Qing Yun turned to Feng Qingyin and gave a composed bow.

“Noble Consort, I naturally understand the crime of slander. However, I am merely acting on orders.”

After inclining his head, Qing Yun stepped over and picked up the slip of paper Zhan Yuheng had let fall.

“Noble Consort, it is unclear whether this note was left by His Highness for you or for Ling Long. Would you care to look it over?”

“You—” Feng Qingyin glared at the man who had just changed how he addressed her, her brow pulling sharply together.

The sudden shift in Qing Yun’s manner made her uneasy — she worried the matter was on the verge of coming to light.

She drew a deep breath and gave her hand a sharp wave.

“This young lady knows nothing about any note. The death of those thousand surrendered soldiers was absolutely Feng Jiu’er’s doing.”

“You are His Highness’s personal guard — since you can see that Elder Crown Prince Brother is being bewitched by that vixen Feng Jiu’er, and yet you do nothing to help him drive her out, what crime should be assigned to you?”

Qing Yun held the note out in both hands toward Feng Qingyin.

“Whether it was Feng Jiu’er’s doing remains to be determined. And I trust that since His Highness became Crown Prince, he is not so easily bewitched.”

“Since His Highness has requested it — Ling Long, if you please!”

Feng Qingyin shot Qing Yun another sharp glare, her expression growing still more strained.

Everyone present knew the note had fallen from the Crown Prince’s hand. If she refused to take it, it would look like guilt — but if she accepted it, would that not suggest the matter was connected to her?

“Miss Qingyin, Ling Long has done nothing to wrong our brothers.” Ling Long stepped forward and took the note from Qing Yun’s hands.

“Whoever is trying to set me up, or place Miss in a compromised position — I will not let it go without a fight.”

She opened the note, read it briefly, then passed it to Feng Qingyin.

“A single letter is not enough to seal my fate. Feng Jiu’er wants me dead — I’m not afraid of her.” Ling Long drew a slow breath, then glanced back over her shoulder.

“You — see Miss Qingyin back to camp. I will go with Qing Yun.”

“Yes.” Two palace maids in the near distance dipped their heads and came forward with swift steps.

Ling Long looked at them and said in a low, firm voice: “Take good care of Miss. If anything happens to her, don’t think your heads will stay on your shoulders.”

“Yes.” The two maids responded in unison, bowing their heads together.

“Ling Long, don’t worry. The innocent need not fear scrutiny. Elder Crown Prince Brother would never wrong a good person.” Feng Qingyin said, her face arranged in an expression of warm concern.

“Indeed.” Qing Yun also gave a nod. “His Highness would never wrong any innocent person.”

“Which is precisely why, upon realizing he had wronged Feng Jiu’er — even though she is an enemy general — he wished to seek her forgiveness.”

“Of course, His Highness will also not let any wrongdoer go unpunished. Especially whoever is responsible for the deaths of our thousand brothers.”

Looking at Feng Qingyin now, Qing Yun held nothing back in his expression. If she was truly the one behind it, he could not forgive her either.

“Qing Yun — what do you mean by that?” Feng Qingyin’s brow furrowed sharply. “Ling Long is not that kind of person.”

“Ling Long, if you please!” Qing Yun said curtly, with a wave of his hand.

“Let’s go.” Ling Long gave Feng Qingyin’s hand a light pat in quiet reassurance. “Miss, don’t worry. It’s not something I did — I’ll go with him and come right back.”

She released Feng Qingyin’s hand, gave Qing Yun a nod, and turned to walk away.

Qing Yun said nothing more and fell into step behind Ling Long, heading toward the camp.

Feng Qingyin, her face a mask of urgency, had barely taken a step forward before she nearly lost her footing and went down.

The two maids moved quickly, catching her on either side.

“Miss Qingyin, careful!” one of them said.

Feng Qingyin steadied herself with several sharp breaths, then turned to look back.

She watched as both sides’ forces withdrew, and frustration made her stamp her feet.

