After resting for a night, early the next morning, Cuiyun came to the mansion.

Mamma Shen, seeing that Cuiyun was from Mu Lingzhu’s side, was fundamentally too lazy to pay her any attention and only ordered her to wait at the side.

When Zixiang came out from the back, she was somewhat surprised to see Cuiyun and immediately took her to the back garden toward Liquan Pavilion.

In Liquan Pavilion, Mu Yunjin had already gotten up and dressed, preparing to go to Minglan Pavilion to learn the method of breaking formations. Seeing Cuiyun brought in by Zixiang, she was somewhat surprised.

“Why have you come?”

Cuiyun smoothed her clothes and frowned as she spoke to Mu Yunjin, “Yesterday, after the Fourth Miss returned to the mansion, she was indeed severely beaten because of the enmity between the Minister’s mansion and the Qin family. Now she has a high fever, and the Madam has ordered that no doctor be allowed to see her.”

“Just now, the Fourth Miss took advantage of the Madam’s servant stepping away and secretly sent this servant to find the Prince Consort, asking the Prince Consort to help with an idea, saying that…”

Cuiyun hesitated, and under Mu Yunjin’s gaze, slowly continued, “She said that she shared a secret with the Prince Consort yesterday, and asks the Prince Consort to honor her promise and help her escape the fire.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin called for Zixiang, “Go to the mansion and order someone to brew some medicinal soup, and also bring some bruise-healing medicine for Cuiyun to take back.”

After saying this, Mu Yunjin didn’t say anything more and directly left Liquan Pavilion.

Behind her, Cuiyun didn’t quite understand Mu Yunjin’s meaning and looked at Zixiang, “Sister Zixiang, what does the Prince Consort mean?”

“Silly, it’s obvious that our Prince Consort doesn’t want to get involved in this matter. We already have enough to manage in our own Prince’s mansion, how can we extend our arms to manage the Noble Prince’s mansion affairs? If we’re bitten back by this ungrateful Fourth Miss, we’ll end up with a mess ourselves.” Zixiang had been by Mu Yunjin’s side long enough to understand the temperaments of Mu Yunjin and Mu Lingzhu.

“Just wait for the medicinal soup and the medicine, take them back secretly, tell the Fourth Miss they were obtained with great difficulty, and let her wait for news in the Prince’s mansion.”

After Zixiang finished speaking, Cuiyun nodded in understanding.

On the way to Minglan Pavilion, she ran into Daoist Fengxuan.

“You’ve come at the right time. Don’t practice today, take me to Water Cloud Temple,” Daoist Fengxuan said.

Mu Yunjin was startled. “What are we going to the Water Cloud Temple for?”

“I thought about it for a long time last night, and I’ve decided to go and see the formation imprisoning Imperial Consort Rong in person. I’m worried that all our efforts so far have been in vain.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin couldn’t refute. She turned around, “Then I’ll go call Chu Li.”

“Come back!” Daoist Fengxuan called out to Mu Yunjin, “Are you stupid, girl? How can we tell Chu Li about this? We need to go scout first.”

“Alright…” Mu Yunjin was confused but led Daoist Fengxuan toward the rear gate of the mansion.

Upon arriving at Water Cloud Temple and getting off the carriage, Mu Yunjin saw that Daoist Fengxuan was familiar with the temple, walking directly toward Master Huaiyuan’s meditation courtyard.

Master Huaiyuan seemed to have anticipated this, and was already waiting at the entrance of the meditation courtyard when they approached.

“Hahaha, no wonder this old monk heard magpies singing continuously today. It turns out an old friend has come to visit. It’s truly an auspicious sign.”

“Huaiyuan, you and I haven’t seen each other for many years. Today we must catch up properly.”

“Of course.”

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Daoist Fengxuan looked toward Mu Yunjin, “I need to catch up with Master Huaiyuan. You go find somewhere cool to wait.”

With that, he walked into Master Huaiyuan’s meditation courtyard.

Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched, and she glared at the now-closed courtyard door. Hadn’t they agreed to come check the formation?

That stinking old man!

Mu Yunjin left the meditation courtyard and wandered around on her own, unknowingly arriving at the courtyard with the ancient tree once again.

The monk guarding the courtyard had not stopped her since learning Mu Yunjin’s identity.

Entering the courtyard, Mu Yunjin walked toward the ancient tree. The courtyard was empty at this time. Looking at the countless red ribbons fluttering on the ancient tree, Mu Yunjin became interested for the first time. She walked to a nearby table, ground some ink, took out a red ribbon, picked up a brush, and began writing a wish.

As she wrote, Mu Yunjin unconsciously wrote—

“May we all be well.”

When she realized what she had written, even she was somewhat surprised, not knowing who “we” referred to, but in her mind, Chu Li’s handsome face flashed by.

“What am I thinking?” Mu Yunjin crumpled the still-damp ribbon into a ball, making a motion to throw it to the ground.

In the process of throwing it, her hand hesitated.

After thinking about it, she simply put the ribbon aside, took out another one, and started writing again.

“I’ve known you for so long, yet never knew you could write.”

A strange voice suddenly came from above. Mu Yunjin’s hand holding the brush paused, and when she looked up, she saw a face both strange and familiar.

The newcomer was a man.

He wore a silver brocade robe, with an upright posture, his hands behind his back. At his waist hung an exquisite jade pendant and a pink sachet of not particularly good craftsmanship, yet these did not detract from his unworldly demeanor.

