The corner of Chu Li’s mouth curved upward. As Mu Yunjin withdrew her hand, he seized the opportunity to grasp it in his own. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her. “Not going is perfect. This prince doesn’t want to go either.”
With these words, Chu Li prepared to remove the pearl hairpins from her hair.
“No! We must go!” Mu Yunjin grabbed Chu Li’s wrist, stopping his movement. The new Holy Maiden from the Southern Pavilion Kingdom had been described so remarkably, she had to see her at least once.
After speaking, Mu Yunjin stood up and walked directly out the door.
…
Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu were now standing at the entrance of the study room, though the two kept their distance from each other. Their expressions were cold as they maintained an air of unfamiliarity with each other.
Qu Xinyao in particular was leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed and lips pursed, her face filled with impatience.
After taking just a few steps out of her room, Mu Yunjin saw these two at the entrance to the study. If not for the white jade plum blossom hairpin that Xu Heyu had given her still adorning Qu Xinyao’s hair, she would have thought these two were sworn enemies.
“Hello there.” Mu Yunjin sensed the awkward atmosphere and could only smile and wave to the two from a distance.
…
…
Hearing Mu Yunjin’s voice, Qu Xinyao raised her head and returned a radiant smile. “Princess Consort Ning, it’s been a long time.”
Xu Heyu also offered a smile, nodding to Mu Yunjin in greeting.
“Yes, are you both… doing well?” Mu Yunjin asked another nosy question. The state of the relationship between these two was truly perplexing.
Hearing this, Qu Xinyao turned her head and rolled her eyes at Xu Heyu. “Who’s ever been well with him!”
“We’re doing fine.” Xu Heyu answered softly, and after speaking, cast a glance at Qu Xinyao.
Upon hearing Xu Heyu’s words, Qu Xinyao’s body stiffened slightly. She pouted and quickly glanced at Xu Heyu, but the expression on her face was no longer as displeased and angry as before.
Mu Yunjin couldn’t understand these two.
“Let’s go.” When Chu Li came out, he saw Mu Yunjin standing at a distance, talking with Qu Xinyao and the others. He walked slowly toward her, put his arm around her waist, and led her out of Liquan Pavilion.
Mu Yunjin leaned against Chu Li’s embrace. Looking back at Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu, when she was at some distance from them, she spoke in a low volume while walking. “What’s going on between those two?”
“They’re at an impasse.” Chu Li’s tone was light as he uttered just two words.
“Huh?” Mu Yunjin didn’t understand what Chu Li meant and looked at him with puzzled eyes.
Chu Li patted her head, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear, “When Heyu was a child, his entire family was massacred. He was the only survivor, but he was fed a type of poison.”
“This…” Mu Yunjin didn’t know how to continue, her eyes flickering with shock.
“The poison has penetrated deeply into his bones and blood. There is no cure, and in the past two years, the toxicity has relapsed repeatedly. His days are likely numbered. So, though he loves Qu Xinyao, he doesn’t dare to be with her.”
“How could this happen…” Mu Yunjin lowered her eyelids, her heart filled with mixed emotions. No wonder the two appeared to have feelings for each other, yet Xu Heyu had never taken that step forward.
Seeing her distracted expression, Chu Li added, “Qu Xinyao doesn’t know about this. Don’t tell her.”
“Otherwise, it would be a painful thing for the rest of her life.”
Mu Yunjin nodded woodenly. Putting herself in their shoes, she thought that keeping Xu Heyu’s poisoning from Qu Xinyao meant that, to her, believing she had fallen in love with someone who didn’t love her back was also a kind of painful torment.
In the carriage to the palace, Chu Li and Mu Yunjin rode in one, while Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu sat in another. Chu Qingyuan had originally said she would leave with Mu Yunjin, but early in the morning, she had already been summoned to the palace.
Mu Yunjin leaned against the carriage, her thoughts complex. In a flash, she felt that her situation was the same as Xu Heyu’s—both had a time bomb hidden in their bodies, not knowing what would happen to them in the next moment.
Sigh.
A single sigh escaped her.
Throughout the journey, Mu Yunjin hadn’t spoken a word, her small face filled with worry, her chest feeling heavy, unable to muster any energy.
After the carriage stopped at the palace gate, Mu Yunjin didn’t move for a while, until someone knocked on the carriage from outside.
“Prince Ning, Princess Consort Ning, what are you doing? Taking forever to get out of the carriage.” Qu Xinyao’s voice came from outside the carriage.
Mu Yunjin came back to her senses, looked at Chu Li, took a deep breath, and extended her hand to Chu Li. “Help me down.”
“Mm.” Chu Li curled the corners of his lips, first bent down to exit the carriage, and then, as Mu Yunjin stepped out, he lifted her by the waist out of the carriage.
At the palace gate, many officials and young ladies had gathered for the banquet. Upon seeing Chu Li carrying Mu Yunjin down from the carriage, they all cast surprised and meaningful glances.
The cold-faced Prince Ning had now fallen for a woman.
On the way to Qinglan Hall, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li walked hand in hand in front. Behind them, Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu had originally kept some distance between them, but with each step, Qu Xinyao would secretly move a little closer to Xu Heyu.
Gradually, as they walked, she and Xu Heyu were also walking side by side.
“Fool, will you be going to Ghost Valley Cave in a few days?” Qu Xinyao found a topic, her hands behind her back, her gait seemingly carefree, but her hands had already tightened around her sleeves.
