Seeing that everyone had left the dining hall except for Chu Li, Mu Yunjin got straight to the point. “Can you make Minister of Justice Chen Pu stop investigating yesterday’s murder case at the Minister’s Mansion?”

“Someone has leverage over you?” Chu Li’s eyes shifted. If he remembered correctly, she should be the victim. Stopping the investigation—unless someone had leverage over her, there seemed to be no other reason.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin pouted, pulled out a chair to sit down, and spoke with some resignation, “My wet nurse, Aunt Zhang, has been secretly detained by my mother.”

“So, she won this round.”

Hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, Chu Li curved his lips, speaking with interest, “Are you someone who gives up so easily?”

“Of course not, but there are wins and losses. I’ll let her have her moment of triumph for now. The urgent matter is to rescue Aunt Zhang.” Mu Yunjin leaned against the chair, feeling anxious at the mention of Aunt Zhang.

“So, after thinking about it, I could only come to you for help. Your words carry more weight. The Minister of Justice might not do me any favors, but for you, it’s a different matter.” Mu Yunjin said.

Seeing that she rarely admitted defeat, Chu Li thought to himself that even this little fox had moments of setback. He couldn’t help but want to tease her a bit. “What if this prince doesn’t want to help?”

“I’ve personally come to you, which shows my sincerity. Sixth Prince, you wouldn’t be so insensitive, would you?” Mu Yunjin looked calmly at Chu Li, her words carrying a hint of mockery.

Before Chu Li could answer Mu Yunjin, the dining hall door was gently knocked, and Ding Xian’s voice came from outside, “Your Highness, Princess Qingyuan has arrived.”

As he spoke, the dining hall door was pushed open with a ‘bang’, and a young woman dressed in a pink brocade dress entered. Her jet-black hair flowed down to her waist, her skin was like cream, and her expression was lively. She appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old.

Seeing the visitor, Mu Yunjin furrowed her brow slightly, thinking about the name Qingyuan for a moment. After a while, she finally remembered.

Chu Qingyuan, the current Ninth Princess.

As soon as Chu Qingyuan entered, her bright, dark eyes fell on Mu Yunjin, examining her from top to bottom, then she frowned.

“Who are you? Why are you in my sixth brother’s palace?”

As far as she could remember, her sixth brother had always been of a cool disposition, rarely interacting with others, and was cold and indifferent even to their father, the Emperor. Now, a woman was sitting here.

And they were alone together.

Seeing Chu Qingyuan suddenly appear and interrupt, Mu Yunjin helplessly pursed her lips and introduced herself, “Mu Yunjin from Minister Mu’s mansion.”

“Mu Yunjin…” Chu Qingyuan digested Mu Yunjin’s words slowly, and after a while, widened her eyes in surprise, “So you’re the woman my sixth brother is going to marry?”

Mu Yunjin lazily gave an affirming sound, implicitly confirming it.

In disbelief, Chu Qingyuan’s eyes grew even wider, and she simply circled Mu Yunjin, her gaze continuously scanning her.

Just as Mu Yunjin was beginning to feel irritated by this scrutinizing gaze, Chu Qingyuan let out an exclamation and walked toward Chu Li.

“Sixth Brother, those people were indeed right. This Mu Yunjin is truly a beautiful woman. In all my years, I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful!”

Chu Qingyuan’s words immediately extinguished the anger rising in Mu Yunjin, and she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Chu Qingyuan’s back. This little girl might have a less-than-ideal attitude, but her words were pleasing to hear.

Then, Chu Qingyuan turned around and smiled sweetly at Mu Yunjin, “Greetings, Sixth Sister-in-law. I’m Qingyuan, the ninth in line.”

The title “Sixth Sister-in-law” almost made Mu Yunjin spit blood, but faced with Chu Qingyuan’s suddenly enthusiastic gaze, Mu Yunjin could only squeeze out a smile and nod to Chu Qingyuan in a friendly manner.

“Qingyuan’s arrival is timely,” Chu Li looked at his sister, his expression rarely not so cold. “Chen Pu fears Qingyuan the most.”

“Chen Pu?” At the mention of Chen Pu, Chu Qingyuan became somewhat excited. “What about that old fogey?”

…

In the carriage on the way to the Ministry of Justice, there were only Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan. Mu Yunjin never thought that a visit to the palace would gain her the acquaintance of the Ninth Princess, Chu Qingyuan.

“Sixth Sister-in-law, in the palace, I am closest to Sixth Brother. Since Sixth Brother and I share the same mother, we are somewhat closer.” Chu Qingyuan sat in the carriage, all smiles, as she spoke to Mu Yunjin.

At the mention of the same mother, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but be curious. “Who is your mother, the Imperial Consort?”

Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyuan’s previously animated face suddenly fell, her eyes revealing a trace of sadness.

“Mother was originally Consort Rong in the harem, but ten years ago, due to an incident, she offended Father Emperor. Now she has been ordered to be imprisoned for life in the Shuiyun Temple outside the city.”

Hearing Chu Qingyuan’s words, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat surprised. She had been here for so long, yet never knew that Chu Li’s birth mother was imprisoned in Shuiyun Temple.

Shuiyun Temple, wasn’t that the temple she and Zixiang had visited to see the temple fair?

Thinking about this, Mu Yunjin sighed slightly, once again feeling that entering the palace was like entering a deep sea. Perhaps in the future, she might end up with the same fate as Consort Rong!

