Jingyang had expected Chu Qingyuan’s arrival would lead to more intense humiliation, but hearing her casual and harmless words, she looked up in surprise, meeting Chu Qingyuan’s gaze.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Chu Qingyuan still didn’t understand.

Mu Yunjin glanced at Chu Qingyuan, then at Jingyang, and curved her lips slightly. “Let’s go have breakfast.”

With those words, she walked toward the dining hall.

Chu Qingyuan and Jingyang followed behind Mu Yunjin and Chu Li, both their faces showing undisguised happiness.

Mu Yunjin walked very close to Chu Li, speaking to him in a very low voice as they walked. “Have you noticed anything suspicious? Why did she suddenly apologize to me?”

Back in North Ming Country, she had been so arrogant and domineering.

“Don’t understand.” Chu Li didn’t quite comprehend these games between young women.

Mu Yunjin pouted and put aside her puzzled thoughts.

…

…

Arriving at the dining hall, after everyone was seated, Mu Yunjin noticed that Jingyang hadn’t entered. She glanced toward the doorway and saw Jingyang standing at the entrance of the dining hall, staring at her.

“What are you standing there for?” Mu Yunjin frowned.

“I…” Jingyang stuttered; without Mu Yunjin’s permission, she didn’t dare enter.

Mu Yunjin didn’t understand why this girl had suddenly become so strange. “Come in and eat.”

Hearing this, Jingyang’s eyes lit up. “I… can I?”

“…” Mu Yunjin remained silent.

Having received permission, Jingyang walked in with small steps, looked around, and sat down beside Chu Qingyuan.

Nanny Mo had been standing beside Jingyang the whole time. She had initially thought Jingyang’s words yesterday were just casual remarks, but seeing her behavior now, Nanny Mo realized that the little Princess had meant every word she said.

It seemed she genuinely respected Princess Jinhua from the bottom of her heart.

At the table, Mu Yunjin ate her breakfast as usual, leisurely sipping her red bean porridge. However, today she felt the atmosphere at the breakfast table was somewhat peculiar.

“By the way, the weather is nice today. Would you like to go out for a stroll later?” Chu Qingyuan suggested.

“That’s fine. Do you have any ideas?” Mu Yunjin asked lazily.

Chu Qingyuan thought for a moment, then tilted her head to look at Jingyang. “What about you? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

Yesterday’s first meeting with Jingyang hadn’t been particularly pleasant, but she was a person with a big heart and wouldn’t take it to heart. As long as this person didn’t repeatedly provoke her, it was fine.

After all, she was said to be her Sixth Sister-in-law’s younger sister, so she wouldn’t hold a grudge against her.

“Anything is fine with me,” Jingyang said softly.

“Then let’s go to Water Cloud Temple. Yesterday I had some good fortune, so today I want to offer incense and pray for blessings,” Chu Qingyuan said, deciding on the destination.

Mu Yunjin had no objections and nodded in agreement.

Chu Li naturally wouldn’t insert himself among these women and only instructed Song Chun and Huang Yan to accompany them to ensure their safety.

……

After breakfast, Mu Yunjin, Chu Qingyuan, and Jingyang boarded a carriage and headed toward Water Cloud Temple.

Nanny Mo wanted to follow out of concern, but was refused by Mu Yunjin. Neither she nor Chu Qingyuan had brought their maids along, and having an elderly woman accompany them would make them uncomfortable.

Besides, she wouldn’t eat Jingyang.

Sitting in the carriage, Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan sat without any concern for posture, twisting and leaning back, even putting their legs up on the opposite seats, sitting however they felt comfortable.

Jingyang sat with her body straight, lips tightly pressed together.

“Aren’t you tired sitting like that? There are no outsiders here, no need to put on princess airs. Sit however you find comfortable,” Chu Qingyuan glanced at Jingyang.

Jingyang now genuinely felt that Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan harbored no ill will toward her. She obediently relaxed a bit, let out a sigh of relief, and bent her back slightly.

“Hey, how old are you this year?” Chu Qingyuan asked Jingyang.

“Fourteen.”

“That’s the same as me. What season were you born in?” Chu Qingyuan asked with enthusiasm.

Jingyang paused. “Early spring.”

“Then you’re a bit younger than me. I was born at the beginning of the year,” Chu Qingyuan raised her eyebrows, looking somewhat proud.

Hearing this, Jingyang also smiled with narrowed eyes. “Early year and early spring, there’s not much difference in days.”

“Still, I’m older than you,” Chu Qingyuan said.

“By the way, is your royal surname in North Ming Country ‘Beitang’?” Chu Qingyuan opened the conversation box. After all, there was still a long way to the Water Cloud Temple, and finding someone to chat with was not a bad idea.

Jingyang shook her head, her eyes showing amusement. “Beitang in North Ming Country is a surname used only by the monarch. We all just have the single surname ‘Bei’.”

“So you’re called Bei Jingyang?” Chu Qingyuan raised an eyebrow.

Jingyang shook her head again. “Jingyang is my princess title. My name is Bei Nianyi.”

“Hehe, not as nice-sounding as my name,” Chu Qingyuan laughed lightly.

“Sister Jinhua is still here. Be careful what you say, or she might scold you.” Jingyang grew bolder and, being from North Ming Country, decided to drag Mu Yunjin into the water with her.

Mu Yunjin smiled faintly and added a cutting remark, “I only have a title.”

“But Nianyi, Nianyi sounds much better than your Jingyang,” Chu Qingyuan added another comment.

