The moment she sat down in Jingxin Garden, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt like she had become a local tour guide for food and drinks.

Jiang Qingxue originally didn’t want to come along to eat vegetarian food, but under Mu Yunjin’s strong insistence, she finally couldn’t refuse and followed Mu Yunjin to Jingxin Garden.

After everyone took their seats, they waited for the vegetarian dishes to arrive.

Soon, while they were waiting, two more people walked in through the door. Mu Yunjin glanced outside and thought to herself that enemies truly cross paths too often.

When Wen Yuan and Ming Yuan stepped inside, they immediately spotted Mu Yunjin. Both froze simultaneously, initially wanting to retreat, but seeing others inside, Wen Yuan ultimately pulled Ming Yuan in, and they sat at the table next to Mu Yunjin’s.

After suffering several humiliations from Mu Yunjin, those two now barely even looked in her direction.

Mu Yunjin let out a scoffing laugh and withdrew her gaze.

The vegetarian dishes were quickly served, filling the entire table. Looking at the plain, bland vegetarian food, Mu Yunjin didn’t have much appetite. She picked up her chopsticks and casually took a few bites.

“Mmm, the flavor is truly excellent,” Hongling praised after taking a bite.

…

…

Rong Jiu smiled faintly, also seemingly without much appetite, spending most of the time drinking fragrant flower tea.

After eating for a while, footsteps were heard outside again. A moment later, the door was pushed open, and a figure in dark ink-colored clothing appeared at the entrance of Jingxin Garden.

Seeing the newcomer, Mu Yunjin’s eyes brightened. “Eh? What are you doing here?”

Chu Li walked in, swept his gaze around, and suddenly let out a cold laugh, his eyes flashing with icy light, his entire body emanating a piercing coldness.

Jiang Qingxue’s hand holding the chopsticks stiffened slightly as she recalled her recent promise to Chu Li. Now sitting here eating with Yunjin, she felt inexplicably guilty.

Rong Jiu stood up, meeting Chu Li’s frosty gaze, and smiled warmly. “Greetings to Prince Ning.”

Mu Yunjin stood in front of Chu Li. Seeing him put on that expression again, she knew Chu Li was currently on the verge of exploding with rage. She reached out to wrap her arm around Chu Li’s and turned to address the people behind her, “I’m leaving first. You can take the carriage I came in back to the city later.”

With that, she pulled Chu Li toward the exit.

Chu Li didn’t move. His gaze swept over Rong Jiu, and he spoke coldly, “Someone come escort the Crown Prince of Donglin and the emissary from Nanting to stay at Yilan Palace.”

Yilan Palace was the palace specifically designated for hosting foreign visitors.

……

After leaving Jingxin Garden, Chu Li allowed Mu Yunjin to hold his arm but kept his face tense, not saying a word to her.

“Are you angry with me?” Mu Yunjin sensed something was off about Chu Li’s mood and glanced up at him.

Chu Li didn’t answer her and continued walking forward on his own.

Mu Yunjin suddenly felt somewhat bewildered. She let go of Chu Li’s arm and muttered, “What’s this about? At least answer me.”

Chu Li halted his steps, lowered his gaze to scan Mu Yunjin briefly, and spoke coldly, “You got up so early today just to accompany Rong Jiu here?”

Mu Yunjin was startled, and then understood. So Chu Li had misunderstood the relationship between her and Rong Jiu.

After thinking for a moment, Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and asked Chu Li in return, “What do you think?”

“This prince wants to hear you say it!” Chu Li was completely furious. After morning court, he had heard from Song Chun that Mu Yunjin had taken Rong Jiu to Water Cloud Temple, which immediately filled him with anger and he rushed to the temple.

“Chu Li, if there isn’t even basic trust between us, why are we together at all?” Mu Yunjin also felt uncomfortable.

She had deliberately risen early today wanting to have breakfast with Chu Li, and now he was misinterpreting it this way. Mu Yunjin suddenly felt a bit lost.

“What did you say?” The coldness in Chu Li’s eyes intensified as he reached out to grab Mu Yunjin’s shoulders.

Mu Yunjin was displeased and slapped away Chu Li’s hands from her shoulders. She strode forward, not knowing why she was even arguing with Chu Li when it was something that could be resolved with just a single sentence.

In her heart, she actually just wanted Chu Li to understand her better.

Chu Li watched Mu Yunjin’s retreating figure without following, his eyes dark as dusk with cold light flickering.

Rong Jiu, Jiang Qingxue, and the others were now coming out of Jingxin Garden. Seeing that Mu Yunjin had walked far ahead while Chu Li still stood in place, they all seemed to tacitly understand.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Prince Ning.” Rong Jiu spoke calmly, saying nothing more before departing slowly.

Jiang Qingxue walked more slowly. When she reached Chu Li’s side, her eyes revealed concern, “I’m sorry, I didn’t keep our agreement well.”

“But there really isn’t anything between Yunjin and the Crown Prince of Donglin,” Jiang Qingxue added.

Seeing that Chu Li remained silent, she walked away.

Chu Li stood in place, with Mu Yunjin’s parting words echoing in his ears. After a while, he sighed softly and chased after Mu Yunjin.

……

“Jerk, with a temper so foul. I kindly got up early to have breakfast with you, and you accuse me of doing it for Rong Jiu.” Mu Yunjin sat on a small slope behind Water Cloud Temple, clutching a camellia flower in her hand, angrily tearing off its petals one by one.

Just as she was thinking, she was suddenly embraced from behind, falling back into a warm and familiar embrace. Then came breathing sounds by her neck.

