An’bao was nearly scared out of his wits.

Every single word Zhan Qingcheng spoke now was enough to have the emperor sentence him to death!

Yet not only did he show no fear, the look he gave the emperor was even icy and sharp.

Was he truly not afraid of death?

Feng Qiongcang’s face had turned an ugly shade of livid, and the look in his eyes as he glared at Zhan Qingcheng seemed as though he wanted to tear him apart alive!

An’bao felt deeply uneasy, deeply panicked, terrified that in the very next moment, Zhan Qingcheng’s blood would be spilled right there on the spot!

But, contrary to An’bao’s expectations, a moment later the emperor actually calmed down.

He no longer seemed angry — only his expression remained far from pleasant.

“How long have you even been in my Feng Clan’s territory? And yet you’ve managed to find out about all these matters so thoroughly!”

If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, Zhan Qingcheng’s pallor clearly showed he had suffered a severe injury not long ago.

It must have been from that incident when Prince Ye went out to intercept him, and both sides ended up severely wounded!

“Ninth Prince, you truly are a legend! With such ability, even I cannot help but admire you!”

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. He had heard far too many words of praise in his life.

No one’s praise, no matter who offered it, ever held any weight with him.

“Then tell me, why would you so brazenly speak of these things before my throne?”

“For this prince’s woman,” Zhan Qingcheng replied calmly.

He had never once tried to hide his purpose.

“But your woman is also, without question, a genuine princess of my Feng Clan!”

On this point, Feng Qiongcang was not willing to yield an inch.

“If she weren’t your princess, then the words I’ve spoken today would instead have been directed at those three city lords who have long opposed you.”

These words stirred up Feng Qiongcang’s inner emotions once again.

This young man truly exceeded anything he had imagined!

In the span of just a few days, he had already seen through the situation within the Feng Clan with perfect clarity.

He even understood exactly who posed the thorniest threat to him at this very moment.

Matters like this — anyone else, no matter how much time they spent, might never have been able to work out.

“Those three city lords have always been loyal to me. What makes you so certain they would turn against me?” he snorted.

Zhan Qingcheng pressed his thin lips together; he considered responding to meaningless questions a waste of time.

An’bao still couldn’t help his eyes glazing over once again.

Please stop being so coldly arrogant — his poor little heart simply couldn’t bear it!

Feng Qiongcang felt somewhat uncomfortable, realizing that since the man had seen through it all, his own question did seem rather unnecessary.

After all his years on the throne, this was truly the first time he had ever felt embarrassed in front of someone else.

What’s more, the man before him was merely a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six.

If this man could not be kept and made to serve him, then he would inevitably become his greatest enemy in the future!

To mask his own slight discomfort, he picked up his cup and took a light sip of fragrant tea.

“Then, since you’ve spoken of these matters before me, does that mean you have the ability to resolve them?”

“That depends on which side this prince’s woman chooses.”

“…” He really didn’t seem to think much of him at all.

But instead of getting angry, Feng Qiongcang curled his lips into a smile. “Jiu’er is my daughter. Tell me, which side do you think she would choose?”

…

“Achoo!”

Feng Jiu’er, with no warning at all, sneezed several times in a row.

Why did she suddenly have the feeling that someone was talking about her behind her back?

Honestly, broad daylight and all — which person kept talking about her over and over?

“Achoo! Achoo!”

Jian Yi casually draped his own cloak over her shoulders.

“It’s cold out and you’re still dressed so thinly.”

“It’s not cold at all today.” Jiu’er answered absently.

Though she had already returned to her own chambers, her heart seemed to have stayed behind in her father’s bedchamber.

She had no idea what her father, having summoned Zhan Qingcheng alone, actually intended to say to him.

“Are you worried that he won’t be selected?” Jian Yi asked, unable to hold back, having noticed her repeatedly glancing back toward Feng Qiongcang’s chambers.

In truth, he himself felt a bit anxious too — of course he hoped Zhan Qingcheng would be allowed in.

He himself couldn’t get out, but if that man could get in, then at least he’d be able to receive whatever instructions there were.

When it came down to it, Zhan Qingcheng was, in everyone’s heart, their pillar of support.

As long as he was there, everyone else felt at ease.

“I…” Jiu’er shook her head and lowered her head to drink her tea. “I’m not worried about anything.”

“There’s still the martial test this afternoon. Stop overthinking and eat more, so you don’t run out of strength and lose, embarrassing me.”

Jiu’er pushed the dish in front of him. “Hurry, eat up.”

Jian Yi wanted to say something, but in the end he simply picked up his chopsticks and lowered his head to eat.

As for the martial test, he wasn’t worried about it at all.

The afternoon’s martial test would not select just one person.

It was said that at least ten people would be chosen.

Being among ten — for him, that shouldn’t be any difficulty at all.

…In the afternoon, the sunlight was fierce.

Dozens of people waited on the square before the hall.

All of them had passed through the outer rounds of selection, screened layer by layer.

Every single one of them was a dragon among men, chosen from among a hundred!

Yet among this crowd, there was one person who stood quite apart from all the rest.

His hair was a head of snowy silver, gleaming with a dazzling brilliance under the sunlight.

Though his hair had whitened while he was still young, it took nothing away from his striking presence.

That extraordinarily handsome face of his stood out so remarkably among the crowd gathered for the martial test!

Mu Mu! He had come too!

Without any special favor from those above, he had earned his place purely through round after round of outer selection.

“From the looks of it, his martial skill must be impressive too.” The moment Jiu’er entered, her very first glance picked out the white-haired man in the crowd.

Jian Yi nodded, saying nothing.

Mu Mu’s martial skill was indeed formidable — it was just that this girl had forgotten everything.

“Why does he have a head of white hair?” Jiu’er stared at Mu Mu’s silver hair, her small hand unconsciously coming to rest on her chest, lightly pressing there.

For no clear reason, an inexplicable, uncomfortable heaviness welled up inside her — a sort of… heartache?

It was as if that head of white hair had something to do with her somehow.

Jian Yi’s gaze settled on Mu Mu’s white hair as well.

As for how he had come to have such a full head of white hair, honestly, even Jian Yi had no idea.

By the time they had come to know him, Mu Mu’s hair was already white.

Of everyone in their group, Mu Mu was the one person Jian Yi could least figure out.

Sometimes, he felt that Mu Mu truly liked Feng Jiu’er.

Being a man himself, he could clearly sense something different in the way Mu Mu treated Jiu’er.

But other times, he felt that what existed between Mu Mu and Jiu’er was nothing more than pure friendship.

The kind of bond where one would risk life and limb for the other, yet without ever harboring any romantic feelings toward them.

So even now, Jian Yi still hadn’t figured out exactly how Mu Mu felt about Feng Jiu’er.

Still, Jian Yi wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs.

Matters of the heart like this held no real interest for him; they weren’t worth dwelling on.

So if he couldn’t understand it, then he simply couldn’t — and he didn’t care either way.

Once the emperor and the princess had both arrived, everyone below bowed and then returned to their respective places.

Just as Jian Yi was about to head over, Jiu’er suddenly said, “What if you happen to draw Mu Mu as your opponent? What will you do?”