After swallowing the pill, Mu Yunjin felt the Black Lotus soul within her body suddenly jump around, and her forehead gradually became covered with fine beads of sweat.

A moment later, Mu Yunjin let out a muffled groan. A cloud of black mist extracted itself from her forehead, transformed into air, and dissipated before her eyes.

After the Black Lotus soul was drawn out from her body, Mu Yunjin drank a few sips of water and felt strangely relieved. Having this thing residing in her body had always caused her some concern.

Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin and said softly, “You may go rest now.”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded upon hearing this, stood up, and walked toward her room.

Once inside her room, Mu Yunjin leaned against the door and sighed softly. In her mind, she kept replaying the words Daoist Fengxuan had whispered in her ear.

For some inexplicable reason, her once-settled heart became anxious again, and she suddenly felt as if she were surrounded by conspiracies and traps.

……

The next day, when Mu Yunjin woke up, Zixiang informed her that Daoist Fengxuan had left.

…

…

Upon hearing this news, Mu Yunjin didn’t feel much about it. Instead, she somewhat envied Daoist Fengxuan’s leisurely and carefree lifestyle.

“Miss, you’ve seemed rather spirited these past two days. Are you still troubled by Fourth Miss’s matters?” Zixiang asked as she combed Mu Yunjin’s hair, noticing her mistress’s calm expression.

Mu Yunjin shook her head. “I can’t be bothered to worry about her.”

Hearing this, Zixiang smiled but didn’t question further.

After having her hair done, Mu Yunjin left her room and happened to run into Chu Li, who was also coming out of his room. Catching sight of Chu Li, Mu Yunjin tugged at the corners of her mouth and squeezed out a smile.

Chu Li also glanced at Mu Yunjin and walked straight toward her. “Mu Yunjin, Little Nine sent someone to the mansion with a message that she will be coming to see you later.”

“Eh? Qingyuan?” At the mention of Chu Qingyuan, Mu Yunjin felt as though she hadn’t seen her in a long time.

Chu Li nodded, and finally added, “This Prince will be entering the palace first.”

“Your father seems to have been summoning you very frequently lately. Is there something he’s discussing with you?” Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but ask.

“Mm.” Chu Li responded. “There have been some disturbances in court recently. Many matters should be guarded against.”

Mu Yunjin seemed to understand yet not understand, and hooked her lips into a smile. “I’m hungry. Let’s go have breakfast together first.”

Chu Li didn’t refuse.

In the dining hall, as the two were quietly eating their breakfast, a cheerful voice came from the doorway, “Aha! Sixth Brother, Sixth Sister-in-law, have you missed me?”

Mu Yunjin looked toward the sound and saw Chu Qingyuan poking half her body through the door, showing her head as she looked at them with a joyful expression on her face.

Then, Chu Qingyuan walked in, sat down on the other side, picked up a pastry, and began to eat. “Mm, Sixth Brother’s pastry chef is still as amazing as ever, much better than what we have at Little Nine’s place.”

“Qingyuan, where have you been all this time?” Mu Yunjin looked at the carefree Chu Qingyuan, her eyes filled with a smile.

“I’ve been staying in my chambers without leaving. The Empress said I’m not young anymore and ordered me to learn needlework and embroidery in my chambers. I haven’t been out for over a month, and my hands are full of needle pricks.” As Chu Qingyuan spoke, she held out her hands for Mu Yunjin to see.

Mu Yunjin looked and indeed saw little puncture marks all over her hands.

“This Prince will be leaving now.” Chu Li’s voice came from beside them as he glanced at Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan in the dining hall.

“Mm, come back early.” Noticing Chu Li’s gaze, Mu Yunjin replied naturally, her tone casual in a way that even she herself hadn’t realized.

Chu Li, however, paused slightly, finding Mu Yunjin’s voice strangely pleasing to the ear. A hint of warmth colored his eyes before he walked out.

After Chu Li left, Chu Qingyuan moved closer to where Mu Yunjin was sitting and, as if spoiled, wrapped her arms around Mu Yunjin’s arm. “Sixth Sister-in-law, Little Nine has come today with some questions to ask you.”

“Mm, go ahead.” Seeing her coy manner, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat inclined to tease her.

“Sixth Sister-in-law, tell me, what does it feel like to like someone? Is it that when you see him, your heart goes thump-thump really hard, and your face also turns red?” Chu Qingyuan asked with a dreamy expression.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and looked at Chu Qingyuan. Seeing that her little face was indeed somewhat flushed as she brought this up, she asked, “Who do you have your eye on?”

Hearing Mu Yunjin ask so directly, Chu Qingyuan’s face reddened even more. She reached out and gave Mu Yunjin a light slap. “Oh my, I was just asking casually. Sixth Sister-in-law, what are you saying? Little Nine is still young.”

“You’re not young anymore. In two more years, you’ll come of age, and then you can get married,” Mu Yunjin teased.

Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyuan became excited, her eyes sparkling. “Then tell me, if two people have an age difference of seven or eight years, is that too much? Little Nine doesn’t want people gossiping behind her back, saying Little Nine married an old man…”

Mu Yunjin finally understood. She rested her chin on her hand and stared directly at Chu Qingyuan. “Little Nine, who exactly do you have your eye on? A difference of seven or eight years is acceptable. You’re only fourteen, so someone seven years older would be just twenty-one.”

“It’s better than Mu Lingzhu marrying an old man twenty years her senior.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Sixth Sister-in-law, you’re right. That’s exactly what Little Nine thinks.” Chu Qingyuan nearly jumped up in excitement, gripping Mu Yunjin’s hands tightly, feeling as if she had finally found a kindred spirit.

