Walking back to Tinghua Pavilion, Mu Yunjin was in an excellent mood, especially when she thought of the anger and sorrow in Mu Lingzhu’s eyes earlier—she felt refreshed from head to toe, her steps becoming lighter.

“Third Sister…” a delicate voice called from a small path nearby. Mu Yunjin stopped and turned to see Mu Xiarou standing there.

Seeing it was Mu Xiarou who had stopped her, Mu Yunjin’s expression cooled. She spoke indifferently, “Fifth Sister, were you waiting here specifically for me?”

“Yes, Third Sister, Xiarou has been waiting for you for quite a while.” Mu Xiarou approached, pretending to be obedient as she blinked at Mu Yunjin.

“What did you want with me?” Mu Yunjin glanced at Mu Xiarou while continuing to walk forward.

Hearing this, Mu Xiarou gave her a sweet smile. “I wanted to congratulate Third Sister. Since the Sixth Prince visited today, your happy news must be coming soon.”

Hearing these words, Mu Yunjin understood Mu Xiarou’s intentions and gave her a forced smile. “Thank you, Sister.”

“We’re family, Sister doesn’t need to be so formal.” Mu Xiarou giggled softly.

Mu Yunjin examined the expression on Mu Xiarou’s face. If not for that day when this child had gone with Mu Lingzhu to cause trouble at her Shihua Pavilion, with Mu Xiarou putting on such a harmless smiling face now, she would certainly have believed her to be an innocent child.

However, she was a child with a devious heart.

“Just recently, my mother and I were talking privately, saying that Sister is so beautiful, she will surely marry into the royal family smoothly,” Mu Xiarou said with a smile, affectionately linking arms with Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin allowed her to take her arm. “Sister is also quite pretty. You will naturally be matched with a good family in the future.”

“I’ll take Sister’s kind words as a blessing.” Mu Xiarou released Mu Yunjin’s arm, smoothed her clothes, and spoke somewhat shyly, “When Sister enters the royal family, please don’t forget to help find a good match for me as well.”

After listening to Mu Xiarou talk for so long, she finally got to the point. Mu Yunjin stopped, her gaze slowly scanning Mu Xiarou up and down, and reached out to fix a strand of Mu Xiarou’s hair.

“As long as you behave yourself, Sister will certainly not mistreat you.” A glint flashed in Mu Yunjin’s eyes as she emphasized again, “Do you know what it means to behave yourself?”

Mu Xiarou, frightened by Mu Yunjin’s somewhat chilling tone, suddenly froze and no longer dared to look into Mu Yunjin’s eyes. She immediately nodded.

“It’s getting late. Sister should go to rest early.” Mu Yunjin smiled faintly and dismissed Mu Xiarou.

Mu Xiarou, as if hearing a pardon, immediately ran off.

By the time Mu Yunjin returned to Tinghua Pavilion, bright candles were already lit inside. As soon as Zixiang heard the door open, she ran over, “Miss, you’re back!”

“Yes, I’m back. Quickly prepare bath water, I want to bathe.” Mu Yunjin stretched lazily and yawned with some effort.

This entire day had exhausted her.

“Miss, wait a little before bathing. Aunt Zhang is here and has been waiting for you all afternoon. Please see her first.” Zixiang supported Mu Yunjin as they walked toward the small hall of Tinghua Pavilion.

Aunt Zhang?

Mu Yunjin frowned slightly, thinking for a moment. She seemed to recall Zixiang mentioning this person when they discovered the jade pendant was missing.

Soon, Mu Yunjin arrived at the small hall. As soon as she entered, she saw an elderly woman sitting inside. She was dressed, with mostly gray hair and only traces of black remaining.

Upon seeing Mu Yunjin, the elderly woman immediately stood up, her eyes reddening. “Third Miss, after so many years, you’ve grown into such a refined and beautiful lady.”

“Greetings, Aunt Zhang.” Although she wasn’t clear about the relationship between Aunt Zhang and the original owner of this body, it was never wrong to offer a greeting now.

Aunt Zhang nodded, took Mu Yunjin’s hand, and sat down. She examined Mu Yunjin carefully up and down, then nodded with apparent satisfaction. “Seeing Miss grow up safely makes this old servant truly happy.”

“Yes, Aunt Zhang. Since you left for your hometown ten years ago, Miss has not had an easy time in this household. All these years, she has endured much hardship,” Zixiang looked at Mu Yunjin and spoke at the appropriate moment.

Knowing that Miss had lost some of her memories after being drugged by Aunt Su not long ago, but not wanting Aunt Zhang to worry, Zixiang had to remind Mu Yunjin at the right time.

Mu Yunjin looked at her maid Zixiang and gave her a grateful look.

“This old servant has failed, Miss. Seeing Miss like this now lessens the guilt in my heart somewhat.” Aunt Zhang sighed, holding Mu Yunjin’s hand tightly.

“Aunt need not blame herself. Yunjin is almost of age to marry, and I’ve nearly made it through the hardship. My best years are still ahead—what do past sufferings matter?” Mu Yunjin said.

Aunt Zhang sniffled and nodded.

A moment later, Aunt Zhang seemed to remember something. She wiped her tears and spoke, “By the way, Miss, is your jade pendant still safely kept?”

At these words, Mu Yunjin and Zixiang exchanged a glance.

