His Highness the Madman gave in again today.

With a flick of his wrist, Feng Xingyu sent the man sprawling to the ground with a thud and a muffled groan.

A strong, sour smell hit me.

He lay on the ground, his body so dirty that his original color was unrecognizable, and his clothes were so tattered that it looked like he had crawled out of a garbage dump.

His hair was matted together, covered in dirt and dead leaves, obscuring most of his face.

Only a pair of eyes, with a sharp, dark light hidden behind the disheveled hair.

His gaze swept over Feng Xingyu and Mo Sangyu, his feigned fear masking a scrutinizing and wary expression.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Feng Xingyu's eyes darkened, and he was about to speak again when his gaze fell on his neck.

There is a scar there.

It was long and deep, extending from below the Adam's apple all the way to the collarbone, as if it had been left by a sharp weapon.

The scar was now exposed, standing out starkly against the dirty skin.

Looking at the location of the scar, he suddenly remembered someone.

"I know who you are."

Feng Xingyu frowned: "How did you become like this?"

The man used his strength to push himself up and slowly got up, then sat down on the ground.

His movements were slow, as if he were injured or had been starving for too long and had no strength left. He raised his head, and his eyes behind his disheveled hair looked straight at Feng Xingyu.

"Seventh Prince."

He spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping against stone: "Long time no see."

Do you know Feng Xingyu?

Mo Sangyu took a half step forward out of curiosity, her gaze falling on the man's face.

The man raised his hand, brushed aside the messy hair on his face, revealing a filthy face.

Even though it was so dirty, you could still make out the outline of that face.

He has sharp angles, a high nose bridge, and a sculpted jawline.

She looked at Feng Xingyu, silently asking, "Who is this person?"

Feng Xingyu stared at the person for a long time before finally saying, "My savior."

Savior?

Upon hearing this, Mo Sangyu remembered that Feng Xingyu had mentioned to her before that a child with a scar on his neck had secretly delivered medicine to him and his mother.

So, is this the little boy who delivered medicine to them back then?

Nine years have passed, and the little children from back then have grown up.

But why did I get myself into this state...?

They've been in this palace for over half a month and haven't discovered his presence at all. Where has he been hiding all this time?

Although this person was indeed Feng Xingyu's savior, Mo Sangyu's first reaction was still to have some doubts.

"stand up."

Feng Xingyu grabbed the man and ordered the palace servants guarding the courtyard gate: "Wash him clean and bring him to see me."

Two palace servants immediately came over and carried the person away.

"Who is he?" Mo Sangyu asked.

"Same as me."

Feng Xingyu looked in the direction the man was being led away, his voice calm and indifferent: "He is also Feng Mingyuan's son."

"Also a prince?" Mo Sangyu was a little surprised.

"Um."

Feng Xingyu withdrew his gaze and pulled her to sit down again in the pavilion: "He is a year younger than me and is the eighth in his family."

He paused, as if recalling something.

"Back then, when we were in the Cold Palace, my mother and I were imprisoned. No one cared about us or asked about us. That time, my mother was very ill, and I also had a high fever. It looked like I was about to give up."

"Just then, someone slipped an oil paper package through the dog hole. Inside were several packets of medicine and a small piece of dry food."

Mo Sangyu listened without saying a word.

"I didn't know who he was at that time."

Feng Xingyu continued, "Later... I specifically looked it up and found out that his name was Feng Tingye."

"He's a prince too, how could he...?"

"His mother was originally a palace maid."

Feng Xingyu's voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something insignificant: "Not long after my mother was banished to the Cold Palace, Feng Mingyuan got drunk one time, and that palace maid took the initiative to approach him for the sake of power... Afterwards, she thought she could get a rank, but Feng Mingyuan flew into a rage, beat her up, and drove her out of the palace."

Mo Sangyu frowned: "And then?"

"Later, the palace maid discovered she was pregnant."

Feng Xingyu said, "Somehow, she managed to get back into the palace through the Empress Dowager. Because of her son, she was granted the title of Consort."

"Unfortunately, she had a bad life. She died during childbirth due to postpartum hemorrhage. He never saw his mother after he was born."

Mo Sangyu remained silent for a moment.

"In that case, he's a pitiful person."

"Um."

Feng Xingyu nodded: "A prince born to a palace maid, whose mother is dead, who would take him seriously? Even the palace servants dare to bully him, let alone the other concubines and princes."

"His side room was drafty and leaky, and there was no charcoal fire in winter. He ate the worst food and wore old clothes that no one wanted. No one cared about his life or death, and no one paid attention to him."

Mo Sangyu: "So the reason he sent you the medicine in the first place was because..."