Mu Yunjin’s lips bloomed into a smile as she leaned closer to Chu Qingyuan and whispered, “Then tell me secretly, who exactly do you have your eye on? Let Sixth Sister-in-law help you figure it out.”

Chu Qingyuan’s face turned red, and she lowered her eyes, shyly opening her mouth, “It’s that, that General Qin who won the battle recently, Brother Munan.”

Mu Yunjin’s smile instantly froze on her face.

“What’s wrong? Sixth Sister-in-law, isn’t Brother Munan good?” Chu Qingyuan, seeing Mu Yunjin’s smile fade, suddenly became anxious.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, truly not expecting that Little Nine would have her eye on Qin Munan.

But Qin Munan…

Alas, this world was still too small.

“Sixth Sister-in-law?” Chu Qingyuan continued to nudge Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin came back to her senses and met Chu Qingyuan’s gaze. “General Qin is twenty-one this year, and probably already has someone he likes. Besides, your father values him so much now that he might arrange a marriage for him.”

Chu Qingyuan’s little mouth drooped, her eyes downcast, looking so wronged that she seemed about to cry. “But Little Nine just likes Brother Munan. That day in the palace, Little Nine was climbing a tree and almost fell. It was Brother Munan who saved me. He even patted my head and told me to be more careful in the future.”

“Brother Munan is so gentle, not at all crude or fierce. Little Nine likes him and wants to marry him!”

Mu Yunjin sighed softly. Setting aside the connection between Qin Munan and the original owner of her body, considering all the moves the Qin family was making behind the scenes, there was no chance for Little Nine and Qin Munan.

“Little Nine, you’re still young. What you feel for General Qin might just be admiration and liking. When you reach a certain age, you’ll understand that between two people, love is the most important thing.” Mu Yunjin placed her hand on Chu Qingyuan’s shoulder and made up a speech.

“Then is it love between Sixth Sister-in-law and Sixth Brother?”

“…”

……

“You all, come help me push the swing, the higher the better!”

In the garden of the Prince’s mansion, Chu Qingyuan sat on a swing while several young maidservants pushed her. Chu Qingyuan’s face was filled with undisguised joy.

Mu Yunjin leaned against a pillar of a nearby pavilion, watching Chu Qingyuan, and thinking of her earlier question, she couldn’t help but smile.

Love…

How could there possibly be love between her and Chu Li?

After Chu Qingyuan had played for a while, Chu Li’s figure appeared from outside. As soon as he entered the garden, Chu Li heard Chu Qingyuan’s laughter and couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly.

“Eh? You’re back.” Mu Yunjin caught sight of Chu Li and straightened up, watching him approach step by step.

Chu Li nodded, his gaze falling on Mu Yunjin’s hair bun. He slowly reached out and helped secure a pearl flower that was about to fall from her hair bun, his movements gentle.

“There.” The clear, pleasant voice came from above her head.

Mu Yunjin’s face inexplicably reddened, and she instinctively reached up to touch the pearl flower in her hair bun, lowering her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

“Haha, caught you! Sixth Sister-in-law, look at how you blush and feel shy when facing Sixth Brother, just like Little Nine’s state earlier. Isn’t this what you called love?”

Mu Yunjin choked on her words. After hearing this, she felt even more embarrassed, her face quickly turning the color of a pig’s liver.

Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin, then at Chu Qingyuan, his eyes showing a few traces of question.

“It’s like this, Sixth Brother. After you left earlier, Sixth Sister-in-law and Little Nine discussed the difference between liking and loving. She said what’s between her and you is love. And Little Nine now only understands liking, not love.”

“But now that Little Nine sees Sixth Sister-in-law like this, Little Nine’s feelings should also be love, not just liking!”

At this moment, Mu Yunjin wished she could sew Little Nine’s mouth shut. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She had just been speaking casually earlier. How could Little Nine take it seriously and even tell Chu Li?

Now Chu Li’s gaze fell on Mu Yunjin, who didn’t dare raise her head. Seeing that even her earlobes had turned red, his mood suddenly improved greatly. Though he tried to hold back his laughter, low chuckles still escaped from the corners of his lips.

Seeing that she was being laughed at by Chu Li, Mu Yunjin covered her face with her hands and frantically said, “Little Nine is talking nonsense. I was trying to prevent her from falling in love too early!”

“Eh? Sixth Sister-in-law, that’s not what you said earlier. You said being seven years older than Little Nine is very compatible.” Chu Qingyuan innocently scratched her head, thinking that’s not what Sixth Sister-in-law had said earlier.

Mu Yunjin truly felt like she was about to spurt blood.

Chu Li, who was usually able to control his emotions, now seemed somewhat unable to contain himself. He bent down to move closer to Mu Yunjin, his gaze so tender it seemed it could be wrung wet.

“Yunjin, this Prince didn’t know that you cared so much about this Prince. With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?”

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Mu Yunjin screamed several times, covered her head, and ran quickly toward Liquan Pavilion.

Behind her, Chu Li stood in place, stroking his chin, his heart softened, and his lips curved in a pleased smile.

A moment later, as if remembering something, Chu Li suddenly withdrew his smile and looked at Chu Qingyuan with somewhat dark eyes. “Little Nine, who do you have your eye on?”

Chu Qingyuan, meeting this gaze, was so frightened that she stepped back. Sixth Brother’s face changes faster than turning the pages of a book.

Indeed, everyone’s attitude toward true love and mere liking is different. Sixth Sister-in-law was right about that.