Huaying quickly swallowed several pills, then lay down weakly on the bed without making a sound. She seemed to have walked the edge between life and death, left completely drained of strength.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Huang Yan watched Huaying for a long while before finally being unable to hold back; he spoke up, gently nudging her arm.

Huaying weakly opened her eyes, glanced at Huang Yan, and barely opened her mouth, “I’m fine.”

Hearing this, Huang Yan felt somewhat relieved.

“Why are your symptoms so severe?” Qiqi approached, crouching down to look Huaying in the eye.

Although the other spirit beasts were also feeling unwell, none of their symptoms were as severe as Huaying’s.

If they had arrived even a moment later, Huaying might have…

Qiqi didn’t dare think further.

Huaying shook her head and sighed, “I was too clever for my good.”

…

…

“I took several pills that I had refined myself, thinking they could resist these discomforts. Who would have thought that the pills combined with those irritating noises would cause a backlash…” Huaying said in a low voice.

“You nearly scared me to death!” Qiqi scolded.

Huaying seemed very tired. She weakly tugged at the corner of her mouth and gradually fell asleep.

During her sleep, the snake tail slowly transformed back into human legs.

Watching this transformation, Huang Yan remembered what Imperial Tutor An had once told him—only by drinking the water from the Azure Moon Spring could one be freed from a spirit beast’s form…

Azure Moon Spring…

Thinking of this, Huang Yan silently made a decision.

“Your Highness…” Huang Yan turned his face to look at Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.

Chu Li’s expression showed curiosity.

“I want to set out for the Celestial Holy Continent first,” Huang Yan announced his decision.

There were still a few days until the beginning of the seventh month. By then, a massive calamity would surely befall the Celestial Holy Continent, a calamity where life and death hung in the balance, and no one knew what the outcome would be.

Taking advantage of these few days, he would go to the Celestial Holy Continent to investigate and perhaps find the Azure Moon Spring.

Once he brought back some of the spring water, Huaying could be freed from her spirit beast form.

This was the first time Mu Yunjin had seen such a serious expression on Huang Yan’s face. Usually, Huang Yan was always grinning and joking, appearing to have a mild temperament.

“Are you sure?” Chu Li glanced at Huang Yan, his voice crisp.

Huang Yan nodded solemnly.

“Then go,” Chu Li said expressionlessly.

“Good, I’ll depart today and meet up with you all at the Celestial Holy Continent in five days,” Huang Yan said, then left Huaying’s room directly.

Qiqi scratched her head, “He changed so quickly…”

Mu Yunjin sighed.

After Huang Yan left, Chu Li and Mu Yunjin also left Huaying’s room. Walking along the stone path, Mu Yunjin opened her mouth, “The Pavilion is now so gloomy, and all the disciples are unwell. Is there any way they can recover?”

Chu Li turned to look at Mu Yunjin, “Do you remember how your body felt when you were attacked by those eagles, fell off Ping Feng Cliff, and landed on Qing Feng Island?”

“Shattered bones, at death’s door…” Recalling that day, these eight words were the only feelings Mu Yunjin could express.

“And do you remember what Master gave you to eat then?” Chu Li asked again.

Mu Yunjin paused her steps, frowning as she thought carefully, “Congealed Dew Pills?”

That seemed to be the name…

She had heard Senior Murong mention it to Little Yuer at the time, but she wasn’t sure if that was the exact name.

However, these Congealed Dew Pills had effects similar to divine elixirs. Despite being so badly injured from the fall, after taking them, she had quickly regained all her physical strength.

After hearing Mu Yunjin mention the Congealed Dew Pills, Chu Li smiled slightly and took out a white porcelain bottle from his sleeve.

“These are all Congealed Dew Pills.”

Mu Yunjin’s eyes brightened. She reached out to take the heavy porcelain bottle, looking at Chu Li in disbelief, “How did you get so many?”

“I shamelessly asked Master for them,” Chu Li chuckled.

“Amazing!” Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but praise him.

With such divine medicine, how could they worry about the Pavilion disciples not recovering?

Holding the porcelain bottle, just as Mu Yunjin was about to distribute it to the Phoenix Pavilion disciples, she paused, remembering something, “Oh right, Shen Wanning also appeared today.”

“I don’t know what she said to Black Robe, but before he left, he told me that Senior Murong wouldn’t be able to help us this time.”

“Could it be that Shen Wanning and the others have done something to Senior Murong?” Mu Yunjin frowned deeply.

Chu Li reached out and embraced Mu Yunjin, “Don’t worry, Master is far more formidable than we can imagine.”

Mu Yunjin nodded.

…

When they returned to the Prince’s mansion, it was already deep into the night.

Little Chu Mu was already asleep in his small bed, with Ding Xian watching over him, not daring to show any negligence.

Only when Mu Yunjin and Chu Li returned did he leave the room.

The first thing Mu Yunjin did upon returning to the room was to check on little Chu Mu. Seeing him sleeping peacefully, her heart felt much more at ease.

After bathing, Mu Yunjin lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling with complex thoughts.

One more day had passed, leaving only four days.

After thinking for a while, Mu Yunjin suddenly turned to look at Chu Li, who had just finished bathing, “Chu Li, shouldn’t we also go to the Celestial Holy Continent ahead of time?”

Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin, “Why do you say that?”

“Leng Yuan is trapped in the Celestial Holy Continent. If we only go at the beginning of the seventh month, unfamiliar with the terrain of the Celestial Holy Continent, we might suffer quite a disadvantage.” Mu Yunjin clenched her fists whenever she thought about Leng Yuan still being alive, longing to rush over and kill that woman with her own hands.

