“Yue Jianfei?” Feng Jiu’er’s brows knitted slightly. “Who is he?”

“Miss Jiu’er, there’s something you don’t know. Yue City is famous throughout the entire Feng Clan territory for gathering information.” Yu Jingfeng explained.

“The information network of the Lord of Yue City spans the whole Feng Clan territory. As for finding the Night Prince, perhaps we could ask this Yue Jianfei for help.”

“I see.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Then why didn’t the Ninth Imperial Uncle…”

“Then again, Yue Jianfei isn’t one of our own people, and the Ninth Imperial Uncle doesn’t like relying on outsiders to handle things — it’s only natural he didn’t approach him.”

“Right.” Yu Jingfeng nodded in response. “In truth, whether the Prince has actually gone to the capital is still unknown.”

“He left without leaving a single word behind.”

“Alright, I understand.” Feng Jiu’er waved a hand, her gaze falling on the map on the table. “I’ll first get a general understanding of our Longying affairs.”

“What kind of person is this Yue Jianfei? Have you investigated him?”

“I don’t know the specifics.” Yu Jingfeng shook his head. “But what’s certain is, this person isn’t someone we can easily summon.”

“Why is that?” Feng Jiu’er raised her eyes to look at him. “Aren’t they in the business of gathering information to sell for profit?”

“From what the brothers have managed to find out, this Yue Jianfei doesn’t even hold the Emperor in his eyes.” Yu Jingfeng replied.

“If it weren’t for that, I might have already gone ahead to seek his help.”

“Doesn’t even hold the Emperor in his eyes?” Xiao Yingtao, seated beside Feng Jiu’er, looked at Yu Jingfeng and blinked.

“To think the Feng Clan territory has such a formidable figure.”

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Feng Jiu’er. “Jiu’er, whether or not this person can give us news about the Night Prince, we should still go meet him.”

“Think about it — Feng Qiongcang is our enemy. The enemy of an enemy is a friend, isn’t that so? Who knows, we might really be able to become friends with this person.”

Feng Jiu’er turned her head and glanced at Xiao Yingtao. “Someone not holding the Emperor in regard doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the Emperor’s enemy.”

“‘The enemy of an enemy is a friend’ — that’s something said to fool children. If you want to befriend someone formidable, you have to be even more formidable than them, so they truly submit.”

“We have you, we have the Prince — how could we possibly not be more formidable than Yue Jianfei?” Xiao Yingtao raised an eyebrow.

“Miss Jiu’er, Xiao Yingtao, this isn’t a matter of who’s more formidable.” Yu Jingfeng said in a low voice.

“Then what is it about?” Xiao Yingtao looked up at Yu Jingfeng.

Yu Jingfeng composed himself and rubbed his nose with a long finger.

“I don’t know what it’s about either. Maybe it’s that the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away, maybe Yue Jianfei is wealthier than a nation, or maybe…”

“There’s another possibility.” Feng Jiu’er cut Yu Jingfeng off.

She took a deep breath and withdrew her gaze from him.

“Back then, if my father hadn’t left, Feng Qiongcang wouldn’t have been able to become Emperor. Perhaps Yue Jianfei is a fan of my father’s, and that’s why he dislikes Feng Qiongcang.”

“A fan?” Xiao Yingtao frowned.

Not only her, but even Yu Jingfeng stared at Feng Jiu’er, his eyes widening.

Feng Jiu’er looked at the two of them and said softly, “I mean, perhaps Yue Jianfei originally hoped my father would become Emperor.”

“Now that his throne has been usurped by Feng Qiongcang, and Yue Jianfei has built up his own power, it’s not impossible that he holds no regard for Feng Qiongcang.”

“Isn’t that even better.” Xiao Yingtao said happily. “If it’s really as Jiu’er says, then Yue Jianfei is on our side.”

“No.” Yu Jingfeng shook his head, cutting off the two women’s conversation. “Miss Jiu’er’s identity cannot be revealed for the time being.”

“The Prince repeatedly impressed this upon us. Miss Jiu’er, Miss Xiao Yingtao, you must keep this firmly in mind.”

“Feng Qiongcang wants to find my father — in truth, that’s just to find me. How could I possibly throw myself into the trap?” Feng Jiu’er said flatly.

“To outsiders, don’t say I’m Feng Jiu’er. Also, the Sect Master of Longying is the Ninth Imperial Uncle, and I’m his wife as Sect Master — understood?”

“I object!” Suddenly, Jian Yi, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up in a deep voice.

At once, the three seated in the main seats all looked at Jian Yi.

Jian Yi raised his eyes to look at Feng Jiu’er and said, “Unless I’m the Sect Master of Longying, Jiu’er cannot be the Sect Master’s wife.”

“Jiu’er is Jiu’er — she isn’t anyone’s wife.”

Xiao Yingtao looked at Jian Yi, covering her mouth, and still laughed.

She withdrew her gaze and said with a smile, “Jiu’er, Jian Yi is jealous.”

Feng Jiu’er didn’t think much of it — at this point, did she still need to consider matters of reputation?

Besides, the Ninth Imperial Uncle was so good to her that in this lifetime, she could only marry him anyway.

But seeing Jian Yi acting like he was protecting his precious little sister, she couldn’t simply brush it off either.

“How about this — the Ninth Imperial Uncle is Sect Master, and I’m Deputy Sect Master. From now on, everyone can still call me Miss Jiu’er, but you may only say my surname is Long.”

“For now, call me Long Jiu’er, not Feng Jiu’er, understand?” Feng Jiu’er said, looking at Yu Jingfeng.

“After all, Jiu’er is a common enough name — anyone ranked ninth in their family is almost always called Jiu’er.”

“As for the Ninth Imperial Uncle, he’s very mysterious. In general, don’t mention his name — just say he’s very mysterious, that’s enough.”

“If anyone has any matter, tell them to find the Deputy Sect Master, and I’ll discuss it with the Ninth Imperial Uncle myself.”

“Yu Jingfeng, what do you think of this arrangement?”

“That works.” Yu Jingfeng nodded.

But he knew that if Miss Jiu’er had been willing to openly call herself the Sect Master’s wife, the Prince would have been even happier.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Jian Yi and beckoned to him. “Jian Yi, come sit, don’t keep standing there. Haven’t you been worn out enough these past days?”

Jian Yi’s expression finally eased somewhat. He glanced at Feng Jiu’er once more, then turned and sat down in a nearby chair.

“Yu Jingfeng, go investigate Yue Jianfei’s background yourself. Don’t rush things — let’s take it one step at a time.” Feng Jiu’er said, looking at Yu Jingfeng.

“Understood.” Yu Jingfeng cupped his hands together. “Miss Jiu’er, besides the brothers, the residence also has Old Deng the steward and ten servants, five men and five women.”

“We may have to live here for a while. I’ll have them come meet you shortly, how about that?”

“Arrange it as you see fit.” Feng Jiu’er waved a hand.

“Understood.” Yu Jingfeng cupped his hands again and turned to leave.

Before long, an elderly man entered, leading two maidservants.

The old man came into the hall, waved a hand, and the two maidservants came in carrying tea.

Behind them came eight more people, men and women alike, all dressed in matching attire.

The old man looked at Feng Jiu’er, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt down.

Seeing this, the others all knelt as well.

The two maidservants set the tea aside and came to kneel beside the old man.

“Greetings, Deputy Sect Master,” the eleven men and women said in unison.

Feng Jiu’er looked over everyone and waved a hand. “All of you, please rise.”

“Yes, Deputy Sect Master.” Everyone bowed together and stood up.