An hour later, the four of them appeared at Imperial Mentor An’s residence in the Nanting Kingdom.
Imperial Mentor An was sitting in the courtyard enjoying tea when four people suddenly materialized out of thin air, giving him quite a shock.
Upon recognizing the visitors, he raised his eyebrows, looking at Mu Yunjin, “Why has this girl come here?”
“What do you think?” Mu Yunjin sat down, glancing at Imperial Mentor An.
“Did you come specifically to find Chu Li?” Imperial Mentor An smiled.
Mu Yunjin nodded, pursing her lips, “Is Chu Li here in the Nanting Kingdom?”
“I just saw him yesterday,” Imperial Mentor An replied. “He should be in the palace now.”
“Then…” Mu Yunjin dragged out the word, “Have you heard any rumors from the palace? Perhaps about a certain princess?”
Hearing this, Imperial Mentor An suddenly laughed, raising his eyebrows, “Princess Jialan?”
…
…
Mu Yunjin’s face immediately fell, “Even you know about it. So it must be true…”
“What’s true or false? You came all this way because of a princess here?” Imperial Mentor An looked amusedly at Mu Yunjin’s worried expression.
“The marriage alliance! The Crown Prince of Nanting, Yun Lianqing, told me that the old Emperor plans to marry Yun Jialan to Chu Li! That’s why I rushed here…” The more Mu Yunjin spoke, the more uncomfortable she felt, and she took the opportunity to curse Consort Rong again for insisting on giving Chu Li the memory-loss drug.
Imperial Mentor An curved his lips, “So that’s what you’re talking about. I have heard about it, but it hasn’t been finalized yet…”
“He wouldn’t dare finalize it!” Mu Yunjin was furious, clenching her fists. “Is Chu Li in the Nanting Kingdom’s palace now? I need to find him.”
After speaking, Mu Yunjin stood up, and just as she was about to turn and leave, she paused and looked at Imperial Mentor An, “Take me into the palace.”
“You don’t let people have peace, little girl. I just returned from court and haven’t even had a bite to eat yet,” Imperial Mentor An sighed.
“Aren’t we friends?” Mu Yunjin crossed her arms, speaking to Imperial Mentor An without much restraint.
Imperial Mentor An spread his hands, “Alright, alright, let’s go.”
…
In the carriage heading to the palace, Mu Yunjin clasped her hands tightly together, both excited and nervous, wondering what the scene would be like when she saw Chu Li.
“Why are you so fixated on just one person?” Imperial Mentor An saw Mu Yunjin’s anxious state and teased her.
Mu Yunjin gave Imperial Mentor An a glance, “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Love and romance, I indeed don’t understand,” Imperial Mentor An said calmly.
After a pause, Imperial Mentor An asked again, “You just said it was Yun Lianqing who told you about this? You met with Yun Lianqing alone?”
“Yes, I ran into him in Zhangzhou City,” Mu Yunjin pouted.
“Did that boy blackmail you with something? With his peculiar temperament, he wouldn’t reveal the marriage alliance to you without some benefit.”
Mu Yunjin nodded slightly, “He wants to choose between Chu Li and Chu Qing as an alliance partner.”
“Just that?” Imperial Mentor An asked.
“Mm,” Mu Yunjin nodded in confirmation.
Imperial Mentor An leaned against the carriage wall, chuckling softly, “Among Yun Guangyao’s many sons, only Yun Lianqing is the most deeply scheming. Previously, when Chu Qing and Rong Min were in the Nanting Kingdom, they met with Yun Lianqing several times before he agreed to ally with them. Now, he probably feels that Chu Qing can’t give him what he wants, or that Chu Li is more valuable than Chu Qing, which is why he’s extending an olive branch to your Prince Ning’s Mansion…”
“What about that, Princess Jialan? What kind of person is she?” Mu Yunjin asked.
“She’s quite an arrogant and willful woman, considerably inferior to the youngest princess, Yun Shuangleng, but her appearance is acceptable,” Imperial Mentor An replied casually.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin felt strangely relieved. Arrogant and willful was good!
She feared the kind of gentle girl who evoked sympathy—those were harder to deal with.
After the carriage stopped at the palace gate, Mu Yunjin and Imperial Mentor An alighted and walked toward the palace together.
Along the way, they encountered many palace maids and eunuchs who, upon seeing Imperial Mentor An, all showed respect and bowed in greeting.
“You’re so respected as the Imperial Mentor here. Does the Emperor of Nanting value you highly?” As they walked, Mu Yunjin asked in a low voice.
“Of course, gold shines wherever it goes,” Imperial Mentor An raised his eyebrows, not modest at all.
Mu Yunjin was startled, then couldn’t help but laugh softly, “Yes, that’s true.”
After walking for a while, Mu Yunjin felt her legs getting sore. “Where is Chu Li staying?”
“After the court ended, I heard the Emperor was dining with him. He should be in the Emperor’s hall now…” Imperial Mentor An said.
“Dining together? Don’t tell me that Princess Jialan is there too?” Mu Yunjin furrowed her brows.
Imperial Mentor An looked at Mu Yunjin and nodded regretfully.
“Damn!” Mu Yunjin’s brow furrowed even deeper.
…
Arriving at ‘Zhenghe Hall’ where Emperor Yun Guangyao of Nanting resided, Mu Yunjin stood at the entrance, biting her lip, her heart mysteriously beginning to accelerate.
“Well, why don’t you go in first and check the situation for me? I’ll wait for you here,” Mu Yunjin felt a bit cowardly, somewhat afraid of being seen by Chu Li at this moment.
