Inside the wellness hall, Feng Jiu’er, Xiao Yingtao, and Qiao Mu walked together into the underground passage.

Behind them followed Xing Zichou, carrying a tray of food.

In one of the rooms of the underground chamber, on either side of a round stone table sat two tall figures dressed in white.

Not only had Jian Yi’s appearance changed, Feng Li’s appearance had changed as well.

All the human-skin masks had come from Feng Jiu’er’s own hands, and were not easily detected.

When Jian Yi saw Feng Jiu’er come in, he stood up.

Feng Jiu’er looked at his innocent little expression and immediately knew—today had been another day of him being crushed by her father.

“What happened?” Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow, asking a question she already knew the answer to.

“Jian Yi, your favorite roast chicken is here.” Xiao Yingtao waved at Jian Yi.

Jian Yi glanced up, stood, and strode over to Xiao Yingtao and Xing Zichou with his long legs.

“What? Lost again?” Qiao Mu came over to the stone table and glanced at the chessboard.

“Yeah, and thoroughly defeated at that.”

Feng Jiu’er walked over and sat down beside Feng Li, picking up his hand and placing it on the stone table.

She skillfully extended her long fingers to take his pulse.

“Father, do you feel any better today?”

“I’m fine.” Feng Li tried to pull his arm back.

Feng Jiu’er only tightened her grip, refusing to let him succeed.

“Even a minor illness is still an illness—you can’t avoid treatment out of fear of facing it!”

“Besides, the poison has been in your body for over ten days now. We must take it seriously!”

“Han Ying is truly detestable, poisoning you under the guise of loving you—she deserves ten thousand deaths!”

Feng Jiu’er didn’t tell Feng Li that someone had seen Han Ying riding through the streets on horseback today, completely unharmed.

Nor did she tell him that the head of Lord He Zhongnan had been hanging on the city gate for a full three days now.

The imperial family had twisted right and wrong, claiming He Zhongnan was a treacherous subject who had conspired with outsiders and taken Prince Ye away.

Now the capital was full of rumors and gossip.

Some sympathized with He Zhongnan, but more of the talk leaned in favor of Feng Qiongcang.

After all, he had ruled for so many years now—what could anyone do even if they were dissatisfied?

Feng Jiu’er gave Feng Li a thorough examination, then took his hand and led him to the dining area to one side.

Jian Yi had never been a chess master to begin with. He had played against Feng Li for three days and been utterly crushed for three days—by now he had lost all will to live.

He was currently gnawing on the roast chicken, head down, saying nothing.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the chicken leg in the bowl, gently patted Jian Yi’s shoulder, then let go of Feng Li and sat down.

Jian Yi truly was good-natured—no matter how hungry he was, he’d always save the best piece for himself.

“Father, that pork knuckle you love—Qiao Mu had someone stew it until it was very tender today.”

Feng Jiu’er picked up a piece of pork knuckle for Feng Li, smiling as she watched him.

“Eat more. Within two days, the poison in your body will be completely cleared.”

Qiao Mu had eaten several pieces of pork knuckle before she suddenly remembered someone.

“We can’t even communicate right now—I have no idea what’s happening on Feng Jiang’s end.”

To arrange things properly for everyone here, Feng Jiu’er had earlier told the brothers to pass word outside to temporarily halt all correspondence.

This was something she and Feng Jiang had already agreed upon long ago.

“I heard with my own ears that the Empress sent people to protect Third Brother. The Empress also ordered me to enter the palace—I’ll go in later and see if there’s any other news.”

“Is it dangerous going into the palace at night?” Xiao Yingtao puffed out her cheeks, looking at Feng Jiu’er.

“It’s fine, I’ll be careful.” Feng Jiu’er waved a hand. “Eat quickly! We must all eat our fill at every meal.”

“Who knows when the chance will come? The moment there’s an opportunity, we leave.”

“The second round of searches has already begun. They might search this place as soon as tomorrow.” Xing Zichou ladled soup for everyone and sat down.

“The tunnel is still being dug as fast as possible. If time runs out, we’ll have no choice but to take the route through Fengfeng Forest.”

“The eldest prince rushed back to the capital overnight. The rest should already have been lured out of Wutong Town by the third prince. Once we leave, we’ll go to Wutong Town first to lay low.”

“Let’s just follow the plan.” Feng Jiu’er picked up her soup and took a satisfied sip.

“Worst case, we go to the second plan.”

“Are you insane!” Qiao Mu shot Feng Jiu’er a look.

“You think if you show yourself, Feng Qiongcang will really let you go?”

“At the very least it would buy you time to get everyone out.” Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry! I’m confident Feng Qiongcang won’t do anything to me for a good while.”

Xiao Yingtao set down her chopsticks, looking displeased.

“Feng Qiongcang is a madman! How can you be so sure?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “He’ll be wary of my identity as a Feng woman.”

Feng Li set down his spoon and said nothing.

Feng Jiu’er turned her head, leaned in, and rested her head against Feng Li’s shoulder, nuzzling against him.

“Father, don’t worry! Now that we’ve finally found you, trust us—we will get out of this completely unscathed.”

“But…” she coughed lightly and pulled her head back.

“Never mind, let’s talk about it after we finish eating!”

Feng Qiongcang had lost all conscience—not even sparing his own father. He didn’t deserve to be emperor at all.

Feng Jiu’er picked up several more pieces of food for Feng Li, then took his chopsticks in both hands and set them before him.

“Father, eat quickly! You said you’d listen to Jiu’er from now on.”

Feng Li looked at the little girl for a good while, then took the chopsticks.

Xiao Yingtao changed the subject, and the mood in the chamber grew lively again.

Since this was something that had to be done, fear would only wear down everyone’s resolve.

After the evening meal, the tea replaced the dishes on the table.

Feng Jiu’er brought out the books she had found and set them on the table.

“Father, take a look at these pictures first—do any of them look familiar?” She pushed the open book toward Feng Li.

“I remember the Empress mentioning that the Buddha statues in the temple were brought over from the Western Regions. She specifically had someone find this kind of book.”

“I don’t recognize the writing inside—see if you can understand it. If not, the pictures should work too.”

“The Empress said the Buddha statues in the temple have stood for many years, used to suppress ghosts and spirits.”

“I think the stone statue you saw might serve a similar purpose.”

These past few days, Feng Li had also studied several books related to tomb formations.

He had always felt that something about the tombs in the imperial mausoleum looked familiar, yet couldn’t recall where he’d seen it before.

Finally, his gaze stopped on a page of diagrams.

“Jiu’er, this is it.”

That night, he had studied it for a long time, and could almost recall the stone statue inside from memory.

Feng Qiongcang had never believed in ghosts or spirits—for him to go to such lengths, there must be a special reason.

Feng Jiu’er looked at the picture, then at the text below it, and recognized a few of the characters.

“Father, does this really have something to do with ghosts and spirits?” she asked.

Feng Li’s long finger landed on the text above. After a moment, he nodded slightly.

“It’s also used for suppression.”

“I told you—Feng Qiongcang has a guilty conscience. The person we found at the temple also said the late emperor was murdered by Feng Qiongcang back then.”

“Father, do you believe now that this is really true?” Feng Jiu’er looked up at Feng Li.

“If it isn’t true, then how do you explain the mausoleum and the Buddha statues at the temple?”