The little maid answered at once and immediately withdrew to a short distance away — and in order to keep anyone from disturbing the princess and protect her own neck, she could only stand guard there herself.

Jian Yi looked down at Feng Jiu’er held captive in his arms, his feelings impossible to name.

She was clearly Jiu’er. Without question she was. So why did she seem to have not the faintest recognition of him?

Had her mind been damaged somehow?

“Jiu—” He thought better of it. This was obviously not the place for conversation. He pressed his hand over her mouth once more and, with her restrained, leapt out through the window.

Then, in a single bound, he was on the rooftop, moving swiftly toward the high outer wall.

Feng Jiu’er fought against him with all her strength. Seeing she was about to be carried out of the palace, she bit down hard on the palm of Jian Yi’s hand in desperation.

Jian Yi’s brow creased — his palm stung with pain — yet he still did not release her, continuing to hold her as he moved at his fastest speed away from the palace.

Jiu’er could already taste blood in her mouth, and still the man refused to let go.

She found she could not bear to bite any harder, and had long since released her teeth.

Jian Yi finally stopped. He found a secluded spot and set her free.

Feng Jiu’er immediately backed away several forceful steps, frantically pulling her clothing back into order.

“Jiu’er.” Jian Yi moved to follow. But she was still retreating, so he could only stop where he was and look at her.

Feng Jiu’er froze. Her retreating steps stilled. She stared at him. “How do you… know my name?”

This stranger, someone she was certain she had never met — why, even having been kidnapped by him, was she not as frightened as she ought to be?

Perhaps it was because, from him, Jiu’er could sense not even a trace of malice.

“Just who are you?”

“You truly do not remember me?” Jian Yi took a step forward.

Feng Jiu’er immediately stepped back, saying urgently: “Don’t come any closer!”

He had just torn open her robe. How could she possibly say she felt no malice from him? The malice had been extremely evident.

Jian Yi could only hold himself still, trying not to frighten her.

Yet she was clearly Jiu’er, and she herself had acknowledged her own name was Jiu’er.

“Do you know who you are?” Jian Yi asked.

Feng Jiu’er studied him. The question sounded somewhat unnecessary on its face, yet in the circumstances of this moment, it carried a faint chill that stirred something unsettling.

“You… knew me before?” Her memories of the past were completely gone — and that was the most crucial matter of all.

Judging by his manner, it truly seemed as though he knew her.

“We are friends. We came together from Bei Mu. Have you forgotten all of it?”

The weight in Jian Yi’s chest settled deeper. Being forgotten was a feeling that was difficult to bear.

Something seemed to be lodged in his heart — heavy, suffocating. Even drawing breath required effort, and it pricked at him.

“Bei Mu?” But then why did her Imperial Father say she had been recuperating at a detached villa in the northern gardens for over a decade?

In truth, Feng Jiu’er had harbored quiet doubts about that story of the detached villa all along.

Even Third Imperial Brother had no idea where the villa was. Whether it truly existed, she had no way of being certain.

And yet — if she was not the palace’s princess, why would her Imperial Father have brought her back?

There was also the phoenix mark on her body. Third Imperial Brother would not lie to her. That mark was the proof that would one day make her Empress. If she were not truly a princess, her Imperial Father would have no reason to find a child from another family and set her on the throne.

“Yes. Bei Mu. You and all of us came from Bei Mu. You are not any princess at all.”

Jian Yi was genuinely frantic. When it came to words, he lacked all skill — he had no idea what to say to make her more likely to accept this.

But she was clearly Jiu’er.

Had he not been in a restless state of mind tonight and decided on impulse to try his luck in the palace, he would never have had this chance to see her.

Everyone had been speculating about this newly arrived little princess. And yet here she actually was — the very Jiu’er they had been searching for outside the palace for days.

“What proof do you have that you know me?” A new princess appearing in the palace was bound to attract the attention of every faction at court. At a time like this, someone with ulterior motives making a move on her was not so strange a thing. So whether the man before her was friend or foe, no one could yet say.

“You…” Jian Yi thought about it, then shook his head. “I do not know how to prove it…”

That answer, oddly, made Feng Jiu’er feel like laughing.

If he were a bad person, he was a remarkably foolish one — coming to her door without having thought through a single excuse, then saying outright he did not know how to prove himself. What sort of person could he hope to deceive with something that dense?

“Perhaps — they can prove your identity.” Jian Yi said suddenly.

“Who?” And why was he trying to come closer again?

Jiu’er shot him a sharp look. “Don’t you dare come any closer. Another step and I’ll shout.”

“Even if you shout, in this place, I doubt anyone will be able to hear you.”

There was not a soul nearby. Even with her voice, she could only call so far.

Feng Jiu’er knew he was telling the truth — though saying it outright like that was rather wounding to her pride.

“Come with me.” This time Jian Yi stepped forward decisively, closing the distance between them. “I promise — I will not harm you. But they may be able to prove your identity.”

The whole situation was strange enough on its own. She was plainly Jiu’er — the same Jiu’er who had traveled here with all of them — and yet now he was being asked to prove that this Jiu’er was the Jiu’er they knew.

Jian Yi had never encountered anything like this in his life. He was at a loss.

The only option was to bring Jiu’er back and let the others see her — and hope someone among them had a way to persuade her.

Jiu’er was uncertain whether to trust him.

At a deep instinctive level, she felt that the man before her was not a bad person. And on top of that, he was remarkably good-looking — and handsome men, as a rule, tended to inspire favorable impressions, and favorable impressions made it hard to think ill of someone.

But she could not let herself be dazzled by a pretty face.

Good looks were good looks. She could not trust rashly.

Jian Yi was truly at a loss for how to persuade her. He stepped forward again — and this time, he even raised his hand, his expression utterly earnest: “I swear to heaven — I will absolutely not harm you. If I do, may heaven strike me down with five bolts of lightning, and may I die a wretched death.”

Jiu’er thought she rather wanted to point out that he had already dragged her out of the palace against her will. If he simply intended to carry her off by force, what could she even do about it?

Swearing to heaven — ancient people truly were superstitious. That was entirely unnecessary.

But — ancient people? What were ancient people? Why did her mind keep producing such strange phrases, coming from some place she could not identify?

Could it be that her past was truly not as simple as the story of a princess convalescing in a detached villa?

After a moment’s hesitation, Feng Jiu’er finally said, “All right. I’ll go with you.”