Mu Yunjin quietly looked at the man before her, feeling that she had seen him somewhere before but unable to recall where.

After a moment of silence, Mu Yunjin’s mind flashed back to the glimpse she had when someone rescued her from Yingguang Lake.

“Qin Munan?” Mu Yunjin looked at the man standing before her with a questioning tone.

Hearing this name, the man glanced at Mu Yunjin, his eyes clouded with heavy mist. “What did you call me?”

“…”

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, not quite understanding this strange man before her. Seeing him speak like this, she guessed that she might have mistaken him for someone else, so she smiled apologetically, took the newly written red ribbon, and walked away.

“Yunjin, do you intend to pretend not to know me?” The man became somewhat agitated, walking in front of Mu Yunjin and looking down at her.

Eh?

Yunjin?

Such an intimate way of addressing her…

“You’re still angry with me, angry that I left you to go to the border, aren’t you?” The man’s words softened, and his eyes, looking at Mu Yunjin, were full of deep emotion.

The border?

Mu Yunjin caught the information in his words. Was this person Qin Munan?

And it seemed he and the original owner of this body were old acquaintances, and their relationship didn’t seem shallow…

“Junior Commander Qin, thank you for saving my life at Yingguang Lake that day. I haven’t had the chance to express my gratitude properly. Running into you today is perfect for me to say thank you.” Mu Yunjin shifted the topic appropriately, awkwardly tugging at the corners of her mouth.

With that, she turned and walked away.

After a few steps, her shoulder was grabbed by someone. Behind her, Qin Munan had followed, “Didn’t we agree that when I returned victorious from battle, I would marry you and take you away from the prison of the Minister’s mansion?”

“Why didn’t you wait for me? Why did you heartlessly marry someone else…”

“Yunjin, do you not have even the slightest nostalgia for all those happy days we spent together?”

“Since I returned, I’ve been trying to find an opportunity to see you, but I couldn’t find a suitable time. Today, when I saw you come to Water Cloud Temple, I knew this was an excellent opportunity.”

“Yunjin, can you truly say you have no feelings for me anymore?”

Mu Yunjin had her back to Qin Munan, and upon hearing this string of words, cold sweat ran down her forehead as she found it completely difficult to digest this fact.

The original owner of this body had been in love with Qin Munan?

Her worldview felt like it was about to collapse at that moment. But now that her soul occupied this body, she was no longer the original Mu Yunjin. How should she explain this to Qin Munan?

“Yunjin, will you look at me, please?” Qin Munan stepped forward, standing in front of Mu Yunjin, looking down at her tenderly.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, lowering her eyes, “Junior Commander Qin, I am now married to the Sixth Prince. Let’s not mention those past things anymore.”

After she spoke, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt a chill and hidden anger emanating from in front of her. Fearing that Qin Munan might suddenly lose control, Mu Yunjin instinctively took a few steps back.

“You’re afraid of me?” Seeing her retreating figure, Qin Munan’s eyes revealed a trace of hurt. “Yunjin, your heart is truly cruel.”

With that, Qin Munan took off the pink sachet hanging at his waist. The embroidery threads on the sachet were somewhat coming loose, showing that it had some age to it.

“On the Qixi Festival that year, you gave me this sachet. Do you remember what you said?”

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and took a slight breath. This sachet was given by ‘Mu Yunjin,’ how could she know what had been said?

But combining the Qixi Festival and the sachet, Mu Yunjin could guess eighty or ninety percent of it.

“You said this was a sachet you had sewn for a long time, hoping that after your coming-of-age ceremony, you would marry Brother Nan, and make one for Brother Nan every year after that.” Qin Munan’s tone was filled with desolation and loneliness.

Mu Yunjin frowned, suddenly feeling somewhat sorry for that ‘Mu Yunjin’ who had died at Aunt Su’s hands that night. If she were still alive, now that Qin Munan had won the victory and been made Junior Commander, he would have been her best destination.

But unfortunately…

Fate had played a cruel trick.

“Junior Commander Qin, there’s no point in saying these things now. There are plenty of good women in this world; you’ll eventually meet the right one.” Mu Yunjin smiled faintly, looking at Qin Munan.

Qin Munan met Mu Yunjin’s gaze and suddenly felt a bit dazed. This look was completely unfamiliar to him, and the tone of speech also didn’t seem like something the once gentle Yunjin would say.

For a moment, his gaze on Mu Yunjin carried a hint of scrutiny.

“The wild geese return south with the wind…” Qin Munan glanced at Mu Yunjin, slowly reciting a line of poetry.

Mu Yunjin frowned slightly, somewhat confused, not understanding why Qin Munan had suddenly started reciting poetry. So she tugged at the corners of her mouth, saying nothing.

“You can’t respond with the next line?” Qin Munan’s lips pressed into a line.

Mu Yunjin sighed and looked at Qin Munan helplessly, “I don’t like matching poems.”

With that, she walked out of the courtyard. Seeing that Qin Munan was not following, Mu Yunjin deliberately quickened her pace.

Qin Munan watched Mu Yunjin’s gradually disappearing figure, recalling her tone and demeanor just now. Suddenly, his brow relaxed, and a smile touched the corners of his lips.

So she had lost her memory…

Thankfully, she had only lost her memory.

He had truly feared that the person who had always been by his side had forgotten the love they once shared.

Ah, Yunjin, no matter by whose side you are now, I will bring you back to my side. This time, I will never let you escape again.