Yu Jingfeng had never imagined that a young, inexperienced girl could truly know this much.

Everything Feng Jiu’er had just said — even His Highness himself understood no more than a fraction of it.

The words “coming spring” — not even the divine physician had dared utter them in front of His Highness, and yet Feng Jiu’er knew.

After quite some time, Yu Jingfeng finally managed to collect himself.

He looked at Feng Jiu’er again, and a flicker of renewed hope rekindled in his eyes. “Then, Miss Jiu’er, His Highness’s condition…”

“As I said just now — if I have a living Gu worm to study, I have at least a fifty-percent chance of finding a cure.”

Feng Jiu’er met his gaze steadily and said with conviction, “We have reached a point where we can no longer sit and wait. We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

She said “we.” Those two words sent a warmth surging through Yu Jingfeng’s chest.

“Are you saying we should go to the Southern Wilds?”

“Ninth Imperial Uncle should go in person — under some pretext that draws no suspicion from the outside.” Feng Jiu’er said.

Yu Jingfeng found himself looking at this young girl in an entirely new light. She was so young, and yet her mind was far more careful and thorough than most people twice her age.

“Does that mean Miss Jiu’er already has a plan in mind?”

“Not exactly a plan. But the Southern Wilds have been in turmoil for the past two years — why not have Ninth Imperial Uncle send the Longqi Army there to help the Southern Wilds chieftain restore order?”

“But the Southern Wilds is such a minor territory — why would His Highness need to go personally?”

Yu Jingfeng had in fact considered it before — asking His Highness to lead men there himself so that they could all search together, rather than leaving it to the divine physician alone.

But His Highness had only recently returned to the imperial capital after a prolonged posting at the border. Yu Jingfeng had not yet thought of a convincing excuse for His Highness to travel openly to the Southern Wilds.

The fact that His Highness was gravely poisoned must never become public knowledge. The spies of rival nations were watching with hungry eyes from every direction, and His Highness was Bei Mu’s Wargod. Should something befall him, the border cities would surely descend into chaos.

“What if something were to surface in the Southern Wilds — a treasure of some kind — and what if this treasure had the potential to affect Bei Mu’s national fortune?”

Feng Jiu’er spoke as though thinking aloud, casually, and yet the words plunged Yu Jingfeng into deep thought.

By the time he returned to his senses, Feng Jiu’er had already walked away.

He gazed after the figure that had just closed the door, his expression distant, and could not help but let out another soft sigh.

Such a small girl — she had only just come of age, most likely, and yet where did she find so many clever ideas?

All of a sudden, it struck him that having a girl like this by His Highness’s side was actually not a bad thing at all.

When there was nothing going on, His Highness could study the books she had given him. When something was going on, there was a little girl here to put her mind to it on his behalf.

The so-called foolish Ninth Miss of the Feng Family — in Yu Jingfeng’s eyes now, His Highness had simply struck gold!

The treasure of the Southern Wilds… yes, that idea would need to be thought through carefully.

……

Feng Jiu’er’s prediction proved entirely accurate. When Ninth Imperial Uncle woke and did not see her, he erupted in fury without restraint.

The blood and energy that had only just been suppressed began to churn all over again.

When Jiu’er returned, her long hair was still dripping wet.

She arrived to find Yu Jingfeng trudging out, looking haggard and defeated, and knew at once that the person inside must be in a thoroughly terrible mood.

She quickly let down her hair and hurried inside. “Ninth Imperial Uncle, I only went to bathe and change. I never left the Prince’s Manor — I swear I did not stray a single step.”

Yu Jingfeng pressed a hand to his face, which had swollen where something had been hurled at it, and quickly shut the door behind them.

With Miss Jiu’er in there, His Highness in his rage should no longer need to vent his anger on him.

Just as he’d always said — Miss Jiu’er was his lucky star. With her here, he could endure a little less suffering. Sob, sob, sob. But was there any way to make Miss Jiu’er stay in His Highness’s Manor forever?