After just two days in the Southern Court Nation, returning to Western Yuan Nation gave Mu Yunjin a feeling as if ages had passed. This trip to the Southern Court had truly been “fruitful.”

After bidding farewell to the Fengyu Pavilion subordinates, Mu Yunjin followed Chu Li back to the Prince’s Mansion.

Since she was still under house arrest, to avoid being seen, Mu Yunjin had to pull Chu Li along as they flew in over the back wall.

Once inside the garden, Mu Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her package as she ran to her room. Chu Li followed behind her, seeing her light footsteps, he curled his lips into a smile.

Zixiang was cleaning Mu Yunjin’s room at that moment. When she saw someone push open the door, she looked toward the entrance. Seeing it was Mu Yunjin returning, her eyes revealed joy. Just as she was about to cry out in surprise, Mu Yunjin stepped forward and covered Zixiang’s mouth with her hand.

“Stay calm, don’t make a fuss. I’m still under house arrest, so no one can know I’m back.” Mu Yunjin looked at Zixiang.

Zixiang nodded in understanding, then put down her cleaning cloth and reached out to take Mu Yunjin’s package. Seeing that she had left with one package but returned with two, she curiously asked, “Did Miss buy something?”

Mu Yunjin paused, looked at the other package, and said, “Miss Qing…”

“Clothes made by my mother.” Mu Yunjin thought that Zixiang might not know who Miss Qing was, so she simply clarified Jiang Qingxue’s identity.

…

…

Hearing that they were made by Mu Yunjin’s mother, Zixiang looked at Mu Yunjin with surprise, then helped her open the package and organize the clothes into the cabinet.

“These clothes are so beautiful, and the embroidery is exquisite. The fabric is of the finest quality; one can see it took a lot of effort.” Zixiang admired a light blue garment in her hands.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow; she indeed really liked these two pieces of clothing.

“Miss must be tired from her return. This servant will prepare some hot water for you to bathe first.” Zixiang put the clothes in the cabinet and turned to look at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin nodded. Traveling through the invisible space on the way back had indeed consumed a lot of her energy. At the moment, she just wanted to have a good sleep and then go to Water Cloud Temple tomorrow.

……

After enjoying a comfortable hot bath, Mu Yunjin found while dressing that the weather was truly getting colder. After fastening her outer garment, she walked out from behind the screen.

“Miss, would you like to eat first?” Zixiang asked.

Mu Yunjin nodded. Wearing just her sleeping robe was a bit cold, so she opened the wardrobe and found a cloak to wrap around herself. Looking at the thick cloak on her body, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but think of that cloak with the Xuanling True Scripture techniques drawn on it, which had been destroyed somehow…

Just thinking about it made her feel regretful.

Soon, Zixiang prepared the meal and brought it in for Mu Yunjin. Mu Yunjin looked at Zixiang, pouted, and said, “Little Xiang, why is it that whenever I’m with you, I feel like I can’t take care of myself!”

“It’s good that Miss needs this servant. This servant was worried that after staying outside for so long, Miss wouldn’t need this servant’s care anymore. Now it seems this servant was overthinking.” Zixiang smiled at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat.

Mu Yunjin ate the meal with great satisfaction. Zixiang stood by, watching her eat and occasionally chatting with her. As they were talking, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

The door was pushed open, and Chu Li entered slowly, dressed in a black light robe, appearing relaxed and leisurely, also looking as if he had just bathed.

“Has Your Highness eaten?” Zixiang, seeing Chu Li, smoothed her clothes and then asked, since she had only brought food for one person from the kitchen.

Chu Li shook his head.

Seeing this, Zixiang immediately understood. “Then this servant will prepare another portion.”

With that, Zixiang ran out the door.

Chu Li sat down beside Mu Yunjin, saw that she was wrapped in a winter cloak, and smiled. “Wearing something so thick right after bathing, aren’t you hot?”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin teasingly replied, “Of course you feel hot after soaking in a hot spring. Try using a bathtub tomorrow.”

“So you’re thinking about the hot spring again.” Chu Li lightly curled his lips, his eyes filled with indulgence as he looked at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin pouted, pretending to be serious. “Hmph, who cares…”

As they were speaking, Zixiang brought in a large amount of food, followed by two maids helping her. After filling Mu Yunjin’s round table with dishes, Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows. “Little Xiang, why bring so much food? He can’t finish it all!”

She had only had two or three dishes herself, but now, counting Chu Li’s, there were nearly ten dishes. What a waste!

Zixiang looked at Mu Yunjin in horror. Although her mistress now showed no restraint with Chu Li, she, as a small maid, still didn’t dare to offend Chu Li rashly.

“This servant… Oh my, I forgot to bring chopsticks.” Zixiang was arranging the dishes when she realized she had forgotten to bring chopsticks for Chu Li. She cried out in surprise and was about to run to get them when Chu Li calmly said, “No need.”

After saying this, Chu Li picked up the chopsticks Mu Yunjin had used across from him and began to eat methodically, with an elegant demeanor, showing no signs of disgust whatsoever.

Zixiang’s eyes revealed astonishment.

Mu Yunjin didn’t find it strange at all. She waved to Zixiang, who understood and immediately left, closing the door behind her.

