Feng Jiu’er met Di Wu Ya’s gaze, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a bright, joyful smile.

“If my husband were to treat me poorly — Your Highness, no! — Crown Prince, how exactly would you seek justice for me?”

“Chop him down!” Di Wu Ya replied without the slightest hesitation.

“Slick-tongued!” Feng Jiu’er shot Di Wu Ya a look and turned her gaze away.

Despite what her mouth said, the smile on her face remained impossible to conceal.

Di Wu Ya carried his wife and walked back into the private courtyard.

The first day of the new year had passed, for the most part, in breathless tension.

After Feng Jiu’er and Di Wu Ya departed, Di Fei Mu’s chamber held Emperor Ji and Ye Luosha, as well as Elder Shi, who had come in after them.

Through all the turns of that long day, Di Fei Mu had not shown signs of a fever — yet the three people present did not dare let their guard down.

As the sky gradually brightened, the person on the bed suddenly showed signs of waking.

Ye Luosha saw this and immediately rose and went over to him.

“Elder Shi — go and find out whereabouts Mu Bai has reached.”

“Yes.” Elder Shi inclined his head and turned to go out.

Mu Bai had received the news and was on his way back through the night — but no one could say for certain how far along he was.

Ye Luosha wrung out a warm cloth and sat at the bedside, gently wiping Di Fei Mu’s forehead.

“Jiu’er.” Di Fei Mu suddenly struggled, calling out in a hoarse voice, “Don’t! Don’t leave! Jiu’er…”

Ye Luosha turned to glance at Emperor Ji, her heart cut to the quick.

She let out a quiet sigh, turned back, and took hold of the hand Di Fei Mu had suddenly stretched out.

Perhaps because the wound hurt too much, Di Fei Mu furrowed his brow but did not continue to thrash.

Ye Luosha placed his hand back into the covers and reached out to press her palm to his forehead.

“Jiu’er.” Di Fei Mu’s hand beneath the covers stirred once more.

Ye Luosha had no choice — she carefully drew his hand back out and held it firmly.

“Mu Mu — it’s me. How do you feel right now?”

Ye Luosha had never had children of her own, and had long since come to regard Di Fei Mu as her own son.

Seeing him in such agony made her feel as though her heart were bleeding.

“Jiu’er.” Di Fei Mu’s voice sounded again. “Jiu’er — don’t… leave! Jiu’er… I like you. You…”

“Don’t agree to that fellow — Jiu’er… don’t leave me — Jiu’er… I… cough…”

Di Fei Mu suddenly broke into a light coughing fit, his brow tightly knitted.

Every cough was bound to pull at his wounds. His color grew paler and paler.

“Mu Mu — don’t speak anymore. Mu Mu — don’t speak anymore.” Ye Luosha was terrified his wounds would tear open again and was beside herself with worry.

“Mu Mu — there’s no rush. Don’t speak! Please — don’t speak!”

Once Di Fei Mu started coughing, it did not stop.

Watching him in distress, Ye Luosha clasped his shoulders with both hands, her face a picture of helplessness.

Emperor Ji glanced at the sachet on the table and immediately went over to take it, bringing it to the bedside.

“Here — let him smell this.”

Only then did Ye Luosha remember the sachet Feng Jiu’er had left behind.

She took it and held it beneath Di Fei Mu’s nose.

“Mu Mu — smell this — just smell it and the coughing will stop. Breathe it in.” Ye Luosha seldom showed such urgency — even her voice trembled slightly.

“Mu Mu — it’s the sachet Jiu’er left for you — just breathe it in.”

When Feng Jiu’er had left the sachet, she had said that if Di Fei Mu coughed, it should be placed beside his pillow.

The scent of the medicinal herbs could suppress coughing.

Everyone knew that Di Fei Mu was not meant to be coughing at this time — it could very easily tear his wounds open, with consequences too dreadful to contemplate.

Mercifully, upon catching the sachet’s scent, Di Fei Mu gradually quieted.

