Jingyang collected her thoughts and noticed a maid from Prince Ning’s mansion still standing beside her. She put on a slight smile and also walked toward the back garden.

Along the way, Jingyang walked quickly, eager to see where the two figures ahead were heading.

But after walking a few steps, Ruyue spoke to her, “Princess, your quarters at Minglan Court are in this direction.”

Ruyue smiled, pointing to another direction.

Jingyang paused, looking first toward where Mu Yunjin and Chu Li had disappeared, then toward where Ruyue was pointing—opposite directions.

Was Mu Yunjin doing this deliberately?

Jingyang was annoyed but still smiled at Ruyue, “Where do Sister Jinhua and Brother-in-law stay? This princess fears that if I need to find Sister Jinhua urgently, I won’t know where to go.”

“The Prince and his Lady reside in Liquan Pavilion ahead, but Liquan Pavilion has restricted access. Without the Prince’s permission, no one may enter at will,” Ruyue replied.

“No one? Even if this princess wants to go, I cannot?” Jingyang was surprised.

…

…

Ruyue nodded, “Those are the Prince’s orders, which we dare not disobey.”

Jingyang glanced at Ruyue with displeasure, knowing that as a mere maid, she was timid and afraid of causing trouble. But Jingyang wasn’t going to believe this. Tomorrow, after she’d rested enough, she would go to this Liquan Pavilion and see for herself.

After Ruyue led Jingyang to Minglan Court, Aunt Mo dismissed Ruyue and then entered Jingyang’s room.

“Princess, the purpose of your visit is to gain favor with Princess Jinhua, so that in the future, she can speak well of your brother, the Second Prince, before the sovereign,” Aunt Mo reminded her.

Just now, this young girl had nearly lost her soul. If Mu Yunjin had noticed, it would certainly have been detrimental to Princess Jingyang.

Jingyang was already full of resentment. Hearing Aunt Mo remind her of this matter, she angrily slapped the table, “Mother is the Empress! My second brother is naturally the best candidate for Crown Prince. Why must we travel thousands of miles to curry favor with a Mu Yunjin, taking such a roundabout approach? Isn’t Mother tired?”

“Princess, lower your voice. This is Prince Ning’s mansion, someone else’s territory,” Aunt Mo covered Jingyang’s mouth with her hand.

Leaning close to her ear, she whispered, “The Empress has her unavoidable difficulties. Before you left, the Empress was worried you’d be concerned, so she didn’t tell you much. But the truth is, during this time, the sovereign has been neither warm nor cold toward the Empress.”

“Ah?” Jingyang was surprised.

“The First Prince and Third Prince share the same mother, and they’re about the same age as the Second Prince. They are the Second Prince’s biggest competitors. And now there’s this Lady Qing. Think about it—Lady Qing is so favored, what if she bears a son? What then?”

“Moreover, Princess, you insulted Princess Jinhua as a bastard some time ago. Although the matter was resolved, the sovereign is displeased, and this inevitably affects the Empress and the Second Prince. That’s why the Empress sent you to Western Yuan, to take the opportunity to cultivate a good relationship with Princess Jinhua.”

“Incidentally, to let her know there’s a Lady Qing, pretending to be her mother, wielding power in Northern Ming.”

“And also, to have her help in the future, to speak well of the Second Prince. After all, her birth mother, Jiang Qingxue, is dead. Though she doesn’t live in Northern Ming, she is still Northern Ming’s Princess Imperial. If she returns to Northern Ming one day with the Empress backing her, her life won’t be too difficult.”

“Princess, do you understand? This is a matter of mutual benefit…”

……

“I’m exhausted.” Once back in the room, Mu Yunjin began to remove the jeweled hairpins and her elaborate hairstyle. As her lustrous black hair fell over her shoulders, Mu Yunjin sighed deeply, rotating her neck.

Chu Li didn’t know what exactly she was fussing about. He walked behind her and massaged her neck, “Would you like to take a bath to relax your muscles?”

“Mm.” Mu Yunjin nodded, but catching a glimpse of Chu Li behind her, she shook her head, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Noticing her expression, Chu Li tapped the back of her head, “What strange thoughts are you having now?”

“What do you think?” Mu Yunjin asked in return, standing up and turning to face Chu Li, her eyes showing some displeasure.

Ever since she and Chu Li had done that, Chu Li seemed tireless, tormenting her for a long time every day. As a result, her body and neck constantly bore blue-purple marks. The old ones would fade, and new ones would quickly appear.

After this thought, Mu Yunjin lowered her gaze to look at her belly. At this rate, she would conceive soon…

Thinking of this, she felt some nervousness and uncertainty.

In the end, however, Mu Yunjin could not resist the allure of the hot spring pool. On such a cold day, soaking in the hot spring was a most comfortable thing.

Soaking in the pool water, she leaned against the wall, her fingers lightly tapping the edge, her thoughts returning to the scene in the front hall earlier.

The look of admiration and envy in Jingyang’s eyes when she saw Chu Li…

It made her a bit uneasy!

This little girl, she’d better not cause any trouble!

Mu Yunjin tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered someone. She turned and called toward the small door, “Chu Li, are you there?”

The small door opened quickly.

“What is it?” Chu Li had promised not to enter the hot spring pool to let her relax, but after just a short while, he heard her call.

