Mu Yunjin’s words instantly brought a chill to Chu Li’s demeanor. His brow furrowed as he glared at Mu Yunjin and spoke icily—

“Say that again.”

Mu Yunjin faltered slightly. Chu Li’s tone gave her the feeling that she might die by his sword at any moment. She couldn’t help but purse her lips, thinking of her injured wrist, her confidence diminishing.

After a moment, Mu Yunjin finally mustered her courage, letting out a scornful laugh. “That jade pendant is my belonging. If the Sixth Prince found it, you should rightfully return it to me, not forcibly keep it.”

Ding Xian had thought Mu Yunjin would be frightened into silence by his master, but unexpectedly, after composing herself, she fearlessly charged into danger again.

Looking at Chu Li, his face, which had shown traces of amusement moments ago, had now completely darkened. He reached into his sleeve and took out the moonlight-white jade pendant.

When Ding Xian thought his master was truly going to return the jade pendant, he saw Chu Li grasp the tassel of the jade and dangle it in front of Mu Yunjin.

“What if this prince refuses to return it?”

Ding Xian was startled, completely unable to guess what Chu Li was thinking at that moment. He even detected in Chu Li’s words something that felt like—

Flirtatious banter.

Realizing this, Ding Xian was shocked by his thoughts.

“Scoundrel!” Momentarily blocked by Chu Li’s words, Mu Yunjin could only muster these two words as a retort.

Indeed, Chu Li was right. If he didn’t return the jade pendant to her, there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Being insulted by Mu Yunjin, Chu Li didn’t show anger. He calmly put the jade pendant away, ignoring Mu Yunjin as he leisurely turned to leave.

Mu Yunjin glared at Chu Li’s retreating figure, then cast a sidelong glance at Ding Xian, who hadn’t left yet. She looked disdainfully at the lantern in his hand. “With lamps and lights everywhere, why are you carrying a lantern?”

Ding Xian choked, looked at the lantern in his hand, then at Chu Li’s gradually receding figure, and sighed softly. “Third Miss, that’s a long story.”

Mu Yunjin had only asked casually, but from Ding Xian’s response, she detected something suspicious. She raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Sigh, it’s not that His Highness is unwilling to return Miss Mu’s jade pendant, but that pendant has a special use for him.”

For some reason, looking at Mu Yunjin before him, though she seemed unreliable, Ding Xian felt she was somehow trustworthy. So he quietly began—

“I’m telling you this, but you must promise not to mention it to anyone else.”

Mu Yunjin immediately nodded, moving closer to Ding Xian with great curiosity, waiting for him to continue.

“His Highness has suffered from night blindness since childhood. He can’t see anything at night. For years, His Highness has rarely gone out at night, and even keeps candles burning in his bedchamber until dawn to prevent any emergencies.”

“You must understand, our master is a prince who could face hidden threats at any time. If people knew about His Highness’s night blindness, it could bring him enormous trouble. So for these past two years, His Highness has avoided keeping candles lit in his room at night to prevent suspicion, but this greatly inconveniences his movements.”

“So, your glowing jade pendant, small and lightweight, easy to carry, perfectly solves His Highness’s night vision problem.”

After hearing Ding Xian’s words, Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched. She instinctively looked at the large lantern in Ding Xian’s hand, then thought back to the scene when she had escaped from Chu Li’s bedroom last night by covering the jade pendant with a black cloth.

No wonder she had escaped so easily. It turned out Chu Li had night blindness and was essentially blind at night, which had allowed her to escape.

“Third Miss, you absolutely must not mention this to anyone else, or there will be serious trouble.” Seeing the knowing smile on Mu Yunjin’s face, Ding Xian suddenly regretted telling her.

Mu Yunjin glanced at Ding Xian, raised an eyebrow, and patted his shoulder. “Depends on my mood!”

“Wait…”

Before Ding Xian could say more, Mu Yunjin had already turned and walked away.

Walking on the path out of the palace, Mu Yunjin’s steps were particularly light, and she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. She thought to herself, “I wonder if Ding Xian just became an unwitting traitor to his master.”

Now that she had leverage over Chu Li, things were looking up.

…

The next day, Mu Yunjin spent the entire day idling in Tinghua Pavilion, contemplating how to use her jade pendant to negotiate with Chu Li about canceling their engagement.

As she thought about it, she continuously calculated that after canceling the engagement and receiving the thirty thousand taels of gold, she would take her maid Zixiang and find a secluded place to live comfortably.

That would be better than staying in the Minister’s mansion playing mind games all day.

While she was thinking, a figure entered through the main door of Tinghua Pavilion. When Mu Yunjin looked up, her brow furrowed slightly.

“Why are you here?”

It was Ding Xian.

Upon seeing Mu Yunjin, Ding Xian rubbed his nose, appearing somewhat uncomfortable. “His Highness invites the Third Miss to meet at Mingxiang Teahouse.”

“Chu Li?” Mu Yunjin was surprised.

Ding Xian was taken aback, not expecting Mu Yunjin to directly use Chu Li’s name, but he still nodded. “Yes, His Highness.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin’s thoughts wavered. Why would Chu Li want to see her?

But after thinking for a moment, Mu Yunjin still got up, preparing to follow Ding Xian out. After walking a few steps, Zixiang called out to Mu Yunjin.

“Miss, you’re going to meet the Sixth Prince—at least change your clothes!” Zixiang anxiously spoke, seeing Mu Yunjin in plain clothes with her hair not even properly arranged.

