“It’s alright. Long Yi — call the brothers over to eat.”

Qiao Mu’s voice carried a certain force to it, clear enough for Long Yi to hear even from a considerable distance away.

“Coming.”

Long Yi called back in a loud reply.

He blinked, then glanced at the person before him, and only then did it register that he had just been in the middle of discussing something with His Highness.

For such a lapse in composure, Long Yi wasn’t even sure who he could blame — the only culprit was Qiao Mu’s voice cutting through everything like that.

Though, had he ever actually offended Qiao Mu?

What was this young Miss Qiao’s intention exactly?

Long Yi looked at Zhan Qingcheng, and with a touch of helplessness, lowered his head.

Following the direction of Long Yi’s voice with her gaze, Feng Jiu’er nearly dropped the bowl of snake broth in her hands.

“Hot—”

Her hand gave a little jerk, and a drop of broth that had sloshed over spilled onto her finger.

Feng Jiang moved quickly, taking the bowl of hot snake broth from Feng Jiu’er’s hand.

“How can you be so careless?”

Holding the bowl in one hand, he picked up Feng Jiu’er’s reddened finger with the other. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head and quickly withdrew her hand.

“Jian Yi, I’d like another bowl of snake broth. Qiao Mu — is the roasted meat ready? I want to bring some over for the Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

Qiao Mu glanced up, the short blade in her hand still moving steadily as she sliced. This sort of thing she had long since been accustomed to.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er glanced in Zhan Qingcheng’s direction, then looked back at Jian Yi. “Why didn’t the Ninth Imperial Uncle say anything when he came back?”

Jian Yi was still occupied with portioning out the snake broth.

“You didn’t ask — though when the Ninth Prince arrived, he came from your direction. I assumed you all knew.”

Thinking back to that gust of wind just before she fell asleep, and then to what had appeared in her dream, Feng Jiu’er didn’t rule out that the Ninth Imperial Uncle had actually passed right by her at the time.

How deeply had she been sleeping?

To have paid him no notice at all.

Before long, Feng Jiu’er had a bowl of snake broth in one hand, a piece of roasted mutton in the other, and set off toward Zhan Qingcheng.

Her own hunger could wait — what mattered most was making sure the Ninth Imperial Uncle didn’t go without eating.

Looking across the distance toward him, she felt as though — having not seen him for two days — he seemed to have grown a little thinner.

By the time Feng Jiu’er made her way over to Zhan Qingcheng, those who had been gathered around him had already dispersed.

Sure enough, he hadn’t only grown thinner — there seemed to be faint traces of redness in the corners of his eyes as well.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and sat down beside Zhan Qingcheng. “Here — have some snake broth.”

Zhan Qingcheng glanced over briefly, then let his eyes fall back to the map册 in his hands.

Feng Jiu’er shifted to half-kneel and began spooning the broth into his mouth one mouthful at a time.

“Where did you go these past two days? You left without a word and had me worried sick!”

Zhan Qingcheng set the map aside on a nearby stone and looked down at the girl beside him.

“Is Feng Jiang better-looking than me?”

Feng Jiu’er looked at the man before her without blinking, momentarily caught off guard.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, you… what did you say?”

“Tell Feng Jiang to go. I’ll lead the way.”

He dropped that remark and picked up the map again, flipping it open.

Feng Jiu’er felt a line form between her brows, genuinely at a loss as to what she had done to provoke this great figure.

“Third Imperial Brother, he—”

“He is not your Third Imperial Brother!”

Zhan Qingcheng cut Feng Jiu’er off, his voice cold.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, what exactly is the matter with you? Can you tell me clearly, please?”

Feng Jiu’er’s words, which should have been spoken with confidence, seemed by the end to have dwindled until only she herself could hear them.

Receiving no response from him, she let out a quiet sigh and ladled another spoonful of snake broth for him.

“Whatever the case — eat your fill first, and after that, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

Had this fellow worked himself to the point of confusion from hunger, and that was why he had suddenly flared up? What could Third Imperial Brother have possibly done to offend him?