“Yes, only my mother secretly calls me by this name. Most of the time, they call me Jingyang,” Jingyang said.

Chu Qingyuan giggled. “Then I’ll openly call you Bei Nianyi.”

“Chu Qingyuan…” Jingyang also timely called Chu Qingyuan by her full name.

After speaking, the two girls of the same age looked at each other and smiled, then both turned to look at Mu Yunjin, saying in unison, “Mu Yunjin!”

“Are you two itching for trouble?”

……

The journey was fairly relaxed. By the time they reached Water Cloud Temple, Jingyang was no longer as stiff as before and was walking hand in hand with Chu Qingyuan in a friendly manner.

“Sixth Sister-in-law, there are quite a few people at Water Cloud Temple today. Let’s go queue up to offer incense first,” Chu Qingyuan looked inside.

“You two go ahead. I’ll wander around first,” Mu Yunjin had no interest in offering incense.

Chu Qingyuan nodded.

After they left, Mu Yunjin called out to Song Chun and Huang Yan. “You two follow them and don’t let them run around. Be careful they don’t get lost.”

“Consort, you…” Song Chun was hesitant to leave Mu Yunjin alone here.

If something happened, they couldn’t bear the responsibility.

“It’s fine. Ordinary thieves can’t get near me,” Mu Yunjin smiled.

Huang Yan stroked his chin. Having spent a long time with Mu Yunjin, he naturally knew she was deliberately sending them away. He nudged Song Chun’s arm. “Let’s follow them first. Those two young ones have no martial arts skills and have bad tempers. It would be troublesome if something happens.”

With those words, he first walked in the direction where Chu Qingyuan and Jingyang had gone.

Song Chun followed.

After everyone had left, Mu Yunjin looked around and then, as if guided by some unseen force, walked toward the courtyard of the ancient tree.

Although the thousand-year-old tree had withered and died, the courtyard was still not open to the public. Just like before, one needed Master Huaiyuan’s special token to enter.

Mu Yunjin was already a “regular visitor.” The young monk at the courtyard entrance saw her and opened the door for her.

Mu Yunjin thanked him and walked in.

Inside, it was still the same as the day she had seen it, with only a short tree stump remaining. Without the ancient tree, the courtyard seemed both spacious and desolate.

Mu Yunjin approached the tree stump, sat cross-legged on the ground, propped her chin with her hand, and just sat there quietly.

There had been so many recent events weighing on her heart, making her both troubled and confused.

Although she hadn’t decided when to go to Ghost Valley Cave for the Crocodile Pearl, the journey would undoubtedly be extremely difficult. Plus, State Preceptor An had said an additional heart meridian had appeared in her body. If she wanted to get the Crocodile Pearl, it would have to be in the next few days.

Mu Yunjin felt somewhat tired.

After sitting for a long time, Mu Yunjin felt a chill coming from the ground. Although the weather was nice today with sunshine, it was already winter, and the ground temperature was extremely low.

Mu Yunjin thought she should stand up first, lest she catch a cold again. At this rate, she would soon become as frail as Lin Daiyu.

Perhaps from sitting cross-legged on the ground for too long, her legs had become numb. When she stood up, her foot weakened, and her whole body fell forward toward the tree stump.

Fortunately, Mu Yunjin reacted quickly and supported herself with her hands on the tree stump, preventing her entire body from falling.

But the moment her hand touched the tree stump, her mind spun, and she once again saw a red figure and a black figure before her eyes.

The two figures sat side by side, just like her posture moments ago.

Mu Yunjin shook her head and quickly came to her senses. Right before she did, a fire-red phoenix flashed before her eyes…

Was this a ghost sighting?

Why had she been seeing this scene lately? It was fine that she had seen it in her dreams, but why had it just flashed in her mind?

The first time seemed to have also been a sudden flash in her mind in this ancient tree courtyard, the second time was in a midnight dream, and the third time was again in this place…

Was this ancient tree trying to hint at something?

Mu Yunjin was startled by this thought. She crouched down and carefully examined the tree stump.

After a while, Mu Yunjin’s gaze rested on the lowest part of the ancient tree.

Near the roots of the ancient tree, even in this cold winter, quite a few tender grasses had grown, completely covering the roots of the ancient tree.

Mu Yunjin reached out to part some of those tender grasses and leaned in to observe the surroundings of the ancient tree. Before she could discover anything, footsteps sounded behind her.

She had heard these footsteps a few times and was somewhat familiar with them.

At this moment, without turning her head, she spoke directly, “Little Ninth is offering incense in front. Aren’t you going to see her?”

Yesterday, State Preceptor An secretly sought you out. What did he tell you?” Consort Rong stared at Mu Yunjin’s back, her face tense as she asked.

“What do you mean by ‘secretly’? He came to the mansion openly to find me,” Mu Yunjin said, talking in circles with Consort Rong.

If she told Consort Rong about the two heart meridians, she would want her to cut open her heart and remove the Divine Decree immediately. She absolutely couldn’t bear the thought of the Divine Decree merging with her heart meridian.

“He wouldn’t come find you without something important. And since he concealed it from me to find you, it must be related to me, right?” Consort Rong spoke with certainty.

“What kind of relationship do you have with him? Why can’t he keep things from you? You’re his life-saving benefactor, that’s true, but over these many years, he has almost repaid that debt. Don’t always treat him like your servant,” Mu Yunjin was somewhat displeased.

Seeing that Mu Yunjin consistently avoided directly answering her question, Consort Rong bit her lip. “Is there a problem with the Divine Decree?”