That night, Feng Jiu’er still slept on the long bench. After tossing and turning for most of the night, she finally managed to fall asleep.

But once asleep, she kept having nightmares — dreaming that she had been killed by Ye Luosha and Elder Shi, dreaming that after her death, Mu Mu and the Ninth Imperial Uncle had gone mad searching for her everywhere.

It turned out that being searched for by someone felt so unsettling. She was deeply afraid that the people she cared about would suffer, yet she was utterly powerless to do anything.

In the dream, she could still “witness” the situation of the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu with her own eyes. The more frantic they became, the more anxious she grew.

It was like floating in mid-air, watching the people below suffer — yet she could not descend, could not tell them how she was doing now.

She could only watch helplessly as they grew frantic, as they went mad, as they suffered.

If one day she truly met with misfortune, what would become of the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu?

The mere thought of it made her heart ache as though cut by a blade.

She could not afford to meet with misfortune — for her own sake, and for the sake of those who truly cared about her.

In the early hours of the morning she suddenly woke, and upon realizing that her recent ordeal had been nothing but a dream, she let out a long, heavy breath of relief.

A low voice drifted over from the bed. She turned her head and discovered that Mu Mu was murmuring in his sleep.

“…Jiu’er, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. Don’t be afraid…”

Feng Jiu’er’s heart ached with a pang of sorrow. She rose from the long bench and walked to the bedside, only then noticing that Mu Mu’s face was covered in sweat — he was clearly caught in a nightmare that frightened even himself.

“Jiu’er, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. Don’t be afraid…”

Jiu’er bit her lip, and her eyes could not help but grow faintly moist.

The hardest debt to repay has always been a debt of human kindness. She owed Mu Mu, and she owed the Ninth Imperial Uncle. What was she to do in the future? Could it really be that she would have no choice but to stand by and watch these two brothers slaughter each other?

Although she detested the way Ye Luosha and Elder Shi had cast aside those who had helped them once they were no longer useful, and loathed their utter lack of conscience — if she were Ye Luosha herself, what would she do?

Sometimes it was not that a person was born cruel and vicious. It was simply that they had no other choice.

But understanding was one thing. Of course she could not do nothing and simply wait for Elder Shi and Ye Luosha to come for her life.

The most critical matter right now was that she still carried the Ruthless Gu Poison within her body, and only Elder Shi could undo it.

She did not understand these arts of witchcraft and venomous creatures, but as things stood, Elder Shi was likely not going to remove the Gu Poison for her.

How was she to arrange things so that Mu Mu could recover, while she herself remained safe, and moreover, so that the two brothers would not end up killing each other?

“Jiu’er, how is Mu Mu today? We’re getting ready to set out.”

Xiao Yingtao came over carrying breakfast, all smiles. “You and Mu Mu eat something first. We’ll be hitting the road soon. Don’t worry about anything else — we’ll take care of packing up.”

“Alright.” Jiu’er took the two plates, and suddenly found herself genuinely envying Xiao Yingtao a little.

She had no scheming thoughts, no complicated feelings about things. What she liked, she liked; what she disliked, she disliked. Perhaps it was because she did not matter so much to so many people — and so she was free to live as she pleased, light and unencumbered.

Jiu’er had not even reached the door yet when it was suddenly pushed open from within, and Mu Mu walked out, his steps carrying a faint unsteadiness.

“Mu Mu, what’s the matter? Your complexion looks terrible!” Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao were both startled, and hurried over to support him.

Mu Mu said nothing. Catching sight of the pastries in her hands, he said, “Let’s go to the front courtyard for breakfast.”

“You’re not going back to the room?” He had always disliked being around everyone else, hadn’t he? Ever since losing his memory, he had preferred to seclude himself in the room with just her, seeing no one.

“I want to be outside.” His long arm settled on Feng Jiu’er’s shoulder, as though hoping she would steady him as they walked.

This frail, weakened appearance gave quite a fright to everyone around him.

“Mu’er, what’s wrong? Why does your complexion look so dreadful today? You…” Ye Luosha spotted Mu Mu’s weakened state from afar and hurried over.

Mu Mu said lightly, “It’s nothing. The wound has probably torn open again.”

“Torn open!” Ye Luosha was frightened out of her wits. Then, as if remembering something, she shot a fierce glare at Feng Jiu’er. “It’s all because of you! You… Mu’er, don’t panic. I’ll have the physician come take a look at you.”

She truly despised Feng Jiu’er. If Feng Jiu’er had not seduced Mu’er last night, how could Mu’er have ended up this badly injured? To think she had caused his wound to tear — how severe must the injury be! This was outrageous. Truly outrageous.

If the physician could treat Mu Mu’s injuries this time, she absolutely would not allow Feng Jiu’er to remain by Mu Mu’s side any longer.

But to her surprise, Mu Mu’s expression darkened, and he said with displeasure, “No one is permitted to examine my body except Jiu’er.”

Seeing that the physician was indeed approaching from a distance, he said furiously, “Send him away!”

“Mu’er, you’re injured — don’t agitate yourself!” Ye Luosha was both anxious and flustered. Mu’er had never been like this before, but now…

“Mu’er, this physician is quite skilled with external injuries. Won’t you let him take a look?”

“I’ve already said — no one is permitted to touch me except Jiu’er. If Jiu’er does not treat me, I would sooner let the wound fester!”

“Mu’er…”

“Alright, I’ll take a look for you.” Feng Jiu’er handed the pastries to Xiao Yingtao and helped Mu Mu back into the room.

Staring at the door as it closed behind them, Ye Luosha felt a thousand emotions churning inside her — anger served no purpose, anxiety was useless, and she was completely at a loss.

How could Mu’er be so impossibly stubborn, so fixated on Feng Jiu’er and Feng Jiu’er alone? Did he not know that it was Feng Jiu’er’s behavior last night that had brought him to this state?

“Palace Mistress, it appears… that the Young Palace Master truly will not accept treatment from any other physician.”

Elder Shi’s words were clearly a reminder: with the Young Palace Master injured as he was, Feng Jiu’er was indispensable. They could not afford to let Feng Jiu’er “disappear” at a time like this.

If Feng Jiu’er were to vanish and the Young Palace Master truly refused treatment from every physician, would they truly stand by and watch his wounds fester until there was no hope of recovery?

“But it’s clearly because of Feng Jiu’er that my Mu’er…”

“Palace Mistress, regardless of whether it is because of Feng Jiu’er or not, the Young Palace Master is already injured.”

Elder Shi’s feelings toward Feng Jiu’er were not particularly resentful. If anything, he held a certain gratitude toward her.

Back then, the Young Palace Master had nearly died at his own hands. Had it not been for Feng Jiu’er and the Ninth Prince, the Young Palace Master would most likely have truly been lost.

If that had happened, it would have been as though he had killed the Young Palace Master with his own hands. Even if he followed his master in death, he would have had no way to face all the generations of the Di family’s ancestors in the afterlife.

It was Feng Jiu’er who had given him the opportunity to make amends, to repay his crimes. If he could help it, he truly did not wish to see Feng Jiu’er simply die like this.

That clever, spirited little girl was truly… someone very easy to be fond of.

“Palace Mistress, the Young Palace Master is injured as he is right now. I believe Feng Jiu’er will know her place from here on. As for the matter of going to Phoenix City, the person who goes is…”

He glanced at Ye Luosha, waited until Xiao Yingtao had moved away, and then lowered his voice: “Why don’t we first observe whether the Young Palace Master’s condition improves over the next two days, and then decide on the next course of action?”