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Feng Jiu remained silent as she watched Zhe Yan make his way to her bed. He then placed the tray that contained three bowls on the table beside her.

"What are these tonics for, Zhe Yan?" She inspected them one by one before she turned to him with an incredulous look on her face.

He remained standing with his two hands on his back. "I prepared a nourishing medicine that works best with the relaxing tonic. And the one in the small bowl will help you get your energy back." He didn't say anything after that. He continued to watch her take a sniff at each of the bowls.

"Why would I need to drink them? Am I sick?" She asked after placing the last bowl back on the table.

"You look a bit tired than usual, Xiao Jiu. The tonics will be good for you." He then took out two pieces of wrapped toffee from his left sleeve. "I know you don't like the bitter aftertaste of the medicines I make, so I prepared these for you."

Feng Jiu accepted the familiar-looking candies offered by Zhe Yan. "You really know me well." She then smiled at him.

He reciprocated her smile. "But you need to eat your breakfast first before you drink them." His eyes moved to the other table not far from the bed. "It looks like the breakfast is also here. I'll heat them up for you now." He then cast a warming spell on her food.

Feng Jiu watched him do those things. She called his attention again after the food was heated up. "Zhe Yan, why am I in Dijun's chamber?" She immediately inquired when she realized that she almost forgot to ask him about that.

He pressed his lips together. "You passed out last night, Xiao Jiu."

A shocked look registered on her face. "I did? But why would I faint last night, I remember--" Suddenly, her mind flashed back to the last events that happened before she lost consciousness. Nai Nai told her that someone from Qing Qiu got fatally hurt, and she was about to go back home when Dijun appeared out of nowhere.

She instantly got up from the bed. "Zhe Yan, Nai Nai said something happened in Qing Qiu. We need to go back home now since I don't even have any idea who got hurt."

Zhe Yan watched her with a pensive look as she scrambled to prepare herself for their departure. He placed a hand on Feng Jiu's shoulder to calm her down. "Calm down for a while, Xiao Jiu. Have a seat first. Remember that you haven't recovered yet." He said in a soft tone.

She immediately stopped panicking and chose to sit down again. "But I don't even know what's going on." She said in a helpless tone.

He sighed. "Xiao Jiu, tell me the last things you remember from yesterday." He inquired to get an idea of the most recent events she had in mind that lead to this present situation. Zhe Yan knew all along before coming to this room that an unimaginable act brought by fate is currently at play. And to have an upper hand against the other side, he needed to have a better understanding of the situation.

Feng Jiu's brows furrowed as she recalled the memories from the other day. "In the morning, the scheduled meeting with the different monarchs was re-scheduled because Tianjun had an urgent matter to attend. By evening, I had dinner at Yu Xi Palace with Gugu and Uncle Zhen Zhen. After that, I decided to have a stroll outside. I stayed for a while in the public garden in the 34th Heaven. Then I went back to Yu Xi Palace, but everyone then started to act oddly." She replied.

Panic flashed across Zhe Yan's eyes after those words left her mouth. However, he tried his best to appear calm. "I see. Is there anything else?" He asked when she fell into silence for a few minutes.

She shook her head. "No, those are all. Why? Are there other things that I should have remembered?" She asked, thinking that she missed out on something, especially since she couldn't remember the last moments before she passed out.

Zhe Yan gave her a small smile, his eyes full of hidden thoughts. "It's okay now, Xiao Jiu." He cast another warming spell on the breakfast. "I've reheated your food again. Do eat them now so you can drink your medicines on time. I'll be back later." He then actioned to leave.

But before he could reach the door, Feng Jiu called his name and got up from being seated. "Zhe Yan, why are you leaving me here? Won't you take me with you back to Qing Qiu?" She asked urgently.

He looked back. "You'll be staying here for a while until you get the rest that you need." He replied.

