After speaking, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat embarrassed and instinctively grabbed Chu Li’s arm. “Chu Li, let’s go and talk privately somewhere else.”

Chu Li slowly stood up and followed her to a space nearby.

At the back mountain of Phoenix Feather Pavilion.

“What exactly happened with Chu Qing?” Mu Yunjin asked as soon as they sat down.

Chu Li smiled faintly. “He was too greedy.”

“I heard he was caught red-handed by the Western Ming Emperor while attempting assassination. How did you manage that?” Mu Yunjin rested her head on her hand, thinking to herself that logically, Chu Li wouldn’t have directly told the Western Ming Emperor about this to allow him to prepare.

“The dragon-turning-into-pig incident caused Chu Qing to lose a lot of face. He was indeed angry and depressed for a long time, which is why yesterday he wanted to make a move against the Western Ming Emperor while he was still in a coma, and then frame Chu Ye for it,” Chu Li said calmly.

After a pause, Chu Li continued, “But he didn’t anticipate that the Western Ming Emperor had regained consciousness the night before. Yesterday, when Chu Qing attempted the assassination, this Prince secretly transferred true qi to the Western Ming Emperor.”

“So, when Chu Qing made his move, the Western Ming Emperor opened his eyes and saw Chu Qing trying to assassinate him.”

“Afterward, this Prince pretended to enter the room just at that moment…”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin twitched the corners of her mouth. “I was wondering why Chu Qing would expose himself so quickly. So it was because his hatred blinded him.”

“Now that Chu Qing and the Qin family are rebelling together, the Western Ming Emperor is probably going to have a headache for quite a while,” Mu Yunjin said with a sweet smile.

“Let’s not worry about them.” Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin, his gaze falling on her abdomen. “Have you been feeling uncomfortable lately?”

Mu Yunjin automatically ignored the incident of being afflicted by dark magic and shook her head. “I’m fine, everything’s good.”

“Chu Li…” Mu Yunjin moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, her gaze falling on the stars in the sky.

“Hmm?” Chu Li turned to look at her, his eyes filled with a gentleness he had never noticed in himself before.

Mu Yunjin smiled. “Do you prefer a boy or a girl?”

“A girl.” Chu Li answered without thinking, the words coming out directly.

Mu Yunjin suddenly remembered that before Chu Li lost his memory, he had told her that he wanted a daughter.

“What a coincidence, I also like girls,” Mu Yunjin smiled.

Chu Li held her, his fingers gently playing with a strand of her hair as he looked at her, his eyes flickering slightly. “Mu Yunjin…”

“What is it?” Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li, not understanding why he suddenly called her by her full name.

“This Prince seems to…” Meeting Mu Yunjin’s gaze, Chu Li’s ears gradually reddened, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable and awkward as he looked away.

When facing Mu Yunjin, he always found it hard to restrain his true emotions.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, staring at Chu Li. “Seems to what?”

“Seems to have fallen for you.”

After speaking, Chu Li immediately looked away, letting out a light breath. He suddenly felt much lighter, but he didn’t quite dare to look at Mu Yunjin’s expression now.

He didn’t know what his feelings for her were like before, but he couldn’t deny that after spending time with her recently, he truly liked her.

He truly wanted her to accompany him for the rest of his life, truly wanted to have children with her, and spend a lifetime together.

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, her eyebrows raised as she looked at Chu Li. “Do you know how you confessed to me before?”

Chu Li turned to look at her in confusion.

“Ahem…” Mu Yunjin coughed lightly, then began to imitate Chu Li’s tone. “What do you think of this, Prince?”

After speaking, Mu Yunjin shyly switched roles to herself. “Not bad…”

“Not bad… Then let’s be together!” Mu Yunjin switched back to Chu Li’s cool and arrogant tone from that time.

Thinking of when he had said those words to her, she could still feel the sweetness and thrill she had felt then.

And today, his words “seems to have fallen for you” after losing his memory equally moved and delighted her.

“So, which version of you do you think is cooler?” Mu Yunjin winked at Chu Li, teasing him.

Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin, frowning. “Which one do you like better?”

“Hmm…” Mu Yunjin tilted her head and thought.

Before she could conclude, Chu Li in front of her had already grown angry. He reached out and pulled her close, with a hint of punishment, and lowered his head to kiss her lips heavily.

A moment later, Chu Li released Mu Yunjin and looked at her deeply. “Mu Yunjin, from now on, you’re only allowed to think about the current This Prince.”

Huh?

Mu Yunjin’s mind went blank.

So just now, Prince Ning, you were jealous of yourself?

Over the first few days of the new year, the atmosphere in Phoenix Feather Pavilion was harmonious, but the outside world had already changed drastically.

Chu Qing had formed an army under the banner of ‘Qing’, camped outside the Linyin Capital of the Western Yuan Kingdom. With half of the Western Yuan Kingdom’s soldiers under his command, he had officially sent a declaration of war to the Western Ming Emperor, announcing his intention to attack the Western Yuan royal family and seize the kingdom.

In the ‘Qing’ army, which had nearly six hundred thousand elite soldiers, Chu Qing appointed himself as the commander-in-chief, named Qin Muyue as the deputy commander, with Qiuye and Black Robe as assistants.

The civilians living near Linyin Capital, learning of the impending war, had already fled toward the imperial city for refuge.

Suddenly, the entire Western Yuan Kingdom felt the approaching crisis.

The most worried about this matter was none other than the Western Ming Emperor.

Inside the palace.

“Smack—”

The Western Ming Emperor, who had just recovered from a serious illness, sat in the imperial study and threw all the memorials on the desk to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Unfilial son! Unfilial son!” The Western Ming Emperor collapsed in his chair, his face full of worry.

