As soon as Mu Yunjin entered Qiqi’s room, she discovered that Qiqi had gone somewhere and was not inside. She put down the bundle in her hand and was preparing to bathe and rest when she heard familiar footsteps coming from the doorway.
Inexplicably, her breath caught. Mu Yunjin kept her eyes downcast, her hands organizing the bundle somewhat aimlessly, while her thoughts were entirely focused on the doorway.
Chu Li had initially intended to push the door open directly, but after standing at the doorway, he hesitated with a hint of irritation. He stood there for a moment but ultimately didn’t push the door open.
Ding Xian and Song Chun kept watching this scene from the corner of their eyes. Seeing their master at a loss, they wanted to laugh but dared not.
In the end, Chu Li still turned and left with a flick of his sleeve, returning to his original room.
Mu Yunjin heard the footsteps at the door leaving, pursed her lips, threw down the clothes she had just sorted out, and sighed heavily.
That night, some people couldn’t sleep.
…
The next day at dawn, after literally lying awake all night, Mu Yunjin sat up in her bed with two dark circles under her eyes, got up to dress and wash.
…
…
After leaving the room, Qiqi jumped down from the roof, rubbed her eyes, walked up to Mu Yunjin, and smiled sweetly, “Master, you’re up?”
“Where did you go last night?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. The room was clearly said to be Qiqi’s, but she hadn’t seen Qiqi all night.
Qiqi stretched lazily and pointed to the roof, “I slept on the rooftop.”
Mu Yunjin gave Qiqi a strange look.
“Master, I am half-human and half-cat, with half of my body having cat attributes,” Qiqi explained, seeing the question in Mu Yunjin’s eyes.
With this explanation, Mu Yunjin thought of some cats she had seen before and understood somewhat.
As the two were talking, the door opposite opened, and Chu Li walked out of the room in a splendid purple robe, his expression cold, his eyes misty like fog.
Mu Yunjin just glanced lightly at Chu Li before shifting her gaze away, thinking to herself that he was so flamboyantly dressed while sneaking around doing business, as if afraid people wouldn’t notice the elegant demeanor of His Highness the Prince of Ning.
Chu Li saw that she only looked at him once before turning away and knew she was still upset with him, coldly curling the corner of his mouth.
Qiqi, seeing the awkward atmosphere, immediately scratched her ear and tugged at Mu Yunjin’s arm, “Master, I’m so hungry, let’s go eat something!”
“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded.
Ding Xian walked out from the side at this moment, pointing to a room, “Your Highness, Princess, breakfast is ready.”
“Mm.”
“Mm.”
They both made the same sound at the same time, then both paused, looking up at each other, and suddenly shifting their gazes away, walking toward the dining hall.
Ding Xian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and followed them in.
…
In the dining hall.
Mu Yunjin buried her head, eating red bean porridge, and separately ladled a bowl of red bean soup beside her, occasionally observing Chu Li’s movements through the reflection in the red bean soup.
Chu Li kept eating breakfast methodically, keeping his head down throughout and not looking at Mu Yunjin once. The air was completely still.
“Master, after drinking red bean porridge, you’re also drinking red bean soup. Doesn’t it feel too sweet?” Qiqi asked, gnawing on a steamed fish, looking disdainfully at Mu Yunjin’s breakfast.
Mu Yunjin paused, then raised her eyebrows, “My heart is bitter, so naturally my mouth needs something sweet.”
Qiqi didn’t understand but pretended to, nodding before continuing to eat her fish.
Chu Li’s lips curled into a faint smile as he glanced lightly at Mu Yunjin, shaking his head helplessly.
When breakfast was almost finished, Song Chun walked quickly in from outside, holding a letter in his hand. He walked directly to Chu Li to report, “Your Highness, the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion has sent a letter inviting the Princess to visit at the hour of Si (9-11 AM).”
“The Imperial Preceptor?” Mu Yunjin exclaimed in surprise. She was just planning to find this person, and now he had invited her himself.
Chu Li frowned, “Only her alone?”
“Yes.” Song Chun nodded.
“How strange, how would the Imperial Preceptor know that the master came to the Southern Court?” Qiqi scratched her chin, voicing the question.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin also hesitated. She had only arrived here yesterday and had never had any dealings with this Imperial Preceptor. Moreover, Consort Yue had said yesterday that this Imperial Preceptor was the number one master in the world. This…
Finally, Mu Yunjin turned her gaze toward Chu Li.
At such a critical moment, only Chu Li could give her advice…
Chu Li examined the letter, his eyes deep, the depths filled with dark colors. Finally, he calmly uttered two words: “Go ahead.”
“But it only says to invite the master alone, won’t it be dangerous?” Qiqi couldn’t help speaking up.
Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin, stood up, walked to her side, looked down at her, the previous coldness in his eyes replaced by gentleness, “Nothing will happen.”
“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded, particularly trusting in Chu Li, raising her eyes to meet his gaze, pulling out a smile.
Chu Li reached out and pinched her face, the corner of his lips curving into an arc.
The others watching this scene all showed surprise in their eyes. They’ve made up already?
…
Chu Li saw Mu Yunjin out of the courtyard but didn’t continue to accompany her. After informing her of the location of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion, he stood in place, letting Mu Yunjin set off alone.
Seeing Chu Li so certain, Mu Yunjin didn’t feel much anxiety. She walked leisurely alone toward the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion.
After walking far from the courtyard, Mu Yunjin put on her veil and entered a street.
