Mu Yunjin smiled as she stood up and walked to Chu Li’s side, only to be pulled into his embrace. He lazily rested his chin on her shoulder.

Feeling the warm breath on her neck, Mu Yunjin stroked it gently and said softly, “It was just a court session, surely it wasn’t tiring enough to make you like this?”

“You should try it yourself,” came Chu Li’s displeased voice, his thin lips pressed into a line.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but laugh. She turned around and, unusually bold, cupped Chu Li’s face with both hands. “Is the Prince of Ning feeling wronged?”

Looking at the sweetly smiling face before him, Chu Li suddenly smiled faintly, his eyes flashing with an unusual light. “This prince is indeed feeling wronged. How do you plan to comfort me?”

“Let me think…” Mu Yunjin sat in Chu Li’s lap, pretending to be deep in thought.

Chu Li gazed at her with intense eyes, seemingly amused.

After a while, Mu Yunjin finally thought of something and said with a smile, “How about I ask the kitchen to prepare a carrot feast for you?”

Chu Li’s face darkened.

…

…

“What, you don’t like that idea?” Mu Yunjin raised the corner of her lips, her eyes flashing with mischief.

Chu Li nodded, his gaze still fixed on Mu Yunjin’s face.

Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes, then leaned close to Chu Li and planted a kiss on his handsome face. Seeing the light pink lip mark she had applied that morning now on Chu Li’s cheek, Mu Yunjin’s smile grew even more radiant.

Just as she was about to reach out and wipe off the lip mark, Chu Li stopped her hand and pointed to his other cheek. “Good things come in pairs.”

“Tsk, taking advantage and still being smug about it.” Despite her words, Mu Yunjin still kissed his other cheek.

The two joked around for a while until Zixiang brought in the meal from outside. Only then did Mu Yunjin take out a silk handkerchief to wipe away the lip marks on Chu Li’s face before pulling him to eat together.

……

“Young lady, if we return to the mansion like this, the Grand Tutor will certainly question us thoroughly,” said Lüxin with a worried face as she walked alongside Zhuang Yuyan, who was hurrying back to the Grand Tutor’s residence on the main street.

Zhuang Yuyan glanced sideways at Lüxin. Her mood was extremely poor today, so naturally her tone wasn’t pleasant either. “Can’t I just say I’m coming back to stay for a few days?!”

After speaking, Zhuang Yuyan continued walking, biting her lower lip. The further she walked, the more uncomfortable she felt. She turned to Lüxin and said, “Can you walk faster?”

“Yes, young lady.”

When Chu Qingzang came out of a jewelry shop, she saw Zhuang Yuyan walking angrily ahead, with her little maid following behind with her head down, also walking hurriedly.

“Well, isn’t that Miss Zhuang, the one who stole this princess’s man?” Chu Qingzang crossed her arms, looking at Zhuang Yuyan with an unpleasant expression.

The little maid standing beside her glanced at Chu Qingzang but pressed her lips together, not daring to speak.

“Miss Zhuang…” Chu Qingzang finally couldn’t restrain herself and called out to Zhuang Yuyan before she walked too far.

Hearing someone call her, Zhuang Yuyan stopped and turned around to see Chu Qingzang walking towards her.

She couldn’t help but recognize the former Fifth Princess.

Seeing that Zhuang Yuyan had stopped, Chu Qingzang walked slowly towards her and raised the corner of her mouth in a bright smile. “Miss Zhuang, it’s been a long time.”

Zhuang Yuyan watched Chu Qingzang approach and merely nodded slightly to her.

Now that Chu Qingzang had been stripped of her royal status and was a commoner, no longer a princess of the imperial family, she did not need to be greeted respectfully.

Seeing Zhuang Yuyan’s attitude, Chu Qingzang’s eyes revealed a hint of displeasure. Recently, everyone in the imperial city knew about her being demoted to commoner status, but fortunately, the Xiao family was considered a prestigious household in Diehua City, which allowed her to still maintain her footing in the city, almost without seeing any strange looks.

