“Is that the Prince and Miss Jiu’er?” one of the brothers who had once accompanied them to the Feng Clan shouted.

“It must be them. It must be the Prince and Miss Jiu’er, rushing here to help. It must be them,” another brother echoed.

The dragons vanished, the fierce wind died down, and the ship, which had nearly capsized, gradually steadied.

Those who had been fighting the dragons in midair all returned to the deck.

Jian Yi, holding up Qiao Mu, who had suffered internal injuries, landed steadily back on the ship.

The strange mass of cloud vanished entirely, and in the sky, the dragon and phoenix circled a few more times before swooping down toward the ship.

Everyone aboard understood martial arts, and they could sense no hostility from the newcomers, so the tension in their hearts gradually eased.

As the dragon and phoenix drew close to the ship, they transformed into human form.

“It’s the Prince and Miss Jiu’er, it really is them,” one brother shouted loudly. “And the young master too, the young master is here too!”

“The Prince and Miss Jiu’er saved the young master, they’re here, we’ll be fine now.”

“The Prince and Miss Jiu’er are here, we’ll be fine now,” another brother shouted as well.

Three tall figures landed steadily in the middle of the great ship.

Di Wu Ya glanced sideways at the person he was holding by the collar, then released him.

“Jiu’er.” Qiao Mu, overwhelmed with excitement, immediately rushed toward Feng Jiu’er.

The other brothers were equally overjoyed, and after their excitement, they all knelt down together. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Di Wu Ya waved a hand. “Rise. Save the people first!”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The brothers nodded in unison and stood up.

Many brothers had fallen into the water, and at Di Wu Ya’s single command, all those who hadn’t fallen in scattered in every direction.

Feng Jiu’er turned to glance at Qiao Mu, then shifted her gaze back to Zhao Yusheng.

“Zhao Yusheng, are you all right?”

“Jiu’er.” Zhao Yusheng stepped forward, his face full of excitement.

Just as he was about to reach for Feng Jiu’er’s hand, he felt the chilling aura coming from Di Wu Ya behind her, and he could only hold back.

“Jiu’er, I’m fine, I—”

Before Zhao Yusheng could finish his sentence, a gust of wind swept past, and the woman who had just been standing in front of him suddenly vanished.

“Jiu’er.” When Zhao Yusheng looked up, he saw only Jian Yi and Feng Jiu’er standing at the top of the cabin, facing into the wind.

Jian Yi had moved with great speed, and there was anger in his motion, leaving Feng Jiu’er momentarily caught off guard.

By the time she came back to her senses, she had already been pulled up to the top of the cabin.

“Jian Yi, what are you doing?” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Jian Yi and pulled her hand free from his grasp.

This fellow Jian Yi — did he not know the Ninth Imperial Uncle was right there?

He had taken her away right in front of the Ninth Imperial Uncle. Did he not know just how petty the man could actually be?

His own woman, taken away right before his eyes — of course the Ninth Imperial Uncle would be furious.

Sure enough, when Feng Jiu’er turned to look back, she met Di Wu Ya’s gaze, heavy with resentment.

Beside him, a brother was in the middle of reporting the situation to him.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Di Wu Ya, gave him an apologetic smile, then turned back to look at Jian Yi.

“Jian Yi, what exactly are you trying to do by bringing me up here?”

“Jiu’er.” Jian Yi reached his hand out toward her again.

Feng Jiu’er stepped back, avoiding his touch.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle was still watching. Even though Jian Yi was family to her, she still couldn’t allow any physical contact with him in front of him.

Given the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s temperament, even if it were her own elder brother trying to embrace her, he wouldn’t approve.

She didn’t know whether it was because she had already, without realizing it, started thinking of herself as his princess consort, but these days, no matter what happened, the first person on Feng Jiu’er’s mind was always Di Wu Ya.

Feng Jiu’er gave a light cough and turned to look down once more.

Just as she shifted her gaze away, however, her body suddenly felt light — she had nearly been pulled into an embrace.

Jian Yi wrapped his arms around Feng Jiu’er, holding her tightly, his voice thick with emotion. “Jiu’er, I missed you.”

Suddenly, a sharp “crack” rang out from somewhere nearby, the sound of something snapping.

Feng Jiu’er drew a deep breath, and as she turned her head, a cold, biting gust of wind swept toward her.

A certain man had apparently stepped on and snapped something, and in the blink of an eye, he had already arrived.

Feng Jiu’er snapped back to her senses and shoved Jian Yi away forcefully. “Jian Yi, let go of me!”

Jian Yi was family to her — it was only natural that he had missed her, just as she had missed him, and Qiao Mu, and Xiao Yingtao, and Zhao Yusheng — but no matter how much she missed them, that didn’t mean she could go around embracing them like this.

She was a married woman now, and she had to be mindful of the proper boundaries.

Jian Yi let go of Feng Jiu’er — not because he feared Di Wu Ya, but perhaps simply because he didn’t want to put her in a difficult position.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Di Wu Ya, smiling with a touch of awkwardness.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, there’s nothing between Jian Yi and me, really, there’s nothing.”

The moment her words fell, Di Wu Ya extended his long arm and pulled her into his embrace.

“She is this prince’s woman. If you don’t want to die, mind your boundaries from now on!”

Di Wu Ya glared at Jian Yi, showing a rare amount of patience as he issued the warning. Under normal circumstances, he likely would have struck first and asked questions later.

Feng Jiu’er nestled into Di Wu Ya’s embrace, letting out a soft sigh.

Did the Ninth Imperial Uncle know about her relationship with Jian Yi — was this him showing her some consideration?

He was her man, which made him her family, and Jian Yi was her family too. She didn’t want to see conflict between her own family members.

“And if I wanted to die, what would you do about it?” Jian Yi glanced sideways at Di Wu Ya and said.

Feng Jiu’er frowned and looked at Jian Yi, shaking her head.

Jian Yi’s gaze remained fixed on Di Wu Ya, and he failed to notice Feng Jiu’er’s warning look.

Sensing Di Wu Ya’s rising anger, Feng Jiu’er turned back and wrapped her arms around his arm before he could explode.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, Jian Yi is just joking. He simply missed me — you already know he treats me like his own younger sister.”

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, don’t take it to heart with him, all right? He really doesn’t mean any harm, he just misses his family.”

“Jian Yi.” Feng Jiu’er turned back to look at him. “What are you doing? Why are you suddenly talking about dying for no reason?”

“While you were gone, living was no different from death for me.” Jian Yi glanced at Feng Jiu’er once, then turned and leapt away, vanishing from her sight.

Standing behind Feng Jiu’er and Di Wu Ya, Qiao Mu let out a soft sigh.

“Your Highness, you may love Jiu’er, but you can’t stop other men from loving her too.”

“Ever since Jiu’er left, Jian Yi has been on edge constantly, never speaking to anyone.”

“Perhaps you should think about it — if Jiu’er left with another man, how would you feel? That way, you’d understand exactly how Jian Yi feels.”

Feng Jiu’er, leaning against Di Wu Ya’s arm, turned to look at Qiao Mu with a helpless expression.

She had never expected that her leaving would affect Jian Yi this much. Back then, she had simply left on a whim — that really had been a mistake.

Still, Qiao Mu’s boldness was something else — even Feng Jiu’er herself wouldn’t dare speak to the Ninth Imperial Uncle this way, yet Qiao Mu had gone ahead and done it.

Meeting Feng Jiu’er’s helpless gaze, Qiao Mu felt a flicker of guilt and furrowed her brow slightly.

“I just want to remind Your Highness — if you treat her badly, there are plenty of men out there who’d love to treat her well instead.”