With a snap, two darts flew simultaneously towards the soldiers guarding the city, and both soldiers fell to the ground.
At the city gate, Mu Jing and the guards surrounded Chu Xiyin and her carriage.
Mu Jing shouted at the carriage, "Listen up, you people inside! As long as you hand over the prince consort, I, Mu Jing, will let you go!"
The Fourth Prince gradually woke up. He touched his throbbing head, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on Chu Xiyin's face.
Chu Xiyin gave the Fourth Prince a deep look, then rushed out of the carriage lane, shouting, "Your consort is not here! There is only my husband—Yi Chuan, the Fourth Prince of the Ziling Dynasty!"
"It's you? You actually dare to come back?" Mu Jing glanced at Chu Xiyin with disdain.
Qi Yu and Mo Cong also jumped off the carriage and quietly stood guard beside Chu Xiyin.
Mu Jing dismounted and walked towards them step by step, smiling seductively, "I advise you to be sensible! As long as you obediently hand over the prince consort, I will let you go!"
“I told you, there’s only my husband in the car, not your consort!” Chu Xiyin stared at her defiantly.
"Whose husband he is is none of your or my business. Why don't we bring him out and see if he's your prince or my consort!" Mu Jing said arrogantly to Chu Xiyin.
Chu Xiyin clenched her fists, her heart pounding wildly.
Just then, the Fourth Prince suddenly flung open the carriage curtain and jumped off.
Chu Xiyin stared blankly at him as he walked step by step toward Mu Jing.
Mu Jing looked at Chu Xiyin with a smug expression; she was no match for her at all!
Chu Xiyin's body went limp. She silently turned around, glanced at Qi Yu and Mo Cong, and said weakly, "Let's go!"
"Want to leave? Not so easy!" Mu Jing said sharply.
"What else do you want? The prince consort you wanted already belongs to you, doesn't he?" Chu Xiyin sneered without turning to look at him, because she was afraid to see him.
"The prince consort is mine!" Mu Jing remained arrogant and haughty.
"Open the city gates!"
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Chu Xiyin suddenly turned around.
Taking advantage of Mu Jing's momentary lapse in attention, the Fourth Prince suddenly grabbed her by the neck and said coldly, "Tell them to open the city gates!"
Mu Jing looked on in astonishment. "You've regained your memories?"
"Open the city gate!" The Fourth Prince tightened his grip, drawing two deep purple lines across Mu Jing's neck.
Upon seeing this, several of Mu Jing's guards hurriedly ran to open the city gate.
"Get in the car quickly!" the Fourth Prince said to Chu Xiyin.
Before Chu Xiyin could react, Qi Yu and Mo Cong had already helped her into the carriage. She stared at the Fourth Prince; he clearly hadn't taken the antidote, so how could he have regained his memories?
Siqi looked at Chu Xiyin and said with a smile, "Don't be surprised! With me here, there's no need to worry that the Fourth Prince won't remember you! Remember, I'm the disciple of the Poison Doctor Qi Gui!"
Once outside the city gates, the Fourth Prince released Mu Jing and said, "You may go!"
"You're not going to kill me?" Mu Jing looked at him in surprise.
"I'm tired of killing!" the Fourth Prince said calmly.
Mu Jing glanced at Chu Xiyin, and the instant she lifted the carriage curtain, she suddenly turned around and threw a dart at her.
The Fourth Prince reacted quickly, blocking the dart as it struck the prince's arm.
Instinctively, Siqi flew out a dose of poison from her sleeve and shot it into Mu Jing's temple. With a thud, Mu Jing fell off the carriage.
"Jing'er..." A heart-wrenching cry shattered the silence of the night.
Chapter 49 Revenge (Part 1)
"Jing'er..." No one expected that this heart-wrenching cry would come from Mo Yun.
"Father!" Mo Cong saw Mo Yun, lifted the carriage curtain, and jumped down from the carriage.
Mo Yun seemed not to hear, rushed to the carriage, and picked up Mu Jing from the ground.
At this moment, the guards of the Twilight Kingdom had already chased out of the city gate and surrounded the carriage.
Mu Jing barely opened her eyes, forced a smile, stared at the anxious face, and slowly uttered a single word, "Father!"
Everyone present was surprised.
"Antidote, antidote...give me the antidote now!" Mo Yun shouted anxiously into the carriage.
Siqi shook her head and said, "This poison was given to me by my master for self-defense. Apart from my master, no one can cure this poison!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a cloud of purple mist rose from Mu Jing's neck to her face, staining all her exposed skin with a deep purple hue.
Upon seeing that Mu Jing was poisoned, the Mu Ai Kingdom guards, who had always been loyal to her, angrily drew their weapons.
Mu Jing glanced around at the guards, then slowly took out a token from her waist and said, "You...all of you, get back...back..."
The guards looked at each other for a long time, but still obediently accepted the order, put away their weapons, retreated into the city, and closed the city gate.
With difficulty, Mu Jing turned her head to the side and stared intently at the Fourth Prince in the carriage. Two clear tears finally streamed down her proud eyes.
There's nothing wrong with loving someone; what's wrong is that she fell in love with someone who could never love her back.
She envied Chu Xiyin, who could monopolize his love. But she wouldn't bless her, because love is inherently selfish...
A sharp pain shot through her chest, and Mu Jing coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
"Jing'er..." Mo Yun's voice was hoarse. Looking at his daughter's face full of pain, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
Mu Jing wanted to wipe away his tears, but her hand, raised halfway, fell limply to the ground.
"Father, promise Jing'er, never... never... never leave... Jing..." Before she could finish saying "Jing'er," Mu Jing breathed her last.
