Everyone had only asked Feng Jiu’er a few questions about her background — the kind of questions that perhaps weren’t entirely appropriate to ask, but since the conversation had flowed naturally that way, the Empress Dowager Ning found herself particularly drawn to her and, without realizing it, had probed rather deeply.
Of course, Feng Jiu’er had long since had Xing Zizhou fabricate a convincing backstory for her. She answered every question fluently, without the slightest crack in her composure.
Some time passed, and then Emperor Qiwen suddenly said, “Master Feng Jiu, I feel a remarkable affinity with you. Why not stay and dine with me this evening — what do you say?”
When the Emperor himself invites you to dinner, is that really an invitation? It is clearly a command. Only a fool would think he was genuinely asking “what do you say.”
The Eighth Prince and the Empress Dowager’s expressions shifted ever so slightly. Neither had imagined that Emperor Qiwen would actually ask a commoner to stay for a meal.
In truth, when Emperor Qiwen had first invited Feng Jiu’er into the palace, none of them had quite understood his reasons. They had all sensed something inexplicably familiar about her, and since she had already arrived, her presence was accepted — treated as an expression of imperial gratitude for saving Zhan Yuheng’s life.
But now, just as they were on the verge of taking their leave, the Emperor wanted to keep Feng Jiu’er for dinner? Was that not rather strange?
An emperor wishing to show gratitude to a commoner — bestowing gifts would have been more than enough. Summoning her into the palace was already a breach of propriety, and now he wished to dine with her as well? This was unprecedented since the founding of the dynasty.
“Your Majesty, this…”
“Imperial Mother, I feel a great affinity with Master Feng Jiu. Besides, I have recently been studying certain medical texts and have encountered a number of questions I cannot untangle — this is a perfect opportunity to seek the Master’s guidance.”
Emperor Qiwen cut off the Empress Dowager’s concern with a smile. “Imperial Mother, allow me to have someone escort you back to your palace.”
It was clear the Emperor had no intention of asking the Empress Dowager to stay and dine with them. Meals in the imperial family were not like those of ordinary households — as a rule, unless there was some unusual occasion, each person returned to their own chambers to eat.
The Empress Dowager had no choice but to nod. After exchanging farewells with the Eighth and Ninth Princes, she departed.
Zhan Qingcheng and the Eighth Prince rose simultaneously to see the Empress Dowager off.
The Eighth Prince’s gaze swept over Feng Jiu’er’s face. He had a certain interest in this renowned physician as well — but since this was the Emperor’s domain, and the Emperor had staked his own claim, the Eighth Prince quietly set aside his own curiosity.
Feng Jiu’er felt a faint unease stirring in her heart, though her expression remained perfectly tranquil.
She genuinely could not fathom Emperor Qiwen’s intentions. It was inconceivable that he would merely keep her here for a meal — an emperor would never do something so idle. Perhaps it was a scheme. Perhaps a greater, unknown danger lay waiting for her. Or perhaps Emperor Qiwen had already sent men to investigate her true identity.
Now the Empress Dowager and the Eighth Prince had indicated they were leaving. But what of the Ninth Imperial Uncle?
If the Ninth Imperial Uncle were to…
That figure in dark, near-black robes rose to his feet — tall and strikingly distinguished as always, as though he had stepped straight off a battlefield. But he did nothing more than give the Empress Dowager a slight nod of his head, then turned and walked away.
He truly left. He left faster than either the Eighth Prince or the Empress Dowager.
The manner in which he departed — acknowledging only the Empress Dowager, not even sparing Emperor Qiwen a glance — was something no one would have believed had they not witnessed it with their own eyes.
The old Ninth Prince, arrogant as he had been, had never gone quite this far. The current Ninth Prince had become truly lawless in his insolence.
What was remarkable was that Emperor Qiwen showed not a trace of anger. It seemed he genuinely did not dare let the Ninth Prince see any displeasure on his face — and indeed, he dared not ignore the expression on the Ninth Prince’s face either.
With things as they stood, Feng Jiu’er truly could not understand why the Ninth Imperial Uncle had been willing to return.
