“Your Highness, now that I’m here with you, no matter how I explain it later when I leave, things between you and me will already be unclear to everyone.”

Jiu’er was truly exhausted tonight. She lay down at the head of the bed, no longer caring whether her posture looked unseemly.

The key thing was — her “monthly visitor” had arrived, so what was there to fear about him suddenly losing control?

Though Zhan Yuheng wasn’t exactly the best of men, he wasn’t so lacking in basic decency either.

In truth, the cut on the inside of her thigh had been made by her own fingernail just moments ago, and that was where the blood had come from.

When changing the cloth earlier, she’d only wrapped it carelessly, and the wound still ached somewhat now.

To make it convincing, she’d cut rather deep and let quite a bit of blood flow. Afraid he’d grow suspicious, she hadn’t dared apply any medicine to it either — altogether, it was a rather miserable state to be in.

Fortunately, she had managed to escape tonight’s calamity after all.

She glanced at Zhan Yuheng with a distant look, not even sure herself whether it was despair or simple resignation.

In any case, her mood was far from good.

“Even if the Ninth Prince comes back someday, he probably won’t believe in my innocence anymore.”

“You still want to be with the Ninth Imperial Uncle?” Zhan Yuheng’s tone turned heavy, his eyes fixed on her still-pale face.

Feng Jiu’er coughed lightly twice, and Zhan Yuheng immediately said, “I’ll have the imperial physician come look at you.”

Since she’d suffered an internal injury, she ought to properly rest and recover — whatever else, her health came first.

“No need. I just need to rest a while, or sleep it off.” Jiu’er shook her head, her mind weighed down with troubles. Despite being utterly exhausted, sleep wouldn’t come easily for a while yet.

But Zhan Yuheng was still preoccupied with the earlier question. “Jiu’er, tell me honestly — do you still want to be with the Ninth Imperial Uncle?”

“If the Ninth Prince could return safely, no longer a fugitive of the court…”

“This time he’s conspired with people from the Ye Ming Palace, hoping to reclaim his title as prince. That won’t be easy.”

There was undeniably a touch of personal feeling in Zhan Yuheng’s words. But hadn’t he still many more questions left unasked?

For instance — where had Jiu’er gone before? Where had she returned from tonight?

Had she been with the Ninth Imperial Uncle all along? Or, as the reports suggested, had she been with Mu Mu instead?

And where were the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu and the others now?

From the moment tonight began with Jiu’er nearly becoming his, all the way until now, his excitement had only just begun to settle into calm.

Yet it seemed he still had many questions he hadn’t managed to voice.

Jiu’er seemed to sense what was on his mind and, unwilling to be pressed further, immediately said, “I don’t want to leave the imperial city. I don’t want to never be able to go home again.”

“Then you…” These words rekindled a small flicker of hope in Zhan Yuheng.

Jiu’er was deliberately giving him just enough hope to make him stop pressing her further. She asked, “Will you truly treat me well?”

“Of course. The two of us have been close since childhood, more than a decade now. How could you possibly not feel how I’ve always treated you?”

“But when I was ill before, you kept your distance from me the whole time.” Feng Jiu’er’s expression turned resentful.

“I…” Zhan Yuheng let out a faint sigh. There was no good way to explain those matters now.

“It was wrong of me before. It won’t happen again. Jiu’er, whatever happened between you and the Ninth Imperial Uncle before, as long as you treat me sincerely from now on, I will never let you down.”

“Then you’ll have to get my engagement to Nanmeng Xu dissolved first.” Jiu’er pulled the blanket up over herself.

Exhausted and injured, drowsiness was overwhelming her now; she could barely hold on any longer.

“Your Highness, I’m really very tired tonight. Could I sleep for a while? I’m not feeling well, and my stomach still hurts quite a bit.”

After all, her “monthly visitor” had come — of course her stomach would hurt. Surely he could understand that much.

“Shall I summon the imperial physician…”

“No, I just want to sleep properly. Don’t let anyone disturb me.”

She clutched the blanket tight and turned over, her back to him, her voice already beginning to slur. “You said you’d treat me well. Then tomorrow morning, I want to publicly announce my engagement to Nanmeng Xu is broken off. Can you make that happen?”

“Jiu’er…”

“If I break the engagement, but still can’t be with you right away, other people’s gossip will surely drown me.”

She closed her eyes, a sour ache behind them, her mind drifting again and again to the image of the Ninth Imperial Uncle channeling his energy to heal Mu Mu.

“So I need to break the engagement quickly. Once everyone forgets about me and Nanmeng Xu, then I can be with you properly, with my head held high.”

“Very well! Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you to the Nanmeng residence.”

“No, let’s go straight to the Imperial Academy to find Nanmeng Xu. Breaking it off in front of everyone there will do. I don’t dare go to the Nanmeng residence — they’re all bad people.”

“…” Zhan Yuheng was at a loss for words, yet found himself suddenly charmed, a faint sweetness rising in his chest at how endearing she seemed.

Few people in the entire imperial city would dare openly declare the entire Nanmeng clan to be bad people. This girl really wasn’t afraid of anything.

Was it only because she felt safe enough in front of him to be this bold?

If that were truly the case, did it mean this girl was beginning to trust him again?

Finally, he said in a low voice, “All right. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you to the Imperial Academy.”

Jiu’er finally let out a full breath of relief — this time, she truly couldn’t fight off sleep any longer.

As she sank into her dreams, a faint unease still lingered in her heart.

I’m sorry, to this man who held at least some genuine feeling for Feng Jiu’er — in this lifetime, she could never return his affection.

But right now she had no other choice. Facing the safety of the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu, using him was something she was forced into.

I’m sorry…

Once Feng Jiu’er had fallen asleep, Zhan Yuheng immediately left the room and hurried toward Emperor Qiwen’s Yuxiao Hall…

…

Feng Jiu’er had disappeared!

The Night Rakshasa had sent people to search, yet inside and out, no trace of Feng Jiu’er could be found anywhere.

“Sect Master, could Feng Jiu’er’s disappearance mean she’s betrayed us?” Elder Shi was truly worried.

Among those present were the Ninth Prince’s own people, as well as members of the Ye Ming Palace — yet only Feng Jiu’er seemed to belong to no particular faction.

She was simply on good terms with the Ninth Prince — but who could guarantee she wouldn’t betray him?

The Night Rakshasa felt uneasy as well. Feng Jiu’er was remarkably sharp, and having come down from the cliff’s edge once before, she would surely have memorized every safe foothold along the way.

If she went up there and led skilled fighters from the court back with her, what would they do then?

And with Mu Mu still in her current condition…

“Has there been any word from the Ninth Prince’s people about Feng Jiu’er’s disappearance?” the Night Rakshasa asked.

Elder Shi shook his head. “Aside from the Ninth Prince and Long Yi, I doubt anyone else cares much about Feng Jiu’er at all.”

“But tomorrow morning, when the Ninth Prince wakes from his rest, he’ll surely look for Feng Jiu’er!”

Given how obsessed the Ninth Prince was with Feng Jiu’er, if he discovered she was missing, would he drop everything at once to go searching for her?

But right now, Mu’er couldn’t be separated from the Ninth Prince’s true energy — if she were fully cut off from it, there would be no saving her!