“Boom—”

Thunder and lightning suddenly erupted in the tranquil autumn night. Outside, fierce winds raged, and in an instant, torrential rain poured down. Accompanied by successive thunderclaps, the doors and windows of the great hall were blown apart by the sudden gale, bringing in dust and debris.

Mu Yunjin stared at the blood that had flowed to her feet with bloodthirsty eyes. Her entire body emanated a murderous aura, and a red light gradually seeped from her back, enveloping her body.

Chu Li focused his gaze on this scene, not expecting Mu Yunjin to undergo such a transformation at this moment. By the time he wanted to stop it, it was already too late.

A fiery red phoenix gradually emerged from Mu Yunjin’s back, spreading its wings and flying in the air in the great hall. Its crimson light illuminated the entire hall.

Everyone witnessing this scene was completely stunned.

This…

Wasn’t Miss Qin supposed to be the one who could summon the fire phoenix?

Could it be…

…

…

Chu Li slightly clenched his fist, his brows furrowed, and glanced at Ding Xian, who stood nearby.

Ding Xian, catching Chu Li’s gaze, immediately understood and ran out.

The fire phoenix flapped its wings in mid-air, its body still emitting red light that enveloped Mu Yunjin. After a moment, the fire phoenix let out a cry and swooped toward Chu Qingqiang with lightning speed.

Chu Qingqiang instinctively tried to dodge, but with her limited mobility, there was nowhere to escape. As she reached out to block the fire phoenix, it had already flown near her. Its sharp beak bit into her delicate neck, dragging her body into mid-air. Then, flapping its wings, it violently flung Chu Qingqiang away. Her body flew headfirst toward the wall, crashing heavily against the jade stone wall of the great hall.

“Bang—”

Blood splattered everywhere.

Chu Qingqiang’s head smashed open, her eyes bulging wide. She had no chance to utter any last words before breathing her last, dying with her eyes open in shock.

The fire phoenix still held a piece of flesh torn from her neck in its beak.

Having dealt with Chu Qingqiang, the fire phoenix flew back to perch on Mu Yunjin’s shoulder, folding its brilliant, gorgeous wings and lowering its head obediently, as if waiting for its master’s praise.

The Western Bright Emperor stared in shock at the fire phoenix, a scene from ten years ago flashing in his mind. He couldn’t help but reveal astonishment and shock. Looking at Chu Qingqiang’s miserable state of death, his throat constricted, unable to utter a word.

Empress Dowager Zheng clutched her chest, unable to accept this bloody scene. Equally astonished and wary of the fire phoenix, she dared not speak up at this moment.

Mu Yunjin stood in the center of the great hall, her eyes still blood-red, her gaze empty, her hollow pupils filled with coldness, without a trace of warmth.

Jiang Qingxue had long been unable to stop sobbing. From the moment the fire phoenix appeared, thinking back to all the past secrets, she suddenly realized that perhaps she had made all the wrong choices from the beginning.

The Destiny Phoenix Lady—this identity would only bring endless disasters to Yunjin.

Why did it have to be her daughter…

“Mu Yunjin, how dare you murder in the royal court!” Qin Muyue was the first to speak amid silence.

Everything had been calculated so well for today, yet how could this fire phoenix suddenly appear and ruin her plans?

But it didn’t matter. Mu Yunjin had killed Chu Qingqiang, and the Western Bright Emperor would never let her go. With so many court officials as witnesses, public opinion would not spare her either.

Mu Yunjin, your good fortune has truly reached its end today!

Among the officials, Old General Qin also stood up, showing no fear of Mu Yunjin’s fire phoenix. He walked to the center of the hall. “Your Majesty, Prince Ning’s wife has behaved atrociously, killing the Fifth Princess in court and disrupting Prince Ye’s auspicious enthronement ceremony. This matter cannot be tolerated.”

“Furthermore, Mu Liangzheng forced the Holy Maiden of South Court Nation and fathered a child with her. Although he has taken his own life, his crime is enough to implicate nine generations of his clan!”

Upon hearing Old General Qin’s words, voices of agreement came from among the officials—

“Old General Qin is right. The nation has its laws, and families have their rules. This matter is of great importance and should be thoroughly investigated.”

“Indeed, the Holy Maiden of South Court Nation has lost her purity. We must give her justice.”

Hearing this overwhelming chorus of voices, Mu Yunjin suddenly turned around to look at Old General Qin, not far behind her. “Heh…”

“Since you’ve already condemned me to the punishment of nine generations, it won’t matter if I kill a few more people.”

With these words, Mu Yunjin smiled coldly and pulled out the phoenix-tail whip from her wrist, sweeping it toward Old General Qin.

“Mu Yunjin, how dare you!”

Qin Muyue flew from her seat, gathering true energy in her palm and striking toward Mu Yunjin’s back.

Sensing the murderous intent coming from behind, Mu Yunjin flicked her wrist, changing the direction of her whip. At the same time, she struck out a palm toward Qin Muyue.

This was their first confrontation.

As their palms collided, the force was so great that the surrounding tables and chairs shook from the impact. Mu Yunjin and Qin Muyue were evenly matched.

Chu Li stood to the side, coldly watching this scene the entire time. Mu Yunhan seemed confused and approached Chu Li, looking at him questioningly.

“Whatever she wants to do, this prince allows it.”

Hearing these words, a look of understanding flashed in Mu Yunhan’s eyes, and he smiled faintly. “This sister of mine is indeed extraordinary.”

…

Mu Yunjin did not want to engage in a prolonged battle with Qin Muyue. In her view, fighting this woman would only dirty her hands.

