on whether the Ninth Imperial Uncle could connect with her in spirit.

From here on, it truly would come down to fate.

“But you still intend to leave eventually, don’t you?” How could Qiao Mu not understand her? But that was exactly what worried her. “Whoever attacked you so freely must be among the very best of the best.”

“Yes. Even the two of us together probably couldn’t withstand three of his moves.”

Not even three moves! Just how powerful would such a fighter have to be?

Though Qiao Mu knew there was always someone stronger out there, her own martial skill really wasn’t bad at all — yet combined with Feng Jiu’er’s, they still couldn’t withstand even three of this person’s strikes.

For a fighter of that caliber to appear, it couldn’t possibly be just to deal with Jiu’er — it had to be aimed either at Mu Mu or at the Ninth Prince.

Given the current situation, it was clearly aimed at the Ninth Prince.

“In that case, for the next couple of days you shouldn’t try to find a way to escape either. Even if you somehow managed to slip away from the Crown Prince’s men, the people lurking behind all this probably can’t be shaken off so easily.”

“I’ll think it over carefully.” That man in the black robe might be formidable, but Jiu’er believed someone of his stature and power couldn’t possibly keep his eyes on her every single moment.

Whoever was tailing her certainly wasn’t him personally, but there were still risks she couldn’t afford to take carelessly.

“What worries me right now is that even if I don’t try to run, that man will likely come looking for me on his own — after all, the current situation clearly isn’t something he wanted.”

After handing her over to Nanmeng Rong, the fact that Nanmeng Rong hadn’t used her to lure out the Ninth Prince and then wipe out him and his remaining followers in one stroke didn’t match the black-robed man’s expectations at all.

The black-robed man would still come for her, and Nanmeng Rong would soon come looking for her as well, forcing her to join in the search for the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

The days ahead for Jiu’er were certainly not going to be easy.

Qiao Mu, too, looked troubled, while Xiao Yingtao bit her lip, lost in thought. “So, Jiu’er, everything you did today was only to…”

“It doesn’t matter what it was for. It still all comes down to fate.” Jiu’er cut her off, sitting on the bed and lacing up her training boots.

“I just feel…” Xiao Yingtao hesitated, looking at Jiu’er, and after a long pause finally said, “I feel like Nanmeng Xu is rather pitiable.”

Jiu’er’s gaze deepened, but she still said nothing, continuing to fasten the laces of her boots.

Xiao Yingtao had never been able to bear seeing someone pitied, and couldn’t help speaking up. “Nanmeng Xu really has been worried about you. These past few days, he’s been asking us about your whereabouts constantly.”

“Whenever he’s not training, he immediately heads out. I know he must be trying to go look for you.”

Though everyone always assumed Nanmeng Xu didn’t care about Jiu’er at all — even that he used to dislike her.

But these past two days, Xiao Yingtao had seen it clearly with her own eyes — he didn’t dislike Jiu’er one bit. He truly cared.

Jiu’er still said nothing, only the motion of her hands tying her laces slowing slightly, her gaze growing more distant.

“Jiu’er, the way you treated him today, making him lose face in front of everyone — even though I wasn’t there to see it myself, I can easily guess how hurt he must be.”

“He doesn’t like me, so he won’t be sad about it. It’s just his pride that’s been wounded, and that surely doesn’t feel good. But there’s nothing I can do about that right now.”

After all, being jilted in such a public setting — Jiu’er understood better than anyone how loudly that slap must have rung.

But for now, there truly was no other way. She had too much else to deal with already.

If there was ever a chance someday, she would surely find a way to make it up to him. She only hoped that, for now, Nanmeng Xu could find the strength to pick himself back up.