The girl on the bed lay with her eyes tightly shut, the pallor of her small face very gradually giving way to color once more.

She had endured her ordeal on the night of the full moon and had at last weathered through it.

That tall, slender figure stood at her bedside, eyes lowered to her face. Throughout that entire night, she never woke, and he never moved a single step away.

Only when dawn had not yet broken did Zhan Qingcheng finally leave Feng Jiu’er’s room.

Qiao Mu, who had kept watch outside for the entire night, let out a long, heavy breath of relief.

This night had truly, finally passed.

Zhan Qingcheng left through the rear courtyard of Tianjitang. Yu Jingfeng had also kept watch here through the night, and upon seeing him emerge, Yu Jingfeng stepped forward. “Your Highness, a message has arrived from within the palace — Nanmeng Rong has taken his own life.”

His Highness had departed the city yesterday and, upon returning, had not gone back to the Prince’s residence at all, coming directly to Tianjitang instead.

In truth, Nanmeng Rong had already died the night before last, but there had been no opportunity to inform His Highness of the news.

Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze darkened and settled. He turned to glance back at the rear gate of Tianjitang. Those deep eyes held far too many unspoken emotions — yet in the end, not a single thread of them could be seen through.

“There is someone in that palace giving guidance behind Emperor Qiwen’s back. Send people to find out whether this is connected to Tianjitang. If it is, withdraw the person responsible for the surveillance.”

“Your Highness, even if there is a connection to the people of Tianjitang, there is no need to withdraw them.”

Yu Jingfeng could not understand it. Withdrawing at this point would render everything they had already learned completely useless.

Moreover, His Highness already knew full well that the person behind Emperor Qiwen was connected to Feng Jiu — Feng Jiu had been involved in this matter all along.

As things stood now, their people would need to be withdrawn regardless.

Zhan Qingcheng paid him no heed. He turned and left Tianjitang, and his mount came forward on its own to meet him.

The horse had wandered about for the entire previous night without the slightest inclination to leave — its loyalty to its master, the Ninth Prince, was absolute.

Yet why did His Highness’s steps look so heavy today? Was it connected to the decision he had just made?

Yu Jingfeng was still unwilling to let it go, and quickened his pace to follow. “Your Highness, my people have only been watching — they have not acted in any way. At the very least, this guarantees some measure of safety for Feng… for the people of Tianjitang. Your Highness…”

“Continue the surveillance. Would the person behind Emperor Qiwen still trust her after this?”

Zhan Qingcheng leapt onto his horse with a single bound. The horse surged away in a cloud of dust, and in an instant, that tall, slender figure had vanished entirely from view.

Yu Jingfeng dared not be careless. He immediately grabbed his own horse, swung into the saddle, and gave chase at full speed.

They had never gone deep into that abandoned courtyard — precisely out of fear of disturbing a nest of vipers and disrupting Feng Jiu’s affairs. And now, His Highness was ordering everyone to withdraw.

Did he truly trust Feng Jiu that completely — trust that she would not join hands with Emperor Qiwen to move against him?

Yet Feng Jiu was so close to Emperor Qiwen now. So many of the things they conspired about, even His Highness knew nothing of.

When all was said and done, Yu Jingfeng was somewhat worried. After all, Feng Jiu’er and His Highness had been apart for half a year.

Half a year was more than enough time for many things to change. His Highness still trusted Feng Jiu’er so completely, even now — but what of Feng Jiu’er?

Did Feng Jiu’er still hold nothing back from His Highness, just as she once had?

No. From the moment she became Feng Jiu and refused to reveal her true identity, she had already begun to hold things back from him.

And now — this scheme with Emperor Qiwen — was it also something that put His Highness at a disadvantage?

Feng Jiu’er woke to a sky already fully bright.

Xue Gu had arrived, and Qiao Mu was also by her side. Those deep, intent eyes that had been fixed upon her through the night — they were gone.

She did not know whether it had been a dream or reality. This was not the first time. Her sleep the night before had been fitful and unsettled at the start, yet once those eyes had appeared, she had, strangely, slept with great sweetness.

“How is Yan?” Feng Jiu’er asked the moment she woke and saw Xue Gu.

Qiao Mu helped her up. After a night’s sleep, her color had recovered somewhat, but her body still looked rather frail.

“He’s fine. After he had his breakfast this morning, he went out.”

“Went out?” That was truly an unusual thing. Tuoba Keyan had been living in Tianjitang for several months and had essentially stayed in the western wing the entire time — let alone going out, even leaving the western wing was rare.

Most of the time, his range of movement was confined to the front and rear courtyards of the western wing. Going outside was a genuine rarity.

“But he has lost all his martial ability now — wouldn’t it be dangerous for him to go out alone?” Feng Jiu’er rolled off the bed, pulled on her boots and dressed, and was about to head for the door.

Xue Gu stepped forward and blocked her way. “Your color is still poor right now. If you want to go find him, I should be the one to go.”

She had come over just to see what state Jiu’er was in when she woke. Before she had seen that for herself, Xue Gu would not have been at ease.

Now that she had, she could finally breathe a proper sigh of relief.

“I’ll take a look at how much of the poison has been cleared from his body tonight.” Last night, Yanu’s strike had thrown Tuoba Keyan’s inner energy into disorder, and Feng Jiu’er was not yet clear on what condition his body was in.

Xue Gu nodded. She looked once more at Jiu’er, satisfied that nothing was wrong, then turned and left the room.

Qiao Mu moved to help Jiu’er, but Jiu’er shook her head. “Where is Yanu?”

Fragments of last night’s memories were slowly returning. It had clearly been Yanu guarding her at the start — and afterward… had she injured Yanu?

Qiao Mu let out a faint sigh and glanced toward the door. “Yanu should be preparing your breakfast just now. I told him you usually like to have your morning meal in the pavilion.”

She looked once more at Feng Jiu’er’s weary, pallid brow. “I’ll go and fetch a basin of hot water so you can wash your face. By the time you head out, you should be able to see Yanu.”

Yanu was indeed in the pavilion. He had just finished preparing Feng Jiu’er’s breakfast when Jiu’er and Qiao Mu arrived.

Qiao Mu only walked Jiu’er as far as the pavilion before returning to the main hall to attend to matters.

Tianjitang had, over the course of recent days, seen the reputation of the divine physician Feng Jiu grow ever greater, and business along with it.

Over the past two days, Qiao Mu had been calculating costs, planning to open a branch hall each in the southern and northern parts of the imperial city.

Such matters were ones Feng Jiu’er generally did not concern herself with. As long as they prepared the budget, conducted an on-site assessment, and then reported back to Jiu’er, that was sufficient.

The two branch halls in the imperial city were only an initial plan. Xing Zizhou had personally gone to scout out the surrounding major cities — once Tianjitang’s name rang out even more loudly in the imperial city, they could expand to open branches in nearby towns as well.

By the time Jiu’er arrived, Yanu was still arranging the breakfast — all of it prepared by his own hands, and all of it things the old Feng Jiu’er had loved to eat.

Although the time Feng Jiu’er had spent with Yanu since coming to this era had not been long, in just that brief stretch, Yanu had already memorized the tastes and preferences of this entirely new Feng Jiu’er.

Seeing his busy, quiet figure, Feng Jiu’er felt a warmth spread through her heart. But when she saw the wound on his arm, that warmth turned at once to a pang of sorrow.

She walked over and took hold of his wrist. “Did I injure you last night?”