The person inside the carriage still had not come down — but through the curtain over the carriage window, one could faintly make out the silhouette of the figure within.

He was seated on a cushioned mat. His full form could not be made out, but if one found just the right angle, the contours of his features could be dimly seen.

Truly so handsome! Those contours — they could only be described as perfect!

It was precisely this sense of mystery combined with noble bearing that drove the young ladies into greater frenzy, spurring them to rack their minds for any means of catching even a single glimpse of him.

Feng Jiu’er stole a quiet glance, and the man inside the carriage suddenly turned his face away — his gaze passing through the curtain, directed toward this side.

Jiu’er felt her heart give a violent lurch. Even through the curtain, it was as though she could feel the scorching, yet ice-cold weight of his gaze.

“Heavens! The Ninth Prince is looking at me!” The young lady standing behind Feng Jiu’er began breathing in erratic bursts, and very quickly, symptoms of breathlessness began to appear.

“Nonsense — the Ninth Prince is looking at me!” The young lady behind her bit her lip and insisted. “He is looking at me!”

“No — the Ninth Prince is looking at me! At me!”

“No, the one he is looking at is me!”

Feng Jiu’er’s temples began to throb for no particular reason. Had she not always heard that women in ancient times were modest and reserved? Why was what she was witnessing here utterly devoid of restraint?

Yu Jingfeng leapt down from the carriage, his tall figure striding quickly toward Feng Jiu’er.

Feng Jiu’er quietly composed herself, and just as Yu Jingfeng was about to address her, she hurriedly turned her face away to look at some other part of the scenery.

Please, sir — do not come over here!

The students of this Imperial Academy each had powerful backgrounds and webs of connections too tangled to describe.

She was here simply to study. The more low-profile she kept, the better her days would go.

If she were to enter alongside the Ninth Imperial Uncle right now, she could guarantee that not a single day of her life at this academy would ever be peaceful.

Yu Jingfeng, however, was like a thick-headed young ox — utterly oblivious to the clear signals of rejection being sent his way. Quite the contrary, he quickened his pace toward her.

“Ninth—”

“I — I cannot breathe!” Suddenly, the young lady standing directly behind Feng Jiu’er rolled her eyes back in her head and toppled straight down to the ground.

She had believed the Ninth Prince was looking at her, and her breathing had already been thrown into chaotic difficulty. Now, believing that Lord Yu Jingfeng was walking over for her sake, the excitement caused her blood to surge violently out of control.

Overcome to the breaking point, her breath fell apart entirely — a mouthful of fresh blood spilled from her lips, and she fell, eyes closed, to the ground.

“Ah! She is coughing up blood!” The young woman standing behind her gave a startled cry and immediately stepped back.

Those behind her scrambled to move away as well. There were so many people, and yet not a single one was willing to step forward and catch her.

Just as the young woman was about to fall and strike the ground, a slender hand snapped around her wrist, hauling her back.

Feng Jiu’er caught her in her arms — and at precisely that moment, Yu Jingfeng arrived as well.

“Lord Yu, her blood flow has gone into violent reversal. Her life is in immediate danger. Could she be taken inside right away for treatment?”

Inside the academy, there was bound to be a medical hall for treating the injured. This young lady’s blood flow was in severe disorder — if she was not treated immediately, she could die at any moment!

What? Feng Jiu’er was actually asking Lord Yu Jingfeng to take this critically ill young woman to the carriage?

But that was the Ninth Prince’s carriage! Who had such audacity?

Yu Jingfeng was visibly in a difficult position. The Ninth Prince harbored an extreme aversion to women drawing close to him — to say nothing of allowing a woman onto his own carriage.

In all the time he had served at the Ninth Prince’s side, the only young woman who had ever ridden in the same carriage as him was Feng Jiu’er.

Now, for another woman…

“Lord Yu — she is running out of time!” Feng Jiu’er’s long fingers settled on the pulse point at the woman’s wrist. Her pulse was in extreme disarray. If resuscitation did not begin immediately, she would not survive!