Seeing that she lost all sense of direction when it came to matters concerning Chu Li, Daoist Feng Xuan didn’t know what to say.
After a long silence, Daoist Feng Xuan sighed heavily, his brows tightly furrowed. “This matter is more serious than any other before. Once confirmed as true, Chu Li may no longer have a place to stand in Xi Yuan country.”
“And the same goes for you and everyone in Prince Ning’s mansion.”
As he finished speaking, Daoist Feng Xuan looked at Mu Yunjin with dark eyes.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin had nothing more to say. She silently bent down to open the mechanism on the ground, her tone calm. “I’m going to the Southern Court to find Chu Li now.”
The morning court session had just ended not long ago. By now, this matter had only spread throughout Butterfly City. It would probably take another day or two to reach the Southern Court.
She had to find Chu Li first…
To tell him that he still had her.
“Master, I must go now…” As Mu Yunjin spoke, she prepared to leave.
…
…
Daoist Feng Xuan grabbed her shoulder. “Girl, don’t act rashly.”
Mu Yunjin paused, pressing her lips together. “Master, please keep an eye on the Ministry of Justice and make sure the people from the Prince’s mansion aren’t harmed.”
With those words, Mu Yunjin no longer looked at Daoist Feng Xuan. She entered the secret passage and swiftly departed using her lightness skill.
…
Mu Yunjin first returned to Fengyu Pavilion.
But as soon as she arrived by the small stream, she heard a commotion.
“Huang Yan, mind your words! This was not my doing! I’ve always treated Chu Li like half a son. How could I harm him like this?” Jiang Qingxue spoke heatedly, glaring at Huang Yan, who stood by the stream.
Huang Yan looked hurried, his expression cold. “Then why did something kept in your care get exposed? Such an important item—did you just leave it somewhere carelessly? And that item was sealed with a secret technique; ordinary people couldn’t possibly break it!”
“I don’t know how to explain it to you, but this wasn’t my doing. That blank book is fake. The real blank book is still with me!” Jiang Qingxue’s typically cold face was now filled with anger. She pulled a blank book from her sleeve and thrust it before Huang Yan.
Mu Yunjin listened for a while, frowning. She hadn’t expected them to already know about the blank book.
It seemed the news was spreading faster than she had imagined.
After a moment, Mu Yunjin frustratedly slapped her forehead. This matter was orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives. By now, the news had probably already spread throughout the Southern Court.
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.
Seeing that Jiang Qingxue and Huang Yan were about to come to blows, Mu Yunjin immediately ran over and positioned herself between them.
Upon seeing Mu Yunjin, Huang Yan’s expression didn’t improve much, but the curses that had been on the tip of his tongue ceased.
“Yunjin, your mother has truly been wronged in this matter. This blank book has been in my safekeeping all along. I never imagined another one with identical content would appear.” Jiang Qingxue said, opening the blank book.
Mu Yunjin frowned as she looked at the blank book. Her mother shouldn’t be lying, especially since she had no reason to harm Chu Li.
Two blank books…
This was beyond her comprehension.
Hearing this, Huang Yan snorted angrily. “Who knows if what you’re saying is true or false!”
“Huang Yan!” Mu Yunjin shouted in anger.
“I’m going to find His Highness.” Huang Yan said no more, turning to leave quickly.
Mu Yunjin wanted to follow and go with Huang Yan to find Chu Li, but with Jiang Qingxue here, she had to wait.
Jiang Qingxue held the blank book, her brow filled with worry. “Yunjin, since learning of this blank book’s contents, I’ve kept it in an extremely secret place, sealed with mystic arts. Only today, when I heard the rumors outside, did I realize how serious the situation was. Fearing you would misunderstand, I rushed here to find you.”
“Mother, I believe you,” Mu Yunjin said softly. “Someone deliberately wants to make life difficult for Chu Li and me.”
“Then… what should we do now?” Jiang Qingxue looked at Mu Yunjin, feeling heartbroken. Why did this child and Chu Li have to endure so much hardship?
Mu Yunjin shook her head. “I don’t know what to do either, but I want to see Chu Li first and hear his thoughts.”
“Mother, please go back first. I must find Chu Li.”
After speaking, Mu Yunjin became increasingly anxious. After a brief farewell to Jiang Qingxue, she stepped into the small stream and returned to Fengyu Pavilion.
At Fengyu Pavilion, Qiqi and Flower Ying had been waiting anxiously at the entrance for Mu Yunjin. Seeing her, they immediately rushed forward.
“Master, you’ve finally returned! That boy Huang Yan received a secret message earlier and ran off with a cold expression. We called after him, but he ignored us. We don’t know what’s gotten into him. Has something happened?” Qiqi rattled off a stream of words to Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin looked at Qiqi and Flower Ying. “Quickly activate the formless space and take me to the Southern Court.”
“Huh? Going again? Didn’t we just return yesterday?” Qiqi was surprised.
“It’s a matter of life and death. Hurry and take me there.” Mu Yunjin grew increasingly anxious.
Hearing this, Qiqi and Flower Ying realized something was truly wrong. They exchanged glances and immediately activated the formless space, taking Mu Yunjin to the Southern Court.
…
An hour later, on the streets of the Southern Court, citizens gathered, discussing animatedly.
