The moment everyone saw who had arrived, their expressions instantly sobered — not a single one dared show the slightest further impropriety.

It was the Iron-Capped Prince, the Eighth Prince — commander of the Longcheng Army. Nanmen Jie and his companions were all students of the Longcheng Army.

“Eighth Prince.” Everyone immediately bowed in respect.

Feng Jiu’er stepped out from behind Nanmen Xu, and together with him, inclined in a bow: “We pay our respects to the Eighth Prince.”

This Eighth Prince — Feng Jiu’er realized, it seemed this was the first time she had ever laid eyes on him.

The Military Academy had three independent compounds: the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s Longwu Compound, the Crown Prince’s Imperial Guard Compound, and the last one — the Eighth Prince’s Longcheng Compound.

She had heard that in former days, the Longcheng Army was largely a garrison force, charged exclusively with defending cities.

Later, the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s Longwu Army had established its own domain, and the Eighth Prince’s Longcheng Army had likewise entrenched itself across several cities for many years — so whether it came to campaigns or city defense, both factions exercised direct jurisdiction.

According to what was said outside, the Longcheng Army numbered two hundred thousand troops — but Xing Zizhou had once mentioned that because of their long years stationed at the frontier and border passes, the Longcheng Army had been growing and expanding over the years, just as the Longwu Army had.

The Longcheng Army’s current numbers were certainly far more than two hundred thousand, but the precise figure remained unknown, since Feng Jiu’er had not yet ordered Xing Zizhou to conduct a thorough investigation.

In any case, this was a prince who commanded a formidable military force.

Zhan Lingtian’s gaze fell on the prone figure of Nanmen Jie on the ground. His thin lips pressed together, his expression one of absolute gravity: “What happened?”

“Reporting to Your Highness — Young Lord Xu launched a surprise attack on Young Lord Jie, inflicting serious injuries upon him. At this time, the extent of his injuries remains unknown.”

Nanmen Jie’s companions finally had the good sense to know which way the wind was blowing. On one side was Nanmen Xu — powerless, without influence, utterly disregarded. On the other was Young Lord Jie — who at least held some standing within the Nanmen Clan.

The choice was perfectly clear. If they didn’t stand by Nanmen Jie now, none of them would have any easy days ahead.

Nanmen Jie, though still unable to rise, found the sharp pain had eased slightly — enough that he could finally speak: “Your — Your Highness, Nanmen Xu… launched a surprise attack on this Young Lord.”

Zhan Lingtian raised a hand. An officer behind him immediately stepped forward and carefully helped Nanmen Jie to his feet.

Zhan Lingtian fixed his gaze on Nanmen Xu. Nanmen Xu said in a low, steady voice: “Fourth Brother made improper advances toward my betrothed. I was only protecting my future wife.”

Feng Jiu’er felt the urge to roll her eyes. This blockhead — by saying it that way, wasn’t he essentially confirming what those men had claimed?

And what had those men claimed? They had said it was a surprise attack! This fool — didn’t he understand that there was a world of difference between self-defense and a sneak attack?

Feng Jiu’er was genuinely at a loss for words. But she also understood — the man was simply trying to take all the blame onto himself, to keep her from being implicated.

After all, the one who had sent Nanmen Jie flying was clearly her.

Upon hearing this, Zhan Lingtian’s expression darkened, as expected: “You are brothers of the same school. Grievances can be settled through reason — why resort to such a heavy-handed attack?”

The foam at the corners of Nanmen Jie’s lips was no pretense. His complexion had gone a ghastly white — it was evident his injuries were no light matter.

Nanmen Xu simply pressed his lips together and said mildly: “The fault is this student’s.”

The Eighth Prince was known for his fair and impartial nature, never fond of scheming or infighting among brothers, and open-minded to the point of being straightforward — everyone knew this.

Now, seeing two brothers from the Nanmen family at each other’s throats, with one having actually struck the other, it was only natural that he was displeased.

Nanmen Xu had no ulterior thoughts. If he could bear the blame alone, even a punishment was something he could endure and move past.

