Bathed in moonlight, the Night Prince’s Manor was quiet and peaceful, yet it carried a chill that made people hesitant to draw near.

This manor had no guards at all, and even its servants numbered just one.

Year after year it sat empty—to put it bluntly, it was like a ghost town.

And yet the Night Prince’s Manor was kept spotlessly clean. The old servant managed to keep the entire estate in perfect order all by himself.

The Night Prince rarely came home; most of his time was spent on the battlefield.

He was like a tireless machine—wherever there was turmoil, wherever he was needed, that’s where he would rush.

Over all these years, the rewards the Emperor had bestowed upon him were too numerous to count.

But every time they were sent over, he simply had the old servant pile them carelessly in a room.

Despite having no guards, the Night Prince’s Manor had never once been troubled by so much as a petty thief—whether because everyone feared the Night Prince’s name, or because they were all moved by his contributions to the Feng Clan, no one could say.

In any case, this quiet estate, lifeless as it was, truly suited someone with a temperament like Feng Li’s.

When the old servant saw the Night Prince return carrying a young woman in his arms, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes before he hurried off to tidy a room.

But to his surprise, the Night Prince carried the girl straight into his own bedchamber.

This… left the old servant rather puzzled. Could this young woman be the Night Prince’s lover?

Feng Jiang arrived about a quarter of an hour later. Seeing the old servant carrying a basin of water, he wiped the sweat from his brow and hurried after him. “Lao Ya, did you see Fourth Imperial Uncle come back carrying a young woman?”

Lao Ya tilted his chin toward the Night Prince’s bedchamber, and Feng Jiang barged straight in.

Feng Li had already laid Feng Jiu’er down on the bed, and he himself sat at the bedside, gazing at her in a daze.

Seeing Fourth Imperial Uncle like this was truly astonishing—something that had never happened before.

Feng Jiang crept carefully inside, with Lao Ya following behind, carrying in hot water.

Feng Li had him set the water aside, then personally wet a cloth and began wiping Feng Jiu’er’s face and hands himself.

His movements were stiff and clumsy, clearly something he had never done before.

Yet they were full of tenderness—yes, he was pouring his entire life’s worth of effort into trying to be gentle.

That was exactly how Feng Jiang felt watching Feng Li now: Fourth Imperial Uncle was trying so very hard to learn how to be gentle.

All for the sake of this little imperial sister in front of him?

If she’d been some girl with no blood relation to him, Feng Jiang would have been certain that Fourth Imperial Uncle had fallen in love with her.

But she was his own imperial niece! Of course Fourth Imperial Uncle wouldn’t fall in love with his own family.

So why, then? Was it simply because she was his niece, and that was why he doted on her so much?

But why did his doting feel exactly like a father doting on his own daughter?

Feng Li finally finished tending to Feng Jiu’er and tucked the blanket over her.

Yet he never once left the bed, still sitting at her side, quietly watching the little girl asleep before him.

The half-mask had already been put back on; he looked, for now, no different from before.

But having seen Fourth Imperial Uncle’s true face, Feng Jiang now looked at him in a completely different light.

Fourth Imperial Uncle was around thirty-eight or thirty-nine, not yet forty, yet once the mask came off, he looked like nothing more than a young man in his early twenties.

His face was firm and resolute, carrying a cold severity that, unlike Father’s gentler features, was the kind to drive women wild.

From any angle, it was utter perfection.

Why did he insist on always wearing the mask? Why claim to the outside world that he was a disfigured, ugly man?

Feng Jiang stood behind him for a while, but seeing that Fourth Imperial Uncle showed no sign of getting up, he had no choice but to walk over and sit down, watching the two figures—one at the bedside, one on the bed.

“Fourth Imperial Uncle…”

“Do you realize she will one day become the Female Emperor of the Feng Clan?” Feng Li’s voice was, as ever, cool and low.

Feng Jiang felt a flicker of guilt, sensing what Fourth Imperial Uncle was reproaching him for.

He said quietly, “My little imperial sister only just returned not long ago. I saw she seemed rather bored, all by herself in the palace…”

“And if something had happened, who would bear the responsibility?”

“Naturally, I would!” On this point, Feng Jiang had absolutely no objection.

That was why, even though he drank wine and ate meat, he would never let himself actually get drunk.

His tolerance for liquor was excellent; a mere few jars of wine could never get him drunk—on that point, at least, he knew his limits.

Feng Li said nothing, watching as Jiu’er kicked her legs and sent the blanket sliding off with one motion.

With endless patience, he picked the blanket back up and carefully tucked it over her once more.

Feng Jiang really was starting to feel jealous. All these years he’d loved coming here to Fourth Imperial Uncle’s, yet he had never once seen even a shred of this kind of gentleness directed at him.

Why was it that the moment Feng Jiu’er arrived, she occupied the whole of Fourth Imperial Uncle’s heart and mind?

“Wait, that’s not right—Fourth Imperial Uncle, how did you even know I’d taken the little imperial sister out?”

Feng Jiang thought about it, then his eyes flew wide open. “Don’t tell me word got out somehow?”

“But that doesn’t add up either…” He tilted his head, mulling it over, but still couldn’t quite believe it.

If Father had learned that the little imperial sister had left the palace, given his temperament, he’d surely have already sent the Imperial Guards out to comb through the entire capital by now.

But it was so quiet outside right now—Father surely had no idea.

Matters like this, everyone should already be resting and asleep.

“Fourth Imperial Uncle, don’t tell me you went to find me in the palace, and when you discovered I wasn’t there, you came out looking for me?”

Thinking it over, it still seemed impossible.

In all these years, when had Fourth Imperial Uncle ever sought him out on his own initiative?

It was always the other way around—whenever he heard Fourth Imperial Uncle was back in the capital, he himself would scurry over eagerly, to consult him on matters of martial arts.

If he were waiting for Fourth Imperial Uncle to come find him, he’d probably wait his whole life and still never see it happen.

So if Fourth Imperial Uncle hadn’t come for his sake, then could it be… “Fourth Imperial Uncle, did you come specifically looking for the little imperial sister?”

Feng Li still said nothing, his gaze locked on Feng Jiu’er’s face as though glued there, unable to look away.

Sometimes, when Jiu’er frowned slightly in her sleep, Feng Li’s brow would furrow too, in unconscious echo.

And other times, when Jiu’er, dreaming of who knew what, would suddenly curve her lips into a small smile, a trace of that same smile would surface in Feng Li’s eyes as well.

In short, he smiled when she smiled and grew troubled when she grew troubled. Fourth Imperial Uncle’s every emotion was now entirely tethered to Feng Jiu’er!

Feng Jiang truly couldn’t make sense of it. “Fourth Imperial Uncle, why did you come back to the capital early? Was that also because of the little imperial sister?”

Why did this question feel a bit childish even to him? It seemed like something entirely impossible.

And yet, all at once, it struck him that this question might actually be the most reasonable explanation of all.

But why, though?

“Fourth Imperial Uncle…”

“Too noisy.”

“Fou—mmph!”

Feng Jiang abruptly fell silent—not because he didn’t want to keep talking, but because he had no chance to utter even half a word more!

Feng Li had merely flicked his hand, and with a sharp snap, a jolt of pain shot through Feng Jiang’s neck—Fourth Imperial Uncle had sealed his acupoint from a distance.

Feng Jiang was left wanting to cry without tears. Surely Fourth Imperial Uncle wasn’t really going to leave him stuck in this position, sitting in a chair all night long?