Xiao Feng’s pupils contracted sharply, the murderous intent in his eyes no longer concealable.

The gray-robed man’s voice carried a hint of amusement: “Don’t be impulsive. You should know very well that if we come to blows, you’ll be the one at a disadvantage.”

His smile was faint, like falling snow—utterly devoid of warmth.

Xiao Feng felt as if he’d plunged into an icy abyss, staring fixedly at the gray-robed man.

The conical hat concealed the man’s brows and eyes, revealing only a finely chiseled jawline and perfectly shaped lips.

A sudden thought struck Xiao Feng: this gray-robed man was very young—perhaps not much older than himself.

The gray-robed man’s fingers were long and slender as he toyed with that small throwing knife: “The flying blade is sharp enough, but the person you wish to kill will have countless expert protectors willing to sacrifice their lives to shield him. This throwing knife might barely graze his skin before falling into someone else’s hands.”

The gray-robed man’s tone was indifferent, yet every word struck like thunder against Xiao Feng’s heart. He used tremendous willpower to suppress the questions that threatened to burst forth, saying coldly: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can help you.” The gray-robed man ignored Xiao Feng’s words, speaking calmly.

Xiao Feng’s eyes flew wide open: “What did you say?”

Through the conical hat, the gray-robed man seemed increasingly mysterious and unfathomable in his eyes.

“I said I can help you. Our goals are aligned.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Xiao Feng shook his head violently, repeating his earlier words.

“I see.” The gray-robed man sighed softly. “If you’re unwilling to seize this opportunity for cooperation, then you’ll have to bear the consequences of failure alone.”

He paused, and Xiao Feng detected a hint of sympathy: “Whether you succeed or fail, you’ll only have one chance to strike. After all, there’s only one outcome waiting for you.”

Xiao Feng stared at those moving lips, as if someone had cast an immobilization spell on him—he couldn’t move.

This gray-robed man who had appeared so suddenly—was he trying to trick him, or did he truly know about his plan?

But how could the gray-robed man have found out?

What he intended to do—revealing even a fragment would mean death. He had never mentioned it to anyone.

“Are you willing to trade your life for a result destined to fail?” The gray-robed man asked, then waited quietly.

But Xiao Feng couldn’t speak.

Tremendous fear and doubt pressed down like a mountain, making it impossible to breathe.

“Then forget it.” The gray-robed man’s voice remained unruffled as he stuffed the throwing knife back into Xiao Feng’s hand and turned to leave.

Goose-feather snowflakes interwove and danced. That gray figure seemed ready to vanish into heaven and earth at any moment, the distinct footprints on the ground quickly covered by fresh snow.

“Wait!” Before Xiao Feng could think, the words to stop him had already escaped his lips.

The gray-robed man’s footsteps halted, remaining motionless in place.

Xiao Feng bit his lip and rushed forward, positioning himself in front of the gray-robed man.

He was half a head shorter than the gray-robed man. Looking up slightly to speak, the oppressive pressure from the other party intensified.

“Who do you think I want to kill?” Xiao Feng asked, enunciating each word.

The gray-robed man gazed at him steadily for a moment, then suddenly leaned closer and whispered two words in his ear: “The Crown Prince.”

Xiao Feng’s entire body trembled, the color draining completely from his face.

He really knew!

“How… how do you know?” These words were incredibly difficult to utter, and they represented Xiao Feng’s admission.

“That’s not something you need to know.” The gray-robed man spoke indifferently.

“Then how can I trust you?”

The gray-robed man chuckled softly: “Whether you trust me or not is meaningless to you. If I intended to deceive you, I could turn around right now and spread word of your treasonous intentions, and you’d die without a burial place before you even stepped through the gates of Wuning Marquis Manor. So as long as you analyze this rationally, you should understand that my appearing here means I genuinely seek cooperation.”

Xiao Feng struggled internally for a long time before finally dragging his hand forcefully across his face.

