“My whole intention in seeking to negotiate peace with the Crown Prince was to reduce casualties among our brothers.”

“Yet you colluded with your mistress to gravely wound my companion, and you deliberately staged that ruse of suffering to obstruct the peace talks. What crime should you be charged with?”

From within the fighting circle, Feng Jiu’er’s voice fell — and then came a sharp crack, followed immediately by the piercing cry of another woman.

“To protect myself, I used a bone-softening powder on your brothers. You call me despicable.”

“And yet look at you — your arrows drenched in poison, your very sword coated in it, scheming for my life at every turn. You more than deserve to die!”

Another sharp crack rang out — the unmistakable sound of a hard slap — and Lingling’s low cry rang out again from within the fighting circle.

“The Ninth Prince harbored no traitorous ambitions whatsoever. His Majesty believed slander and ordered the Crown Prince to send troops. I had already reached an understanding with the Crown Prince, yet you and your mistress destroyed it.”

“You and Feng Qingyin, for your own selfish desires, disregarded the lives of the common people. What crime should you be charged with?”

Before the words were even finished, Feng Jiu’er slapped Lingling hard across the face once more.

In the moment of Lingling’s daze, Feng Jiu’er wrenched the longsword from her grip and drove a kick into her.

With a sharp cry, Lingling plummeted downward at great speed.

Feng Jiu’er showed not the slightest mercy and sent the sword after her.

The guards, seeing the person hurtling down, all stepped aside to clear a space.

“Since you enjoy playing with poisons just like your mistress, I’m returning your sword to you!”

Feng Jiu’er’s voice still lingered in the air above the forest when the longsword struck Lingling squarely in the chest as she landed on the ground below.

“If you don’t die from this, crawl back and tell Feng Qingyin — the debt owed for what was done to Jian Yi, I, Feng Jiu’er, will repay in full!”

She left those words behind, turned, and vanished from everyone’s sight in an instant.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Before any of the guards could even react, Lingling had been struck by her own sword, and dark blood gushed from her lips.

Enduring the excruciating pain, she reached into her garment, drew out an antidote, and forced it into her own mouth and swallowed it.

“Pursue her! You must not let that vile woman deceive you! It was Miss Qingyin who heard with her own ears that Ninth Prince intends to rebel, and that she wants to become Empress.”

“Pursue! Do not let her escape…”

The person collapsed on the ground spat out another mouthful of turbid blood and lost consciousness.

Feng Jiu’er dared not delay either. Catching the faint scent of the medicine, she pressed forward at a rapid pace.

Time had already passed. If there were truly any who had slipped through the net, or if Jian Yi had encountered assassins separately dispatched by Feng Qingyin, then Jian Yi’s situation would certainly not be reassuring.

Feng Jiu’er had long anticipated that she and Jian Yi might become separated. She had placed a medicinal substance with a particularly distinctive scent on Jian Yi’s body.

The scent was faint — an ordinary person might not detect it — but Feng Jiu’er could pick it up without any difficulty.

This medicine also had benefits for Jian Yi’s injury, which is the only reason Feng Jiu’er would have applied it so readily.

Anxious at heart, Feng Jiu’er moved with exceptional speed. At last, at a circular mountain path, she spotted the figure seated on horseback.

Not giving Jian Yi a chance to say anything, Feng Jiu’er, from her position below, was at Jian Yi’s side in just a few bounds.

Seeing him sitting on the horse unharmed and without a scratch, Feng Jiu’er took hold of the reins and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Jian Yi, great hero — are you trying to make sure no one misses you, standing up so high like that?”

“We’re still fleeing, remember. Keep a low profile. Low profile.”

“Jiu’er.” Jian Yi looked down at the person beside him, the urgency in his eyes impossible to hide.

“I’m fine.” Feng Jiu’er gave the horse a pat, took the reins, and began leading the horse down the mountain path. “You left in such a hurry. Let me first check your wound.”

