Mu Yunjin hurriedly returned to her bedchamber. When she had left the Xiang residence for the lantern festival, she hadn’t brought Zixiang with her, so now she was alone in her room, flustered and disheveled.

Just as she had taken off her soaked outer garments, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Mamma Shen’s voice, “Princess Consort, the hot water is ready. Please take your bath first.”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin responded, walking to the door and opening it.

Mamma Shen entered carrying a steaming bowl of ginger soup. She glanced at Mu Yunjin, whose black hair was completely plastered to her skin by water, and frowned, “Princess Consort, please go bathe first, then drink this ginger soup afterward and get some good rest.”

“Although it’s summer and the weather is hot, being soaked through like this means you must be careful about catching a cold.”

After speaking, Mamma Shen set down the ginger soup and first helped Mu Yunjin prepare for her bath.

The moment Mu Yunjin sank into the bathtub, she drew in a slight breath. A feeling of warmth gradually spread through her body as she leaned against the tub, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

Mamma Shen stood behind a screen to one side, arranging the clothes Mu Yunjin had taken off. “Princess Consort, what happened? Did you fall into water?”

“Mm,” Mu Yunjin replied flatly.

…

…

“Oh my, how careless! Fortunately, nothing serious happened.” Mamma Shen shook her head helplessly after speaking.

Soon after, Mu Yunjin emerged from behind the screen dressed in clean clothes. Mamma Shen, who had remained in her room, immediately picked up the bowl of ginger soup upon seeing that she had finished bathing and handed it to her. “It’s not so hot anymore. Quickly drink it and get some good rest.”

Mu Yunjin took the ginger soup, but when she brought it to her lips, the pungent ginger smell made her furrow her brow. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and drank it all in one go.

With a bowl of ginger soup in her stomach, Mu Yunjin’s body was thoroughly warmed.

After Mamma Shen left with the empty bowl, Mu Yunjin walked back to the couch, lay down, covered herself with a blanket, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

After a while, her head began to feel heavy, and gradually she fell asleep.

……

The next day, the front hall of the Sixth Prince’s residence was filled with various treasures and rewards.

After seeing off Eunuch Lu, who had come from the palace to announce the imperial decree, Mamma Shen turned to look at Chu Li, who was sitting in the main seat drinking tea.

“So Princess Consort jumped into the lake to save someone last night! No wonder she was soaked through. Even His Majesty has bestowed so many things as a reward.” Mamma Shen kept clicking her tongue in amazement as she looked at all the rewards.

Ding Xian stood nearby, and seeing this scene, smiled, “Mamma Shen, you should have seen how heroic our Princess Consort was last night. This morning when I went out on errands, the story had already spread throughout the streets. In everyone’s eyes, our Princess Consort is now a heroine.”

“Yes, our Princess Consort is truly remarkable. When I asked her last night, she said she had accidentally fallen into the water.” Mamma Shen shook her head helplessly.

Just as they were talking, Chu Li raised his eyes to check the time and slowly spoke, “It’s almost noon. Hasn’t Mu Yunjin gotten up yet?”

“This servant will go check.” After speaking, Mamma Shen walked toward Liquan Pavilion.

After Mamma Shen left, Zixiang, who had returned from the Xiang residence, entered the front hall. Upon seeing Chu Li, she immediately bowed to him.

“This servant pays respects to His Highness the Sixth Prince,” Zixiang said with her head lowered.

Chu Li gave a faint “mm” in response and cast a light glance at Zixiang. A moment later, his thin lips parted, “When did Mu Yunjin learn to swim?”

“This…” Zixiang was momentarily speechless, keeping her eyes downcast, not daring to look at Chu Li. This morning, when she heard people outside saying her young mistress had jumped into a lake to save someone, she thought she must have misheard.

She had served by Mu Yunjin’s side since she was small and never knew the young mistress could swim. In the past, when the young mistress was confined to Shihua Pavilion, the Fifth Young Miss had once mischievously pushed her into a pond, and she had nearly drowned. In the end, she had to be rescued by several servants.

Feeling somewhat anxious and not knowing how to answer, Zixiang suddenly recalled the various discrepancies in Mu Yunjin’s behavior lately. So she could only keep her eyes lowered and say, “Young Mistress used to be very close with the Eldest Young Master. Perhaps he taught Young Mistress how to swim.”

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded faintly.

“Oh no! This is terrible! Quickly, find a doctor!” Mamma Shen hurriedly ran into the front hall, and as soon as she entered, she called out to a small maidservant.

Chu Li glanced at Mamma Shen, slightly furrowing his brow. “What’s wrong?”

“Princess Consort must have caught a cold last night. Just now, when this servant went to call her, she found her burning hot. I suspect she has a fever.” Mamma Shen said.

Upon hearing this, Chu Li pressed his lips together, stood up, and strode toward Liquan Pavilion.

Mu Yunjin lay on the couch, her eyes half-closed. Several times she tried to sit up, but each time she felt dizzy and had to lie back down helplessly, covering her head with the blanket.

The door was pushed open, and through her haze, Mu Yunjin sensed several footsteps approaching her.

Then she felt the blanket covering her face being gently pulled away. The sudden light made her furrow her brow, and she tried to burrow deeper into the blanket.

Chu Li stood by Mu Yunjin’s couch, looking at her as she buried herself in the blanket. He reached out and lightly placed his hand on her forehead.

Feeling the sudden coolness on her forehead, Mu Yunjin, whose body was burning hot, inexplicably felt a sense of comfort and instinctively reached out to firmly grasp the source of the coolness.

