Consort Li’s words caught in her throat, and she sent a pleading look toward Empress Dowager Zheng.

Empress Dowager Zheng glared at Consort Li, seemingly dissatisfied with her brainless behavior, then turned her gaze to Mu Yunjin. “Yunjin, Consort Li was just joking with you. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin coldly acknowledged with a sound, saying nothing more.

She wasn’t sure what these people wanted from her today. Apart from Consort Li’s prickly remarks, everyone else seemed fine. Logically, these people wouldn’t change their nature; it was hard to figure out their intentions.

After sitting for nearly an hour, the rain outside stopped. The details of the songs and dances for the banquet had been mostly discussed, and Mu Yunjin was the first to propose leaving.

The Empress was stunned for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to Mu Yunjin’s request.

Seeing Mu Yunjin rise to leave, the others also began to take their leave. Walking on the path out of the palace, Princess Rong caught up from behind.

“My niece-in-law, wait for me,” Princess Rong called from behind.

…

…

Mu Yunjin didn’t slow her pace until Princess Rong Qin Shuning approached, only then glancing at Princess Rong from the corner of her eye.

“My niece-in-law hardly spoke today and was the first to leave. Could it be that you’re afraid we elders will eat you alive?” Princess Rong looked at Mu Yunjin with a smile, her gaze profound.

Mu Yunjin let out a cold laugh. “Yes, I am truly afraid you’ll eat me alive.”

“My niece-in-law is quite the joker. With Crown Prince Ye’s investiture ceremony approaching, how could we eat you alive at such a critical time?”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes slightly. Princess Rong’s words seemed somewhat joking, but they contained deep implications.

If not at this critical time, then when would they “eat” her?

“By the way, your fourth sister will also attend this investiture ceremony, right?” Princess Rong brought up Mu Lingzhu.

“I don’t know,” Mu Yunjin coldly replied with two words.

Princess Rong chuckled lightly. “She has stayed in the Prime Minister’s residence long enough. The Prince hasn’t issued divorce papers yet, so she should return to Prince Rong’s residence.”

“Oh? Return to her death?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, her lips curving with mockery.

“Last time’s incident was mostly just misunderstandings. Besides, it’s our Prince Rong’s family matter. You, my niece-in-law, best not interfere. Otherwise, I will report to the Emperor and have him order Mu Lingzhu to return to Prince Rong’s residence forcibly,” Princess Rong said.

Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes and smiled. “You can try.”

Princess Rong was stunned, inexplicably intimidated by Mu Yunjin’s casual four words. Her expression suddenly became unnatural.

……

After exiting the palace gates, perhaps due to the recent heavy rain, the sky was somewhat gloomy, but Mu Yunjin immediately spotted the black xuan-wood carriage parked at the palace gate.

She paused, looking again at the carriage she had arrived in, but after a while, saw no sign of it.

Seeing this, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile and walk toward the black xuan-wood carriage.

Ding Xian sat outside the carriage. Seeing Mu Yunjin approaching, he immediately dismounted and went to greet her, deliberately speaking loudly, “Greetings, Princess!”

Mu Yunjin curled her lips, pointed inside the carriage, and looked at Ding Xian.

Ding Xian understood and nodded.

After getting confirmation, Mu Yunjin jumped onto the carriage, bent over, and went in. Inside the carriage compartment, she saw Chu Li sitting quietly, looking at her with smiling eyes.

Mu Yunjin raised the corners of her lips and sat down beside Chu Li. “How long have you been waiting here?”

“Not long,” Chu Li said.

“That’s good.” Mu Yunjin smiled, then asked, “Why have you been so busy lately?”

“Once Chu Ye’s investiture ceremony is over, I’ll have more free time,” Chu Li said softly, his words carrying an indiscernible meaning.

Mu Yunjin turned to look at Chu Li, feeling that his mood had been somewhat strange lately, as if he was always concealing something from her.

Thinking of this, Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes. When would he finally be honest with her about everything?

On the way back to the residence, it began to rain heavily again. Chu Li, listening to the rain outside, reached out and pulled Mu Yunjin into his embrace, his voice lowering, “Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Mu Yunjin nodded, leaning in Chu Li’s arms, quietly listening to the rain outside.

……

When they returned to the residence, Mamma Shen saw that Mu Yunjin’s earlier carriage had returned ahead of time and had already ordered the kitchen to prepare ginger soup to ward off the chill.

“Here, one bowl each, don’t catch a cold,” Mamma Shen handed a bowl of ginger soup to both Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin didn’t much like the taste of ginger. After reluctantly drinking a few sips, she was about to put down the bowl when she heard Chu Li’s cool voice from the side, “Finish it!”

Mu Yunjin’s hand paused, and she bowed her head to finish the ginger soup in her hand.

Seeing this, Mamma Shen’s eyes curved with a smile. “Truly, one thing subdues another.”

“By the way, the weather is getting colder. The tailors have sent over deep autumn clothing today. The Prince and Princess can start wearing autumn clothes from tomorrow,” Mamma Shen reminded.

Mu Yunjin nodded, put down her bowl, and rose to walk with Chu Li toward Liquan Pavilion.

After entering Liquan Pavilion, Mu Yunjin looked at Zixiang beside her. “Zixiang, prepare hot water. I want to bathe first.”

With the rain, her shoe soles were somewhat wet. Mu Yunjin now only wanted to comfortably soak in a hot bath, then crawl into bed and lie there until dawn.

