Utterly. Slack-jawed. Speechless.

The young woman on the bed had only hummed a few lines of some unfamiliar melody — and their lord, who was always a light sleeper, had fallen into a deep, sound sleep!

And what’s more — she had told him to be good and go to sleep?

“Good” — that word had never once appeared in the lord’s life. This was the first time — at least, the first time any of them had heard it!

Such an astonishing thing — even Emperor Ji stared with his mouth open for a moment.

With great effort, one by one they came back to their senses, and looked again at those two figures on the bed — one sitting, one lying. That image… was somehow, inexplicably, perfectly harmonious.

“You —”

“Yue’er — if you are insolent again, get out!” Emperor Ji’s expression darkened, his voice dropping to a genuine cold. This time, he was truly angry.

Did she not know how difficult it was to get Wu Ya to sleep? How could she still want to cause disruption!

And yet, for the young woman on the bed, getting Wu Ya to sleep seemed… not the least bit difficult.

The group stood there, eyes fixed on those two figures on the bed, staring with such absorption they had forgotten to blink, thoroughly robbed of their senses.

No one knew how much time had passed. Only once she was certain Ninth Imperial Uncle had fallen into a sound sleep did Feng Jiu’er look toward Emperor Ji and incline her head. “Greetings, my lord.”

As she spoke, her hand continued to gently press through the acupoints on Zhan Qingcheng’s head.

Beneath the light touch of her long fingers, Zhan Qingcheng’s breathing grew even more long and steady.

This girl — her ability to effortlessly soothe Wu Ya’s emotions was truly remarkable.

Emperor Ji gave a small nod. He wanted to ask something, yet feared his voice might disturb the sleeping Wu Ya.

To go out now — he couldn’t bring himself to, either.

Leng Yue kept her gaze fixed on Feng Jiu’er on the bed, her feelings a tangled, impossible knot.

She thought she could recognize this young woman now — and yet, how had she become so beautiful?

Back then, she had been an absolute plain girl, and the scar on her face had been so jarring it was enough to make anyone’s stomach turn at the sight of it.

If Feng Jiu’er’s presence by the lord’s side had already been like a fishbone lodged in Leng Yue’s throat back then — a constant discomfort — then Feng Jiu’er, now radiant as a celestial being, remaining by the lord’s side gave Leng Yue not merely discomfort, but fear.

Yes — fear. A deep, consuming fear that made even her fingertips tremble.

Yet with Adoptive Father present, she could not vent it, could not express it, could not even make a sound.

“My lord, she is Physician Feng — the medicines the Prince took tonight all passed through this Physician Feng’s hands.”

Yu Jingfeng hesitated for a moment, then reported truthfully, “She is also the young lady my lord has so often heard spoken of — Feng Jiu’er.”

“What? She is Feng Jiu’er?” The composure Emperor Ji had just managed to settle crumbled at once, replaced by a surge of emotion that darkened his face — his large hand clenched tight, and the light in his eyes was stained with a murderous intent.

He bore no hatred for this young woman — but Wu Ya had been willing to throw away his own life for her sake. Leaving her alive was a threat to Wu Ya’s wellbeing, a root of disaster.

Yu Jingfeng knew that anything or anyone harmful to the Prince — the former lord would not let them remain in this world.

But now, Feng Jiu’er was not a threat to the Prince — she was the only one who could save him.

“My lord, the way the Prince currently is, I fear only by keeping Feng Jiu’er close to him will he be able to safely reach the Southern Wilds.”

Yu Jingfeng glanced back over his shoulder, then looked again at Emperor Ji and said in a low voice, “My lord, there is a matter I must report to you — but this is not a convenient place to speak.”

“Adoptive Father, I’ll stay here and stand watch.” Leng Yue immediately said.

The sooner those two left, the better — she would not let Feng Jiu’er continue to touch their most noble and incomparable lord!

“Yue’er — wheel me out.” Emperor Ji’s expression cooled. How could he not understand Leng Yue’s intentions?