“Jiu’er.” He murmured her name softly and coughed no more.

Only when his breathing evened out did Ye Luosha release his shoulders and sit down in the chair at the bedside.

She let out a fierce breath of relief, still not daring to look away from Di Fei Mu.

Ye Luosha sat at the bedside for quite a while, and once she was certain there were no sudden changes, she picked up the cloth beside her and turned to go out.

Emperor Ji let out a quiet sigh, controlled his wheelchair, and went back out to the place where the two of them had been keeping watch.

“Feng Jiu’er cannot be kept around.” Before Ye Luosha could speak, Emperor Ji said softly. “Even if the woman that night was not her — for Mu Mu’s sake and for Wu Ya’s sake — she still cannot be allowed to stay.”

“What do you intend to do?” Ye Luosha sat down and asked quietly.

After living through Di Fei Mu’s brush with death, Ye Luosha’s temper had calmed considerably.

Everyone had seen how much Feng Jiu’er had done for Di Fei Mu. Whether Feng Jiu’er was feigning it or plotting something — they knew it in their own hearts.

Yet sadly, with her present, it was not a good thing for either Di Wu Ya or Di Fei Mu.

Emperor Ji and Ye Luosha were wholly devoted to the restoration of their kingdom — they had long since been prepared to sacrifice everything of their own. What was one small girl who had appeared out of nowhere?

“I am going out for a time. Before I return, look after Mu Mu well.”

Emperor Ji let out a quiet sigh and controlled his wheelchair out, disappearing from inside the chamber.

Feng Jiu’er, having at last escaped from Di Wu Ya’s “clutches,” was clearly exhausted — yet she went a whole night without sleep.

When Xiao Yingtao came to find her, she was still lying in bed.

“Up you get — bride-to-be.” Xiao Yingtao gave the covers Feng Jiu’er was bundled in a forceful tug.

Feng Jiu’er rolled over, turned her back to Xiao Yingtao, and pulled the covers more tightly around herself.

“Get up.” Xiao Yingtao sat on the bed and gave her a push. “Didn’t you come back quite early last night? Why are you still not up?”

“And by the way — has anyone come from Mu Mu’s side with any news? No news is good news, right?”

“No — no one has come.” Feng Jiu’er pulled the covers and buried herself beneath them.

Ninth Imperial Uncle hadn’t come either. Mu Mu’s condition was likely as she had expected.

Just as Xiao Yingtao said — no news was good news. Feng Jiu’er wasn’t especially worried.

But then why had she been unable to sleep at all? The whole night she could neither sit still nor lie still, and watched helplessly as the hours crawled toward daybreak. That feeling was truly unbearable.

Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together and let out a breath of relief: “That’s good then — he’ll definitely pull through.”

She glanced back at the woman on the bed and furrowed her brow slightly: “What’s the matter? You look so listless.”

“Is it because Mu Mu’s injury caused the Ninth Prince to push back the wedding? Well, there’s nothing to be done about that — Mu Mu was…”

Feng Jiu’er let out a mournful sigh and poked her head out from under the covers: “I want to push it back too — but Ninth Imperial Uncle won’t hear of it!”

Xiao Yingtao blinked and gave the covers another tug.

“Could it be that you’re… afraid of getting married?”

Xiao Yingtao yanked the covers away. Feng Jiu’er, left with no choice, turned over.

She shot Xiao Yingtao a look, reached out, and pulled the covers back.

“What are you doing? Let me sleep a while longer — go away! Just let me sleep a while longer.”

This time, Xiao Yingtao finally got a proper look at Feng Jiu’er’s state.

“Don’t tell me — you were up the entire night over the wedding, and couldn’t sleep a wink?”

Feng Jiu’er once more hugged the covers and turned her back to Xiao Yingtao — at least she didn’t bury her head this time.

She let out a quiet sigh, her lips forming a small pout, and murmured softly: “Yes… I couldn’t sleep.”