The charge of colluding with the Celestial Sovereign Sect was an enormously grave crime.

Feng Jiu’er had not even managed to eat a single peaceful meal before she was already escorted to the front courtyard of Feng Manor.

Zhan Yuheng, leading a contingent of men, happened to be on his way out of Feng Manor at that very moment.

He rode atop a tall, proud horse, with a carriage following behind him.

Judging by the carriage’s ornate decorations, whoever sat inside was certainly a woman.

“What is the meaning of this?” Upon seeing the officers of the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance escorting Feng Jiu’er, Zhan Yuheng’s sword-like brows drew together in a sharp frown. “Release her!”

“We pay our respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.” The officer leading the group was Zhang Jianhong, Commander-General of the Divine Martial Division under the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance.

Commander Zhang leapt down from his horse in a single bound and, together with the others, bowed in salute to Zhan Yuheng.

“To report to His Highness the Crown Prince: Feng Jiu’er is suspected of colluding with the treasonous rebels of the Celestial Sovereign Sect. We have now secured the evidence and are here to bring her into custody.”

The Feng family patriarch, Feng Zhenhai, had rushed over upon hearing the news. At the sight of Jiu’er truly being held under escort by the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance’s men, his face filled with stunned disbelief.

“Commander Zhang, my Jiu’er rarely even steps outside the gate on ordinary days. Could there perhaps be some misunderstanding in all of this?”

“Old General Feng, this matter must be formally questioned by the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance before any conclusion can be reached. I, too, am only acting under orders.”

Zhang Jianhong answered to the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance alone and obeyed only the Emperor’s commands — even the Crown Prince’s orders were not binding upon him.

And so, toward Feng Zhenhai, a senior court minister, he showed even less in the way of courtesy.

Zhan Yuheng looked at Feng Jiu’er. She shook her head, her expression carrying a trace of panic. “Crown Prince Elder Brother, I don’t know what’s happening. I just want to go back and eat.”

That vacant, foolish manner of hers made it very difficult to connect her to anyone from the Celestial Sovereign Sect.

No one could quite fathom what evidence the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance had actually obtained, to have come to suspect such a simple-minded young girl.

Zhan Yuheng looked at Zhang Jianhong, his expression grave and cool. “Could Commander Zhang perhaps allow Jiu’er to remain here for now? This matter — this Royal Highness will personally make a trip to the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance to clarify everything.”

The Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance handled only the most severe cases. Those brought in for questioning were subjected to torture first if they refused to confess. The instruments of punishment inside were enough to make one’s blood run cold — even a man of iron constitution could not endure them, let alone a delicate young girl.

To let Jiu’er enter that place would leave her either dead or gravely injured.

Yet Zhang Jianhong had truly come under imperial orders this time, and even the Crown Prince’s favor could not be extended here.

“My apologies, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Should Your Highness wish to intervene in this matter, I ask that you first submit a memorial to the Emperor.”

The implication was unmistakable: this had been sanctioned by the Emperor himself.

Feng Jiu’er’s heart gave a quiet jolt of alarm. If the Emperor had given his approval, things would be exceedingly difficult to manage.

The Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance — she may not have known it well, but throughout history, any interrogation chamber of its kind meant that whoever entered would certainly shed a layer of skin before coming out.

To refuse would be defying the imperial decree. To go would mean either death or grave injury.

“Crown Prince Elder Brother, Jiu’er is frightened. Crown Prince Elder Brother, please save Jiu’er!” She could only place her hope in Zhan Yuheng’s mercy.

Otherwise, to get herself out of there, she would have to find another way entirely.

Zhan Yuheng was just about to say something when, from within the carriage, the sound of a woman’s coughing suddenly drifted out.

“Cough — cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…”

The coughing grew more and more urgent, as if the woman inside could barely catch her breath.

From within the carriage, a maidservant pulled back the curtain and looked at Zhan Yuheng, so frantic that tears were already welling in her eyes.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Young Miss is coughing up blood — Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

Zhan Yuheng’s expression shifted at once. He urged his horse over immediately, and upon closer inspection, a visible urgency crossed his brow.

He turned back to look at Feng Jiu’er, his face torn with difficulty. In the end, he fixed his gaze on Zhang Jianhong and said in a low, solemn voice: “This Crown Prince will personally go to the Bureau of Heavenly Surveillance tonight. If Jiu’er suffers any harm whatsoever before I arrive, this Crown Prince will hold you solely responsible!”