The “Yu” in Zhao Yu’s name.

Something seemed to flash through Jiu’er’s mind, but the flash came and went too quickly for her to grasp it.

Still, she vaguely felt she’d touched on some important clue…

“Young Madam, you’re so lucky to be with the young master.”

The maidservants couldn’t help envying her. While they were combing Feng Jiu’er’s hair after she came out, they stared at her face, looking a little dazed themselves.

“The young master is the best-looking man in our stronghold. So many girls here are fond of him.”

“But Young Madam, you’re also extremely beautiful. The two of you together really are a perfect match.”

Feng Jiu’er could tell their sincerity — there wasn’t a trace of falseness or mockery in it.

A flicker of curiosity rose in her. “If the young master is so wonderful, don’t you two like him?”

“Of course we like him! But the young master doesn’t like us, so it doesn’t matter how we feel.”

The two girls giggled, completely unbothered by the question, as if it were nothing to be embarrassed about.

Jiu’er suddenly thought of Qiao Mu — that girl was just like these two maids, always open and unguarded about such things.

When she liked the Ninth Imperial Uncle, it was real liking, real adoration and admiration — she’d fallen for him completely.

When she liked Yanu, it was also genuine affection, the kind that protected and cherished him at every turn.

She never hid how she felt.

These two girls were women of the mountain stronghold, bandits themselves, and yet that openhearted quality of theirs was far easier to like than to dislike.

By comparison, the women back in the imperial city — especially the wives and daughters of prestigious families — were each more hypocritical than the last, each more grating than the last.

Maybe it was better, after all, to live simply.

Before long, the door opened and someone walked in.

“Madam.” The two maids saw who it was and immediately greeted her.

There was no elaborate bow, but the respect for this woman was still clear. The way these two girls paid their respects suited Feng Jiu’er’s taste far more.

She found herself suddenly thinking that the people in this mountain stronghold really weren’t bad at all.

Of course — that only applied to the women.

As for the men… since there was still a hard battle to fight tonight, she couldn’t afford to go soft on any of them.

After all, they were still enemies for the moment. Showing mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself.

Feng Jiu’er watched the woman approach without greeting her or saying a word — she simply looked at her calmly.

“How is it that you see your future mother-in-law and don’t even bother to greet her?”

Though Madam said this, there wasn’t a hint of reproach in her tone.

This girl had been forced into marrying her son — Madam had been there herself when it happened, so of course she understood.

Still, the girl was clear-eyed and lovely, and more importantly, anyone could tell at a glance that she was unusually clever.

Her son hadn’t done badly at all, marrying a wife like this. So, Madam found herself rather fond of her.

She waved her hand, and the two maids withdrew at once, closing the door behind them.

“You’re at ease being alone with me like this?” Feng Jiu’er asked, a little surprised.

“You don’t know martial arts, but I do. There’s nothing to be uneasy about.”

Madam pulled a chair over and sat down beside her. “Besides, the dungeon is full of your family and friends. They can’t get out. Even if you knocked me unconscious and ran, it would be useless.”

After a pause, she added, “Little girl, I can tell you’re not the type to abandon your companions just to save yourself.”

“Who said I was?” Feng Jiu’er looked at her own reflection in the mirror, idly fiddling with the jewelry on the table.

The mountain stronghold really couldn’t compare to the city — even for a wedding, the jewelry here was sparse.

Even Madam, who held the highest status among all the women here, wore clothes that weren’t particularly fine.

And the jewelry she wore looked rather crude.

“What’s wrong? Do you look down on our stronghold for being poor? Worried your future days won’t be comfortable?”

Madam smiled and said gently, “We’re both women, I understand. Being made to marry a man so casually — of course you’re unhappy about it.”

“But our Yusheng is a good man. Once you two are married and you become his wife, he’ll never neglect you.”

“Is that so?” Jiu’er sounded utterly uninterested, saying carelessly, “But from what I see, he doesn’t want to marry me at all. Who knows — maybe he’ll mistreat me in the future.”

“How could he? Our Yusheng would never be that kind of man.”

The more Madam looked at her, the more she liked this daughter-in-law.

She smiled. “As his mother, I know his temperament better than anyone. Right now he’s unwilling, but once you two are married, no matter what, he’ll slowly learn to accept it.”

“Besides, our Yusheng is absolutely a responsible man. Once married, even if he doesn’t love you, he’ll still take responsibility for you.”

It sounded almost as if she’d found herself a real treasure — except the precondition was that she had to be willing.

Jiu’er lowered her eyes, looking at the hairpin in her hand.

Madam took the hairpin from her and pinned it into her hair bun.

“I heard you still want to go find your father. Is that right?”

“So what if I do? You’re not about to let me leave Zhao Family Stronghold anyway.” Jiu’er gave a short laugh.

Unexpectedly, Madam let out a soft sigh, saying in a faraway tone, “If it were possible, I’d actually wish Yusheng could leave this place.”

She looked out the window, her tone carrying an unmistakable note of helplessness.

Feng Jiu’er frowned slightly and turned her head to look at her. “What… do you mean by that?”

“Zhao Family Stronghold has stood here for over a hundred years.”

Madam stood up and walked to the window, gazing outside.

“In truth, we’re all just a bunch of people clinging stubbornly to old ways, locking ourselves inside our own walls. Living here, we know almost nothing of the world outside.”

“Yusheng has at least been out to see something of the world, but the farthest he’s gone is Phoenix City…”

“The young master has been to Phoenix City?” This genuinely surprised Feng Jiu’er.

Phoenix City was indeed the closest major city to this mountain range.

“He only went once, and came back in less than a month.”

Speaking of this, Madam didn’t seem the least bit inclined to scold him — instead, the corners of her mouth lifted with a faint smile.

“My son is endlessly curious about the world outside. He’s talented, he has his own dreams, and he has someone he admires.”

“Keeping him here forever really wouldn’t do him any good for his future.”

“Someone he admires…”

“Alright, you should focus on getting ready. I won’t keep you any longer. Once you and Yusheng are married, we’ll have a proper talk.”

Madam seemed to remember something and hurried off in a rush.

The two young maids came back in and resumed combing Jiu’er’s long hair.

Jiu’er stared at the face in the mirror as many thoughts slowly began to take root in her mind.

But under the current circumstances, most of those thoughts couldn’t be acted on yet.

How were the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Qiao Mu doing right now? Had they found the medicinal herbs? Could they have gotten lost in the stone forest too?

Time kept slipping away. Night was coming soon.