Lu Beicheng said nothing.

Jiu’er was truly at a loss.

“Ninth Master, he was just trying to provoke you, and you actually got angry for real?”

Ninth Imperial Uncle had been exactly the same way!

At this point, even she herself no longer believed that Lu Beicheng wasn’t Ninth Imperial Uncle.

Aside from his face, in what way was he not like Ninth Imperial Uncle?

That terrible temper of his…

Lu Beicheng still said nothing, only his gaze grew even sharper than before.

His temper really was bad, and he really was the silent, brooding type.

If he didn’t want to say anything and she didn’t press him, he could probably sulk for an entire day.

“Ninth Master, can you tell me exactly what you’re angry about?” Zhen Jiu’er blinked, looking utterly innocent.

“I really don’t know, or, could you give me a hint?”

She’d already said it so plainly — Lu Feifan had done it on purpose, and yet he was actually angry over it. How could he fall for something that easily?

That was nothing like Lu Beicheng’s usual way of doing things at all, was it?

She hadn’t expected Lu Beicheng’s tall frame to suddenly lean forward.

Jiu’er, startled, held her breath and instinctively drew back.

But there was a low table right behind her — there was nowhere left to retreat!

“Ninth Master…”

“You showed no resistance to him at all!” Lu Beicheng’s voice was inexplicably cold.

Jiu’er froze for a moment, then was utterly stunned.

She… the reason she hadn’t resisted was because Lu Feifan looked exactly like Mu Mu!

Naturally, that gave her a sense of closeness.

But in this era, Mu Mu was Mu Mu, and Lu Feifan was Lu Feifan — they truly were different people.

What’s more, the relationship between Lu Beicheng and his nephew Lu Feifan didn’t seem nearly as calm and peaceful as it appeared on the surface.

Jiu’er felt a little guilty. “I… I didn’t react in time…”

“You know him?”

She wanted to say she didn’t, that she’d only met him last night, but she and Mu Mu had been sworn companions through life and death.

She hesitated slightly.

That brief hesitation was enough to make the chill in Lu Beicheng’s eyes deepen in an instant.

Jiu’er looked at him, wanting to speak, yet not wanting to lie. In the end, she could only shake her head. “The shadowy figure last night — that was Lu Feifan.”

Lu Beicheng didn’t show the slightest trace of surprise. Instead, it was Jiu’er who was surprised. “You knew?”

“He didn’t hurt you?” This was the second time he’d asked that question.

Jiu’er shook her head.

Judging by Lu Beicheng’s manner, he had already known it was Lu Feifan last night.

“Your family’s… relationships really are complicated.” Was this a common ailment of large clans?

It had been this way back in ancient times, and now, in the twenty-first century, it was still this way.

The grudges and feuds of great families were impossible to untangle. She just felt a bit uneasy at heart.

If Lu Feifan and Ninth Master were enemies… weren’t they two brothers? Why did fate always have to be so rocky between them?

“Ninth Master, do you hate Lu Feifan?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Do you think the word ‘hate’ suits me?” He had always dealt with matters, not people.

So an emotion like hatred, it seemed, shouldn’t apply to anyone.

Enemies should be struck down, and one’s own people should be supported — it was as simple as that.

Yet, having seen the interaction between Zhen Jiu’er and Lu Feifan today, he did seem… to genuinely feel something like dislike.

“So then you do hate me, huh?” After all, the look in his eyes today truly had been full of dislike.

She was being a little petulant.

“You think I hate you?” Lu Beicheng’s brow furrowed.

Jiu’er pouted slightly, about to speak.

But in the next instant, she was completely stunned!

When those thin lips came down, at first they were ice-cold.

But in an instant, they turned searingly hot.

Her world, too, fell into complete disarray the moment his lips covered hers.

Ninth Master, Ninth Imperial Uncle… it seemed as though he had come back to her side once again…