When Xu Heyu heard about Ghost Valley Cave, his eyebrows twitched. “Are you going?”
“Yes.” Qu Xinyao nodded. She hadn’t decided to go to Ghost Valley Cave; at this moment, she was just curious about Xu Heyu’s reaction if she told him she was going to such a dangerous place.
“I haven’t received notification from His Highness.” Xu Heyu brushed it off with a casual sentence.
Qu Xinyao was taken aback, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes. After biting her lip, she asked again, “I heard that there are two Ancient Temple Spirit Crocodiles there that are very formidable. I’d like to meet them and see how capable I am.”
“Take care then, and don’t be reckless.” Xu Heyu, just like before, spoke in a light tone, devoid of any emotion.
Qu Xinyao gave a bitter laugh and shook her head self-mockingly. All these years, she had fallen for such a cold-hearted person.
“We’ll see. My life isn’t worth much. If I die in Ghost Valley Cave, it’s no big deal. At least I’ll have shown my loyalty to His Highness!” Qu Xinyao sneered, moving two steps to the side, once again maintaining a distance from Xu Heyu.
Xu Heyu lowered his eyes, his mood gloomy.
…
Many people were already inside Qinglan Hall. Mu Yunjin and Chu Li walked toward the Prince’s seats. After passing by the seats of Prince Chen’s mansion, Mu Yunjin saw that Chu Qing had already arrived.
Mu Yunjin had never liked Chu Qing, having no good feelings toward him. After recent events, her impression of him had hit rock bottom.
Now she didn’t even bother with the pretense of greeting him, directly ignoring Chu Qing as she walked past him.
Chu Qing pulled at the corner of his mouth, watching Mu Yunjin pass by without speaking, sitting silently in his place without a word.
After Mu Yunjin and Chu Li took their seats, she also noticed that at the seats of Prince Rong’s mansion, Prince Rong was sitting alone. Recently, both Princess Consort Rong and Mu Lingzhu had lost their lives, and he still hadn’t established a formal consort in his mansion.
On the other side, the seats for the city lords were arranged among the official seats. Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu originally had adjacent seats, but Qu Xinyao, whose mood had been spoiled on the way, suggested exchanging seats with Qiu Tianhuai, the city lord of Zhangzhou.
Qiu Tianhuai naturally agreed.
Now, with Qiu Tianhuai sitting between her and Xu Heyu’s seats, Qu Xinyao felt much more relaxed and comfortable.
Seeing this, Mu Yunjin sighed and shook her head. “Is there no way to cure Lord Xu’s poison?”
What a pity.
Chu Li held Mu Yunjin’s hand and said helplessly, “Don’t think too much about it.”
“Mm.” Mu Yunjin propped up her head, occasionally looking toward the official seats, until she saw Old General Qin and Qin Muyue enter together; only then did she look away.
How disappointing!
After Old General Qin and Qin Muyue arrived, they didn’t immediately sit down, but first walked toward the princes’ seats.
When passing by Chu Qing’s seat, Old General Qin first greeted Chu Qing. “This old minister pays respects to Prince Chen.”
“No need for such formality, General.” Chu Qing nodded in acknowledgment.
Old General Qin nodded, then glanced around and led Qin Muyue toward Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.
Upon reaching the two seats, Old General Qin still wore a smile on his face. “This old minister pays respects to Prince Ning and Princess Consort Ning.”
Chu Li and Mu Yunjin, in perfect harmony, didn’t even glance at him.
“Elder Brother Chu Li, Sister-in-law Yunjin, it’s been a long time. Are you both well?” Qin Muyue looked at the two with a smile, as if all the recent events had never happened.
What Mu Yunjin admired most about Qin Muyue was her ability to be flexible. If she were Qin Muyue, she would have long since turned and left. How could she still stand here smiling, pretending as if nothing had happened?
Impressive.
Truly the foremost female general of the Western Yuan Kingdom.
“Of course I’m well, thank you for your concern, Miss Qin.” Mu Yunjin replied with a sarcastic tone.
“That’s good then, Muyue can now be at ease.” Qin Muyue said with a smile, then tugged at Old General Qin’s sleeve. “Grandfather, my brother has arrived. Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
With that, the grandfather and granddaughter returned to the officials’ seats.
Mu Yunjin glanced over toward the officials’ seats and indeed saw Qin Muyue’s long-absent brother, Qin Muyue. Today, Qin Muyue was dressed in a silver brocade robe, looking thinner overall, and his complexion was somewhat pale.
Qin Muyue seemed to sense someone watching him and cast a glance in Mu Yunjin’s direction. When his gaze met Mu Yunjin’s in mid-air, his heart skipped a beat.
Mu Yunjin immediately averted her eyes, avoiding Qin Muyue’s gaze.
How awkward.
…
After sitting for a while, an announcement came from outside the hall. With the announcement, Emperor Ximing, Empress Ximing, and Empress Dowager Zheng walked at the front, slowly entering the great hall.
After everyone had paid their respects, they settled down to listen to Emperor Ximing speak from the throne.
Today’s banquet is to welcome the newly appointed Holy Maiden envoy from the Southern Pavilion Kingdom on her visit to the Western Yuan Kingdom. I won’t say much more. First, let’s invite the Holy Maiden envoy to enter the hall!” After the Emperor finished speaking, he cast a glance at Eunuch Lu to the side.
Eunuch Lu understood and stepped forward. “Announcing the Holy Maiden envoy from the Southern Pavilion Kingdom, Yun Shuangleng, enters the hall…”