Feng Jiu’er couldn’t make sense of it.

“You’ll listen to whatever I say?”

Zhan Qingcheng finally seemed willing to give Feng Jiu’er a look.

Feng Jiu’er met his gaze, pressed her lips together, and nodded.

Did she even have another choice?

“Mm — if not you, then who else would I listen to?”

Against her own better feelings, Feng Jiu’er spoke the truth aloud.

“Say that I’m better-looking than Feng Jiang.”

Zhan Qingcheng tossed out the remark in an offhand tone and shifted his gaze away.

Watching that figure so earnestly poring over the map, Feng Jiu’er wondered for a moment if she had heard wrong.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, you…” She blinked a few times, briefly at a loss for words.

“This Prince despises most of all those who go back on their word.”

Zhan Qingcheng’s presence seemed to grow even more formidable.

Feng Jiu’er drew a slow breath and replaced her expression with a bright smile.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, what did you say? Of course you’re more handsome than Feng Jiang — you are the most handsome man I have ever seen. Isn’t that just stating the obvious?”

She paused, a feeling creeping over her that something was slightly off, and she furrowed her brow and glanced around.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, were you listening in on my conversation with Qiao Mu? We were—”

“Is this Prince that sort of person?”

Zhan Qingcheng cut Feng Jiu’er off, his tone low.

Catching that subtle shift in his expression, Feng Jiu’er finally pieced things together.

“No — of course not.”

Feng Jiu’er set the bowl down on the nearby stone and scooted closer to Zhan Qingcheng, tilting her face up toward him with a wave of her hand.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle simply missed Jiu’er and wanted to come see me the moment he returned — it was absolutely not a matter of eavesdropping.”

“And seeing me asleep, he didn’t have the heart to disturb me and slipped away again, isn’t that right?”

She pulled out a comb, stood up, and moved around to Zhan Qingcheng’s back.

Gathering his dark, lustrous hair in her hands, she raised an eyebrow and let the comb fall gently through his strands.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I won’t pretend — I’ll admit that what I said at the time wasn’t what I truly felt.”

“It’s all Qiao Mu’s fault. She and my Thi— and Feng Jiang kept bickering back and forth, so I got it into my head to nudge her into taking Feng Jiang off the market.”

“Just think about it: Feng Jiang’s abilities are strong, and he’s loyal and devoted. He really shouldn’t remain at Feng Qiongcang’s side. It’s a waste.”

As she combed through Zhan Qingcheng’s hair, Feng Jiu’er couldn’t resist glancing sideways at the man’s expression.

Clearing her throat lightly, she drew her gaze back from his profile and continued, “But as it turned out, Qiao Mu said she wanted to find a man even more handsome than my man.”

“I knew it was impossible, so I deceived her and said that Feng Jiang was more handsome than my Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

The moment Feng Jiu’er’s words fell, something in Zhan Qingcheng’s presence shifted immediately.

“Is that truly how it was?”

The man’s voice was still somewhat composed, yet Feng Jiu’er could tell plainly that he was no longer angry.

And whether it was because of his own satisfaction, he even seemed faintly pleased.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

With practiced ease, she gathered his long hair and tied it back. Then, with a perfectly well-behaved expression, she returned to Zhan Qingcheng’s side.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, how about a little more snake broth? I’m hungry too, and if I don’t go get some soon, I’m afraid it’ll all be eaten up.”

She blinked those round, bright eyes at him, her voice so gentle she could hardly stand the sound of herself.

Even so, the Ninth Imperial Uncle seemed remarkably receptive to this approach of hers.

He actually took the bowl from her hands and, with the air of bestowing a great favor, said, “Go on then — I can manage on my own.”

“Yes — Ninth Imperial Uncle, make sure you finish it all.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded, stood up, and turned to walk away with light, breezy steps.

No matter what, as long as the Ninth Imperial Uncle was no longer angry, that was what counted. If he wasn’t angry, Third Imperial Brother wouldn’t be driven away without cause.