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Looking at the situation now, any reconciliation between him and Emperor Qiwen seemed impossible in the near term. So why had he come back?
Could it be… Feng Jiu’er looked at the Empress Dowager, who was about to leave, a torrent of questions rising in her heart. After a long moment, she suddenly said, “The Empress Dowager’s complexion does not look well. If Her Majesty could find a way to ease her mind at this time, it would surely benefit her health greatly.”
The Empress Dowager paused, and the Eighth Prince — who had been about to leave with her — stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Feng Jiu’er.
“If you speak this way, does it mean you have some remedy that might improve the Empress Dowager’s health?”
The Empress Dowager’s frail health had long been an open secret within the palace.
The Empress Dowager also looked at Feng Jiu’er, a flicker of something shifting in the depths of her eyes — a faint glimmer of hope that, in the end, faded back to calm.
Feng Jiu’er said coolly, “The Empress Dowager’s condition is not something ordinary medicine can cure. It might be worthwhile for Her Majesty to go out more often, or perhaps recuperate in the Jiangnan region. The warmth of the water and the gentleness of the winds there would surely help Her Majesty recover.”
To everyone’s surprise, at those words the Empress Dowager’s expression shifted slightly, something fleeting crossing the depths of her eyes. In the end she said quietly, “I have lived within the palace for so long that I have no interest in anything beyond its walls. I appreciate your kind intention.”
She moved to leave. A palace maid, sensing the Empress Dowager’s state of mind, immediately stepped forward to support her arm and guide her out.
The Eighth Prince’s expression also seemed somewhat unusual, though he too said nothing. After taking his leave of Emperor Qiwen, he departed alongside the Empress Dowager.
Feng Jiu’er lowered her gaze and bowed in farewell, but in the depths of her eyes there was a peculiar gleam — the light of someone who had seen through something.
Whether the Empress Dowager could not leave the imperial palace of her own will, or whether she was being kept here under some form of threat — that was the question.
The Ninth Imperial Uncle’s return to the imperial capital — could it possibly have something to do with the Empress Dowager? Might it be that Emperor Qiwen was using the Empress Dowager as a means of coercion, to compel the Ninth Prince back to court?
Everyone knew the Ninth Imperial Uncle was a filial son. Even though the Empress Dowager Ning was not his birth mother, the kindness of so many years of upbringing — so many years of painstaking care — was a debt of gratitude that outweighed even that owed to one’s birth mother.
The Ninth Imperial Uncle would never disregard the Empress Dowager’s safety. If Emperor Qiwen had used the Empress Dowager to threaten the Ninth Prince into returning to the imperial court, that would hardly be beyond the realm of possibility.
It was clear Emperor Qiwen feared the Ninth Prince might simply declare himself king in the south. Were that to happen, the territory of Bei Mu would be reduced by half in an instant.
The winds of the court shifted in an instant, and Feng Jiu’er could not yet see through the whole of it. But for now, there was another predicament waiting for her.
The Ninth Imperial Uncle had actually just walked away like that. Last night they had at least shared a room — and now, was this not a case of pulling up one’s trousers and pretending not to know anyone?
Tsk, tsk, tsk — what was she saying about trousers? It wasn’t as though she and the Ninth Imperial Uncle had done anything that needed to be kept quiet.
Still, with even the Ninth Imperial Uncle gone, she now had to face this crafty, cunning emperor entirely on her own. Every word she spoke, every action she took, had now become a matter of life and death.
After all — serving a ruler is like living beside a tiger. An emperor needed no reason at all to take your life.
What good reason was there to keep a perfectly fine commoner in the palace to eat a meal?
“Your Majesty, the evening meal has been prepared.” The sudden voice of the head eunuch pulled Feng Jiu’er’s thoughts back to the present.
Emperor Qiwen fixed his gaze on Feng Jiu’er, his eyes deep and unreadable. He stared at her like that, utterly still, without saying a single word.
Feng Jiu’er said nothing either. In the presence of a sovereign, one could only remain quiet.
After a long, indeterminate silence, Emperor Qiwen suddenly said, “Master Feng Jiu, accompany me to dinner.”