She had served in the Fourth Prince’s residence in the past, and since the Fourth Prince always used Golden Gentian Herb whenever he was injured, she had learned to recognize it.
Hearing this, Mu Yuanzhi finally gave the bottle of wound medicine a proper look.
There was no point in refusing it; why make things difficult for herself?
Mu Yuanzhi said, "Come and apply it to my back for me."
"As you wish!"
After a night of fitful sleep, Mu Yuanzhi woke up and looked at the brilliant sunshine filling the room, feeling dazed for a moment. She had truly made it out of that hellhole...
She would never go back there again!
After Mu Yuanzhi had washed and dressed, Pei Yunxi came to find her, accompanied by Mu Yuanzhi’s mother, Imperial Noble Consort De, who was also Pei Yunxi’s biological mother.
"Don't worry, my dear, Luzhu will certainly return. Perhaps it's just here with Zhi'er."
"I hope so. It hasn't eaten all day, and I’m afraid it’s hungry."
Listening to their voices, which were not kept low, Mu Yuanzhi curled her lips. As she had suspected, Pei Yunxi intended to use poor Luzhu to carry out her schemes.
"Zhi'er."
The dignified Imperial Noble Consort De walked over, supported by Pei Yunxi.
This was the woman she had called Mother for sixteen years, the biological mother of Pei Yunxi. Years ago, while returning to the capital, the Consort had gone into premature labor and given birth to twins. An old nurse, for reasons unknown, had lost one of them and, fearing the consequences, brazenly covered it up, claiming only a prince had been born.
It was not until the old nurse was on her deathbed that her conscience pricked her, and she confessed the truth, which allowed them to find Pei Yunxi.
By a twist of fate, out of all the concubines in the palace, Mu Yuanzhi had ended up being fostered by Pei Yunxi’s biological mother.
Mu Yuanzhi would never forget the time her mother had personally picked up a bamboo rod to thrash her for Pei Yunxi's sake, shouting at the top of her lungs, "I am not your mother! My greatest regret is raising a white-eyed wolf like you!"
Suppressing these thoughts, she stepped out to welcome them.
"Mother heard you were injured?" There was still clear blame in Imperial Noble Consort De’s eyes for her having hurt Pei Yunxi, but upon seeing Mu Yuanzhi’s slightly haggard face, her voice softened.
"It is nothing. The imperial physician didn't have time to come, but I have already gathered my own medicine and taken it," Mu Yuanzhi said.
In the past, whenever her mother learned she was injured, she would have rushed over immediately to fuss over her. Last night, she must have spent the entire time at Pei Yunxi’s place, right? How could she have remembered whether her foster daughter was hurt? Perhaps if she weren't looking for Luzhu today, she wouldn't even have remembered she had a foster daughter at all.
Imperial Noble Consort De had expected Mu Yuanzhi to be clinging to her, crying and complaining as usual. Instead, Mu Yuanzhi was as cold and distant as if speaking to a stranger, which made the Consort feel a touch of sadness.
Did the daughter she had raised for sixteen years harbor such resentment just because she found out she wasn't her own?
"Is Zhi'er blaming Mother for not pleading on your behalf? But Xier did nothing wrong; you shouldn't have hurt her. Both are flesh and blood—how can you expect Mother to plead for you?" Imperial Noble Consort De’s expression grew stern.
Mu Yuanzhi sighed inwardly. There was no such thing as both being flesh and blood; Pei Yunxi in her palm was the treasure, while she, like the back of a hand, could be brushed aside at any time.
"Mother, don't say that to Sister. Sister already knows she was wrong; she has already apologized to me." Pei Yunxi held the Consort’s arm and shook it, her tone wheedling.
Imperial Noble Consort De patted Pei Yunxi’s hand affectionately before signaling the palace servants behind her to present the clothes they had brought.
"Weiyang Palace lacks everything. Xier has been thinking of you, her sister, and the moment the sky turned light, she insisted on coming to bring you clothes." Seeming gratified by her daughter’s thoughtfulness, the Consort smiled and patted Pei Yunxi’s arm again, as if she could never praise her enough.
