Zhan Luori kept Feng Jiu’er company throughout the entire night in the secret dungeon.

At first, Jiu’er had still managed to muster the spirit to chat with her, but because Zhan Luori herself was not a person of many words, as the conversation gradually died away, Jiu’er’s head drooped to one side and she fell asleep.

She did not know how long she slept. Before dawn had yet broken, a sound of footsteps reached her from outside.

Feng Jiu’er was roused by the faint footsteps, and jolted awake, only to find herself still inside the secret dungeon.

She opened her eyes and looked. Those several men were still collapsed on the ground, maintaining the very same positions they had fallen in the previous night, as though they had not once stirred through the entire night.

The needles she had struck were formidable, but not so formidable as to render a person unconscious for an entire night. It must have been the Seventh Princess who had done something to them afterward.

The Seventh Princess… Jiu’er blinked, only then realizing she had actually been sleeping on the Seventh Princess’s lap.

She hurriedly sat upright and looked up at the young woman sitting beside her… At that height, it was truly difficult to regard her as a young lady.

She wanted to say something, but the footsteps from outside had already drawn close to the stone door.

Feng Jiu’er’s palms tightened, and remembering the events of the previous night, she instinctively braced herself in defence.

But Zhan Luori said, “No matter — it is one of our own.”

She rose and walked to the doorway, pushed open the stone door, and stepped out. The footsteps outside had come to a halt at precisely the right moment, and someone outside exchanged a few quiet words with her in a low voice.

When she returned, Zhan Luori walked back inside, seized the men one by one with a single hand each, and tossed them out casually.

That strength — it was utterly extraordinary. How could this be a young lady? Her strength truly was far too great.

Once she had thrown them all out, Zhan Luori looked back at Feng Jiu’er, as though she found nothing unusual whatsoever about what she had just done.

She said, “There is still one hour until the Hour of the Dragon. The Empress has just left the Yuyang Palace. I will go now to find Crown Prince Zhan Yuheng and see whether he has regained consciousness.”

Their people had been keeping watch outside the Yuyang Palace the whole time, hoping to learn what the situation inside was. But Nanmen Rong had remained inside the Yuyang Palace throughout, and had not departed even into the small hours of the night.

It was evident just how devastating the poison the Crown Prince had been subjected to this time was.

The fact that she had departed now most likely meant the Crown Prince had already come to. And if he had, then he ought to be able to step forward as a witness.

A single word from the Crown Prince carried more weight than a hundred words from anyone else — he was, after all, the direct party involved.

At this moment, Zhan Yuheng certainly still did not know that Feng Jiu’er had been thrown into the prison and was to be executed today. The Empress staying for so long had been precisely to prevent some reckless soul from uttering a word of it in front of the Crown Prince, had it not?

Hearing that the Crown Prince had possibly regained consciousness, Feng Jiu’er’s eyes lit up, and she finally glimpsed a thread of hope.

The imperial family was devoid of sentiment, yet at the very least, she had once saved Zhan Yuheng’s life. As long as he was awake, he surely would not stand by and let her die.

“Being alone here — are you afraid?” Zhan Luori was about to leave, yet felt a measure of concern.

“Afraid of what? Of something like what happened earlier?”

“I will not allow the same thing to happen again. Forgive me!” Zhan Luori still felt deeply apologetic for having arrived late before.

Jiu’er let out a soft breath. Her goodwill toward this palace princess had surged to an unprecedented height. “You are a good person.”

She smiled. “I am not afraid. All is well.”

“Very well. I will go swiftly and return swiftly. Wait for me.”

“Mm.”

Zhan Luori left immediately, leaving with a measure of urgency. This matter was grave — and what was gravest of all was that at this very moment, the Ninth Imperial Uncle was not in the imperial city.

It seemed as though everyone was waiting for the Ninth Imperial Uncle to return. At the very least, those who wished well for Jiu’er were all desperately, fervently hoping for the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s return.

And yet, judging by the Empress’s self-assured and confident manner last night, waiting for the Ninth Imperial Uncle to return was likely no easy matter.

Jiu’er did not think she had ever, until now, longed this urgently and desperately to see the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

Though many of her memories of the Ninth Imperial Uncle were still hazy, she simply felt — with him nearby, it was like having a great tree propping up the sky. He could give a person the greatest sense of safety imaginable.

Only when there was no further sound at all from outside did Feng Jiu’er recall that before leaving, Zhan Luori seemed to have pressed something into her hand.

Her fingertips brushed it — and it was a key!

Jiu’er’s heart leapt with joy. She immediately tried using the key to unlock the iron chains on her hands — and with a click, the chains fell.

This Seventh Princess — truly admirable! Not only had she come to ensure she was well-fed, she had also brought her this tremendous surprise!

Now, at the very least, there remained that much of a possibility for self-rescue. She need not simply sit and wait for death.

Still, after all that had happened, Jiu’er resolved that she ought to learn the art of lockpicking from a craftsman in the future. The feeling of sitting helplessly and awaiting death was truly unbearable!

She re-locked the iron chains and fastened the key between her fingers. She waited quietly for the Hour of the Dragon to arrive.

Not long after, another sound of footsteps reached her from outside.

Jiu’er blinked. After Zhan Luori had left, the darkness that was the dungeon’s constant state had returned. Even with her eyes open, she could not make out anything around her.

But the Seventh Princess had only just left — how could she have returned so quickly? At this moment, if the person coming was not the Seventh Princess…

“Open the door!” Someone ordered in a stern voice.

Someone came at once, pulling the stone door open.

Candlelight filtered in from outside. Feng Jiu’er finally made out who the newcomers were.

“Take her!” The several men dressed as guards looked at Feng Jiu’er’s robe, and their expressions darkened. “What is the meaning of this?”

“This… this subordinate does not know.” The prison warden on duty lowered his head, deeply flustered and fearful.

The guard in the lead looked at Feng Jiu’er once more, and ultimately decided not to pursue the matter. Time was short — she could be taken away first and questioned later. “Escort her out!”

No one knew what they intended to do. The Hour of the Dragon was still more than half a shichen away, and the execution time had not yet arrived. Where were they taking her?

Because the key was clasped between her fingertips, Jiu’er offered no struggle, and allowed herself to be escorted out of the prison.

The guards remained silent the entire way as they marched her forward, and she did not know how long had passed before she finally recognised the terrain around her.

They had actually escorted her out of the Justice Bureau! Could it be — a premature execution?

After the time it took to burn one stick of incense, Feng Jiu’er was brought to an open, spacious area. Before her stood a row of chairs, and all around were weapon racks lined with broadswords and short blades, row upon row.

The execution ground! Though it differed somewhat from what she had seen in picture scrolls, it was unmistakably and undeniably an execution ground.

Not far away, a woman walked into the execution ground, surrounded by a cluster of attendants.

That woman’s steps were graceful, and her bearing retained a few measures of nobility. What mattered most was that Feng Jiu’er knew her all too well.

Nanmen Rong!

This vicious woman had actually had her escorted here for an early execution!

“Hah — surprised, are you? Excited?” Empress Rong settled into one of the chairs and cast a sidelong glance at Feng Jiu’er standing in the centre of the execution ground. The corners of her thin lips curved upward.

“This palace has finally understood why His Majesty had people spread the news — he wished to lure your accomplices here to stage a prison break. But, Feng Jiu’er — do you think this palace would ever grant you that one-in-ten-thousand chance of surviving?”