“Don’t go getting an infection on me now! You really cannot afford any more trouble right now.”

“Jiu’er, am I terribly useless?” Jian Yi’s words carried a faint sense of helplessness.

“No, not at all.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “At the very least, you’re the most well-behaved of everyone.”

“Just now you were lucky you left when you did. You have no idea how badly I beat Feng Qingyin’s maidservant.”

“I left that worthless life of hers intact so Feng Qingyin wouldn’t have yet another excuse to make trouble.”

“Jian Yi, do you know? My medicinal powder seems to be quite effective. Those who were struck by it — by my calculation — won’t be able to fight for at least a month.”

“Those with strong inner power may fare somewhat better. Still, if they try to pursue us now, they’ve already lost at least half their fighting strength.”

Jian Yi gazed unwaveringly at the young woman holding the reins, the heaviness on his face not lifting.

After a moment, once Feng Jiu’er had gone quiet, he said softly, “Jiu’er, if one day the Ninth Prince no longer wants you, I will marry you. How does that sound?”

“I will never let anyone hurt you. I want to guard you by your side for the rest of my life.”

Feng Jiu’er stopped in her tracks, looked up at the man who towered so much higher than herself, and nearly choked on her own breath.

“Jian Yi, what did you just say?” She swept an exasperated glance at this big, endearingly oblivious man, pulled her gaze back to the road ahead, and continued walking.

“What do you mean, ‘if the Ninth Prince no longer wants me’? The way you say it, it sounds as if I’m certain to want him.”

“I am the princess of the Feng clan. What kind of man could I not have in the future? You don’t need to worry about me, Jian Yi.”

“It’s you I’m concerned about — you’re not getting any younger. When you meet the right person, use every method you have available, just like Xing Zizhou did, and bring her home as your wife. Do you understand?”

“Otherwise, the day will come when everyone else has paired off, and you’ll be alone and grow old in solitude.”

Having finally let out that pent-up frustration, Feng Jiu’er felt her mood lift considerably.

Unfortunately, there was still no chance to return to Yamu City. And she had no idea how things stood with her brothers there.

Suddenly, a clear, bright birdcall rang out from a distance and drew near. Feng Jiu’er immediately looked up.

A proud little bird — she couldn’t say what species it was — but the species didn’t matter. What mattered was that it truly could carry messages for them.

After the small bird landed on Feng Jiu’er’s shoulder, its haughty manner softened somewhat.

Feng Jiu’er stopped walking, opened her hand, and the bird settled obediently onto her palm.

She untied the paper scroll from its leg, unrolled it, and read it. The expression on Feng Jiu’er’s face grew noticeably heavier.

“Jiu’er, what’s happened?” Jian Yi asked quietly.

“The first squadron has been broken through, and a portion of the Crown Prince’s forces have entered the city.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice was measured.

“This news is already two days old. The current situation is unclear.”

While Feng Jiu’er was still feeling somewhat disheartened, a second bird landed on her left shoulder.

She hastily removed the paper scroll from the second bird’s leg, unrolled it, and read.

“Jian Yi, you’re saved now.” Feng Jiu’er looked up at Jian Yi with a brightened expression.

“The City Lord of Mo City says he has mobilized five thousand troops to converge at Mo City’s southern gate. Within two days, five thousand soldiers will be in position.”

“As long as we can safely join up with them, we need not fear Feng Qingyin’s people.”

Others might not have seen it, but Feng Jiu’er could clearly tell that more than half of today’s guards had been taking orders directly from Feng Qingyin’s maidservant.

Which meant that among the Crown Prince’s people, quite a number had been bought off by Feng Qingyin.

It seemed she truly could not afford to underestimate this nominal elder sister of hers.

Those who could survive after meeting Nanmen Rong were not just her — Feng Qingyin was among them too.

Feng Jiu’er tightened her fist. In her hand, the two paper scrolls turned to ash.

Moments later, the two small birds left Feng Jiu’er’s hands and flew off in different directions.