Feng Li made no sound. Instead, it was Feng Qiongcang who spoke.

“Fourth Brother, since this is a show of goodwill from your own old subordinates, don’t refuse them.”

Feng Li drew a deep breath and waved a hand. “Come in, then.”

“Many thanks, Night Prince!” He Zhongnan cupped his hands, overjoyed.

The dozens of men behind him cupped their hands as one. “Many thanks, Night Prince.”

“Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!” the crowd cried out in unison.

The dozens of men rose together, stepped back, turned, and cleared the way into the manor.

The procession moved on, and part of the horses and carriages entered the Night Prince’s manor.

Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu, squeezed among the crowd, watched Noble Consort Ya get down from her carriage and hurried over to her.

They saw some of the commoners being turned away and could do nothing but return to Noble Consort Ya’s side.

The women in the group walked into the manor on foot.

Feng Qiongcang, not one to shy from a grand affair, had brought half the harem out of the palace.

The Night Prince’s manor, deserted for so long, was lively today — the whole courtyard set with banquet tables.

Those who had come to offer congratulations took their seats one after another at the feast.

“Noble Consort, shall we go take a look?” Gong Xinyue, supporting Noble Consort Ya, kept craning her neck to peer inside.

“Noble Lady Xin went too — why should she get to go? I saw other consorts heading over to watch as well. Noble Consort, are we really not going?”

Noble Consort Ya searched for a good while before finally spotting a tall figure.

She watched that figure walk into the main hall of the manor before finally setting off herself.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and followed.

However lavish the ceremony, to Feng Jiu’er’s eyes, it was all a mockery.

She could not go in — could only watch from a distance, outside.

Even the back of Feng Li’s figure, she could hardly catch more than a glimpse or two of; her heart still felt as though it were bleeding.

Her father had never married in his whole life, and now he was being forced to wed a witch of a woman.

By the time they returned to the palace, the sky had already begun to darken.

Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu got off the carriage just before reaching the palace gate — since her father wasn’t returning to the palace, there was, for now, no need for her to go in either.

After finally waiting until the middle of the night, Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi slipped away from the health hall.

Security at the Night Prince’s manor was tight that night as well — had it not been for the two of them’s superb lightness skills, even getting close would have been difficult.

There was now a chilling presence in the main hall, and Feng Jiu’er still didn’t dare risk approaching.

The two figures crouched on the roof of the rear wing, watching the occasional passerby below.

“I heard long ago the Night Prince doesn’t care for the Princess Consort — and sure enough, the Night Prince still won’t go into her chamber,” one maid whispered cautiously.

“Right, if it were me, I wouldn’t like her either,” the other maid nodded in agreement.

“Who doesn’t know General Han kills without blinking? A woman like that — hard for any man to love.”

“Is it true the Night Prince really had his martial arts crippled? Everyone’s saying so, no one knows if it’s real.”

A young page boy drifted over as well.

“The Night Princess’s martial arts are so strong — won’t the Night Prince have a hard time of it from now on?” the little maid sighed softly.

“Don’t know!” The page shook his head. “When I came by just now, I saw the Night Princess’s people over there again, urging things along.”

“Honestly, I feel bad for the Night Prince too, that Princess Consort…”

“Do you think the Night Prince will avoid going over there all night tonight?” the maid asked in a low voice. “I don’t think he’s fond of the Night Princess at all.”

“Can he really not go?” The page sighed. “Whatever you say about the Princess Consort’s skill in martial arts, the Night Prince’s marriage to her was still His Majesty’s decree.”

“If the Night Prince really doesn’t want it, surely the Princess can’t force the matter?” the maid clicked her tongue.

“Don’t know.” The page shook his head again. “Luckily we’ve got Lord He Zhongnan around — for now the Night Princess’s people can’t get anywhere near Yanxiang Residence.”

“Yanxiang Residence? Let’s go.”

Feng Jiu’er tugged at Jian Yi’s sleeve, and in the blink of an eye their figures vanished.

Feng Jiu’er didn’t know where Yanxiang Residence was, and could only head toward the more crowded areas.

Soon, the two of them stopped on another rooftop.

From this spot, looking down, they could clearly make out the three characters “Yanxiang Residence.”

Guards surrounded Yanxiang Residence on all sides; in the courtyard, two rows of people stood motionless.

At the main gate, several female guards were in a standoff with the men on watch.

“It’s getting late — the Princess is still waiting for the Prince. What do you mean, blocking us again and again?” a female guard said, voice low, with an air of superiority.

“The Prince isn’t well. Today isn’t a good day for visitors,” a man said gravely.

“Today is the Prince and Princess’s wedding day. If the Prince truly isn’t well, it’s all the more reason the Princess should be the one tending to him.”

“Get out of the way!” The female guard glared furiously at the men before her. “Push us any further and don’t blame us for being rude!”

“Without the Prince’s own order, no one is getting in!” the man at the head of the group said, hand on his sword hilt, about to draw.

The female guards kept up their scolding, but for the moment made no move to attack.

Feng Jiu’er reached back and scratched at Jian Yi’s arm.

“You, go that way — quickly!” she said, turning to look at him.

Jian Yi nodded, turned, and vanished from the rooftop like the wind.

After a while, the group of female guards, seething, left.

This wasn’t the first time they’d come to make trouble — luckily, thanks to the men He Zhongnan had brought, they hadn’t succeeded.

Suddenly, an explosion went off toward the western side of the rear courtyard of the Night Prince’s manor.

Right after, four signal flares burst in the sky, two and two.

Feng Li, standing by the window, watched the fireworks bursting in the sky not far off and waved a hand.

“General Nan, you go on ahead. In two quarter-hours, you may let people in.”

He Zhongnan frowned. “My Prince, if General Han finds out you’re feigning illness—”

“This King truly is ill,” Feng Li cut in, waving his hand again. “Clear everyone out of this courtyard — I want some quiet.”

He Zhongnan finally cupped his hands and withdrew.

Feng Jiu’er watched the people leave the side courtyard, then, moving at a speed the ordinary eye couldn’t catch, slipped over the high wall and through the window.

“Father.” She knelt on the table by the windowsill and threw her arms tightly around Feng Li.

“Father, you understood my signal — so clever!”

Feng Li held his daughter with one arm, the other hand gently stroking her head.

“You… are far too reckless!”

Feng Jiu’er let go of Feng Li, cupped his face in her hands, and studied him seriously.

“Father, is that He Zhongnan a good man? Today, thank goodness he showed up, or else…”

“Good men don’t always meet good ends,” Feng Li said, cutting off her words.

“Father.” Feng Jiu’er pouted and got down from the table.

She had Feng Li sit down, took his hand, set it on the table, and laid her slender fingers on his pulse.

“Good men are rewarded! It’s the wicked, evildoing sort who never come to a good end!”

Feng Jiu’er tossed that remark out and sat beside him, seriously checking his pulse.

A moment later she stood again, lifted one of his eyelids, and looked.

“Father, your pulse won’t hold out much longer. If you truly don’t want that vicious woman to touch you, I have a way.”

Feng Jiu’er took out a pill and brought it to Feng Li’s lips.

Feng Li opened his mouth, took the pill, and swallowed.

He looked at the young girl before him, the corner of his mouth lifting. “What way is that?”