"We're in the same boat."

Feng Xingyu's nonchalant tone carried a hint of mockery: "After all, he was the one who was bullied in the palace."

At this point, a complex emotion flashed in Feng Xingyu's eyes.

He was only five years old then, and Feng Tingye was only four. A four-year-old child dared to risk his life to deliver medicine to them...

Mo Sangyu held his hand, unsure how to comfort him.

Feng Xingyu grasped her hand in return and smiled at her, "It's alright, it's all in the past."

The two sat for a while longer when Cui Liu came in from outside the courtyard gate, bowing and asking, "Master, that person has been cleaned up. Where should we take him?"

Feng Xingyu stood up: "Bring him here."

Cui Liu withdrew in response.

Before long, two palace servants brought over a man.

Mo Sangyu looked up and was slightly taken aback.

After washing himself clean, Feng Tingye was completely different from his disheveled appearance just now.

He was wearing a hastily found blue robe that didn't fit him quite right, with the sleeves a bit too short, but he seemed to have an innate air of nobility about him.

Her facial features are exceptionally beautiful.

His sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards towards his temples, his nose was high and straight, his thin lips were slightly pursed, and his skin was very fair, which made his eyes appear even more deep.

Those were very deep eyes.

It was so dark that it seemed to hide too many things, or perhaps it had already seen through everything.

He stood three steps away, his back straight, without flinching in the slightest.

Feng Xingyu looked at him and pointed to the stone bench: "Sit."

Feng Tingye did not move.

He stood there, his gaze sweeping across Feng Xingyu's face, then landing on Mo Sangyu, before finally looking back at Feng Xingyu: "I didn't expect you to still remember me."

"A life-saving grace."

Feng Xingyu smiled calmly: "How could I forget?"

Back then, after he left the capital, although he found out Feng Tingye's identity and knew that Feng Tingye was not doing well, he was too busy taking care of himself to care about others.

"Don't mention the life-saving grace, that's too much of an exaggeration."

Upon hearing this, Feng Tingye's tense body relaxed slightly.

It's clear that he doesn't trust Feng Xingyu and Mo Sangyu.

His eyes were full of defensiveness.

Nine years have passed.

No one knows what he's been through, so it's normal for him to not trust anyone.

"Have you been in the palace all this time?"

"Um."

Feng Tingye hesitated for a moment before nodding: "When I was sixteen, my father bestowed a house upon me, and I moved out of the palace. A while ago... it was the anniversary of my mother's death. I came to the palace to get some things, but I don't know who knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was locked in a dark room. It's been more than a month now, and I finally managed to escape today. I never expected to run into you."

Feng Xingyu: "Do you know who did it?"

"It's just the same few people, it happens all the time, I'm used to it."

He looked relaxed, as if he didn't care much.

"It won't happen again."

Feng Xingyu glanced at the palace servants waiting beside him and instructed, "Take the Eighth Prince to rest and prepare some food for him."

"Yes," the palace maid replied in a low voice.

Feng Tingye glanced at Feng Xingyu again and said, "Thank you, Seventh Brother."

Then, he turned and left with the palace servants.

After he had walked away, Mo Sangyu turned to Feng Xingyu and asked, "Do you believe what he said?"

"Does Ayu think he's lying?" Feng Xingyu asked rhetorically.

Mo Sangyu did not answer immediately.

She picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and looked in the direction Feng Tingye had left.

"He said he went into the palace to retrieve something, but he was knocked unconscious by someone. We've been in this palace for almost half a month, thoroughly searching inside and out. We've even checked the secret rooms where people are imprisoned. Have you seen him?"

Feng Xingyu shook his head.

"That secret room was where Eunuch Qing was imprisoned. We've checked all the other secret rooms, and they didn't imprison anyone there."

Mo Sangyu looked at him and said, word by word, "So, where has he been hiding for the past month and a half?"

"He did lie." Feng Xingyu could see that perfectly well, but he didn't think it mattered.

"It's not necessarily all lies."

Mo Sangyu said, "But he definitely wasn't telling the truth."

"He said he was used to being bullied in the palace, that being knocked unconscious and locked up was a common occurrence, but look at the look in his eyes just now."

She turned around and looked at Feng Xingyu: "That's not the look someone who's been bullied all these years should have."

Perhaps that was true when I was a child, but nine years have passed, and people always change.

Feng Xingyu remained silent.

He recalled Feng Tingye's eyes—deep, heavy, and unfathomably black.

That's not cowardice, not shrinking back, and certainly not resignation.

Rather, it is hidden so deeply that no one can see through its depths.

"I'll have someone keep an eye on him."

After a long while, Feng Xingyu's voice rang out: "Don't worry, I won't act on my emotions."

