Hearing Qiqi’s words, Mu Yunjin took them to heart and stopped in her tracks. After a moment, she walked back to the entrance of Phoenix Feather Pavilion and looked up.
Qin Munan had already left, leaving only Qin Muyue standing alone by the stream.
“They must know that if they relied solely on military strength, they might not be able to match Emperor Ximing, so they’re resorting to underhanded methods. Especially you and Prince Ning—you’re their biggest adversaries in their eyes,” Qiqi approached Mu Yunjin, analyzing the current situation.
Mu Yunjin sighed softly without speaking.
……
A moment later, by the stream, the group of black-clothed men who had left earlier returned, each with a cart full of mud and stones.
“Young Master, shall we pour the mud and stones into the stream now to fill it up?” Yang Lian returned to Qin Muyue’s side.
Qin Muyue looked at the stream with a cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No need. That’s too much trouble!”
Yang Lian was stunned, immediately feeling angry at being led on a wild goose chase. But facing Qin Muyue, he dared not express his anger, “Yes, Young Master.”
…
…
“Young Master, what shall we do next?” Yang Lian continued to ask.
“Return to Linyin. After dealing with Chu Li, we’ll come back to deal with Mu Yunjin!” Qin Muyue sneered, then flew away.
After Qin Muyue left, Yang Lian’s expression darkened, his face full of anger. He glanced unpleasantly at the black-clothed men around, “Everyone withdraw!”
With those words, he also flew away.
Mu Yunjin watched this scene and curled her lips into a light laugh, “This black-clothed leader might be a potential breakthrough.”
Qiqi seemed to half-understand.
……
Mu Yunjin returned to Phoenix Feather Pavilion. Fearing she might wander off, Qiqi stayed by her side, not leaving for a moment.
“Huaying has been lured away by Huang Yan again. I wonder if that boy is getting serious about our Huaying?” Qiqi sat on the grass, bringing up a new topic.
Mu Yunjin pouted, “That’s hard to tell. But didn’t you say they can’t be together? Otherwise, they’d suffer heavenly punishment…”
Hearing this, Qiqi sighed, “Although it’s just a rumor, no one dares to test it.”
Mu Yunjin looked at Qiqi, her peripheral vision scanning the other residents of Phoenix Feather Pavilion. Suddenly, she thought of a question she had never considered before.
“How long do the people of Phoenix Feather Pavilion usually live?”
These people were half-human, half-beast, with different types of beast forms that couldn’t interbreed. That meant they couldn’t have their descendants.
If their lifespan were similar to humans, wouldn’t Phoenix Feather Pavilion become extinct after a hundred years?
“Unless injured by external forces, the beast spirits of our Phoenix Feather Pavilion can generally live for several hundred years…”
“The oldest here is Granny Yu. She seems to have lived for several hundred years already…” Qiqi tilted her head in thought.
Upon hearing this, Mu Yunjin marveled at the wonder, then pointed at herself, “Then can I also live for several hundred years?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure about that, but since you’re the ruler of Phoenix Feather Pavilion, you should be the same as us…” Qiqi answered.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but feel astonished. If she could live for several hundred years, that would be quite frightening…
After chatting idly with Qiqi for a while, when things quieted down, Mu Yunjin began to worry about Chu Li, wondering if Huang Yan had found him…
As the two were talking, a figure in green entered Phoenix Feather Pavilion.
Mu Yunjin turned to look and brightened when she saw who it was. “Mother!”
Jiang Qingxue walked slowly toward Mu Yunjin, first examining her carefully. Seeing that Mu Yunjin looked well in all respects, she felt relieved and sat down beside her.
“The Lantern Festival is coming soon. I came to see you,” Jiang Qingxue smiled.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips with a light smile, then thought of something, “Mother, did you encounter Qin Muyue on your way here?”
Hearing this, Jiang Qingxue shook her head, “I didn’t see her. Why? Did she come here?”
“It’s nothing, I was just asking,” Mu Yunjin didn’t say much, not wanting to worry Jiang Qingxue.
Jiang Qingxue tugged at the corner of her mouth, then pursed her lips, her expression darkening. She opened her mouth as if wanting to tell Mu Yunjin something, but seemed unable to speak.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” Mu Yunjin noticed Jiang Qingxue’s unusual mood, her smile fading as she looked at her.
“I’ve discovered some suspicious details about the Blank Book that was leaked last time…” Jiang Qingxue sighed, her gaze serious as she looked at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin’s expression changed as she looked at Jiang Qingxue, waiting for what would come next.
“Since I left Nanting Kingdom, I’ve kept this Blank Book with me. It wasn’t until I followed your father to Beiming Kingdom that I hid it in an extremely secluded place.”
“After the incident, I immediately went to that place and found the Blank Book still there, with no signs of having been disturbed. But when I returned and examined it carefully, I realized there was something wrong with the Blank Book in my possession.”
As Jiang Qingxue spoke, she unfolded the Blank Book and spread it on the ground. Then she channeled her internal energy to make the hidden text on the Blank Book appear…
Looking at the gradually appearing text, Mu Yunjin frowned slightly, staring for a long time but unable to discern anything unusual.
“Looking at it like this, don’t you think there’s nothing strange?” Jiang Qingxue looked at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin nodded.
