After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

Don't overthink it. Your mother doesn't like the Grand Prince Consort.

The system detected Liu Yunshu's thoughts and learned her secret. Several people here can hear her thoughts, so it's best not to tell the host yet.

To avoid scaring her mother with her inner thoughts, the system decided to let her discover it herself.

What's wrong with my mother?

It's just a momentary panic, it's nothing to worry about.

[System, have you discovered something?]

No. The system does not recognize it.

Forget it, forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore.

"Mother, let's go over and rest for a bit."

The group walked toward the pavilion.

On the pavilion, Mu Youxi felt exhausted watching Mu Ningyan's aggressive behavior.

"Cousin, I never intended to compete with you. Uncle is strict with you because he doesn't like your personality."

Instead of targeting me, you should reflect on where you went wrong.

Mu Ningyan stood up and glared at him angrily, "Stop pretending here. It's clearly you who are being pretentious and trying to make everyone treat you well."

Mu Youxi shook her head helplessly, "Cousin, I really didn't want to argue with you. Your unreasonable entanglement will only make others dislike you more."

Mu Ningyan hated Mu Youxi's face the most.

She looked incredibly cute and adorable. Today she was wearing a pale yellow dress, with a round face, big, round eyes, and a small mouth. Her smile was as radiant as a flower blooming in spring.

When she's not smiling, her eyes look as innocent as a child's, and Mu Youqi's appearance makes her very likable.

Mu Ningyan hated that she could make people unconsciously like her just by standing there quietly.

She remembered that when she was ten years old, they went to Taiyou Temple together to see her father, the Grand Prince Consort, who was very kind to Mu Youqi.

She was indifferent to her own daughter and even told her to restrain her temper.

Mu Ningyan disliked her from then on, and the Mu family did not treat her as well as Mu Youqi did, convinced that she was sowing discord between them.

Mu Ningyan lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, she raised her head and smiled at Mu Youxi:

“My cousin is right. My maternal grandfather said the same thing to me. My mother told me to be more obedient today.”

Mu Ningyan wore a smile, but her eyes revealed a hint of calculation.

Mu Youxi looked at her with some confusion, not understanding what she was going to do, and remained vigilant.

Mu Ningyan stepped forward, took her hand, and walked to the lakeside, looking at the lotus buds in the water.

"Cousin, do you remember when we went boating on the lake together to admire the lotus flowers when we were little? That was the happiest time of my life."

"remember."

At that time, they were still very close sisters. Mu Ningyan accompanied their family on a small boat to admire the lotus flowers.

“You also said that you wanted to pick lotus seeds to take back to your grandmother to cook porridge.”

Seeing Mu Youqi lost in fond memories of the past, Mu Ningyan gave her two followers a wink.

“My uncle wouldn’t allow it back then, so why don’t you go down and pick some now?”

As Mu Ningyan spoke, she retreated from the lakeside. Mu Youxi felt a forceful push on her back and plunged into the water.

"what……"

"what……"

"what……"

Three panicked cries rang out.

Two "plop" sounds as the water went in.

"Help, I can't swim..."

"Someone has fallen into the water! Go and save them!"

Mu Youxi stood on the shore, still shaken, watching Qiao Biluo and He Zhixuan struggling in the water.

Just as she was about to fall into the water, she felt a pair of strong hands around her waist, pulling her away from the lakeside.

"Thank you, young lady." Mu Youxi's voice trembled slightly, still shaken.

"You're welcome." It was Xin Chuli who had saved her, and she released her as she spoke.

Xin Chuli pushed past the two people and brought Mu Youxi, who was about to plunge into the water, back to safety.

"Miss, are you alright? You scared me to death!" Caiyun looked at her anxiously and worriedly.

"I am fine."

"Youqi, stay away from Princess Changle from now on."

Liu Langyue whispered a reminder in her ear: a few days ago, because Ye Yaoyao fell into the water, she developed a psychological trauma towards the lake.

"Cousin, Aunt, you've arrived."

"Were you scared?" Mu Yunmeng patted her shoulder.

"Aunt, I'm fine."

Mu Ningyan was furious that someone had ruined her plans. She didn't want Mu Youxi to die, so she summoned someone hiding in the shadows, who jumped into the water and rescued her.

"Cough cough..." The two coughed incessantly after being rescued and brought ashore.

Mu Ningyan looked at the two of them and scolded them harshly.

"What are you two doing standing so close to your cousin? The lakeside is slippery; you almost caused a disaster. Wenqiu, have someone fetch two cloaks."

[Self-directed and self-acted.] Ye Yaoyao muttered to herself.

"My cousin has been frightened." Mu Ningyan approached Mu Youxi with a concerned expression.

“Princess Chang Le, it’s one thing for sisters to quarrel a few times, but this behavior is too clumsy.”

Mu Yunmeng looked at Mu Ningyan with disappointment, and then tried to pull Mu Youxi away.

“Aunt, what do you mean? We were admiring the lotus flowers together, and the two of them were so engrossed in watching them that they accidentally bumped into my cousin. It was an accident.”

Mu Ningyan was furious. She only wanted to prevent Mu Youxi from attending the palace banquet because she had fallen into the water. With Mu Yunmeng appearing here, who knew how the Mu family would view her in the future?

"That was really an accident."

Mu Yunmeng said coldly, ignoring Mu Ningyan.

The commotion attracted a crowd.

Mu Ningyan was not afraid; she raised her chin and looked arrogant.

She's a princess; at most, she might get a few words of criticism, but they can't really do anything to her.

When Mu Ningyan saw Ye Yaoyao, she remembered her disheveled state a few days ago and suspected that Ye Yaoyao had secretly drugged her.

She laughed heartily, but the itching was unbearable. She saw many imperial physicians, but none of them could cure her. In the end, she finally found Imperial Physician Cen to cure her.

However, she still felt unwell all day, and Mu Ningyan suspected that Ye Yaoyao was behind it.

The princess was told that Ye Yaoyao was strange and that people were inquiring about the Ye family. Even the Ye family members called her a monster. The princess wanted to see Ye Yaoyao.

Her mother told her to be patient, and thinking of this, Mu Ningyan snorted coldly.

[You must have drugged me. Now that I'm in the palace, let's see how long you can be so smug.]

Ye Yaoyao naturally sensed Mu Ningyan's hostile gaze.

[Mu Ningyan was looking at me with icy eyes, why did she suddenly look away?]

[Host, they suspect you drugged her and are preparing a major attack!]

Even if she can't guess what I am, she'll still cause me trouble. Some people just love to seek attention and think that others are weaker than them, so they always want to bully them.

I want to see what tricks she's up to. System, you'd better be reliable at the palace banquet, see through her schemes, and hopefully launch a counterattack.

Ye Yaoyao narrowed her eyes slightly, waiting for the princess and her daughter to unleash their ultimate move at the banquet.

[...the system will try its best.]

The system cannot guarantee that it will not be forced offline.

[As expected, the demand for her daughter to enter the palace is nothing but a bad omen.] Liu Yunshu held Ye Yaoyao's hand tightly.