Chu Li fell silent for a moment.

Leng Yuan…

This woman, whom he had underestimated back then, ultimately caused him and Fu Huan to suffer endless torment.

In this life, she was still alive?

Well, very well!

“We’ll depart the day after tomorrow!” Chu Li immediately made the decision.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin immediately sat up in bed, looking at Chu Li with a serious face, “Really?”

“Really!” Chu Li confirmed.

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, her eyebrows tightly knit, “Why do I feel both excited and worried…”

“…” Chu Li could only sigh helplessly.

After a while, Mu Yunjin looked at the small bed again, “Then what about little Chu Mu?”

“We’ll place him in the Phoenix Pavilion for now,” Chu Li said.

Mu Yunjin thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

That night, Mu Yunjin tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

…

The next morning, Mu Yunjin had finally found some drowsiness when a series of major events exploded one after another outside.

First, the Emperor of Western Ming had dreamed of a treasure map, and in the dream, the treasure map was hidden inside the Buddha statue in the secret room of Master Huaiyuan’s meditation chamber. So early in the morning, the Emperor ordered people to move the Buddha statue into the palace.

Second, while the Emperor of Western Ming invited people to decode the mystery of this Buddha statue, he accidentally triggered a mechanism in the Buddha statue’s eyes. Two feathered arrows shot out from the mechanism—one struck a Grand Tutor Zhuang, and the other struck the Emperor.

Third, those feathered arrows contained a deadly poison. The Emperor was already at death’s door, and medicines were ineffective. Master Huaiyuan was implicated in this and sent to the imperial palace, charged with plotting to harm the Emperor, to be executed three days later.

Fourth, Empress Dowager Rui consumed bird’s nest soup sent by Li Yingxuan, causing her entire body to fester with pus. Poison was found in Li Yingxuan’s palace, and she was ordered to be imprisoned in the imperial dungeon. Li Mingzhong and his wife were also arrested. Chen Pu was ordered to investigate this matter, and if he couldn’t find results, he would be dismissed from his position.

Fifth, the Emperor of Western Ming and Empress Dowager Rui couldn’t hold on, dying one after the other. The funeral would take about ten days, and Mu Yunjin and Chu Li would have to attend, with no possibility of declining.

…

Mu Yunjin took quite some time to digest all this information.

Thus, she reached the following conclusions—

The Buddha statue had been moved.

The Emperor of Western Ming had unfortunately been killed, implicating Master Huaiyuan.

The Li family had also been framed for poisoning Empress Dowager Rui and were now implicated.

With both the Emperor of Western Ming and Empress Dowager Rui dying at the same time, Chu Li, nominally still holding the title of Prince of Ning, would have to attend the funeral no matter what.

So three days later, they wouldn’t be able to attend the gathering on the first day of the seventh month…

Thinking of all this, Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but clench her fingers. This chain of schemes was brilliantly executed!

Not only had it stopped Chu Li, but it had also implicated some of his allied factions.

Including Chu Ye, who, even if he secretly favored Chu Li’s faction, couldn’t bypass the common people’s scrutiny now that this matter was known throughout the land.

Creating such a disturbance at this critical juncture was meant to hinder them.

And that Buddha statue—the mystery behind its mechanism still wasn’t clear, and now it had been moved to the palace.

Given that the Buddha statue had now caused deaths, it would either be heavily guarded or destroyed…

Mu Yunjin found it all headache-inducing.

“After His Highness received the news, he went to the palace. We don’t know when he’ll return,” Mamma Shen said to Mu Yunjin, who was sitting in the front hall.

Mu Yunjin rubbed her temples, momentarily without a plan.

She waited until afternoon before Chu Li returned from the palace.

Mu Yunjin had been sitting in the front hall waiting for Chu Li. Seeing him enter, she immediately walked over, “How is it?”

Chu Li’s face was gloomy, his gaze cold, “This matter is far more complicated than imagined.”

“What do you mean?” Mu Yunjin asked.

“Some court ladies have testified that they saw you touching the Buddha statue that day at Water Cloud Temple. They suspect you set the mechanism,” Chu Li said with a tense face, his expression deep with meaning.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin frowned even more deeply, “So the wind is indeed blowing toward me.”

Having been framed several times already, Mu Yunjin was unsurprised by such accusations.

One had to admit, the opposition was very skillful.

They knew that manipulating public opinion was the most troublesome tactic.

Now, the citizens of the entire city would once again spread rumors about her, portraying her as some kind of demon or monster.

Just then, a large contingent of imperial guards entered from outside, led by Eunuch Lu from Chu Ye’s side.

After entering, Eunuch Lu first bowed to Chu Li and Mu Yunjin, then his expression darkened as he looked at Mu Yunjin, “By the Emperor’s verbal decree, Princess Consort of Ning, Mu Yunjin, is to go to the Court of Judicature’s interrogation hall immediately.”

After speaking, Eunuch Lu said, “Princess Consort, please.”

Mu Yunjin silently rolled her eyes. How annoying! It was that cursed place, the Court of Judicature, again!

She had thought she would be free once the beginning of the seventh month arrived, but she never expected to be entangled in these troublesome matters again.

And now this trouble involved the lives of the Emperor of Western Ming and Empress Dowager Rui, making it far more thorny than previous incidents…

“Chu Li…” Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li, a hundred unwillingnesses to go to the Court of Judicature in her heart.

Chu Li held her hand, “This Prince will go with you.”