A quarter of an hour later, someone knocked on the door of the chamber from outside.

“Who is it?” Xiao Yingtao, who was combing Feng Jiu’er’s hair, turned to glance back.

“It’s me.” Xing Zizhou’s voice came from outside.

“Come in.” Xiao Yingtao tossed out the words and went back to combing Feng Jiu’er’s hair.

The door was pushed open, and Xing Zizhou walked in, followed by two more people.

“Jiu’er, Xinyue and Xing’er are back.” Xing Zizhou set the tray in his hands down on a table not far away.

Hearing this, Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao both stood up and leaned out from behind the screen.

“Xinyue, Xing’er, you’re finally back?” Xiao Yingtao took one look and ran out excitedly.

“Xiao Yingtao, I missed you so much.” Gong Xing’er came forward and took Xiao Yingtao’s hands in hers.

She glanced past Xiao Yingtao and added, “Jiu’er, I missed you too.”

“Welcome back!” Feng Jiu’er, her long hair flowing freely, looked at the two sisters with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

When she’d arranged for them to leave earlier, she had worried a great deal.

Fortunately, they’d both made it back safely.

“Jiu’er.” Gong Xinyue’s lips curved up as she stepped over and patted Feng Jiu’er’s shoulder.

Feng Jiu’er took her hand, and the two exchanged a smiling glance.

“How did it go? Are the brothers all right too?”

“Everything’s fine.” Gong Xinyue withdrew her hand. “I told you before — the Feng Clan is in such chaos now, who’s going to bother about small fry like us?”

“Just as you predicted, Noble Consort Ya has sent out troops, and her target is you.”

“Good.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

As long as it wasn’t Ninth Imperial Uncle, that was fine. When she’d learned earlier that the Eldest Prince had gone east, she’d worried about the forces of the Gao family, the horse-herding clan behind Noble Consort Ya.

If Noble Consort Ya wasn’t at ease about the Eldest Prince and brought her own troops along with him, the situation in the east would be far from optimistic.

After much deliberation, Feng Jiu’er had arranged for the Gong sisters, who had been hiding away, to continue north.

“Jiu’er, honestly, we didn’t really do much.” Gong Xing’er looked up at Feng Jiu’er.

“We just followed your instructions, went north the whole way, and spread word far and wide that you’re the true Feng daughter.”

“Just as you predicted, once Noble Consort Ya learned of your existence, she changed her strategy and planned to lead troops southwest instead.”

“The moment we got confirmed word of it, we rushed straight back.”

“You two have worked hard, and so have the brothers.” Feng Jiu’er stepped forward and stroked Gong Xing’er’s cheek.

“That was a long journey — must have been exhausting.”

“Not tired at all!” Gong Xing’er shook her little head, as if she had boundless energy to spare.

“If Jiu’er hadn’t been willing to take me in, I’d still be bored out of my mind in the mountains right now.”

“There’s danger out there, and we had to stay on guard against enemies the whole time, but I didn’t feel tired at all.”

“The kitchen made chicken soup — do you all want to sit down and chat over it?” Xing Zizhou said with a smile, looking toward the women.

“I want some.” Xiao Yingtao trotted over without any hesitation.

Fighting battles took a lot out of her; she needed to build her strength back up too.

“Let’s go over too, and chat over the soup.” Feng Jiu’er led Gong Xing’er by the hand, turning her head toward Gong Xinyue.

“Good!” Gong Xinyue nodded.

The four of them sat down around the round table, and Xing Zizhou went out once more, bringing back some more food for them.

“What a shame! In the end, Feng Rui still got away.” Xiao Yingtao set down her spoon and looked at Gong Xinyue.

“Xinyue, you have no idea how cunning that old fox is. Good thing the commoners all despise him.”

“That’s good to hear.” Gong Xinyue picked up a cloth and wiped the corners of her mouth.

“If we’d come up against an opponent as beloved by the people as Old General Yuan, it would have been much harder for us to handle.”

“True enough.” Xiao Yingtao nodded. “Every villain gets what he deserves in the end — Feng Rui is bound to meet a bad end!”