Hearing her burst into laughter, Chu Li lowered his gaze to look at the medicinal dregs on his clothes. His lips curved into a slight smile as he sat on the edge of the bed, without a trace of displeasure on his face.

Standing up, Chu Li removed the stained outer garment and casually tossed it aside. Then, with arms crossed, he looked at Mu Yunjin with intense interest in his eyes.

“The Princess Consort deliberately soiled this prince’s outer garment, forcing this prince to remove it. Could she be hinting at something?”

As he spoke, Chu Li leaned down, gradually moving closer to Mu Yunjin, watching as she slowly retreated. The smile on his lips gradually widened.

Mu Yunjin backed into the corner, feeling that she had truly been defeated by Chu Li. She had thought that by soiling his clothes, she could see him annoyed or angry, but instead, she had been teased by him.

Hmph, this damned insufferable man! His methods of dealing with women were so sophisticated—who knew how many innocent women he had flirted with before to be able to do this so effortlessly now.

“Go away, I want to sleep,” Mu Yunjin said, pushing away Chu Li as he approached her. She lay down and tucked in the blanket.

Chu Li laughed softly, unable to hide the pleasure in his expression. He bent down and placed a light kiss on Mu Yunjin’s lips, then immediately moved away, satisfyingly licking his lips.

Mu Yunjin’s face turned slightly red, and she gradually pulled up the blanket to cover her now rosy face.

…

…

……

Mu Yunjin stayed in Qingzhou for another full ten days, until she could walk without feeling any pain in her ribs. Only then did Chu Li relent and agree to their departure the next day.

In the morning, Mu Yunjin dressed and walked out the door. The dazzling sunlight outside made her take a long time to adjust before she could barely open her eyes.

“Princess Consort, please have breakfast first,” Xiao Ju said, seeing Mu Yunjin come out of the room, carrying breakfast over.

Mu Yunjin nodded and looked around. “Where is the Prince?”

“He left early with Guard Ding. By now, he’s probably with Official Yang,” Xiao Ju said.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yunjin casually ate a few bites of breakfast and then left the residence. As soon as she stepped out the door, Song Chun appeared from nowhere, following closely behind her.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin didn’t react much and simply made her way to Yang Wanshan’s residence.

Upon arriving at Yang Wanshan’s place, she found that Chu Li was indeed there. The servant at the door was about to go in and announce her arrival, but Mu Yunjin stopped him, taking small steps and quietly walking inside.

After a few steps, Yang Wanshan’s voice came from inside: “Prince Ning, this Qingzhou flood has caused you and Deputy General Qin quite a lot of trouble.”

Huh? Qin Muyue? Mu Yunjin was surprised to hear Yang Wanshan mention Qin Muyue.

“Here is a letter of thanks for Deputy General Qin, with signatures from all the people of Qingzhou. It was because of her phoenix manifestation that this disaster was prevented. I hope Prince Ning can help deliver this letter of thanks and present it to His Majesty.”

Outside the door, Mu Yunjin rolled her eyes in exasperation, silently lamenting how ignorant and superstitious these people were.

“Princess Consort, why are you here?” A maid passing by noticed Mu Yunjin and exclaimed in surprise, then immediately bowed to her.

Hearing that Mu Yunjin had arrived, Yang Wanshan hurriedly walked out and bowed to her, but the look in his eyes revealed some disdain.

Mu Yunjin wasn’t surprised. In this Qingzhou flood incident, Qin Muyue’s identity as the Phoenix Lady had stolen all the attention. Being women, when the people of Qingzhou compared them, they would naturally think she was just causing trouble, so of course they wouldn’t show her a pleasant face.

“Princess Consort, please sit,” Yang Wanshan said after they entered, inviting Mu Yunjin to take a seat and ordering someone to prepare tea.

Mu Yunjin sat down beside Chu Li and, catching sight of the envelope beside him on the table, ignored Yang Wanshan’s expression and pulled out the thank-you letter, reading it word by word.

Yang Wanshan had heard of Mu Yunjin’s reputation—devoid of knowledge, an “empty bag” was the most common description of her. Seeing her reading the thank-you letter with relish, he assumed she was merely pretending to read.

Mu Yunjin read the letter from beginning to end, seeing that the content praised Qin Muyue to the skies. She wanted to laugh out loud but held back, stuffing the letter back.

“My Prince, look at this letter. It doesn’t mention us at all. When we return and Father Emperor reads this letter, he might even punish us for incompetence.” Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li with a coquettish complaint.

Chu Li turned his gaze to her, giving her an amused look, and nodded slightly.

Beside them, Yang Wanshan was shocked by her words and immediately stood up, walking to the front of the two and bowing deeply. “Please forgive me, Prince and Princess Consort. The content of this letter is the heartfelt sentiment of the people toward Deputy General Qin, with no intention of disrespect toward the Prince and Princess Consort.”

Yang Wanshan wiped away the cold sweat that had fallen, silently cursing Mu Yunjin as a beautiful troublemaker.

“Official Yang, I was just joking. Why are you so flustered?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow as she looked at Yang Wanshan, then picked up a nearby teacup and took a sip of water.

Yang Wanshan nodded, only now realizing that Mu Yunjin was not someone to be trifled with. Even the usually cold and distant Prince Ning, Chu Li, became gentler when he was with her.

As they were leaving, Yang Wanshan specifically handed the thank-you letter to Ding Xian, instructing him to keep it safe and give it to Chu Li after they returned to the imperial city.