“I haven’t seen Little Nine recently. Is she in the palace?” Mu Yunjin thought of Chu Qingyuan.

Chu Li nodded, “Little Nine snuck out of the palace to play some time ago. She just returned to the palace a few days ago. I ran into her this morning.”

“That’s great. Why not invite her to stay at Prince Ning’s mansion for a few days?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, looking at Chu Li.

“What are you plotting now?” Chu Li crouched down, moving closer to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin curled the corners of her mouth, “With Jingyang here—just a little brat who can’t stay still—she might cause me some trouble. I’m older than her, but I can’t do anything to her, lest she goes back saying I bullied her.”

“Little Nine is the same age as her and can keep Jingyang’s temper in check. Besides, as her sister-in-law, I haven’t seen Little Nine for a long time. I miss her…”

After she finished speaking, Chu Li pinched her face, “It seems my prince’s mansion will soon be in an uproar.”

“Who’s the rooster, and who’s the dog?” Mu Yunjin asked.

“…”

……

The next morning.

Mu Yunjin nestled in Chu Li’s arms, sleeping deeply. Knowing that Chu Li didn’t need to attend court today, Mu Yunjin slept particularly soundly.

Meanwhile, in Minglan Court, Jingyang also rose early. After deliberately sending away Ruyue and Aunt Mo, she followed her memory and arrived at the direction of Liquan Pavilion that Ruyue had pointed out yesterday.

After walking for quite a while, she finally saw the plaque of Liquan Pavilion.

Just standing outside Liquan Pavilion for a while, she could feel the magnificent and exquisite layout of this pavilion.

She had deliberately timed her appearance at the entrance of Liquan Pavilion to coincide with the morning court session.

When Chu Li came out to attend court, he would surely see her. Then she could strike up a conversation with him, and he would leave an impression of her.

Thinking this way, Jingyang felt delighted.

But after waiting for more than an hour, there was still no movement from inside Liquan Pavilion.

Huang Yan had been staying at Prince Ning’s mansion recently. In his leisure time, he often sat with Ding Xian, Song Chun, and others, chatting.

At this moment, he was sitting with Ding Xian and the others in a nearby pavilion, his gaze occasionally falling on Jingyang, who was lurking suspiciously at the entrance of Liquan Pavilion.

“What is that girl doing? Standing there in the early morning breeze with nothing better to do?” Huang Yan recognized Jingyang. He had been watching her movements since she left Minglan Court alone.

Ding Xian shook his head, “This Princess Jingyang is very strange. Yesterday she shamelessly called our Prince ‘Brother-in-law,’ and the Prince didn’t even give her a proper look.”

“Tsk, if our Prince knew that this girl once called the Lady a bastard, I bet the Prince would flay her on the spot,” Huang Yan raised his eyebrows, speaking mockingly.

Ding Xian and Song Chun looked at Huang Yan in surprise. Song Chun spoke first, “She called the Lady a bastard, and the Lady tolerated it?”

“The Lady did, but Lady Qing, this young master, and that snake spirit Hua Ying from Fengyu Pavilion couldn’t hold back…”

Ding Xian clicked his tongue, about to speak when Huang Yan’s gaze caught something, and his eyes lit up with excitement. He patted Ding Xian’s arm beside him, “Look, who’s coming…”

Following Huang Yan’s gaze, they saw the Ninth Princess Chu Qingyuan, dressed in a water-blue brocade dress, walking slowly toward Liquan Pavilion.

At the same time, Jingyang noticed someone approaching. Instinctively wanting to run away, she was already discovered by Chu Qingyuan, who had drawn near.

“Stop! Who’s sneaking around here?!” Chu Qingyuan stood with her hands behind her back. Last night she had received a message from her sixth brother asking her to stay at Prince Ning’s mansion for a few days, and she was almost mad with joy.

Jingyang had originally wanted to leave, but now that she had been discovered, she was, after all, a princess, and in any situation, she could not lose her dignity and composure—especially when the person who had just spoken to her had raised her voice.

Jingyang turned around, first sizing up Chu Qingyuan, and slightly opened her mouth, “This princess is Princess Jingyang of Northern Ming. Seeing this princess, shouldn’t you kneel and pay respects?”

At this moment, in the room, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li had already awakened when Chu Qingyuan spoke loudly earlier, listening to the commotion outside.

Chu Qingyuan had come to play with Mu Yunjin. Now, not only did she not see her sixth sister-in-law, but inexplicably, a Northern Ming princess had appeared, speaking so arrogantly.

So naturally, she did not yield, standing with her hands on her hips, “What’s so special about being a princess? Is it a big deal? I’m not going to pay my respects to you. If you have the ability, hit me!”

“You!” Jingyang finished speaking and indeed raised her hand, wanting to rush forward and slap Chu Qingyuan, but with her hand halfway up, she didn’t bring it down.

“Not daring to hit?” Chu Qingyuan found it amusing and moved her face closer in an especially provocative manner, “Hit me, quickly, go ahead!”

“Hmph, this princess is of noble status and won’t lower herself to your level, you insolent commoner!” Jingyang withdrew her hand, straightened her body, and coldly regarded Chu Qingyuan.

At this moment, Huang Yan, who had been watching the good show, seeing the time was right, jumped out from the pavilion and ran to Chu Qingyuan’s side, bowing down on one knee—

“This humble one pays respects to the Ninth Princess…”