To say nothing of Leng Yue — even Emperor Ji and Yu Jingfeng felt a hollow ache in their chests in that moment. The cherished apple of their eyes, and no matter what method they tried, they simply could not coax him into even the smallest measure of happiness.

And yet Feng Jiu’er? All she had done was take a piece of food she didn’t want and push it onto their precious one to eat — and their precious one smiled like that.

How bittersweet. How aggrieved. How they wanted to cry. But men must not shed tears lightly — they would be laughed at.

Jiu’er blinked her eyes, not having expected so many people to suddenly appear. She set down her chopsticks, picked up a cloth and dabbed the oil from the corner of Ninth Imperial Uncle’s mouth, then turned her head to look at the people gathered at the entrance.

“Is something the matter? Ninth Imperial Uncle hasn’t finished eating yet.”

“N-nothing! Nothing at all!” Emperor Ji startled, immediately wheeled himself around, and hurried away.

Yu Jingfeng also hastily composed himself and said stiffly: “Nothing, nothing at all — you two carry on… carry on — please, let His Highness eat a little more. We beg of you, we beg of you.” He grabbed Leng Yue by the collar of her robe and dragged her away as well.

These people… what were they acting like, as though they had lost a son? It left Feng Jiu’er genuinely wondering whether she had stolen their child from them.

“They care about you very much.” She let out a soft breath and picked up another piece of food with her chopsticks. “Ninth Imperial Uncle, for their sake — eat a little more.”

Zhan Qingcheng’s elegant brows furrowed slightly, his expression one of pure disdain. Why should he eat more for their sake? If it were for their sake, even a single bite would be too many.

Feng Jiu’er felt the urge to rub her temples again. Ninth Imperial Uncle, could you please not be so proud? Those people out there genuinely care about you — don’t you know that?

“All right then — will you eat more for my sake? Come, try this meat — it looks wonderfully tender.”

“You taste it first.” If it were for her sake, eating two more bites was not entirely out of the question.

“All right.” Feng Jiu’er tossed the meat into her own mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it down. Delicious — truly, genuinely delicious. Smooth and tender.

She picked up another piece, furrowing her brow. “How awful. I don’t like this at all. Ninth Imperial Uncle, won’t you eat all of it for me? I want something else.”

He said nothing — simply opened his mouth and bit down.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, have some soup.”

“Mm. You drink first.”

“I already had some — it’s terrible. You have it.”

“All right.”

……

A cook who happened to be passing by — his face fell completely. His shoulders sagged. Why was everyone saying his food tasted bad? He had already put his very best effort into this, he truly had — oh, he was going to cry. Was his cooking really so dreadful?

They were being absolutely unreasonable! No — not the Prince. The Prince wasn’t being unreasonable at all. Miss Jiu’er was the unreasonable one, always saying his dishes tasted bad! His Highness hadn’t complained once. His Highness had even eaten it all. What was wrong with it? What was wrong with it?! Waaahh…

This was almost certainly the most Zhan Qingcheng had eaten since sustaining his injuries. When Feng Jiu’er handed the tray back to Yu Jingfeng, Yu Jingfeng stared at it, visibly stunned. “How… much of this did His Highness actually eat?”

“Most of it.” She had been declaring everything “terrible” and pushing it all to Ninth Imperial Uncle, hadn’t she? Even she herself hadn’t anticipated that Ninth Imperial Uncle could eat that much.

The moment Yu Jingfeng heard this, he was so moved he nearly burst into tears.

“Miss Jiu’er — you are our greatest benefactor! Since His Highness was injured, the total amount he has eaten over all these days combined still doesn’t match half of what he ate today.”

How could Yu Jingfeng not be moved? He was utterly beside himself.

“Don’t give me that look like you’re about to offer your whole self to me in gratitude — I have no interest in your body.” Feng Jiu’er shot him a withering glance, though from his words, she could more or less piece together what Ninth Imperial Uncle’s days had been like during this time. Restless sleep, no appetite — for a man gravely injured, who was also constantly on the road, it was nothing short of torment.

