Feng Zhan looked at Shijiu.
Shijiu rarely lowered her head shyly.
"Sister, don't talk nonsense."
"Xiaotong, you can't joke about this kind of thing."
Feng Lingtong said, "A Zhan, why do you two act so awkwardly around each other? Bu Ran and I have long noticed something strange between you two. Anyway, Little Aunt and Mother are only sisters in name and have no blood relation. You don't have to be so stiff all the time. It makes everyone in the courtyard uncomfortable along with you."
Feng Lingtong hit the nail on the head.
Feng Zhan wanted to defend himself.
"Shijiu and I aren't at that stage yet."
As he said this, Feng Zhan blushed. Just now, he had blurted out "Shijiu"?
Feng Lingtong gave a charming smile and didn't pursue the matter further.
At this moment, a figure in bright yellow appeared at the courtyard gate.
Hearing the noise, the figure froze at the gate.
It wasn't until someone beside him called out.
"Your Majesty, are you having another angina attack?"
At this time, Feng Lingtong and the others turned their heads and looked at the man standing at the courtyard gate.
It was Su Mu.
Judging from his bright - yellow robe, one could tell that he had rushed straight to this courtyard without changing out of his court clothes after the court session.
"Su Mu? Why don't you come in?"
Su Mu forced a smile.
Then he said, "I heard that you're going back?"
Over the years, the relationship between Su Mu and Feng Lingtong had been rather delicate. Most of the time, Su Mu could only silently stand behind Feng Lingtong, not daring to overstep.
He had already known something about the Feng family through the Emperor.
The Feng family didn't originally belong to this plane. Under a certain special power, they could return to their original plane.
But others couldn't.
So, if Feng Lingtong left, would he never see her again?
Thinking of this, Su Mu, who was already in poor health, felt even more uncomfortable.
"Next month is the anniversary of my father's and mother's death. We're all going back. Is there a problem?"
There were a few bloodshot threads in Su Mu's eyes.
He put his hands behind his back.
The hands hidden in his clothes were clenched into fists.
Su Mu was suppressing his emotions.
He pretended to be calm.
"Is that so? Then, after you go, will you... never come back?"
Feng Lingtong and Feng Zhan glanced at each other.
Feng Zhan was confused about his own feelings but could see others' feelings very clearly.
Hearing what Su Mu said, thinking that his sister had just teased him about Shijiu, he decided to get his revenge.
So, before Feng Lingtong could speak, Feng Zhan suddenly spoke up.
"Yes!"
Everyone was surprised and turned to look at Feng Zhan, wondering what he was up to.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Su Mu involuntarily took a few steps back.
Fortunately, there were many attendants behind him, so Su Mu didn't fall down due to his loss of composure.
"Sir, is what you said true?"
"Su Mu, don't listen to A Zhan's nonsense. A Zhan, you—"
"Sister, it's your fault. Didn't you tell me before that you really wanted to go home? You also said that coming here was unexpected. We're twins, and our hearts are connected. Don't I know what you're thinking?"
"A Zhan, what are you talking about?"
Feng Zhan turned to Su Mu and said, "My sister is the Mistress of the Charm Forest. Now that she's suddenly here, there's no new Mistress in the Charm Forest yet. You don't know how important the Mistress is to our clan. My sister has the blood of the Charmers in her veins. Her mission must be to go back and take charge of the Charm Forest Clan."
"Then, will she never come back?"
Feng Zhan saw the eager expression on Feng Lingtong's face as she wanted to explain.
Before she could speak, he interrupted her again.
"That's not necessarily the case."
Su Mu let out a sigh of relief.
However, before he could fully relax, Feng Zhan's next words sent Su Mu's mood straight to hell.
"If my sister completes her mission, she can naturally come back. But it won't be easy to complete that mission."
"What mission?"
"Each generation of our Charm Forest needs a Mistress. The Mistress's blood has a strange fragrance. In the center of the Charm Forest, there's a Clear - Heart Pond. In the pond, there's a green lotus. The Mistress needs to use her heart's blood to nourish the growth of the green lotus."
"The green lotus is connected to my sister. As long as it senses that my sister is alive and well in this world, it won't wither."
"The growth of the green lotus represents the future of our Charm Forest Clan. My sister's mission is to give birth to the next Mistress. After she takes over this task, my sister can do what she wants."
Su Mu's nails were almost digging into his skin.
He hoarsely asked, "So, it will take her at least four or five years to come back, right?"
"That's not necessarily the case. Su Mu, you may not know that in our Charm Forest Clan, only women are eligible to be the Mistress. You know, with my sister's temper, it may be a bit difficult for her to find a suitable partner. So, it may take a long time. Moreover, even if she gets pregnant, we can't be sure it will be a girl. What if she keeps giving birth to boys? Maybe it will take decades, and she may not come back."
There were already fine beads of sweat on Su Mu's forehead.
At this moment, Feng Lingtong was on the verge of going crazy.
"So, Su Mu, you— Ah— Ah— It hurts!"
Before Feng Zhan could finish his long speech, Feng Lingtong behind him grabbed his ear, and he let out a loud cry of pain.
"A Zhan, keep talking. Keep talking."
"Sister, sister, I won't do it again. I won't do it again. Let go. Let go."
Under Feng Zhan's continuous pleas for mercy, Feng Lingtong seemed to calm down a bit.
After giving a cold snort, she let go of her hand.
Su Mu witnessed all this but didn't pay attention. At this moment, he just stared intently at Feng Lingtong.
Sensing Su Mu's gaze, Feng Lingtong felt at a loss and avoided his eyes.
"Su Mu, why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Mu said, "Is what the young master said true?"
Feng Lingtong gave a soft "hmm".
Just this soft sound made Su Mu feel that his whole world had suddenly collapsed.
His feet involuntarily began to tremble.
His nails dug deeply into his skin.
Behind him, the blood from his palm dripped onto his body.
Su Mu's face was as pale as paper, and his lips were bloodless. He looked as if he had suffered a great catastrophe.
Yan Ruyu couldn't stand it anymore.
So he said, "Su Mu, what you know is only one - sided. The situation isn't that exaggerated."
Su Mu looked up.
There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Yan Ruyu said to Feng Zhan, "Brother, Su Mu's health has always been poor. You can't let your feud with Sister cause collateral damage to him."