Feng Jiu’er rode her horse toward the stables and dismounted. Yu Jingfeng and Yang Sheng were beside her, also dismounting. The brother in charge of tending the horses came over and took the reins from their hands. Feng Jiu’er turned and walked outward. Yu Jingfeng didn’t dare slack off in the slightest and hurried to catch up.

“Miss Jiu’er, I’ve already confessed everything. Weren’t you going to help me?”

Yu Jingfeng: Miss Jiu’er, there aren’t many people around here, hurry up and finish what you have to say!

“Do you truly intend to marry Xue Piao?” Feng Jiu’er tilted her head to glance at him again.

Feng Jiu’er could guess quite a bit about what was going through Yu Jingfeng’s mind. She was also quite at ease about him — if he truly treated Xue Piao well, Xue Piao would surely find happiness. In another two or three years, Yu Jingfeng would be thirty, and people his age already had children old enough to run errands. It was time for him to consider the major matters of life.

Yu Jingfeng steadied himself and replied in a low voice, “I do. I do want to.”

If he wanted to, he wanted to — in front of Miss Jiu’er, there was nothing he couldn’t say. Besides, given Miss Jiu’er’s impatient temperament, if he hesitated even a little, she’d likely just drop the matter.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “There’s no miracle cure. Just treat her well, guide her patiently, and spend more time with her.”

“Xue Piao’s condition isn’t severe, but for her to truly integrate into everyone’s life, she needs to find a breakthrough point.”

“Just like how she’s willing to keep company with us — that’s because of the medicinal herbs. The herbs became our common language.”

“It’s a pity that after all this time, Xue Piao still stays silent and doesn’t like talking to people.”

“You’re different.” Feng Jiu’er turned her head and gave Yu Jingfeng an approving look.

“No matter what, she’s taken the initiative to speak with you. She’s willing to express her feelings.”

“Just like how she told you that you absolutely must come back — that’s what’s in her heart, and she was willing to say it out loud, instead of keeping up that indifferent front.”

“Yu Jingfeng, because of you, her condition has already improved somewhat.”

“So you don’t need to do anything extra. Just keep things as they are.”

“But there’s one thing that matters a great deal — you must never lie to her. If you deceive her, I’m afraid she’ll never again find it easy to trust anyone.”

“That’s all?” Yu Jingfeng blinked. “I won’t lie to her. Definitely not.”

“Good, then.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “From now on, Xue Piao is entrusted to you.”

“Entrusted to me?” The man who suddenly seemed to have gained a wife smiled so wide his eyes nearly disappeared.

“Miss Jiu’er, you — you’re not joking with me, are you?”

Feng Jiu’er glanced back at Yu Jingfeng, her voice dropping a few degrees.

“Xue Piao is an orphan. She’s family to us. If you dare wrong her, none of us in Tianji Hall will let you off.”

“I wouldn’t.” Yu Jingfeng shook his head vigorously. “Miss Jiu’er, don’t worry! I will never fail Xue Piao.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, withdrawing her gaze, and quickened her pace.

A moment ago it was still “Miss Leng,” and now suddenly it had switched to “Xue Piao.” Yu Jingfeng, dare you say this wasn’t premeditated all along?

Whether Yu Jingfeng had truly planned this from the start, no one knew — but right now, he looked as if he’d turned into an entirely different person.

Of course! Once a man has a wife, he’s naturally not the same as before. Less than ten hours had passed, and somehow he’d already become a man with a wife. Even Yu Jingfeng himself could hardly believe it. Clearly the matter hadn’t even been settled in the slightest, yet Yu Jingfeng already felt it was a done deal — from now on, he really was a man with a wife.

That said, Yu Jingfeng — have you actually asked Miss Xue Piao what she thinks about all this?

When Feng Jiu’er knocked on Yue Jianfei’s door, it was Qiao Mu who came out to answer it.

Qiao Mu, forced to rest for over a day, looked to have regained some color in her cheeks. Seeing Feng Jiu’er, she rolled up her sleeves as though she had boundless energy to spare.

“What’s with that look?” Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow and stepped inside.

“What look could I possibly have? Every day I’m fed and pampered by Sister Hua and not allowed to go out.” Qiao Mu trailed behind Feng Jiu’er, grumbling a little.

The order had come from Feng Jiu’er herself. If she didn’t complain to the maid following her, who else could she complain to? As a result, this maid bustled about all day and wouldn’t even let her ask a single question.

“Jiu’er, I’ll keep watch out here.” Yang Sheng stopped in his tracks, not going inside.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and continued walking toward the people inside.

Yu Jingfeng saw that there were only three women in the hall right now and stopped as well.

“Miss Jiu’er, I’ll keep watch outside too.”

Without waiting for Feng Jiu’er to respond, Yu Jingfeng turned and strode outside.

Feng Jiu’er paid him no mind and went to sit down by the table.

Inside the hall there had only been Tang Xiaohua and Qiao Mu; now Feng Jiu’er made a third.

When Feng Jiu’er had knocked, Tang Xiaohua and Qiao Mu had been poring over some books.

Tang Xiaohua was staring so intently at one section that she didn’t even lift her head when Feng Jiu’er came in.

Feng Jiu’er didn’t linger long by the door either, and sat down across from Tang Xiaohua.

She looked Tang Xiaohua over, her gaze landing on the books spread across the table.

“Any progress?” Feng Jiu’er asked in a low voice.

She was addressing the question to Qiao Mu beside her.

“I think I can roughly guess what tricks Chen Hong is playing!” Tang Xiaohua tossed out the sentence.

Neither Feng Jiu’er nor Qiao Mu spoke again, staring at her unblinking.

After a moment, Tang Xiaohua, still holding the book in her hands, raised her eyes to look at the two of them.

“The Three-Ring Formation was one of my master’s proudest formations back in her day.”

“Master said that without twenty or thirty years of mastery, one could never hope to lay it out successfully — so she never taught me the specific method.”

“These few books are what my master left behind for me.”

“Chen Hong has no idea these books even exist. If she did, they would surely have fallen into her hands long ago.”

“But she does understand the Three-Ring Formation. Based on the information Long Shiyi brought back from his two scouting trips, I can say with certainty — this is the Three-Ring Formation.”

“So what exactly is this formation?” Feng Jiu’er asked in a low voice.

It sounded like no simple matter, and if it was the specialty of a formation master, it certainly wouldn’t be easy.

“Three rings — it means exactly what it says. Three rings.” Tang Xiaohua continued.

“It means we have to break through three rings before we can get inside the formation.”

“Jiu’er, I have no way to break this formation. I genuinely don’t understand it, so we can only force our way through.”

Tang Xiaohua sighed again. All these years, she’d lived far too comfortably. If not for that, she would have had a use for her skills by now.

Ugh!

“If we have to force it, then we force it! With so many of us, there’s nothing to fear!” Qiao Mu raised an eyebrow, her gaze returning to Feng Jiu’er.

“Is everything sorted out on that end? When do we attack?”

Qiao Mu was practically brimming with energy! A fight required seizing the momentum in one burst — her body was in perfectly good shape, and she had no idea why everyone kept treating her like an invalid.

“There’s one more herb we need.” Feng Jiu’er replied softly. “I hear it can only be found in Huangsong Village.”

“Huangsong Village — isn’t that the village Chen Hong currently occupies?” Qiao Mu’s eyebrows knitted together.

“That’s right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “The reason I came this time is to let everyone know — prepare for the attack.”