“I don’t accept your apology.” Without turning her head, Mu Yunjin knew who had come. Seeing that Chu Li embraced her as soon as he arrived, she knew his intentions.

Sure enough, a low laugh sounded by her ear, “This prince did not come to apologize to you.”

“Then leave immediately!” Mu Yunjin snorted, biting her lip.

Chu Li held Mu Yunjin in his arms, reaching out to stroke a strand of hair on her back, and spoke softly, “I’ve heard that women can be emotionally volatile during that time of the month. Today, this prince has truly witnessed it.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin lost her composure. She broke free from Chu Li’s embrace, turned around to face him directly, and said, “So you’re blaming me for being unreasonable?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin, his lips curving into a smile.

Seeing Chu Li like this, Mu Yunjin could no longer vent her resentment. She turned back around and lazily lay back in Chu Li’s arms. “If you do this again, I really won’t pay attention to you anymore.”

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded, his chin resting on Mu Yunjin’s head, inhaling the fresh fragrance of her hair.

“Did Jiang Qingxue say something to you today?” After a pause, Chu Li suddenly asked.

Mu Yunjin, in his arms, stiffened. “Who is Jiang Qingxue?”

After asking, combining the name with “Lady Qing,” she suddenly understood, then curiously asked, “How do you know her name?”

As far as she could remember, everyone only called her Lady Qing.

“Saw it on the roster submitted by various countries,” Chu Li said calmly.

Mu Yunjin nodded in understanding, tilted her head to think for a moment, and said, “She didn’t say anything to me. She said she also came today to see that ancient tree.”

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded slightly.

……

On the way back, after entering the city, the carriage passed by Xiaoyao Gambling House. Mu Yunjin leaned against the window, very much wanting to ask Xiao Tianqi about Chu Qingchi’s condition. After thinking about it, she still couldn’t be bothered to care about Chu Qingchi’s fate.

At the same time, on the second floor of Xiaoyao Gambling House.

Chu Qingchi had awakened from her coma. There was no one by her side to attend to her. That scoundrel Xiao Tianqi, upon learning that she would never walk again, didn’t even take her back to the Xiao family but directly settled her in this gambling house.

These days, Chu Qingchi had thought about taking her own life countless times, but whenever she thought that Mu Yunjin was still living freely, she abandoned the notion.

Her once beautiful and perfect life had been utterly ruined by that bitch Mu Yunjin. Now that she had fallen so low, what right did that bitch have to live so well?

Just as she was thinking, a sudden gust of wind blew in from the window, followed by a figure flying in.

When the visitor stood by her bed, Chu Qingchi widened her eyes in surprise. “Daoist Qiuye?”

The visitor was indeed Qiuye.

Qiuye was now wearing a Daoist robe, holding a whisk, examining Chu Qingchi’s injuries up and down. After a while, he slowly spoke.

“The last time I saw you, you were the dazzlingly brilliant Fifth Princess. Now, in just a few short months, how have you fallen to such a state?”

Chu Qingchi’s eyes reddened. She bit her lip and turned away, not looking at Daoist Qiuye. “If the Daoist has come deliberately to mock me, then please leave.”

“The Princess should not misinterpret this poor Daoist’s meaning. Not only have I not come to mock you, but I am here to help you return to the royal family.” Daoist Qiuye laughed a few times.

Chu Qingchi was startled, her eyes revealing disbelief as she looked toward Daoist Qiuye, her voice trembling slightly, “You… you say you want to help me return to the royal family?”

Daoist Qiuye nodded.

“Why would you help me?” Chu Qingchi found it hard to believe.

The day she was stripped of her princess title, she went to find Qin Muyue, and she would never forget Qin Muyue’s cold demeanor.

But this Daoist Qiuye was Qin Muyue’s master, and logically would not help her without reason, so why would he suddenly appear claiming to help her return to the royal family?

Having suffered several great setbacks recently, Chu Qingchi’s thoughts were somewhat wavering now, not wanting to be used as a stepping stone again.

Qiuye naturally saw through Chu Qingchi’s thoughts and sighed, “Recently, after Chu Li and Mu Yunjin returned from Qingzhou, they reported me to your father, the Emperor. You should be aware of this, yes?”

“Now, my lifetime of reputation has been destroyed by these two, and they’ve also caused me to hide like a fugitive, evading the palace guards everywhere. How could this poor Daoist swallow such anger?”

Hearing that Daoist Qiuye had also been harmed by Mu Yunjin, Chu Qingchi inexplicably felt a sense of resonance with him. “What method do you have to help me return to the royal family?”

Seeing that Chu Qingchi was tempted, Daoist Qiuye raised his eyebrows and smiled, leaning down to whisper a string of words in her ear.

Chu Qingchi’s eyes widened; after hearing Daoist Qiuye’s words, she could hardly believe it and cast another questioning glance at him.

Daoist Qiuye nodded, confirming silently.

Seeing this, a trace of joy rippled through Chu Qingchi’s heart, her eyes bright as stars, feeling as if she had found hope in desperate circumstances. This time, even Heaven seemed to disapprove of Mu Yunjin and wanted to take away this demon!

“Well, is the Fifth Princess willing to undertake this task?” Qiuye asked Chu Qingchi, his eyes already filled with certainty.

“Of course I am willing.” Chu Qingchi agreed immediately.

Hearing this, Daoist Qiuye looked at Chu Qingchi with satisfaction, then glanced at her legs, bending down to gently touch the bones in her legs.

“These leg bones, this poor Daoist can help you mend them.”

“But on one condition—you must beautifully and smoothly complete the task I’ve entrusted to you.”