Chu Qingyuan?

Qin Munan?

For a moment, Mu Yunjin thought she had misheard. Wasn’t Qin Munan still imprisoned in the imperial prison?

How could Little Nine suddenly request to marry Qin Munan…

Moreover, hadn’t she already given up on Qin Munan?

What kind of whim was this now?

Mu Yunjin felt she couldn’t understand this matter at all, so she turned her head to look at Chu Li.

Chu Li’s expression wasn’t pleasant either. His tone was flat as he said, “Ignore her for now.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Ding Xian was slightly taken aback but nodded.

…

…

Mu Yunjin frowned and opened her mouth, about to speak, when she heard Chu Li say, “Come, let’s go buy a kite.”

After speaking, he held Mu Yunjin’s hand and walked toward the main entrance of Water Cloud Temple.

Outside the temple gates, there were many small stalls set up. Some sold incense, some sold small trinkets, and some sold kites.

Chu Li walked to a kite stall, casually picked up a dragonfly-shaped kite, and looked at Ding Xian. “Pay for it.”

Ding Xian stepped forward, puzzled, scratching his head. “Your Highness, what are you buying this for?”

“To play with.” Chu Li uttered a single word.

Hearing this, Ding Xian’s eyes revealed a trace of surprise. Play?

A kite?

What was His Highness up to?

Thinking this, he didn’t waste time and immediately paid for the kite.

……

Shortly after, on an open grassland outside the city.

There were many commoners flying kites on the grassland, mostly young couples with their children. When Chu Li and Mu Yunjin arrived at the open space, both felt a strange awkwardness.

Nearby, some people had already recognized Chu Li and Mu Yunjin and were casting curious glances their way.

Chu Li, being watched by these people, felt increasingly uncomfortable.

“Your Highness, would you like me to clear the area?” Ding Xian stepped forward and spoke.

“No need.” Chu Li shook his head.

Ding Xian nodded and lowered his voice to suggest, “Your Highness, there’s wind now. You can fly the kite…”

After speaking, Ding Xian quickly raised his head to glance at Chu Li’s expression.

What was His Highness playing at…

Thinking of flying a kite…

Mu Yunjin stood to the side, noticing that more and more spectators were gathering around. Most people had stopped what they were doing to look in their direction.

She guessed they hadn’t expected that Chu Li would also come out in his leisure time to fly a kite.

Looking at Chu Li again, with his tense face, clearly displeased at being surrounded by onlookers, his hand holding the kite also tightened.

“Chu Li, I’m tired. Let’s go back,” Mu Yunjin suddenly spoke, her hand resting on her belly.

“Going back now?” Chu Li raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was truly tired or had other intentions.

Mu Yunjin nodded with certainty. “Yes, let’s go back. We can come fly the kite another day.”

“All right.” Chu Li agreed to her words, walked over to her, one hand holding hers, the other holding the kite.

……

By the time they returned to the prince’s mansion, it was already afternoon.

When they reached the back garden, Qingmeng was laughing and chatting with Mama Shen, with Jiang Qingxue also sitting beside them.

Seeing Mu Yunjin and Chu Li return, the three immediately stopped their conversation. Mama Shen was the first to stand up and walk toward Mu Yunjin. “Princess, you’re back. Are you hungry? This servant will go get some snacks and fruits for you.”

Without waiting for Mu Yunjin to speak, Mama Shen had already hurried toward the kitchen.

Chu Li, seeing that there were only women here, put his arm around Mu Yunjin’s waist and whispered, “This Prince will go back to the room to change clothes first.”

Mu Yunjin nodded.

Afterward, Chu Li walked alone toward their chamber, while Mu Yunjin headed for the pavilion in the garden.

“Mother, Sister Qingmeng, what were you talking about?” Mu Yunjin sat down in the pavilion, smiling at Jiang Qingxue and Qingmeng.

Jiang Qingxue smiled, her lips curving upward. “We were just chatting idly about this and that, whatever came to mind.”

“Princess, you’re now over six months pregnant. Soon, when you reach seven months, you’ll need to switch to a new pregnancy-stabilizing medicine. The new medicine will be more bitter than before,” Qingmeng glanced at Mu Yunjin’s belly and smiled lightly.

At the mention of this, Mu Yunjin frowned, not because she feared the bitterness of the medicine, but because…

“During pregnancy, does the belly often feel hot and swollen?” Mu Yunjin looked at Qingmeng.

“Hot and swollen? That shouldn’t happen. Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Qingmeng’s eyes showed concern as she looked anxiously at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin’s heart sank, and she immediately waved her hand. “Not me, I was just thinking of a possibility and asking casually.”

Qingmeng understood and nodded. “Come, let me check your pulse.”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin extended her wrist.

Qingmeng placed her hand on Mu Yunjin’s wrist, carefully examining her pulse.

“Your pulse is somewhat agitated. Have you been worrying about something these days?” After a moment, Qingmeng withdrew her hand and looked closely at Mu Yunjin.

“No, maybe as the months progress, I just think more,” Mu Yunjin’s lips twitched.

Hearing this, Jiang Qingxue curved her lips. “Don’t overthink. Just maintain a normal state of mind. There are only three months left; it will pass quickly.”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded.

“Madam Qing is right. Just don’t let your thoughts wander,” Qingmeng agreed.

