“Lian’er, this has nothing to do with… cough… nothing to do with Jiu’er. It was I who willingly asked Jiu’er to abduct me.”

From the other side of the bed came the Empress Dowager’s hoarse voice.

Zhan Qingcheng quickly stepped forward and supported her as she tried to sit up. “Imperial Mother, your health is poor. Please, lie down.”

Feng Jiu’er also ignored Lian’er’s hostile gaze and walked to the bedside, bowing to the person on the bed. “Greetings, Your Highness the Empress Dowager.”

“Do you still need such formalities with me?” Empress Dowager Ning took her hand, her gaze gentle and soft. “This child must have suffered. Has the Empress given you a hard time?”

At the time she had fainted, and had only just woken today. The imperial physician said her health was too frail and would not permit her to leave her chambers.

Lian’er had also told her that Feng Jiu’er had simply been detained in the imperial prison, to be tried on a date to be determined, so she had agreed to remain in her sleeping chambers to rest for a day.

She had originally planned to visit Jiu’er the following day, but to her surprise, Jiu’er had come on her own.

Feng Jiu’er glanced back at Zhan Qingcheng. He gave no particular indication, so Jiu’er turned back to the Empress Dowager and said, “I am fine. The verdict of innocence has already been established, and His Majesty has released me.”

“That is good, that is good… cough, cough, cough…” The Empress Dowager began coughing again, and it grew more and more intense.

Her body had truly deteriorated entirely. Her complexion was an indescribable pallor, causing Zhan Qingcheng, Zhan Luori, and Lian’er to ache with distress at the sight.

Jiu’er suddenly said, “The Empress Dowager’s illness has long gone untreated. If you would not think it beneath you, why not let Jiu’er try acupuncture on you?”

The principles of traditional medicine are nothing more than acupuncture, therapeutic massage, promoting blood circulation, and nurturing one’s vital energy. However, each practitioner’s technique for acupuncture and massage differs, and the resulting effects can vary greatly.

Feng Jiu’er’s acupuncture was not merely simple needlework. Using medicinal compounds on the needles and applying heated moxibustion to stabilize the body’s foundational essence, she traversed acupoints considered highly dangerous — paths no ordinary physician would dare walk.

Her healing arts were powerful and domineering, yet also gentle and painstaking. It was a technique she had derived entirely on her own throughout her years of studying medicine, and even if others wished to learn it, they would find it exceedingly difficult to master.

Naturally, Lian’er was uneasy and moved to stop her. Unexpectedly, Zhan Qingcheng said in an even tone, “Let Jiu’er take a look at her.”

These words left even the Empress Dowager with no room to refuse. Though she was his Imperial Mother, everyone knew that the Ninth Prince’s decisions were not something ordinary people could change.

The gauze curtains were drawn down. Knowing that Lian’er harbored certain feelings toward her, and not wishing to have her acupuncture disturbed, Jiu’er had even Lian’er sent outside.

Within the inner chamber behind the gauze curtains, only Jiu’er and the Empress Dowager remained. The others waited in the outer hall, separated by layers of screens and gauze curtains, waiting in quiet.

The silhouettes inside were faintly visible. One could see Jiu’er administering the acupuncture, and occasionally catch one or two coughs from the Empress Dowager. But later, the sound of those coughs had actually become somewhat clearer than before.

When the flow of breath is unobstructed, so too is the mind. Though none of them were practitioners of medicine, Zhan Qingcheng and Zhan Luori could hear it plainly — the Empress Dowager’s last two coughs carried a breath that was noticeably more fluid and at ease.

That child — looking so young in years — how could she possess such extraordinary medical skill?

Before long, Jiu’er lifted the gauze curtain and called out toward those waiting outside. “Done.”

Zhan Qingcheng was the first to enter, with Zhan Luori and Lian’er following close behind.

The Empress Dowager’s breathing had truly improved considerably. In only the span of two incense sticks’ time, even her complexion was no longer so pallid. Indeed, a faint trace of color had even returned to her cheeks.

Heavens, this child’s medical skill was truly nothing short of extraordinary!

“Jiu’er, Imperial Mother she…” The gaze Zhan Qingcheng turned upon Feng Jiu’er was deeply complex. His little one was, in truth, a rare and world-shaking luminous pearl!

