He Lan Tianxia

Since Jin Chuchu was rescued by Murong Junlan, the Emperor, considering the severity of Murong Junlan's injuries, arranged for her to recuperate at the Prime Minister's residence. Actually, her injuries weren't very serious; she had just fallen from her horse, thankfully landing on Murong Junlan's head, only spraining her ankle, but she was quite shaken. Recalling the moment she was thrown into the trap by the Wubei people, she was truly terrified. At that moment, she regretted agreeing to her father's plan to collude with the Wubei to capture Murong Junlan alive. She thought that if Murong Junlan hadn't mistaken her for his Yan'er, she would probably still be trapped in the enemy camp. She clearly remembered that when she was bound hand and foot in the camp, many soldiers looked at her with malicious intent, revealing lewd smiles.

"She's a beautiful woman."

"What's the rush? The general said that once we capture Murong Junlan alive, this woman will serve everyone."

"Really?" A soldier, drooling, came up and touched Jin Chuchu's face. The other soldiers, feeling they were missing out, rushed forward to touch Jin Chuchu's face as well, followed by grating, wicked laughter...

“Father, I’m not doing this anymore,” Jin Chuchu said, still terrified. She grabbed Prime Minister Jin’s sleeve and shook it violently. “Father, they’re not like what you said. They’re beasts.”

Prime Minister Jin did not refuse the Wubei Kingdom's demand to use his daughter as bait, but upon hearing Jin Chuchu's tearful plea, he began to reconsider his attitude towards cooperation. He seemed to see how the Wubei Kingdom would treat him in the future. At that moment, he began to doubt whether he was merely a pawn of the Wubei Kingdom, a pawn that could be discarded at will. How ridiculous and terrifying was his dream that if he helped the Wubei Kingdom capture Murong Junlan alive, the entire Yan Kingdom would be his.

"Father, I don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to be a princess. I'll be content living with Prince Murong," Jin Chuchu pleaded.

"Alright, let me think about it, Father." Prime Minister Jin was now in a dilemma. He thought to himself, if the Emperor found out that he was colluding with the Xiongnu and Japanese pirates to usurp the throne, he would surely exterminate his entire family. What should he do? Prime Minister Jin was stumped. It seemed he needed to come up with a foolproof plan. In fact, he was already the Prime Minister of Du Yan, and the Emperor treated him well. He was second only to the Emperor, and his daughter was married to Prince Murong. When Murong Junlan became Emperor, his daughter would be the Empress. He would be the Emperor's father-in-law. Wasn't Du Yan practically his family's territory? Thinking this, he secretly cursed himself for being so foolish back then, now he was in such a predicament.

"Reporting, Your Excellency, the Emperor has dispatched five thousand Imperial Guards to surround our Prime Minister's residence," a personal guard reported as he entered.

"Hush." ​​Prime Minister Jin gasped. He hadn't expected the Emperor to deal with him so quickly. He told the guards, "Investigate again. Report back immediately if they make any moves."

"Yes." The bodyguard acknowledged the order and prepared to leave.

"Wait, go and do something first." Prime Minister Jin knew that the situation was very unfavorable to him, so he whispered to his bodyguard, "Go, kill the envoy from Wubei Kingdom, and make it look like he was killed a few days ago."

"Prime Minister, have you... made up your mind?" The bodyguard knew the whole story. Killing the envoy would mean refusing to cooperate with the Wubei Kingdom, and the trouble that would cause was unimaginable. The Prime Minister's sudden decision was truly baffling.

"Go, and be quick," Prime Minister Jin said firmly.

"Yes." The bodyguard acknowledged the order and left. He had just finished carrying out the Prime Minister's instructions when the Imperial Guards entered the mansion to search it. Luckily, that was close.

The leader of the Imperial Guards rushed into the Imperial Study to report: "Your Majesty, the envoy has indeed been killed, and it seems that it has been several days."

"Oh? Could it be that Lan'er misjudged?" the Emperor thought to himself. Lan'er was still out fighting, and he could only wait for her return before discussing this matter further. As for the matter of the translator Xu, although the demoness spoke eloquently, it was only her account, without any corroboration, so it couldn't be entirely trusted. If the demoness was sent by the Wubei Kingdom to sow discord between him and the Prime Minister, then he had fallen into a trap. Therefore, the Emperor instructed the guards: "The Imperial Guards just need to keep watch; there's no need to search." Afterwards, Murong Junlan was struck by a poisoned arrow, and the Emperor was even less able to attend to matters here.

Prime Minister Jin spent his days in a state of constant anxiety, waiting for the Emperor to arrest him. Exhausted from waiting, nothing happened; the Imperial Guards merely surrounded the mansion without moving. With the Guards on guard and no contact made with the Wubei spies, he was trapped like a turtle in a jar. Later, he received news of Murong Junlan's poisoning and Jin Chuchu's rescue—something he hadn't anticipated. Although he had conspired with the Wubei to plot against Murong Junlan, he thought Murong Junlan was a god-like figure, and that the Wubei couldn't possibly succeed. He hadn't expected this outcome, and Murong Junlan hadn't shown his face for some time; perhaps he was beyond saving. If Murong Junlan died, their Yan Kingdom would truly be no match for the Wubei. And having just killed the envoy, he had offended the Wubei. Prime Minister Jin was frustrated; he seemed to be caught in a bind, unsure which side to turn to.

