Mo Qinghuan put the spoon back into the bowl and turned to look at A Tahuan who was running towards them. When A Tahuan reached them, she raised her hand and knocked over the ginseng soup that Mo Qinghuan was holding.
"You vicious woman! You were actually trying to harm the prince!"
The ginseng soup spilled onto the ground, splashing out yellow liquid that sizzled.
Mu Yanming frowned imperceptibly. He held Mo Qinghuan's hand, took out a handkerchief from her waist, and gently wiped the back of her hand.
Mo Qinghuan glanced at the spilled soup on the ground, then sized up A Tahuan from head to toe. A Tahuan didn't show any weakness and stared back at her.
"You have such a malicious heart. The prince has been so good to you, yet you..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mo Qinghuan squatted down and gently dipped a little of the soup with her fingertip. Just as she was about to bring it to her lips,
"Qinghuan." Mu Yanming grabbed her wrist.
But she gently brushed his hand away. "Your Highness, there's definitely no poison in this ginseng soup." She looked at A Tahuan and clearly caught the fleeting panic in her eyes.
She was so sure because if there was poison, the system would be screaming in her mind the moment she touched it.
"Impossible! The yellow foam in the spilled soup clearly indicates there's poison. Now that the soup has been spilled, you can say whatever you want."
Mo Qinghuan gently lifted the corner of her mouth and looked at Mu Yanming. "I brought this ginseng soup from the kitchen. The princess of Beirong is staying in the side palace. I wonder how the princess of Beirong knew there was poison in this ginseng soup. Could it be...?" She slowly turned her head to look at A Tahuan.
A Tahuan suddenly looked at Mu Yanming. "Your Highness, she's slandering me. Huan'er didn't do it."
When Mo Qinghuan heard her call herself Huan'er, she recalled that Mu Yanming had whispered Huan'er when they were intimate. Instantly, she felt a wave of nausea.
"You know best whether you did it or not!" She started to leave, but A Tahuan suddenly grabbed her wrist.
As soon as A Tahuan's fingers touched Mo Qinghuan, Mo Qinghuan shook off her hand.
"You'd better not touch me. Otherwise, I don't know what I'll do."
Leaving this sentence behind, she angrily left the courtyard.
Mu Yanming gave A Tahuan a cold look and said in a deep voice, "The envoys will leave the Li Kingdom after the Lantern Festival. When are you going to tell this king what exactly happened during those days?"
A Tahuan looked up into his dark eyes. "Are you concerned about me?"
He took a step back and curled his lips. "This is the last warning from this king. She is this king's princess consort, and the relationship between you and this king is merely one of interests. You promised this king three thousand miles of territory, and this king will help you regain your throne. So this king doesn't want to see you do anything inappropriate again. Otherwise, this king doesn't mind flattening Beirong directly!"
She staggered back several steps, her face full of hurt. Although Mu Yanming was smiling at the moment, she clearly felt the anger rising around him.
She never expected that Mu Yanming cared so much about Mo Qinghuan that he was even willing to send troops to Beirong for her.
Mu Yanming caught up with Mo Qinghuan. She was standing under a pavilion, looking out at the sparkling lake. The gentle breeze fluttered her clothes.
He lifted his robe and walked up the steps, standing beside her.
"Qinghuan."
She turned her face to look at him, then looked into the distance again.
Mu Yanming heard her let out a soft sigh.
He reached out his hand to support her body and made her face him.
"This king promises you that within at most three months, this king will send her away. Then you won't have to see her again."
She gave a faint smile, brushed his hand away, and turned around to walk towards the Yangyang Palace.
Mu Yanming watched her back and hooked his finger. Bai Ke stepped forward.
"Any progress?"
Just as Bai Ke was about to shake his head, the gatekeeper rushed over in a hurry.
"Your Highness, there's a fire in the Rui Prince's Mansion."
Mu Yanming slowly walked down the steps, raising his eyebrows slightly. "My good younger brother really can't stay quiet for a moment. Let's go and take a look."
Along the way, the people on the street seemed to be discussing the fire in the Rui Prince's Mansion. Mu Yanming lifted the curtain and looked out.
A wisp of black smoke rose in the southeast, floating into the sky. He looked up at the clear sky as if washed by water. The rising black smoke soon disappeared into the sky.
He put down the curtain and closed his eyes to rest.
After a while, the carriage stopped in front of the Rui Prince's Mansion.
Before Mu Yanming even got out of the carriage, he smelled a burnt and damp odor.
He got out of the carriage and walked into the mansion.
Mu Shengze was sitting at a stone table in the front yard, and Min Feiyan was standing in front of him with a sorrowful expression.
"Elder brother, why are you here?" Mu Shengze stood up and greeted him.
Min Feiyan lowered her head and said nothing.
"What happened?" He looked at the house where the fire had just been put out.
Mu Shengze glared at Min Feiyan angrily. Min Feiyan didn't look at him but took the initiative to step forward.
"We've troubled elder brother." Mu Yanming walked towards the burning yard.
On the other side, in the Regent's Mansion.
When A Tahuan saw Mu Yanming leave the mansion, she walked towards the Yangyang Palace.
Mo Qinghuan was holding a silver needle in her hand. When she saw A Tahuan striding towards her aggressively, she slowly put away the silver needle and still lowered her head to tidy up the things in front of her. "What does the princess of Beirong want?"
A Tahuan stood two steps away and looked at the bottles and jars in front of Mo Qinghuan.
"The princess consort has quite the leisure. The prince is still shouldering heavy responsibilities while injured, yet you seem to be too idle."
She let out a sneer. "No matter how idle I am, I'm not as idle as the princess of Beirong. You're so idle that you came all the way from Beirong to the Li Kingdom to find fault with me."
A Tahuan stared at Mo Qinghuan fiercely, a flash of cruelty in her eyes. She was born noble, and no one had ever dared to defy her like this.
She knew that her current capriciousness was all because she was jealous of Mo Qinghuan's favor from Mu Yanming. She was insanely jealous. She wanted to monopolize Mu Yanming's favor, but he had never even glanced at her.
Not even during those years on the border.
She had thought that by using a trick to come to the Li Kingdom, she could add some beautiful memories to her remaining life. But now it seemed that it was just wishful thinking.
Seeing that A Tahuan didn't say anything for a long time, Mo Qinghuan walked out of the room.
"Princess, it's not that I'm criticizing you. No matter what your motives are for coming to the Li Kingdom, I advise you to behave yourself. Not to mention me, even Mu Yanming will never allow you to act recklessly here."
She shook her head with a smile. "By the way, you should know that your injury that day was not as simple as it seemed."
A Tahuan tightly clenched her fists, her eyes bloodshot. Mo Qinghuan gently raised her eyebrows and turned around to walk into the room.
A Tahuan was breathing rapidly. She closed her eyes and forcibly suppressed the killing intent in her heart.
Mo Qinghuan walked to the door and lifted her foot to step into the room. Before her body could cross the threshold, she heard A Tahuan let out a low groan. Mo Qinghuan looked back and saw a trace of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.
She had actually fumed with anger to the point of internal injury.