Mu Yunjin rested her chin on her hand, her eyes revealing a trace of melancholy. It seemed there was still no explanation for why her belly frequently felt unusual.

However, perhaps it was related to that surge of spiritual energy that often appeared in her abdomen…

Thinking this way, Mu Yunjin felt much more at ease.

……

After sitting in the pavilion for a while, Chu Qingyuan’s figure walked in from outside, her steps hurried, reaching Mu Yunjin in just a few strides.

Seeing Chu Qingyuan, Mu Yunjin suddenly remembered her request to marry Qin Munan.

“Sixth Sister-in-law…” After sitting down, Chu Qingyuan had a dejected face and a furrowed brow.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Why did you suddenly think of marrying Qin Munan?” Mu Yunjin asked.

Chu Qingyuan pouted and sighed. “Today I happened to go near the imperial prison. Passing by, I thought of Brother Munan still being locked inside, so I went in to take a look. To my surprise, Brother Munan has become so thin, almost unrecognizable. He also looks much more haggard, far different from the Brother Munan in my memory…”

“So, you requested to marry him?” Mu Yunjin truly couldn’t understand this child’s thinking.

Chu Qingyuan nodded, then grabbed Mu Yunjin’s arm with both hands. “But Imperial Brother doesn’t agree to this. Sixth Sister-in-law, you always have solutions. Can you please ask Imperial Brother to release Brother Munan?”

“Little Nine, you’ve acted too rashly in this matter!” Mu Yunjin sighed helplessly.

“What’s wrong? I just want to save Brother Munan…” Chu Qingyuan lowered her eyes, showing a hint of grievance.

Mu Yunjin spoke, “Qin Munan is currently a criminal. You are a princess of the nation. How could you request a marriage decree? If you want to save Qin Munan, that’s one thing, but once you request this marriage decree and it spreads, everyone in the world will know that the Ninth Princess wants to marry a prisoner. Tell me, will you ever be able to marry anyone else in the future?”

“I, I… didn’t think that far,” Chu Qingyuan lowered her head, suddenly not knowing what to say.

After a moment, her eyes suddenly brightened. “You just said that saving Brother Munan is manageable?”

“Don’t nitpick my words. I won’t make decisions about your matter. Wait and see how your Sixth Brother will discipline you,” Mu Yunjin reached out and poked Chu Qingyuan’s forehead.

Chu Qingyuan covered her head, chuckling. “I’m running off now. Don’t tell Sixth Brother I was here…”

With these words, Chu Qingyuan ran away quickly.

Jiang Qingxue and Qingmeng, watching this scene from the side, couldn’t help but shake their heads.

……

Night.

After Chu Li and Mu Yunjin finished their evening meal, they walked back to Liquan Pavilion as usual.

The night breeze blew gently, feeling soothing on their bodies.

“There’s wind tonight. Shall we take out that kite and fly it?” Chu Li suggested, glancing at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin was startled at first, then nodded. “Sure.”

Shortly after, Chu Li brought the dragonfly kite he had bought at the entrance of Water Cloud Temple from their room.

For the time that followed, in the garden of Prince Ning’s mansion, one could only hear Mu Yunjin’s repeated calls—

“Chu Li, don’t let out the string too quickly, release it slowly.”

“Chu Li, move a bit to the left; there are flower beds on the right. Don’t step on them…”

“Chu Li, the kite is about to fall. You need to pay attention to the wind direction.”

“Chu Li…”

After a while, Mu Yunjin looked up at the kite now flying high in the sky, her lips revealing a captivating smile.

This was also Chu Li’s first time flying a kite. He suddenly discovered that playing with this thing wasn’t simple, but now that the kite was up in the air, he had learned some tricks.

Catching sight of Mu Yunjin from the corner of his eye, Chu Li walked over to her. When he reached her side, he embraced her from behind and placed the kite string in her hands.

Mu Yunjin held the kite string, nestled in Chu Li’s embrace, looking at the kite. After a while, she said woodenly—

“Oh, we should have written our names on the kite earlier. That would have been more fun…”

“…” Chu Li remained silent.

After playing for a long time, both had worked up a sweat, so they slowly reeled in the kite string, preparing to return to their room to rest.

“Princess, it’s time to take your pregnancy-stabilizing medicine.” Qingmeng, who had been waiting with a bowl of medicine, saw that they had stopped playing with the kite and stepped forward to speak.

At the mention of the medicine, Mu Yunjin instinctively frowned. Drinking such things was torturous.

But she couldn’t not drink it.

“Here, it’s been cooling for a while beside us. It’s not hot anymore,” Qingmeng carefully handed the bowl to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin reached out to take it and drank the entire bowl of medicine in one go.

After drinking, the bitterness made her stomach feel nauseous.

“Alright, you’ve been outside almost all day. Go back and rest early. His Highness still has to attend the Sacrificial Ceremony tomorrow,” Qingmeng smiled, her lips curving.

Mu Yunjin nodded, then left with Chu Li to return to their chamber.

……

That night, in the latter half of the night, Mu Yunjin’s body once again broke out in many hot beads of sweat.

But this time, she had truly developed a fever.

Chu Li also woke up in the middle of the night when he heard faint moaning sounds beside him. When he reached out and felt Mu Yunjin’s burning body, he immediately awoke fully.

“Yunjin, Yunjin…”