That day, Prime Minister Jin summoned Jin Chuchu to his side, intending to send her to Yan Garden to investigate Murong Junlan's situation. Although Jin Chuchu was not yet the prince's concubine, she had been personally sent there by the Empress Dowager, so the Imperial Guards had no choice but to report to the Emperor. In fact, the Emperor was not allowed to enter Yan Garden at this time, but for some foolish thought, he reasoned that since Lan'er had risked her life to save Jin Chuchu, perhaps Jin Chuchu held some weight in Lan'er's heart, and perhaps Jin Chuchu could wake Lan'er up. With this in mind, Jin Chuchu entered the prince's residence without any qualms. However, she could not enter Yan Garden; it was heavily guarded, like an impregnable fortress.

Jin Chuchu was no ordinary person; her quick eyes sparkled with a plan. She went to the side room and found Xia Muyao. The two discussed it and decided to personally brew a nourishing soup for the prince, so that they could see him. Jiang He, fearing they might harm the prince, initially hesitated to let him drink it, forcing them to drink it first before letting the prince and Lingyi drink it. Actually, Jin Chuchu truly couldn't bear to poison her prince. This way, Jiang He was spared the trouble. Jin Chuchu and Xia Muyao brewed the soup for Murong Junlan and the others every day, secretly sending someone to follow them. However, Jin Chuchu and Xia Muyao could only deliver the soup to the entrance of Yan Garden; they were absolutely forbidden from stepping inside.

After lunch that day, Jiang He went out on errands, so the woman came out with the empty soup pot. She happened to run into Jin Chuchu and Xia Muyao, who were also there to collect their soup pot. Jin Chuchu, seeing the woman inside serving the prince, glared at her displeasedly and demanded, "Why were you in there?"

"Didn't you know the prince wasn't feeling well?" The woman gave him a look as if he were an idiot.

"Of course I know Your Highness is not feeling well, otherwise, Xia Muyao and I would not have gotten up early and stayed up late to make soup for Your Highness."

"That's right."

"Hey, I'm making soup for the prince, what does that have to do with you serving him inside?" Jin Chuchu didn't understand.

“I am the prince’s maid, so of course I have to serve him. You are his concubines, so of course you have to cook soup for him.” The woman blinked and said, “But the soup you cook tastes alright.”

"What prince's concubine?" These words infuriated both Jin Chuchu and Xia Muyao, their faces darkening simultaneously. And the soup they had painstakingly prepared—that a woman had taken advantage of them! They were furious. So Jin Chuchu threw the soup pot to Xia Muyao and rushed into it.

"Someone come here! Jin Chuchu has barged in!" Upon seeing this, the woman was alarmed. The prince and Lingyi were still recovering, especially Lingyi, who should be circulating his qi for a while. It would be terrible if Jin Chuchu barged in like this. So the woman grabbed Jin Chuchu's sleeve tightly and rushed forward to stop her from entering the room.

Jin Chuchu was furious, like an enraged lion. She pushed the woman hard, and the woman lost her balance and fell backward. Just as she was about to hit the ground, an arm reached out and pulled the woman into a broad embrace.

"Get out." Murong Junlan said with a dark face, not even glancing at Jin Chuchu.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better?" Jin Chuchu looked at Murong Junlan with surprise and immediately put away her fierce look, her voice becoming gentle. "Chuchu wants to serve Your Highness personally."

"Get out." Murong Junlan repeated.

"Your Highness..." Jin Chuchu wanted to say but dared not, "Your Highness, please take care. Mu Yao and I are going to make soup."

"Are you hurt?" Murong Junlan frowned, looking at the girl still standing there dumbfounded in his arms. "Are you really hurt?"

The woman stared intently at Murong Junlan's neck, then reached out her hand. In a moment of panic, Murong Junlan used his other hand to block, but the woman's other hand reached out as well. Thinking she was about to do something, Murong Junlan panicked, and his right hand suddenly slipped out of his control, causing the woman to fall back into his arms. Just as they hit the ground, Murong Junlan rolled on the spot with the woman in his arms, managing to land on top of her just in time.

"Your Highness, this is my glass lock." The woman's attention was focused on the glass lock.

Murong Junlan touched his neck and, sure enough, the glass lock was still there. He wondered who had done this, and with the woman still on top of him, Murong Junlan was extremely embarrassed. He said to the woman, "Get up."

The woman scrambled off Murong Junlan, her attention still on the glass lock. "Your Highness, so it was you who took my glass lock. Give it back."

"Who put it around my neck?" Murong Junlan pretended not to know anything. He took off the glass lock. "Is this the glass lock you're looking for?" Murong Junlan lied through his teeth.

"Yes," the woman replied blankly.

"Since it's yours, here you go." Now that they've caught him red-handed, Murong Junlan has no choice but to return it.

"Thank you, Your Highness." The woman held the glass lock as if it were a priceless treasure, examining it from left to right, completely ignoring Murong Junlan.

Upon seeing this, Murong Junlan felt a surge of jealousy; he was actually less important than a piece of glass lock. So he angrily said, "Didn't you see I'm still lying on the ground?" In truth, he could get up on his own, but he didn't want to.

"Ouch, Your Highness, did you hurt yourself?" The woman finally came to her senses and hurriedly helped Murong Junlan up.

"I can't walk anymore." Murong Junlan leaned heavily on the woman. The woman had no choice but to half-carry and half-drag Murong Junlan back into the house. Only then did Murong Junlan, carrying the woman on his back, secretly smile with satisfaction.