Mu Yunjin was momentarily speechless, staring at Hong Ling in a daze.

She had never imagined that the reason for Rong Jiu’s poisoning was because of her…

Back in the Northern Ming Kingdom, no wonder she hadn’t seen Rong Min—he had set his sights on Rong Jiu instead.

These people truly calculated everything meticulously.

Mu Yunjin clenched her fingers, inexplicably feeling an invisible pressure descending upon her, almost making it difficult to breathe.

“Princess Consort Ning, I can’t help but tell you all this because I truly have no other options. If His Highness dies from the poison, then the Second Prince will easily ascend the throne. The Second Prince is cruel by nature—if he becomes emperor, it will certainly be a disaster for the Eastern Lin Kingdom…” Hong Ling explained.

After speaking, she directly dropped to her knees before Mu Yunjin, lowering her eyes. “Princess Consort Ning, I beg you!”

“Please get up first.” Mu Yunjin frowned, bending down to help Hong Ling up.

“I won’t rise unless you agree to my request.” Hong Ling spoke chokingly.

…

…

Mu Yunjin didn’t know what to say. On one side was Chu Li’s person, and on the other was Rong Jiu. If she found the Celestial Star Grass and gave it to Rong Jiu, how would she explain it to Xu Heyu?

But if she didn’t give it to Rong Jiu and he died from the poison, she would feel as if she carried another life on her conscience.

“Let’s discuss this after I find the Celestial Star Grass.” Mu Yunjin glanced at Hong Ling. At this critical juncture, without finding the Celestial Star Grass, all talk was meaningless.

After speaking, she didn’t wait for Hong Ling’s response and directly left the alley.

…

By the time she returned to the Governor’s Mansion, everyone was in the main hall organizing medicinal herbs.

Mu Yunjin entered with a gloomy face, walked to Qiqi’s side, and began sorting herbs without a word.

Nearby, Chu Li, who hadn’t seen her since waking early, later learned from Hua Ying that she had gone to the inn again to see Rong Jiu. Anger surged within him, and a terrifying coldness emanated from his entire being.

Now, seeing Mu Yunjin return with low spirits, the mockery that had reached his lips was forcibly swallowed back.

“Princess Consort, have you had breakfast?” Qingmeng looked at Mu Yunjin with concern in her eyes.

Mu Yunjin nodded, “I have.”

“I’ve prepared the calming decoction. Let me bring it to you now.” Qingmeng said.

At the mention of the calming decoction, Mu Yunjin instinctively glanced toward Chu Li, seeing that he was looking down, not even sparing her a glance.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin sighed softly.

Qingmeng quickly brought over the calming decoction. Mu Yunjin held the medicine bowl, but before she could drink, she heard Qiqi speaking from beside her, “Most of the common medicinal herbs have been prepared. Only the rare ones remain: Cliff-Break Grass, September Sky, and Celestial Star Grass.”

Hearing “Celestial Star Grass,” Mu Yunjin’s eyes twitched. She pressed her lips together, then drank the calming decoction in one go.

The bitter taste filled her throat, causing her to stick out her tongue.

“My lady, is that medicine very bitter? It has such a pungent smell.” Qiqi looked at Mu Yunjin, frowning.

With these words, everyone’s attention turned to Mu Yunjin again.

Mu Yunjin forced a smile. “It’s fine, not very bitter.”

Hearing this, Chu Li glanced at her coldly, thinking to himself, “So she’s delighted after seeing another man, to the point where even medicine doesn’t taste bitter anymore?”

With this thought, Chu Li’s gaze darkened further.

“For Cliff-Break Grass, September Sky, and Celestial Star Grass, we need to start figuring out how to find them. All three are extremely rare, and it’s hard to know where to begin.” Qingmeng said.

“This prince has Celestial Star Grass.” Chu Li suddenly spoke, his tone calm.

At these words, Mu Yunjin’s heart tightened, and surprise flashed in her eyes as she looked at Chu Li incredulously. “You have Celestial Star Grass?”

“Yes.” Chu Li didn’t particularly want to engage with her and merely gave a faint acknowledgment.

Mu Yunjin didn’t sense Chu Li’s inappropriate mood and continued asking, “How do you have Celestial Star Grass? Isn’t it supposed to be extremely rare?”

“Is it strange that this prince possesses rare items?” Chu Li retorted, his tone carrying an unusual hint of pride.

Mu Yunjin immediately closed her mouth. Fine, it wasn’t strange indeed.

With another thought, Mu Yunjin asked again, “How much Celestial Star Grass do you have?”

If Chu Li had two plants, then all problems would be solved…

“One plant.” Chu Li said plainly.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin deflated like a punctured ball, her expression falling. It seemed her hopes had been too beautiful.

Beside her, Hua Ying sighed softly, knowing that in the coming days, her mistress would likely have much to worry about.

“Then this afternoon, we can start looking for Cliff-Break Grass and September Sky,” Qiqi said.

The others nodded in agreement.

…

After lunch, everyone began the task of searching for Cliff-Break Grass and September Sky.

Due to the rarity of the herbs, they split into several groups: Qiqi and Lei Yan as one team, Hua Ying and Huang Yan as another, while Qingmeng and Xiumei stayed behind to care for Xu Heyu.

