When they left the Qu mansion, Mu Yunjin kept suppressing her laughter. Thinking of how Qu Xinyao had directly pointed out that those with the surname Qin were scoundrels, she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes.

Beside her, Chu Li looked at the giggling Mu Yunjin somewhat helplessly and got directly into the carriage.

Mu Yunjin followed.

As the carriage slowly departed from the entrance of the Qu mansion, several shadowy figures emerged from one side, speaking in low voices, “Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“Certain. Li Niang saw it with absolute clarity.”

…

Back at Green Shade, after bathing, Mu Yunjin lay on the soft couch, gently pulled up the blanket, and felt inexplicably restless.

After extinguishing the candle, Mu Yunjin closed her eyes quietly, preparing to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, Mu Yunjin suddenly opened her eyes in the darkness, half-squinting, with a sharp gleam in them.

…

…

Through the darkness, Mu Yunjin could see shadowy figures flashing past outside her door, accompanied by faint footsteps that all stopped just outside her door.

Assassins?

That was Mu Yunjin’s first reaction.

After a moment’s thought, Mu Yunjin sat up, quickly grabbed her outer clothes lying nearby, put them on, and before those shadows could enter, opened the window of the room and flew out.

People sneaking around so late at night, if not assassins, certainly weren’t up to any good.

After flying out the window, Mu Yunjin discovered that those shadows weren’t just outside her door. The entire Green Shade Inn was now almost surrounded by people in black.

“She’s escaped, quickly chase after her!”

Mu Yunjin heard voices from the rooftop. As she glanced sideways, she saw a flash of cold light from all directions as countless swords and blades swung toward her.

To avoid alarming others in Green Shade, Mu Yunjin’s heart sank. She employed her lightness kung fu and swiftly flew in another direction.

Behind her, all the black-clothed figures were drawn away, chasing in the direction Mu Yunjin had flown.

After flying to an unknown open space, Mu Yunjin stopped. The black-clothed figures behind her also stopped, surrounding Mu Yunjin in a circle.

“Who sent you?” After asking this question, Mu Yunjin found a line of faces appearing in her mind.

It seemed she had made too many enemies lately.

“Enough idle talk. We’re just doing a job for pay. Tonight is your day to die.” With those words, the leader didn’t say anything more and charged at Mu Yunjin with his blade.

Hearing this clichéd response, Mu Yunjin looked around and saw there were indeed many people. She had thought of summoning the Purple Armor Guards, but without knowing the identity of her opponents or whether there were more ambushes around, rashly summoning the Purple Armor Guards might attract unwanted attention.

The Phoenix Tail Whip on her wrist was already firmly grasped in her hand. Mu Yunjin flicked her wrist, and the whip flew through the air, catching the blade swung by the man.

At the same time, Mu Yunjin felt a stinging pain on her wrist, and the Phoenix Chamber Spirit Mark flashed.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin felt inexplicably delighted.

The black-clothed man had originally intended to swing his blade down on Mu Yunjin’s head, but found it entangled by her whip and unable to move. His face immediately turned cold as he shouted to the others nearby, “Attack, kill her!”

“Meow…”

A cat’s cry came through the quiet night, followed by flashes of pink and gold light. When everyone looked again, a man and a woman were standing beside Mu Yunjin.

The couple was both wrapped in large black cloaks that concealed their figures. The light emanating from their bodies made it clear they were not to be trifled with.

“This woman has accomplices, but only two of them. Nothing to fear!” said the black-clothed man, producing a dagger from his bosom and thrusting it forward.

Seeing this, the others all charged in.

The scene instantly became chaotic.

Mu Yunjin wielded her Phoenix Tail Whip while the leading black-clothed man held his dagger, but due to the bewildering dance of the whip, he couldn’t get close to Mu Yunjin for the moment.

Mu Yunjin glanced at the chaos around her, genuinely curious about who had gone to such lengths to take her life.

Moreover, those in Butterfly Flower City should believe she was recuperating in the Prince’s mansion right now. How could they have accurately located her position?

Who could it be…

With that thought, Mu Yunjin seemed to exhaust her patience. Her eyes darkened as she narrowed them, flinging out the Phoenix Tail Whip from her palm to wrap around the black-clothed man’s neck.

The black-clothed man was suddenly caught by the Phoenix Tail Whip around his neck, momentarily unable to move.

Mu Yunjin exerted force in her hand, gritted her teeth, and sneered, “Will you tell me who sent you?”

“Hmph, kill me or torture me as you please!” The black-clothed man snorted, closed his eyes, with an expression of facing death unflinchingly.

Mu Yunjin smiled mockingly, a cold, sharp light shooting from her eyes. She drew out a dagger she always carried with her, killing intent gathering in her eyes.

“In this world, there are things more painful than death—it’s living worse than death.” Mu Yunjin curled her lips, cold light flashing in her eyes. Her dagger slashed out, severing all the tendons in the black-clothed man’s arms and legs.

When she withdrew the Phoenix Tail Whip, the black-clothed man collapsed helplessly to the ground, his pupils dilated, his body constantly twitching.

Seeing this, Qiqi and Xiumei, nearby, followed Mu Yunjin’s example, severing the tendons in those black-clothed men’s limbs without taking their lives.

A moment later, those black-clothed men who had been brandishing their swords and knives boastfully were all lying on the ground, wailing in pain.

“Master, how should we deal with these people?” Qiqi walked to Mu Yunjin’s side, glancing at the people on the ground.

