“What? The Ninth Prince took Feng Jiu’er away?” Empress Rong simply refused to believe it.

“Your Majesty, it was not merely… not merely taking her away, it was… it was carrying her away…”

“Insolence!”

Empress Rong let out a furious cry, and the reporting guard’s legs immediately buckled as he dropped to his knees: “Your Majesty, please spare this servant’s life!”

He wasn’t entirely sure what crime he had committed — but begging for mercy first was always the right move.

“If you dare to spread such wild nonsense before this Consort again, this Consort will not let you off lightly!”

She refused to believe that Zhan Qingcheng would carry a woman in his arms — and not just any woman, but one so hideous that the very sight of her would turn your stomach!

She absolutely refused to believe it. After so many years, not a single beautiful woman had managed to make him spare her more than a glance. How could the Ninth Prince possibly be willing to do such a thing?

These people — daring to speak such rubbish before her — were they not weary of living?

“Tell me — what exactly happened?” she demanded furiously.

The guard had originally intended to tell the truth, but after a moment’s thought, he changed his account: “When Feng Jiu’er forced her way into the Yuxiao Hall, the Ninth Prince happened to be departing.”

“Feng Jiu’er found herself in front of the Ninth Prince, and after that, the Ninth Prince… took her away.”

He had already said twice that the Ninth Prince had carried Feng Jiu’er away, and both times it had nearly cost him his life. So he decided not to say “carried” this time — but the fact that she had been taken away was still the truth.

“What exactly does he intend?” Empress Rong drew a deep breath, her brow creasing tightly.

“Go and investigate again. Find out where the Ninth Prince intends to take Feng Jiu’er. But under no circumstances are you to alarm him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The guard accepted the order and retreated in haste.

Empress Rong clenched her fists, her crimson nail lacquer digging so hard into her palm it seemed it might pierce the flesh beneath.

Why did it have to be him? Why was it him of all people who took that foolish idiot away?

Could it be — that he knew that fool had come out of her Xuanhua Hall, and was deliberately provoking her?

Qingcheng — after all these years, was he truly so unwilling to spare her even a moment of warmth?

And now, stooping to using a halfwit to taunt her — what was the point?

Was there anything he could not simply say to her directly?

……

Inside the Ninth Prince’s carriage, the imperial physician had administered an antidote to Feng Jiu’er and drained the poisoned blood from her wound.

Only after confirming that Feng Jiu’er was in no immediate danger of losing her life did the physician dare to bow respectfully toward the Ninth Prince at his side.

“Your Highness, this young lady’s constitution is somewhat unusual. The damage the snake venom has done to her body is not severe, and so there is no great danger to speak of.”

He still did not know the identity of the young woman in the Ninth Prince’s carriage.

He only knew that her appearance… was truly extraordinarily plain, and the scar on her face was, to put it plainly, quite unsightly.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. The imperial physician dared not linger with his gaze and simply added: “This official will go and prepare the medicine and personally deliver it to the Ninth Prince’s residence.”

At this point, His Highness was presumably about to return to his residence — the physician simply was not certain whether the Ninth Prince truly intended to bring this young woman back with him.

The Ninth Prince — lauded as the most beautiful man in the world — had lived for over twenty years without ever being willing to draw close to any woman.

It was precisely because of this that every woman within and beyond the imperial city’s obsession with His Highness had reached a fever pitch of absolute madness.

That mysterious Ninth Prince, that flawless Ninth Prince, that peerlessly handsome Ninth Prince!

And yet now, not only had he permitted a woman to board his carriage — he had allowed her to lie… at his feet.

This was simply… unbelievable.

Seeing that the Ninth Prince raised no objection to his words, the imperial physician understood — His Highness truly intended to bring this young woman back to his residence.

But as it happened, the physician had barely taken a few steps before he was stopped by the head guard: “Imperial Physician Liu, the Empress is unwell and requests your presence.”