Grand Eunuch Lu Shen immediately brought a cup of water, bending to offer it to the Western Ming Emperor. “Your Majesty, calm down. Given the circumstances, we can only face them head-on in battle.”

The Western Ming Emperor laughed bitterly. “Face them head-on, easy to say, but who do we have in court now?”

“Qin Feng is dead, Qin Munan’s whereabouts are unknown, that wretched girl Qin Muyue has rebelled with that unfilial son, and she’s taken away Wei Zhong, Zhang Jin, Hou Yong, and several other deputy generals. Our court now doesn’t even have someone who can command in battle…” At this moment, the Western Ming Emperor was full of regret, blaming himself for trusting those traitors from the Qin family too much.

He had thought that after his enthronement, the kingdom he ruled was in a time of peace and prosperity, but he hadn’t expected that disaster had been quietly approaching long ago.

Lu Shen also sighed. “Your Majesty, you have many outstanding princes. Why not select one as the commander to go into battle?”

“Princes…” The Western Ming Emperor pondered.

“Ye’er is the Crown Prince; naturally, I cannot let him take risks. Eighth son Chu Xin is not skilled in martial arts. Tenth son Chu Min is only thirteen years old. As for the rest, don’t even mention them…” The Western Ming Emperor’s headache grew worse as he thought about it, and he painfully covered his head.

Hearing this, Lu Shen sighed from the bottom of his heart. “If only Prince Ning were still here…”

Realizing he had misspoken, he immediately knelt, repeatedly slapping his mouth. “This old servant has spoken out of turn. Please punish me, Your Majesty!”

The Western Ming Emperor was stunned for a moment. Hearing Lu Shen mention Chu Li, he thought carefully.

Yes, if only Li’er were here.

That child was meticulous, brave, and resourceful. In terms of martial arts and strategy, Chu Qing might not be his match.

But unfortunately…

At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the imperial study.

“Come in,” the Western Ming Emperor said helplessly.

The door to the study opened, and a guard entered, handing a document to the Western Ming Emperor. “Your Majesty, this is an urgent document just delivered from the Northern Ming Kingdom.”

Hearing this, the Western Ming Emperor immediately took it excitedly and quickly opened it.

The day before yesterday, after receiving Chu Qing’s declaration of war, he immediately sent a request to Bei Tang Wenfeng for troops, not knowing how Bei Tang Wenfeng would respond.

With these thoughts, the Western Ming Emperor quickly unfolded the letter and read it.

The content of the letter was very simple, with just a few short sentences—

“If Jinhua is there, I am there. If Jinhua is not there, nothing to discuss!”

Reading this, the Western Ming Emperor’s heart sank again. He lowered his eyes and made an extremely difficult decision in his heart.

“Lu Shen, draft an imperial decree for me!”

In Phoenix Feather Pavilion, Mu Yunjin was sitting on the grass, sunbathing and chatting with Qiqi and Hua Ying. Nearby, Chu Li and Huang Yan were playing chess, with several onlookers around them.

When Wind Xuan Daoist arrived at Phoenix Feather Pavilion, he saw that almost everyone was gathered.

“Oh my, you naughty girl, pour me a cup of water. I’m exhausted!” Wind Xuan Daoist sat down with a thud, his forehead covered in sweat.

Seeing Wind Xuan Daoist had returned, Mu Yunjin quickly got up, took a water pot and cup, and poured water for him. “Master, you’re finally back. Has everything been resolved with Qin Munan?”

Wind Xuan Daoist took a sip of water, caught his breath, and raised an eyebrow at Mu Yunjin. “With your master taking action, what do you think?”

“Impressive, impressive!” Mu Yunjin gave Wind Xuan Daoist a thumbs up.

Just as Mu Yunjin mentioned Qin Munan, Chu Li’s attention had already shifted over, giving her a cold glare.

Feeling a chill down her spine, Mu Yunjin shuddered and turned to look at Chu Li, not far behind her. Meeting Chu Li’s gloomy expression, Mu Yunjin gave him an extremely sweet and obedient smile.

Upon seeing this smile that he couldn’t resist, Chu Li’s expression immediately softened considerably. He put down his chess piece and walked over.

“I just tore off an imperial proclamation. I think you’ll all be interested in its contents,” Wind Xuan Daoist said, pulling out an imperial proclamation from his sleeve and handing it to Mu Yunjin.

Hearing Wind Xuan Daoist’s words, almost everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around, very curious about the contents of the imperial proclamation.

Before Mu Yunjin unfolded the proclamation, Wind Xuan Daoist added, “By the way, when I came just now, all the wanted posters for you in the streets had been taken down.”

“Oh?” Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, her curiosity piqued, and immediately unfolded the proclamation.

“By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees…” Mu Yunjin mumbled as she read through the text. When she got to the last few lines, her voice suddenly grew louder—

“Regardless of whether Prince Ning Chu Li is of my flesh and blood, twenty years of family bonds are difficult to erase. I will always regard him as my child, and he will forever be my son! Let this be known to all under heaven. So be it!”

After reading the contents of the imperial proclamation, Mu Yunjin felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Had the Western Ming Emperor been possessed again?

Just a few days ago, he had sealed the Prince Ning’s mansion and issued arrest warrants, and now he was saying he regarded Chu Li as his child?

“Chu Li, what do you think?” Mu Yunjin came to her senses and turned to look at the expressionless Chu Li.

Chu Li’s expression was calm. “This Prince is standing and watching.”

“…” Mu Yunjin shuddered. Was Chu Li making a cold joke?