Mu Yunjin shrugged and spread her hands. “Then I’ll trouble the City Lord to investigate this matter.”
Qu Xinyao laughed and took a sip of tea.
After the three were seated, Qu Xinyao, having already heard from Chu Li about Qiuye causing the flood in Qingzhou with his rain ritual, let out a cold laugh. “That old man Qiuye has always been despicable and shameless. It’s not surprising that he would do something so contemptible.”
“And that Qin Muyue, I don’t know how she got the title of female general. Behind the scenes, she’s no different from her master—her face is thicker than the city wall!”
Hearing Qu Xinyao’s string of complaints, Mu Yunjin truly realized that Qu Xinyao genuinely despised Qiuye.
“Princess Consort Ning stumbled upon Qiuye’s rain ritual. Given the old man’s temperament, he will certainly devise some underhanded scheme to deal with you. He might even try to smear you as the one who performed the rain ritual,” Qu Xinyao said.
Mu Yunjin looked at Qu Xinyao, resting her chin on her hand. “What should we do then?”
“What should we do?” Qu Xinyao raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a gorgeous smile. “Let’s take the initiative and report Qiuye’s rain ritual to the imperial court.”
“I’ll personally write the memorial. Let’s see if Emperor Ximing will give me face!” Qu Xinyao laughed coldly.
…
…
Mu Yunjin looked at Qu Xinyao with some surprise. Reporting Qiuye to the imperial court was something she had never thought of.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Yunjin found Qu Xinyao’s idea truly brilliant. This would not only expose Qiuye’s scheme but also shatter the auspicious omen supposedly brought by Qin Muyue’s Phoenix Lady identity.
Those two would probably be furious enough to spit blood!
“By the way, Prince Ning…” Qu Xinyao then turned her gaze to the silent Chu Li.
Chu Li looked at Qu Xinyao.
“I’m helping Princess Consort Ning deal with Qiuye, so you should also owe me a favor,” Qu Xinyao said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
Hearing this, Chu Li responded calmly, “Xu Heyu is on his way.”
“Good, Prince Ning is truly an understanding person.” Qu Xinyao fiddled with the plum blossom hairpin in her hair and rose to leave.
Mu Yunjin watched Qu Xinyao’s retreating figure and curiously moved closer to Chu Li. “What’s going on between her and Xu Heyu?”
“Nosy.” Chu Li lightly tapped her head.
Mu Yunjin snorted.
……
At that moment, in the imperial study of the palace, Chu Ye was accompanying Emperor Ximing in a game of chess.
Eunuch Lu entered the imperial study with a document in hand. Walking to Emperor Ximing, he bowed and presented the document. “Your Majesty, a memorial from City Lord Qu of Xinyao City.”
Upon hearing it was from Qu Xinyao, Emperor Ximing’s eyes lit up. He immediately dropped the chess piece in his hand and took the document, unfolding it to read.
Chu Ye silently observed this scene.
Emperor Ximing was now nearly sixty years old and had ruled West Yuan for thirty-five years. During this time, he had encountered women of all kinds, yet he remained particularly infatuated with Qu Xinyao, whom he could see but not possess.
Over the years, he had given Qu Xinyao control over Xinyao City, originally intending to keep her under his watchful eye. But seeing how well she managed the city, his feelings for Qu Xinyao had gradually transformed into a different kind of emotion.
Qu Xinyao rarely sent him documents. Whenever she did, it was always for extremely important matters, so he never neglected her letters.
Now, as Emperor Ximing read the contents of Qu Xinyao’s letter, his previously calm face gradually became stormy, and the hand holding the letter trembled slightly.
Then, he found a yellow talisman paper from the envelope.
“Good, good job, Mount Qiuye, good job, Daoist Qiuye, you dare to make such moves in my territory!” Emperor Ximing was furious, slamming his palm on the chessboard, causing the black and white pieces to scatter in all directions.
Chu Ye, witnessing this, frowned. “Father Emperor, what’s the matter?”
Emperor Ximing waved his hand and shouted at Eunuch Lu, “Go summon Daoist Qiuye to the palace. If he dares to refuse, immediately order troops to raze Mount Qiuye to the ground.”
Eunuch Lu immediately nodded in understanding and rushed out as if his feet were greased.
Seeing Eunuch Lu leave, Emperor Ximing was still furious. He threw a nearby teacup, speaking with rage, “I’ve indeed heard many rumors lately about Qin Muyue’s phoenix spirit. I’ve been thinking that such things are just fabrications and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Now it seems my intuition was correct.”
Hearing this, Chu Ye gathered his courage and picked up the rare document Emperor Ximing had placed on the table. After quickly browsing through it, he spoke with slight helplessness, “I never imagined there could be such absurd matters in the world. I wonder if Miss Qin was aware of this.”
“She’s Qiuye’s disciple; how could she not know? I’ve been particularly fond of her, yet she has done something that disappoints me so deeply!” Emperor Ximing, not satisfied with just verbal criticism of Qin Muyue, called another eunuch. “Issue an imperial decree: immediately strip Qin Muyue of her deputy general title. From today, she is to face the wall and reflect in the General’s mansion. Without my permission, she is not to take a step outside the General’s mansion.”
Seeing Emperor Ximing’s great anger, Chu Ye smiled and said with deep contemplation, “Father Emperor, are you convinced of everything based solely on Qu Xinyao’s one-sided account?”
