Luo Ningyu was held by her left and right hands, feeling somewhat panicked. Nearby, Mu Xiarou immediately stepped forward and knelt before Mu Lingzhu.

“Fourth Sister, please spare my mother!”

Seeing this scene, Mu Lingzhu felt immensely pleased. The resentment that had been building up for so long finally seemed to dissipate. If only the person kneeling before her was Mu Yunjin, it would have been perfect.

“Fifth Sister, what are you saying? I’m merely asking your mother to change her clothes. I haven’t done anything to her,” Mu Lingzhu smiled, blinking as she looked at Mu Xiarou.

Mu Xiarou pressed her lips together, at a loss for words.

At this moment, Luo Ningyu struggled, but unfortunately, the two maids Mu Lingzhu had brought had considerable strength. They had already stripped off her outer garment, and the property deed and key that had been hidden close to her body fell out of her sleeve.

“Ding-dong—” The key fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Mu Lingzhu narrowed her eyes, got up, and bent down to pick up the property deed. When she glimpsed the three characters “Mu Yunjin” on the deed, her eyes turned blood-red.

Recalling how Luo Ningyu had been reluctant to remove her clothes earlier, she clutched the deed tightly in her palm. “Well, well, you’ve secretly met with Mu Yunjin?”

…

…

“No, no…” Luo Ningyu took a step back, her face ashen.

“Then what is this? Don’t tell me you’re so capable that you stole it from the Ning Prince’s Mansion!” Mu Lingzhu gritted her teeth, then another thought occurred to her.

“Isn’t Mu Yunjin confined at Water Cloud Temple? Why would she give you this?”

“Did she sneak out?” Mu Lingzhu’s eyes revealed delight.

Luo Ningyu kept her lips tightly closed, feeling especially guilty toward Mu Yunjin. She had just received the property deed and key, and now they had been discovered by Mu Lingzhu.

“Hmph, a courtyard house in Heyue City—she certainly has money!” Mu Lingzhu was angry and initially wanted to tear up the property deed, but after a moment’s thought, she said, “You two, come with me to the Rong Prince’s Mansion!”

Upon hearing that Mu Lingzhu wanted to take her to the Rong Prince’s Mansion, Luo Ningyu knew nothing good would come of it. She knelt and said, “Fourth Young Lady, we truly haven’t met privately with the Ning Princess Consort. This property deed and key were delivered by someone from the Ning Prince’s Mansion. You know that our settlement here was arranged by the Ning Prince.”

Mu Lingzhu wouldn’t listen to any of it. She glared at the mother and daughter and said to the maidservants, “Take them to the Rong Prince’s Mansion.”

“Yes, Concubine Mu.”

Luo Ningyu and Mu Xiarou exchanged a glance, their faces deathly pale.

……

After finishing lunch with Chu Li, Mu Yunjin sat in the garden, lazily leaning against Chu Li’s shoulder, basking in the warm late autumn sun.

“I wish the forty-nine days would pass quickly…” Mu Yunjin began calculating the days again.

Chu Li glanced at her and chuckled lightly, “You can stay here all the time.”

“That won’t do. Confinement should look like confinement,” Mu Yunjin replied primly.

Chu Li reached out and pinched her face, teasing, “You have the nerve to say that?”

“Hmph, I’ve copied the sutras three hundred times. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Mu Yunjin retorted righteously.

Chu Li laughed softly.

“Your Highness, something has happened!” Ding Xian hurriedly entered the garden, disregarding the intimate moment between the two, and spoke anxiously.

Chu Li frowned, “What happened?”

“Our men were passing through the back street and saw Madam Luo and Fifth Young Lady Mu being taken into a carriage from the Rong Prince’s Mansion,” Ding Xian answered.

Mu Yunjin sat up, biting her lip, “Really?”

“True, and it was Fourth Young Lady Mu who took them away,” said Ding Xian.

Mu Yunjin clenched her fingers. With those two in the hands of the Rong Prince’s Mansion, nothing good would happen.

Could it be that Mu Lingzhu discovered the property deed?

Otherwise, there would be no reason to take the mother and daughter away.

“Chu Li, what should we do now?” Mu Yunjin was at a loss for a moment. She was still under confinement and couldn’t go to demand their release in person.

Chu Li sighed helplessly. If it weren’t for Mu Yunjin, he wouldn’t have bothered with these two. Seeing her worried now, he could only say, “I’ll go to the Rong Prince’s Mansion.”

“This…” Mu Yunjin hesitated, “No, that would be too unfair to you.”

If Chu Li went to demand their release, the Rong Princess Consort might not even acknowledge that Luo Ningyu and Mu Xiarou were with her. She might even use her status as an elder to ridicule Chu Li.

“She captures my sister, I’ll capture her children!” Mu Yunjin remembered that the Rong Princess Consort had a pair of children and gave a cold laugh.

Chu Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled and looked at Ding Xian, “What are you waiting for? Go capture them!”

Ding Xian’s eyes widened, surprised that His Highness agreed with the Princess Consort’s suggestion.

This was practically bandit logic, but it sounded effective…

……

Inside the Rong Prince’s Mansion.

“This property deed is indeed Mu Yunjin’s. How did you get it?” The Rong Princess Consort sat in the main seat, looking at the two trembling people kneeling on the ground.

Mu Lingzhu sat to the side, looking as if she had accomplished a great achievement.

“It was delivered by someone from the Ning Prince’s Mansion this morning,” Luo Ningyu said with downcast eyes, not daring to look at the Rong Princess Consort in the main seat.

The Rong Princess Consort chuckled, “This property deed bears the name of my little nephew’s wife and should be her private possession. If she didn’t send someone to deliver it, who in the Ning Prince’s Mansion would dare to send out her property deed without permission?”

