Zhan Yuheng could not put into words what he felt at that moment.

When she had been simple-minded, she had always been calling out for Brother Heng — he had never taken it to heart, his thoughts always fixed on what she had been like when she was little.

Now she had told him plainly, without hesitation, “I don’t like it,” and yet it was as though something had been lost from his heart — a hollow place had opened somewhere inside him.

“Brother Crown Prince, so you’re here.” Not far away, Feng Qingyin came hurrying over with the support of her maidservant.

Her cold gaze swept over Feng Jiu’er’s plain face, and when it shifted back to Zhan Yuheng, her eyes and brows were all soft, warm smiles.

“Brother Crown Prince, I had a look around just now and think the Ethics Institute seems quite good. If one studies proper etiquette and conduct there, in the future one can… be a dutiful wife and raise children well.”

Her fair cheeks colored faintly, and as she spoke the words “dutiful wife and raise children,” her voice noticeably softened.

It was the very picture of bashfulness.

“Brother Crown Prince, do you think… it would be a good choice for me to go to the Ethics Institute?”

Zhan Yuheng looked at her. Still brooding over Feng Jiu’er’s “I don’t like it” from moments before, his mood had not yet settled. He was a little impatient, yet he nodded: “It’s a fine choice.”

Feng Qingyin immediately broke into a radiant smile. She looked over at Feng Jiu’er, her smile deepening: “Jiu’er, you want to enter a place like this?”

Her eyes swept the men inside the Military Academy, and she gave a slight, undisguised look of disdain.

“Although you have always loved mixing with men — always slinging your arm around their shoulders — you are still a young woman. How could you come to a place like this?”

This Feng Qingyin — she truly never forgot, wherever she went, to find a way to bring Feng Jiu’er’s downfall!

Feng Jiu’er gave a cold smile, then suddenly lifted her face to look at Zhan Yuheng and smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. Those eyes of hers, in that moment, were inexplicably, strikingly lovely.

“Brother Heng, then… Jiu’er will go to your Imperial Guard Institute. All right?”

Zhan Yuheng was momentarily entranced by the bright, radiant smile in her eyes, his thoughts going slightly hazy. He nodded: “All right.”

“What? Brother Crown Prince, you’re going to let this fool into your Imperial Guard Institute?” Feng Qingyin very nearly wanted to shriek!

How could this be? The Crown Prince would often come to the Imperial Guard Institute — if Feng Jiu’er was there too, the two of them seeing each other day in and day out, what if old feelings were rekindled?

She would not allow it. She absolutely would not allow it!

Feng Jiu’er pouted and grabbed Zhan Yuheng’s sleeve with both hands, an expression of pure grievance on her face.

“Brother Heng, Jiu’er is not a fool. Jiu’er is a good girl — why does Sister Qingyin always call Jiu’er a fool?”

She wore the look of someone on the verge of tears: “Jiu’er is not a fool!”

That look of hers was simply too pitiful for anyone to bear.

“Who says Jiu’er is a fool?” Zhan Yuheng felt a pang of tenderness. In the past several encounters, Feng Jiu’er had suddenly reverted to some of the small habits and expressions she had as a child.

A Jiu’er like this could stir Zhan Yuheng’s heart with ease.

The old affection of the past was returning, little by little — he could not bear to see her upset.

A cold, sweeping gaze landed on Feng Qingyin’s face. His eyes darkened, and even his voice went cold.

“She is your younger sister. Are you not afraid those words might wound her heart?”

Feng Qingyin’s breath caught in her throat. Frightened by his icy stare, she bit her lip — and large teardrops began to fall.

“Brother Crown Prince, I only… I only didn’t want to see Jiu’er still the way she used to be, always mingling with men. She is a young woman — always in disheveled clothing and together with men, her future will…”

“When has Jiu’er ever been in disheveled clothing and together with men?” Zhan Yuheng’s expression grew even darker. He said with displeasure: “This Prince has only ever heard such things from your lips. You repeat it again and again — such slander. Do you truly consider her your younger sister at all?”