Ninth Imperial Uncle’s body must have been in tremendous discomfort. He simply never said a word of it.

Everyone called him picky — but really, what kind of appetite could a seriously ill person be expected to have? Being picky was entirely understandable, wasn’t it? He simply couldn’t eat. But without eating, he couldn’t recover.

Feng Jiu’er felt a genuine pang of regret that she hadn’t come sooner. If she had arrived earlier, perhaps Ninth Imperial Uncle would not have had to suffer so much.

“Oh, that’s right — Yu, the great Yu,” Jiu’er drew Yu Jingfeng aside, “that matter—”

Before she could even finish the question, Yu Jingfeng said: “The ones who went out today were Long Four, Long Nine, and Long Eleven — and of course, some of the Longqi Army brothers as well.”

“Long Four, Long Nine, Long Eleven?” That figure — the stride was too quick, the lightness technique clearly of the highest caliber. If she were to start with suspicions, Feng Jiu’er’s first would naturally fall on the brothers of the Feilong Shi’er Qi. After all, their martial arts and their movement skills were without a doubt first rate.

“But Miss Jiu’er — this matter truly isn’t easy to resolve.” Yu Jingfeng had no desire to wrongly accuse any innocent brother. Moreover, the Feilong Shi’er Qi had followed by the Prince’s side for so many years — if suspicion were rashly cast on them now, one misstep could genuinely wound the brotherhood between them. Loyalty was something that must never be doubted. Otherwise, it would chill the hearts of one’s brothers.

“Everyone was in the surrounding area doing reconnaissance, and all were acting alone. Who it was is truly impossible to say. Their movement skills are all exceptional — from any of their positions to where you were would take only a moment.”

Feng Jiu’er understood Yu Jingfeng’s meaning immediately. In other words, the person she had seen was not necessarily someone who had been scouting in her direction — it was quite possible they had come from somewhere else entirely. After all, the distance they had traveled wasn’t all that great, and a short route wouldn’t take much time to traverse back and forth.

Which meant that even if she were to ask everyone where they had been scouting, it would serve no practical purpose whatsoever.

Feng Jiu’er felt troubled. Who among those around her was colluding with the man behind Zeng Lanyue — even now, there was no lead to follow. And now, a mole had appeared within Ninth Imperial Uncle’s own convoy. It was like something out of a deeply layered spy drama — tangled and complex. When would she ever manage to sort it all out?

“Still, Yu — the great Yu — I’ve had Long Twelve do something,” she leaned close to Yu Jingfeng and murmured a few words to him in a low voice. Yu Jingfeng nodded — he understood.

“Then let’s do that. We’ll see tonight whether anything stirs. Also, Yu — the great Yu — can you give me a list of the brothers who didn’t leave the convoy at all today and stayed here the whole time?”

“That shouldn’t be difficult.” Yu Jingfeng gave a slight nod, shifting the tray in his hands. “Let me return this first. We’re about to set out. Once we stop for the night, I’ll have the list ready for you.”

“Good.”

Jiu’er returned to the carriage. Through the curtain, she could still make out Ninth Imperial Uncle’s blurred silhouette within. If he were willing to come out and get a little sunshine, it would do him good — a person’s spirits would be much better for it. But when she had suggested it just a moment ago, Ninth Imperial Uncle had seemed entirely uninterested.

Then again — Ninth Imperial Uncle had never liked to appear before too many watching eyes. Still, she hoped he would come out and walk about, even just for a little while.

“Brothers, hear the order — we depart immediately!” Yu Jingfeng leapt onto his horse and called out loudly. Jiu’er returned to her own horse and vaulted up into the saddle — but the very moment she settled onto the horse’s back, she suddenly heard the sound of the brothers around her drawing in sharp, startled breaths……