When Feng Jiu’er walked into the side hall, Lan Yue was holding something in his hands, studying it intently.

He was so absorbed that his attention did not quite seem to be on the object itself — rather, he looked as though he was staring at it while lost in thought.

Only when Jiu’er drew close enough did she see: he was looking at a jade pendant.

“Uncle.” Jiu’er walked over and called out softly.

Lan Yue jolted back to awareness. He looked at Feng Jiu’er standing before him, and the object in his hand disappeared into his palm.

He had clearly taken it out deliberately, yet then tucked it away again just as suddenly. Something about Uncle’s expression seemed off.

“Uncle, what were you thinking about?” Feng Jiu’er sat down beside him, waved Qiao Mu out of the room, and poured Lan Yue a full cup of tea.

“Uncle, what were you just holding? Was it something meant for me?”

This girl always spoke so directly. Lan Yue let out a quiet sigh and at last opened his palm.

“What is this?” The jade pendant had a pattern carved into it!

Jiu’er took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. “It looks like… I’ve seen this somewhere before?”

“You couldn’t have seen it before. But if you took out that terrain map you showed me the other day and looked at it alongside the pendant, you might find something new.”

Jiu’er immediately reached into her sleeve pouch and drew out the terrain map.

Lan Yue took the jade pendant back from her hand and placed it in the center of the map.

The map was a cluster of somewhat blurred lines, drawn without great clarity. But once the jade pendant was placed on top, and she looked at the terrain map through the gaps of the carved pattern, a different image seemed to emerge.

“This… it almost looks like a mountain range?” How had Uncle come to possess such a jade pendant? And it actually worked in conjunction with the terrain map?

Feng Jiu’er’s eyes brimmed with endless astonishment. She looked back at Lan Yue and sensed that after confirming the connection between the pendant and the map, the shadows in his eyes had grown several shades darker.

Uncle seemed to be in a rather low mood.

“Uncle…”

“Take the jade pendant. It’s for you.”

“Why?” A moment ago she could clearly see that this pendant held considerable meaning to him.

“I have no use for it.” Lan Yue had no wish to elaborate. Since this girl carried the Feng Clan’s treasure map, she had far greater need of the pendant.

He had originally thought the pendant was meant to be given to Feng Jiu’er — and yet, it turned out to be given to a girl named Feng Jiu instead.

Was there perhaps some arrangement in fate’s design? He had never met the real Jiu’er, yet he had always felt that Feng Jiu and Jiu’er were remarkably alike.

No — not alike to Jiu’er, exactly. After all, Jiu’er had been only an infant when he left the capital. By the time he returned, Jiu’er was already gone from this world.

Perhaps he simply felt that this girl resembled his sister…

This jade pendant — now that Jiu’er had taken it, perhaps when the time came and she reached the Feng Clan’s territory, it would truly be of use.

She couldn’t yet tell what the image visible through the pendant represented — not until she arrived. Once she got there, things would surely become clear.

For now, however, what weighed on her more was Uncle and Grandfather.

“Uncle, can you promise me one thing?”

“What is it?” Since this girl had lost her martial arts, Lan Yue’s attitude toward her had become considerably warmer compared to before.

She couldn’t quite say whether it was sympathy, or pity, or something else entirely — but whenever he looked at her now, he always felt a pang of tenderness in his chest. How could he possibly remain cold toward her?

Feng Jiu’er fell silent for a moment. Only after confirming there was no one else nearby did she lower her voice and say: “Uncle, please don’t make any rash moves for now — can you wait until I return before…”

“My affairs are none of your concern.” Lan Yue’s expression darkened. The words made his refusal unmistakable.

He was now certain that Feng Jiu would not harm him, and would not harm the brothers of the Manor. But this was his own matter. Since Feng Jiu had no particular ties to Emperor Qiwen, it was better that she not wade into these murky waters.

Besides, he had already planned to get his elderly father properly settled the moment Feng Jiu left, then begin his next round of action.

With Feng Jiu gone from the capital, whether his operation was exposed or not, at least she would not be implicated.

Her departure was, to him, the best possible moment.

Though Lan Yue said nothing, the air about him laid his intentions bare for Feng Jiu’er to read clearly.

“Uncle, you can’t!” He was actually planning to launch another wave of attacks while she was away from the capital! How could he! It was far too dangerous!

Not to mention, within the palace there was still that veiled lady whose martial prowess was beyond anything Feng Jiu’er could even imagine!

Though the veiled lady might not particularly care whether Emperor Qiwen lived or died, judging by what she had seen, the veiled lady had no shortage of plans in motion — and Emperor Qiwen might be of use to her.

If he served a purpose, the veiled lady would not allow him to die at Uncle’s hand.

And if it came to a direct confrontation with the veiled lady — Feng Jiu’er truly had no confidence in whether Uncle would stand any chance of winning.

She herself had experienced firsthand how formidable the veiled lady was! Even Ninth Imperial Uncle had been wounded by her hand — could Lan Yue be certain his own martial arts surpassed those of Ninth Imperial Uncle?

He certainly could not be certain.

“Uncle, listen to me. The palace is full of powerful experts. You may not even find an opening to get close to Emperor Qiwen. And after what happened with the last assassination attempt, Emperor Qiwen has deployed even more skilled fighters. The palace guards are now stricter than ever, with traps everywhere. If you try to force your way in, wouldn’t that be walking straight into a net?”

“I said — my affairs are none of your concern. All you need to do is go to the Feng Clan in peace and find what you’re looking for.”

“Uncle…”

Lan Yue stood up, preparing to leave.

Feng Jiu’er followed after him, anxious. “Uncle, if Jiu’er were still alive, she would never want to see you act so recklessly!”

Recklessly. She knew she had gone too far with those words. Uncle carried a blood debt of the deepest kind. The pressure he bore, and the pain he had endured in silence all these years, was not something she could begin to imagine.

So calling him reckless — those were words that truly cut deep.

But given the present circumstances, attempting an assassination on the palace at this juncture truly was reckless.

“Uncle…” Jiu’er stepped up behind him, knowing he had been wounded in his pride by her choice of words. But some things still had to be said.

“Just listen to me this once — wait just a little longer. Wait until I return. All right?”

“When you return — will you be helping me assassinate Emperor Qiwen, or helping the Ninth Prince mediate things and convince me to abandon my revenge?”

The question stopped Feng Jiu’er cold. She had no answer.

If she had a choice, what she wanted right now was naturally for Uncle to bide his time — to wait until she had uncovered the true mastermind behind everything before acting.

But to Uncle, wasn’t that the same as crushing his life’s purpose with her own hands?

He had lived all these years for one thing alone: revenge. And Jiu’er did not wish to see him like this — yet this was his obsession.

More than ten years. To shatter an obsession that had taken root so deeply — how unbearably difficult would that be?