Qiao Mu looked at Feng Jiu’er, then lowered her gaze to the ceremonial robes she had tossed aside.
She drew in a deep breath, picked up the robes, and stood. “Come on then — if you want to try them, let’s try them.”
She had not said she was unhappy — only that Ye Luosha’s sudden change of manner had unsettled her mood.
“Miss Qiao, are you offering to wait on me?” Feng Jiu’er looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “I ate far too much just now — right at this moment I don’t even have the energy to put on my clothes.”
“Aren’t you the one who said I’m rough and clumsy?” Qiao Mu narrowed her eyes half a fraction, her expression frosty.
Feng Jiu’er had never imagined that Qiao Mu would care about such a small thing. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and her mood brightened by several degrees.
“Then I wonder — could Miss Qiao perhaps be a little gentler with this humble servant today?”
“Depends on my mood.” Qiao Mu left those words behind and walked off toward the inner chamber.
Feng Jiu’er stepped forward to follow, the smile at the corners of her mouth growing deeper.
Xiao Yingtao looked up at the two of them, then abruptly leapt to her feet.
“I want to try too — Jiu’er and I have about the same figure, I want to try one as well.”
She glanced down at the two chests of jewels at her feet, and her voice rang out again: “Jiu’er, what should we do with these two chests?”
“Have someone take care of it when there’s a free moment.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice carried back from ahead. “Once they’re exchanged for silver, I’ll feel settled — don’t give Ye Luosha a chance to change her mind.”
“Leave that to me.” Xiao Yingtao set down the jewels and patted her own chest confidently.
Watching both of them disappear into the inner chamber, she turned, gathered the remaining two sets of ceremonial robes in her arms, and hurried after them.
Time passed quickly. In what felt like the blink of an eye, another day was gone.
Xiao Yingtao, Qiao Mu, and Zhao Xiaoxiao had made a joyful racket in Feng Jiu’er’s chamber until the stroke of midnight before finally leaving.
At last there was quiet. Feng Jiu’er lay in bed and looked at the window not far away.
Tomorrow was the great day of happiness for her and her Ninth Imperial Uncle — she truly, truly was going to marry him now.
Thinking of how the two of them had met, it felt as if it were only yesterday.
As memory upon memory from the past rose up, Feng Jiu’er couldn’t help but clutch her quilt and smile like a fool.
Back then she had been so plain — she still didn’t know how the Ninth Prince had ever found it in himself to take a second look.
If it was only because her blood could give him an antidote, that explanation was a little too thin to hold.
And yet, the miracle had happened all the same.
He and she had met, had come to know one another, had come to truly understand one another — step by step they had walked the road together. The path had been a little rough, but in the end they had found a complete and beautiful ending.
No — other people said that marriage was not an ending but the beginning of another story. Yes — there were still so very many things she and her Ninth Imperial Uncle had yet to do.
Thinking of having him at her side from now on, Feng Jiu’er felt that no matter how great a trial might come, she would face it without fear.
The young woman lying in bed laughed foolishly one moment, fell silent the next — clearly exhausted, and yet unable to bring herself to close her eyes.
She did not know how much time had passed when, without warning, a figure flashed past the window outside. Feng Jiu’er shot upright in bed.
“Who’s there?” She slipped her feet into her shoes, threw on a robe, and rushed out.
If her eyes had not deceived her, she had just seen herself — a woman wearing an identical face.
By the time Feng Jiu’er stepped outside, the white-robed woman had already moved some distance away. Following her instincts, she gave chase toward the back mountain, going farther and farther.
Just who had wounded Mu Mu — and with such audacity, coming here to provoke her?
Then, all at once, Feng Jiu’er seemed to hit upon something. She halted, turned, and began heading back.
But before she could take more than a step, a fierce, biting surge of palm force struck her head-on.
The air outside was bitterly cold, and Feng Jiu’er had come out in only her inner garments — she had already felt the chill the moment she stepped out.
Now, with that icy blast of palm force bearing down, she instinctively stumbled back several steps.
Looking back, Feng Jiu’er realized she had been led all the way to the edge of a cliff.