“Our Zixiang, don’t you think you should increase her monthly salary?” Mu Yunjin crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows and smiling as she looked at Chu Li.

“Mm, I should.” Chu Li nodded in agreement.

Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, pursed her lips, and watched Chu Li eat.

“By the way, I’ll rest here tonight and return to Water Cloud Temple for two days tomorrow. Huang Yan is severely injured, and there’s no one to enforce my house arrest, so I should at least go there for appearances.” Mu Yunjin thought of this.

Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin, raised an eyebrow, and said, “No need…”

“Why not?” Mu Yunjin was confused.

“Empress Dowager Zheng will celebrate her birthday in five days. The Emperor has declared a general amnesty and, by the way, has lifted your house arrest.” Chu Li spoke leisurely.

“What?” Mu Yunjin was surprised. “When did you get this news?”

Chu Li smiled faintly. “Just before entering the door.”

“To think such a thing would happen. Am I taking advantage of Empress Dowager Zheng? If that’s the case, I should prepare a decent birthday gift for the old lady…” Mu Yunjin exaggerated.

“Look at your fawning appearance.” Chu Li couldn’t help but mock her, though his eyes couldn’t hide his excellent mood at the moment.

Mu Yunjin also couldn’t hide her smile as she counted the days. “To be relieved of nearly thirty days at once, that’s lucky.”

After saying this, Mu Yunjin stood up. “I’ll go to the storehouse to pick out some treasures as gifts.”

“Go ahead, this king will wait for you here.”

Mu Yunjin looked back at Chu Li, hearing him say he would wait for her here, her heart inexplicably warmed. Then she raised an eyebrow and teasingly said, “I think you could connect the room diagonally opposite to this one…”

“That’s possible.” Chu Li agreed.

The two chatted for a while, then Mu Yunjin, wrapped in her cloak, smiled as she walked out the door. Ding Xian and Zixiang, outside the door, saw Mu Yunjin with an expression as if she had eaten honey, and both couldn’t help but smile.

……

In the end, Mu Yunjin didn’t select a single item from the storehouse. Most of the items in the storehouse were famous treasures, and she estimated that Empress Dowager Zheng, living in luxury, wouldn’t care for these things.

Although she didn’t like Empress Dowager Zheng, with so many eyes watching at the birthday banquet, she couldn’t let those surnamed Qin find fault. After all, the gift she selected represented the entire Prince Ning’s Mansion.

Returning to the room, Chu Li was sitting in Mu Yunjin’s rocking chair. Seeing her return empty-handed, he wasn’t surprised.

“Do you have any good ideas?” Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li, her eyes revealing a hint of expectation.

Chu Li shook his head, decisively uttering two words: “No.”

Mu Yunjin pouted, walked to the bed, took off her shoes, and lay down. “There are still five days, so let’s talk about it tomorrow. I get sleepy easily after eating; I’ll take a nap first.”

Speaking thus, Mu Yunjin turned over and soon fell into dreamland.

Seeing her fall asleep just like that, Chu Li also got up and walked to the bedside, glancing at her sprawled sleeping posture. Over time, he had noticed that she preferred to sleep face up, with one leg bent and one straight, not at all matching her exquisitely beautiful face, but rather like her carefree personality.

As he was thinking, the originally sleeping person suddenly opened her eyes. Perhaps seeing Chu Li standing by the bed, she mumbled, “What are you staring at? Come to bed.”

After speaking, she turned over again, making a large space for Chu Li, and fell back asleep.

Chu Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He lay down beside her, tucked in the blanket for her, and held her slender waist. His mind suddenly flashed back to the scene in the Southern Court Nation when he had taken off her outer garment.

Thinking of her snow-white skin and the clear fragrance emanating from her body, a wave of heat surged through Chu Li’s body, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

He wanted to get up and go outside for some air, but Mu Yunjin happened to turn over at that moment, placing one leg over Chu Li’s waist and one arm around his waist, sleeping deeply.

The two were face to face. Mu Yunjin slept without any awareness, but Chu Li’s mind was wandering, filled with thoughts of how to devour the little fox before him.

The more he thought, the harder it was to control. He moved closer and kissed Mu Yunjin’s lips, his originally clear and cold eyes now burning with fire.

In her dream, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt a sense of suffocation. When she opened her eyes, she saw a handsome face magnified countless times before her. Mu Yunjin wanted to speak but found her lips firmly covered, feeling the sensation of being bitten.

Mu Yunjin had originally been deeply asleep but was gradually awakening from the kiss when Chu Li suddenly released her and quickly ran out the door, leaving behind a cool breeze.

Sitting up on the bed, Mu Yunjin was still sleepy, her half-awake mind somewhat short-circuited, scratching her head in confusion.

“What happened? Did I dream that?”

……

In the deep autumn weather, Chu Li soaked in the cold pool, yet felt not a hint of cold. A mist shrouded his eyes as, for the first time in his life, he had a feeling of gradually losing control.

Although it was bound to happen sooner or later, it was indeed not appropriate now.

“Your Highness…” Ding Xian’s voice sounded from outside.

“What is it?”

“Master Huaiyuan has sent a letter, inviting Your Highness to Water Cloud Temple tonight to discuss matters.”