Mu Mu withdrew his hand, picked up a cloth to wipe it, and didn’t respond to Feng Jiu’er’s words.

The room finally settled into quiet, and lunch continued.

After the meal, the group set off together for Zhan Qingcheng’s residence in Phoenix City.

The moment she dismounted, Feng Jiu’er turned to look at the man beside her.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, go ahead and attend to your business. I’m going to check on Jian Yi.”

“Mm.” Zhan Qingcheng raised no objection.

Being here for the first time, Feng Jiu’er wasn’t familiar with the layout, but with Qiao Mu, who knew the place, by her side, she had nothing to worry about.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, see you later!” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Zhan Qingcheng once more, her eyes drifting curiously around at her surroundings.

“Don’t wander off and cause trouble.” With that, Zhan Qingcheng led his horse off toward the main hall.

Watching the man’s retreating figure, Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow.

She hadn’t expected that even now, the Ninth Imperial Uncle would still treat her like a child—what a failure!

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at the others still on horseback behind her, then took hold of Zhuiyue’s reins and leapt onto her horse.

“Qiao Mu, where are our rooms? And Jian Yi—where did you put him?”

“Just follow me.” Qiao Mu pulled her horse’s reins and headed off in another direction.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing more and rode after her.

As long as she wasn’t too close to the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s quarters, that would be fine—right now she had absolutely no desire to deal with Di Ji, Ye Luocha, and the rest of them.

Let alone actual fighting—even just being on guard against them would affect her mood.

Feng Jiu’er only wanted to spend a happy, meaningful New Year. After all this hard work, taking a few days to relax wasn’t too much to ask.

She turned to look at Mu Mu, who had caught up beside her, and asked with a smile, “Is your room close to ours, Mu Mu?”

“Right next door,” Qiao Mu answered softly. “Your courtyard is in the middle, with the Ninth Prince and Mu Mu each on either side.”

“Thanks to you, we get to stay in this large courtyard—otherwise, who knows where we’d have been put up.”

“You mean the Ninth Imperial Uncle is staying over there too?” Feng Jiu’er looked at Qiao Mu, frowning.

“Is there a problem?” Qiao Mu glanced at her, then looked away. “The Ninth Prince obviously wasn’t staying over there originally, and neither was Mu Mu.”

“It’s only because they knew you were coming back that they each took up a courtyard over there.”

“Our Miss Feng’s influence has always been this far-reaching—surely you’re not just finding that out now?”

Watching Qiao Mu turn down another path, Feng Jiu’er pulled on her reins, momentarily stunned.

Mu Mu slowed his pace to match hers and asked softly, “What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”

Feng Jiu’er turned to meet his gaze and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

With that, she continued forward.

Whether or not her influence was significant wasn’t the point—the point was, why had they only moved over there once she came back?

If they knew they’d be putting her there, why hadn’t they moved sooner, before all the fuss?

Without Mu Mu noticing, Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet sigh.

At this point, it would be hard to avoid drawing the attention of Di Ji and Ye Luocha.

“What’s really going on?” Mu Mu seemed to have sensed something was off, and asked again.

“Nothing.” Feng Jiu’er gave him a reassuring smile and shook her head. “Maybe I’m just too tired, my head hurts a little.”

“Go rest up soon, there are physicians watching over Jian Yi,” Mu Mu said softly.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and caught up with Qiao Mu.

Soon, three courtyards came into view.

Qiao Mu rode straight into the middle one.

Several maidservants, seeing them return, hurried over to take their horses.

Looking at the elegantly arranged surroundings, Feng Jiu’er’s mood finally lifted a bit.

Since she was already here, she might as well make herself at home—having been back for half a day without seeing those few people yet, maybe they wouldn’t even be spending the New Year here.

“Don’t bother looking—the middle room is obviously yours. Given Jian Yi’s condition, he’ll be staying right next to you.”

Qiao Mu walked over and patted Feng Jiu’er’s shoulder lightly.

“I’ve got one room in the east wing, Xing Zizhou has another. Snow Maiden’s in the west wing, next to Jian Yi, then Tuoba Keyan’s room after that.”

“Bai Xue’s gone back home—I heard Zhao Yusheng brought his sister over, so the last two rooms in the east wing belong to him and his sister. Xiao Yingtao’s staying with me.”

“I don’t know if you have any objections to this arrangement—I’m exhausted right now, so I’m heading back to rest. If you have any complaints, you can bring them up later.”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at the person beside her, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.

“What objections could I possibly have to your arrangements? You’re in such a rush to get things done—are your injuries even fully healed?”

“I’m fine.” Qiao Mu waved a hand. “If you weren’t around, shouldn’t I be working extra hard, or risk the Ninth Prince’s disapproval?”

“I’m heading off to rest now, see you later.”

“All right, see you later.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, then turned to look at the two behind her. “Xiao Yingtao, decide for yourself where you want to stay.”

“I’m staying with Qiao Mu.” Xiao Yingtao blinked and hurried after Qiao Mu. “Qiao Mu, wait for me.”

“Xiao Yingtao.” Xing Zizhou called out softly, and without even time for a proper farewell, hurried after her too.

Feng Jiu’er shook her head and turned to face Mu Mu.

“I’m fine, I just need to rest a bit—are you all right?”

Seeing him standing there safe and sound before her brought Feng Jiu’er real comfort.

She recalled that day when she, Mu Mu, and the Ninth Imperial Uncle had each led a unit to defend the city—it already felt like something from another lifetime.

Thankfully, he was fine, and the Ninth Imperial Uncle was fine too.

The brothers-in-arms who’d given their lives couldn’t be brought back, but at least the city had been held, and the people’s lives would get better from here.

Mu Mu glanced down at his newly injured finger and said with a faint smile, “What could happen to me? It’s already healed.”

He raised his large hand slightly, then let it drop again.

“Go in and rest. I’ve already been to see Jian Yi—the physician says his condition is stable for now.”

“All right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Go ahead and tend to things, I really do need to rest a while.”

Days of nonstop travel were truly no joke—thankfully they’d had a carriage so everyone could take turns resting.

With that, Feng Jiu’er turned and walked off toward her own quarters.

What she needed right now was a big bed, a big, comfortable bed, to get a good night’s sleep.

What Feng Jiu’er didn’t know was that after she left, Mu Mu remained standing alone in that same spot for a full two hours.

In another, far grander courtyard, Di Ji sat in the seat of honor in a side room, sipping tea, while Leng Yue stood obediently to one side.

Ye Luocha strode in, her face full of killing intent, with Elder Shi close behind.

“Senior Ye, Elder Shi.” Seeing them enter, Leng Yue called out softly and stepped forward to greet them.

These past months, she’d grown much more well-behaved—careless slip-ups like the one today had become far less frequent.

A faint smile spread across Leng Yue’s face as she looked at the two arrivals and waved a hand.

“Senior Ye, Elder Shi, please, sit!”