“Of course, I understand Xinyao. She is not someone who would create trouble out of nothing.”
Princess Consort Rong, Qin Shuning, was supporting Empress Dowager Zheng as they walked in the imperial garden. Inside her sleeve was also a confidential letter from Qin Muyue.
In the letter, Qin Muyue told her that the Qingzhou flood management had been progressing smoothly, but Mu Yunjin had secretly followed and continuously caused trouble, leading to delays in the flood management progress. This had resulted in the sacrifice of many innocent civilians, and she requested Emperor Ximing to intervene with punishment and warnings.
“Shuning, where are you heading? If we go any further, we’ll reach the imperial study,” Empress Dowager Zheng said with surprise as Princess Consort Rong led her forward.
Hearing this, Princess Consort Rong paused and put on a smile. “Indeed. If Mother Empress hadn’t mentioned it, Shuning would have forgotten that the imperial study was ahead.”
“Since we’re almost at the imperial study, why don’t we pay our respects to the Emperor? Now that Empress Qin has passed away, although there’s no one obstructing Mother Empress’s path, you should still cultivate a mother-son relationship with the Emperor.” Princess Consort Rong said with a smile.
Empress Dowager Zheng, finding this reasonable, nodded. “Then let’s visit the imperial study.”
“Good.” Princess Consort Rong walked on, satisfied.
After a few steps, they saw Eunuch Lu, the Emperor’s head eunuch, walking hurriedly outward, followed by several imperial guards. Seeing this, Princess Consort Rong stopped Eunuch Lu.
“Eunuch Lu, why are you in such a hurry? Where are you going?” Princess Consort Rong asked.
Eunuch Lu bowed to Empress Dowager Zheng and Princess Consort Rong. “Daoist Qiuye from Mount Qiuye has done something to anger His Majesty. His Majesty has commanded us to invite Daoist Qiuye to the palace.”
“Daoist Qiuye? What happened?” Princess Consort Rong was surprised and added, “Daoist Qiuye is a martial arts practitioner. How could he have angered His Majesty?”
“City Lord Qu of Xinyao City submitted a memorial stating that Daoist Qiuye performed a rain ritual in Qingzhou, causing the Qingzhou flood. Now His Majesty is furious and has ordered Daoist Qiuye to come to the palace immediately.”
“This servant must follow orders to convey the imperial decree, so I will take my leave now.” Eunuch Lu said, bowed again, and then quickly walked away.
Princess Consort Rong stood in place, biting her lips. The letter in her sleeve was still warm, yet someone had beaten her to it. If she presented the letter now, Emperor Ximing would surely think she was stirring up trouble.
“How could Daoist Qiuye do such a foolish thing!” Empress Dowager Zheng sighed incomprehensibly, preparing to walk toward the imperial study.
“Ah!” Seeing Empress Dowager Zheng about to walk forward, Princess Consort Rong suddenly staggered and held her temple. “Mother Empress, Shuning, suddenly feels unwell. Perhaps we should visit His Majesty another day.”
“You’re not feeling well? Then quickly go back and rest. Your health has never been good.” Empress Dowager Zheng looked at Princess Consort Rong.
Princess Consort Rong nodded and, supported by a maid, turned to leave.
……
On the streets of Xinyao City, Mu Yunjin had rested for two days at Qing Estate, regaining her energy and spirit. Now she was strolling alone on the street.
Chu Li had gone somewhere early in the morning, along with Ding Xian. Now only Song Chun followed closely behind Mu Yunjin.
Walking in the center of the market, Mu Yunjin paused as she passed under the former Flower Moon House, watching several workers busily reconstructing the building.
A small vendor at a nearby stall, seeing Mu Yunjin looking at the Flower Moon House, couldn’t help but comment, “Miss, this used to be a brothel. One day, a fire accidentally broke out and burned it to the ground. Now someone has bought it and is rebuilding it as a shop.”
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin nodded in understanding.
After wandering around a bit more, Mu Yunjin passed by a silk shop. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the colorful fabrics inside. Her eyes lit up, and she stepped inside.
The shopkeeper, seeing Mu Yunjin enter, looked her up and down. Although Mu Yunjin was dressed simply and elegantly, her every movement revealed her noble upbringing. The shopkeeper smiled and approached her.
“Miss, we have some newly arrived fine snow silk and silkworm silk. Would you like to take a look?” The shopkeeper said, presenting two bolts of fabric to Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin had indeed been attracted by the colors and patterns of the silk in the shop. Looking at the two bolts of fabric the shopkeeper now placed before her, she couldn’t help but reach out and touch them, finding them quite to her liking.
“This is the largest silk shop in Xinyao City. Since it’s your first visit, you can look around more. I’m sure you’ll find patterns you like,” the shopkeeper said, pointing to the silks around them.
Mu Yunjin nodded and smiled at the shopkeeper.
At that moment, another figure in blue walked in from outside. The shopkeeper, seeing this figure, immediately went over, her face lit up with a smile. “Oh, Miss Qing is here. It’s been a while. I happen to have some newly arrived silk.”
“How have you been? Where have you been traveling lately?” The shopkeeper’s enthusiastic voice reached Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin had been leaning over the table, selecting silk, but when she heard the words “Miss Qing,” she was slightly startled and curiously looked back.
At that moment, the blue figure was also walking behind Mu Yunjin. As Mu Yunjin suddenly turned around, the two came face to face. Their eyes met, and the air was instantly filled with a peculiar atmosphere.