Seeing this, Mu Yunjin laughed coldly and spoke in a low voice to Chu Li beside her, “Look, my mother is truly capable, guessing at once that there’s something suspicious about the bed.”

As she finished speaking, Mu Yunjin watched Su Biqing pick up her pillow, and upon finding nothing underneath, Su Biqing frantically tore off the entire bedsheet.

“Let’s go,” Mu Yunjin said to Chu Li after witnessing this scene.

“Mm.”

…

At Mingxiang Teahouse.

Mu Yunjin drank three cups of water in succession, then placed the package she had taken from her bedroom on the table, casually playing with the dagger inside.

“Your mother is trying to take your life?” Chu Li took a sip of tea, his gaze falling on Mu Yunjin as he spoke calmly.

“I suppose so,” Mu Yunjin smiled, her tone light and unconcerned.

Chu Li frowned upon hearing this. “Then how did you know in advance?”

“They’ve played the same trick too many times, and such outdated tricks at that,” Mu Yunjin said disdainfully.

Hearing Mu Yunjin’s response, Chu Li gave a faint smile, looking at her with some amusement. He silently thought that perhaps this was what had forged this little fox.

Truly impervious to weapons.

“Three thousand taels in bank notes, for you.” After sitting idle for a while, Chu Li took out the bank notes again and placed them on the table in front of Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin lowered her gaze to look at the bank notes, paused for a moment, then raised her eyes to meet Chu Li’s gaze. “Sixth Prince, there’s something I don’t understand.”

“What is it?” Chu Li’s indifferent voice sounded.

“I have no grudge against you, so why do you insist on marrying me?” When Mu Yunjin brought this up, her face fell slightly.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Chu Li didn’t answer Mu Yunjin’s question. Instead, it was Ding Xian choking on his water that responded.

At this, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li exchanged an annoyed glance at Ding Xian.

“Oh, right, the horses below haven’t been fed yet. I’ll go feed them.” With that, Ding Xian put down his teacup and escaped from the private room.

After Ding Xian left, silence returned to the room.

Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin and spoke calmly, “Have you considered that by marrying this prince, you could use this opportunity to leave the Minister’s Mansion? That might not be a bad thing.”

“But wouldn’t I just be stepping into the abyss of the Prince’s Mansion?” Mu Yunjin muttered.

Hearing this, Chu Li’s eyes suddenly darkened, and then the corners of his mouth curved into a very faint smile. “Do you truly believe this prince sincerely wants to marry you?”

As he finished speaking, Chu Li let out a light chuckle. “This marriage is a transaction; we are simply both taking what we need.”

Mu Yunjin was slightly taken aback. Each taking what they need?

After being stunned for a moment, Mu Yunjin suddenly thought of someone and raised her eyebrows. “You’re marrying me to avoid Qin Muyue?”

“No, to avoid having any connection with the Qin family.” Chu Li spoke slowly, unable to hide the disgust in his eyes when mentioning the Qin family.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin felt some doubt. The Qin family was a prestigious military family with significant military power. If Chu Li were to marry Qin Muyue, he would have the Qin family as his backing, which would be a great help for his future ascension to the throne.

But what he had just expressed seemed to show great hostility, even contempt, toward the Qin family.

Thinking about this, Mu Yunjin decided not to dwell on it further. She pushed the bank notes on the table back toward Chu Li and smiled faintly. “You can keep my jade pendant for now. When I need it someday, I’ll come to claim it.”

After a pause, Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li and added, “Don’t scowl. This jade pendant relates to my origins and is extremely important to me.”

Chu Li gave Mu Yunjin a look, his eyes concealing a deep meaning, but he still nodded imperceptibly.

Having reached an understanding with Chu Li, Mu Yunjin found him much more agreeable when she looked at him again. After sitting for a while, Mu Yunjin suddenly remembered that Zixiang was still in Shihua Pavilion, so she checked the time and stood up.

“I’ll head back to the mansion first. Who knows what mess awaits me there?” Mu Yunjin said.

Hearing this, Chu Li gave a faint “Mm.”

As Mu Yunjin walked out of the teahouse, Chu Li stood by the second-floor window, watching her retreating figure. His eyes shifted. “Ding Xian…”

…

When Mu Yunjin returned to the Minister’s Mansion, she saw that the corpse of the black-clothed man and the cat had been removed from the front hall, leaving only Minister of Justice Chen Pu conversing with Minister Mu.

“Minister, this official has searched the mansion inside and out but found nothing improper,” Chen Pu said apologetically.

Minister Mu sighed and nodded. “Minister Chen, please don’t blame yourself. It seems the culprit is extremely cunning and left no traces.”

As he finished speaking, Mu Yunjin had already entered.

Upon entering, Mu Yunjin noticed Su Biqing and Mu Lingzhu sitting to one side, looking dejected. When the two caught sight of Mu Yunjin, their eyes were filled with complex emotions.

“Well, have you found out anything?” Mu Yunjin asked, looking toward Chen Pu as soon as she entered.

