Feng Jiang walked to the doorway and pushed the door open, calling out to the junior eunuch outside: “Prepare breakfast.”

“Yes, Third Imperial Prince.” The junior eunuch received the command and immediately hurried away.

Feng Jiang turned back to look at Feng Jiu’er and flashed her a bright grin: “Come on — keep Third Imperial Elder Brother company for breakfast.”

“Are you always this optimistic?” He had just been beaten, and now he had already forgotten the pain?

A’Jiu followed along behind him, and suddenly felt a creeping twinge of worry: “Wait a moment — you said Imperial Father knew everything. In that case, does he also know that we went to Fourth Imperial Uncle’s place last night?”

She was a little anxious, and unease began slowly spreading through her heart: “Imperial Father… will he punish Fourth Imperial Uncle?”

Feng Jiang paused, as though this thought had not occurred to him before.

After a moment’s consideration, he said: “I used to go and visit Fourth Imperial Uncle all the time. Imperial Father was aware of it — yet he never once rebuked me for it.”

“But then — when you went out of the palace before, would Imperial Father beat you for that?”

“Of course not.”

After those words, the two of them looked at each other. A shadow of unease swept through both their hearts.

For A’Jiu especially — all at once, she could barely keep herself from dashing out the door then and there, straight to the Night Prince Manor, to see for herself whether Fourth Imperial Uncle was all right.

She did not want to imagine her own Imperial Father as something so ruthless and cruel — yet the wounds on Third Imperial Elder Brother’s body had been a sight that shook one to the core.

“Don’t worry. Fourth Imperial Uncle is Imperial Father’s own brother by blood. All these years, he has built great merit for the Feng Clan — and what is most rare is that he has never once sought reward for any of it.”

The legends of the Night Prince were known to all throughout the Feng Clan.

“Imperial Father won’t say a word of reproach to Fourth Imperial Uncle. Trust me.”

A’Jiu gave a nod, yet a thread of unease still lingered in her heart.

She did not know why, but she felt as though her heart was being clenched and squeezed — again and again. Not painful, exactly — yet the feeling within her chest was heavy and suffocating.

As though the gate of her heart had been stabbed through, over and over, by something sharp.

“Has Fourth Imperial Uncle been out on campaign all this time? Now that he’s back — how long will he be staying?”

“You’re quite fond of Fourth Imperial Uncle, aren’t you?”

“Yes — very fond.” Feng Jiu’er made no attempt to hide it. She loved watching Fourth Imperial Uncle when he spoke. Most of all, she loved watching Fourth Imperial Uncle smile.

“If I could master a formidable set of martial skills, I would follow Fourth Imperial Uncle to the battlefield and defend our homeland!”

Her heart burned with the spirit of it — too bad she had not a scrap of martial arts ability to speak of.

On that point, Feng Jiang found it genuinely puzzling.

“Feng Nü — the future Empress — ought to have the finest martial arts of all. Look at Imperial Father: he was Feng Zi of the previous generation, and his martial arts were the finest of that generation too.”

“But didn’t you say Fourth Imperial Uncle’s martial arts are unrivaled in all the world?” Feng Jiu’er gave him a look, skepticism plain on her face. “So who is actually the best?”

“Huh?” Feng Jiang was stumped. This question had genuinely caught him off guard.

Feng Jiu’er’s brow furrowed lightly as she turned it over in her mind.

“By all rights, the martial arts of Feng Zi and Feng Nü ought to be the most powerful among their generation…”

In the end, he gave up the struggle. This question had no answer.

“Fourth Imperial Uncle can’t exactly spar with Imperial Father — so I suppose Imperial Father is still the most powerful. It’s just that, being the sovereign of a nation, he would never draw his hand lightly. We’ve simply never had the chance to see it.”

Dwelling on this question served no purpose whatsoever. It wasn’t as though the two of them, brothers, would ever come to blows.

Besides, Imperial Father was the Emperor. Who in the world would dare raise a hand against the Emperor?

As for foreign invasions — these past years, with Fourth Imperial Uncle holding the line, it had never even been Imperial Father’s turn to act.