With this thought, Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes, reflecting a cold light. She then withdrew her phoenix-tail whip and concentrated a ball of fiery red flame in her palms. After a cold laugh, the red flame transformed into a sharp beam of red light, carrying a piercing energy straight toward Qin Muyue.

Qin Muyue also cast a mystical technique, thinking it would block Mu Yunjin’s palm strike. But the red flame was overwhelmingly powerful, penetrating her mystical barrier and heading straight for her chest.

Seeing this, Qin Muyue dodged with a flash of her body, but the red light was so fast that it pierced through her waist, propelling her dozens of feet away, causing her to fall on the steps at the Western Bright Emperor’s feet.

“Puff…” Qin Muyue spat blood, painfully clutching the bloody hole pierced in her side.

“The True Scripture of Mystical Spirits!” Old General Qin, who had witnessed everything, exclaimed in shock, never expecting that Mu Yunjin had mastered the True Scripture of Mystical Spirits!

“Muyue!” The Princess Consort of Prince Rong stood up to look at Qin Muyue, then shouted to the imperial physician, “Quickly stop her bleeding!”

Mu Yunjin coldly watched this scene, a playful smile escaping her lips.

“Li’er, are you responsible for controlling her?” The Western Bright Emperor did not dare to confront Mu Yunjin directly and turned to look at Chu Li, who had been observing from the beginning.

Chu Li stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. Ignoring the Western Bright Emperor’s words, he slowly walked to Mu Yunjin in the center of the hall and took her hand.

The warmth transmitted from his palm slightly restored Mu Yunjin’s sanity. When she turned to look at Chu Li beside her, the bloodthirst in her eyes gradually subsided.

“Don’t be afraid,” Chu Li said, looking at her and reaching out to smooth her disheveled hair.

Those words of reassurance gradually cleared the emptiness in Mu Yunjin’s eyes. The fire phoenix that had been perched on her shoulder also seemed to receive guidance, flapped its wings, and retreated into Mu Yunjin’s back.

The crimson light filling the sky faded.

Everything seemed to return to normal in an instant.

Only the smell of blood permeating the air told them that what had just happened was not a dream.

Chu Li held Mu Yunjin’s hand tightly, looking at her with gentle eyes. “Let’s go home.”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin felt somewhat tired, her head extremely dizzy. She nodded in response to Chu Li’s words.

With that, Chu Li led her, walking out of the great hall as if no one else was present.

Seeing himself ignored by Chu Li, the Western Bright Emperor was furious. He signaled to the imperial guards in the hall, and a group of guards immediately ran up. When they were still several meters away from Chu Li, they seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, completely unable to approach him.

As they reached the entrance of the great hall, Chu Ye, dressed in splendid attire, walked in. Today was supposed to be his Crown Prince enthronement ceremony, but unexpectedly, such a major drama had unfolded.

When Jiang Qingxue saw Chu Li and Mu Yunjin reaching the entrance, she wanted to catch up, but was stopped by Grand Commandant Mo Jinglun. Jiang Qingxue bit her lip. “After I deal with matters here, I will come to seek forgiveness.”

With these words, Jiang Qingxue quickly pursued them.

Behind her, North Lord Wen Feng’s eyes were dark and somber. He took a silent drink of wine, looked at Minister Mu’s corpse that had yet to be removed, and suddenly smiled self-mockingly.

Rong Jiu’s eyes also gradually darkened, never having known that Mu Yunjin carried such burdens.

…

When they walked out of the great hall, it was still raining outside. Mu Yunjin didn’t want an umbrella and walked directly into the heavy rain, wanting to clear her mind.

Chu Li accompanied her in the rain.

“Yunjin, wait for me.” Jiang Qingxue’s voice sounded from behind, and she approached Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin stopped and turned to look, her expression cold. “Don’t come near me!”

Jiang Qingxue halted her steps.

“Yunjin, I’m sorry…” Jiang Qingxue had thousands of words to say to her daughter, but when they reached her lips, only this powerless, pale apology emerged.

Mu Yunjin laughed coldly. “You don’t need to apologize to me, because we have no relationship.”

“The one who truly deserves an apology is Minister Mu, whose body is not yet cold in the great hall!”

“Jiang Qingxue, if you truly have any conscience left, you should follow him in death!”

With these words, Mu Yunjin quickly walked forward.

Chu Li gave Jiang Qingxue a cold look, saying nothing as he turned to leave.

As soon as Mu Yunjin turned away, tears flowed down her face like rain. She kept wiping the tears and rainwater from her face, then cursed herself inadequately, “Damn it, Minister Mu wasn’t even good to me, why am I so upset about him!”

“Alright, no more crying.” Chu Li pulled her into his embrace, took a deep breath, and spoke to her in an exceptionally gentle tone.

Mu Yunjin sniffled. “I’m not crying.”

“Let’s go home first.” Chu Li led her into the carriage. Once inside, he removed her soaked clothes and covered her with a clean blanket from the carriage.

Wrapped in the blanket, Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes. “I’ve caused such big trouble today. The Emperor and the officials will certainly not let me off easily. Will this affect you and the others in the Minister’s household?”

“Ding Xian will handle it.” Chu Li adjusted her blanket, his words seemingly unconcerned yet extremely composed.

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded, then reached back to touch her back. “Why has my back been so hot lately?”

She had no memory of the fire phoenix at all.

Chu Li’s eyes flickered slightly, his lips carrying a faint smile. “Don’t overthink it. Go home and rest well.”