As soon as Huang Yan’s voice sounded, the three women immediately fell silent.
“What are you all up to?” Huang Yan scratched his head, eyeing the three of them.
“Nothing! We’re just having our conversation. Why are you, a man, butting in? Quick, go away!” Qiqi waved her hand at Huang Yan, gesturing for him to leave.
Huang Yan didn’t leave but squatted down beside them. “Venomous insects and evil magic—are you discussing the black-robed man and Shen Wanning?”
“…” Mu Yunjin was startled, realizing that Huang Yan was truly clever to make such a connection.
“Why are you suddenly talking about them?” Huang Yan, taking their silence as confirmation of his question, continued asking.
Mu Yunjin looked up at the sky and pouted. “We were just chatting casually.”
“Sigh, you all are so boring. I, Young Master Huang, am bored to death, and you won’t even share something interesting with me.” With that, Huang Yan stood up and walked away.
After Huang Yan left, Qiqi and Flower Ying moved closer to Mu Yunjin and joked, “That boy is so sly. He probably already overheard our conversation.”
…
…
“Let’s put this matter aside for now,” Mu Yunjin sighed softly.
Qiqi and Flower Ying nodded in agreement.
After the bonfire party ended, the disciples of Fengyu Pavilion returned to their wooden cabins in twos and threes. Even Qiqi and Flower Ying were tired and went back to their rooms.
Only Mu Yunjin remained lying on the grass, gazing at the starry sky.
…
Before dawn, following Daoist Feng Xuan’s instructions, Mu Yunjin quietly left Fengyu Pavilion and headed for Water Cloud Temple.
Two hours later, Mu Yunjin appeared on a large tree outside Water Cloud Temple.
Clinging to the trunk, her gaze fell on the Water Cloud Temple not far ahead.
At this moment, the main entrance of Water Cloud Temple was filled with Imperial Guards from the palace. From a distance, they appeared as a large, dark mass.
Mu Yunjin stood in place for a while. Just then, from the direction of the city, an exquisite carriage drove up, similarly surrounded by a large contingent of Imperial Guards.
Seeing so many Imperial Guards suddenly appearing at Water Cloud Temple, Mu Yunjin’s heart sank, and she had a bad premonition.
Could Consort Rong have been discovered?
The carriage stopped at the entrance of Water Cloud Temple. When Mu Yunjin saw who stepped down from the carriage, she narrowed her eyes.
It was Chu Qing again.
He had come here yesterday; why was he coming again today?
And bringing so many Imperial Guards.
Seeing that Chu Qing had already entered Water Cloud Temple, Mu Yunjin glanced around and flew toward another side path to go around.
Arriving at the secret passage, Mu Yunjin gritted her teeth. She had thought she could enter openly through the main entrance today, but now she still had to crawl through the secret passage.
…
A cup of tea later, Mu Yunjin poked her head out from the secret passage behind the rockery. After sensing the auras around her, she quietly emerged.
Just as she was about to come out completely, she heard footsteps ahead and immediately hid back.
Soon after, several sets of footsteps stopped above her head.
Then came a few voices—
“All of you, search everywhere to see if there are any other secrets in this Water Cloud Temple!”
“Yes, sir!”
“After searching, report to the front!”
As the conversation ended, footsteps scattered in all directions.
Mu Yunjin held her breath, standing on the steps of the secret passage. Hearing the words from above, her brows furrowed tightly.
Secrets in Water Cloud Temple…
It seemed something had truly happened; otherwise, so many Imperial Guards wouldn’t have come so early in the morning.
After pondering this, Mu Yunjin listened to the footsteps above her head. Finding that they had gradually dispersed, she peeked out and looked around. At this moment, only one Imperial Guard was searching in her vicinity.
Mu Yunjin picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the guard.
The guard was instantly struck in his acupoint by the stone and collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Mu Yunjin climbed out of the secret passage and laboriously dragged the unconscious guard aside. She then stripped off his clothes and quickly changed into them.
After changing into the Imperial Guard’s uniform, Mu Yunjin used her original clothes to tie up the guard. She blindfolded him, gagged him with a strip of cloth, threw him into the secret passage, and then pressed the mechanism to close the secret entrance.
As she adjusted her clothes, a voice came from behind, “Why are you still here? Hurry up, they’re gathering at the front!”
“Oh, I understand!” Mu Yunjin lowered her voice and followed the speaking guard toward the front.
On the way, Mu Yunjin followed behind that guard. After walking a few steps, she realized that the entire Water Cloud Temple had been surrounded by Imperial Guards.
As they walked, the guard in front suddenly slowed down, waiting for Mu Yunjin. “Hey, Little Li, it’s unbelievable. Abbot Huaiyuan, who always looked so dignified, would commit such a treasonous act. Now that he’s been taken to the palace, I fear the worst for him.”
Abbot Huaiyuan?!
Mu Yunjin’s eyes widened. Wasn’t it about Consort Rong?
Why were they arresting Abbot Huaiyuan?
“Well, nothing is certain!” Mu Yunjin said in a gruff voice, giving an ambiguous answer.
“Indeed! Who would have thought that Water Cloud Temple, a place for praying and making wishes, would harbor such a big secret? Now that this secret has been revealed, I fear the entire Xi Yuan country will be turned upside down!” said the guard.
