Jingyang had already been holding back a belly full of anger. Now, not only did Mu Yunjin fail to comfort her, but she even threatened her, instantly touching her most sensitive spot.
“Fine! I’ll leave! This princess won’t stay to be treated like this!” Jingyang wiped away her tears, stood up, and made as if to walk out.
Aunt Mo stepped forward to stop Jingyang, giving her a meaningful look, but Jingyang seemed not to see it, completely ignoring her and shouting to several guards she had brought with her—
“All of you, go restore this room to its original state for this princess!”
The guards, hearing this, looked at each other for a moment before dispersing.
“Princess Imperial, please don’t be angry with Princess Jingyang. She’s new to Western Yuan and may be experiencing some discomfort adjusting to the local conditions. Her temperament is inevitably a bit spoiled, but Princess Jingyang isn’t usually like this,” Aunt Mo looked at Mu Yunjin, speaking kindly on Jingyang’s behalf.
Mu Yunjin laughed coldly, “You’re the ones who wanted to visit relatives, and you’re also the ones throwing tantrums! What, do you think I’m easy to manipulate?”
“Princess Imperial, this…” Aunt Mo was also in a difficult position.
“Aunt, don’t plead for me. They’ve never welcomed us from the beginning. Let’s just leave!” Jingyang now disregarded Aunt Mo’s instructions to win over Mu Yunjin. Once her temper flared up, she couldn’t listen to anything.
…
…
Mu Yunjin folded her arms, raising her eyebrows and looking at Jingyang, “You want me to welcome you?”
“I’ve heard that behind my back, you called me a bastard and called my mother a fox spirit. I haven’t stripped you naked and thrown you out of Western Yuan—I’ve been quite polite to you!”
And she dares to talk about welcome?
After these words, everyone in the room, except for Mu Yunjin, turned deathly pale.
“What? Bastard? Is that true?” Chu Qingyuan was stunned, looking at Mu Yunjin, then at Jingyang, her head somewhat confused by what she heard.
Jingyang bit her lower lip guiltily. For a moment, meeting Mu Yunjin’s cold gaze made her spine stiffen, and she couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
Aunt Mo also never expected that Mu Yunjin would know about this matter. This incident had only occurred within the Northern Ming palace, and after the Empress ordered that no one should spread it, no one dared mention it again.
Not even all the people in Northern Ming might know about this, yet Mu Yunjin, thousands of miles away, knew…
Now, thinking about Mu Yunjin’s attitude yesterday and today, she truly had been quite polite…
“I’m asking you! Is what my Sixth Sister-in-law said true?” Chu Qingyuan looked impatiently at Jingyang, who seemed to have turned mute. “Weren’t you quite bold just now?”
Jingyang again found herself in a helpless and embarrassing situation, lowering her gaze, her peripheral vision catching the hem of Mu Yunjin’s dress. Jingyang frowned, feeling completely powerless.
This Mu Yunjin was truly formidable, easily forcing her into a desperate situation with just a few words, making her unable to advance or retreat. And she spoke with a relaxed posture, her seemingly harmless and smiling words pressing down on her until she could hardly breathe.
Mu Yunjin was truly too formidable!
In this moment, Jingyang sincerely admired Mu Yunjin.
But she also had her pride. To bow her head to Mu Yunjin at this moment—she couldn’t get past that in her heart.
So for a long while, she didn’t speak, maintaining her head-lowered posture.
……
“Princess Imperial, Ninth Princess, this was all a misunderstanding. At that time, Princess Jingyang was angered by a newly appointed lady of the sovereign, which led to her speaking without thinking. Later, the sovereign also punished Princess Jingyang, and she recognized her error.”
“Including this trip to Western Yuan, it was specifically for Princess Jingyang to come and apologize to you, Princess Imperial.”
Aunt Mo knelt directly at the feet of Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan, explaining the situation at that time to Mu Yunjin, while also throwing Lady Qing half under the carriage.
“Stop trying to deceive me. Once you’ve restored everything in this room to its original state, you can leave.” Mu Yunjin didn’t want to hear any more nonsense from these people and turned to leave the room.
Seeing Mu Yunjin leave, Chu Qingyuan naturally didn’t stay either, following her out.
After the two left Minglan Court, Jingyang slowly raised her head, her heart somewhat complex. Looking at Aunt Mo still kneeling on the ground, she said, “Aunt, I’m not leaving anymore.”
“Princess…” Aunt Mo didn’t know what to say. This young mistress—she truly had no way of handling her.
“This elder sister, this princess admits defeat!”
“Princess, you…” Aunt Mo couldn’t fathom the meaning behind Jingyang’s words.
“Aunt, help me think of a way. How should I apologize to her to appear sincere, to make her forgive me?”
……
“Qingyuan, what I said just now in Minglan Court, don’t spread it around, alright?” After leaving Minglan Court, Mu Yunjin glanced at Chu Qingyuan, reminding her.
Chu Qingyuan nodded, then muttered, “No wonder I disliked her on sight. She’s so irritating.”
Mu Yunjin smiled faintly, leading Chu Qingyuan into the side hall.
In the side hall, Nanny Shen had already ordered braziers to be prepared inside. After Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan entered, she gave each of them a hand warmer.
“Princess, you’re dressed so thinly. Aren’t you cold? Would you like this nanny to bring you a cloak to wrap around yourself?” Nanny Shen had watched Chu Qingyuan grow up and cherished her to the bone.
