As Shaoliu listened, his head hung lower and lower.

He understood perfectly the reasoning behind State Preceptor An’s words, but now he was truly hesitant.

His family had been poor since he was young. His eldest brother had pulled many connections to get him a position in the Minister’s mansion. Later, the Minister saw that he was rather clever and assigned him to work in the Young Lady’s courtyard.

The Young Lady had treated him well. Knowing his family’s difficult circumstances and that his mother was often bedridden with illness, she would frequently give him spare silver or jewelry to take to the pawnshop.

Over time, with his financial support, his family’s life had become somewhat more comfortable.

The Young Lady had shown him kindness.

But his family had also shown him the kindness of raising him.

He owed gratitude to both sides—what should he do?

If he revealed the Young Lady’s affair, the Minister’s household would likely fall. The Young Lady might avoid the death penalty, but she would certainly not escape punishment.

…

…

But this State Preceptor was indeed formidable, bringing so many witnesses. The Young Lady would probably find it difficult to turn things around. If the crime of implicating nine generations of his clan was imposed, his family…

Shaoliu suddenly regretted it.

He regretted helping the Young Lady commit such a wrong deed.

“Have you decided?” State Preceptor An’s secret voice came again.

Shaoliu suddenly felt that these people were indeed as formidable as rumors claimed. This State Preceptor could easily threaten him with secret messages that others couldn’t hear.

Protect the Young Lady, or protect his family…

At this moment, Yun Guangyao, sitting in the great hall, saw the noisy crowd below. He quietly channeled his true energy to send a secret message to State Preceptor An: “Since this matter is just a farce between two young girls, punish them to teach them a lesson, but there’s no need to implicate the two ministers.”

Hearing this, State Preceptor An understood.

“Everyone be quiet,” State Preceptor An spoke.

As soon as he spoke, the noisy hall instantly quieted down.

“Now that the course of events has been clarified, there’s no need to waste more time.” After State Preceptor An finished speaking, his gaze fell on Mu Ai.

Mu Ai had been secretly enjoying Lin Mengwei’s predicament, but when suddenly looked at by State Preceptor An, her whole body trembled. She quickly composed herself and put on a pitiful expression.

“In this matter, although Young Lady Mu acted on someone else’s instigation, she cannot escape responsibility. According to the law, she should receive fifty heavy strokes of the paddle as punishment.”

Hearing these words, Mu Ai nearly fainted from fear.

Fifty strokes—would she even survive?

“But Young Lady Mu’s back is currently injured, so the paddle punishment seems inappropriate. Let’s change it to finger press torture. After enduring this punishment, she must go to Jinghua Temple to face the wall and reflect for three months, and copy one thousand Buddhist scriptures,” State Preceptor An said slowly.

Mu Ai instinctively looked at her fingers, her face deathly pale. She glanced at her father beside her. Minister Mu was also looking at her and nodded to her.

This arrangement showed the Emperor’s utmost kindness.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Mu Ai kowtowed to Yun Guangyao.

After arranging Mu Ai’s punishment, State Preceptor An turned to look at Lin Mengwei. “Since Young Lady Lin is not injured, she will receive the standard fifty strokes of the paddle, and afterward must also go to Jinghua Temple to reflect and copy Buddhist scriptures.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, State Preceptor.” Although Lin Mengwei was filled with resentment, she knew this was the best possible outcome.

There would be time in the future—just wait, Mu Ai!

“And you…” State Preceptor An pointed at Shaoliu. “As an accomplice, you cannot escape punishment either.”

“Eighty strokes of the paddle and imprisonment in the imperial prison for half a year,” State Preceptor An declared.

Shaoliu likewise kowtowed and accepted the sentence.

Nearby, Yun Lianqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all this trouble, they had finally minimized the impact of the incident.

It was worth the effort of mobilizing so many people to gather all those who had dined at Yunlou Restaurant. Now both ministers were safe, and the two young ladies would be punished, explaining to the public.

……

After leaving Yun Guangyao’s hall, while walking on the path out of the palace, Yun Lianqing took deep breaths and suddenly realized it was best to avoid such messy romantic entanglements.

Mu Yunjin and Chu Li walked side by side. Seeing Yun Lianqing with a joyful expression, almost on the verge of humming a tune, she couldn’t help but pour cold water on him: “Have you figured out how to explain your arm wound to Miss Bai?”

Hearing this, Qiqi burst into laughter. “So this cut was wasted? Exposed after just one day.”

“…” The cold water Mu Yunjin had poured truly drenched Yun Lianqing, instantly sobering him up.

He had barely managed to get closer to Qinghuan because of his injured left hand. If she found out he had cut himself, what would happen?

This was truly life-threatening.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin covered her mouth and laughed softly, leaving with Chu Li.

Behind them, as State Preceptor An approached Yun Lianqing, he cleared his throat. “My cold hasn’t improved, and I spoke so much on your behalf this morning. Shouldn’t you properly thank me?”

“Of course. What would the State Preceptor like?” Yun Lianqing regained his smile.

“I heard that a few days ago, His Majesty bestowed upon you some amber clear tea tribute from the Tianyun Tribe. They say this tea is extremely precious, but particularly fragrant and smooth. You see, with my cold, my throat feels like it’s on fire…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll give it to you…”

……

Just as they left the palace gates and Mu Yunjin and Chu Li were about to return to the courtyard house, State Preceptor An caught up with them and stopped them. “Why not come to my mansion for a meal?”