“Have you heard? The Prince Ning of Xi Yuan is our monarch’s son. This is truly an unprecedented, remarkable affair!”
“I suspected it long ago. When the issue with Consort Yue came to light, I had my doubts about Prince Ning and the Ninth Princess.”
“By seniority, Prince Ning is half a year older than our Crown Prince Yun, making him Crown Prince Yun’s elder brother. Had he been born in our Southern Court, he might be the Crown Prince now.”
“Sigh, stop talking about this. It’s over. The monarch has issued an imperial decree stating he will not acknowledge Prince Ning as his son.”
“…”
Hearing these discussions among the citizens, Mu Yunjin felt a pang of sorrow. Walking a bit further, she indeed saw a crowd gathered at the notice board in the street.
Mu Yunjin squeezed through, reaching the front, where a newly issued imperial decree caught her eye.
The decree had just been published, serving as an announcement.
After reading the entire content, Mu Yunjin bit her lip tightly, her hands unconsciously clenching.
Yun Guangyao stated he would not acknowledge Chu Li.
At the bottom of the decree was Yun Guangyao’s jade seal, specially affixed.
Mu Yunjin read it once more, finishing in teeth-grinding anger. Originally, there might have been a way to turn this situation around, but with Yun Guangyao’s decree, the authenticity of the matter was undeniably confirmed.
And in an instant, it left Chu Li homeless, stateless, and without support.
With this thought, Mu Yunjin directly reached out, tore down the imperial decree, and, to the shocked exclamations of the citizens, ripped it into pieces and scattered them into the air.
From within the crowd, someone recognized Mu Yunjin. “I remember her—she’s Princess Ning, Mu Yunjin!”
At these words, the gazes of all the citizens looking at Mu Yunjin immediately turned playful yet sympathetic, with most people maintaining an attitude of watching for entertainment.
“Stop staring and get lost!” Qiqi and Flower Ying initially didn’t know what had happened, but after walking around the streets of the Southern Court, they had fully understood the situation.
No wonder Huang Yan’s expression suddenly changed before he left. No wonder their master had been so cryptic upon returning.
Mu Yunjin’s brows furrowed tightly as she pushed through the crowd, rushing quickly toward the guest house where Chu Li was staying.
But when she arrived and saw the sealing strips pasted on the door, her heart sank to the bottom.
Mu Yunjin didn’t linger long, turning back and rushing toward the courtyard house where Chu Li had previously stayed.
Moments later, at the tightly closed door of the courtyard house.
Mu Yunjin’s heart clenched tightly. She turned to look at Qiqi with a glimmer of hope. “Qiqi, can you track Chu Li’s whereabouts?”
“Master, I’ll try,” Qiqi said, activating her tracking technique.
Mu Yunjin nodded, nervously watching Qiqi.
After a while, Qiqi’s face fell, and she shook her head at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin immediately deflated, standing at the door of the courtyard house as her eyes gradually reddened.
Where had he gone?
“What about Huang Yan? Can you find his whereabouts?” Mu Yunjin regretted not following Huang Yan earlier.
Qiqi shook her head. “I can’t locate him either. They must have deliberately concealed their auras.”
Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, saying nothing more.
“Master, try to summon the Red Phoenix from within you. Perhaps it can help you find Prince Ning’s whereabouts.” Flower Ying spoke quietly.
Mu Yunjin’s body stiffened as she looked at Flower Ying, frowning slightly before responding dejectedly, “But I don’t know how to summon the Red Phoenix.”
Every time, the Red Phoenix only appeared when she was in grave danger.
“That’s why you should have practiced the Xuanling True Scripture properly, but you never listened.” A playful voice sounded from the side, accompanied by light footsteps.
Mu Yunjin looked toward the source of the voice. It was Imperial Tutor An.
Seeing Imperial Tutor An, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
“Can the Xuanling True Scripture summon the Red Phoenix?” Mu Yunjin looked at Imperial Tutor An.
“The Xuanling True Scripture and the Red Phoenix come from the same lineage. The reason you can’t freely summon the Red Phoenix now is because your skill and inner breath are insufficient, which is why you can’t fully control the Red Phoenix.” Imperial Tutor An explained.
Mu Yunjin pouted. “But I just want to know Chu Li’s whereabouts now.”
“Ah, him…” Imperial Tutor An drawled, shrugging his shoulders. “He left with that Ink Qilin. I don’t know where they went.”
“You saw him?” Mu Yunjin was surprised, raising an eyebrow.
Imperial Tutor An nodded, smiling slightly at Mu Yunjin. “Don’t worry too much about him. Given how meticulous he is, he probably anticipated this situation long ago.”
“Now, I’m extremely curious to see how that boy will make a beautiful comeback!”
Mu Yunjin frowned. “But I just want to know where he went. No matter how calm he may appear on the surface when facing such matters, the wound in his heart cannot be healed.”
“In your eyes, he seems indifferent to everything, but that’s just because he doesn’t show it. Otherwise, why would he have spent all these years traveling everywhere for a single method to break the array for Consort Rong?”
The more Mu Yunjin thought about it, the more unbearable it became. Looking at Imperial Tutor An, she asked, “The Red Phoenix might know the Ink Qilin’s whereabouts. Do you know how to summon the Red Phoenix?”