His cheeks had long been soaked ice-cold by melted snow, as if he stood on an icy cliff with no retreat and no path to survival.

He didn’t want a retreat, and he didn’t want a path to survival. He only wanted the Crown Prince dead!

He heard his own trembling voice: “How do you plan to help me?”

The gray-robed man extended his hand, a small porcelain vial resting in his palm.

In the snow’s light, the porcelain vial silently reflected a cold gleam.

“This is—”

“Poison.”

Xiao Feng’s long lashes trembled.

The gray-robed man’s voice remained calm and steady, as if discussing everyday matters: “A rare and potent toxin. As long as you coat the poison on the throwing knife and break that person’s skin, at minimum it will scrape bone and gouge flesh, at worst it will kill him when the poison takes effect. The chances are far greater than relying on a small throwing knife to strike a vital point.”

“But what if I can’t manage it? What if the throwing knife is blocked directly?” Perhaps seeing hope of success, Xiao Feng instead became anxious about gains and losses.

“You can manage it.” The gray-robed man looked at the fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, his tone certain.

The youth before him would indeed succeed.

This small throwing knife would break the Crown Prince’s skin and be stained with the Crown Prince’s fresh blood.

Unfortunately, a minor surface wound couldn’t inflict much damage on the Crown Prince.

Coating the flying blade with this potent poison would be different. With good luck, piercing a vital area could take the Crown Prince’s life; with bad luck, it would still make the Crown Prince suffer greatly.

“How can you be certain? Just like you said earlier, that person has many people protecting him.”

The gray-robed man fell silent for a moment, his voice very soft: “If you truly fail, I’ll still be there. Like you, I have no retreat. I only want him dead.”

In that moment, Xiao Feng suddenly had no more doubts.

He believed what the man said was true.

Then he had nothing to hesitate about. This was what he intended to do anyway. And now someone was telling him that if he failed, someone else would continue this task—he should be happy about that.

Xiao Feng extended his hand and gripped the small porcelain vial tightly.

“Good luck to you.” After the gray-robed man finished speaking, he turned silently.

Xiao Feng instinctively took a step forward: “You—”

The gray-robed man’s footsteps didn’t stop, and Xiao Feng said nothing more.

Everything that needed saying had been said. They were strangers to begin with.

The gray-robed man gradually moved farther away, finally disappearing from view. Xiao Feng shook the fallen snow from his blue silk garment and turned back toward the communal courtyard.

The communal courtyard was lively and bustling. With a shy, clean smile on his face, he blended right in.

In Prince Jing’s manor, Prince Jing and Princess Consort Jing were still pushing back and forth over who should attend the birthday banquet for the Wuning Marquis’s wife.

“Princess Consort, you should go. It’s a banquet for female relatives anyway—you’re the most suitable.”

Princess Consort Jing leaned against the warming basket, her expression languid: “Our family’s relationship with Wuning Marquis Manor is only average. For this kind of occasion, as long as someone from our household attends, that’s fine. I can’t be bothered to make conversation with the Wuning Marquis’s wife. Your Highness should go instead.”

Prince Jing was puzzled: “Why don’t you want to talk to her all of a sudden?”

Were all women this childish and willful?

“We don’t see eye to eye.” Princess Consort Jing spoke indifferently.

In truth, after meeting Sun Xiuhua once and learning that Second Miss Wen from Wuning Marquis Manor had scratched her niece’s face during the palace incident, her niece suspected that Tang Wei had also orchestrated the drowning incident.

Though Princess Consort Jing was disappointed that her niece had entered the palace to serve the Crown Prince, when her twin sister’s beloved daughter was bullied, she would still feel angry.

However, this reason wasn’t something she could easily explain to Prince Jing.

At that moment, Qi Shuo entered, smiling as he asked: “Are Father and Mother discussing who will attend the Wuning Marquis’s wife’s birthday banquet?”