Consort Yue’s face turned cold, not expecting Mu Yunjin to reject her so bluntly. She immediately chided Mu Yunjin, “What do you understand!”
Mu Yunjin couldn’t be bothered to say more to Consort Yue. She turned to look at Imperial Preceptor An, who had been silent all along, “How can you follow her in this nonsense?”
Since Imperial Preceptor An also came from modern times, Mu Yunjin spoke with fewer reservations.
Imperial Preceptor An tugged at the corner of his mouth, smiling without speaking.
“I won’t argue with you anymore. Release her!” Mu Yunjin’s attitude was firm. Given the current situation, she also couldn’t be bothered to dwell on these matters with Consort Yue. It was better to resolve her purpose first.
Moreover, from their tone during the earlier conversation, she discovered they didn’t want Jiang Qingxue’s life, so she was spared the trouble of breaking this formation.
Hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, Consort Yue looked at Imperial Preceptor An and nodded.
Imperial Preceptor An sighed lightly, took a step forward, and true energy overflowed from his fingertips…
Mu Yunjin caught all the subtle expressions of Imperial Preceptor An and Consort Yue, silently pondering for a long time what relationship these two had.
…
…
She still couldn’t believe that this inexplicable Consort Yue was Chu Li’s mother.
Sigh…
…
When leaving the imperial prison, Mu Yunjin and Jiang Qingxue did not leave in Imperial Preceptor An’s carriage, but were led by Jiang Qingxue to a hidden residence.
Along the way, Mu Yunjin didn’t speak with Jiang Qingxue.
By the time they arrived at Jiang Qingxue’s residence, the sky had completely darkened. Jiang Qingxue wanted to have Mu Yunjin stay for the night, but was refused.
“Since you’re fine now, I’ll leave first. I’ve been out all day, and Chu Li is still waiting for me.” When facing Jiang Qingxue alone, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat awkward.
“Yunjin…” Jiang Qingxue pursed her lips, “You still won’t acknowledge me?”
After speaking, Jiang Qingxue observed Mu Yunjin’s expression, stepped forward, and added, “It’s alright, I’ll give you time to slowly adjust.”
Through today’s events, she discovered that her daughter didn’t have a hard heart.
Mu Yunjin nodded faintly, looking back at Jiang Qingxue, “Tomorrow is the execution day. You’d better leave tonight.”
“By the way, having stayed in the Southern Court for so long, have you never met Consort Yue?” Mu Yunjin recalled this matter. Today, when Jiang Qingxue saw Rong Wanyue, she seemed to only recognize her identity as Consort Rong.
Jiang Qingxue sighed, “I don’t often enter the palace. I’ve only heard there’s a Consort Yue, but she’s usually deep within the palace, so I’ve never seen her.”
Mu Yunjin nodded, “Then I’ll leave first.”
With that, Mu Yunjin walked out the door.
After Mu Yunjin left, Jiang Qingxue sat down in her place. Bei Tang Wenfeng walked out from a room on the other side, approached Jiang Qingxue, and gently patted her back, “This is a good start, don’t be discouraged…”
Jiang Qingxue smiled comfortingly.
…
When Mu Yunjin returned to the courtyard, the yard was brightly lit, with everyone in the courtyard waiting for her return.
“Master, you’re finally back!” Qiqi, seeing Mu Yunjin’s figure, excitedly pounced over.
Mu Yunjin curled her lips, instinctively looking around to find where Chu Li was.
“His Highness is waiting for you in the dining hall.” Qiqi, seeing her looking around, pursed her lips and pointed to the dining hall.
Mu Yunjin ran towards the dining hall.
After stepping into the dining hall, Mu Yunjin immediately saw Chu Li sitting inside, with steaming hot dishes on the table, as if he had anticipated she would return at this hour.
Seeing Chu Li, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but think of Consort Rong’s affairs. With a somewhat somber heart, she walked over and hugged Chu Li from behind, burying her head in his neck.
Seeing she seemed troubled, Chu Li reached out to rub her head, speaking gently, “Come eat first.”
“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded.
Mu Yunjin released Chu Li and sat down beside him. She picked up the teacup and drank a few sips of water. During this process, Chu Li had already filled her small bowl with dishes.
Mu Yunjin had been hungry almost all day and now buried her head, eating.
While eating, Mu Yunjin kept thinking about whether to tell Chu Li about Consort Rong, but also feared that if Chu Li knew about his mother’s affairs, he would be shocked. After all, for so many years, he had been seeking ways to break the formation.
So conflicted!
Mu Yunjin felt she was about to die from the contradiction!
“The person is rescued. Can we return to Western Yuan tomorrow?” Mu Yunjin finally decided not to tell Chu Li for now.
“Wait a couple more days.” Chu Li thought for a moment before answering.
Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li, nodded, and didn’t ask anything more.
The meal was finished quickly. After eating, Mu Yunjin returned to the room to bathe first. After bathing, she lay down on the bed and sighed deeply.
Chu Li entered at this time, wearing a light robe for sleeping.
Seeing Chu Li, Mu Yunjin turned to her side and stretched out her arms to him, looking extremely welcoming.
Chu Li smiled, lay down beside her, and embraced Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin hugged Chu Li tightly, buried her head against his chest, and enjoyed this embrace with immense comfort, greatly cherishing this moment of tranquility.
“Were you wronged?” Chu Li, seeing her rarely like this, gently stroked her back and spoke softly.