Chu Li’s eyes moved beside her, and he said softly to Mu Yunjin, “Let’s go to the hot spring.”

“Hm?” Mu Yunjin didn’t immediately react and looked at Chu Li. Then, meeting his gaze, she immediately understood.

Chu Li was suggesting they bathe in the hot spring pool…

Recalling the embarrassing scene from the last time she bathed in the hot spring pool, Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, somewhat hesitant.

Chu Li seemed to discern her thoughts and chuckled softly. “Given our current relationship, are you still concerned about this prince seeing you naked?”

“…” Mu Yunjin was speechless.

……

In the hot spring pool, Mu Yunjin leaned against the edge, casually grabbing a handful of flower petals from the basket by the pool and throwing them into the spring water. Looking at the steaming water in front of her, she let out a comfortable, long sigh.

A moment later, Mu Yunjin didn’t know if it was because she had been soaking for too long, but her back gradually began to feel scalding hot, causing her momentary discomfort.

Mu Yunjin stood up in the spring water, wanting to cool her back a bit, but after waiting for a while, not only did it not cool down, but that scorching heat almost seemed to burn her back.

Mu Yunjin frowned, reaching back to touch her back, which indeed felt burning hot.

Lowering her eyes, Mu Yunjin suddenly let out a low cry, stepping back several times, looking with disbelief at the reflection in the spring water.

What was happening? Her back was emitting a red light…

Sensing something was amiss, Mu Yunjin tried to look at herself in the spring water a few more times, but unfortunately, she couldn’t see what her back looked like at that moment.

She immediately left the hot spring pool, dried her body, put on an outer garment, and walked out the door of the hot spring pool.

“Chu Li, something’s wrong!” As soon as Mu Yunjin entered Chu Li’s room, she called out to him as he sat in a chair drinking tea. Then she walked in front of Chu Li, turned around, and took off her outer garment, revealing her fair, delicate back.

Chu Li’s hand holding the teacup trembled, his mouth corner twitching slightly as he said sarcastically, “The hot spring has such a powerful effect that it makes the Princess so passionate?”

“What are you talking about!” Mu Yunjin bit her lip in exasperation. “My back…”

Mu Yunjin was standing sideways in front of a bronze mirror. Just as she was about to say, her back felt hot and was emitting a red light, she glanced at her back in the bronze mirror and found there was nothing unusual.

She paused, suddenly realizing that the scorching feeling on her back had also disappeared.

This…

Had she xbeen mistaken earlier?

Chu Li put down his teacup, stood up, and walked behind Mu Yunjin, holding her shoulders, his gaze lingering on her beautiful back.

Chu Li silently looked for a while, then reached out his finger, gently stroking her back.

Feeling the gentle coolness on her back, Mu Yunjin’s spine stiffened slightly, somewhat unnaturally. Just as she was about to put on her clothes, a warm, continuous kiss was already on the skin of her back.

Mu Yunjin’s body trembled.

Chu Li’s thin, cool lips brushed over her pure white back, inhaling the fresh fragrance from her freshly bathed body, as something within him gradually welled up with unusual feelings.

“Sleep here tonight,” Chu Li said with a slightly hoarse voice.

Mu Yunjin reached out to straighten her clothes, tied the sash of her outer garment, turned around to meet Chu Li’s gaze, and nodded.

“Mm, good girl.” Chu Li cupped her face and lightly kissed her lips.

Mu Yunjin blushed but added, “Sleeping here is fine, but no bad behavior.”

“Which bad behavior are you referring to?” Chu Li looked at her with interest, smiling at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin glared at Chu Li, reaching out to punch his chest. “Before you marry me with a formal wedding procession, don’t even think about it.”

“Is the Princess hinting that this prince should prepare for our wedding soon, so we can enjoy our wedding night?” Chu Li’s smile spread across his lips as he teased Mu Yunjin.

“Get lost!” Mu Yunjin was almost mortified with embarrassment from Chu Li’s teasing. She raised her foot to kick Chu Li. “Prince Ning is truly secretly lecherous.”

“Only like this with you. Isn’t that good?”

“…Yes.”

……

At night, Mu Yunjin blew out the candles in the room, lay in Chu Li’s arms, feeling increasingly drowsy. She pulled the blanket tighter and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Chu Li lay on his side, holding the person in his arms. Just as he was about to close his eyes to rest, a red light suddenly emerged in the darkness, causing his expression to sink.

Mu Yunjin’s back was emitting a faint red light, shining through her outer garment.

Chu Li’s entire being grew cold. He narrowed his eyes, looking through the red light, and slowly pulled down the outer garment on Mu Yunjin’s back.

There, on Mu Yunjin’s back, was a glowing fire phoenix mark. The phoenix on the mark seemed to be awakening, gently flapping its wings as if wanting to fly out from Mu Yunjin’s back.

Chu Li’s cold gaze fixed upon the fire phoenix, his heart unable to conceal its excitement and shock. Although he had already known of her status as a phoenix maiden, seeing this scene with his own eyes now stirred indescribable emotions within him.

Staring at the fire phoenix, Chu Li’s extraordinarily handsome face exuded coldness, his eyes profound. He flipped his wrist, letting the true energy from his palm flow slowly into Mu Yunjin’s back.

After a while, the scorching red light in the room grew weaker and weaker, gradually replaced by an icy purple light.