Let alone ten days — Feng Qingyin could not wait even a single day longer. She longed for Feng Jiu’er to die right before her eyes.

Only once she was dead would her Crown Prince elder brother be able to forget her completely!

She gently set the letter down, pressed her lips together, and placed the empty bowl back onto the tray.

“For now we can only wait a little longer. Let us hope Jiu’er keeps her word — after all, we still have so many brothers in her hands.”

“If we give her no time at all, our thousand brothers will certainly suffer terribly. One only needs to look at Lingling to understand.”

Toward the end of her words, Feng Qingyin’s voice shifted in tone.

“And who knows — Jiu’er may have been with the Ninth Prince for too long, for she has actually grown this vicious. The imperial physician said Lingling’s face… cannot be restored.”

“How could Jiu’er have developed such a poison? It is truly too cruel!”

She lightly dabbed at the corners of her eyes, then lifted the tray.

“Crown Prince elder brother, I’ll head back now — I won’t disturb your work any further.”

That she would receive no response from Zhan Yuheng was entirely within Feng Qingyin’s expectations.

She gave a soft sob, dabbed at her eyes once more, and turned to leave.

“I should go and check on Lingling. I hear she has had no appetite at all — I am truly worried about her!”

“A perfectly beautiful face, ruined like this. If it were me, I would not want to go on living either. Lingling… she is too pitiable.”

Feng Qingyin drew in a breath, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

Only when the tent’s curtain had risen and fallen did Zhan Yuheng lift his gaze to look.

Watching the curtain still swaying in the wake of her departure, the depth of his eyes grew even darker. Perhaps no one but he himself knew what he was thinking at that moment.

After Feng Qingyin left Zhan Yuheng’s tent, she handed the tray to a lady-in-waiting who came to receive her, then made her way toward Lingling’s tent…

On the other side of the mountain, the atmosphere was far livelier and considerably more spirited than it was in the Crown Prince’s camp.

With two or three days of respite, the brothers throughout the war camp had nearly all recovered their strength.

Most importantly, Feng Jiu’er’s return had given everyone a great boost of confidence.

At a wide, open stretch of grassland toward the rear of the military encampment, Xiao Yingtao was leading everyone in sorting through medicinal herbs, while Feng Jiu’er looked on nearby to check the situation.

“Good. There is enough of this herb.”

Feng Jiu’er set down the herbs in her hand and moved to the other side.

She crouched down, picked up some fresh herbs, examined them carefully, and even held them near the tip of her nose for a sniff.

“Mm.” She nodded with a measure of satisfaction. “At least you didn’t find the wrong ones this time.”

Having finished giving instructions on the other side, Xiao Yingtao jogged over to stand beside Feng Jiu’er.

“Is this the right kind?” she asked softly, looking at Feng Jiu’er.

“It is.” Feng Jiu’er set the herbs down and rose to her feet.

She studied them carefully for a moment before her gaze finally shifted to Xiao Yingtao.

“By proportion, we are still short by at least half of this herb. It’s hard to find, isn’t it?”

“Mm.” Xiao Yingtao nodded. “It is indeed somewhat difficult. The brothers have already gone to search on the other side — we’ll see whether they can find any.”

“Good.” Feng Jiu’er dipped her head and glanced up at the sunlight. “Let it dry in the sun for one more day — it can be used in medicine by tonight.”

She surveyed the surroundings for a moment before her gaze returned to Xiao Yingtao.

“How much of everything else are we still short?”

“There are three kinds of herbs in total that we don’t have enough of,” Xiao Yingtao replied. “The brothers are all out searching — we’ll see what they come back with later.”

“If there’s not enough, I’ll go out with them to search this afternoon.”

“Good. Everyone has worked hard.” Feng Jiu’er had just finished scanning the surroundings when she heard the sound of a messenger bird.

She turned her gaze toward the direction of the sound, and the corners of her lips curved slightly.

“News came rather quickly.”

“What news?” Xiao Yingtao looked in the direction Feng Jiu’er was watching.

Spotting the bird flying toward them, she turned back to look at Feng Jiu’er with barely-contained excitement. “Is it a letter from the Crown Prince?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er had barely nodded when the small bird landed on her shoulder.

Messenger birds looked much the same to most people, but for Feng Jiu’er, she could still tell them apart by the shade of their feathers.

Her own bird had been sent to carry a letter to His Highness the Crown Prince less than two hours ago — she recognized it as the one she had sent out that very morning.

Taking the bird gently into her hands, Feng Jiu’er opened the small tube tied to its foot, drew out the slip of paper from inside, and unfolded it.

“As expected — one month is out of the question.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and gave a faint sigh.

Xiao Yingtao immediately leaned in, her gaze falling on the letter as well.

“How long? How much time does His Highness the Crown Prince intend to give us?”

“Ten days,” Feng Jiu’er said softly. “Much as I predicted.”

“The Crown Prince is no fool. It is perfectly natural that he would see through our intentions. He knows the situation in Phoenix City better than we do — of course he won’t wait until the Ninth Imperial Uncle arrives before making his move.”

“Ten days?” Xiao Yingtao’s brow furrowed. “But the Crown Prince’s reinforcements will arrive in five days.”

“Even if we have the soldiers from Mo City obstruct them, and even make use of His Highness the Crown Prince’s command token, we can delay them at most by a few days.”

“Jiu’er, ten days… for us, this is hardly good news.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and tossed the bird into the air. “There’s no rush to reply on this matter — we need to think it through carefully.”

“But doesn’t the letter say that if we don’t agree, tomorrow will be the day battle commences?” Xiao Yingtao said anxiously.

No one enjoyed war. The battle had barely stopped for two days, and perhaps everyone was hoping to have a little more breathing room.

Once the battle resumed, there would be no time even to catch one’s breath, let alone to rest.

“Yes.” Feng Jiu’er tilted her head to look at Xiao Yingtao. “From now until tomorrow — isn’t there still quite a few hours left?”

“Rushing will not change the Crown Prince’s decision. So we must settle our minds and think this through carefully.”

“Mm.” Meeting Feng Jiu’er’s gaze, Xiao Yingtao gave a nod.

Whether in the past or the present, Xiao Yingtao had always been glad to follow their Jiu’er’s lead.

Especially now — their Jiu’er’s martial skill and medical prowess had reached extraordinary heights, and Xiao Yingtao admired her beyond measure.

With her here, no matter how dire the situation, it was enough to put everyone’s hearts at ease.

“I’ll go check what good herbs the brothers brought back. You go over the rest again and see what’s still lacking.”

“Go on.” Feng Jiu’er waved her hand. “Get everything that needs preparing ready first — there’s still time, no need to rush.”

“Understood.” Xiao Yingtao dipped her head and walked away with a light, brisk step.

Watching her departing figure, Feng Jiu’er let the smile fade from her face.

“Jiu’er.” Zhao Yusheng approached from the other side.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and turned to look at the approaching figure.

“Jiu’er, did the Crown Prince send a letter?” Taking long strides to stand before Feng Jiu’er, Zhao Yusheng asked softly.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Only ten days.”

“Ten days?” Zhao Yusheng’s brow creased slightly — the answer did not seem to surprise him particularly.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded once more. “By the way, roughly when will the troops arrive? And what do you intend to do with the thousand surrendered soldiers?”