After Bei Tang Wenfeng left, Jiang Qingxue turned to look at Mu Yunjin, who was already too tired to walk. She curled her lips into a smile and said, “The Imperial Garden is not far ahead. There are pavilions there where we can sit and rest.”

Mu Yunjin nodded.

Walking on the path to the Imperial Garden, Jiang Qingxue lowered her voice and reminded Mu Yunjin, “Your father has given me a new identity. He’s announced that because I resemble the Holy Maiden Jiang Qingxue, he brought me into the palace and made me his consort. Don’t give this away.”

“Understood,” Mu Yunjin responded knowingly, then looked at Jiang Qingxue’s face again. “But what if someone in North Ming Country has seen you before?”

“Princess, are you stupid? It’s already been said that she entered the palace because she resembles the South Ting Country’s Holy Maiden. The original Holy Maiden has already been executed in front of people from all four countries. Even if someone accuses Madam Qing of being the South Ting Country’s Holy Maiden, they couldn’t produce any evidence,” Huang Yan couldn’t help but interject.

After hearing Huang Yan’s words, Mu Yunjin laughed coldly and glared at him. “When we get back, I’m going to tell Chu Li that you called me stupid.”

“My lady, I was wrong…” Upon hearing that Mu Yunjin would report him to Chu Li, Huang Yan immediately softened his attitude and blinked at her.

Mu Yunjin raised her chin, looked at Huang Yan, then glanced at Hua Ying from the corner of her eye with mischief in her gaze. She turned to Hua Ying and said, “Hua Ying, help me keep an eye on Huang Yan. If he acts up again, just poison him to death.”

“Yes, master,” Hua Ying responded solemnly.

“Hey, hey, hey, Miss Hua Ying, don’t listen to the Princess. She’s just being sharp-tongued. Don’t take her seriously,” Huang Yan was still somewhat afraid of Hua Ying.

She always had that cool and aloof demeanor, rarely spoke, and only listened to Mu Yunjin. He wasn’t sure if someone as straightforward and single-minded as her could tell when Mu Yunjin was joking. If she couldn’t, he would be in trouble.

“Then just keep your mouth shut,” Hua Ying glanced at Huang Yan, then looked away.

Huang Yan’s heart shattered a bit more. Women with such cold personalities were difficult to get along with. Forget it, he should give up on her.

……

In the pavilion of the Imperial Garden, Mu Yunjin lazily leaned against the railing, with Hua Ying and Huang Yan also sitting on the railing. Only Jiang Qingxue sat properly on a chair inside the pavilion.

“Yunjin, are you all thirsty? Would you like some water?” Jiang Qingxue shook the water pot in her hand, ready to pour water for them.

“No, I’ll pour it myself.” Mu Yunjin stood up and walked over, taking the water pot from Jiang Qingxue’s hands. “We’re disguised as palace maids and guards. The palace is full of people. How could we let you pour water for us?”

After speaking, Mu Yunjin took a sip of water and turned to look at Huang Yan and Hua Ying. “Should we walk around some more?”

Huang Yan and Hua Ying naturally understood what Mu Yunjin meant by “walk around.” They followed Bei Tang Wenfeng into the palace to investigate if Qiuye’s people had infiltrated.

Logically, if they wanted to target North Ming Country first, they should have sneaked into the palace. But in such a vast imperial palace, finding clues would be quite difficult.

“If you’re not tired, I can take you around and cover for your identities,” Jiang Qingxue said with a faint smile.

“Then let’s go,” Mu Yunjin said, looking at the sky. It was approaching dusk, and the late autumn climate was increasingly cold, with darkness falling earlier.

Leaving the pavilion, Jiang Qingxue planned to take Mu Yunjin and the others to the Imperial Physicians’ Court first to see if there was anything unusual. After walking just a few steps, they encountered a group of people coming toward them, and they suddenly halted.

Mu Yunjin, who had been walking behind Jiang Qingxue, looked up when she saw her suddenly stop, and was slightly stunned at the grand procession before her. Then she examined them more closely.

In the center of a crowd of eunuchs and palace maids stood a woman wearing a phoenix crown and a golden, embroidered phoenix robe. Beside her stood a pretty young girl wearing a pink-purple brocade dress, her expression revealing a sense of superiority.

Mu Yunjin stroked her chin. Judging by her attire, the woman before her was the Empress of North Ming Country, the only daughter of Minister Yang, Yang Qingning.

After the two groups stood facing each other for a while, a head eunuch by Yang Qingning’s side suddenly called out loudly, “Her Majesty the Empress arrives—”

“Princess Jingyang arrives—”

After the head eunuch finished announcing, Mu Yunjin saw the meaningful glances cast by Empress Yang Qingning and Princess Jingyang at her side.

“Madam Qing arrives—” Huang Yan imitated them, calling out an announcement.

Jiang Qingxue was slightly startled, glancing at Huang Yan from the corner of her eye. She flattened her lips with a hint of helplessness in her eyes. Although Bei Tang Wenfeng had kept her by his side, his current identity and status were not something she could ignore. The woman before her was the Empress whom Bei Tang Wenfeng had properly married. She was his true wife, while Jiang Qingxue was just one of many women in his harem.

During this time, she seldom entered the palace to avoid encountering Yang Qingning. After thousands of attempts to avoid her, she hadn’t expected to meet her here today.

