Mu Yunjin and Qiqi returned to the North Palace gate. After entering, Mu Yunjin was in no hurry to proceed further inside. Instead, she went to where North Hall Wenfeng’s carriage was parked and sat down against it for a while.
“Master, aren’t you going in to rest?” Qiqi also leaned against the carriage, turning to look at Mu Yunjin.
“Let’s wait a bit longer. I just thought of a question,” Mu Yunjin said with a slight curl of her lips, her eyes revealing a hint of amusement.
Qiqi looked at Mu Yunjin with a puzzled expression.
“What do you think about Qiu Ye and the others? They’ve united people from three kingdoms to stir up trouble across the Canghua continent. In the end, who will benefit the most?” Mu Yunjin pondered for a while but couldn’t conclude.
“In the end, it’ll be like dogs biting dogs. Old Daoist Qiu Ye and old fox Qin are both quite advanced in age. As for the rest, they’re neither too formidable nor too insignificant. This time, they’ve joined forces with their spearhead aimed at the Northern Ming Kingdom. On the surface, they might have agreed that each will claim emperorship in their territories, but when that time truly comes, things might not go as planned,” Qiqi said. Though she had always been within Phoenix Valley, she was well-informed about external affairs.
Mu Yunjin smiled, pursing her lips. “The way you speak makes it sound like we’ll be destroyed by them.”
“Pah, pah, pah! Forget I said anything,” Qiqi spat a few times superstitiously.
“Let’s go in now,” Mu Yunjin took out the palace maid attire stored in the carriage, tossed Hua Ying’s to Qiqi, and after both changed into their clothes, they headed toward the inner palace.
…
…
Having gone back and forth already, Mu Yunjin was quite familiar with the layout of the Northern Ming imperial palace. By now it was dark, and apart from patrolling guards, few people were moving about.
As they passed by a palace building, two elderly men in official robes emerged, each carrying a medicine box and wearing frowning expressions.
Perhaps not noticing Mu Yunjin and Qiqi behind them, after walking several steps away, one of the old men spoke, “Imperial Physician Xu, don’t you find those wounds on Princess Jingyang rather strange?”
“Ah, I heard Lady Qing inflicted them. What with flower petals, silver needles, and poison… this Lady Qing seems quite skilled, even using flower petals as hidden weapons,” Imperial Physician Xu replied in a lowered voice.
Hearing this, the other imperial physician stroked his beard and said, “Some things are better left unsaid. Even the Emperor is shielding Lady Qing; it’s not our place to say much more.”
Listening to their conversation, Mu Yunjin looked back at the palace building the physicians had just left, which must be Jingyang’s residence.
She wondered if Yang Qingning would cause any trouble. Those harem women were typically proud and vengeful, especially someone like Yang Qingning, the Empress of Northern Ming.
Sigh, she did stir up trouble wherever she went.
If Chu Li found out about this, who knew how he would scold her.
Without realizing it, Mu Yunjin had already arrived at North Hall Wenfeng’s palace. The guards at the main hall entrance recognized Mu Yunjin and let her in directly.
After a few steps, Su Xin, who was on duty outside, approached and smiled at Mu Yunjin. “Little sister has returned, eh?”
Little sister…
What a strange form of address.
“Greetings, Eunuch Su. Is our Lady Qing here?” Mu Yunjin greeted Su Xin with a faint smile on her face.
“Lady Qing and His Majesty are in the garden at the back. Let me take you there,” Eunuch Su said, gesturing for Mu Yunjin to follow him.
Following behind Eunuch Su, Qiqi held back her laughter and tugged at Mu Yunjin’s sleeve, whispering, “So this is the old man you’ll be disguising yourself as tomorrow?”
Mu Yunjin shot Qiqi a glare.
Qiqi’s amusement didn’t diminish as she raised her eyebrows at Mu Yunjin. “Not too ugly, he’ll do.”
…
When they reached the garden inside North Hall Wenfeng’s palace, Mu Yunjin immediately spotted North Hall Wenfeng and Jiang Qingxue. However, North Hall Wenfeng was seated while Jiang Qingxue stood with her back to him, the atmosphere appearing somewhat tense.
Eunuch Su stopped at a certain distance and looked toward Mu Yunjin. “Lady Qing is just ahead.”
“Mm,” Mu Yunjin nodded.
Eunuch Su nodded as well before walking away.
Mu Yunjin observed North Hall Wenfeng and Jiang Qingxue for a moment before stepping forward. When she was still some distance from the two, she called out, “I’m back!”
Hearing Mu Yunjin’s voice, both Jiang Qingxue and North Hall Wenfeng turned to look in her direction.
“Yunjin, you’re back,” Jiang Qingxue looked at Mu Yunjin, her eyes filling with a smile.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips. As she drew closer, she noticed Jiang Qingxue’s eyes were a bit red.
North Hall Wenfeng’s face also lit up with a smile the moment he saw Mu Yunjin. Though his previously furrowed brows had relaxed, there was still a trace of melancholy in his expression.
“I just went out for a while and discovered some things,” Mu Yunjin said, not involving herself in their emotional issues. She first reported the information she had obtained from Huang Yan.
“What did you discover?” North Hall Wenfeng’s eyes darkened.
“It’s like this. At tomorrow’s morning court…” Mu Yunjin told North Hall Wenfeng everything about Qiu Ye controlling Prime Minister Yang and Huang Yan’s plan to disguise himself as the Grand Tutor, to ensure he would be alert to the situation during tomorrow’s morning court.
