Lu Feifan didn’t say a single word, only stared at her face.

All the blood in his body seemed to have frozen solid.

“She was pregnant — you knew that yourself! Do you want me to take a sample right now, and go test whose child it is in her belly?”

Lu Feifan’s gaze fell upon Xia Zi’s corpse.

His palms clenched even tighter.

His entire body, ice-cold.

“Do you think that with your abilities alone, you can change anything?”

“No matter what can or can’t be changed, it has to be changed!” Otherwise, she feared the next one to be harmed would be the person she cared about most!

They were already taking action!

Throughout the whole of Ying’an City, there was no telling just how many assassins still lay hidden in wait.

Did powerful, wealthy families truly have not even a shred of family affection?

They could even do such a thing to their own flesh-and-blood brother!

How was that any different from the imperial families of ancient times?

She turned and walked out the door.

“Miss Jiu’er.” Ji Mingyu and Qin Fei followed behind her.

Ji Mingyu tried in a low voice to persuade her. “Miss Jiu’er, there are some matters that Young Master Jiu… Young Master Jiu isn’t unaware of, but he…”

There were many things Ji Mingyu couldn’t manage to explain clearly on the spot.

He could only urge her: “Miss Jiu’er, calm down first. Why don’t we wait until Young Master Jiu wakes up, and discuss this matter carefully then?”

“Yes, that’s right, Jiu’er. This matter — let’s wait for Young Master Jiu to—”

Zhen Jiu’er suddenly came to a halt.

She stared fixedly at a figure not far off.

“He…”

“He…” Ji Mingyu and Qin Fei raised their eyes to look as well. Qin Fei hurriedly said, “That’s Third Mister.”

Third Mister — he was Third Mister!

The Lu family’s Third Master, the man who, in this era, was the elder brother — the third brother — of the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

But why did this figure feel so familiar?

Why… familiar to the point of making one’s heart tremble?

In this lifetime of Zhen Jiu’er’s — no, in her past life, and the life before that too — she had rarely been afraid of anyone.

Truly, rarely.

But she was, inexplicably, terrified of this figure.

Suddenly, the owner of that figure turned his head, and a cold, chilling gaze swept toward her.

That figure, that face…

A frigid, bone-deep chill shot straight to the top of her skull.

Jiu’er’s vision went black, and her legs went weak beneath her as she collapsed…

……

“Jiu’er…”

Someone was calling out to her, again and again.

When Zhen Jiu’er opened her eyes, a lingering haze of terror and unease still clouded her gaze.

“Jiu’er…”

“Ninth Imperial Uncle! He’s back! He’s back!”

Jiu’er suddenly sat bolt upright and threw her arms around the man beside her.

Her small, delicate body trembled faintly — anyone could tell at a glance how frightened, how panicked she was.

“He’s back, he’s not dead! Ninth Imperial Uncle, he’s not dead! He’s still alive!”

“Jiu’er, don’t be afraid. I’m here.” Lu Beicheng gathered her into his arms.

Though he had just woken and had little strength left, once he realized Jiu’er had fainted, his focus quickly sharpened.

Whether he had fully recovered or not, he forced himself to be well regardless.

Because he still had to protect his woman.

“What exactly happened? Who’s back? Tell me — don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you!”

Jiu’er’s breathing was ragged and uneven.

She looked again at Lu Beicheng — his short hair, his cold, unruffled face equally handsome and refined, yet it was not the face of the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

He was the Ninth Imperial Uncle, but not the Ninth Imperial Uncle of before.

He was the Ninth Imperial Uncle after reincarnation, stripped of his memories.

Then that person she had seen today…

“Young… Master Jiu, I saw… Xia Zi kill herself. She’s dead.”

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Lu Beicheng assumed she had simply been shaken by seeing a corpse, and his heart ached with worry as he pulled her into his embrace once more, his voice hoarse but firm. “I promise it won’t happen.”