“No need, it’s quite warm in here.” Chu Qingyuan smiled at Nanny Shen.
Nanny Shen nodded, pouring hot tea for both of them. “Then this servant will take her leave. Call me anytime if you need anything.”
“Nanny, don’t worry about us. It’s cold outside. Go find a brazier to warm yourself. Don’t catch a chill,” Mu Yunjin said.
“Yes, Lady.” Nanny Shen felt warmth in her heart and walked out.
After Nanny Shen left, only Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan remained in the side hall. Mu Yunjin took a sip of tea, and then Chu Qingyuan’s voice reached her ears, “Sixth Sister-in-law…”
“What is it?” Mu Yunjin looked at her.
“Has Brother Munan contacted you recently?” Chu Qingyuan pursed her lips, her eyes flickering slightly.
At the mention of Qin Munan, Mu Yunjin’s hand holding the teacup paused momentarily, then she shook her head at Chu Qingyuan, “I haven’t seen him recently.”
“You, toward Qin Munan…” Mu Yunjin wanted to ask Chu Qingyuan if she still had feelings for Qin Munan, but halfway through, she felt it was somewhat inappropriate.
“I still quite like him, but it’s better to just look at him from a distance.” Chu Qingyuan smiled, taking up her teacup. The moment she lowered her head to drink, her eyes flashed with some dimness.
She liked Brother Munan…
But the person Brother Munan liked wasn’t her.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips. To be honest, if there wasn’t the Qin family connection, if Chu Qingyuan liked Qin Munan, perhaps it wouldn’t be a problem. But the Qin family had now made up their minds to rebel against the Western Yuan throne. If Little Nine insisted on being with Qin Munan, she would inevitably be hurt in the end.
“By the way, I heard another thing…” Chu Qingyuan hadn’t seen Mu Yunjin for a long time, and on this occasion, many things were emerging one after another.
“Oh?” Mu Yunjin looked at her.
Chu Qingyuan licked her lips, glanced around, moved closer to Mu Yunjin, and lowered her voice, “I heard that my mother has left Shuiyun Temple, that place where she was confined?”
Mother…
She must be referring to Consort Rong.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, glancing at the expectant Chu Qingyuan. It suddenly occurred to her that every time she saw Consort Rong, the consort’s conversation always revolved around Chu Li, never mentioning her daughter Little Nine.
Who knew what position Consort Rong placed her daughter Little Nine in?
“I’m not too clear about this. Who did you hear it from?” Mu Yunjin dared not answer directly, fearing that Little Nine would ask her to take her to meet Consort Rong.
That woman—she wanted to avoid her as much as possible for now.
“The other day, when the Empress took me to Shuiyun Temple to pray for blessings, I heard some monks talking about it,” Chu Qingyuan said.
“When your Sixth Brother returns, you can ask him. He might know,” Mu Yunjin decided to pass this thorny question to Chu Li.
Chu Qingyuan nodded, looking somewhat dejected, “Mother was confined when I was four years old. Now I can’t even remember what she looks like, just a vague outline…”
“I wonder, if I were to stand before Mother now, would she recognize me?”
“She would. She would recognize you.” Mu Yunjin put on a smile. Over these years, Consort Rong had been active in the shadows and must have secretly seen Little Nine.
Hearing this, Chu Qingyuan instantly felt much better, “Mm, then I’ll wait a bit longer. One day, I will see Mother.”
……
They sat idly in the side hall for a long time, until someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Mu Yunjin said.
The person who opened the door was Huang Yan. After entering, with a not-so-good expression, he looked at Mu Yunjin, “Lady, someone is looking for you.”
“Oh? Who?” Mu Yunjin looked toward Huang Yan.
“Surname An.”
Mu Yunjin was startled, quickly regaining her composure, and spoke with a tense face, “Where is he?”
“In the pavilion.”
After Huang Yan finished speaking, Mu Yunjin turned to look at Chu Qingyuan, “Little Nine, amuse yourself for a while. I’m going to see a guest.”
“Alright.”
Leaving the side hall, Mu Yunjin hurriedly headed toward the pavilion. Catching a glimpse of the figure sitting there, she paused for a moment, took a few light breaths, and walked over.
“Why did you suddenly come here?” Mu Yunjin stepped into the pavilion but didn’t sit down due to the cold.
Regarding Imperial Tutor An’s sudden arrival, Mu Yunjin had a vague sense of foreboding.
Imperial Tutor An slowly raised his head, his eyes flickering, “Have you been feeling unwell anywhere these past few days?”
“Unwell?” Mu Yunjin pursed her lips. Originally, before Imperial Tutor An asked this question, she had felt quite well. But with his sudden visit and immediate question about her well-being…
She did start to feel a bit unwell…
“Today, I came secretly without telling Wanyue. Mu’er, you were summoned by me to this alien world. Ultimately, I can’t bear to watch you suffer. After all, in this alien world, we are of the same kind and should support each other.” Imperial Tutor An spoke, a profound meaning appearing in his eyes.
Mu Yunjin swallowed, meekly sitting down and leaning her head toward Imperial Tutor An, “The way you’re talking, am I about to face some great calamity again?”
Previously, when Imperial Tutor An spoke, she had dismissed him as a charlatan spouting nonsense to deceive her. But since experiencing the Divine Order incident, she no longer dared to underestimate this person…