Chen Pu hesitated, then said to Mu Yunjin, “Third Miss, the gift boxes placed in your Tinghua Pavilion were all coated with poison. The cat must have wandered into Tinghua Pavilion out of curiosity and unfortunately died from poisoning.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow and looked toward Su Biqing. “Those gift boxes were placed in my Tinghua Pavilion on my mother’s orders. After they were placed, I felt they blocked my way to my bedroom, so I went to stay at Shihua Pavilion.”

Hearing Mu Yunjin direct the conversation toward Su Biqing, everyone was slightly startled and also looked toward Su Biqing.

Before Su Biqing could speak, Aunt Li, who was beside her, spoke first. “Is Third Miss suspecting Madam? If I may say, if these gift boxes blocked your way, Third Miss could have simply asked any servant in the mansion to clear them, so why specifically go to the empty Shihua Pavilion?”

Aunt Li’s words slightly relaxed Su Biqing’s tense expression.

“In front of outsiders, Aunt Li, please don’t talk nonsense. Everyone in this mansion knows my status here. Since childhood, I’ve been confined to Shihua Pavilion with only Zixiang to serve me. Every person in this mansion, including some servants, looks at me with contempt and disdain.”

Although I later moved to live in Tinghua Pavilion, my father never assigned more people to serve me. You ask me to find some servants to help clean my room? Would they listen to me?”

Mu Yunjin’s words left Aunt Li speechless. She lowered her eyes and glanced at Su Biqing.

“Enough, what’s done is done. There’s no use saying more. Let’s disperse. After today’s events, most of us have been frightened. Everyone should go back and rest well.” Su Biqing sighed slightly and waved her hand to everyone, preparing to stand up.

Mu Yunjin couldn’t easily let Su Biqing off. She smiled and looked toward Chen Pu. “Since you say those gift boxes were coated with poison, Minister Chen, why not have someone examine what kind of poison it is, then order people to inquire at various pharmacies and medical clinics about whether anyone has recently purchased this poison or its ingredients.”

“Furthermore, the face of this dead man in black is still intact. Minister Chen could find an artist to draw his likeness in detail and post notices on the streets, offering a reward for anyone who provides information!”

Mu Yunjin’s words earned her a rare look of admiration from Minister Mu.

Indeed, with such unexpected events in the mansion, one couldn’t rest easy without finding out who was behind it. Yunjin’s method was not a bad one.

“Minister Chen, let’s proceed as Yunjin suggests,” Minister Mu said, shifting his gaze to Chen Pu.

Chen Pu nodded and bowed to Minister Mu. “Then, without delay, this official will take his leave first.”

“Very well, I’ll see you out.” Minister Mu said, walking toward the main gate with Chen Pu.

As the group left the front hall, only Su Biqing and Mu Lingzhu remained.

Mu Yunjin glanced at the mother and daughter, then burst into laughter, her face full of schadenfreude. “Lifting a stone only to drop it on one’s own feet—I didn’t fully understand this saying before. Today, I must thank my mother and sister for demonstrating it for me.”

With those words, Mu Yunjin prepared to walk toward the back garden. After a few steps, she stopped and turned to look at the two still sitting there.

“Before Minister Chen discovers anything suspicious, you’d better think of a countermeasure. Otherwise, even the gods won’t be able to protect you.”

…

Entering the back garden, Mu Yunjin crossed her arms, a curve forming at the corner of her mouth. “Come out!”

After she spoke, a moment later, a figure descended from above, standing in front of Mu Yunjin. “My lightness kung fu is so good that ordinary people can’t detect my presence. How did Third Miss know?”

“Why aren’t you following your master? Why are you following me?” Mu Yunjin frowned slightly, looking up at Ding Xian before her.

Hearing this, Ding Xian chuckled and raised his eyebrows. “I am His Highness’s guard. What does my presence here suggest?”

“Chu Li sent you?” Mu Yunjin asked.

“His Highness was concerned that Third Miss might not handle the mansion affairs well, so he sent me to stay by Third Miss’s side, to offer assistance if needed. Who knew Third Miss would be so brilliant and not need me to appear at all!” Ding Xian smiled cunningly.

Ding Xian’s words caused Mu Yunjin’s eyes to shift slightly, and after a while, she spoke with some surprise, “Chu Li is that kind-hearted?”

“Though His Highness usually appears cold, he’s quite good to you, Third Miss. Marrying our master will not be a loss for you.” Ding Xian said with a smile.

At the mention of this, Mu Yunjin immediately raised her hand as if to chop him down. “You just had to bring that up. If you hadn’t told me about the sparrow-blinding incident, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry Chu Li.”

Ding Xian was stunned, scratching his head. Hearing Mu Yunjin’s unreasonable logic, he spoke somewhat aggrievedly, “But I didn’t tell you to mention it in front of His Highness…”

Mu Yunjin walked a few steps forward, then seemed to think of something and looked back at Ding Xian. “By the way, come here.”

“What does the Third Miss command?”

“Help me secretly keep an eye on Su Biqing and Mu Lingzhu. Be careful of them making moves behind my back. This time, I want them to take a thorough fall!” Mu Yunjin smiled, her eyes full of cunning.

Ding Xian was startled again and spoke with some difficulty, “But His Highness…”

“It’s not even dark yet. Chu Li won’t run into any problems for a while, and isn’t his martial arts superior to yours?”