“Sounds good,” Mu Yunjin agreed.

Chu Li had no objections either.

Qiqi, being just a follower, had even less objection. After all, she had no one to rely on in this Southern Kingdom and could only follow her master.

Moreover, Huaying and Huang Yan seemed to be temporarily staying at State Preceptor An’s place recently, so it would be good to meet with them.

As the four prepared to leave, State Preceptor An looked at Yun Lianqing with a teasing expression. “Would Crown Prince Yun like to join us for the meal?”

“No need. This Crown Prince must return to his residence first,” said Yun Lianqing.

“Oh, I understand. You need to go back and explain how you got that wound on your hand. Otherwise, life will be difficult in the future.” After saying this, State Preceptor An chuckled softly and boarded the carriage to leave.

Yun Lianqing stomped his foot in anger and shouted at the carriage, “Don’t you laugh at this Crown Prince! Your spring feelings are also in bloom—who knows how she’ll deal with you later!”

Upon arriving at State Preceptor An’s mansion, they found a sumptuous lunch already prepared. The group sat together, discussing what had just happened, torn between helplessness and amusement.

“I heard about it when I was just leaving. I can’t believe you all went to watch the scene unfold,” Huaying looked toward Mu Yunjin and the others.

Mu Yunjin took a sip of water and smiled lightly. “We were just there to watch the commotion. It was just a farce.”

“From your description, it truly was a farce. Those two young ladies with their delicate skin—after enduring finger press torture and paddle strokes, they’ll probably quiet down for a while,” Huang Yan winced just thinking about the punishment, which even he, a grown man, couldn’t bear.

Then he turned to State Preceptor An. “Why did you come down so hard on them?”

“A good beating keeps them in line,” State Preceptor An took a sip of wine and ate a few peanuts.

“Since that Lin Young Lady is so calculating, won’t a beating deepen her resentment? And from your description, this Mu Young Lady seems to be a person without much sense,” Huaying said.

State Preceptor An shook his head. “That’s unknown. How things turn out depends on their fate.”

“They’ve been given a chance. Whether they can seize it depends on them,” State Preceptor An added.

Hearing this, Qiqi smiled at State Preceptor An, resting her chin on her hands. “When State Preceptor gets serious, you do look the part.”

“Hmph, throughout the entire Southern Kingdom, this State Preceptor is known for his stern and serious demeanor. It’s only when I meet you lot that I can’t maintain my composure,” State Preceptor An pointed at everyone in the circle.

At these words, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

The meal had a wonderful atmosphere.

In the afternoon, the women sat in the garden discussing various matters, while the men were discussing something important.

“The day after tomorrow? Are you certain?” When State Preceptor An heard Chu Li’s words, he raised his eyebrows and instinctively glanced at Mu Yunjin in the distance.

Chu Li nodded, his lips pressed into a straight line, and spoke with slight helplessness. “Originally, I brought Huan’er to the Southern Kingdom to handle this matter. I didn’t expect so many complications to arise, delaying us for quite some time.”

“That’s true. Those several large boxes of yours should finally see the light of day, or else they’ll get moldy,” State Preceptor An said with a smile.

“Sigh, during this time, keeping this matter secret has exhausted me. Several times I almost let it slip, but managed to cover it up,” Huang Yan mentioned, helplessly twisting his mouth.

Chu Li smiled faintly. “This Prince can’t wait a moment longer.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you arrange everything perfectly!” State Preceptor An patted Chu Li’s shoulder lightly.

“Yes, Your Highness, please rest assured!” Huang Yan also solemnly patted Chu Li’s shoulder.

Chu Li nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Mu Yunjin’s silhouette in the distance.

……

Compared to the men’s solemn conversation, the women were chatting about various trivial matters.

“Mandarin ducks? But I don’t like mandarin ducks. Master, don’t you know embroidery? Could you help me embroider a cat and a lion on my wedding dress? That would truly represent me and Brother Lei Yan.” Qiqi wrapped her arms around Mu Yunjin’s arm, dreaming of her upcoming wedding next month.

Mu Yunjin nearly spat out her water, imagining the scene of a red wedding dress embroidered with lions and cats. Truly too beautiful…

“What do you think? Can you do it?” Qiqi looked expectantly at Mu Yunjin.

“If you like it, that’s what matters,” Mu Yunjin returned with a smile.

Qiqi immediately beamed with joy. “Then it’s settled. I’ll prepare a wedding dress first and then bring it to you, Master.”

“Mm,” Mu Yunjin nodded.

“By the way, is Sister Xinyao about to give birth?” Bringing up the topic of weddings, Qiqi suddenly remembered attending Qu Xinyao and Xu Heyu’s wedding, which reminded her of Qu Xinyao’s pregnancy.

Mu Yunjin smiled. “Not yet. At least three more months to go.”

“Is that so? It feels like Sister Xinyao has been pregnant for a long time. I didn’t expect there were still more than three months left. In that case, I wonder if she’d be willing to attend my and Brother Lei Yan’s wedding,” Qiqi grew more excited as she thought about it.

“Sister Xinyao would be willing. It just depends on whether City Lord Xu is willing to let her go,” Huaying joined the conversation.

Mu Yunjin sat to the side, listening to Qiqi talk about her wedding. Suddenly, she also began to dream about her wedding. When would Chu Li bring up the matter of the marriage ceremony?

As she pondered this, Mu Yunjin’s gaze gradually fell upon Chu Li in the distance…