The Ninth Prince had bid her come, and Feng Jiu’er had no choice but to climb off the bed and walk toward him.

Though, to be fair, the most compelling reason was that the table full of food was genuinely irresistible.

She had not eaten a single grain of rice since coming here today — aside from the cup of tea Ninth Prince had thrown at her earlier.

Zhan Qingcheng walked to the table and sat down casually.

Casual as the gesture was, it was truly captivating to watch.

Even from her angle, where she could only see half his face, that half was still breathtakingly beautiful — enough to bewitch a person to their doom without the slightest recourse.

Still, why was it that this half-face felt somehow… familiar?

“Not eating?” Zhan Qingcheng glanced at her suddenly.

“Eating!” As the saying went — when under someone else’s roof, one ought not refuse their food.

Feng Jiu’er strode over quickly, plopped down on the seat across from him, and picked up her chopsticks, ready to dig in.

Then it occurred to her abruptly — in ancient times, were you not supposed to wait until the person of highest rank moved their chopsticks first?

“In this Prince’s presence, you need not stand on ceremony.”

Feng Jiu’er was absolutely smitten with the Ninth Prince’s cool, resonant voice! “Then I won’t be polite!”

The chopsticks hovering over the red-braised pork came right down — and this time, she truly wasn’t polite at all.

Before long, her mouth was stuffed full and her bowl was piled high.

Delicious! Genuinely, remarkably delicious!

The meat was real meat — not some frozen variety — tender and fresh, the product of a naturally raised mountain pheasant, nothing like the inferior imitations of the modern world.

And this fish — not only was the flesh delicate and flavorful, it was light and smooth and clean on the palate.

Even a simple stalk of green vegetable had a clear, sweet freshness — truly, genuinely sweet.

Feng Jiu’er had never eaten food this delicious in her life. She was half in love with the chefs of the Ninth Prince’s manor.

“I’m so full!” When the meal was done, she had no idea how much the Ninth Prince across from her had actually eaten.

What she did know was that she herself had eaten a considerable amount — quite a lot, it seemed.

“Do you like it?” The Ninth Prince’s voice was still as pleasing to the ear as ever, and now that she was full and content, hearing it made her feel a sudden, inexplicable urge to topple him.

Feng Jiu’er hurriedly reined in her wayward thoughts and nodded. “Mm.”

“If you like it so much, you could consider moving into this Prince’s manor and staying long-term.”

“Mm-mm!” Then, abruptly, she caught the peculiarity in those words. “Your Highness… what exactly do you mean?”

“Exactly what this Prince said.” Zhan Qingcheng set his chopsticks down on the table with a clatter.

The chopsticks struck the dish with a crisp sound — and at that same moment, the chamber door was pushed open.

Feng Jiu’er stared in mild bewilderment as Yu Jingfeng led a group of servants in and cleared the table clean in the blink of an eye.

Once the servants had all withdrawn, Feng Jiu’er immediately stood up and said quietly: “Your Highness, Jiu’er is full now. Jiu’er would like to go home.”

She wasn’t certain whether he had truly seen through her, and there was still a measure of apprehension and wariness lingering in her heart.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. Something shifted in the depths of his eyes — and then, in a fluid motion, he rose to his full height and turned to walk out the door.

“Your Highness…” Feng Jiu’er took two hurried steps after him, completely at a loss as to what he meant.

Though the Ninth Prince seemed to treat her with a degree of friendliness — and though he was, admittedly, the sort of beautiful that could drive women to madness with the most casual of glances — Jiu’er couldn’t shake the feeling that being near him was dangerous.

Zhan Qingcheng left the room without so much as a backward glance in her direction.

Feng Jiu’er watched him go, helpless, with absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do next.

Could she quietly slip away on her own?

Tonight — was she to sleep here?