"Jing'er..." Another heart-wrenching cry rang out as Mo Yun tightly embraced Mu Jing.
At this moment, she had lost her former pride and arrogance. She was just an ordinary woman who longed for family and for the man she loved to love her as much as she loved him—that was all…
"Father will never abandon you again! Father is coming to be with you..." With that, Mo Yun pulled out a short dagger from his pocket and plunged it straight into his heart.
"Father!" Mo Cong exclaimed.
“I’m not your father. You and Tongtong are just my adopted son and daughter. I’m sorry, Cong’er. Please take good care of Tongtong for me!” Mo Yun gripped Mo Cong’s hand tightly and pressed down hard on the dagger again, causing a mouthful of blood to gush out.
He held Mu Jing tightly and went with her.
In truth, Mo Yun's real name was Mu Yun. He was a powerful and influential courtier in the Mu'ai Kingdom, and also Mu Chi's younger brother. Driven by lust for Princess Ai Yue's beauty, he took advantage of her when she was off guard. Princess Ai Yue deeply loved Mu Chi and feared he would abandon her if he found out, so she carefully concealed the truth from him.
As fate would have it, a month later, Princess Aiyue discovered she was pregnant with Muyun's child. Extremely anxious, Princess Aiyue told Muyun, who, being shrewd and calculating, devised a plan for her. That very night, Princess Aiyue got Muchi drunk and pretended to have relations with him. For the next month or so, Princess Aiyue repeatedly feigned illness and refused to consummate her marriage with Muchi. Nine months later, Princess Aiyue gave birth to a baby girl. Muchi was overjoyed and held a grand banquet for his officials. This baby girl was none other than the renowned Third Princess of Mu'ai Kingdom—Mujing.
When the Third Princess was five years old, Mu Yun gave her the little assassin Green Butterfly, whom he had carefully cultivated, and was plotting an even bigger plan: to annex the powerful Ziling Dynasty.
After making sure everything was arranged for Mu Jing, he felt relieved and left the Mu Ai Kingdom to join the Zi Ling Dynasty.
He enjoyed Yi Che's deep trust and was adept at navigating the political landscape. After the establishment of the Ziling Dynasty, he naturally became the prime minister, second only to the emperor.
Just as Mo Yun was making his way in the officialdom, Princess Aiyue unfortunately passed away.
Before she died, Princess Aiyue called Mujing to her side and told her about her background.
Like Mo Yun, Mu Jing also harbored great ambitions. After learning about her background, she secretly sent Green Butterfly to communicate with Mo Yun.
Mo Yun originally intended to use his influence in the Ziling Dynasty to cooperate with Mu Jing from the inside and outside, annex the Ziling Dynasty, and help his daughter ascend the throne.
Of course, all of this was originally under his control. It wasn't until he received the news of Green Butterfly's death from the white dove that he vaguely felt that some things had far exceeded his control.
Mo Yun rushed to the Kingdom of Twilight and witnessed his daughter's death. Only then did he realize that the fame and fortune he had pursued throughout his life were nothing but fleeting illusions. He had wasted his life on them, only to inadvertently lose something far more important...
After burying Mo Yun and Mu Jing, Chu Xiyin and her group hurriedly headed towards the Ziling Dynasty.
Inside the carriage, Siqi bandaged the wound on the Fourth Prince's arm.
The Fourth Prince then fell into a deep sleep in Chu Xiyin's arms...
Returning to the Ziling Dynasty, its former glory was gone. Everywhere were mourners, some for the loss of fathers, sons, or brothers…
No one knows who spread rumors in Ziling City, but the streets are full of people cursing the Fourth Prince.
They say he was lustful, betrayed his country for personal gain, and harmed the people, and so on...
See, that's how realistic humans are! A thousand acts of kindness can't outweigh a single mistake.
What they will always remember are the mistakes you made, not the blood you shed for them.
Chu Xiyin held the prince tightly in her arms; she didn't want him to see or hear any of this.
He did nothing wrong; he shouldn't have to endure these unwarranted insults and accusations!
As dusk fell, the Fourth Prince woke up when the carriage arrived at the Prince's residence.
"You're awake!" Chu Xiyin gently stroked his hair.
"What a restful sleep!" the Fourth Prince murmured, leaning on her shoulder.
"Your Highness, I'm going back to Yunwu Temple now. I'm worried about leaving Tongtong alone at home," Mo Cong said, turning around.
The Fourth Prince straightened up, nodded, and said, "Alright, be careful on the road!"
"Then let's go back to Ghostly Abode first!" Qi Yu said, putting his arm around Siqi's shoulder.
The Fourth Prince looked at the two of them and nodded. He didn't need to worry about Qi Yu and Si Qi's martial arts skills.
Chu Xiyin and the Fourth Prince got off the carriage and entered the Prince's mansion. Chu Xiyin felt a chill in the wind and felt very uncomfortable.
"Chuan, don't you think it's strange? Why is there no one in the Prince's mansion? Where are Steward Zhang and the others?" Chu Xiyin asked, gripping Yi Chuan's arm tightly.
"Okay, be careful!" Yi Chuan pulled her into his arms, cautiously surveying their surroundings.
An unusual silence enveloped the surroundings.
The two walked through many elegant gardens, but still did not see a single person.
It wasn't until they reached the small pavilion in the water that Chu Xiyin could vaguely see a person lying inside.
As she and Yichuan approached, they realized it was Consort Zheng, who was slumped over the zither, her body trembling.
"Mother..." Yi Chuan gently shook Consort Zheng's body.
Consort Zheng did not respond; only a muffled sound came from her throat.