“It is her — Zhan Liyue.” Long Feiyan’s brow was drawn tight, and she pronounced that name one character at a time, each syllable striking like a blow.

“Zhan Liyue?” Feng Jiu’er was momentarily stunned and nearly lost her footing.

She raised her eyes to Long Feiyan and bit down hard.

“The Zhan Liyue you speak of — the Moon Empress of those years, who is also… the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s birth mother, Abbess Jingxin?”

“Yes — exactly her!” Long Feiyan’s brow furrowed slightly as she drew her gaze back and turned to go.

She came to stand beside the table, and seated herself again in the chair she had occupied a moment before.

“In those years, I was meant to enter the palace as a consort. But Zhan Liyue sabotaged me in secret and ruined my virtue — it was your father who rescued me at that time.”

“Later, the battle at Broken Wolf Mountain, and the matter of the Long family being sent to the frontier and wiped out — both were Zhan Liyue’s doing. Six years ago, what happened to my legs was also her doing.”

“So — you marrying the son of our enemy is absolutely out of the question!”

Long Feiyan let out a cold snort, and then, without intending to, began coughing.

It took a moment for Feng Jiu’er’s consciousness to be pulled back by the sound. She drew a deep breath, turned, and went back to sit beside Long Feiyan.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her slender fingers to Long Feiyan’s pulse point, and learned at once that she had sustained internal injuries.

“I am all right.” Long Feiyan’s brow arched, and she withdrew her hand.

Feng Jiu’er looked at her, and her eyes slowly grew wet.

Learning that person was actually his mother — it pained her deeply.

But her own pain, compared to her mother’s, was incomparably distant. One might even say it was insignificant.

“Mother.” Feng Jiu’er called out softly and suddenly threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Long Feiyan.

At that moment, a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye and fell.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I truly did not know it was her.”

No wonder her mother spent her days living within hatred. If she herself had to live through all of this once over — she might not know what a smile was for the rest of her life.

Abbess Jingxin — Zhan Liyue. She had not only harmed her mother and devastated the Long family, she had even sought to personally end her own life. She was truly despicable!

Feng Jiu’er drew several deep breaths and released Long Feiyan.

“Mother.” Meeting Long Feiyan’s gaze, her own eyes sharpened considerably.

“This vendetta — I will settle it. I will see justice returned to the Long family!”

Farewell, Ninth Imperial Uncle. From the moment she fell from that cliff — let everything between them be severed.

Long Feiyan looked at the eyes on Feng Jiu’er’s young face that did not match its youthful appearance, then reached out and let a long finger glide gently across the corner of her eye.

“Jiu’er, in a person’s lifetime, some things are right to do, and others are not — one cannot always follow one’s heart. Do not blame your mother.”

“If you truly married him, your late grandfather and uncle — were they watching from the afterlife — would surely die without closing their eyes.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Long Feiyan, her arched brows furrowing slightly.

So — Grandfather and Uncle did not know Mother was still alive. And Mother did not know that Grandfather and Uncle were still of this world?

Feng Jiu’er had very nearly shared this joyful news with her mother, but in the end she held back.

Her mother was exhausted. The things that lay ahead — she would carry them herself. From now on, she only wished to see more smiles on her mother’s face. Everything else could drift away on the wind.

“I understand.” Feng Jiu’er took Long Feiyan’s hand, and the two of them rose together.

“The Jiu’er of before is dead. The one she is now is no longer naive or foolish.”

“Mother, please rest easy. I know what should be done and what should not.”

Feng Jiu’er led Long Feiyan by the hand and guided her to sit on the bed.

“Mother, lie down first. Let me have a look at you — your body is a little depleted. This is the deep wilds, but there may well be suitable medicinal herbs nearby.”

“I’ll brew you a few good remedies. I guarantee you’ll be full of vigor in less than two days.”

“Mother is fine — a couple of days’ rest will do. You should look after yourself. A physician who cannot heal herself is hardly impressive!” Long Feiyan’s tone gradually settled.

Feng Jiu’er gently pressed Long Feiyan back onto the bed and took up her hand once more.

“It won’t take long.”

Long Feiyan looked at her daughter and ultimately offered no resistance.

A short while later, Feng Jiu’er set Long Feiyan’s hand down and let her fingers rest on her neck.

“By the way, Mother — what exactly happened between you and Father? I very much want to know.”

“He has gone away — to a very far-off place. Father is always alone. It’s quite pitiable.”

Feng Jiu’er met Long Feiyan’s gaze, offering her a light smile.

“Mother, as they say — one day as husband and wife, a hundred days of devotion. For my sake, whatever grievances you and Father once had, won’t you forgive him? Please?”

“I spent some time with Father myself. I know he loves you deeply — it has not changed in all these years.”

“A prince with power and influence, yet for over a decade there has not been a single woman at his side.”

“He truly has not forgotten you. Even if he could not come looking for you, there were reasons of his own.”

“Did he tell you all of this himself?” Long Feiyan raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “I figured it out on my own.”

“He suffered a serious injury to protect me — and every time I brought you up, he would quietly smile, thinking I hadn’t noticed.”

“Mother, Father truly is a good husband and a good father. In those days, he was poisoned and fell unconscious for a very long time — it must have been because of that he could not come looking for you.”

“Later, he was held in check again because of me. He is always alone. It is very pitiable.”

“Mother.” Feng Jiu’er gave Long Feiyan a gentle shake. “Won’t you, for my sake, let go of your grievances with Father and start fresh?”

Long Feiyan shot Feng Jiu’er a glare and sat up.

“I thought you were truly going to treat my injuries?”

Feng Jiu’er held her hand, smiling faintly.

“I have already assessed your condition — I’m working on a solution right now, aren’t I? Trust your daughter. Two days’ time, and you’ll be well.”

“Mother, are you angry because Father never came looking for you — not even before you… passed on? He truly had his own hardships.”

“Think about it: if he could have left, why would he not have come to find you? If he had truly forgotten you, why has he remained alone all this time?”

“The best years of his life — he spent over a decade holding to one conviction: no wife, no concubines, not even a proximity to women. Why?”

“Mother…”

“Enough.” Long Feiyan cut Feng Jiu’er off. “He did not keep his promise — and not a single explanation was offered. How could I not be angry?”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and continued: “Father believed you were dead — to whom was he supposed to explain himself?”

“In truth, all these years he has been at the mercy of others, living like a walking shell of a person. It has truly been pitiable.”

“That one time — if I had not arrived in time, he was injured and unconscious, and nearly taken advantage of by a detestable woman…”

Thinking back on it, Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet sigh.

“To possess such supreme martial arts, yet to be reduced to such a state because of a woman. Honestly, my heart ached for him.”

“Mother — did your heart ache for him?”