“The Empress Dowager has long suffered from a deficiency of blood and shortness of breath. Stagnation and melancholy lodge within the chest, causing frequent difficulty in breathing, and from there — congested phlegm and heart palpitations.”

Jiu’er stepped down from the bedside and continued organizing her things as she spoke. “Because this has persisted for so many years, her health has grown weaker and weaker. As long as she receives frequent acupuncture to promote circulation and nourishes herself with steady rest, she will recover.”

“Then Imperial Mother shall return to the royal residence to convalesce, and I will have Jiu’er come often to administer acupuncture for you.” Zhan Qingcheng said at once.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at him. She wanted to say something, but with the Empress Dowager present, she could not bring herself to ask aloud.

The way Ninth Imperial Uncle put it made it sound as though both she and the Empress Dowager would be living at the Ninth Prince’s Manor in the future. But that was not the main point. The main point was — was Ninth Imperial Uncle not departing on a military campaign quite soon?

Ninth Imperial Uncle had only been away two days this time, and she herself had passed through a harrowing ordeal of life and death. The fear was only secondary — what occupied her heart far more was that she had been unable to see him, and she felt both reluctant and unsettled within.

If two days alone had felt like this, then when he departed on campaign in the future — what if he was away for half a year, or even a year? If it took six months, or a whole year, before she could see him again… would it not be… very painful?

But Zhan Luori, after a prolonged silence, suddenly took a step forward and dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Ri’er?” The Empress Dowager was momentarily at a loss. She looked at Zhan Luori, then looked at Zhan Qingcheng. “A’Jiu, what is the matter? What has happened to Ri’er?”

“Why not let him explain it himself.” Zhan Qingcheng sat down in a chair, and Lian’er immediately offered him a cup of clear tea.

Jiu’er could only stand to one side, watching the Seventh Imperial Princess, who was kneeling on the ground.

“Imperial Grandmother, your grandson has been unfilial.” Zhan Luori pressed his large palms tight together. He wanted to speak, but explaining things had never been something he was gifted at.

And so, though a thousand words came to mind, all that remained in the end was a single phrase: “Unfilial!”

Yes, he had been unfilial. Toward the entire Zhan imperial clan, he had not only been unfilial — he had been disloyal.

But he had no choice in the matter. Now that this had come to pass, the only way forward was to step out and bear the blame himself. There was simply no other path.

“Are you speaking of the matter of Heng’er being poisoned?” Though the Empress Dowager did not actively go about seeking information, her heart was like a clear mirror. Many things she was not unaware of — it was simply that she had no way to involve herself.

Heng’er was, after all, the legitimate blood heir of the Zhan imperial lineage. Even though, in truth, neither of them was her own flesh-and-blood grandson, they were still both her grandchildren.

Zhan Yuheng was the Crown Prince. Anyone who sought to harm the Crown Prince was seeking to harm the very foundation of the Zhanjia imperial dynasty.

She let out a soundless sigh. “Ri’er, you and Heng’er have no grudge or enmity between you. Imperial Grandmother does not believe you intended to poison Heng’er.”

If one were to say that Zhan Luori’s conscience was troubled — that he felt he had wronged the Zhan imperial clan — then the only possibility was that, even if the poison was not administered by him, it was still connected to him in some way.

The only one who could cause him to feel such a thing was, most likely, only one person left.

“The jianghu extermination order — was that also issued by her?” Zhan Qingcheng, who stood to one side, suddenly spoke, his voice cold and detached.

Zhan Luori lowered his gaze, but his large hands gripped tighter and tighter. “I apologize. I did not know of this matter beforehand. But once an extermination order is issued, I fear that even she cannot recall it.”

A woman who had spent her life confined to the deep palace — how many opportunities could she possibly have had to venture outside?

To have spent the savings of a lifetime on a single extermination order — if not for a hatred deep and bitter to the bone, how could it have come to this?

“Ninth Imperial Uncle.” Feng Jiu’er suddenly spoke. “I have just administered acupuncture to the Empress Dowager. At this time, she should rest well. Why don’t we… step outside first, so as not to disturb the Empress Dowager’s peace.”