The arrival of the Ninth Prince frightened everyone in the courtyard out of their wits.

Everyone immediately turned to face the courtyard gate and dropped to one knee: “Greetings, Your Highness!”

Xiao Yingtao was also uneasy. She glanced at the courtyard gate, then at Zeng Lanyue beneath her hands: “Jiu’er…”

“Don’t panic. Keep pressing down, don’t move!” Feng Jiu’er’s expression stayed calm. While everyone was paying respects to the Ninth Imperial Uncle, she quickly threaded silk through a fine needle.

Xiao Yingtao didn’t dare think too much about it, and could only keep pressing down on Zeng Lanyue’s wound.

Outside the courtyard gate, a group of people strode in.

He was as radiant as the bright moon, his white robes whiter than snow, the sash fluttering lightly in the wind. His silent lips were cold and aloof, and his magnificent bearing dazzled every pair of adoring eyes.

The Ninth Prince, legendary as the most beautiful man in the state of Bei Mu — no one had imagined that on a night like this, they would actually get to see him.

Even students who had been at Longwu Academy for nearly two years hadn’t necessarily had the chance to glimpse his true face, yet tonight, he had simply come, just like that.

Happiness had come too suddenly. Every girl in the courtyard was flustered and at a loss, bitterly regretting that they hadn’t dressed up properly tonight.

True enough — with the prince arriving at this hour, everyone had already washed up and was about to go to bed. Who would have bothered putting in effort to look presentable?

Boo hoo, their least flattering side was the one the prince ended up seeing.

Although, after the prince entered, his gaze didn’t seem to linger on any of them at all…

Zhan Qingcheng didn’t stop walking until he reached the spot behind Feng Jiu’er. No one dared breathe too loudly, utterly unable to guess at the prince’s intentions.

“I heard an assassin was caught?” The one asking, of course, couldn’t be the Ninth Prince himself.

Yu Jingfeng looked at the senior student standing at the very front. She lowered her head and said quietly, “Reporting to Lord Yu, there was no… assassin. But… one student attempted to take her own life.”

“Why?”

“She…” The senior student glanced at Zeng Lanyue on the ground before saying quietly, “She… wanted to hide the traces of having been intimate with a man, and refused to undress for inspection. As a result… once it was exposed, she tried to kill herself out of guilt and shame.”

Yu Jingfeng was about to say more, but Feng Jiu’er’s crisp voice cut him off: “Xiao Yingtao, when I tell you to let go, let go immediately!”

“…Alright.” With the prince standing right behind them, Xiao Yingtao felt a chill run through her whole body, cold sweat soaking through her clothes.

But she couldn’t afford not to listen to Feng Jiu’er.

The physician finally snapped back to his senses. With the prince here, how could he not put on a show of competence in front of him?

He immediately glared at Xiao Yingtao, his face darkening: “Move aside, let this old man…”

“Xiao Yingtao, let go!”

At Feng Jiu’er’s command, Xiao Yingtao immediately released her grip.

Once she pulled the cloth away, the wound on Zeng Lanyue’s neck was suddenly exposed for everyone to see.

Seeing the flesh on Zeng Lanyue’s neck turned inside out and blood welling up, the physician’s heart clenched, and he blurted out instinctively, “She… won’t survive!”

Even a physician with many years of practice had reached such a verdict, so everyone could only feel a sense of regret.

Of course, there were also those wearing expressions of disdain — barely arrived, and already doing such things with a man. A person of such immoral conduct deserved no pity even in death.

Only Feng Jiu’er, the very moment Xiao Yingtao pulled the cloth away, swiftly pressed several major acupoints around Zeng Lanyue’s wound.

Then, holding a fine needle along with a strange little tool, she drew out the blood vessel in Zeng Lanyue’s neck that had been damaged by the sword energy.

Watching everything unfold before her, Xiao Yingtao’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

Jiu’er, she… was going to sew that blood vessel back together! How was that even possible!

Only Zhan Qingcheng, his ink-dark, star-bright eyes reflecting that slender figure, felt a flicker of delight pass through the depths of his gaze. His girl truly was audaciously bold, capable of what others could not do!