Mu Yunjin left the Dark Pavilion, her mind still flooded with Concubine Rong’s words. Unconsciously, she raised a hand to cover her chest.

Her heart was racing now. Mu Yunjin felt she could hear the “thump-thump-thump” in her ears, a sound that made her scalp tingle with unease, as if a bomb might explode at any moment.

As her thoughts wandered, her mind conjured a disturbing scene—

She was walking along when suddenly, with a loud crack, a bloody heart burst from her chest. With a “bang,” it exploded before her eyes, spattering blood and flesh everywhere, including all over her face…

After imagining this scene, Mu Yunjin involuntarily shuddered, feeling the pain in her chest intensify…

…

When she reached the door of Master Huaiyuan’s meditation room, Mu Yunjin deliberately took several deep breaths to compose herself before slowly stepping inside.

Chu Li and Master Huaiyuan were playing chess. Mu Yunjin sat down in an empty seat by the table. As soon as she sat down, Master Huaiyuan’s cheerful laughter filled the room.

“This match is also won by this old monk.” Master Huaiyuan looked at the chessboard, his face filled with smiles.

…

…

Chu Li also smiled faintly, lowering his head to collect the chess pieces from the board. While doing so, he glanced at Mu Yunjin. “Why were you gone so long?”

“There were quite a few people burning incense today, so I wandered around a bit more.” Mu Yunjin curved her lips, naturally having no intention of telling Chu Li about her meeting with Concubine Rong.

Chu Li nodded. After collecting the chess pieces, he poured a cup of tea for Mu Yunjin and handed it to her.

Mu Yunjin reached out to take the tea and took a sip. A delicate floral fragrance entered her throat, carrying a hint of sweetness.

“When the Princess was absent earlier, His Highness couldn’t concentrate on the game and deliberately let this old monk win a few rounds. Now I fear winning would be difficult,” Master Huaiyuan said, observing the affectionate way the couple behaved, self-deprecatingly.

“How could Chu Li be that amazing? It must be that your chess skills have improved recently, Master, which is why you could beat him,” Mu Yunjin said, pressing her lips together.

Hearing this, Master Huaiyuan laughed a few times, then looked up at Chu Li. “Your Princess certainly knows how to give this old monk a graceful exit.”

The atmosphere in the meditation room was harmonious. Mu Yunjin didn’t know how to play chess, and even watching didn’t reveal much of the game’s intricacies, but she spent the entire afternoon sitting beside them watching them play without feeling bored at all.

It wasn’t until evening, when the sky was beginning to darken, that Chu Li and Mu Yunjin bid farewell to Master Huaiyuan.

When they left the meditation hall, the sky had already darkened. There weren’t many lanterns lit around Water Cloud Temple, so Chu Li’s steps were somewhat slow.

Mu Yunjin also walked slowly beside Chu Li. Noticing the long string of steps they would have to descend, she instinctively wanted to ask Chu Li where his jade pendant was, but after hesitating, she suddenly remembered that Water Cloud Temple was crowded—using a jade pendant to light the way would be too conspicuous.

So Mu Yunjin took Chu Li’s arm, and when they were very close to the steps, she whispered to him, “There are steps ahead. Walk slowly and be careful not to fall…”

“Are you telling this prince a joke?” Chu Li cast a sidelong glance at Mu Yunjin. The light from the surrounding lanterns was useless to him; he could only vaguely see Mu Yunjin’s face.

Chu Li frowned slightly, realizing that this situation was truly troublesome.

“Who’s joking with you? I’m just kindly reminding you!” Mu Yunjin pouted, her tone somewhat muffled.

Following the sound of her voice, Chu Li accurately tapped her head lightly. He had intended to tell her that he could fly down these steps, but noticing her slightly displeased tone, he changed his approach—

“Then I trouble my beloved consort to be even kinder and help this prince down…”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin turned to look at Chu Li, her eyes flashing with surprise. Noticing the rare mischievous smile on Chu Li’s face, she reached out and pinched his waist.

Chu Li chuckled softly, putting his arm around her shoulders, resting half his weight on Mu Yunjin’s body.

“Jerk, always bullying me.” Though Mu Yunjin cursed like this, her arm still circled Chu Li’s waist. “Be careful, the steps are here.”

“Mm.”

“Walk slowly, there are many more ahead. Why does Water Cloud Temple have so many steps…”

“Mm.”

“Tomorrow, I should tell Master Huaiyuan to put more lanterns by the steps. I have trouble walking, not to mention you, with your night blindness…”

“Mm.”

“Keep your hands properly on my shoulder and stop groping around. It tickles…”

“Where does it tickle?”

“Damn, you fake proper, aloof prince. Why aren’t you just responding with ‘mm’ anymore?”

“…”

The two teased each other back. When they returned to the prince’s mansion, Mu Yunjin didn’t even bother with Chu Li. She jumped down from the carriage by herself and skipped into the mansion.

Chu Li was obviously in a good mood. He stepped down from the carriage unhurriedly, entering the mansion with a smile on his face.

All the servants in the mansion were accustomed to Chu Li’s cold, stern demeanor. Some had occasionally seen Chu Li smile once, but only when he was alone with the Princess.

Now, seeing their lord walk in with a smile on his face as if no one else was around, many people were slightly taken aback, and even a bit… afraid.

Especially when he passed by several young maids who bowed to greet him, Chu Li nodded at them with a smile.

The maids were so shocked they froze in place.

…

During the evening meal, Mu Yunjin still had a good appetite.

But for some reason, Chu Li kept urging Mu Yunjin to finish quickly, irritating her so much that she eventually kicked Chu Li under the table.