Mu Yunjin waved dismissively at Zixiang, casually gathering her hair as she muttered, “It’s just the Sixth Prince. Why bother dressing up? If you’re not tired, I certainly am!”

Hearing this, Ding Xian and Zixiang exchanged a silent glance, not daring to contradict her.

Ding Xian, in particular, secretly speculated that perhaps Third Miss Mu had been confined in the mansion because her unrestrained nature and shocking words might bring disaster to the Minister’s family, and that was why they had confined her.

Thinking about it, Ding Xian felt this was entirely possible.

When Mu Yunjin appeared in the front hall, Mu Lingzhu also approached. She wore a lemon-yellow gauze dress with a coquettish small braid, looking somewhat lively—clearly meticulously dressed.

“I heard the Sixth Prince invited Sister to Mingxiang Teahouse. I happen to have arranged to meet some friends there for tea. Why doesn’t Sister take me along?” Mu Lingzhu spoke with a charming smile, looking at Mu Yunjin.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin glanced at Mu Lingzhu and smiled faintly. “Didn’t the family provide you with a fine rosewood carriage? Why would you want to squeeze into my carriage?”

With that, Mu Yunjin and Ding Xian walked out the door.

Behind them, Mu Lingzhu gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and her eyes darted as she turned to Hongxia beside her. “Where are Wei Hanqiao and Mu Yiyang living now?”

“I heard they’re in a shabby house on the eastern market street,” Hongxia replied.

“Is that so?” Mu Lingzhu raised an eyebrow. “Send someone to inform Wei Hanqiao that Mu Yunjin has gone to Mingxiang Teahouse…”

“Yes, Miss.”

…

Inside Mingxiang Teahouse.

Mu Yunjin was led by Ding Xian to a private room on the second floor. Upon entering, she saw a dark-colored figure sitting there, leisurely drinking tea.

Seeing Chu Li, Mu Yunjin instinctively looked at his eyes. Beside her, Ding Xian was so frightened that he immediately tugged at Mu Yunjin’s sleeve, giving her a warning look, fearing she might let slip their secret.

“There’s still one day left in the three days, right? Why has the Sixth Prince invited me out today?” Mu Yunjin sat down unceremoniously, picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp.

“To invite you for tea.” Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin. Seeing her in plain clothes with a simple and somewhat disheveled hairstyle, he found it particularly pleasing to the eye.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. Just as she poured a second cup of tea, her hand holding the cup trembled, spilling a considerable amount. “You haven’t poisoned this tea, have you?”

Chu Li gave a cold laugh, swirling the teacup in his hand. His eyes, filled with restrained brilliance, stared directly at Mu Yunjin, then slowly moved to her right wrist.

Meeting Chu Li’s gaze, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but glance at her right hand, a flash of guilt crossing her eyes. She immediately lowered her gaze.

Damn, had Chu Li discovered she was the black-clad intruder?

Had he summoned her today to confront her about it?

It was over. Sneaking into the palace at night was a capital offense that could implicate nine generations of her family!

Just as she was agonizing over how to plead for mercy, she heard a mocking laugh. “Yesterday, your right hand was laden with jewelry, looking ugly and in poor taste.”

“Today with nothing on it, it’s less of an eyesore.”

Mu Yunjin was startled. She frowned, but seeing that Chu Li wasn’t mentioning her injured wrist, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, thinking about Chu Li’s remark about her poor taste, she shot him a glare.

“Sixth Prince, that seems to be none of your business.” Mu Yunjin spoke through gritted teeth.

Just as she was about to add another sentence, a piercing shout suddenly came from downstairs—

“Mu Yunjin! You little slut, you harmed your brother, falsely accused your second mother of theft—unfilial! You little slut, return my innocence, restore my son’s health!”

“Mu Yunjin, you shameless hussy, how dare you harm your second brother! I will pursue this matter to the end!”

“Mu Yunjin…”

Wei Hanqiao’s shouts from downstairs immediately drew a crowd of passing commoners.

In the private room, hearing Wei Hanqiao’s voice, Chu Li raised an eyebrow, appearing intrigued as he watched Mu Yunjin, waiting for her reaction.

In the next moment, Mu Yunjin grabbed the teapot from the table, walked to the window, opened it, removed the lid, and poured the entire pot of tea down toward where Wei Hanqiao was standing.

Wei Hanqiao hadn’t expected a pot of tea to descend from above and failed to dodge it, getting completely drenched. The tea was still hot, causing her to scream several times.

“Mu Yunjin, you—”

“Shut up!” Mu Yunjin shouted down. “Bold woman, you dare disturb the Sixth Prince’s tea? Are you tired of living?”

Hearing this, Wei Hanqiao was shocked into silence, her legs trembling. “The Sixth Prince is there too?”

Damn that Hongxia, she only said Mu Yunjin was here, not that the Sixth Prince was also present. Wasn’t she deliberately trying to get herself into trouble?

But on second thought, Wei Hanqiao suddenly realized that since it was the Fourth Miss who had arranged this, she must have had her reasons. Fourth Miss probably thought that seeking justice in the Sixth Prince’s presence would be more effective.

Thinking this, Wei Hanqiao immediately shouted—

“I beg the Sixth Prince to uphold justice for this commoner! Mu Yunjin has committed many heinous acts that heaven cannot tolerate!”