The white-robed woman stood in the wind not far away; in the time it took to blink, a second person appeared at her side.
“It’s you two?” Feng Jiu’er looked at the pair standing before her, her brow creasing slightly. “You lured me out here to try to kill me again?”
Her gaze fell on the woman wearing a face identical to her own, and Feng Jiu’er felt a profound chill in her heart.
As she had suspected — today had all been an act.
Was the plan to feign kindness toward her first, so as not to arouse Ninth Imperial Uncle’s suspicion?
Feng Jiu’er looked at Ye Luosha, the corners of her mouth curling faintly. “To be rid of me, you have truly gone to extraordinary lengths.”
“First, a performance staged in front of everyone. Then — using someone disguised as Feng Jiu’er, exploiting my concern for Mu Mu to draw me out — and then eliminate me?”
“Feng Jiu’er, all of this was brought upon yourself. If you have any last words, say them — we will do our utmost to see them fulfilled.” Ye Luosha’s cold voice rang out.
“Brought upon myself?” Feng Jiu’er gave a faint smile. “I truly have no idea what I have done to wrong you.”
“You have done nothing wrong.” It was Emperor Ji who spoke now, his tone flat and unhurried. “Even so, I cannot let you remain.”
“If you stay, Wu Ya will refuse to raise troops and march north to restore the Di dynasty — that is one reason.”
“More importantly: with you here, Wu Ya and Mu’er will eventually turn against each other as brothers. Therefore, you must be sacrificed.”
“If you have any last words, speak. I promise to see them fulfilled.”
The words had scarcely left his lips before Emperor Ji let out a quiet sigh.
“My affairs require no one else to see to.” Feng Jiu’er curved her lips once more, gave a light tap of her foot, and leapt into the air.
“If you wish to kill me, then let us see today whether you have the ability.”
Seeing her attempt to flee, the Ye Luosha disguised as Feng Jiu’er also sprang up and launched herself into pursuit.
In an instant, surging palm force scattered in all directions.
Within fewer than ten exchanges, Ye Luosha let out a sharp cry and crashed hard to the ground.
Giving Feng Jiu’er no chance to pause, Emperor Ji launched himself forward and entered the combat circle that had just cleared.
If she had any say in it, Feng Jiu’er would have preferred not to raise her hand against Emperor Ji — he was like a father to her Ninth Imperial Uncle, and she ought, by rights, to show him respect.
But no matter whose father it was, when a person came with the intent to take your life, how could she afford to be soft-hearted?
Emperor Ji’s martial arts were stronger than Ye Luosha’s, yet very soon he too was on the losing side.
The two of them gradually settled onto the cliff’s surface. Feng Jiu’er looked at the man who had returned to his wheelchair and spoke in a low, steady voice: “You are simply no match for me.”
“Step aside now, or don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
“Little one, you ought to know — for the sake of Wu Ya and Mu’er, I would not hesitate to sacrifice my own life.” Emperor Ji pressed a hand to his chest and smiled with a touch of bitter resignation.
“Since you cannot bring yourself to disappear of your own accord, I have no choice but to act directly. Even if it costs me my life, I refuse to stand by and watch those two brothers tear each other apart.”
Meeting Emperor Ji’s gaze, Feng Jiu’er felt a flicker of bewilderment.
If her own two sons loved the same woman, she imagined she too would find it unbearable — but that was not sufficient to become a justification for murder.
Yet the bewilderment was only momentary, and Feng Jiu’er’s focus returned immediately.
Ye Luosha, who had fallen to the ground earlier, was already back on her feet.
She fixed Feng Jiu’er with a hard stare and said in a heavy voice: “Do you not love Wu Ya yourself? You love him — so why return only to harm him?”
“Mu’er nearly lost his life because of you. Now you want to take Wu Ya’s as well?”
“Those two brothers only narrowly escaped with their lives — how can you be so ruthless?”
Feng Jiu’er had been holding Ye Luosha’s gaze, when all at once she sensed another murderous aura closing in on her from another direction. She spun around sharply to look.