Morning training had ended, and the midday hours and afternoon were time for rest.

The academy’s dining hall served the noon meal at noon. After training was dismissed, Xiao Yingtao and Feng Jiu’er walked together toward the dining hall.

Along the way, everyone was talking about the evening barbecue — apparently it was to be an outdoor grilling feast where everyone ate together.

Only Xiao Yingtao’s expression remained somewhat subdued, as though her mind were full of things she was carrying quietly.

“What is it?” Feng Jiu’er nudged her arm with an elbow. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about tonight’s barbecue.” Xiao Yingtao murmured, pouting slightly. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

Earlier, Jiu’er had given everyone a brief rundown of what the barbecue gathering would involve, and the more they heard, the more excited everyone grew — no one had ever tried enjoying themselves together in such a large group.

Feng Jiu’er had also drawn up a list of supplies, and that afternoon, people from the Fourth Imperial Guard Squad would be dispatched specifically to purchase everything on the list.

In short, everyone was excited and looking forward to it.

A barbecue with over a hundred people — it was bound to be lively.

Xiao Yingtao was looking forward to it as well. It was just that she had the feeling something was missing.

“Fun isn’t a good thing? If it’s fun, why that expression?” Feng Jiu’er glanced at her.

Xiao Yingtao shot her a look of complaint. “Mu Mu and the others are still locked up in the Martial Training Building. How are you not worried at all? I’m nearly beside myself!”

“Why would I worry? If they are spies, then being caught is a good thing. If they are not, they will be released sooner or later. Why worry?”

“How can you be so calm about it? If someone really is a spy…”

Xiao Yingtao bit her lip, unable to continue that thought.

If someone truly was a spy, wasn’t it better for them to be caught?

Leaving an informant inside the academy would cause no end of trouble down the line and bring harm to countless people. But could there truly be a spy among the three of them?

Xiao Yingtao’s feelings were tangled. She didn’t even know exactly what she was worried about. She simply was worried.

“Jiu’er, what if one of them really is a spy…” Her voice dropped very low, barely above a breath, afraid of being overheard.

“If one of them is truly a spy, then they are a mole embedded in our academy. And if they are a mole, they must be dealt with severely.”

“Do you have no feelings for them at all? If something really happens, wouldn’t you be heartbroken?”

Xiao Yingtao was nowhere near as composed as she was. If anything went wrong, no matter who it happened to, Xiao Yingtao would be devastated.

After all, they were in the same group. Throughout their training, they had always looked out for one another. They had also gone out together on a mission, watching each other’s backs the entire way.

People within a group develop a bond. How could you truly not care?

Feng Jiu’er was not without feeling. But on something like this, her words carried no weight.

“If one of them is truly a mole, then it can only mean that person’s regard for us all along was nothing more than a calculated pretense. Feelings like that are utterly false to begin with.”

If the feeling was false to begin with, what was the point of cherishing the memory of it?

“But what if that person had no choice? Or what if their position simply made it impossible to do otherwise?”

One cannot choose the circumstances of one’s birth. Perhaps that person had not intended any of it — perhaps they simply had no way out…

“What’s come over you today? Why so melancholy all of a sudden?” Feng Jiu’er patted her on the shoulder. “Stop thinking about it. As long as they are not spies, they will certainly be released. Ninth Prince would absolutely never wrong the innocent and loyal.”

“How come you stopped calling him Ninth Imperial Uncle?” Even Xiao Yingtao had noticed.

“Did I really used to call him Ninth Imperial Uncle all the time?”

“Of course.” Xiao Yingtao had seen with her own eyes how things were between Jiu’er and Ninth Prince.

The time a girl named Zeng Lan Yue had slit her own throat, Jiu’er had spent the entire night tending to her, and Ninth Prince had been right there beside them the whole time. Throughout the night, Jiu’er had called him Ninth Imperial Uncle over and over, so naturally and fluently — clearly it was how she addressed him at all times.

Sometimes she would affect a more formal tone and call him Ninth Prince, but in unguarded moments, it was always Ninth Imperial Uncle.

All in all, the two of them had appeared close and on very good terms — nothing like the way things seemed now, where there was no particular feeling when his name came up.

Although she didn’t know exactly what the relationship between Ninth Prince and Jiu’er was, it had certainly not always been like this.

“All right, let’s go eat. I’m absolutely starving.”

When there were things she couldn’t figure out, Feng Jiu’er had never been one to waste too much time on them — no amount of thinking would make them any clearer anyway.

She was genuinely hungry right now, and besides, there were other things to attend to shortly.

Xiao Yingtao’s mood was still heavy. Even with food to look forward to, she couldn’t quite feel cheerful.

Mu Mu and the others were still locked up in the Martial Training Building. How could Jiu’er not feel a trace of urgency? She herself was nearly frantic.

That afternoon, outside the rear entrance of the Martial Training Building.

Huo Yan looked troubled. “Jiu’er, it is not that I am being unreasonable. It is that this matter is of grave consequence — the attempted assassination targeted Ninth Prince. Something this serious is not mine to decide on my own.”

Since Feng Jiu’er disliked being addressed as General Feng — and since that title was one she had claimed for herself — Huo Yan had finally reverted to calling her by name.

Feng Jiu’er’s expression was calm and unhurried. “I understand that this puts you in a difficult position, Adjutant Huo. I only wish to see Mu Mu — I have no other purpose.”

“You can treat it as an inquiry on my part. Was I not present at the scene last night? I will go in and ask a few questions. Ninth Prince should not hold that against anyone.”

Would it not be acceptable to treat it as official business? Huo Yan did not actually suspect Mu Mu — so why couldn’t he allow her in for a quick meeting?

After thinking it over, he found the justification rather sound. She truly had been present at the scene last night.

However, these individuals had not yet finished being questioned by Ninth Prince. If Feng Jiu’er went in to ask them first, would that not be a serious act of disrespect?

Even though Ninth Prince’s attitude toward Feng Jiu’er had always seemed unusually favorable, one still had to tread carefully around a prince as one would around a sovereign. In everyone’s minds, the Prince was a figure of sovereign-like authority.

Who could say whether Ninth Prince might be displeased upon learning of it afterward? If he was, and Huo Yan had let her in on his own initiative, would that not be the death of him?

“Jiu’er, you can put your mind at ease and go back. Mu Mu is perfectly fine right now — I give you my word.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at him steadily. Huo Yan could only avert his gaze.

Do not look at him like that — it made him seem heartless and cold, when in truth, he was a very warmhearted adjutant. Truly, he was not as cold-blooded as that. It was simply that anything involving Ninth Prince was not something he dared to handle carelessly.

Feng Jiu’er reached into her bag. At the sight of this, Huo Yan immediately shook his head and waved his hands. “No, no, no — don’t even think about bribing me. My rank may not be high, but I have kept my integrity my entire life.”

“Truly, Miss Jiu’er, I will not accept a bribe. Please go back. As soon as it is confirmed that Mu Mu had nothing to do with this, we will absolutely — …ah — General Feng, please come in!”