“Are you sure you won’t say who dispatched you?” Mu Yunjin put her hands behind her back, curling her lips as she looked down at those people.

No one below answered.

“Since that’s the case…” Mu Yunjin paused, looking at Qiqi and Xiumei, “Watch them carefully. Don’t let them die. Early tomorrow morning, strip off their clothes and throw them onto the streets of Xingyao City.”

“I think it will be quite a spectacle then.”

Hearing this, Qiqi and Xiumei exchanged glances, then simultaneously gave Mu Yunjin a thumbs up.

The black-clothed men lying below, upon hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, looked at this woman in terror. She truly was not someone to be trifled with.

But there are limits to what one can endure. Rather than dying in such humiliation, they might as well end their lives now.

With that thought, the black-clothed men all chose to bite their tongues and commit suicide.

But Qiqi and Xiumei were already prepared. They had imperceptibly sealed the tongues of those people, who now couldn’t even open their mouths.

“Alright, it’s late, and I need to get back to rest. I’ll wait for your good news tomorrow.”

“Some people, they don’t even know how to be proper assassins. The wise adapt to circumstances, but they insist on rushing to their deaths…”

As Mu Yunjin spoke, she crossed her arms and walked back in the direction she had come from. When passing by the leading black-clothed man, she deliberately kicked him.

The black-clothed man groaned, and seeing that Mu Yunjin was leaving, he frowned and hoarsely shouted—

“I’ll talk…”

In a hidden spot to one side, two figures stood watching the activity in that open space, their eyes showing different expressions.

“Your Highness, those two are the Cat Spirit and Crane Spirit, respectively. Why do they address the Prince’s Consort as ‘master’?”

“Let’s go back.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

…

On the way back, Mu Yunjin played with a strand of her hair, her mind constantly recalling what the black-clothed man had said. She couldn’t help but laugh self-mockingly.

It seemed she had brought trouble upon herself.

Chu Qingzang, you’re impatient, unable to resist taking action so quickly.

Back at Green Shade, Mu Yunjin lay down again, but had no sleepiness left. She kept her eyes open until daybreak.

After daybreak, just as she was finally becoming drowsy, knocking came from outside, summoning her to go to the outskirts to learn the formation-breaking technique.

Mu Yunjin felt a headache coming on. She struggled to sit up and started washing and changing clothes.

After going out, Mu Yunjin walked to the second floor. Entering the private room, she saw the table was already set with breakfast.

Mu Yunjin picked up a bowl of porridge and began to drink it leisurely.

As she was drinking, Chu Li walked in from outside, his eyes calm, dressed in an ink-black brocade robe that made him appear even more cold and severe.

“Morning.” Mu Yunjin glanced at the ink-black figure from the corner of her eye and spoke casually.

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded slightly, his gaze at Mu Yunjin revealing a flash of complexity.

Throughout breakfast, neither of them spoke another word.

After leaving Green Shade, Mu Yunjin instinctively looked across at the Flower Moon Tower. At this early hour, although the Flower Moon Tower had opened its doors, the entrance was sparse and lifeless.

“Princess Consort?” Ding Xian, seeing Mu Yunjin standing still, looked at her.

Mu Yunjin gave a cold laugh, withdrew her gaze, and glanced at Ding Xian, “Take me to the clothing shop first.”

“Yes, Princess Consort.”

Soon after, the carriage stopped at the entrance of a clothing shop. After Mu Yunjin jumped off the carriage, she walked inside.

The shop owner was a warm-hearted woman. Seeing Mu Yunjin enter, she looked her up and down, “Young lady, we have a new batch of dresses. Would you like to take a look?”

Mu Yunjin shook her head, “Do you have men’s clothing?”

Hearing she wanted to buy men’s clothing, the shop owner’s smile didn’t diminish, “Of course we do. Is it for your husband?”

Mu Yunjin still shook her head, ignoring the shop owner and browsing on her own.

Finally, Mu Yunjin selected several dark-colored robes from a clothes rack nearby. Just as she was about to pay, from the corner of her eye, she spotted cloth shoes placed to one side.

“I’ll take the shoes too.”

After selecting clothes and shoes, Mu Yunjin, carrying a large package, sat back in the carriage.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped.

Mu Yunjin jumped off the carriage and looked at Ding Xian, “You can go back first.”

Ding Xian nodded and drove the carriage away.

Mu Yunjin carried the things in her hand and entered the grass hut. As soon as she entered, Taoist Wind Xuan was already waiting inside.

Catching sight of Mu Yunjin, Taoist Wind Xuan immediately glared and scolded, “Dead girl, it’s only the second day, and you dare to come so late. Are you not taking me, your master, seriously…”

Before Taoist Wind Xuan could finish speaking, a large package flew toward him, landing steadily in his arms.

Opening the package, there were several brand-new clothes and several pairs of new shoes. Taoist Wind Xuan instinctively looked at his tattered clothes and shoes that had holes in them.

“Why aren’t you continuing to scold me?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, seeing Taoist Wind Xuan’s expression gradually soften, and spoke in a teasing tone.

“Scold! Why wouldn’t I continue to scold? Do you think you can bribe me with this, and I’ll be grateful? Besides, the clothes and shoes I’m wearing are perfectly fine. You’re giving me new ones, aren’t you looking down on me?”

“Fine, then give them back to me, and I’ll throw them away later!”

“No, I won’t give them back…”