Mamma Shen, who was serving the two, drew in a sharp breath when she saw this, her heart leaping to her throat.

But Chu Li acted as if nothing had happened. After being kicked by Mu Yunjin, he showed no sign of anger.

Mamma Shen had served Chu Li for more than a decade and had never seen him treat anyone like this before. She was secretly happy for Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.

Who could have imagined that the casual childhood betrothal mentioned by Empress Qin and Old Madam Mu would result in such a good marriage?

Life truly held too many unexpected events.

After her moment of reflection, Mamma Shen looked back and found that the two people who had been eating just now had disappeared…

As soon as Mu Yunjin put down her chopsticks, she was pulled away from the dining hall by Chu Li. Having eaten too much, she felt lazy and walked extremely slowly, dawdling along as Chu Li pulled her.

“It’s cold outside. Walk faster so you don’t catch a chill.” Chu Li looked back at her, squeezing her small hand in his.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow and, as if deliberately opposing Chu Li, not only didn’t walk faster but moved even more slowly than before.

After dawdling all the way, when they entered Liquan Pavilion, they encountered Huang Yan, Qingmeng, Ding Xian, and others.

“What are you doing here?” Chu Li frowned slightly.

“Sister Qingmeng is here to check on the Princess’s condition. I was afraid Sister Qingmeng would be bored alone, so I’m here keeping her company. Ding Xian and Song Chun had nothing better to do, so they came to listen to Sister Qingmeng and me talk.” Huang Yan explained at length, with a hint of mischief at the corner of his mouth.

Just now they had been gathered together discussing how Chu Li had helped Mu Yunjin “draw her eyebrows” and then stayed in the room for a day and night without coming out, marveling at their lord’s impressive stamina.

Hearing Huang Yan’s words, Qingmeng wanted to laugh, but having long been accustomed to Huang Yan’s lack of seriousness, she suppressed her smile and looked toward Mu Yunjin. “Having some free time today, I came to check on the Princess’s recovery and examine your health.”

“Mm, that’s good. Let’s do it now.” Mu Yunjin readily agreed, sitting down directly at the stone table in the courtyard and extending her wrist.

Qingmeng smiled and sat down as well, placing her hand on Mu Yunjin’s wrist.

After a while, Qingmeng’s gaze suddenly paused briefly, but it disappeared in an instant, quickly returning to her previous gentle smile.

Mu Yunjin was looking down at her wrist and therefore didn’t notice the momentary change in Qingmeng’s expression.

Chu Li, however, clearly caught this.

“The Princess’s body has recovered very well,” Qingmeng concluded after a moment.

“That’s good. I don’t want to drink medicine anymore—it’s too bitter!” Mu Yunjin’s face scrunched up in disgust at the mention of the bitter medicinal decoctions.

Chu Li glanced at her and smiled faintly. “Since you don’t want to take medicine anymore, let’s go back to the room first. It’s too cold out here, and you’re still weak—you shouldn’t be in the cold!”

“Mm!” This time, Mu Yunjin didn’t oppose Chu Li. When she sat on the stone chair earlier, she had felt the cold air coming up from beneath.

After standing up, Mu Yunjin glanced once more at the group. They were all Chu Li’s subordinates, and she didn’t have much to say to them. She went into the room by herself and closed the door.

After Mu Yunjin left, Chu Li lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on Qingmeng.

Qingmeng naturally understood what Chu Li’s look meant. After pressing her lips together, she seemed concerned that Mu Yunjin inside the room might hear. She then flicked her wrist, establishing an invisible barrier around the stone table, isolating this space from the outside world.

“The Princess’s pulse is very strange. When I examined her just now, I discovered she has an extra heartbeat. Right now, in her body, there are two heartbeats pulsing simultaneously.” Even as Qingmeng said it herself, she found it incredible.

Chu Li’s expression grew colder, his eyes narrowing. “The Divine Mandate is in her body.”

“When I checked the Princess’s pulse a few days ago, this extra heartbeat wasn’t there. This new heartbeat must have emerged in the past two days.” Qingmeng added, still sighing at the mention of the Divine Mandate.

“How can we remove the extra heartbeat?” Chu Li put his hands behind his back. The good mood from his visit to Water Cloud Temple with Mu Yunjin had suddenly vanished.

Qingmeng bit her lip, frowning as she bowed slightly to Chu Li. “This servant is useless. I have never seen such a condition before, so I need time to research it further.”

Chu Li didn’t answer, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Huang Yan, fearing that Chu Li might become angry with Qingmeng, hastily spoke up. “If there’s an extra heartbeat, doesn’t that mean there’s a living being inside the Princess’s body?”

“But isn’t the Divine Mandate an inanimate object? How could it generate a heartbeat?”

After saying these two sentences, Huang Yan immediately wanted to slap himself. What nonsense was he spouting? He had just made the problem even more complicated!

“Has her original heartbeat been damaged by this?” Chu Li softened his emotions a bit before speaking again.

Qingmeng immediately shook her head. “Except for the extra heartbeat, everything else is normal. Her body shows no other abnormalities.”

“The Divine Mandate is inside the Princess’s body. Is there any way to extract it? This thing that so many in the martial world covet has now fallen into the Princess’s body, which is an extreme danger to her.” Ding Xian, who had been listening to the conversation, couldn’t help but speak up.

Hearing this, Qingmeng sighed slightly. “That thing is located at the Princess’s heart. It cannot be easily removed. If it must be extracted, the only way would be…”

Qingmeng didn’t dare to say the words “cut open her heart” in front of Chu Li.