Mu Yunjin was assigned to Chu Li’s group.

After leaving the Governor’s Mansion, neither Mu Yunjin nor Chu Li spoke to each other as they walked independently. By the time they reached the outskirts, Mu Yunjin realized she had followed Chu Li to the foot of the mountain where the black lotus had once been cultivated.

Speaking of the black lotus, she still found it all bewildering.

“Have you been here before?” Chu Li asked, turning his head just before ascending the mountain.

Mu Yunjin nodded, “Yes, isn’t this where you cultivated the black lotus?”

“Indeed, there’s nothing you don’t know.” Chu Li laughed self-mockingly. How much must he have liked her before, to have told her so many of his secrets?

Last night, on the way back to the Governor’s Mansion, it was again confirmed that she even knew about his night blindness.

Mu Yunjin heard Chu Li’s words and gave him a strange look. “You told me yourself; it wasn’t that I wanted to know.”

“…” Chu Li was speechless.

As they climbed the mountain, the cold wind made Mu Yunjin pull her cloak tighter, grateful that Huang Yan had brought her a thick cloak, or else she would have frozen these past few days.

“Are there medicinal herbs on this mountain?” Mu Yunjin asked as they walked.

Chu Li glanced at her, seeing her entire body curled up, and frowned. “Are you cold?”

“Obviously…” Mu Yunjin blurted out.

Realizing her impropriety, she immediately changed her tone and laughed awkwardly. “It’s not bad, not that cold.”

Seeing her shiver as she spoke, Chu Li stepped closer to her and extended his hand…

His hand waved midair, and Mu Yunjin, thinking Chu Li was going to harm her, quickly stepped back two paces, glaring at him angrily. “You haven’t lured me up the mountain to silence me forever, have you?”

Saying this, Mu Yunjin thought of the Heavenly God Token, which she was carrying with her.

“If this prince wanted to kill you, would I need to lure you up a mountain?” Chu Li looked at her with exasperation. What nonsense was going through this woman’s mind?

As he spoke, he had already walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled up the hood of her cloak, then tightened the buttons a bit more.

After completing these actions, Chu Li released her and continued up the mountain.

Mu Yunjin stood stunned for a moment, then secretly laughed. Taking advantage of Chu Li not noticing ahead, she hurried to catch up.

Due to the cold weather, the mountain was now barren, without a hint of fresh green.

“Are there medicinal herbs on this mountain?” Mu Yunjin asked Chu Li again.

Chu Li glanced at her, noticing that, wrapped in the cloak, she appeared even more petite, with only her fair face visible.

Inexplicably, his heart wavered, feeling an impulse to embrace her.

“The Celestial Star Grass is here.” Chu Li answered her.

Celestial Star Grass…

Mu Yunjin’s eyes flashed, and she bit her lip, feeling a surge of conflicting emotions. It would have been better if Chu Li hadn’t told her about the Celestial Star Grass; now that he had, she feared she might do something impulsive…

No, no, she couldn’t do something so unethical.

Arriving at the mountaintop, Mu Yunjin looked around and realized the summit was filled with flowers and plants. In contrast to the desolation of the mountainside, this place seemed like another world—lush with vegetation, fresh and sweet-smelling.

She remembered that this mountain had been sealed with formations by Chu Li. Apart from him, no one else could set foot here.

“This is the Celestial Star Grass.” Chu Li walked to a spot and crouched down.

Mu Yunjin quickly went over and crouched beside him, her gaze falling on a small orange four-petaled flower. “Is this it?”

“Yes.” Chu Li nodded.

Mu Yunjin found it curious. The small orange flower looked delicate and ordinary, not at all like a rare species.

“Do you only have one plant?” After asking, Mu Yunjin looked around, noticing several similar small flowers nearby, but none the same.

Chu Li looked at her with a furrowed brow. “Is there someone else who needs it?”

Earlier at the Governor’s Mansion, she had asked the same question, and he had explicitly answered that there was only one plant. He remembered her looking dejected then.

Now, she had asked again, and her eyes were full of expectation.

“No one, I was just curious. It seems a pity that such a rare thing only has one plant.” Mu Yunjin made up an excuse.

“If there were more than one, it wouldn’t be considered rare.” Chu Li replied, knowing that Mu Yunjin must be hiding something.

Chu Li stood up and pulled out a drawing from his sleeve, showing illustrations of Cliff-Break Grass and September Sky.

“Let’s see if these two are here.” Chu Li handed the drawing to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin took it, looked at the illustrations, and nodded. Instead of dwelling on the Celestial Star Grass, she began searching around for the other herbs.

…

The cold wind blew harshly on the mountain. Despite the sun, it couldn’t ward off the chill.

With the wind came waves of floral fragrance. After smelling it for a while, the nausea in Mu Yunjin’s stomach surged again. Covering her mouth, she walked to the side and began dry heaving.

Chu Li heard the dry heaving from behind, turned to look at Mu Yunjin, and saw her crouched to the side retching, just like the previous days.

Seeing this, Chu Li frowned and approached her.

“What’s wrong with you?” Chu Li asked.

Mu Yunjin heard Chu Li’s voice, paused, took several deep breaths, and shook her head. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Do you have some chronic illness?”