“No.” Mu Yunjin replied glumly, “I just feel there are too many things happening.”
Hearing this, Chu Li’s eyes were covered with a trace of worry, “You’ve been tired all day, go to sleep early.”
“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded, indeed feeling somewhat sleepy.
After a while, hearing the shallow breathing from his embrace, Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin with heartache, tucked the blanket well around her back, and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
Yunjin, there are many things this prince doesn’t want to tell you, not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t want you to step into this endlessly dark and treacherous world. This prince only wants to protect you for life, to let you forever be a happy little fox.
…
The next day, when Mu Yunjin woke up, she found herself completely nestled in Chu Li’s embrace, with one leg draped over his waist, her sleeping posture quite poor.
Mu Yunjin tried to quietly move her leg away, but was caught by someone, whose large hand covered her leg.
Strangely, Mu Yunjin felt her leg was ticklish.
Chu Li opened his eyes, saw that she had woken up quite early today, and slightly curled his lips, “Not sleeping anymore?”
“Mm, I want to go see the execution.” Mu Yunjin said.
Jiang Qingxue had already walked out of the formation. She wanted to know how this show, which had invited envoys from the other three countries to watch, would play out today.
“This prince has some things to do today. Let Qiqi accompany you.” Chu Li got up, walked down from the bed, and began to dress.
Mu Yunjin immediately nodded.
Originally, she was worried about what would happen if Chu Li met Consort Yue. Now with her and Qiqi going, it was just right.
However, on second thought, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help asking, “What could you have to do here?”
“Eliminate a hidden agent of Chu Qing and Rong Min.” Chu Li didn’t conceal it. The day before yesterday, Mu Yunjin had been upset with him all night, and after thinking about it, he could guess some of the reasons.
For Chu Li’s honest answer, Mu Yunjin’s mood improved a bit. As long as Chu Li could tell her these things, she was already very satisfied.
“Then I wish you success in your mission.” Mu Yunjin was always at ease with Chu Li’s handling of matters.
Chu Li smiled and glanced at Mu Yunjin.
…
When the two walked out of the room, Ding Xian and Song Chun, standing in the courtyard, seemed to feel a spring breeze blowing through the deep autumn.
Recalling that the two had been at odds just two days ago, they couldn’t help but marvel that married couples’ quarrels truly were like fighting at the head of the bed and reconciling at the foot.
During breakfast, Qiqi specially prepared a bowl of red bean soup for Mu Yunjin, but she pushed it away, “This is too sweet.”
“Eh?” Qiqi scratched her ear, unable to figure out Mu Yunjin’s pattern.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and smiled, “Eat quickly, we’ll leave after eating.”
Qiqi seemed to understand but not quite. She tentatively took a sip of the red bean soup, then pushed it away in disgust and continued to eat the steamed fish on her plate, hunched over.
After breakfast, Chu Li left with only Ding Xian, instructing Song Chun to protect Mu Yunjin in secret.
Mu Yunjin specially borrowed a light men’s outfit from Chu Li, disguised herself, and completely transformed into a handsome young gentleman, holding a folding fan to cover her face.
Qiqi and Xiu Mei followed on either side of Mu Yunjin, and the three left together, walking towards the city gate.
Since this execution had invited people from three countries, and all city commoners could watch, the location was specially set in the open wasteland outside the city gate. Walking along the way, Mu Yunjin could see all the commoners now hurrying towards the city gate.
Arriving at the city gate, there were already many commoners gathered, completely blocking the road at the city gate completely blocked. Mu Yunjin looked around and found that the seats for the Southern Court’s ruler and others were set on the city tower, perfectly positioned to witness the execution platform.
“We need to change location.” Mu Yunjin thought that if those people looked down from high up, they might quickly discover her.
She was still under house arrest in Western Yuan, and if discovered here, it would cause considerable trouble.
As Mu Yunjin was thinking, someone suddenly appeared behind her and patted her shoulder. Looking back, Mu Yunjin frowned slightly.
It was Bei Tang Wenfeng’s guard.
“The ruler requests your presence.” The guard respectfully looked at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow and followed behind the guard.
The guard led Mu Yunjin to the city tower. After stepping onto the tower, she saw that dozens of seats had already been set up, but currently only Bei Tang Wenfeng was sitting there, with no one else having arrived yet.
Seeing Bei Tang Wenfeng, Mu Yunjin also felt somewhat awkward.
“Jinha has come, quickly come over.” Bei Tang Wenfeng, seeing Mu Yunjin, didn’t spare his loving smile, calling her by her princess title.
Mu Yunjin approached, not surprised by Bei Tang Wenfeng’s appearance here, “All settled?”
“Mm.” Bei Tang Wenfeng nodded with a smile, “We must play the part thoroughly. You stay beside Father Emperor later, pretending to be someone Father Emperor brought.”
Bei Tang Wenfeng, seeing Mu Yunjin go to rescue Jiang Qingxue yesterday, knew this child had a soft heart despite her hard words. Now he addressed himself as “Father Emperor,” enjoying the feel of it, while also letting Mu Yunjin deepen her impression of him.
Mu Yunjin pouted, “Isn’t it too risky for me to stand with you?”
In a while, Western Yuan’s people would also appear at this occasion. Although she knew the most dangerous place was the safest place, Chu Qing, Rong Min, and others were deep-minded people, and there was no guarantee they wouldn’t discover her.
“Don’t worry.” Bei Tang Wenfeng gave Mu Yunjin a confident look.