“That Feng Jiu’er really has a gift for this — the moment she shows up, Elder Crown Prince Brother does everything she says.”

“She kills a thousand of our brothers, and still earns Elder Crown Prince Brother’s trust, halting our army’s advance.”

“A woman with schemes this deep — if she isn’t dealt with one day, she will be a calamity in the days to come!”

Shaking her head heavily, Feng Qingyin turned and walked away, dragging her weary body forward.

The armies were withdrawing, and no small number of people had seen what had taken place.

It was not only Feng Qingyin’s words — even Qing Yun’s words had been spoken loudly enough for those around them to hear.

Feng Qingyin’s purpose was simple: to turn everyone against Feng Jiu’er, to make each person want her gone.

Qing Yun, for his part, had been defending Zhan Yuheng’s reputation. It could not be denied — with Feng Jiu’er’s appearance, something in His Highness the Crown Prince had become rather difficult to predict.

Certain the battle had been suspended, Feng Jiu’er could not afford to think about any of that now. She moved quickly to lead her brothers back into the city.

She had been unconscious for three full days and nights, and had no idea how things stood. She was desperate to find out.

After the last wave of wounded soldiers made it through the gates, Feng Jiu’er, mounted on horseback alongside Xiao Yingtao and Xing Zizhu, rode into the city.

The brothers standing guard at the city gates pushed them shut with a heavy thud.

With a single word from Feng Jiu’er — “we must spare nothing to treat the wounded first” — every available hand within the city was put to work.

When word reached him, Huo, the city lord of Mo City, dispatched every healer he could mobilize and every medicine he could spare, sending them all to the city gates.

For half a day, the area near the gates was thick with tension.

Once Feng Jiu’er had seen to the arrangements, she made her way toward where Qiao Mu was being kept.

She was climbing the stairs at a brisk pace when she nearly ran into Xiao Yingtao, who came rushing out of one of the side rooms with an anxious expression.

“Where is Qiao Mu?” Feng Jiu’er asked before she had even steadied her footing.

Xiao Yingtao glanced back, then stepped aside to make way.

“Thank goodness you’re back. We couldn’t find a female physician on short notice, and she won’t let anyone treat her.”

Feng Jiu’er stepped inside. Xiao Yingtao closed the door and followed close behind.

“This one — badly wounded, and still worrying about propriety between men and women. What is she thinking?” Feng Jiu’er muttered under her breath as she moved ahead, then pushed open the door to the inner room.

A wave of blood hit her immediately. Even for someone long accustomed to such things, her heart clenched.

She crossed to the bedside in a few quick strides. The person lying there, her whole body in a disheveled state, appeared to be sleeping soundly.

“Jiu’er.” Xiao Yingtao hurried to Feng Jiu’er’s side, her voice low and urgent. “The guards said Qiao Mu has barely rested these past few days.”

“When I came in just now, she was still able to exchange a few words with me. But by the time I brought a basin of water in, she had already fallen asleep.”

“She said it was all surface wounds, that she was much better after taking your medicine, and that she only wanted to rest — she told me not to disturb her.”

“But the wounds on her body…”

Even without lifting her clothing, the injuries were visible in several places, and blood stained the dark fabric of her garments.

Feng Jiu’er allowed herself a moment of grief, then quickly reined it in.

“Get her clothes off. If she can still sleep through it, let her sleep.”

From the rhythm of her breathing, Feng Jiu’er could sense that Qiao Mu’s internal injuries were not critically severe.

But her external wounds were numerous, and some of them had clearly not been sustained in the past day or two. Left untreated, infection would be enough to kill her.

“Yes.”

With those orders given, Xiao Yingtao set aside her worry about incurring Qiao Mu’s displeasure and climbed onto the bed, kneeling beside her.

But when she reached out to undo Qiao Mu’s clothing, Xiao Yingtao noticed her own hands were shaking badly.

“Jiu’er, there is a wound on her chest as well.”