“You still think Feng Jiu is Feng Jiu’er?” Jian Yi frowned. He genuinely had no desire to involve himself in matters between women.

He was a grown man — what business did he have making things difficult for a young woman?

Besides, no matter which way you looked at that Feng Jiu, he was clearly a man. How could he possibly be Feng Jiu’er?

What young woman had a chest that flat? He was a man!

“She really is Feng Jiu’er — why won’t you believe me?”

Every time Feng Qingyin brought up this subject, she grew furious, so irritable she wanted to shout at someone.

She released him and went to stand in the doorway, blocking his path.

Urgently she said, “Do you know what happened? The last time she went to Feng Manor, I happened to be there as well. I had someone test her — and the result? She really is Feng Jiu’er!”

“How did you test her?” Jian Yi did not refuse to believe her out of stubbornness — it was simply that, plainly and clearly, the person was a man. How could he believe that a man would somehow turn into a young woman?

“I had someone…” Feng Qingyin’s words came to an abrupt halt. Having someone beat Yanu to test Feng Jiu’er — that was something she couldn’t possibly say in front of Jian Yi.

In Jian Yi’s heart, wasn’t she the very image of a pure and kind-hearted young woman? A gentle soul would never go around striking people at random.

“In any case — she’s taken the mute servant who used to wait on her at Feng Manor. Isn’t that the best evidence?”

“That matter — didn’t you ask me to look into it? It was only because Feng Jiu intended to use Yanu to test medicine.”

He had also made his way to Tianji Hall at one point. That mute servant had indeed followed Feng Jiu — but Feng Jiu had indeed been using him to test medicines the whole time.

Yanu’s face was still wrapped in thick layers of bandaging, with only his nose, mouth, and eyes exposed. Wasn’t that because Feng Jiu had been applying medicine to his face?

A physician wanting to trial their own medicines, taking back a disfigured servant to make use of — that was entirely reasonable and sensible. What was there to suspect?

The only coincidence was that the servant being used as a medicine tester happened to be Feng Jiu’er’s former attendant — nothing more.

“Qingyin, don’t read too much into it. He really is a man, not a young woman. You even personally tested this yourself.”

Though he hadn’t witnessed how Feng Qingyin had conducted the test, based on what she’d told him, he could roughly imagine the scene at the time.

If Feng Jiu had truly been a young woman, she would have been exposed by Feng Qingyin on that very occasion.

Feng Qingyin was growing anxious. This stubborn fool! What would it take to make him believe that Feng Jiu was truly Feng Jiu’er?

“Regardless — I’ve decided she is Feng Jiu’er! Jian Yi, if you want me to feel better, then kill her for me! As long as she lives, I will never be able to live happily.”

Jian Yi stared at her face. This was the first time Feng Qingyin had been so insistent on asking him to kill someone.

She was such a gentle and kind young woman — she had never been willing to do anything that caused harm or injury, let alone kill.

If she wanted someone killed, it must be because that person was truly wicked to the core and beyond all redemption.

But based on his own observations over this period of time, Feng Jiu was merely a physician — not any sort of villain.

True, Tianji Hall had a great many ventures running behind the scenes, but these were simply business dealings. Nothing nefarious had been done.

Most importantly, he had witnessed with his own eyes Feng Jiu saving lives. The earnestness with which he saved people was something worthy of others’ admiration.

He was an assassin — he had only ever taken lives, never saved them. And yet even he understood one truth: to save a life was worth more than seven tiers of a great pagoda.

The lives Feng Jiu had saved — how many blessings must he have accumulated.

Feng Jiu… in this regard, was a good person.

“Qingyin…”

“Kill her, and I’ll leave the palace with you — to live a life free and unrestrained.” Feng Qingyin spoke suddenly, her tone resolute.

“Qingyin!” Jian Yi’s heart leapt. He had never expected her to finally agree to leave the imperial capital with him.

“Did you mean that… truly?” As long as they left this palace, Qingyin would no longer have to go serve the emperor’s bed, no longer have to do those things that pained him so.

“Of course I meant it.” Feng Qingyin’s eyes shimmered — clear, transparent, and steadfast. No one could have seen through it. She was only coaxing him.

Naturally, to Feng Qingyin, how hard could it be to put on a little performance to handle a man?

Over all these years, how many men had she coaxed?

Once Jian Yi eliminated Feng Jiu’er, she could find any number of excuses to tell him she had unavoidable reasons for not being able to leave the palace.

She could even stage a bitter-flesh stratagem — if she took a small injury, Jian Yi would be heart-stricken.

And the moment Jian Yi was heart-stricken, he would certainly be unable to press her further.

This silly, naive man — sometimes she was rather fond of him. He was simply too pure, too foolish.

“A large part of why I don’t dare to leave the palace is because of Feng Jiu’er. I’m afraid that after I leave, her people will come after me — that they’ll kill me.”

“With me by your side, there’s no need to fear. I will absolutely never let them harm so much as a hair on your head.”

“But I have no martial skill, and you can’t truly guard me every moment of every day.”

“I can…”

“Impossible. There will always be moments when you’re not beside me. They’ll definitely find an opportunity — they’ll definitely come and kill me.”

Feng Qingyin seized his arm and shook it. “Don’t you want to take me away? Then kill Feng Jiu for me. As long as you kill her, I’ll go with you! I’ll definitely go with you — to live the life you want to live!”

And so it was with this conviction — with the belief that he and Feng Qingyin would one day share a beautiful life together — that Jian Yi came to perch on the rooftop of Tianji Hall.

In truth, he still wavered. Feng Jiu was a physician who saved lives. Was he truly going to kill him, just to be with the woman he loved?

The cool wind and the bright moon offered him no answer.

Why was Qingyin so certain that Feng Jiu was a young woman? Why did she hate him so deeply that she insisted on his death?

If he… if he merely crippled Feng Jiu’s martial arts — would that suffice?

He gently lifted a single roof tile…

Below, Feng Jiu’er, who had just been about to change her clothes, felt her eyes grow still, her senses sharpening — the presence above her felt wrong.

Damn. Tonight the Ninth Prince had matters to attend to, and after she had persuaded Mu Mu to head back, she had not expected a highly skilled intruder to come instead.

Mu Mu was right — the guards at Tianji Hall truly were not up to par.

Still, an expert of this calibre was not someone ordinary people could stop.

Had his presence not carried such an obvious hesitation, she might not have detected him at all.

But a person who had come to spy — what exactly was he hesitating about?

Feng Jiu’er pretended to notice nothing amiss, walked to one side and sat down, bending forward as though to remove her shoes.

The moment Jian Yi began to relax his guard, there was a sharp swish of sound — a cold gleam flashed. Feng Jiu’er’s hand held a short knife that had seemingly materialized from nowhere. The blade blazed with light as it cleaved through the roof tiles and drove straight toward his face!