Hearing him say that, Mo Sangyu walked over and poked his cheek: "Repay kindness with kindness, and avenge wrongs with revenge. Do whatever you want, I won't stop you."

"No."

Feng Xingyu grasped her hand, pressed her palm against his face, and rubbed it against her palm: "Ayu, I... just want to listen to you."

Mo Sangyu's palms itched from his rubbing, and she tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter.

"Feng Xingyu."

She glared at him with a smile: "How old are you? Still acting like a child."

Feng Xingyu looked up at her, his red eyes filled with a smile, yet he was very serious.

"I only act cute with you."

"..."

This man is getting more and more shameless.

But Mo Sangyu was completely swayed by this and couldn't resist pinching his cheek.

Feng Xingyu didn't dodge, letting her pinch him, and then quickly leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

After the kiss, her smile was somewhat alluring, exuding boundless spring-like charm.

……

Time flies.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, just as dawn was breaking, a rumbling sound came from outside the capital city.

That was the sound of horses' hooves, the sound of thousands upon thousands of horses' hooves.

The soldiers guarding the city had already withdrawn, and the city gates were wide open, empty to welcome the approaching army.

The people in the city hid in their houses with the doors and windows tightly closed, peeking out through the cracks with fear on their faces.

"Here it comes..."

"The army of Chen Kingdom has invaded..."

"It's over, it's all over..."

Some people trembled, clutching their children; others packed their belongings, intending to escape, only to find the city gates completely blocked. The elderly sighed and lamented, women sobbed softly, and the entire capital was shrouded in panic.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer.

Finally, the first warhorse stepped through the city gate.

It was a jet-black steed, and on its back sat a young general, clad in silver armor and a white robe, with a stern and cold expression.

It was none other than Gu Jinzhi, the chief minister and military advisor of the Chen Kingdom.

Behind him were two generals, Yuan Zhao and Han Xiao, on his left and right.

Beyond that, there was a vast, dark army stretching as far as the eye could see.

The people were on tenterhooks.

However, the young general raised his hand and waved: "Pass down the order: no one is to be disturbed; those who disobey will be executed."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear on the quiet street.

The soldiers filed in, their ranks neat and their steps firm.

As they passed by shops, no one gave them a second glance; as they passed by people's homes, no one went up to knock on their doors.

Some bold civilians secretly opened a crack in the door and saw that the soldiers were just marching in formation quietly, even speaking in very low voices.

"this……"

"The army of Chen Kingdom...doesn't loot?"

"Not arresting them?"

"How is this possible?"

The whispers spread quietly through the streets and alleys, and the panic gradually turned into surprise and doubt, and then into... an unbelievable sense of relief.

The army marched forward, passing through the main street of the capital, and finally stopped outside the palace gates.

The palace gates were tightly shut.

The heavy black gate, like an insurmountable chasm, isolated the palace from the outside world.

Gu Jinzhi dismounted and walked to the palace gate, about to speak.

Rumble.

A loud noise came from behind the door.

The black gate that had descended from the sky was now slowly rising.

Amidst the rising dust, two figures appeared behind the door.

One male and one female.

The man was dressed in black, with blood-red eyes and a chilling aura.

The woman was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with cool and aloof features and a faint smile on her lips.

When Gu Jinzhi saw them, a slight smile finally appeared on his cold face.

He strode forward and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, your subject Gu Jinzhi has led the army to report back!"

Behind him, thousands of soldiers knelt down in unison, the sound of their armor rubbing together echoing through the sky.

Feng Xingyu stepped forward and personally helped him up: "Jinzhi, please get up quickly, you must be tired from your journey."

Gu Jinzhi stood up, her gaze sweeping between him and Mo Sangyu. When she saw Feng Xingyu's red eyes, her expression darkened slightly, but she didn't show any surprise.

"It's not hard work."

He said, "We were rushing so fast that we almost killed the horse."

Mo Sangyu couldn't help but chuckle: "Lord Gu, it's been a while, you've become more humorous."

Gu Jinzhi bowed deeply to Mo Sangyu and respectfully said, "Your subject Gu Jinzhi greets Your Majesty the Empress."

Why make it so serious?

Mo Sangyu looked at Yuan Zhao and Han Xiao behind him. The two of them had been unable to contain themselves for a long time. When they saw Mo Sangyu looking over, they quickly stepped forward, their excitement evident.

"Master, Madam, it's so good to see you again!"

"Just the two of you?"

"Not only that, Yan Qing is here too, as is Ya Zi. They're handling the aftermath, and they should be able to arrive by Mid-Autumn Festival in three days."

"Alright, then pass on the order..."