Seeing this, Mu Yunjin gave Mamma Shen a resentful look, then placed her hand on Chu Li’s face and turned it away. She squeezed out a fake smile and said, “Be good, don’t tease!”
Mu Yunjin’s bold action surprised not only Mamma Shen and Ding Xian, but even Chu Li’s eyes flashed with an unusual light.
The dinner proceeded quite harmoniously.
……
That night, lying on the soft couch in her room, Mu Yunjin suddenly recalled what Zixiang had said about the Wen family during the day.
Her mind was filled with countless thoughts.
In previous years, the original owner of this body had probably survived to this age because she was confined to Shihua Pavilion all day, submissive and unassuming, not showing any edge.
But since she had soul-transmigrated here to replace the strangled Third Miss Mu, all sorts of conspiracies and schemes had come one after another, never ceasing.
Could it be because she was too flamboyant?
…
…
If that was truly the case, it seemed she should restrain her temperament somewhat in the future.
Otherwise, with too many enemies, she might not be able to deal with them all.
……
The next day was Chu Li’s birthday.
Mu Yunjin had stayed up late the previous night and was awakened early this morning by Zixiang. Now, sitting at her dressing table, she was yawning continuously.
“Miss, many nobles and officials came to the mansion this morning to deliver gifts, but they were all refused by Mamma Shen,” Zixiang said while helping Mu Yunjin arrange her hair.
Mu Yunjin made a sound of acknowledgment. “Chu Li is the type of person who never gives people opportunities. These officials trying to curry favor with him are probably wasting their efforts.”
Zixiang smiled faintly.
After finishing her grooming, Mu Yunjin was about to go out when Zixiang, seeing her empty-handed, hurriedly spoke up, “Miss, where is your gift? Let me get it for you.”
“Gift?” Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows. “You’ll see it in the dining hall.”
“So mysterious!” Zixiang covered her mouth and smiled. “It seems Miss has put a lot of thought into it.”
Just as she stepped into the front hall, Mu Yunjin heard Mamma Shen’s grumbling voice, “It’s so annoying! These officials, I’ve told them His Highness doesn’t need their gifts for his birthday, but they not only refuse to listen and send them anyway, but when I refuse to accept them, they come up with all sorts of tricks to leave the gifts directly on the steps outside the mansion, without taking them back.”
“Now this is troublesome. It looks unsightly to leave them outside, but I have to bring them all in one by one.”
Mamma Shen placed several gift boxes that she had brought in from outside on the table, then wiped her sweat and held her waist.
Seeing Mu Yunjin come out, Mamma Shen pointed at these gifts and said, “Prince’s Consort, what should we do with these? His Highness has never accepted such things in the past.”
“Just throw them out. If Chu Li doesn’t want them and those officials don’t want to take them back, surely someone else will want them,” Mu Yunjin smiled faintly.
“This…” Mamma Shen hesitated to speak.
Mu Yunjin entered the dining hall and saw that the table was already set with breakfast. She sat down and picked up a piece of red bean cake. “Where is Chu Li?”
“His Highness went to the palace early this morning,” Mamma Shen said.
Mu Yunjin nodded slightly, not saying anything more, and ate her breakfast silently.
……
It wasn’t until after dusk that Chu Li returned from outside.
“He’s back, he’s back!” Mamma Shen, who had been anticipating his return all day, immediately went up to greet him as soon as she saw Chu Li return.
Mu Yunjin had been made to sit in the front hall all day by Mamma Shen, waiting for Chu Li. Now, seeing him return, she finally took a deep breath, sat up, and massaged her somewhat sore waist.
“Your Highness, why did you come back so late today?” After Chu Li sat down, Mamma Shen poured him a cup of tea.
Chu Li took a sip of tea and spoke softly, “I was discussing matters with the Emperor, which delayed me somewhat.”
“So that’s what happened.” Mamma Shen nodded and continued, “Today is Your Highness’s birthday. This servant has embroidered a pair of mandarin duck pillowcases for you and the Prince’s Consort.”
After speaking, Mamma Shen took out the gift she had prepared in advance and presented it to Chu Li.
Mu Yunjin looked over, and upon seeing the bright red pillowcases embroidered with a pair of intertwined mandarin ducks, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, and she unconsciously glanced at Chu Li.
Chu Li stared at the mandarin duck pillowcases for a long time, then reached out to accept them from Mamma Shen, saying softly, “Thank you for your trouble.”
“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all.” Seeing Chu Li accept them, Mamma Shen’s eyes were filled with joy. Then she looked toward Mu Yunjin, “Sixth Prince’s Consort, where is your gift?”
Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and smiled mysteriously. “It’s on the dining table.”
……
A moment later, in the dining hall.
Everyone looked at the table full of dishes with shock and surprise in their eyes, then instinctively observed Chu Li’s expression.
Chu Li was frowning, his eyes fixed on the dishes on the table. After a moment, his cold gaze turned toward Mu Yunjin.
“Mu! Yun! Jin!”
Chu Li swept his gaze over Mu Yunjin. His usually calm and handsome face now showed a layer of anger as he called out Mu Yunjin’s full name, one syllable at a time.
Ding Xian, standing behind Chu Li, made a throat-slitting gesture toward Mu Yunjin, his eyes full of pity.
Mu Yunjin, however, seemed not to notice, directly ignoring the icy anger emanating from Chu Li’s entire being, and pointed at the dishes as she spoke—
“That’s carrot beef soup, scrambled eggs with carrots, sour and spicy diced carrots…”
Mu Yunjin introduced nearly twenty dishes in one breath, and every dish contained carrots.