But now Zhuang Yuyan’s attitude made her uncomfortable, especially since this woman had once gotten ahead of her and snatched away Mu Yunhan, stealing the man who should have belonged to her, Chu Qingzang.

Although she had maintained private contact with Rong Min, to be honest, marrying Mu Yunhan would have been the best outcome.

Come to think of it, the siblings of the Mu family had truly ruined her life. If Mu Yunhan hadn’t rejected her, she wouldn’t have ruthlessly followed Rong Min down a path of no return. She also wouldn’t have been caught by Mu Yunjin for her dealings with Rong Min, causing her to lose her princess status and become Rong Min’s discarded piece.

The more Chu Qingzang thought about it, the angrier she became, but considering that Zhuang Yuyan was still waiting for her to continue, she smiled and said, “Is Miss Zhuang carrying a bundle to her maiden home?”

Chu Qingzang could see that Zhuang Yuyan’s expression wasn’t good.

“Yes, I’m going back to the Grand Tutor’s residence for a couple of days,” Zhuang Yuyan replied with a slight smile.

“I see. Then why isn’t Young Master Mu accompanying you back?” Chu Qingzang looked around and curled her lips into a smile.

At the mention of Mu Yunhan, Zhuang Yuyan’s gaze faltered slightly. “Yunhan is quite busy, so I’m going back to stay for a couple of days by myself.”

“Is that so? I thought perhaps Miss Zhuang had been bullied by the Mu family!” Chu Qingzang smiled, pursing her lips. “I’ve had dealings with the Mu family before, and every one of them is formidable.”

“You think so too?” Zhuang Yuyan unconsciously asked, then realized it was inappropriate and put on a smile. “It’s getting late, I should head back to the mansion now.”

Chu Qingzang nodded and watched as Zhuang Yuyan left.

Staring at Zhuang Yuyan’s retreating figure, Chu Qingzang stood in place, her lips suddenly curving into a smile. There must be some problem between Zhuang Yuyan and Mu Yunhan.

This was truly heaven-sent; she had been feeling frustrated with nowhere to vent!

“You all, take the things I just bought back home and tell Xiao Tianqi that I won’t be home for dinner today,” Chu Qingzang glanced at the few little maids she had brought along.

The maids nodded repeatedly, then took the silk boxes and left.

Seeing that everyone around her had gone, Chu Qingzang felt the bulging money pouch in her sleeve and walked with a beaming smile into a small alley.

……

Last night, Chu Li did not sleep in Mu Yunjin’s room. When she woke up in the morning, Mu Yunjin was lying asleep in the middle of the soft couch.

She continued to lie there in a daze until noon, only opening her eyes dreamily when the door was opened by someone. She saw Chu Li, dressed in purple, walk into her room.

“Still sleeping?” Chu Li sat down on the edge of Mu Yunjin’s bed and gently patted her back.

Mu Yunjin nodded.

Seeing her in such a sleepy daze, Chu Li laughed softly. After a while, he suddenly asked, “When did your father become enemies with the Grand Tutor?”

“Hmm?” Mu Yunjin didn’t quite understand and looked sideways at Chu Li. “Aren’t the two old men in-laws? When did they become enemies?”

Mu Yunjin was completely confused.

“Just now when the court was dismissed, this prince saw your father arguing heatedly with Grand Tutor Zhuang at the palace gate…” Chu Li said leisurely.

“What?” Mu Yunjin sat up in bed with a furrowed brow. “Arguing? That can’t be right? As far as I know, they have a good relationship.”

Hearing this, Chu Li shook his head. “Then I wouldn’t know.”

“But on the way back to the mansion, I did hear some rumors…” Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin immediately thought of the matter between Mu Yunhan and Zhuang Yuyan, and she couldn’t remain calm. She got off the bed and began to change her clothes.