The more Mu Yunjin heard him speak like this, the more anxious she became. What major event had occurred?
Apart from currently hiding Consort Rong, what other matter could there be in Water Cloud Temple?
Following that guard to the front hall, even before getting close, Mu Yunjin saw from a distance that Abbot Huaiyuan’s hands were bound and he was being escorted out by several Imperial Guards.
Abbot Huaiyuan’s face was ashen. After walking a few steps, he seemed to sense something and glanced sideways toward Mu Yunjin. Upon seeing her, surprise flashed in his eyes.
Mu Yunjin stood frozen in place. Suddenly, a secret sound entered her ear—
“Princess, leave quickly! This is not a place to linger!”
Hearing Abbot Huaiyuan’s secret message, Mu Yunjin opened her mouth. Catching a glimpse of Chu Qing about to step out the door, she immediately turned and went back the way she came.
Before leaving, she lowered her voice and said to the guard, “I’ll go look for other things here.”
With that, Mu Yunjin quickly left.
Entering the Hall of Peace, Mu Yunjin saw that no one was around. She ran to the window behind the Guanyin statue. Just as one foot crossed the window, a strong surge of true energy pulled her into the Broken Book Pavilion.
Mu Yunjin steadied herself, ready to strike, when she realized it was Daoist Feng Xuan who had brought her in. “Master, it’s you? What exactly has happened here?”
Mu Yunjin looked at Daoist Feng Xuan, whose expression was grave. It was obvious that he had also entered through a secret passage, though through the one in the Hall of Peace.
Daoist Feng Xuan’s face was unusually dark today as he stared intently at Mu Yunjin. “Do you know of a blank book?”
Mu Yunjin shook her head. “What is that?”
“This blank book was once buried by Empress Qin under a peach tree in Water Cloud Temple,” Daoist Feng Xuan said in a low voice.
“Under a peach tree?” Mu Yunjin’s eyes narrowed as she suddenly remembered that before Empress Qin died, she had told her about something under a peach tree at Water Cloud Temple.
But at that time, she had searched all the peach trees in Water Cloud Temple and hadn’t found anything under them.
Now, as Daoist Feng Xuan mentioned this blank book, Mu Yunjin felt her heart race. A sense of foreboding slowly permeated her heart.
“You truly don’t know?” Daoist Feng Xuan seemed somewhat surprised by Mu Yunjin’s reaction.
Mu Yunjin shook her head, her eyes bewildered.
“When Huaiyuan learned that Empress Qin had buried something under the peach tree, he had already retrieved it. But it was a blank book with a secret technique; those who don’t understand how to break the technique cannot read the contents of the blank book.”
“A few months ago, your mother, Jiang Qingxue, came to Xi Yuan country as the Holy Maiden’s envoy. Huaiyuan gave this blank book to her for safekeeping, and she was able to decipher the contents of the blank book…”
Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, her brows tightly knit. “Is Abbot Huaiyuan’s arrest today related to the contents of the blank book?”
“Do you know what the contents of the blank book are?” Daoist Feng Xuan looked at Mu Yunjin, his tone slightly heavier, his gaze complex.
“What is it?” Mu Yunjin unconsciously clenched her fists.
Daoist Feng Xuan sighed, his eyes darkening further. “The content of the blank book is—”
“The Sixth Prince of Xi Yuan, Chu Li, is the son of Yun Guangyao, the monarch of the Southern Court, not the biological child of Xi Ming Emperor Chu Jin!”
Mu Yunjin suddenly widened her eyes, grabbing Daoist Feng Xuan’s arm excitedly. “Master, is what you say true?”
How could this be exposed?
Mu Yunjin felt like she was going mad!
“Girl, why did something kept by your mother fall into Chu Qing’s hands? This morning at court, it was Yan Qiuhuai who presented this blank book to the court and revealed this matter to the Xi Ming Emperor!”
“My mother?” Mu Yunjin bit her lip, her heart suddenly becoming chaotic. “This couldn’t have been disclosed by my mother. There must be a mistake somewhere in the process.”
Thinking of this, Mu Yunjin crouched down, painfully covering her head.
“Now, the Xi Ming Emperor has sealed off Prince Ning’s residence and sent all the servants to the Ministry of Justice. Even Huaiyuan has been accused by Yan Qiuhuai of knowing but not reporting. He has also been sent to the Ministry of Justice, awaiting trial!” Daoist Feng Xuan said calmly.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin bit her lower lip.
How could this matter suddenly be exposed? She had almost forgotten about the thing under the peach tree, never imagining that one day it would become a fatal key.
And Empress Qin, how did she know all this?
To think that they, the living, could be manipulated by the dead!
“Master, what should I do now?” Mu Yunjin sighed, her mind blank, completely without any ideas.
Daoist Feng Xuan sighed heavily. “Girl, do you know what everyone in Butterfly City is saying?”
Mu Yunjin looked at Daoist Feng Xuan with a puzzled expression.
“Because that blank book was passed from your mother, now all the conflict from this matter is directed at you! Everyone is saying that you deliberately leaked the contents of the blank book to put Chu Li in a death trap!” Daoist Feng Xuan said.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin’s breath caught, and she became flustered. “How could I possibly harm Chu Li? Master, what should I do? Surely Chu Li doesn’t think it was me?”