Chen Hong was perhaps genuinely afraid, and seemed to want to stir up discord between her and Gao Lingzhi.

Then again, what relationship did she even have with Gao Lingzhi to speak of?

“Feng Jiu’er, don’t speak so unpleasantly!” Chen Hong said, displeased.

Feng Jiu’er had noticed that whenever the topic of her looks came up—especially in front of her dear Brother Jiang—Chen Hong grew particularly angry.

To think she’d fallen for her own puppet. Just how lonely was this woman?

“My apologies! When it comes to you, I truly can’t think of a single pleasant word.” She gave a light laugh and began administering acupuncture to Chen Hong.

Chen Hong slowly closed her eyes in comfort. She didn’t notice that today’s treatment was any different from yesterday’s, and before long she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Only once her breathing had steadied did Feng Jiu’er retrieve the silver needles from her face.

She stood and walked over to Gao Lingzhi, pressing her long finger against his acupoint.

“What exactly do you want?” Gao Lingzhi asked in a low voice the moment he could speak again.

Feng Jiu’er looked at him, brow furrowing. “I risked my life to save you, and you dare snap at me?”

Gao Lingzhi hadn’t expected this woman to suddenly act wronged, and his tone unconsciously softened. “Tell me your plan.”

“Do you want to cooperate with me?” Feng Jiu’er pulled up a chair and sat facing him.

Gao Lingzhi glanced at Feng Jiang not far away, then withdrew his gaze. “No wonder you dared to come in and take this risk.”

“Fortune favors the bold, after all.” Feng Jiu’er smiled faintly.

“How would we cooperate?” Gao Lingzhi truly couldn’t read the woman before him.

She was supposedly someone who struck terror into people’s hearts, yet she looked like nothing more than a somewhat greedy young girl.

“I hope you all can escort my people to safety.” Feng Jiu’er blinked her round eyes.

“Don’t even think about it!” Gao Lingzhi snorted coldly.

“Then I’ll kill her first.” No sooner had Feng Jiu’er spoken than she was already beside Chen Hong.

The dagger in her hand pressed against Chen Hong’s throat.

“Everyone already knows you intend to assassinate her. If she dies now, the crown prince won’t let you off.”

Gao Lingzhi understood this well—otherwise, he would have made his move even without Feng Jiu’er doing anything.

“In that case, what’s the difference between you and this ugly woman?” he asked in a low voice.

“Of course there’s a difference!” Feng Jiu’er withdrew the dagger. “I’m threatening you for my brothers’ sake. She’s threatening you for her own.”

“Gao Lingzhi, you’re a smart man—how could you not guess the relationship between Noble Consort Ya and the crown prince?”

“But can you guess how much genuine feeling the crown prince has for Noble Consort Ya? Now that the Gao Family is in trouble, the crown prince hasn’t stepped forward at the first opportunity—don’t you understand what that means?”

“The Gao Family’s power today wasn’t built easily, but Old Master Gao dotes on his daughter without limit, Master Gao is used to indulgence, and Noble Consort Ya has let love cloud her mind.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Gao Lingzhi and shook her head.

“You may not be the cleverest, but you’ve at least won plenty of battles. Whether the Gao Family can hold on depends on you.”

“And what you can do right now is cooperate with me—cooperate with a legitimate daughter of the Feng Clan!”

“How can you prove you’re a daughter of the Feng Clan?” Gao Lingzhi’s brow knit.

There were many legends about Feng Jiu’er, but the most contested was always her identity as a true daughter of the Feng Clan.

“If you truly are a daughter of the Feng Clan, I and the thirty thousand soldiers under my name are willing to pledge our loyalty to you!”

Gao Lingzhi’s eyes burned with intensity, and his words were filled with sincerity.

Just as Feng Jiu’er had said, if things continued this way, the Gao Family would surely fall. That was not the outcome he had fought so many years to see.

At the very least, he needed to preserve himself, and as many of the Gao Family’s soldiers as he could.

“Feng Jiu’er, how will you prove it?”