After listening to Mu Yunjin’s report, North Hall Wenfeng clenched his fist and nodded calmly.
“So that’s that. There’s nothing more to say. I’m a bit tired. Where am I sleeping?” Mu Yunjin yawned, looking at North Hall Wenfeng.
North Hall Wenfeng smiled at her and pointed in a direction to the right. “The Jinxiu Palace next door is your residence, Princess Jinhua’s palace.”
“Forget it, I’m not here to enjoy luxury. Just give me any vacant room you have. I need to get up early tomorrow!” Mu Yunjin was genuinely tired.
At this, Jiang Qingxue, who had been silent, stood up with a smile. “I’ll take you to rest.”
She then moved to take Mu Yunjin’s hand.
At that moment, Mu Yunjin gave North Hall Wenfeng a meaningful look. North Hall Wenfeng was briefly stunned before immediately understanding. He also stood up. “Father Emperor will go with you to see, we absolutely cannot neglect our Yunjin.”
“Let’s go,” Mu Yunjin held Jiang Qingxue’s hand with one hand and linked her other arm with North Hall Wenfeng’s, walking between them.
Entering the room, Mu Yunjin looked around, found it satisfactory, and began to dismiss her guests. “This is perfect for Qiqi and me. You two should go rest early too.”
Jiang Qingxue’s expression was a bit unnatural, but she still nodded to Mu Yunjin. “Rest early.”
With that, she walked out.
After Jiang Qingxue left, North Hall Wenfeng sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and looked at Mu Yunjin with a helpless tone. “Your mother is angry about all those women in my harem. She says once you leave Northern Ming, she’ll part ways with me. What am I to do?”
Mu Yunjin shrugged and spread her hands. “Your women are for you to console. If you can’t handle it, how can you expect me to?”
“You… stubborn girl!” North Hall Wenfeng was utterly defeated by this mother and daughter.
Around 1-3 AM, Mu Yunjin was in a drowsy sleep when someone shook her awake. Opening her eyes in a daze, she heard a voice say, “Go to the North Palace gate.”
Mu Yunjin hadn’t slept enough, and her head was still foggy. After becoming more alert, she tried for a long time to recall who had just spoken but couldn’t figure it out.
But those telling her to go to the North Palace gate should be Huang Yan and his group, right?
Mu Yunjin didn’t dawdle any longer. She quickly got up, dressed herself, and after getting ready, slipped out of the room in the darkness, using her lightness skill to head toward the North Palace gate.
Arriving at the North Palace gate again, Mu Yunjin felt this place was becoming their regular meeting spot. After looking around, she found it empty.
Damn!
Where is everyone?
Could she have been dreaming earlier?
Mu Yunjin pouted and walked to the parked carriage to sit and rest for a while. Just as she sat down, a sudden pulling force came from inside the carriage compartment. Before she could react, her arm was grabbed and she was dragged into the carriage.
Instinctively, Mu Yunjin was about to raise her hand to strike when a warm hand grasped hers, enveloping it. Then Mu Yunjin was gently pulled again, falling into a warm and familiar embrace.
Mu Yunjin trembled inexplicably, her body tensing. Just as she was about to speak, hot breath was already warming her face, and then her lips were fiercely sealed with a kiss of intense urgency.
The familiar feeling made Mu Yunjin’s heart flutter instantly. Once she confirmed who it was, Mu Yunjin began to respond to this lingering and passionate kiss.
After what seemed like forever, when Mu Yunjin felt she was about to suffocate, she slightly turned her head away. The warmth that had been on her lips suddenly covered her neck.
“A few days apart, and you miss me this much?” Mu Yunjin couldn’t hide the joy in her eyes as she looked at the person holding her in his arms. Through the dim light filtering into the carriage, that face she had been thinking of day and night appeared vividly before her, making her reluctant to look away.
“This prince feels like you’re the one who’s more excited,” Chu Li’s characteristically cool voice came through, but his words carried a hint of amusement.
Mu Yunjin tried to sit up but was restrained in Chu Li’s embrace, unable to move. She had no choice but to lazily lean against him. “You’ve come to Northern Ming, can’t you just admit that you’re the one who missed me more?”
“Mm, this prince did miss you,” Chu Li’s tone softened as he tightened his hold on Mu Yunjin in his arms, resting his chin against her forehead.
Now Mu Yunjin was beaming with happiness. Just as she was about to ask Chu Li why he had suddenly come, he abruptly released her, straightened her body, and without a word, began to remove her outer garment.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Mu Yunjin glared at Chu Li, her eyes rolling slightly. Surely this guy hadn’t reached his limit?
Chu Li ignored her, easily removing her outer clothes and then starting to unbutton her inner garment, his expression cold and serious as he undid her buttons one by one.
With only a thin undergarment remaining on her body, Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li in bewilderment. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a bright light suddenly illuminated the carriage—a moonlight-colored jade pendant rested in Chu Li’s palm.
With the light from the jade, Mu Yunjin could see Chu Li more clearly. His gaze was fixed on her body, his brows tightly knit, his eyes cold and filled with a murderous aura.
Following Chu Li’s gaze, Mu Yunjin looked down and noticed several wounds on her body caused by the eagle attack, finally understanding Chu Li’s actions.
Chu Li gently stroked one of the wounds, looking at Mu Yunjin with heartache. “Does it hurt?”