If he and Yu Jingfeng were to leave, Leng Yue would almost certainly be unable to hold herself back and would strike out against Feng Jiu’er. This child — always so impulsive!

Emperor Ji’s meaning, Yu Jingfeng understood perfectly. He fixed his gaze on Leng Yue and said, “Leng Yue, you wheel the lord out. I’ll stay and close the door.”

Leng Yue was so furious she could have spat blood. Every one of them was guarding against her as though she were a thief — did they not think having her watch over the lord was safer than having Feng Jiu’er do it?

But with Emperor Ji present, she knew to restrain herself at least that much. So however angry she was, she still wheeled Emperor Ji out the door.

Yu Jingfeng followed behind them and pulled the door shut.

The moment they stepped outside and looked up, they could see Qiao Mu standing watch not far away.

She was dressed in men’s clothing, standing expressionless at one end of the corridor. Though she was of green-forest origins, the protective energy around her was something few ordinary people possessed.

“This person is —”

“Young Miss Feng Jiu’er’s guard. Also a young lady.” Yu Jingfeng explained immediately.

Emperor Ji gave a small nod, then gestured for Leng Yue to wheel him away.

Leng Yue shot a cold glance at Qiao Mu standing not far off, then wheeled Emperor Ji deeper into the courtyard.

Yu Jingfeng said quietly to Qiao Mu, “Young Miss Feng Jiu’er is watching over the Prince. Miss Qiao, please go and rest. We set off again early tomorrow morning.”

But Qiao Mu didn’t stir. There were too many powerful fighters here, and the two people just now seemed not particularly well-disposed toward Feng Jiu’er.

If any real conflict were to break out, Feng Jiu’er’s meager martial arts skills offered her absolutely no power to defend herself.

Yu Jingfeng saw she hadn’t moved, and after a moment’s thought, added, “The Prince still depends on Young Miss Feng Jiu’er’s medicine. With her here, she will not be in any danger.”

She had perhaps sensed the hostility of the former lord and Leng Yue toward Feng Jiu’er — Leng Yue’s in particular.

A person who had only remained at Feng Jiu’er’s side after losing a duel to her — and yet, unexpectedly, could be this protective of her.

Qiao Mu considered for a moment, then gave him a nod, clasped her hands in a parting gesture, turned, and departed.

By the look of things, the Ninth Prince’s injuries were indeed severe. No one had told her yet where they were heading tomorrow — but surely, the road ahead was still long.

To keep their conversation from any chance of reaching the Ninth Prince’s ears, Yu Jingfeng this time brought Emperor Ji and Leng Yue outside the courtyard entirely before stopping.

“Yu Jingfeng — what exactly is this matter?” Leng Yue was particularly impatient. There was nowhere else she wanted to be right now except back there, watching over the lord, ensuring Feng Jiu’er had no opportunity to take advantage.

The lord was far too alluring — if Feng Jiu’er were to be overcome with improper desire, the lord would be defiled by her!

Yu Jingfeng couldn’t help but glance back one more time in the direction of the chambers deep within the courtyard, before saying in a hushed voice, “My lord — only Feng Jiu’er’s blood, at present, can manage to suppress the Gu Poison within the Prince’s body.”

The events of tonight — how Feng Jiu’er had drawn blood to suppress the Gu Poison for the Prince — Yu Jingfeng laid out the key points in brief.

The most critical thing now was this: Feng Jiu’er’s blood could genuinely help the Prince suppress the Gu Poison — yet the Prince would absolutely not allow Feng Jiu’er to keep feeding him her blood.

As for why the Prince had grown so close to Feng Jiu’er — it was also because the Prince had discovered the properties of Feng Jiu’er’s blood. But in those earlier instances, he had drawn only a small amount at a time.

Though Yu Jingfeng had not witnessed the blood-drawing with his own eyes, from the color of Feng Jiu’er’s face each time she emerged, it was clear the Prince had taken only a minimal quantity.

But now — the amount of blood Feng Jiu’er had given the Prince tonight had already exceeded the limits a normal person could bear.