In this matter, he had no wish to involve Jiu’er. A man’s affairs were for a man to settle — they had nothing to do with a woman.

Feng Jiu’er, however, stepped forward and said calmly: “Reporting to Your Highness — this matter has nothing to do with Young Lord Xu. It was this student who struck him.”

Zhan Lingtian fixed his gaze on her. Feng Jiu’er continued: “This student’s name is Feng Jiu’er. I am a newly enrolled student of the Fourth Dragon Army in the Longwu Compound.”

“You are Feng Jiu’er?” He narrowed his eyes.

Nanmen Xu tried to say something, but Jiu’er pulled him back sharply. She said calmly: “Yes.”

She hadn’t expected to be so well-known — even the Eighth Prince had heard her name. But, as they say, fame brings trouble just as plumpness brings the slaughter — sometimes, being too well-known was anything but a blessing.

“No — just now, it was Nanmen Xu who struck me. Your Highness, please — discern the truth.” Nanmen Jie, who had managed with great effort to stand, pointed at Nanmen Xu. His breathing was still ragged, though somewhat improved from before.

How could he possibly admit that he had been subdued with a single move by a little girl? Claiming it was a surprise attack by Nanmen Xu, at least, wouldn’t sound quite so humiliating when spoken aloud.

Nanmen Xu moved to speak again. Jiu’er, entirely exasperated, stepped back and brought her heel down hard on the top of his foot.

Nanmen Xu winced in pain, his expression tightening, but in the end he swallowed whatever words had been on the tip of his tongue.

He didn’t want to implicate Jiu’er — but this woman simply refused to let him speak.

That small gesture of Jiu’er’s had not escaped Zhan Lingtian’s notice. He cast a brief glance at Nanmen Xu’s foot, then let his gaze settle on Feng Jiu’er.

“Young Lord Jie says the one who struck him was Nanmen Xu.”

“But everyone knows Young Lord Xu’s skills are no match for Young Lord Jie’s, do they not?” This was Feng Jiu’er’s conjecture, based solely on what she had observed.

Judging by the expressions on the faces around her, she knew at once that she had guessed correctly.

Nanmen Xu’s combat ability truly was not impressive — though his foundational techniques were actually quite solid. It seemed he simply lacked proper instruction from a skilled master.

The Nanmen family was enormously wealthy. Masters who would willingly present themselves at the door for free were too numerous to count — yet Nanmen Xu didn’t have a single respectable teacher to his name, leaving his techniques scattered and without order.

He was, at the very least, a Young Lord — the son of General Nanmen.

And yet the degree to which he was looked down upon within the Nanmen Clan was plain to see. Whatever had happened to make even his own father and grandfather so disinclined toward him, that was not something Jiu’er could concern herself with at this moment.

Every family had its own difficult scripture to recite.

She continued: “Even if it were a surprise attack — to inflict this level of injury on Young Lord Jie in a single move would hardly be easy.”

“You wretched girl, it wasn’t a single—” Nanmen Jie felt his dignity crumbling beyond repair.

“Whether it was one move or not, a test will tell. Do you dare try again?” Jiu’er fixed her eyes on him. “Just now, it was I who struck you. If Young Lord Jie remains unconvinced, you are welcome to come at me again.”

“At this moment, you are injured — but you are also on your guard. So it can be considered fair.”

She turned to look at Zhan Lingtian, her expression impassive: “This matter was indeed this student’s doing. This student can demonstrate it — just now, it took only a single move to subdue Young Lord Jie.”

Before Zhan Lingtian could respond, Nanmen Jie was already hopping with fury: “You wretched girl! Just now, this Young Lord was simply unprepared — that’s how you caught me off guard! If this Young Lord had been on his guard, do you think you could have laid a finger on me?”

She kept bringing it up, over and over again — reminding everyone that he had been subdued in a single move!

By a scrawny little girl, no less! If word of this got out, how would he, Nanmen Jie, ever show his face again?

He would never be able to hold his head up in front of anyone.

Zhan Lingtian’s brow furrowed slightly, and a flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes: “So you are saying — you admit that the person who struck you just now was Feng Jiu’er?”