“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I… I wasn’t thinking of going anywhere.” Whatever courage Feng Jiu’er had managed to summon up to make her escape just a moment ago dissolved entirely the instant she laid eyes on the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

Why she feared him, even now she could not quite say — but fear him she did. Who knew why.

Zhan Qingcheng had quite obviously not been back long from outside, and still carried traces of dust and road on him.

He walked inside. His voice carried a note of detachment as always — a matter of habit rather than directed at anyone in particular: “Someone — bring the bathing water.”

And so very shortly, servants began bringing in pails of hot bathwater one after another.

Jiu’er was not sure what she could do, and could only stand to one side and watch everyone bustle about.

Even the Ninth Imperial Uncle had nothing in particular to do — he simply sat on the long chair and stared at her.

Oh, he had been staring at her from beginning to end without stopping. That gaze of his perpetually placed the full weight of its pressure on her, leaving her completely flustered and at a loss, not even knowing where to put her own hands.

Finally, the servants all withdrew. Only Zhan Qingcheng and Feng Jiu’er remained in the room.

His habitually detached voice sounded once more: “Come here — help this Prince change his clothes.”

What? Help him change his clothes? Did this mean she was to attend to him during his bath?

Jiu’er’s little face flushed bright red. She had the urge to flee — but under his cold, indifferent gaze, she still walked over and began to remove his outer garments.

Removing clothing was truly not a big matter in and of itself; there were other garments underneath after all. But when it came to the last inner undergarment, and the Ninth Imperial Uncle was still watching her and waiting, Jiu’er genuinely began to feel that something about this was off.

“That… Ninth Imperial Uncle, can you remove the remaining clothes yourself?”

There was a screen by the bathing tub. In the past, he had also bathed and changed in front of her, but he had always walked in himself and removed the last layer of clothing on his own.

Not like today, where there was clearly only the innermost layer remaining, yet he still stood before her.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing at all — he simply continued to look at her. What was that supposed to mean? Did he truly want her to be the one to remove it?

Feng Jiu’er had been raised on a diet of frights — she was not so timid.

She swept a glance over the man’s towering, flawlessly sculpted figure — inhumanly perfect — and feigned nonchalance: “You’re certain you want to undress in front of me? I don’t mind in the least — I’ll treat it as watching a striptease. But…”

Why was the Ninth Imperial Uncle not blushing and hurrying behind the screen to hide? Hadn’t everyone said the Ninth Imperial Uncle was pure and chaste?

Feng Jiu’er gave a light cough, still affecting the air of a worldly veteran.

“But if the Ninth Imperial Uncle is seen through by me, don’t come looking to hold me responsible. The number of men I’ve seen — not a hundred, at least ninety-nine… no wait, I miscounted — not a thousand, at least nine hundred and ninety. I absolutely would not… ow! Ninth Imperial Uncle, what are you doing?! That hurts!”

The man had grabbed her wrist in a sudden grip, pressing down on the web between her thumb and forefinger with a sharp, numbing ache. It was genuinely painful!

“Not a thousand, at least nine hundred and ninety?” Zhan Qingcheng narrowed his eyes, and beneath that gaze, a frosty glint of ice appeared. “This Prince gives you one chance to correct yourself. Say that again.”

Feng Jiu’er had originally been about to say she was only speaking the truth, but caught in the freeze of his icy stare, she could not quite explain what happened to her courage — usually it ran so high, yet at this very moment, it faltered entirely.

“No… no… I just mean, isn’t it because I study medicine? Looking at a patient’s body isn’t… isn’t anything.”

“To what extent have you looked? Outer clothing removed, or inner undergarments as well, or stripped bare entirely — trousers included?”

The Ninth Imperial Uncle was furious, and the consequences seemed ominously, inexplicably severe.

This time, Feng Jiu’er had some survival instincts left and knew to value her life — reckless words like those she would not dare let out of her mouth again.

“I… I just… sometimes when patients have injuries on them, I… I…”

“Get to the point!”

“I have never seen the important parts!” Feng Jiu’er blurted out — she was scared right out of sense!

The Ninth Imperial Uncle had never lost his temper with her on this scale before — no wait, he was not losing his temper right now. He was something even more frightening than losing his temper.

The aura radiating from every inch of him, including that gaze — it was so cold. Cold enough that every drop of blood in one’s body felt as though it were about to freeze solid into frost, too thick to flow.

Those words, at least, caused the scalp-numbing chill emanating from the Ninth Imperial Uncle to ease very slightly — but the cold remained.

Only then did Feng Jiu’er belatedly realize that she had indeed offended the Ninth Imperial Uncle today. As for exactly when she had managed to offend him, she could not quite recall.

Zhan Qingcheng released her wrist. Beneath his calm expression lay a threatening aura she knew well: “Undress me.”

Jiu’er drew a deep breath — rather, she sucked in a sharp gasp of cold air. After all those words, it still came back to undressing him?

He hardly had any clothes left on him at all!

Her trembling fingers landed on the edge of his inner undergarment. She had thought she could still rattle off a few casual jokes the way she had just moments ago, to make herself look calm.

But now that her hands were actually moving, she found she could not utter a single composed word.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle was terrifying — today, particularly so.

Just when had she offended him? Truly, this had never happened before.

She pulled his inner undergarment off. Feng Jiu’er’s face went scarlet, her earlobes instantly burning hot.

That figure… that firm, broad chest, muscles so full that every line and contour was carved clear as day!

And especially the scars scattered across his body — large and small alike — which were wounds and should have been unsightly, yet not a single one looked bad in the least. In fact… they were quite attractive.

Jiu’er felt a tingling at the tip of her nose, a sense that she was on the verge of losing her composure. A rush of heat surged upward, and even her breathing came undone.

She flung the undergarment she was holding onto Zhan Qingcheng, spun around, and made to flee.

“You are not to go out.” From behind, the man’s low voice reached her.

Feng Jiu’er’s footsteps halted. She pressed her hand over her nose, muttering incoherently.

She felt rather embarrassed — she actually felt the sensation of a nosebleed coming on, but absolutely could not allow it! How could she bleed from the nose in front of the Ninth Imperial Uncle?

Having a nosebleed at the sight of a man’s chest was the reaction of a woman of loose character — wasn’t it? To prove that she was a proper, respectable young lady, this nosebleed could not happen under any circumstances. Absolutely and completely could not be allowed to happen!

She stood in the room, her two legs still frozen in the posture of someone who had been about to flee. But the Ninth Imperial Uncle had said she was not permitted to leave — so she could only maintain this stance. Fleeing was absolutely out of the question.

But could he at least stop making her do such dangerous things? She had absolutely no desire to develop a nosebleed at the sight of a handsome man’s bare form — that was simply mortifying beyond all measure!

Mercifully, the Ninth Imperial Uncle at last flung the undergarment over the screen. His long legs strode forward, and he disappeared behind it.

Very shortly afterward, the sound of him stepping into the bathing tub reached her, and after that there was no further movement.

Feng Jiu’er let out a long, forceful exhale, raised her hand and wiped at the side of her brow — and found the back of her hand came away damp with hot sweat.

With such beauty before her, she had nearly lost all self-control.

If he were anyone other than the Ninth Imperial Uncle, she might have called him a lecher tonight and sent him a couple of good hard slaps.

But he was the Ninth Imperial Uncle!

And because he was the Ninth Imperial Uncle, she actually felt as though it was she who had been disrespectful toward him tonight.

Oh, truly — born with a servile nature.