Chu Li had originally intended to withdraw his hand, but was suddenly grabbed tightly by Mu Yunjin, their fingers intertwined. A deep twilight settled in Chu Li’s eyes.

“Creaaak—” The door was opened again.

A doctor carrying a medicine box hurriedly ran in. After entering, he bowed to everyone, then walked to the couch. Seeing Chu Li and Mu Yunjin’s clasped hands, he smiled awkwardly, “Your Highness, please allow this humble one to check Princess Consort’s pulse first?”

Chu Li nodded and gently released Mu Yunjin’s hand. Mu Yunjin seemed somewhat reluctant, her fingers twitching slightly.

The doctor immediately stepped forward, placed a silk cloth over Mu Yunjin’s wrist, and then touched her pulse point.

A moment later, the doctor bowed to Chu Li and said, “Princess Consort appears to have caught a chill last night and now has a high fever. This humble one will prescribe some medicine. Once Princess Consort takes it, the illness should be cured.”

“Then Doctor Wang, please come with me to prescribe the medicine,” Mamma Shen said to Doctor Wang.

Doctor Wang nodded and immediately followed Mamma Shen out.

After Mamma Shen left, Zixiang prepared a basin of water, wrung out the excess water, and placed a compress on Mu Yunjin’s forehead. Then she took another cloth and wiped the beads of sweat from Mu Yunjin’s neck.

“Take good care of her.” Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin on the couch, then lowered his eyes to look at his hand before walking toward the door.

Zixiang looked at Chu Li’s retreating figure, then at Mu Yunjin, and sighed softly.

……

By evening, Mu Yunjin’s fever had finally broken. Still feeling weak in her limbs, she forced herself to sit up on the couch and leaned against the headboard.

“Young Mistress, why are you up?” Zixiang entered with a bowl of medicine and was surprised to see Mu Yunjin sitting up.

Mu Yunjin frowned slightly, moving her sore shoulders, “Just jumping into a lake, and it’s tormented me like this. This body is truly weak.”

“Young Mistress, you’re not made of iron. It’s normal to get sick. Please drink this medicine first. You already took it once during the day, and it works very well.” Zixiang brought the medicine over, scooped up a spoonful, and gently blew on it.

Mu Yunjin looked at the black medicine with some disgust and waved her hand, “Take it away. I won’t drink it. I’ll be fine after sleeping.”

“That won’t do. The doctor said you need to take it for three consecutive days, three times a day. Young Mistress, you’ve only taken it once at noon, so how can you stop?” Zixiang said, bringing the spoon to Mu Yunjin’s lips.

Mu Yunjin sighed softly, lowered her head, and opened her mouth to take a sip of the medicine. Her mouth was immediately filled with the bitterness of Chinese herbs, making her already furrowed brow wrinkle even more.

At this moment, she deeply missed Western medicine’s pills and capsules.

After barely managing to finish a bowl of medicine, Mu Yunjin could hardly stand it. Fortunately, Zixiang had already prepared some preserved fruits. After eating some, the sweet and sour taste made Mu Yunjin feel much better.

After clearing away the medicine bowl, Zixiang sat by the bed to chat with Mu Yunjin. “Young Mistress, today His Majesty bestowed many treasures upon you, saying it was to specially encourage and reward Young Mistress for your act of bravery.”

“His Majesty knows about it?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, it’s spread throughout almost all of Diehua City. There are even people saying they saw Miss Qin at the scene, but Miss Qin just stood there watching the child struggle in the water without moving! They never expected that it would be the Sixth Prince’s Consort who jumped into the lake to save the person.” Zixiang said with a smile, seeming somewhat proud.

“These rumors, I don’t know if they’re praising me or harming me.” Mu Yunjin pursed her lips and casually took another preserved fruit.

Zixiang smiled, “Of course they’re praising Young Mistress. When this servant heard last night that Young Mistress had jumped into the lake to save someone, I was almost frightened to death. When did Young Mistress learn to swim? This servant had no idea.”

“I learned from my elder brother.” Mu Yunjin casually made up an excuse.

“So that’s the case. Today, when His Highness the Sixth Prince asked this servant, I couldn’t answer right away. Later, I thought about it and said the same as Young Mistress—that it was taught by the Eldest Young Master.” Zixiang said.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, “Chu Li asked you about this?”

“Yes, just before noon today. While the doctor was examining Young Mistress, His Highness the Sixth Prince was standing by watching. Later, he went somewhere, I don’t know where.” Zixiang recalled and said.

Mu Yunjin pressed her lips together, not knowing what to say for a moment, until she heard Zixiang continue, “Before the doctor came, Young Mistress kept holding His Highness the Sixth Prince’s hand and wouldn’t let go.”

“What did you say…” Mu Yunjin froze, her heart startled, as she glanced sideways at Zixiang.

Zixiang covered her mouth and smiled, “This servant said that today, when Young Mistress was delirious with fever, you kept holding His Highness the Sixth Prince’s hand.”

“…”

Mu Yunjin suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed, biting her lip tightly, trying hard to recall what had happened during the day, but she couldn’t remember anything.

“I was holding Chu Li’s hand? How did Chu Li react?” Mu Yunjin asked, then unconsciously looked at her hand.

“His Highness the Sixth Prince didn’t say anything, he just let Young Mistress hold his hand. Only when the doctor came to check Young Mistress’s pulse did he let go…”

“Oh no, oh no, this is terrible. I can’t face anyone anymore.” Mu Yunjin covered her face with both hands. Whether due to her illness or the current awkward situation, her cheeks were slightly flushed and burning hot.