“That one is the best, stir-fried pork liver with carrots…”
Mamma Shen and Ding Xian, standing to the side, both shook their heads at Mu Yunjin, signaling her to stop talking.
Mu Yunjin automatically ignored their gazes and looked sideways at Chu Li. “Although you don’t like to eat these things, they are all beneficial for you. Besides, I’ve already ordered that the carrots be mixed with various dishes, so you basically won’t taste the carrots much.”
“Would you like to try?”
Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin. The anger that had originally filled him somehow subsided after she said these words, and a hint of warmth surged in his originally cool gaze.
“Let’s eat.”
Chu Li spoke coolly, then sat down.
Beside them, Mamma Shen and Ding Xian exchanged a glance, their eyes full of disbelief. Had His Highness just compromised?
During the meal, Mu Yunjin occasionally picked up carrot dishes for Chu Li, while she put all the other meat dishes in her bowl.
Chu Li frowned as he watched this scene, feeling somewhat displeased, but still suppressed his anger and said, “This prince remembers that you also like to eat these carrots.”
Mu Yunjin had just swallowed a mouthful of beef. After chewing a few times, she replied to Chu Li, “Today is your birthday. These are your birthday gifts, so you should enjoy them yourself.”
After speaking, she swallowed another mouthful of egg.
Seeing this, Chu Li’s lips curled into a very faint smile, and he spoke slowly, “If you’re not afraid that this prince will have the bank freeze your thirty thousand taels of gold, then accompany this prince in eating some of this.”
“…” Mu Yunjin stopped.
Was she being threatened?
Mu Yunjin wanted to retort about the “bird’s eyes” matter, but having experienced the severity of this issue before, she could only swallow her words.
She then filled her bowl with carrots and lowered her head to eat.
Seeing this, Chu Li felt somewhat better.
……
On the way back to Liquan Pavilion, Mu Yunjin walked slowly, occasionally stroking her overfilled stomach, secretly sighing.
Chu Li took in this scene, his clear gaze resting lightly on Mu Yunjin. “Tomorrow, this prince needs to go out of the city on business, probably for half a month.”
After speaking, even Chu Li himself hadn’t realized why he felt the need to inform Mu Yunjin of his schedule.
“Disappearing for half a month again?” Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows, then excitedly added, “Why don’t you take me with you? I’m almost dying of boredom staying here all day.”
Chu Li paused, not expecting Mu Yunjin to make this suggestion.
He had intended to refuse directly, but catching the bright, eager look in her eyes, he inexplicably nodded.
“Your Highness…” Seeing this, Ding Xian stepped forward and spoke to Chu Li.
“It’s fine. This is not an urgent matter,” Chu Li said calmly.
Mu Yunjin glared at Ding Xian, then looked at Chu Li, her lips curving into a smile as she raised her eyebrows. “Then it’s settled, take me along this time.”
“Mm.” Chu Li nodded.
Having reached an agreement with Chu Li, Mu Yunjin returned to her room and began packing.
“Miss, can I come along?” Zixiang watched Mu Yunjin packing her luggage, feeling somewhat reluctant.
“You silly girl, I’m only going for half a month. I’ll be back soon,” Mu Yunjin glanced sideways at Zixiang.
Hearing this, Zixiang sniffled. “Alright then, I won’t go with you. The Sixth Prince will be there anyway.”
“This is also a good opportunity for you and the Sixth Prince to spend time together.”
“Don’t think too much.” Mu Yunjin lightly tapped Zixiang’s head. “I just want to see what’s outside this Butterfly City.”
She had learned about this Western Yuan Kingdom, which had more than a dozen cities, large and small. And on this Canghua Continent, where the Western Yuan Kingdom was located, there were also three other countries: the Eastern Lin Kingdom, the Southern Court Kingdom, and the Northern Ming Kingdom, with a total of about thirty to forty cities.
With so many places she had never been to, how could she resign herself to growing old in one Butterfly City?
Just as she had finished packing and was preparing to rest, there was a knock at the door. “Prince’s Consort, it’s time to depart.”
Huh?
“Departing overnight?” Mu Yunjin asked.
“Yes, His Highness is ready and is just waiting for you,” Ding Xian said.
Mu Yunjin sighed slightly, recalling that in the past, it seemed that she would wake up to find Chu Li gone, his whereabouts unknown. It appeared that he always left in the middle of the night.
With this thought, Mu Yunjin picked up her packed bundle and walked out.
After exiting, Ding Xian led Mu Yunjin toward the rear gate of the mansion.
At the rear gate, Chu Li’s black xuan wood carriage was waiting.
Mu Yunjin climbed into the carriage and saw Chu Li sitting inside, leaning against the carriage, resting with his eyes closed.
Seeing this, Mu Yunjin put her bundle down to the side, glanced at Chu Li, who had his eyes closed, then sat on a chair to the side. Taking advantage of the fact that Chu Li wasn’t looking at her, she lay down, completely disregarding her image.
Lying down was most comfortable after all.
With this thought, Mu Yunjin yawned and closed her eyes to rest.
The moment she closed her eyes, Chu Li slowly opened his, his gaze lazily sweeping over Mu Yunjin. He lowered his eyes to look at the jade pendant he had been holding in his hand all along, his eyes filled with deep meaning.