“Then smell it…” Jiang Qingxue picked up the Blank Book and handed it to Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin lowered her gaze and sniffed gently. At first, she couldn’t smell anything, but after a moment, a faint fragrance of osmanthus wafted out.
“This ink with a floral scent is unique to Beiming Kingdom,” Jiang Qingxue frowned, her tone tinged with helplessness.
“Someone from Beiming Kingdom must have discovered where I hid the Blank Book, deciphered its contents, and then, fearing the consequences would reach Beiming, they forged a copy and put it back…”
Jiang Qingxue sighed as she finished speaking, her face showing remorse and guilt. “So Huang Yan was right that day. I was indeed careless and inadvertently left such a big loophole.”
Hearing Jiang Qingxue’s words, Mu Yunjin’s expression became somewhat dazed.
She had thought the contents of the Blank Book were something Chu Qing and his associates had obtained by chance, but now it seemed that Beiming Kingdom was also involved.
Did that mean someone in Beiming Kingdom had also secretly reached an agreement with Chu Qing and his people?
Osmanthus-scented ink…
Osmanthus typically blooms in late autumn, which was exactly when she was in Beiming Kingdom guarding against Qiuye and his people.
“Is floral-scented ink common in Beiming Kingdom?” Mu Yunjin asked.
“It’s mostly common in the palace. Ink with floral scent is much more expensive than ordinary ink, so commoners rarely use it,” Jiang Qingxue answered.
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips. The palace…
“This whole situation is ultimately due to my carelessness. If it weren’t for me, Chu Li wouldn’t have faced so much criticism, and you wouldn’t be unable to return home now,” Jiang Qingxue sighed, her eyes reddening slightly as she spoke.
Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes and took Jiang Qingxue’s hand, “What’s meant to come can’t be avoided. Besides, apart from this Blank Book, others have already noticed Chu Li’s background.”
Jiang Qingxue was slightly stunned, pursed her lips, and didn’t know what to say.
……
At this moment, Mu Yunjin’s heart was in utter chaos.
Recently, problems had been emerging one after another, giving them no breathing room at all.
Originally, it was just matters between Xiyuan Kingdom and Nanting Kingdom, but now Beiming Kingdom—her father’s country—had suddenly been drawn into it.
Thinking of how Chu Qing’s people had already infiltrated Bei Tangwenfeng’s inner circle, Mu Yunjin felt another wave of worry.
“Does Father know about this?” Mu Yunjin looked at Jiang Qingxue.
Jiang Qingxue nodded, her expression turning sour at the mention of Bei Tangwenfeng, “I’ve already written to him, telling him to be cautious.”
“Beyond caution, we need to think about how to flesh out that person. Otherwise, if something else happens in the future, it will be impossible to guard against,” Mu Yunjin frowned.
“Then… is there any way to draw out that person?” Jiang Qingxue glanced at Mu Yunjin, momentarily out of ideas.
Mu Yunjin calmed herself and thought for a moment. After a while, she tugged at the corner of her mouth, her eyes flashing with a hint of brilliance, “They’ve always wanted to know how to activate the Celestial Decree, right? Then Mother, you should take a copy to Beiming Kingdom…”
Jiang Qingxue was taken aback, then nodded, “I understand what you mean.”
……
Jiang Qingxue had intended to stay with Mu Yunjin until after the Lantern Festival, but after Mu Yunjin presented her plan to lure out the snake, she couldn’t sit still any longer. After exchanging a few more words with Mu Yunjin, she hurriedly left Phoenix Feather Pavilion.
Qiqi had been sitting quietly on the side without interrupting. Now that Jiang Qingxue had left, she finally couldn’t help but interject, “Now even Beiming Kingdom is causing trouble. I feel like the entire Canghua Continent can’t be protected anymore.”
“Let’s just say Chu Qing and his people have gone to great lengths,” Mu Yunjin took a sip of water, then asked, “In Beiming Kingdom, who do you think would be most likely to do such a thing?”
“When Madam Qing was speaking earlier, I suspected someone, but I thought it unlikely,” Qiqi lay down, propping up her head, speaking lazily.
Mu Yunjin looked questioningly at Qiqi.
Catching Mu Yunjin’s gaze, Qiqi shrank her neck, “Initially, I suspected the King of Beiming…”
“Because for Madam Qing to feel comfortable hiding the Blank Book somewhere, it must have been extremely secret. Someone who could find this Blank Book would either be very close to Madam Qing or exceptionally familiar with the layout of her residence. Thinking about it, it seems only the King of Beiming fits these criteria…”
Finally, Qiqi added, “However, the King of Beiming has no reason to do such a thing. As the ruler of a country, why would he take an interest in a youngster like Chu Qing? Besides, when I visited his study last time, the ink he used wasn’t osmanthus-scented.”
Listening to Qiqi’s analysis, Mu Yunjin crossed her arms, her eyes flickering, “Hearing you say this, I’m thinking of someone else…”
“Hmm? Who?” Qiqi asked.
Mu Yunjin pouted, “It’s just a guess. Whether it’s correct or not depends on the success of my mother’s test.”
“Sigh, in the current circumstances, the most comfortable place is probably right here,” Qiqi stretched lazily, rolling twice on the grass.
Mu Yunjin forced a smile, resting her head on her hand, quietly sinking into deep thought…