That foolish, simple-minded Ninth Miss of the Hua Family had entered the Imperial Guard Academy — and it was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince who personally escorted her in.

This news spread through the entire Military Academy without anyone needing to carry it.

At the Military Academy, women could often be found among the ranks — whether in the Dragon Martial Corps, the Dragon City Corps, or the Imperial Guard Academy.

Every woman who had gained entry had done so through exceptional martial prowess and formidable connections — every one of them, that is, except Feng Jiu’er. Because of the Crown Prince’s personal sponsorship, she had bypassed the selection process entirely and been admitted directly.

That such news would spread quickly was hardly surprising.

Zhan Qingcheng heard it while seated beneath a pavilion in the rear courtyard of the Dragon Martial Corps.

“My Lord, here are the names of all the students who have registered for this new intake, along with notes on their family backgrounds and connections.” Qin Yi, a senior officer of the Dragon Martial Corps, placed a thick stack of registers on the stone table. Knowing the Ninth Prince would not bother to flip through them himself, he had no choice but to summarize aloud.

“A total of one thousand and eight students have registered this intake. Our Dragon Martial Corps intends to retain five hundred. As for the Vanguard Corps, your subordinate plans to ultimately select fifty — though of course, those fifty must be personally evaluated by my Lord. If the caliber is not right, it is better to leave the positions vacant than to fill them with the unworthy.”

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing, nor did he glance at the register. His hearing was keen — the conversation between the two guards at the far gate of the rear courtyard had already reached his ears.

That girl… had entered Zhan Yuheng’s Imperial Guard Academy!

He had not expected that, having been refused entry into the Dragon Martial Corps, she would actually run off to Zhan Yuheng’s side!

Very well. She had already found herself another house to shelter under!

“My Lord… is there something amiss?” Seeing Zhan Qingcheng’s face remain dark and silent, Qin Yi felt uneasy and asked carefully.

“Nothing is amiss. You decide.” Zhan Qingcheng rose to his feet and turned to walk out the door.

“My Lord, this…” Qin Yi scrambled to his feet as well, wanting to give chase — but the Ninth Prince was moving with swift, purposeful strides, giving not the slightest indication he intended to linger.

The Ninth Prince rarely came here as a rule. Unless there was something he needed to attend to, he would not make the trip.

Today, on the rare occasion he had come, he was already leaving after barely exchanging a few words. What a pity.

Outside the door, Yu Jingfeng saw Zhan Qingcheng emerge and immediately came forward to meet him, his expression full of hesitation: “My Lord, Miss Jiu’er… that is, Miss Jiu’er, she…”

Zhan Qingcheng let out a cold snort and strode in long steps toward the main gate of the Dragon Martial Corps.

“My Lord, will you not take the carriage?” The front courtyard was swarming with students — the Prince had always disliked crowds.

“Hmph!” Zhan Qingcheng did not even turn his head.

Yu Jingfeng was somewhat taken aback. Having served at the Prince’s side for so many years, he had never once seen the Prince do something so childish as to simply snort like that.

Give him a break — it was not as if he was the one who had made the Prince angry.

Yu Jingfeng caught up and steeled himself to say: “My Lord, one cannot blame Miss Jiu’er for this. You would not let her enter the Dragon Martial Corps, yet she wished to join the military. It just so happened that His Highness the Crown Prince was willing to take her in…”

“What do you mean, ‘willing to take her in’?” The figure walking ahead stopped and turned to look at him.

That single glance was cold enough to freeze to death every living creature in an entire forest!

Yu Jingfeng immediately realized he had misspoken, and hastily corrected himself: “Your subordinate’s meaning is — because my Lord turned Miss Jiu’er away at the door, Miss Jiu’er had no other choice and was compelled to seek shelter under the Imperial Guard Academy instead.”

“Were my Lord willing to give Miss Jiu’er a chance, Miss Jiu’er would of course return immediately to my Lord’s arms — ahem, to my Lord’s side.”

“Do you really think that girl would?”

Zhan Qingcheng’s gaze was placid on the surface, yet deep within his eyes lurked a conflict rarely seen in him.

He had not expected her to be truly this stubborn — yet it was precisely this stubborn, spirited nature of hers that defined her. He had driven her away, so would that girl actually come back on her own? Unless she was forced to!