“Him and Huaying?” Mu Yunjin steadied herself.
In her impression, Huang Yan was always smooth-talking and never seemed serious. Although he had expressed some interest in Huaying, everyone around them considered it just playful banter, and no one took it seriously.
Now Qingmeng was suggesting that Huang Yan had genuine feelings?
“In recent days, Huang Yan has been visiting the City Lord’s mansion daily, and then making time to come to Diehua City,” Qingmeng looked at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin pouted, “Huaying has a cold personality. I wonder if she would like someone like Huang Yan…”
“That’s not even the main issue. The trouble I mentioned is because Huaying is a snake spirit with a half-human, half-beast body. She’s not of true human bloodline and cannot easily unite with humans…” Qingmeng sighed helplessly.
Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched as she turned to look at Chu Li, “Don’t you think Huang Yan has too much luck? How did he happen to fall for a snake spirit?”
Chu Li shook his head. Regarding Huang Yan’s romantic issues, he truly wasn’t very clear.
“Never mind, let them resolve it themselves. Compared to Heyu and Yaoyao, they’re much more fortunate,” Qingmeng changed the troublesome topic.
…
…
After sitting for a while longer, Chu Li checked the time and stood up, “This prince will go to the General’s mansion first.”
“Mm,” Mu Yunjin nodded, and remembering that Jiang Qingxue would be going in her place today, she also stood up.
“Is my mother in her room?” Mu Yunjin asked Chu Li.
Chu Li nodded.
Seeing this, Mu Yunjin immediately walked slowly out the door and headed outside Liquan Pavilion.
Arriving at Jiang Qingxue’s room, upon seeing someone who looked exactly like herself, Mu Yunjin was startled and stepped back.
Jiang Qingxue quickly came forward to support her, “Be careful, don’t be reckless.”
“This is so similar!” Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. It was like looking in a mirror. With a ready-made ‘self’ standing in front of her, Mu Yunjin touched her chin and examined Jiang Qingxue thoroughly.
Jiang Qingxue looked at her reaction with amusement, “It’s not like you haven’t seen yourself before.”
“But I’ve never seen an identical version of myself,” Mu Yunjin smiled, making up her mind that in a few days, she would ask Chu Li to teach her this Thousand Faces illusion technique.
“Alright, it’s about time. I need to go to the General’s mansion with Chu Li now,” Jiang Qingxue glanced at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin nodded.
To avoid frightening the servants outside the pavilion, she saw Jiang Qingxue out the door, then stayed in Jiang Qingxue’s room, finding a rocking chair to sit in.
After sitting for a while, someone knocked on the door.
“Princess,” It was Qingmeng’s voice.
“Come in.”
Qingmeng entered, with Huang Yan beside her.
Seeing Huang Yan, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but recall what Qingmeng had just said about him and Huaying, causing her to look at Huang Yan with some complexity.
“Princess, the way you’re looking at me is scary.” Huang Yan shrugged and sat down nearby.
Qingmeng laughed lightly, “Before the Prince left, he asked us to keep you company, afraid you might feel bored being alone here.”
“It seems that even with memory loss, His Highness still cares for the Princess as before,” Qingmeng added.
“Alas, all of you with your perfect love lives. I, Young Master Huang, am getting a headache,” Huang Yan sighed.
Mu Yunjin looked at Huang Yan, “Are you serious or just pretending? Have you fallen for her?”
“Of course I’m serious!” Huang Yan affirmed without hesitation.
“But our Huaying isn’t easy to pursue…” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow.
Hearing this, Huang Yan moved closer to Mu Yunjin with a cunning look in his eyes, “By the way, she went back to Fengyu Pavilion these past few days. When can you take me there too?”
“Can I say that I’ve never been there myself?” Mu Yunjin looked at Huang Yan. This guy was already setting his sights on Fengyu Pavilion.
“Really? That’s great! Now we have a reason to go to Fengyu Pavilion!” Huang Yan excitedly slapped his thigh.
Seeing this, Qingmeng couldn’t help but pour cold water on Huang Yan’s enthusiasm, “The Princess is in poor health recently and can’t go anywhere. You should give up on this idea.”
“It’s fine, I can run errands and relay messages for you. I don’t mind the hard work…”
Mu Yunjin and Qingmeng both twitched their mouths simultaneously, speechless.
“By the way, was Old Rascal Qin’s death caused by Chu Li?” Mu Yunjin lowered her voice, looking at Huang Yan.
Huang Yan touched his chin, “You want to know?”
Mu Yunjin nodded.
“Then give me a Fengyu Pavilion spirit mark so I can find a way to sneak into Fengyu Pavilion…” Huang Yan made his request.
Mu Yunjin glared at Huang Yan, “Can you be any more shameless?”
“Well, do you want to know how Old Rascal Qin died or not?” Huang Yan retorted.
“Never mind!” Mu Yunjin looked away.
Huang Yan’s face suddenly froze.
Qingmeng burst into laughter.
Although Huang Yan felt stifled, he couldn’t hold back his words. He looked at Mu Yunjin and spoke softly, “Old Rascal Qin’s death was our archer guard Ding’s work. His precise archery pierced right through Old Rascal Qin’s head…”
After speaking, Huang Yan pointed to his temple.
“Then where is Consort Rong?” Mu Yunjin asked again.
“Hey! Princess, you’re asking me two questions at once. Shouldn’t you give me something in return?” Huang Yan was displeased this time and spoke irritably.