A puzzled look appeared on her face. "You're going to leave me in Dijun's room? Are you okay? Do my parents and Gugu know that I'm here instead of being in Yu Xi Palace?"

Zhe Yan went still for a while before he reassuringly smiled at her. "Your family knows that you're here. I also insisted that you'll be staying in this room for the meantime." He paused. "Dijun also left and will most likely be back later this evening. Don't fret too much Xiao Jiu."

"You're not lying, are you? This is not a lame attempt to cushion me from the painful truth, right?"

"No, I'm not." He answered. Not until they find out what's truly going on here.

Feng Jiu heaved out a sigh. "Okay. I'll see you later."

Zhe Yan smiled before he turned to leave.

She moved towards the other table to look at the food prepared for breakfast. At least the food looked appetizing to eat.

-----

When Zhe Yan was already two rooms away from Taichen Palace's master bedchamber, he almost jumped in shock when Dong Hua appeared out of nowhere. He noted that the latter man's face was too serious than usual. Well, given the events from the past few days, when was his face looked any different from what was painted at the moment.

"She's already awake. I gave her tonics to speed up her recovery." He said in a quiet voice.

Dong Hua's clouded eyes partially relaxed after hearing that she's finally up. "Let's talk in the study room."

With a little use of magic, they were instantly inside the said room. Dong Hua then put up a silencing ward to ensure that no unwanted ears can hear their discussion. l

They took a seat and made themselves comfortable.

"I checked her vitals when she was still asleep earlier this morning, and there's nothing to be worried about since her statistics are within normal. But I find it strange that there seemed to be no signs of healed wounds on the areas where she was fatally injured. I have observed that she was only slightly stressed, which caused her to faint last night." Zhe Yan explained. He found the whole situation extremely bizarre since he was the one who tried his best to revive Feng Jiu last week, but it was already too late for them to do anything.

"Are you saying that aside from the slight stress, she's perfectly in great health?" Dong Hua asked Zhe Yan as he's somewhat in disbelief with the said observations.

Zhe Yan slowly nodded; he also understood Dong Hua's reaction. "I know it's totally uncanny since there should be a few scars left, but the superior scanning magic I used indicated that her body looked normal as if she didn't go through all those things from the other week."

Dong Hua fell silent for a while; this made Zhe Yan think of the situation from a different angle.

"That's indeed peculiar." The former emperor briefly said. "I remember how her body vanished from my sight the other night, and I was about to leave Qing Qiu to look for her when someone from Jiuchongtian informed me that my wife was spotted in Bai Qian's palace." He continued.

Zhe Yan contemplated on his words. "It's as if someone unknown is playing the strings of fate that caused all these things to happen because everything sounds too impossible to be coincidental."

Dong Hua's eyes turned bleak. "And I'll make sure to get my hands on whoever that individual is." He coldly said.

Zhe Yan cleared his throat. "I also observed that when I transformed Xiao Jiu into her fox form, one of her tails has a scar that looked recently healed. Based on the pattern of the scar, it seemed like there was an attempt to cut it off."

An alarming look now replaced Dong Hua's face. "A scar? How could there be a scar?" Since as far as he could recall, his Xiao Bai's body was unscarred aside from the gashes she obtained near her abdomen area. He clearly remembered that her tails looked free from any wound the last time he saw her in her fox form.

Zhe Yan's forehead scrunched. "It's also impossible that the wound was acquired a week ago since that amount of time won't be enough to heal it back. Unless someone gave a powerful and effective medicine to speed up the healing process. And as far as I could recall, I didn't give out any medicine that could do that."

Dong Hua was once again silent, yet his internal mind is slightly chaotic at the moment.

"Don't worry, I'll ask Xiao Wu if Xiao Jiu had any scars when she was younger. Maybe it was hidden perfectly with her other fluffy tails and was only noticed upon a thorough inspection." Zhe Yan said as the former emperor remained quiet.

