Ye Luocha insisted on going in, but Emperor Ji remained blocking the doorway, refusing to give an inch.
“Emperor Ji, what exactly do you mean by stopping me from seeing the Prince? Could it be you’re harboring some hidden agenda?”
“Whether I have a hidden agenda is for the Prince himself to judge. As for you being so determined to go in and find him — what exactly is this about?”
Emperor Ji remained expressionless throughout; even being accused of having a hidden agenda provoked no sign of anger from him.
He said, “The Prince does not wish to see you. You’d best return. Whatever you have to say, I can relay it for you.”
“Why doesn’t the Prince wish to see me?” Ye Luocha simply wouldn’t let it go.
She was the Prince’s own aunt; even if Emperor Ji was the Prince’s own uncle, that still didn’t give him the right to stop her from seeing Zhan Qingcheng.
What’s more, no matter what path lay ahead, she had already resolved to walk it together with them.
Even Yeming Palace and Mu Mu had now pledged allegiance to the Tianzun Sect, acting entirely at the Prince’s command.
Could such loyalty possibly not be enough?
Why was he willing to see only Emperor Ji, and not her?
“Emperor Ji, with you blocking me again and again, I have every reason to believe the person inside isn’t the Prince at all.”
Emperor Ji’s expression darkened, and he said angrily, “Making such reckless accusations — aren’t you afraid of the harm it could bring to the Prince?”
“I…” Ye Luocha froze, immediately falling silent.
If the person inside truly wasn’t Zhan Qingcheng, if Zhan Qingcheng had indeed left to guard Feng Jiu’er, even leaving the kingdom of Bei Mu entirely, then word of this leaking out would indeed bring great harm upon them.
But what worried her most right now was that things might truly be exactly as she’d guessed.
She wasn’t insisting on getting a clear answer for its own sake — she only wanted to know the truth.
If the Prince had truly left, she had to stop him before he crossed beyond the borders of Bei Mu.
If the Ninth Prince departed, the southern cities would be left without their commander — how terrifying a prospect that would be.
“Emperor Ji, if your conscience is clear, why not let me go in just once?”
Ye Luocha had already held back for several days now; tonight, she absolutely had to go in and see for herself!
Emperor Ji genuinely wished he could simply strike this woman down with a single slap. Such persistence, regardless of the outcome, would do Wu Ya no good at all.
Did she truly give no thought at all to the consequences?
His expression remained icy as he repeated, “The Prince does not wish to see you. Whatever you have to say, just tell me instead—”
Suddenly, the door opened, and Yu Jingfeng appeared in Ye Luocha’s view.
“Senior, the Prince is awake now. Please, come in.”
Ye Luocha shot Emperor Ji a glance, gave a cold snort, and immediately stepped past him through the doorway.
Emperor Ji slapped his wheelchair and followed in after her.
In the inner chamber, a figure in plain white robes lay reclined on the bed.
Ye Luocha, considering herself an elder, felt no particular need for restraint and walked straight into the inner chamber.
The man reclining on the bed truly was Zhan Qingcheng! Only, his complexion looked somewhat pale, clearly bearing the look of someone injured.
“My Prince!” Ye Luocha hurried over. “Why…”
Yu Jingfeng’s figure flickered, immediately blocking her path.
“Senior, even if you’re an elder to the Prince, please mind yourself! My Prince dislikes having women come close to him more than anything!”
Yu Jingfeng’s expression was quite unpleasant. Ye Luocha suddenly recalled that the Prince truly did dislike women approaching him, even elders being no exception.
In this whole world, the only young woman who could ever get close to the Ninth Prince was, in all likelihood, Feng Jiu’er alone.
It wasn’t that she wanted to compare anything — she simply wanted to see clearly what exactly was wrong with the Prince.
“He’s injured — wounded by that mysterious woman from within the palace. His heart meridians have been damaged, and for the time being he cannot fight.”
Emperor Ji wheeled himself slowly forward from behind, lowering his voice: “This matter must never be allowed to reach outside ears.”
“A mysterious woman within the palace?” In truth, Ye Luocha wasn’t entirely in the dark, only there were many matters she hadn’t been able to investigate deeply, leaving her with only a partial understanding.
Earlier, when Feng Jiu had frequently entered the palace, she’d clearly sensed the presence of some unknown important figure within, only at the time, she hadn’t connected that matter to the Prince.
Now, knowing that Feng Jiu truly was Feng Jiu’er, and seeing the Prince’s injured state, she could only assume this too had come from being entangled with Feng Jiu’er once again.
But the Prince’s martial skill was formidable, his inner power unfathomably deep — just who on earth could have wounded him this badly!
“This prince is fine.” The man on the bed spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice, clearly not lightly injured.
He said flatly, “Get out!”
Had he tried to explain anything, Ye Luocha might still have harbored some doubt, but now, the way he coldly ordered them out — that temperament was undoubtedly the Ninth Prince’s own.
Ye Luocha let out a breath of relief. Although the Prince being injured worried her too, it was still far better than the Prince having truly left Bei Mu at Feng Jiu’er’s side.
She finally felt at ease, nodding: “Since that’s how it is, Your Highness should rest well. I’ll take my leave for now.”
Ye Luocha turned and left. Yu Jingfeng looked at Emperor Ji, who nodded, wheeling himself out the door as well.
The moment he left the corridor, he saw a figure standing by the archway, as if waiting for him.
Emperor Ji glanced at her and said flatly, “If you have something to say, say it back in my chambers.”
Leng Yue immediately took hold of his wheelchair, glancing back once at the tightly shut door before wheeling him toward his bedchamber.
The moment they entered, Leng Yue couldn’t wait to ask, “Foster Father, tell me — is the person in that room really the Venerable Master or not?”
“If it weren’t the Prince, would Ye Luocha have been willing to leave?” Emperor Ji snorted coldly. Having already dealt with Ye Luocha, he had no wish to spend more effort dealing with her too.
“Go back and rest. Stop bothering me.”
“Foster Father!” Leng Yue knew he was trying to send her away, which only deepened her suspicion.
“Foster Father, I don’t know how you managed to get rid of Ye Luocha, but I know for certain the person in that room cannot be the Venerable Master!”
The Venerable Master practiced every single day — why hadn’t he gone to the training hall these past few days?
And besides, although the Venerable Master had never liked seeing people before either, he’d never gone so far as to shut himself in his chamber all day long.
The Venerable Master’s behavior these past few days had been far too strange, leaving no choice but to suspect something.
She’d known long ago that that damned Feng Jiu was none other than Feng Jiu’er, only no one had been willing to believe her.
But now, with Feng Jiu’er leaving Bei Mu, she was genuinely worried — if the Venerable Master really had left with her, what would become of the half of the realm he’d built?
“Foster Father, tell me the truth, and I can help you keep it hidden from Ye Luocha too, can’t I?”
Leng Yue crouched down before Emperor Ji, shaking his large hand: “Foster Father, if he truly isn’t the Venerable Master, wouldn’t you want to send someone to bring the real Venerable Master back?”
“If the Venerable Master has truly left, you and I both know full well that everything he’s worked so hard to build over all these years could very well be ruined in an instant.”
She bit her lip, saying in a low voice, “Foster Father, are you truly not afraid?”
Emperor Ji said nothing, his expression seeming to grow uglier by the moment.
Leng Yue shook his large hand again: “Foster Father…”
He abruptly pulled his hand back, snapping angrily, “He is Wu Ya. Get out!”