Mu Yunjin propped her chin up, rolling her eyes thoughtfully before breaking into a smile, “Well, considering Young Master Huang’s capabilities, as Pavilion Master, I’ll appoint you as Fengyu Pavilion’s messenger. From now on, you’ll be responsible for delivering messages to all my subordinates in the pavilion. How’s that?”
“It’s a deal!” Huang Yan laughed joyfully, hurriedly rolling up his sleeve and pointing to his arm, “Quickly give me a spirit mark.”
“The Princess is unwell these days and shouldn’t use illusion techniques,” Qingmeng intervened.
Huang Yan’s face fell again.
Mu Yunjin’s lips curled into a smile as she gently waved her hand, placing a Fengyu Pavilion spirit mark on Huang Yan’s arm.
“Hahaha!” Seeing the Fengyu Pavilion spirit mark on his arm, Huang Yan immediately burst into laughter, then stood up and prepared to run out.
At the doorway, as if remembering something, he said, “I don’t know exactly where Consort Rong is settled, but she’s safe for now.”
With that, he disappeared like a gust of wind.
…
Chu Li returned to the mansion in the afternoon.
After Jiang Qingxue returned to her room, Mu Yunjin went out and arrived at Liquan Pavilion, where she saw Ding Xian standing at the study door.
Seeing Mu Yunjin, Ding Xian immediately stepped forward and spoke softly, “Crown Prince Ye has arrived and is in the study.”
Chu Ye…
Mu Yunjin felt he was another person she had nearly forgotten.
“I’ll wait for Chu Li in the room,” Mu Yunjin said, heading toward the bedroom.
At this time, in the study with its heavy atmosphere.
“Sixth Brother, what is your next plan?” Chu Ye raised his eyes to look at Chu Li, who was sitting at the desk opposite him.
Chu Li looked at Chu Ye, his thin lips parting slightly, “What does Fourth Brother think?”
“With Qin Zei’s death, you’ve disrupted his three-country alliance plan and caught the Qin family off guard. However, I can’t guess what comes next—whether you will press your advantage or stop here,” Chu Ye spoke calmly.
“Rather than pressing the advantage, this subject brother prefers to dismantle others’ carefully laid plans one by one. That way is more satisfying,” Chu Li spoke coldly, his lips revealing a faint smile.
Hearing this, Chu Ye couldn’t help but laugh, “In that case, I’m curious about Chu Qing’s future reactions.”
“Sixth Brother, choosing to stand on your side was the right decision for Fourth Brother. However, half the credit for this decision should go to Mu Yunjin. That woman is a genius,” Chu Ye said.
At the mention of Mu Yunjin, Chu Li smiled, “She is indeed a genius…”
…
Mu Yunjin didn’t wait long in the room before Chu Li pushed open the door.
“How was everything at the General’s mansion today?” Mu Yunjin asked.
Chu Li nodded, “Mm, nothing important.”
Mu Yunjin’s heart relaxed.
“Mu Yunjin…” Chu Li suddenly lowered his gaze to look at her.
“Hm?” Mu Yunjin felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Chu Li call her full name.
Chu Li looked at her, pondered for a moment, and finally spoke softly, “Starting tomorrow, you should go to Mount Xiuyan to settle there.”
“What did you say?” Mu Yunjin instinctively asked Chu Li. What did he mean? Was he driving her out of the Prince’s mansion?
“It’s like spring all year round there, suitable for recuperating and self-cultivation,” Chu Li stared at her.
Upon hearing these words, Mu Yunjin’s heart suddenly soured. She lowered her eyes, and tears began to fall drop by drop.
Chu Li was startled by her sudden tears. When he realized what was happening, he found that the person in front of him was crying profusely, and he couldn’t help but reach out to wipe her tears.
The gesture of wiping her tears made Mu Yunjin cry even harder, changing from silent tears to soft sobs, “Chu Li, are you abandoning me…”
Otherwise, why would he suddenly ask her to move out, and to such a distant place?
Seeing her cry more intensely, Chu Li thought about how her emotions shouldn’t fluctuate too much and felt immensely distressed. He reached out to pull her into his arms, his hand gently covering the back of her head.
“I’m not abandoning you. It’s just that chaos is everywhere now. If you stay at Mount Xiuyan to recuperate, this prince will feel more at ease,” Chu Li finished speaking, his tone gentler than even he realized.
Mu Yunjin buried her face in Chu Li’s chest. Hearing his words, she sniffled, her eyes red, and remained stunned for a long time.
Yes, what Chu Li said was right. Now that she was pregnant, not only could she not help at all, but she could become a burden to Chu Li at any time. Going to Mount Xiuyan was indeed the best choice.
But…
She couldn’t bear to leave Chu Li.
At this thought, tears that had just stopped welled up again, making her whole body tremble and her head spin.
Chu Li hadn’t expected her reaction to be so strong. His heart suddenly softened, and he held her tighter, “Alright, alright, you don’t have to go. Don’t cry…”
Mu Yunjin shook her head, choked with sobs, “I, I…”
Mu Yunjin wanted to say, I’ll go…
But when the words reached her lips, she couldn’t say them. In this otherworld, her greatest reliance and support was Chu Li. If she left Chu Li’s side, she couldn’t imagine how her days would be…
At least certainly worse than now…
“Chu Li, give me one day to think about it.”