When Dong Hua seemed to have returned after a long while of being completely still, he finally said something. "Can I see her now after you leave?" He asked.

Zhe Yan sighed and shook his head. "Not at the moment, Dong Hua. I've given her a tonic that will make her feel sleepy, and if the lass did take the medicines I've given as instructed, she should be asleep for a few hours."

Dong Hua slightly nodded in understanding. "I understand."

"Dong Hua, you need to go easy on her. When I asked what are the last things she remembered from yesterday. She told me that she attended court and spent time with her aunt and uncle before she left for a walk in the public garden not so far away from Yu Xi Palace." Zhe Yan said, as he almost forgot to mention that one also.

"What?! Is there something wrong with her memories? Have you checked if someone manipulated them?" Dong Hua asked a bit aggressively as the idea that someone potentially did those things to his wife made him want to murder that individual.

Zhe Yan immediately tried to calm him down. "Calm down, Dong Hua. I did not see any signs that her mind was manipulated. And there's only a few powerful immortals who could do that, and I assure you that neither I nor Mo Yuan nor the Buddha has reasons to do that." He explained.

"I haven't done anything." Dong Hua replied.

Zhe Yan let out a deep sigh. "Then this must be one of the side effects of her over fatigue. She's going to be okay after she gets her much-needed rest. Don't worry now, Dong Hua."

Silence reigned once more.

"When can I visit her?" Dong Hua asked.

"You can check on her four hours from now. But do remember to go easy on her."

Dong Hua nodded. "Okay."

"I also told her that I insisted that she'll be staying in your room due to health reasons. Just don't rush things like you tend to do, Dong Hua." Zhe Yan said since he witnessed how some of Dong Hua's quick thinking caused Feng Jiu's life to become temporarily miserable.

Dong Hua's facial expression looked blank, so Zhe Yan was unsure if his last statement irked or offended Dong Hua. So he took the sign to now leave the former emperor to himself.

"I need to leave now. I'll be back later, and I'll concoct other healing tonics for Xiao Jiu."

The former emperor looked at Zhe Yan and nodded. The latter already knew what that nod meant, so he gave a small smile before he left.

Now, Dong Hua was all alone in the study room.

"Xiao Bai." He mumbled as if saying her name was enough reason to calm his internal chaos.

-----

It was already quarter to 5 PM when Feng Jiu woke up. And for some unknown reason, someone was holding her hand.

After slowly opening her eyes, she found Dong Hua Dijun holding her left hand. He also appeared to be asleep. Feng Jiu's eyes widened in surprise.

"What the heck is going on?! Why is he holding my hand?!" Feng Jiu asked herself in disbelief.

Dong Hua felt the slight movements she made, and this caused him to immediately wake up.

Two pairs of eyes connected--one pair had a look of disbelief, and the other pair was full of longing.

Feng Jiu continued to stare as different emotions flashed in Dong Hua's eyes.

It continued for a few seconds before Dong Hua snapped out of the trance. He sat properly from the seat he conjured near her bedside.

"How are you feeling, Xiao Bai?" Dong Hua asked softly, still not letting go of her hand.

Feng Jiu found the situation bizarre. Wasn't Dong Hua Dijun usually cold towards her, suddenly remembering the last interaction she had with him four years ago. The Dijun in front of her made her trouble radar alarm.

Not wanting to appear rude, she finally replied. "I'm okay, Dijun. Thank you for letting me stay here to rest. Don't worry, I'll leave tomorrow as soon as possible."

Dong Hua frowned. "Dijun? And why would you leave?" He was confused, but then he remembered Zhe Yan's words from this morning.

Feng Jiu looked worried at the frown that graced the usual stoic face of Dong Hua Dijun. She tried to come up with a reply, but she was still a bit disoriented. So she asked him in return instead.

"Why should I stay?"

For some reason, Dong Hua's hold tightened. What the heck is going on?! Feng Jiu screamed and asked herself.

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