Jiang Qingxue took a slight breath and was about to bow to Yang Qingning when she heard Yang Qingning’s voice, “So this is the new Madam Qing that His Majesty has taken in. I’ve been curious to meet you these days but never had the chance. I didn’t expect to bump into you here. Indeed, you are a stunning beauty. No wonder His Majesty favors you so much.”

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, looking sideways at Yang Qingning. This woman’s few sentences had firmly established that Jiang Qingxue was favored by Bei Tang Wenfeng merely for her beauty. It seemed she was no pushover.

“What does being beautiful matter? Every consort in the Father Emperor’s harem is beautiful. But someone who doesn’t bow to Mother Empress—this princess has never seen such a thing before,” Princess Jingyang crossed her arms, glaring at Jiang Qingxue’s side and speaking mockingly.

Jiang Qingxue didn’t want to waste words with this mother and daughter. She turned to look at Mu Yunjin and said, “Let’s go back the way we came.”

Although Mu Yunjin disliked Princess Jingyang, she knew that this wasn’t the time to cause trouble. So she nodded, preparing to turn and leave.

Seeing that Jiang Qingxue’s side was ignoring her, Yang Qingning’s eyes darkened, and Princess Jingyang beside her spoke with burning anger—

“This princess is Father Emperor’s most beloved daughter. You vixen dare to ignore me? Are you seeking death?”

Hearing Princess Jingyang’s insults, Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes and instinctively raised her hand, wanting to rush over and teach Princess Jingyang a lesson, but was stopped by Jiang Qingxue, who shook her head.

Mu Yunjin bit her lip. Just as she was convincing herself not to pay attention to Princess Jingyang, the sharp voice came again from across, “If you’re sensible, come over and kneel to pay respects to Mother Empress and this princess. Otherwise, this princess will go complain to Father Emperor right now!”

This time, Mu Yunjin really couldn’t tolerate it anymore!

How could Bei Tang Wenfeng have such an arrogant and willful daughter? She looked only about fourteen or fifteen years old, but her mouth was truly deserving of a slap.

Princess Jingyang saw that Jiang Qingxue’s side remained motionless, thinking she had intimidated them. She couldn’t help but raise her head and blink at her mother, her eyes full of pride.

“This is the token that His Majesty gave to Madam Qing. Seeing the token is like seeing His Majesty. It exempts one from all palace etiquette and allows free entry and exit through the palace gates. Mu Yunjin took out a token that Bei Tang Wenfeng had given her earlier from her sleeve and held it up.

Upon seeing that token, Yang Qingning’s pupils contracted slightly, with a hint of disbelief in her eyes. She gripped her sleeves tightly, forcing herself to remain calm.

There were many tokens in the palace, for different people and affairs. But this particular token, she knew all too well. His Majesty only had one such token. She remembered when His Majesty showed her this token, he said—

“Whoever obtains this token from me, even if they want to take away the kingdom of North Ming, I would have no complaints!”

Yang Qingning bit her lip, reassessing Jiang Qingxue before her. Merely because this woman resembled that Holy Maiden from South Ting Country, His Majesty was willing to give away his token?

Heh, how ironic.

She remembered when she first entered the palace, she told Bei Tang Wenfeng her name was Qingning. He was drunk at the time and called her “Qing’er” while caressing her face, and even called her “Qingxue.” She thought Bei Tang Wenfeng had forgotten her name and corrected him, saying her name was Qingning, not Qingxue.

But since the South Ting Country Holy Maiden’s childbirth was exposed, Yang Qingning suddenly felt like a joke.

Fortunately, that woman was dead.

Mu Yunjin, seeing the colorful expressions on the Empress’s face, wanted to laugh out loud, but due to her identity, she had to hold it in.

“Token or not, this princess is the Imperial Princess. Even if I had you all beaten to death right here, Father Emperor would not say a word of blame!” Princess Jingyang spoke disdainfully. In all her years, this was the first time someone dared to defy her.

“If I remember correctly, His Majesty issued an edict some time ago, declaring Princess Jinhua to be the Imperial Princess of North Ming Country!” Huang Yan couldn’t help but speak up.

They hadn’t expected to encounter such an episode just after entering the North Ming Country’s palace. They thought dealing with Qiuye and his people would be difficult enough, but now they were caught in palace intrigue!

“Princess Jinhua? Pah, she’s just a bastard… Ahhh!” Princess Jingyang’s words were cut short by her screams.

Jiang Qingxue had originally wanted to avoid trouble today and not offend this mother and daughter if possible. But now Jingyang was insulting Yunjin, and as a mother, this was something she absolutely could not tolerate.

So when Jingyang insulted Mu Yunjin, she put her hands behind her back, secretly channeled her true qi, and with a point of her fingertip, a vibrant red flower in the garden instantly shattered into several petals. They flew into the air, carrying a strong current of energy, and swept towards Jingyang.

Huang Yan, on this trip, had constantly kept Chu Li’s words in mind to protect Mu Yunjin’s safety. So when Jingyang insulted Mu Yunjin, he also launched a hidden weapon at Jingyang.

Hua Ying had always been principled. Once she recognized someone as her master, she would never change. She could tolerate what Princess Jingyang had said before, but insulting her master was intolerable. So she exhaled lightly, sending a colorless, odorless poison mist toward Jingyang.

Jingyang was halfway through her sentence when she felt many objects flying toward her. Before she could react, she felt pain throughout her body, screamed a few times, and then fell to the ground covered in blood.

“Jingyang—”