On the streets of the Southern Court, there were many idle pedestrians and commoners at this time. Mu Yunjin walking with her veil attracted quite a few stares.
Feeling uncomfortable with all these gazes, Mu Yunjin was just about to reach up and remove her veil when her peripheral vision caught a familiar group of figures.
Immediately, Mu Yunjin’s heart skipped a beat. She flashed behind a pillar, observing the people in front.
Weren’t those Chu Qing and Rong Min?
Why had they also come to the Southern Court?
Could they be representing the Western Yuan Kingdom and Eastern Lin Kingdom to observe Jiang Qingxue’s execution?
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, seeing they had walked far ahead, she quietly followed them.
Maintaining a considerable distance all the way, Mu Yunjin walked extremely carefully, afraid that the secret guards surrounding them would discover her trail. These two together would not be easy to deal with.
When Mu Yunjin saw the two enter the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion, she immediately froze in place, looked at the time, then at the letter in her hand. The Imperial Preceptor had invited her to visit at the hour of Si.
But it was nearly the hour of Si now. If she went in now, wouldn’t she meet Chu Qing and Rong Min face to face?
No, no, was this Imperial Preceptor deliberately setting her up?
Mu Yunjin finally decided not to go in yet, but to wait outside until Chu Qing and Rong Min left before entering.
This wait lasted from the hour of Si until the hour of Wu (11 AM-1 PM).
After the hour of Wu, Mu Yunjin, who had found a teahouse to sit in, spotted people walking out from the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion. She immediately put down her teacup, paid the bill, and ran downstairs.
When she arrived at the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion, the guards at the door were about to close it. Mu Yunjin hurried forward to stop them, “Wait, I was invited by your Imperial Preceptor.”
As she spoke, Mu Yunjin also produced the letter.
The guard glanced at Mu Yunjin’s letter, then said flatly, “The hour of Si has passed, the Imperial Preceptor is not receiving visitors.”
“What?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. This Imperial Preceptor had a big attitude.
With a loud “Bang—”, the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion was heavily closed, leaving Mu Yunjin to knock on a closed door.
Mu Yunjin looked up and glared at the Imperial Preceptor’s plaque, gritting her teeth in anger, “What a bird of a man, deliberately teasing me!”
With that, Mu Yunjin stepped down the stairs and turned to leave.
Just as she reached the teahouse where she had rested earlier, Mu Yunjin heard the sound of a door opening behind her. She turned to see that the previously tightly closed main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion was now open again.
Mu Yunjin scratched her head, biting her lip with some hesitation. Jiang Qingxue was to be executed tomorrow, and she had come to the Southern Court early with difficulty; how could she not meet this Imperial Preceptor of the Southern Court!
With this thought, Mu Yunjin gathered her true energy, then her toes touched the ground lightly, her form flashed, and she flew rapidly toward the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion. The two guards at the door hadn’t yet reacted when they saw a figure fly into the compound.
After entering the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion, Mu Yunjin had just steadied herself when she sensed numerous streams of true energy converging from all directions around her, bearing down on her.
Mu Yunjin flashed to avoid them, but found there was nowhere to escape. Then a wave of black-clothed secret guards descended from the sky, dropping a huge iron net that ensnared Mu Yunjin within it.
Trapped in the iron net, Mu Yunjin drew a dagger from her sleeve and stabbed forcefully at the net. With a “ding” sound, the dagger broke into two pieces.
Mu Yunjin looked at it in astonishment, looking at this soft iron net in her hand that could even break a dagger.
This Southern Court Imperial Preceptor had some skills.
“Call out your Imperial Preceptor!” Mu Yunjin fumed, glaring at the black-clothed secret guards around her, giving up struggling in the iron net.
None of the black-clothed secret guards moved.
Seeing no one paying attention to her, Mu Yunjin suddenly became furious. She simply sat cross-legged on the ground, folding her arms, motionless.
After sitting like this on the ground of the Imperial Preceptor’s mansion for a while, Mu Yunjin drooped her eyes and finally heard a teasing voice, “Girl, you were late, how can you still be so righteous?”
Hearing the voice, Mu Yunjin lifted her eyelids to see a tall middle-aged man standing at the door of the hall in front. He wore a gray cloud-patterned long robe, his black and white mixed hair now pinned up with a wooden hairpin. The whole person looked very simple and profound, quite different from what Mu Yunjin had imagined.
“The letter didn’t say others were invited too. I didn’t want to meet others, is that my fault too?” Mu Yunjin remained seated.
“Are you the Imperial Preceptor of the Southern Court?” Mu Yunjin asked again.
The middle-aged man chuckled lightly, waved his hand, and the iron net covering Mu Yunjin was suddenly withdrawn. The black-clothed secret guards around also concealed themselves.
“I hear you’re interested in my old self’s formations?” the Imperial Preceptor looked down at Mu Yunjin, implicitly confirming his identity.
Mu Yunjin stood up, patted her clothes, walked a few steps forward to the Imperial Preceptor’s front, raised her eyes to meet his gaze, “You…”
“What?” The Imperial Preceptor looked at her.
Mu Yunjin glanced at these somewhat deep eyes, and the question she was about to ask changed course, “What is your surname…”
“An.” The Imperial Preceptor uttered a single word.
Mu Yunjin nodded, her hands behind her back, her lips turning up in a smile, “Imperial Preceptor An, what is your relationship with Abbot Kong Shi of the Water Cloud Temple?”