Feng Jiu’er felt that she had truly been through a robbery tonight. Sitting on the bed now, she felt the sensation of having escaped death by the skin of her teeth.

She had actually bathed together with her Ninth Imperial Uncle — which was to say, they had shared a couples’ bath!

Although, clinging to the last shred of her dignity, she had ultimately not let him succeed — had not let him strip off her chest wrap and shorts.

But these undergarments, once soaked in water, what difference was there from wearing nothing at all?

In short, it was deeply awkward, deeply ambiguous, deeply… exposed — especially him! Oh… it was eye-scorching!

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, are you no longer angry?” Having finally waited until the chill in his eyes completely faded, Feng Jiu’er let out a breath of relief, lifting her head to look at the man sitting beside her.

“Lie down,” he said lightly.

“Oh.” This time Jiu’er did not hesitate at all, immediately lying down. Though her clothing was still that thin and cool, at least he was no longer angry.

It was a curious thing, really — whether Ninth Imperial Uncle was angry or not, his face bore the same expression. No, more accurately: no expression at all.

Yet she could so easily tell when he was angry and when his mood had lifted.

Somehow, she could simply feel it.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing, and unwrapped the gauze from her arm.

That arm had not been touched by water during the bath. Throughout the entire bathing process, he had been the one wiping her body down.

The moment she thought of those ambiguous gestures, Jiu’er’s entire face flushed crimson once more.

But now she lay quietly and obediently on the bed, her large eyes wide open, gazing at the man sitting beside her with a glistening, dewy look.

This docile, lamb-like appearance finally settled Zhan Qingcheng’s mood somewhat.

He unwrapped her gauze, and that horrifying scar immediately came into view. What was worse — the wound still showed faint signs of bleeding. It was plain that new injury had been done to it today.

“From the very first day you arrived, you have been feeding this Prince your blood every night?” His eyes darkened, his gaze narrowing.

Feng Jiu’er knew that Ninth Imperial Uncle was about to grow angry again. But things had already come to this point — getting angry now was too late, was it not?

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, for your sake, I would even give up my life. Truly. Am I not very well-behaved?”

Would acting cute work? Please do not take it out on her. In truth, over these past few days, her body had been declining day by day. She was truly exhausted.

Lying now at his side, she was so worn out that she wanted to simply close her eyes and fall asleep.

Ninth Imperial Uncle, could you not be a little more understanding? She still had to go find Emperor Ji and the others later to discuss matters regarding their entry into the Southern Wilds.

I’m so tired…

This act of playing dumb — had Zhan Qingcheng seen it half an hour earlier, he would certainly have been furious.

But now, seeing the unmistakable exhaustion etched between her brows, his surge of anger rose — and then, just as suddenly, was extinguished.

He had never experienced emotions that could swing so wildly.

His temper was not particularly good, but he was not one to easily lose it. And once lost, he was not one to easily cool down.

Yet ever since this girl had come to his side, many things seemed to have stopped following their usual course entirely.

Often, the full range of human emotion seemed beyond even his own ability to control — a fact that surprised even himself.

Taking the wound-healing powder from the box nearby, Zhan Qingcheng carefully dusted it over her arm, then retrieved clean gauze and began wrapping it around her, inch by inch.

His technique was not particularly skilled — after all, having lived this long, he had never tended to anyone before.

And so, the finished result of the bandaging was indeed not very neat. One might even say it was a little ugly.

But Feng Jiu’er looked at the gauze on her forearm — and at the lopsided little knot tied at the end — and felt something unbearably sweet stir inside her chest.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle… is this the first time you have ever bandaged a young lady?” she asked. She did not know why, but the mere thought of that possibility made her mood inexplicably bright.

“Yes.” Zhan Qingcheng had no reluctance to admit it. He had never been one to concern himself with such small details.

As for the fact that the bandaging looked a little less than pretty — it did not matter. Functional was enough.

Feng Jiu’er gently stroked the gauze on her arm, a contented warmth settling in her eyes. “Ninth Imperial Uncle, you’re so good to me.”

“…” The man was rendered briefly speechless. He had only bandaged her wound — did that warrant such praise?

Besides, was this injury not something she had gone through for his sake?

Still, since she said he was good, he would accept it. He thought rather well of himself too.

“From now on, no more drawing blood. Your blood — this Prince will hold onto it.”

“So… you mean you’ll be the one to drain me dry in the future?” She was only joking — but she had not expected Ninth Imperial Uncle’s expression to darken at once, a look of distinct displeasure crossing his face.

“Even joking is not allowed — Ninth Imperial Uncle is far too overbearing.” Feng Jiu’er pursed her lips and shot him a glance.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. He lay down beside her and drew her into his arms.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I still need to go out and find—”

“Whatever you wish to know, why not ask this Prince?” Did she truly think others knew more than he did?

“But Ninth Imperial Uncle ought to rest.”

“Do you think, once you’ve left, this Prince can actually sleep?” Did she not know that every time she left, he would wake restlessly from his sleep?

He simply had not wanted to add to her burdens, so he had feigned sleeping soundly through the night.

In truth, he always had to wait for her to return — and only once he had drawn her tightly into his arms could he truly settle into sleep.

That familiar, quiet, peaceful feeling — it was only when this girl was beside him that he could possess it.

At first he had assumed it was her scent that helped him sleep. Only now did he understand: no matter what her scent was, no matter what fragrance she carried — as long as she was there, he could sleep at ease.

Jiu’er looked at him for a long moment, then at last gave up her struggle and settled peacefully to sleep in his arms.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, have you been to the Southern Wilds before? Can you tell me — how was the Gu Poison in your body… put there?”

“When I was very young, I went to the Southern Wilds — to search for… a close kin of this Prince.”

There were many things he could not yet tell this girl. But what he could say, he would not conceal from her.

“This Gu was placed by a woman. I was young then — it was on my second visit to the Southern Wilds that I carelessly fell victim to it.”

“Why did she place a Gu on you? Is she your enemy?” A question had long lingered in Feng Jiu’er’s heart. “Ninth Imperial Uncle — could it be someone from the Imperial Family?”

“Unknown. But at the very least, not someone this Prince recognized.” He had been young then, which was why he had let his guard down for a moment.

Even now, he still did not understand: who had placed this Gu on him, and what had been her purpose?

Feng Jiu’er’s suspicion of the Imperial Family was one he had entertained himself. But that woman had never appeared before him — of that, he was certain.

If she were ever to appear, he would surely recognize her.

The woman had been in her twenties at the time. By now, she ought to be well past thirty — yet across more than a decade, he had never encountered her.

Feng Jiu’er was about to say something more — when, unexpectedly, a woman’s sharp cry suddenly rang out from outside…