When she stepped out of the Yuxiao Hall, Feng Jiu let out a long, quiet breath of relief.

Tonight had truly been dangerous. She had nearly given herself away.

Were it not for the darkness of the night — the hall lit by the glow of luminous pearls, yet the light still not so bright as full day — the moment her robes came off, with people standing behind her, she might truly have been seen through by those guards.

The points at which this male outer appearance attached were two in number: one at the back of the nape, and one at each forearm. And so when she had removed her clothing, she had not pulled it off entirely — only down to her forearms.

In any case, all she needed was to show them a chest that belonged to a man. In ordinary circumstances, that would not give anything away.

Fortunately, she had truly managed to deceive them.

It really was as she had felt lately — there was not much of a sense of security. This outer appearance still needed to be kept on consistently. The weather was beginning to grow gradually warmer, though — in another month or so, wearing it would probably become quite uncomfortable.

She made her way out from the Yuxiao Hall, and when she was nearly at the rear palace gate, Feng Jiu’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

With a swift sound through the air, a longsword came slicing toward her face.

Feng Jiu shifted her footing lightly and evaded it with ease, but the tip of the longsword turned in an instant and thrust toward her again.

The attacker was fast, accurate, and fierce. The swordsmanship was not the very highest caliber, but was absolutely not weak.

In the moment Feng Jiu collected herself, she drew her short blade from her waist in a flash. A sharp ring of metal rang out as she deflected the longsword aside.

In the night, moonlight fell like water, casting her face in clear relief and illuminating the other person’s features with equal clarity.

Qing Yun — the Crown Prince’s foremost personal guard. Since Qing Yun had come, the Crown Prince himself had most likely returned as well.

And sure enough: she and Qing Yun had only exchanged two moves when a troop of attendants came rushing up. Seated atop the most conspicuous horse among them was Crown Prince Zhan Yuheng.

Zhan Yuheng’s gaze fell on Feng Jiu’s face, then moved to trace over her slender, composed figure.

Qing Yun’s longsword came thrusting toward her once more. This time, Feng Jiu made no effort to yield — she swept her blade across.

Another sharp clang rang out. Qing Yun’s longsword snapped cleanly in two, broken in half on the spot.

The blade in her hand looked utterly unremarkable on the outside. Who would have thought it was a divine weapon?

Just now, Feng Jiu had not drawn upon her inner energy. The moment her inner energy stirred, the longsword that had accompanied Qing Yun for so many years was cut clean through on the spot.

“Excellent blade!” Zhan Yuheng could not help but exclaim in admiration.

Feng Jiu sheathed her blade, walked before Zhan Yuheng, and inclined her body: “This subordinate pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“You know who We are?” Zhan Yuheng kept his gaze fixed on her face, searching for any hint of a flaw. But this face was plainly not a fake, and showed not the slightest sign of a human-skin mask. Could she truly not be the one he was thinking of?

Qing Yun stepped forward quickly, his tone displeased: “Who are you? How dare you carry weapons within the palace? Are you here to assassinate His Majesty?”

“Sir Qing Yun, please calm your anger. This gentleman is His Majesty’s honored guest. It was His Majesty who summoned him into the palace. This gentleman is now on his way out.”

A young eunuch came hurrying over from a distance. He had originally intended to see Feng Jiu out, but she had said she wished to walk on her own, and the young eunuch had not dared to contradict her — though he had not gone far either.

Now, seeing Qing Yun and Feng Jiu come to blows, he rushed over at once, afraid one of them might injure the other.

The young eunuch came before Zhan Yuheng and bowed hurriedly: “This servant pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince. Why has Your Highness returned to the palace at this hour?”

Zhan Yuheng’s expression darkened immediately. He gave no reply, and simply urged his horse forward.

Qing Yun had no interest in lingering with Feng Jiu any further. He paid her no mind now and hastened after Zhan Yuheng.

The Nanmen Clan’s affairs had come to a head. It turned out Consort Rong had already been sent to prison some time earlier, and His Highness the Crown Prince had been deliberately arranged by His Majesty to be away from the palace.

Had the Head Eunuch not made such a sweeping move tonight against the Nanmen Household, His Highness the Crown Prince would likely still be in the dark at this very moment.

Feng Jiu watched with cold eyes as Zhan Yuheng departed in the direction of the Yuxiao Hall, until his figure disappeared from sight. Only then did she give the young eunuch a nod and proceed directly out of the palace.

What had come to pass had come to pass. Zhan Yuheng’s return now could do nothing to change it. Nanmen Ye’s great influence was already gone. His coming back at this point was only to see whether he could preserve Nanmen Rong’s life.

Feng Jiu was actually curious to see: given how determined the Crown Prince was to protect his mother-consort, could Emperor Qiwen still deliver Nanmen Rong completely into the hands of the Masked Lady?

If the Masked Lady were to move against Nanmen Rong tonight and Emperor Qiwen could still settle the matter smoothly — then this Masked Lady was truly someone to be guarded against.

A figure of such formidable ability — when exactly had she entered the palace, and who in the world had she been before?

Judging by her apparent age, she would not have been young ten-odd years ago either. Was it possible that the catastrophe that had befallen the Long family had something to do with her?

Yet even if not young at the time, this Lady’s age ten-odd years ago would not have been great — she should not have been so remarkable as to already be commanding such influence in the palace…

Many things remained beyond Feng Jiu’s grasp. But tonight, she could not stay here any longer.

The rear courtyard of the Tianjitang was quiet and still. Yet the moment Feng Jiu entered, she knew — he had come again.

They had parted on such absolute terms only tonight. Should he not still be in a temper? And yet here he was again — what did he want?

“Should I be thanking the Prince for sending his forces tonight to do me a great service, or should I be blaming the Prince for making His Majesty grow suspicious of me?”

She walked inside and pulled the door closed behind her.

She was heavy with exhaustion, dusty and road-worn, having been busy for nearly an entire night. Right now, looking at the large bed, all she wanted was to lie down. She had absolutely no desire to entangle with him again.

“Is your nerve not a little too great?” Zhan Qingcheng’s expression tonight was exceedingly dark. Even having known in advance what she intended to do — the fact that she had done it without giving him the slightest consideration to ask for his help was infuriating.

Was he truly so incapable that she could not rely on him? Or was she truly this confident in herself?

Everything tonight — one misstep, and her life would have been forfeit. Did any of it frighten her in the least?

“My lord Prince — did I not win my gamble?” Since she had won, why should the process matter?

Yet Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze had already fixed on her slightly disheveled collar. His eyes went crimson in an instant: “They had you verify your identity?”

Feng Jiu startled faintly, then looked down at herself, only then realizing that her collar had not been properly rearranged.

She was just about to pull it straight when a dark shadow flashed before her eyes, her wrist was seized with a sudden force, and before she could struggle, she had already been pulled toward him.

“Let go!”

“You actually undressed in front of everyone!” Damn it all — this damned girl! She had used the very tactic she used on him against everyone else!

Even knowing perfectly well that once she had removed her robes there was still another “skin” beneath — whether false skin or true skin, that was still skin.

She had actually displayed her own skin before everyone. What on earth had she made of him?

“You — my lord Prince, stop — stop—” Feng Jiu discovered with utter despair that her fighting ability, which was so formidable before all others, was completely useless against the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

A tearing sound — her robes were ripped open, and right after, even the male outer appearance she wore…