“Rest assured, Aunt, it’s being kept quite safe.” Mu Yunjin smiled. Since the jade pendant was now with Prince Chu Li, it could be considered safely kept.

“That’s good.” Aunt Zhang nodded, then suddenly lowered her voice to a level only the two of them could hear. “That jade pendant is of vital importance to you, Miss. You must keep it safe and never let it fall into others’ hands.”

Aunt Zhang’s words aroused Mu Yunjin’s curiosity. She couldn’t help but ask, “Vitally important? But that jade pendant has been with me for many years, and I’ve never noticed anything unusual about it.”

“Ah, there are some things this old servant shouldn’t speak of.”

“But now that Miss is approaching her coming-of-age ceremony, it’s not inappropriate for this old servant to reveal some things to you.”

“Miss, do you truly believe that your lack of favor in this household is because you lack learning and are timid? In Diehua City, how many noble young ladies are truly talented and clever? Yet they still receive their parents’ love.”

“Have you ever received a hint of motherly love from the Big Madam? Have you felt any warmth from the Minister? Have you ever considered the true reason behind these phenomena?”

“…”

Aunt Zhang’s words exploded in Mu Yunjin’s ears. Suddenly, Mu Yunjin felt countless fragments flash around her, gradually piecing together into a complete picture.

“I am not of Mu family blood?” Mu Yunjin lowered her voice, giving Aunt Zhang a probing look.

Aunt Zhang sighed softly, closed her eyes, and nodded.

Having received Aunt Zhang’s confirmation, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relief. She had speculated about this before, but never imagined her speculation would be true.

“That jade pendant is a token left to you by your real family. So you must keep it safe and never lose it, understand?” Aunt Zhang admonished.

Hearing Aunt Zhang say this, Mu Yunjin became somewhat troubled. She hadn’t expected the jade pendant to be so important to her, yet she had agreed to sell it to Chu Li.

But under the current circumstances, the transaction naturally couldn’t proceed. She wondered how Chu Li would react if she backed out now.

Thinking of this, Mu Yunjin became a bit agitated.

“It’s getting late. Aunt Zhang has had a tiring journey today. Why don’t you rest early?” Mu Yunjin changed the subject, looking toward Aunt Zhang.

Aunt Zhang nodded.

Back in her bedchamber, Mu Yunjin sat in the steaming bathtub, frowning deeply as she pondered how to approach Chu Li.

Zixiang was adding flower petals to the bath beside her. After a while, Zixiang put down the flower basket and stamped her foot. “Miss, what shall we do? That jade pendant is already lost…”

“What if your birth family comes looking for you? What then?” Zixiang was so anxious that tears nearly welled up.

“Don’t worry, the jade pendant is with Chu Li. He picked it up,” Mu Yunjin had to reveal the truth to her little maid, who seemed even more anxious than herself.

Upon hearing it was Chu Li, Zixiang’s mouth fell open. “Miss, how far have things progressed between you and the Sixth Prince that you’ve left your jade pendant with him?”

“Silly girl, I told you he picked it up. What are you imagining?” Mu Yunjin glared at Zixiang.

Zixiang grinned mischievously and continued adding flower petals to the bathtub. “This servant is just happy for you. Besides, Miss, you’ll be the Sixth Prince’s consort sooner or later. Even if something happens between you and the Sixth Prince now, it doesn’t matter.”

Mu Yunjin choked, left speechless.

All night, Mu Yunjin tossed and turned in her bed, constantly pondering how to tell Chu Li she had changed her mind.

On the carriage, Chu Li’s behavior clearly showed that he was particularly interested in the jade pendant and determined to have it.

But the jade pendant was also connected to her identity and was of vital importance to her. No matter what, she had to get it back.

Having thought this through, Mu Yunjin sat up, frustratedly scratching her head. She got out of bed, lit a candle, and checked the time.

It was nearly the fourth watch of the night.

Looking at the darkness outside the window, Mu Yunjin bit her lip as a plan suddenly formed in her mind—

“Why not steal the jade pendant back?”

At this thought, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat ridiculous. It was her possession, yet she had to steal it back.

But now, there seemed to be no better solution.

…

A short while later, Mu Yunjin had changed into black clothes with a black cloth covering her face. She quietly extinguished the candle in her room.

Then she silently opened the window, climbed out with her body, and with light footsteps, her silhouette immediately disappeared into the quiet night…

After easily scaling the wall out of the Minister’s mansion, Mu Yunjin headed toward the imperial palace following her memory. Along the way, Mu Yunjin moved like an agile black cat, constantly darting through various corners of the streets and alleys.

A moment later, Mu Yunjin stopped in front of the imperial palace, hiding in the shadows, observing the guard situation around the palace.

It was now the fourth watch, and the guards at the palace gate showed signs of weariness. They failed to notice that someone had already stealthily infiltrated the palace through the darkness.

After entering the palace, Mu Yunjin, dressed in black, hid in a large tree. Her mind was somewhat chaotic as she looked around through the foliage.

Damn, her actions just now had been too rash. She didn’t even know which palace Chu Li lived in. In this vast imperial palace, where should she go to find him?

As she pondered, a patrol of guards approached and happened to stop under the tree where Mu Yunjin was hiding—

“Chief, we’ve already patrolled the palaces of the Fourth and Fifth Princes. Now we still need to check Third Prince’s Moonlight Palace and Sixth Prince’s Crystal Spring Palace.”