And so, for many years now, no one had ever witnessed Imperial Father in battle. Who could say to what heights of mastery his martial arts had climbed?

“But the one we were talking about is you. You are Feng Nü — and yet you have no martial arts whatsoever. Wouldn’t that be an embarrassment if word got out?”

Feng Jiu’er rolled her eyes at him. It wasn’t as though she had chosen to have no martial arts!

“Is there any way to let me master top-tier martial skills in a short amount of time?”

Being completely without martial ability — living every day like a useless person, good for nothing but eating — was truly dull.

If she could have even a fraction of Third Imperial Elder Brother’s lightness technique, she could go out on her own any time she liked — she could go and find Fourth Imperial Uncle whenever she pleased. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

“Our Feng Clan does actually have one such divine technique — perfectly suited for someone like you, with absolutely no inner energy to speak of. It can allow a person to cultivate supreme martial arts in the shortest amount of time. But, it’s only a legend.”

He had never witnessed it himself, so naturally he had no way of knowing if it was true.

“Perhaps if you ask Imperial Father, he would know.” As for Feng Jiang — for now, he was perfectly happy to stay as far away from Imperial Father as possible.

Out of sight, out of mind — if Imperial Father couldn’t see him, perhaps he wouldn’t stay angry for so long.

Yet Feng Jiu’er kept turning his words over and over in her mind: a secret manual that could allow one to cultivate supreme martial arts in a short time. A person with no inner energy at all…

Where had she heard these words before?

Why did she always feel as though someone had said exactly the same thing to her once — and that it had been something of great importance?

The Feng Phoenix Mark. Feng Nü. No martial arts… stripped away… martial arts…

Her head suddenly tightened with a sharp, piercing ache.

Countless blurred figures. Countless faces she could not make out clearly. They flashed one after another through her mind.

A woman. A woman dressed in white, who pressed her down upon a bed.

Her fingers were cool as ice — without a trace of warmth. Those long fingers came to rest upon the small of her back, gently stroking the Phoenix Mark there.

Yes — the Phoenix Mark. It turned out she had always known: there was a Phoenix Mark on the small of her back.

But what was the white-robed woman trying to do? She could not make out her face clearly — and yet why could she always feel that icy, chilling presence emanating from her?

No — don’t press down. Don’t strip away her martial arts. Don’t…

Who are you? Who in the world are you? Why would you harm her? Why would you take away her martial arts?

Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me…

Ninth Imperial Uncle. Ninth Imperial Uncle…

Feng Jiang had been talking at length, yet this girl gave not the slightest reaction.

He spared a glance at her — and to his shock, saw that Feng Jiu’er’s eyes had rolled back. Her body went limp, and she began to crumple toward the ground.

“A’Jiu!” Feng Jiang was horrified. He flung down his chopsticks and shot to his feet.

He caught her before she could hit the ground, pulling her into his arms.

One look — and the fright nearly overwhelmed him too.

The girl’s complexion was deathly pale, utterly bloodless. Her breathing was ragged and disordered. Without any warning at all, she looked exactly as though she had suffered a severe internal injury.

“Someone come — summon the Imperial Physicians! Someone — come quickly!” Feng Jiang gathered Feng Jiu’er up in his arms, thought for a moment, then turned and ran at full speed toward Feng Qingcang’s imperial bedchamber.

“Imperial Father — Imperial Father! Something has happened to A’Jiu — Imperial Father!”

Feng Qingcang was in the side hall at that moment, engaged in a matter of state with his ministers. The eunuch had only just come to deliver the report as they were beginning a political discussion.

Upon hearing that something had happened to A’Jiu, Feng Qingcang dropped the memorial in his hand and immediately rose to his feet.

Without a single word of instruction to anyone, he walked directly toward the imperial bedchamber.

“Summon Yanu — attend to the Princess!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Inside and outside the imperial bedchamber, the news of the Princess falling gravely ill sent everyone into a flurry of anxious activity.

But their Princess Jiu’er — why did it seem as though she was calling out to someone, over and over?

Ninth Imperial Uncle? The Feng Clan — where did a Ninth Imperial Uncle come from?