“Tell me, is Mu Yunjin in the Ning Prince’s Mansion?”

“Your Highness, we truly don’t know. It was delivered by someone from the Ning Prince’s Mansion…” Luo Ningyu insisted, afraid that saying too much would lead to inconsistencies.

Mu Xiarou, knowing she was clumsy with words and might say something wrong, also bit her lip and didn’t dare say a word.

When the Rong Princess Consort couldn’t get the information she wanted from the mother and daughter, she suddenly gave a cold laugh and signaled to an old woman standing aside.

The old woman understood and immediately walked out the door.

For the time that followed, the Rong Princess Consort said nothing, leaving the two to kneel in the center of the hall.

Mu Lingzhu, knowing a good show was about to begin, sat to the side, obediently silent.

Soon, the old woman returned, followed by three more old women, all carrying sets of torture instruments and looking fierce.

“Your Highness, the torture instruments are all prepared,” the old woman walked up to the Rong Princess Consort and announced loudly.

Luo Ningyu and Mu Xiarou trembled.

“You two, are you sure you don’t want to tell the truth?” the Rong Princess Consort raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on the two.

Luo Ningyu lowered her eyes and remained silent.

“Since you refuse the easy way and choose the hard way, I won’t be polite. The torture instrument in Mama Li’s hand is a finger press. When your fingers and toes are placed inside and both sides are gently pulled, the feeling is quite unpleasant…”

Seeing them tremble violently, the Rong Princess Consort added, “Apply the torture to the young one, and let the older one watch!”

At these words, Mu Xiarou collapsed and sat on the ground, her eyes wide with shock.

Luo Ningyu also could hardly kneel, looking at the finger press with terror, she immediately reached out and tightly held Mu Xiarou’s hand.

“Your Highness, we are truly innocent!” Luo Ningyu repeatedly kowtowed to the Rong Princess Consort, and Mu Xiarou followed suit.

The Rong Princess Consort wouldn’t listen and waved her hand, signaling to proceed with the torture.

Several old women immediately stepped forward, two holding Mu Xiarou’s hands while two began to remove her shoes. Mu Xiarou struggled in vain, watching helplessly as wooden clips were placed on her fingers one by one.

“No, you can’t do this!” Luo Ningyu cried out in terror, trying to pry the torture instruments from the old woman’s hands, but was kicked away by a strong old woman.

Mu Lingzhu’s lips curled into an amused smile. Although today’s victim wasn’t Mu Yunjin, seeing Mu Xiarou suffer was quite satisfying.

“Proceed,” the Rong Princess Consort said coldly.

Before the old woman could begin, a woman who looked like a wet nurse rushed in from outside, crying, “Your Highness, something terrible has happened!”

“What is it?” The Rong Princess Consort was displeased at being interrupted.

“The Young Master and Young Miss are missing!” The wet nurse said, not daring to look at the Princess Consort as she handed over a letter. “This was left in the back courtyard.”

The Rong Princess Consort immediately stood up, took the letter, and read it—

“After the people are released, they will be returned.”

“Sister, what does the letter say?” Although Mu Lingzhu was pleased to hear about the disappearance of the Rong Princess Consort’s children, she suppressed her joy and pretended to look worried.

Hearing Mu Lingzhu’s voice, the Rong Princess Consort raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face twice. “You brought back these useless people! Because of you, my children have been kidnapped. If anything happens to my children, I will cut you into pieces, you lowborn wretch!”

Mu Lingzhu was stunned by the slaps and took a moment to understand what had happened.

“Sister, they’ve kidnapped the Young Master and Young Miss. We can report this to the Emperor!” Mu Lingzhu gathered her thoughts and offered advice.

The Rong Princess Consort laughed coldly, “Do you have evidence of who kidnapped them?”

Mu Lingzhu was speechless.

Unexpectedly, things had taken a sudden turn. The Rong Princess Consort laughed self-mockingly. That little girl Mu Yunjin, who had just turned sixteen, truly had some skill.

She had directly targeted her weak spot.

Luo Ningyu and Mu Xiarou heaved long sighs of relief, feeling as if they had suddenly dropped from hell into heaven. Their gratitude toward Mu Yunjin deepened even further.

“Send them away!” The Rong Princess Consort held back her frustration.

……

“Fairy Sister, are you a fairy who descended from heaven?” On Yingguang Lake, in a wooden boat, two children about the same age as Mu Yunjin sat across from her, looking her over from time to time.

Mu Yunjin wore a veil over her face and had deliberately worn a white robe when going out, giving her somewhat of an ethereal appearance. “Of course! In heaven, there are seven fairy sisters.”

“Where are the other six?” asked one of the boys.

“They’re busy today and couldn’t come down,” Mu Yunjin passed some pastries to the two across from her.

After kidnapping the two children from the Rong Prince’s Mansion and bringing them to Yingguang Lake, Mu Yunjin had made up a story about being a fairy descending from heaven to keep the two calm. Surprisingly, although they were around fourteen or fifteen years old, they were childish enough to believe she was a fairy.

Just then, Song Chun entered the cabin and bent down to whisper something in Mu Yunjin’s ear.

Mu Yunjin nodded with satisfaction and looked at the two across from her. “Well, I need to return to heaven now. I’ll have someone take you back.”

“You’re a fairy. Can’t you just magically send us back to the mansion?”

“I can…” Mu Yunjin smiled sweetly. “Close your eyes!”

The two children obediently closed their eyes.

Mu Yunjin approached them and struck each on the back of the neck with her palm, knocking them unconscious. She removed her veil and ordered, “Song Chun, take them back!”