If the Ninth Imperial Uncle said that Feng Jiu’er had been taken by the Ninth Prince’s residence’s people, then that was how it must be.

When had the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s words ever failed to count?

Even Zhan Yuheng had come and confirmed that his own guards had been mistaken, their eyes playing tricks on them. What more could the Empress say?

One was the man she loved most; the other was the son she cherished deeply. Both men were standing up for Feng Jiu’er — and she was utterly unable to contain her resentment!

But regardless of how difficult it was to contain, she still left the Imperial Xiao Hall and returned to her own Xuanhua Hall.

As for His Majesty’s impression of Feng Jiu’er, there was truthfully very little to speak of. The imperial decree canceling the betrothal the last time had also been issued simply on Zhan Qingcheng’s word.

In any case, she was a person of no consequence, and on top of that, she was grotesquely ugly and a simpleton besides.

Having seen her today in person, he finally understood why A’Jiu had sent word asking him to annul the Crown Prince’s engagement. A woman like this entering the imperial family would be an absolute disgrace to the imperial house.

So then — it was right that this betrothal had been dissolved.

“A’Jiu, regarding the matter of the Southern Frontier that We mentioned to you previously, We feel there is still room for further discussion. Why not come to the rear garden and speak with Us more thoroughly?”

“Then your subject will gladly comply.”

And so, in the end, it was Zhan Yuheng who sent Feng Jiu’er back to Feng Manor.

Along the way, she sat inside the carriage, playing idly with her own long hair, her carefree and unreadable manner giving others no foothold.

Perhaps she truly had become a simpleton beyond recovery.

Zhan Yuheng gave a soft sigh: “Jiu’er, when I rushed to the Bureau of Heavenly Scrutiny last night, they told me you had already been taken away by the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s people, so…”

“Hmm? Last night? What happened last night?” Feng Jiu’er lifted her head, smiling with her eyes curved as she looked at the melancholy dwelling in his gaze.

Her smile and his sorrow formed a striking contrast. The guilt that had weighed on Zhan Yuheng’s heart throughout the night gradually lightened as he beheld her blankly vacant smile.

If she no longer remembered, then so be it.

He lifted the curtain and looked out the window, his gaze drifting far away.

This carriage was unlike the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s imperious, hierarchy-ridden one. It was equally spacious, but with a seat on each side for both of them.

Facing each other, one on either side of the carriage.

Zhan Yuheng did not know what occupied his thoughts, but as he gazed at the lush, verdant mountain peaks in the distance, a thread of longing quietly drifted across his eyes.

“Jiu’er, do you still remember? Back then, you held Brother Heng’s hand and said you wanted to study medicine when you grew up — and that once you returned with your skills mastered, you would be Brother Heng’s very own physician, and no one else’s?”

Something flickered through Feng Jiu’er’s mind. A memory, so distant, struck her heart with sudden and unexpected force.

Yet the memory truly was blurred — as though… separated by several centuries, so impossibly far away.

Why did she always feel that these memories were hers, yet did not truly belong to the real Feng Jiu’er?

But how could she have such memories? Those were… memories from before the age of eight…

Brother Heng, when Jiu’er grows up, she wants to become your wife.

Brother Heng, if one day Jiu’er becomes someone who is no longer Jiu’er — would you still like Jiu’er?

Brother Heng…

Suddenly, the scene shifted — it was unmistakably the scene of a car accident!

Pain. Such terrible pain. Her entire body was in agony, the pain so overwhelming that her head felt as though it were being torn apart!

“Ah!” Feng Jiu’er let out a low cry, clutching her head in both hands, her whole body trembling!

The memories from before the age of twelve — she had clearly forgotten them completely. Her parents had told her that after the car accident, she had forgotten everything from before.

They told her that her name was Feng Jiu, that she was the heir of the Feng family, and afterward, she had lived for eight years — and then, at twenty years old, she had crossed into this world.

All at once, she seemed to recall something.

Feng Jiu’er had been burned in a fire at the age of eight, and her own car accident had happened at the age of twelve. Counting back, both of those events had occurred eight years ago! Why — why was the coincidence so startling, so deeply unsettling?