Regarding the marriage to Nanmen Xu, Feng Jiu’er simply hit the highlights and said no more.

In truth, she did not take this matter to heart at all.

She was not a person of ancient times — to her, an imperial decree was nothing but a worthless scrap of paper. Since things had not yet reached a critical point, she had no intention of wasting mental energy on it.

What mattered most right now was that the poison in her Ninth Imperial Uncle’s body had already reached this stage, and yet the Emperor actually wanted him to return to the frontier to repel enemies at a time like this.

She had not yet thought of a way to cure her Ninth Imperial Uncle of the Gu Poison, and now things had become even harder.

But curing the Gu Poison could not wait — it absolutely could not be delayed any further.

“Jiu’er, you don’t need to worry. I’ll think of a way to handle this matter.”

Seeing that she had been frowning in silence, Mu Mu said in a low, firm voice: “If you are unwilling to marry, I will never let you marry Nanmen Xu.”

“The way Mu Mu says that — it sounds just like a lover making a promise to his sweetheart.” Xing Zizhou laughed and teased.

Mu Mu said nothing. Xiao Yingtao tilted her head, looking at the two of them, somewhat bewildered.

“Mu Mu, the imperial decree has already been issued. The Emperor’s word is final. You… do you truly intend to stop this marriage?”

It was not that Xiao Yingtao did not want to help Jiu’er, but the imperial decree had already come down. Could Jiu’er actually defy it?

If she defied the decree, not only would she herself be in danger — her entire clan could very likely be implicated.

Xiao Yingtao’s thinking was not yet so unconstrained. In her view, the best thing Jiu’er could do now was to get along well with Nanmen Xu.

“What are all of you thinking about?” Seeing everyone’s expressions turn grave, Feng Jiu’er snapped back to the present and could not help but laugh.

“I haven’t even taken this to heart — what are you all getting anxious about?”

To lighten the mood, she said with a feigned carelessness: “It’s fine. That Young Lord Xu is actually quite handsome and good-looking. Marrying him, I’m the one getting the better end of the deal.”

She was truly only saying it casually, just trying to ease the atmosphere — but someone’s expression instantly darkened.

“I will not let you marry him!” Mu Mu’s voice suddenly dropped cold, and he turned and walked toward the training grounds. “It’s time for drills. Everyone follow.”

Feng Jiu’er was the first to follow after him. Xing Zizhou, however, looked somewhat puzzled: “What’s gotten into Mu Mu today? The moment he heard Jiu’er was to be married off, his whole demeanor shifted completely.”

“People who didn’t know better would think he and Jiu’er had already pledged themselves to each other in secret.”

“What are you saying?!” Xiao Yingtao glared at him and stamped her foot. “How could Mu Mu and Jiu’er possibly… How can you say things like that?”

She glared at Xing Zizhou once more, then took several quick steps to catch up with Feng Jiu’er: “Jiu’er, wait for me.”

Xing Zizhou was about to follow when he noticed that Shan Yidao, who had not said a word this entire time, was standing rooted to the spot, brow tightly knitted, lost in thought about something.

Shan Yidao was usually the one who loved talking with everyone the most — yet today, he too had fallen silent.

Xing Zizhou couldn’t help himself; he jabbed him with an elbow: “What’s going on? You hear that Jiu’er is getting married and you all start acting so strange?”

He blinked, then suddenly leaned in close to Shan Yidao: “Don’t tell me you’ve also fallen for Jiu’er?”

“What nonsense are you talking? I’ve always thought of Jiu’er as a little sister.” Shan Yidao reined in his thoughts, shot him a sideways glance, and said, “Let’s go. Weren’t we going to register? If we’re late, you’ll be the one crying.”

“How could we possibly not get registered? Everyone has the right to sign up!”

Right now, it was not a question of whether they could register — it was whether they could be selected. Out of over a thousand people, only fifty would be chosen. The difficulty was truly immense.