“Princess Consort, for you.” As soon as they walked out of Yang Wanshan’s residence, Ding Xian handed the thank-you letter that Yang Wanshan had just given him to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, clutching Chu Li’s arm with a smile on her lips. “Why give it to me? He asked your Prince to give it to His Majesty.”

“Hehe.” Ding Xian scratched his head and chuckled, glancing at Chu Li. “The Prince said, in our Prince Ning’s household, the Princess Consort reigns supreme.”

“Oh?” Mu Yunjin looked up at Chu Li, seeing his eyes filled with a smile, not contradicting Ding Xian’s words at all. Her heart instantly felt as if it were filled with honey.

Taking the thank-you letter, Mu Yunjin tucked it into her sleeve and raised her eyebrows. “When we return to the Prince’s manor, I’ll write a magnificent thank-you letter that will shock the heavens and earth and move ghosts and gods to tears, and submit it.”

Ding Xian burst into laughter, strangely feeling a bit of sympathy for Qin Muyue.

After they had walked far away, behind them at a certain corner, a white figure emerged. The joyful laughter still seemed to echo in the ears. Rong Jiu watched Mu Yunjin’s receding figure, his expression thoughtful.

Hongling and Zhang Bo stood nearby, watching this scene with resignation. Having followed His Highness for so many years, they had finally seen him show interest in a woman, but unfortunately, she was already another man’s wife.

“Seeing how well Prince Ning and the Princess Consort get along, why is the Princess Consort still intact?” Hongling, thinking of the palace mark on Mu Yunjin’s arm, inquired with some doubt.

Rong Jiu glanced at Hongling but said nothing.

……

The next day, when it was barely dawn, Mu Yunjin had already prepared herself, packed her belongings, and was urging Chu Li to get up and depart.

Seeing her eagerness to return, Chu Li sighed lightly and sat up in bed.

Mu Yunjin had already selected a light purple brocade robe for Chu Li, and the rest of his clothes had been packed and put away. She now held the robe and handed it to Chu Li.

Chu Li didn’t take the robe but instead lazily extended his hand, his gaze calmly resting on Mu Yunjin.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin furrowed her brows and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Don’t want to wear this one?”

“Dress this prince,” Chu Li said.

Huh?

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin was somewhat surprised, but then lowered her gaze with a smile, pressing her lips together. She straightened the robe and began to methodically help Chu Li put it on.

This was also Mu Yunjin’s first time dressing someone else. Plus, Chu Li’s brocade robe was designed quite intricately with buttons and sashes. It took a long time before Mu Yunjin barely managed to dress Chu Li in his outer garment.

Chu Li lowered his gaze to look at the loose collar, a hint of amusement on his lips.

In the carriage on the way back, Mu Yunjin stretched her arms long and leaned on the windowsill, looking at the scenery outside. Seeing the previously impassable muddy road now dried and solidified, her mind suddenly recalled the scene of Chu Li carrying her on his back when they first came to Qingzhou.

The time spent with Chu Li in Qingzhou was happier than usual, even a bit… blissful.

“Hey, wait for me…” From somewhere behind, Daoist Feng Xuan’s voice sounded.

Hearing this voice, Mu Yunjin stretched her neck to look outside and saw Daoist Feng Xuan using qinggong, quickly approaching the carriage.

“Stop for a moment,” Mu Yunjin called out upon seeing this.

The carriage stopped, and Daoist Feng Xuan’s figure landed outside the carriage. He then lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage. As soon as he entered, he shouted at Mu Yunjin.

“You ungrateful girl! How dare you leave your master behind! You truly have no conscience!”

Hearing this thunderous voice, Mu Yunjin shrank back, moving closer to Chu Li, then pulled at the corner of her mouth. “So, Master, you were still in Qingzhou? I thought you had already left…”

“Hmph, such a poor and desolate place—it took me three or four days to get here. How could I not take advantage of a free ride back?” Daoist Feng Xuan leaned against the carriage and took a sip of tea that he carried with him.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin felt a bit embarrassed and handed some snacks to Daoist Feng Xuan.

Daoist Feng Xuan accepted the snacks and began eating. “At least you have some conscience.”

Chu Li, with his arm around Mu Yunjin’s waist, could tell from what Daoist Feng Xuan had said upon entering the carriage that he and Mu Yunjin had met in Qingzhou.

So he spoke calmly, “Elder, why were you in Qingzhou?”

Upon hearing this, Daoist Feng Xuan saw Mu Yunjin making signals with her eyes to him. He coughed a few times, directly ignoring Mu Yunjin, and turned his gaze to Chu Li.

“I heard the news that you were coming to Qingzhou and followed all the way. Fortunately, I did follow, otherwise this ungrateful girl would have died at Qiuye’s hands…”

Mu Yunjin covered her face, wishing she could throw this old fogey off the carriage.

Chu Li narrowed his eyes, his expression changing slightly, his whole body emanating coldness. Remembering Mu Yunjin’s injuries, his face darkened.

Daoist Feng Xuan caught a glimpse of Chu Li’s displeased expression and knew that Mu Yunjin truly hadn’t told Chu Li about this matter. Seeing her now lowering her head as if looking for a crack in the ground to hide in, he was immediately amused.

“You don’t know, this ungrateful girl, who usually appears so domineering and arrogant, couldn’t even make a single move against Qiuye. If I hadn’t arrived in time, it wouldn’t have been just three broken ribs. By now, they probably would have carved a tombstone for her and buried her underground…”

Mu Yunjin buried her head even deeper.