The carriage soon stopped at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice.

After Mu Yunjin and Chu Qingyuan alighted from the carriage, they saw Chen Pu’s figure slowly walking out from the ministry. Upon seeing the visitors, he immediately bowed.

“This official pays respects to the Ninth Princess.” After speaking, he also nodded to Mu Yunjin. “Greetings, Third Miss Mu.”

“Little old man, are you happy to see this princess?” Chu Qingyuan looked at Chen Pu with a smile.

Hearing the address “little old man,” Mu Yunjin could hardly keep from laughing. Although Chen Pu was not young, he was only about forty years old. Calling him an “old man” seemed somewhat exaggerated.

“With the Princess’s grand visit, this official is naturally happy! May I inquire what important matter brings the Princess here today?” As Chen Pu finished speaking, Chu Qingyuan had already walked inside.

Once inside, Chu Qingyuan was quite bold, directly sitting in Chen Pu’s usual seat for handling cases, casually flipping through a few ledgers on the table.

“Princess, these are case files that have just been organized and need to be presented to His Majesty for review. Please be careful with them,” Chen Pu said urgently, seeing the organized files being disrupted.

Hearing Chen Pu mention her father, Chu Qingyuan, heeded his words and obediently stopped touching the ledgers.

Then, Chu Qingyuan smiled at Chen Pu again. “Little old man, this princess has just returned to the palace and is bored. Thinking about it, your place is the busiest.”

“Why not assign a few small cases for this princess to try solving?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Pu’s heart sank, and he immediately bowed to Chu Qingyuan. “Princess, this is the Ministry of Justice, handling many important cases involving numerous lives. The Princess must not be so willful.”

“You say I’m willful? Little old man, don’t you know that Father dotes on me the most?” Chu Qingyuan slapped the table.

“No, no, no, this official didn’t mean that…” Chen Pu found it difficult to defend himself, his face suddenly becoming quite uncomfortable.

After a pause, Chu Qingyuan gave Mu Yunjin a triumphant look, then smiled and said, “In that case, why not hand over the case from Minister Mu’s mansion to me?”

Chen Pu was startled upon hearing this, then instinctively glanced at Mu Yunjin, who had come along. He immediately understood the purpose of Chu Qingyuan and Mu Yunjin’s visit today.

Then, his gaze fell on Mu Yunjin, and he spoke somewhat resignedly, “Third Miss Mu, this case has yielded some clues, but this official was apprehensive about the results, so I had to make multiple comparisons.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin naturally knew what Chen Pu was referring to. The corner of her lips curved slightly. “It’s difficult for an upright official to adjudicate family matters. Minister Chen would be better off staying out of this affair.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, Chen will not insist further.”

…

At the Minister’s Mansion, in Bilo Courtyard.

“Slap—” Mu Yunjin threw the case file from the Ministry of Justice directly in front of Su Biqing.

“I’ve done what you asked. I want to see Aunt Zhang within half an hour.” Mu Yunjin spoke coldly.

Su Biqing picked up the case file, carefully examining its contents. Seeing what was inside and the official seal of the Ministry of Justice on it, she couldn’t help but feel both alarmed and delighted.

It was close. Fortunately.

“Yunjin, you’re so capable. Your mother indeed didn’t misjudge you.” As Su Biqing spoke, she threw the case file into the charcoal fire already prepared nearby.

“Spare the nonsense, release her!” Mu Yunjin demanded.

Upon hearing this, Su Biqing smiled, waving a fan in her hand. Her gaze flickered. “I underestimated you before, worrying that you wouldn’t be able to complete what I entrusted to you. Now I see that Yunjin is indeed different.”

“Since that’s the case, why don’t you help your mother with another favor, alright?”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin smiled mockingly, crossing her arms and looking down at Su Biqing. “I just noticed on my way back to the mansion that there’s a long street almost filled with songs and merriment, bustling with activity.”

“I think, although my sister’s face is barely passable, she has everything a woman should have. She might fetch a good price there!”

“You dare?” Hearing Mu Yunjin’s unbearable words, Su Biqing glared at her. “Do you believe I’ll order someone to kill Aunt Zhang right now?”

Mu Yunjin’s gaze sharply met Su Biqing’s, her eyes hiding killing intent. “It seems mother is deliberately intent on breaking our agreement?”

“Very well, then go ahead and try. If within half an hour I still don’t see Aunt Zhang safe and sound, then the depths of the brothel will be Mu Lingzhu’s destination tonight!”

Su Biqing was taken aback. The determination and coldness in Mu Yunjin’s eyes made her feel somewhat intimidated, and her attitude softened immediately. She then waved to Aunt Li behind her. “Go bring the person.”

“Yes, Madam.”

After Aunt Li left, Mu Yunjin also sat down, seemingly having exhausted all her patience, her eyes fixed on Su Biqing.

“My patience isn’t very good. Once or twice, I might still be interested in playing along with you. But if there’s a third or fourth time, perhaps I’ll start a killing spree…”

As Mu Yunjin finished speaking, the dagger from her sleeve flashed out, its speed swift, firmly embedding itself in Su Biqing’s high coiffure.

Feeling a dagger now stuck in her hair, Su Biqing was so frightened that her whole body trembled. Looking at Mu Yunjin’s gaze, it was like that of a demon from hell, chillingly cold.

Who would have thought that her life would one day be at the mercy of someone she had ridiculed countless times before?

Truly, fate’s irony.