……

Walking on the road to the Prime Minister’s mansion, Mu Yunjin deliberately chose to go through areas crowded with commoners. Not long after leaving the prince’s mansion, she heard many rumors about the Prime Minister’s residence.

“The Prime Minister’s household is not treating her right. Even when Miss Zhuang fell ill, they didn’t invite a doctor to see her. That Mu family’s eldest young master is busy with the Imperial Guards in the palace all day and doesn’t care for her at all.”

“No wonder I saw Grand Tutor Zhuang and Prime Minister Mu arguing this morning. His granddaughter suffered such grievances and ran back to her maiden home—how could they not argue!”

“I heard that Miss Zhuang also doesn’t get along well with her sister-in-law, the Princess Consort of Ning…”

From what these people were saying, Mu Yunjin noted that they didn’t mention anything about Mu Yunhan and Zhuang Yuyan not having consummated their marriage, so she estimated that this matter was not unfounded.

When she arrived at the Prime Minister’s mansion, Prime Minister Mu was sitting in the front hall with an ashen face. On the floor of the front hall, there were fragments of several broken vases.

“Yunjin, you’ve come at just the right time.” Prime Minister Mu seemed to see a savior when he saw Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and looked around. “Where’s my brother?”

“That boy is on his way back. Today nearly drove me to death with anger. When that boy returns, I must get a clear explanation from him!” Prime Minister Mu was furious, taking several deep breaths.

At this moment, Mu Yunhan was also walking in from outside. Seeing the grand array in the room, his expression was equally unpleasant. “Father.”

“Tell me, what exactly did you do to Yuyan? How could she angrily return to her maiden home for no reason? This morning when that old Zhuang was pointing at my nose and scolding me, I was completely bewildered!” Prime Minister Mu was so angry that he smashed another teacup beside his hand.

Mu Yunhan and Mu Yunjin exchanged a glance. Mu Yunjin shrugged, indicating that she also didn’t know.

“I will go to the Grand Tutor’s residence to apologize,” Mu Yunhan said, looking at Prime Minister Mu.

Hearing this, Prime Minister Mu became agitated again. He stood up and slapped the table. “Originally, before the rumors spread, it would have been fine for you to go and ask Yuyan to come back.”

“Now the whole city is saying that our Prime Minister’s household treats Yuyan harshly, causing her to angrily return to her maiden home. If you go to apologize now, wouldn’t that confirm this accusation against our household?”

Standing to the side, Mu Yunjin listened to Prime Minister Mu’s words and found them quite reasonable.

“This matter targets my brother and me, so let us handle it,” Mu Yunjin said, pulling Mu Yunhan out of the front hall.

Walking to the back garden, Mu Yunjin crossed her arms and looked up at the stern-faced Mu Yunhan. “Those rumors, did you hear them on your way back?”

“Yes.” Mu Yunhan nodded, then added, “There’s something suspicious.”

“Indeed. First, the rumors spread too quickly, and second, the content of the rumors says that the Prime Minister’s household is harsh to Sister Yuyan. This isn’t something that would come from Sister Yuyan’s mouth.”

“So, these rumors were deliberately spread by someone with ulterior motives,” Mu Yunhan gave a definitive answer.

Mu Yunjin smiled with pursed lips. “I wonder who is so capable as to orchestrate such a drama, causing the Prime Minister’s household and the Grand Tutor’s residence to be at daggers drawn now.”

“However, you should still make a trip to the Grand Tutor’s residence,” Mu Yunjin looked at Mu Yunhan.

Mu Yunhan made a sound of agreement and looked down at Mu Yunjin, his lips curving into a smile. “Little girl, I’ll go to the Grand Tutor’s residence, and you help your brother investigate the source of these rumors, how about that?”

“What’s in it for me?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Mu Yunhan.

“The treasures in my room, take your pick.”

“It’s a deal.”