Mu Yuanzhi picked up one of the outfits. It was obviously not her size and must have originally been for Pei Yunxi. She smiled and said, "Little Sister is very thoughtful, but our heights are different, so I'm afraid I cannot wear them. It would be a waste of your and Mother's good intentions."
Imperial Noble Consort De looked a bit awkward. "It was Mother’s oversight. I will have the Imperial Household Department send some new ones over later."
"The Imperial Household Department is busy sending things to Little Sister’s Changle Palace; I’m afraid they won’t be able to tend to this place for some time," Mu Yuanzhi said with a smile.
Pei Yunxi bit her lower lip, looking very remorseful. "I'm sorry, Sister Yuanzhi. I caught a chill last night and my old illness flared up, which is why the Emperor and the others were a bit anxious. Please don't be angry."
Her words instantly shifted the guilt the Consort had felt toward Mu Yuanzhi into sympathy for Pei Yunxi.
Everything came back to Zhi'er being unreasonable; otherwise, how could things have turned out like this?
The Emperor was right, after all: one must be punished and admit their mistakes to learn a lesson.
"I am not angry. Since I am quite busy, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave." Mu Yuanzhi did not issue a formal dismissal; she simply walked away herself.
Now, no matter how much Pei Yunxi flaunted her favor, she had no desire to pay her any mind.
"Sister Yuanzhi, don't go yet. Luzhu is missing, and I was wondering if it might have missed you and snuck over here," Pei Yunxi said, looking at Mu Yuanzhi.
Mu Yuanzhi’s expression did not change in the slightest. "I haven't seen it. How could Little Sister be so incapable of looking after a cat?"
Pei Yunxi stared directly at Mu Yuanzhi, unable to understand why she was so calm, neither arguing nor causing a scene.
Could she truly not know that the cat had died in her own backyard?
That made things even easier!
Pei Yunxi walked straight toward the backyard, not even pretending otherwise.
Imperial Noble Consort De followed behind to help look for the cat.
"Luzhu?!" Pei Yunxi cried out in anxiety as she walked.
She saw no cat and smelled no scent of blood. The further she went, the more suspicious she became.
How could this be?
She had clearly ordered people to dump that dead cat here!
Pei Yunxi wandered the backyard twice, unwilling to give up, but found nothing—not even a single cat hair.
She looked at Mu Yuanzhi once more. Mu Yuanzhi looked back, smiling in a way that was impossible to fathom.
Pei Yunxi realized belatedly that Mu Yuanzhi had truly changed; a stint in Yongxiang had turned her into someone steady and composed.
"Perhaps Luzhu went elsewhere to play. I won't disturb you any longer, Sister. I shall take my leave."
"Luzhu likes you so much, Little Sister; it will surely come back to find you."
Hearing this, a sense of panic rose in Pei Yunxi for no reason. The image of the bloodied cat, eyes staring hideously as it pounced on her, flashed before her eyes.
She steadied herself and wore a look of sorrow. "Yes, I will go look elsewhere."
Xiaonianzi watched everything quietly from behind, piecing the events together from start to finish. His brow furrowed deeply. Once everyone had left and Mu Yuanzhi had stepped out of the bedchamber, he quietly slipped away.
At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi was circling half the Imperial Palace, making her way to the Dayue Palace where the Grand Empress Dowager resided, hoping to try her luck.
The Grand Empress Dowager was of advanced age and had long ago turned away from worldly affairs, living a life of quiet contemplation.
Truth be told, she had only met this great-grandmother once in her previous life. She could not gauge her temperament, but the Grand Empress Dowager was the only person in the entire palace who remained indifferent to Pei Yunxi’s hypocrisy.
If she could secure the Grand Empress Dowager as her support, even if she had to walk on thin ice in the palace, at the very least, she would not be crushed to pieces.
She had to win over this backer!
The area around the Dayue Palace was very quiet. Usually, apart from palace servants cleaning and guards on duty, few people ever came here. Everyone knew the Grand Empress Dowager loved silence, and no one dared to disturb her.
"Your Royal Highness the Princess, please stay back," an unfamiliar old nurse said, blocking Mu Yuanzhi’s path. "The Dayue Palace is just ahead. Please take a different route if you are out for a stroll."