Qiao Mu shot Xiao Yingtao a glance and closed her eyes. “Fine, I’m petty. Get out already, before I really lose my temper.”

Feng Jiu’er watched Qiao Mu, who rarely threw a tantrum like this, and the corner of her mouth curved up slightly.

The moment Qiao Mu closed her eyes, her hand was taken hold of by a pair of warm hands.

When she opened her eyes, Feng Jiu’er had sat down at the edge of the bed, holding her hand against herself.

“Don’t talk,” Feng Jiu’er said, lowering her eyes to look at the person on the bed. “Let me check on you.”

“We’ll be docking soon. When we do, I’ll take you to eat the best food, drink the best drinks, and look at the most handsome studs — how does that sound?”

“Jiu’er, eating and drinking, I understand, but what does ‘most handsome studs’ mean?” Xiao Yingtao scratched her head and asked.

“The most handsome men.” Feng Jiu’er gave Xiao Yingtao a smile.

She turned back, took hold of Qiao Mu’s hand again, and pressed her slender fingers to her pulse.

“What are you so angry about? Don’t be angry — is there anything that can’t be solved with a little force?”

“If you’ve got pent-up frustration, find a man to practice with, blow off some steam, and you won’t even get wrinkles. What could be better!”

“Jiu’er, have you been practicing with the Prince all this time?” Xiao Yingtao asked with a smile.

“I’m not angry, I don’t need to practice.” Feng Jiu’er let go of Qiao Mu’s hand and leaned in closer.

She flipped back Qiao Mu’s eyelids to check, then placed both hands on the collar of her robe.

Qiao Mu grabbed Feng Jiu’er’s hands, stopping her from undoing her clothes.

“I told you, I’m fine. Go check on the injured brothers, I’m just a little tired.”

“Fair enough, you do seem all right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, withdrew her hands, and pulled a bottle of medicine from within her robes.

“Since you don’t need me, take these two pills and get a good night’s sleep.”

“Jiu’er, is Qiao Mu really all right?” With Qiao Mu refusing treatment, Xiao Yingtao grew anxious too.

“Her internal injuries aren’t as severe as Zhao Yusheng’s. She’s fine, just been under too much strain lately, so she’s especially worn out.”

“Pour her some water so she can take the medicine.”

“Okay, got it.” Xiao Yingtao nodded and went to pour a cup of tea. “Qiao Mu really has been exhausted these days.”

“But now that the Prince and Jiu’er are here, Qiao Mu can finally get some proper rest.”

Qiao Mu didn’t say a word, simply swallowing Feng Jiu’er’s medicine and lying back down again.

Feng Jiu’er touched her forehead and stood up. “Get a good sleep. I’m going to go check on the brothers.”

Qiao Mu still said nothing, not until Feng Jiu’er had turned and taken several steps toward the door, when she finally gave a light cough.

“I’m… not angry.”

Feng Jiu’er turned back to look at Qiao Mu, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. “Qiao Mu, I missed you too.”

With that, she turned and continued on her way out.

“Leave everything else to us. Xiao Yingtao, you should get some rest too — your dark circles are pretty bad.”

“Okay, got it.” Xiao Yingtao responded cheerfully to Feng Jiu’er’s words.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing more, pushed open the door, and walked out, closing it behind her for the two still inside.

Xiao Yingtao went over to Qiao Mu’s side and lay down beside her.

She looked up at the beam overhead and said quietly, “Jiu’er, I missed you too.”

Qiao Mu glanced sideways at the person next to her, brow furrowing slightly.

Xiao Yingtao turned over to face Qiao Mu, a wide smile still on her lips.

“Qiao Mu.” She took hold of Qiao Mu’s hand. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s that hard to just say it out loud.”

“If you missed Jiu’er, just say so. No need to hide it.”

“Who missed that woman?” Qiao Mu frowned and pushed Xiao Yingtao’s hand away, turning her back to her.

“Fine, I didn’t miss her, I didn’t miss her at all. I need to rest, don’t bother me.” Xiao Yingtao turned back over, lying flat on the bed.

“Still, it’s a relief everyone’s all right. By the time we wake up it’ll be about time for dinner, and we can all eat together again.”

Xiao Yingtao smiled faintly and closed her eyes.

Qiao Mu paid Xiao Yingtao no more attention, and after a while, closed her own eyes too.

With her eyes closed, Qiao Mu’s breathing soon settled into an even rhythm.

Looking closely, it wasn’t hard to notice the faint trace of a smile still lingering at the corners of her mouth.

Having broken through the formation, the sky cleared up once more.

In fact, the weather had been fine all along — the earlier darkness had all been the doing of the formation.

The two groups of ships gathered together before nightfall and continued on toward the Feng Clan.

Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao woke up at almost the same time, and by the time the two of them stepped outside, night had already fallen.

“General Qiao, General Xiao, Miss Jiu’er says that once you wake up, she’d like you both to come to her cabin,” said a waiting brother.

“Where’s Jiu’er right now?” Xiao Yingtao rubbed her eyes and asked.

“General Qiao, General Xiao, please follow me,” the brother said, waving a hand and turning to leave.

“How are the brothers doing? Were they all rescued?” Qiao Mu asked, falling into step behind him.

“They’re all rescued, every single one, only minor injuries, nothing serious. General Qiao, please rest easy,” the brother walking ahead replied.

Qiao Mu nodded and let out a breath of relief. “As long as everyone’s all right.”

The man led Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao to a cabin and stopped outside.

“General Qiao, General Xiao, please go in! I’ll go arrange dinner for you both now.”

“All right, thank you.” Xiao Yingtao nodded and pushed open the cabin door.

Inside, Feng Jiu’er sat reading through some letters.

Jian Yi sat not far away, also holding a book in his hands.

The strangest thing was that, though the two of them weren’t sitting far apart, there was someone seated right between them.

Long Shiyi sat between Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi, looking utterly idle, an almost pitiful sight.

Hearing the door close, he immediately stood up.

Feng Jiu’er closed her letters and looked up at the two who had just entered. “Awake now?”

“Jiu’er, what are you two doing?” Xiao Yingtao asked, her crescent brows furrowing slightly.

“What do you mean, what are ‘we’ doing?” Feng Jiu’er stood up and stretched.

Xiao Yingtao looked at the three of them, sensing something was off, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

In the end, her gaze landed on Long Shiyi.

“Eleventh Brother, what are you doing here too? What did you come for?”

Feng Jiu’er getting things done with Jian Yi at her side was a sight everyone was used to.

But Long Shiyi sitting between the two of them, empty-handed, not looking like he’d come to report anything either — the whole scene looked strange, no matter how you looked at it.

“I came… ” Long Shiyi scratched his head and glanced around. “I came… to eat. Right, I came to eat.”

“Miss Jiu’er said that once you two woke up, we’d all eat together.”

Even if you gave Long Shiyi a hundred times the courage, he still wouldn’t dare admit that he was here on the Prince’s orders.

Di Wu Ya’s actual assignment for Long Shiyi was to protect Feng Jiu’er, but in truth, he was really there to guard against Jian Yi.

Di Wu Ya had given the order while Feng Jiu’er wasn’t present, but she had a fairly good idea why Long Shiyi had turned up here.

She glanced sideways at Long Shiyi and murmured, “In that case, go have the brothers prepare the meal — I’m hungry too.”