“Alright, I’ll go in then,” Imperial Mentor An said, about to walk in.
Mu Yunjin froze for a moment, then grabbed Imperial Mentor An’s sleeve, “Wait, let me think about it… If I see Chu Li, what excuse should I use?”
“Say you’re here for tourism!” Imperial Mentor An looked at her, amused that someone who usually seemed so fearless was completely different when facing Chu Li.
Mu Yunjin pouted, took a breath, “Alright then, let’s go in together.”
With those words, she tilted her chin at Imperial Mentor An, indicating for him to walk in first.
Imperial Mentor An walked ahead helplessly, with Mu Yunjin following slowly behind him.
Upon reaching the dining hall’s entrance, Chief Eunuch Li was standing guard. Seeing Imperial Mentor An, he immediately approached, bowing slightly, “This old servant greets Imperial Mentor.”
“Is the Emperor still dining?” Imperial Mentor An asked.
“In reply to Your Excellency, the Emperor is dining with Prince Ning from the Xiyuan Empire and Princess Jialan,” Eunuch Li answered.
Upon hearing the words “Princess Jialan,” Mu Yunjin immediately felt her teeth itch with anger.
“Please trouble Eunuch Li to announce that I have urgent matters to report to His Majesty,” Imperial Mentor An said.
Eunuch Li nodded and immediately went inside.
Soon, Eunuch Li came out and bowed to Imperial Mentor An, “Imperial Mentor, please…”
“Thank you, Eunuch Li,” Imperial Mentor An said, leading Mu Yunjin into the dining hall.
…
Upon entering the hall, Mu Yunjin’s feet immediately touched soft carpets. Looking around, she saw that the entire floor of the dining hall was covered with carpets, while palace maids and guards stood all around.
Mu Yunjin followed Imperial Mentor An, and after walking for quite some time, they were approached by a senior palace maid, “Greetings, Imperial Mentor.”
“Hongzhuang, no need for formalities,” Imperial Mentor An said.
“Is this young lady also going in?” The maid named Hongzhuang glanced at Mu Yunjin, seeing her dressed in snow-silk brocade with peerless beauty, not an ordinary woman.
Imperial Mentor An nodded, “Yes.”
Hearing this, Hongzhuang didn’t say more, leading Imperial Mentor An and Mu Yunjin through a door in front of them.
“Your Majesty, Imperial Mentor An has arrived.” After entering, Hongzhuang walked to a figure in bright yellow robes and spoke softly.
Mu Yunjin’s heart was racing fast now. Standing beside Imperial Mentor An, she felt strangely guilty and didn’t dare raise her head to see where Chu Li was.
At the same time, a sharp gaze mixed with anger had already locked firmly onto Mu Yunjin.
Feeling the cold aura coming toward her, Mu Yunjin suddenly shrank her body, then slowly raised her head to look at that gaze…
It was indeed the person she’d been thinking of day and night.
Today, Chu Li was wearing an ink-colored brocade robe, his face cold and stern, his black eyes deep, which further accentuated his cold and aloof aura, making people afraid to approach him, yet unable to look away.
As Mu Yunjin looked at him, her heart skipped a beat. She pursed her lips, just about to speak to Chu Li, when she noticed a figure in light blue sitting next to him. Her eyes darkened, mixing with a hint of disappointment.
“Old An, do you have something to report?” Emperor Yun Guangyao of Nanting suddenly spoke, breaking the momentary silence in the dining hall.
Imperial Mentor An nodded, just about to introduce Mu Yunjin, but noticing the strange atmosphere, he changed the subject, “If Your Majesty is still dining, this subject can wait outside.”
“It’s fine, just speak directly. We’re all our people here…” Yun Guangyao leaned back in his chair, speaking lazily.
The phrase “our people” almost made Mu Yunjin explode!
How had Chu Li and he become “our people”? Could it be that the marriage with Yun Jialan had already been decided?
No, this wouldn’t do. If Chu Li married Yun Jialan, what would she be? What would the child in her belly be?
The more Mu Yunjin thought, the angrier she became, suddenly casting a resentful and grieved look at Chu Li.
Chu Li had been furious that Mu Yunjin, despite her physical condition, had traveled to the Nanting Kingdom. But now, upon seeing Mu Yunjin’s gaze, all his anger instantly subsided.
Seeing her eyes gradually reddening, looking like she was about to cry, Chu Li immediately stood up, walked to Mu Yunjin’s side, and his tall figure stopped in front of her, looking down at her.
“Who bullied you?” Chu Li frowned, seeing her enter with such grievance and about to cry, his heart tightened.
“You bullied me,” Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes, biting her lip.
Beside them, Yun Guangyao, seeing this scene, frowned and cast a confused glance at Imperial Mentor An, “Old An, who is this young lady?”
“She…”
“She is this junior’s Princess,” Chu Li answered first.
Hearing Chu Li’s words, Mu Yunjin was startled. She raised her eyes to look at Chu Li, and a sweetness suddenly welled up in her heart.
At this moment, Yun Jialan, who had been sitting, suddenly stood up. With skin like jade, eyes like water, and cherry-pink lips naturally red, she was an undeniable beauty.
“Mu Yunjin, isn’t it? You’ve come just in time. This Princess has been wanting to meet you!”
Hearing Yun Jialan’s voice, Mu Yunjin’s eyes grew cold. Remembering the main issue, she suddenly grabbed Chu Li’s arm, her gaze fixed on him—
“Chu Li, are you going to marry someone else?”