Mu Mu merely looked at Jiu’er indifferently, not bothering to respond.

He’d heard that she had forgotten everything from her past, and there was still no telling when—or if—her memory would return.

He hadn’t been by her side these past days, so he had no idea of the specifics.

Still, this lass’s lecherous nature was clearly unchanged.

“After seeing Zhan Qingcheng’s peerless beauty this morning, can anyone else’s face still catch your eye?”

Mu Mu sat down beside her, picked up his cup, and remarked casually.

Goodness! Speaking so bluntly—he really was a true bro, no doubt about it!

Jiu’er glanced at him and smiled. “Everyone loves beauty. It would break my heart to see something so beautiful ruined!”

“You’d best not let that fellow hear you say that.”

“Or else what?”

“Figure it out yourself.” Mu Mu couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

The tea served in the Feng Clan’s court had its own distinct flavor—after drinking it, a fragrance lingered on the lips and tongue. It really was quite good.

Once he’d sat down, he began savoring his tea at his leisure, utterly relaxed, as if the princess’s authority meant nothing to him at all.

Among those below, some watched with a mix of envy and resentment, while others looked on with disdain.

They had already had people look into this batch of rivals, and had thoroughly investigated those few whose backgrounds were especially “unusual.”

Sure enough, they were nothing more than uncouth bumpkins from who-knew-where, utterly ignorant of court etiquette.

Even if such people managed to enter the Princess’s Palace, at most they’d end up as nobodies, toyed with by the princess and then discarded.

In the end, the only ones with any right to contend for the position of Emperor Consort would surely be men of noble birth like themselves!

Feng Jiu’er didn’t dare think that far.

As for why she didn’t dare, even she herself probably couldn’t say.

In any case, not thinking about it was the right call. The moment she pictured that tall figure, and recalled what she’d said… eek, the feeling of a cold blade against her neck—that was a little terrifying.

“Here, let me put some more medicine on you, or I’m afraid it’ll scar.”

No matter how much she didn’t want to think about it, the wound on Mu Mu’s face was always hard to look at.

“No need.”

“I said you need it!” Why was he being so stubborn?

A person’s face mattered so much! How could he not care at all?

Mu Mu stopped refusing and simply let her fuss over him however she liked.

Watching the princess apply medicine to that country bumpkin again and again, the people below ground their teeth in jealousy.

With such a lowly background, what right did he have?

“Even though your martial arts are good, you still need to be more careful from now on while you’re in the palace.”

Jiu’er put the medicine bottle away, leaned closer to him, and whispered, “Those people down there are full of scheming minds.”

“If you know they’re full of scheming minds, you still want them around?” Mu Mu snorted coldly.

“When did I say I wanted them? Isn’t this Father Emperor’s decree? I could never disobey an imperial order.”

Feng Jiu’er said this with a grin—whether she really didn’t want them, who could say?

This girl was a born lecher through and through.

Even though none of the men below possessed even one ten-thousandth of Zhan Qingcheng’s charm, who could say whether this lecherous girl might occasionally stray anyway?

Mu Mu had absolutely no confidence in her.

What kind of security could there be with a woman who lost her head the moment she saw a handsome man?

Jiu’er glared at his disdainful look and nearly bristled with anger.

Was she really that shallow a person? This man was clearly slandering her, ruining her good name!

“…Wow! That move of Jian Yi’s was so cool! Ah, gorgeous…”

Mu Mu could only pick up his cup, drink his tea, and say nothing more.

The results of the martial trial were much simpler and more direct than those of the literary trial.

The literary trial needed the judges above to weigh and consider, but in the martial trial, the winner could be seen right there on the spot.

Jian Yi was selected without question.

However, Mu Mu also noticed that among the contestants, two had exceptionally high martial skill.

During the match, they had both been concealing their true strength.

Even so, winning had still been effortless for them.

This Feng Clan truly was a place teeming with skilled masters, hiding crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

The moment the matches ended, Feng Jiu’er pulled Mu Mu and Jian Yi back to her own Princess’s Palace.

Even Mu Mu had never before seen a princess with so much power and so unrestrained in her behavior.

Though he had traveled to quite a few places in his life, he had really only gone back and forth among a handful of kingdoms.

All of them were places where men held supremacy; princesses were generally raised deep within the palace, destined either to be married off to the sons of powerful, high-ranking ministers,

or married off to another kingdom for some political purpose.

In short, princesses were nothing more than pawns the royal family used to maintain its own power.

But here, the princess—Jiu’er—was said to be destined to become the ruler of the entire nation.

Upon entering, one could see that the Princess’s Palace was indeed grand in scale—even an imperial prince’s sleeping quarters might not match such a size.

There were countless maids and eunuchs, but since Jiu’er preferred quiet, most of the time the maids and eunuchs stayed only in the outer courtyard.

The inner courtyard, on the other hand, had hardly anyone in it.

“Well? You’ll be living here from now on—do you like it?”

Jiu’er turned back to look at Mu Mu and Jian Yi, walking behind her.

Jian Yi had already stayed in the Princess’s Palace for several days and had grown familiar with the place.

As for liking it or not, it really made no difference to him.

As long as he had a roof to keep out the wind and rain, it was all the same.

As for whether he’d live here in the future, that wasn’t something he needed to think about.

Feng Jiu’er was his boss, and wherever his boss was, that’s where he’d be.

His requirements had always been simple—enough food, warm clothes, and a roof over his head was enough.

Mu Mu, however, stared at Feng Jiu’er, a flicker of complicated emotion crossing his brow.

“Do you really intend to live here forever?”

“What else would I do?” Wasn’t she the Feng Clan’s princess?

Father Emperor was here, so she should be here too.

Although she had never really felt much sense of belonging toward this Feng Clan palace,

as for the identity of being the Feng Clan’s princess, she didn’t know whose influence it was, but she felt she had never really doubted it much.

Especially since she liked the family she had here.

Fourth Imperial Uncle treated her so well, and though Third Imperial Brother often bickered with her, she knew he genuinely cared for her too.

Aside from Father Emperor, from whom she felt little familial warmth, everyone else gave her a sense of comfort and security.

She simply disliked palace life—disliked this feeling of being bound, even watched, this stifling oppressiveness.

But if she really had to leave, she had no idea, for the moment, where she could even go.

If she left, wouldn’t that mean never seeing Fourth Imperial Uncle again?

No, no, no, she couldn’t leave Fourth Imperial Uncle—he was badly injured and still needed her care.

Mu Mu studied her expression. This lass had truly grown attached to this place.

“What if, one day, you discovered you weren’t really the Feng Clan’s true princess—would you still be willing to stay here?”

“What if, one day, they found out I wasn’t the real princess—Father Emperor would drive me out himself without my needing to leave. Would I even get a say in the matter?”

That answer left Mu Mu unable to argue.

If she truly wasn’t the real princess, what use would it be for the Feng Clan’s Emperor to keep her here?