Your Highness, please stop chasing me.

Mu Xue looked at Cang Lin with some embarrassment; she hadn't expected him to say something like that.

Cang Lin didn't care what Mu Xue thought. After Wang Heping left, he asked, "What do you plan to do next?"

Mu Xue regained her composure, gave Cang Lin a wink, and said to Kang Mama, "Mama, you rest well, Uncle and I will go to the study to talk."

"Alright, Miss, please be careful and stay safe." Granny Kang knew that Mu Xue was destined for great things, and she couldn't keep an eye on her. She could only hope that Princess Shengping's spirit in heaven would protect Mu Xue and keep her safe.

These days, fewer and fewer people from the Prince Jing's mansion are coming out to look for Mu Xue. They might not be able to find her for the next few days, and they wonder if Mu Xue has already left the city.

Mo Shijie suffered a humiliating defeat at the Mu residence and threw a tantrum when he got back.

He summoned Liu Yi, dismissed the servants, and said to him, "Don't bother looking for Mu Xue for now. That little bitch will come back sooner or later because she can't stand the suffering outside. Go and send someone to sneak into the Mu residence and keep an eye on everything that Hongfeng Courtyard does."

Liu Yi accepted the order and went downstairs.

He possessed neither Ren Yuan's exceptional martial arts skills nor a sharp mind, and remained unable to penetrate even a single step inside the Mu residence's outer walls. Just as he was becoming increasingly frustrated, he suddenly saw Shi Shu, Mu Jiaojiao's head maid, emerge from the gate.

He followed Shishu all the way to the rouge shop, and then stood guard at the door with peace of mind.

After staring for a long time, Shi Shu finally came out. Liu Yi quickly grabbed her and pulled her into the alley before Shi Shu could react.

Shi Shu kicked and struggled in terror, but Liu Yi covered her mouth tightly and whispered in her ear, "Sister Shi Shu, it's me, your brother Liu. I'll let you go, but don't scream."

Shi Shu recognized Liu Yi's voice and nodded to indicate that she understood.

As soon as Liu Yiyi let go, Shishu quickly took a step back and asked, "Brother Liu, what are you doing?"

"The young master asked me to inquire about the eldest son of the Mu family. I waited for two days but couldn't get into the Mu family. Today, I happened to see you coming out, so I wanted you to pass on a message to the sixth young lady, asking her to find a way to help the young master," Liu Yi said.

Shi Shu cautiously said, "The manor is under heavy guard now. Even the Sixth Miss is not allowed to leave the courtyard. I'm afraid my young lady can't help the young master in this matter."

After saying that, she walked out.

Liu Yi blocked her way, his previous amiable expression gone. He said in a displeased voice, "What? When your young lady asked my young master for help, we did our best to assist her. Although, well, it wasn't all that great, and that fifth young lady returned to the Mu residence on her own, you all saw it yourself—I threw her into that big pit."

Shi Shu was shocked that he would suddenly bring this up. She was filled with panic and just wanted to get rid of this person as soon as possible.

She said, "Brother Liu, don't rush. I didn't say I wouldn't help you. Let me go back first, and I'll pass on the message to Miss Liu, asking her to inquire about the situation for the young master. You need to let me go back first so I can pass on the message!"

Seeing that she had said that, Liu's attitude softened a bit. He said, "Alright, then you should go back and find out from your young lady. I'll come find you again around midnight. Let's meet at the usual place!"

Shi Shu hurriedly lowered her head and tried to pass by him, but as soon as she got to him, Liu Yi hugged her tightly without any warning.

Shi Shu opened her mouth in horror, but before she could scream, Liu Yi's foul-smelling mouth came close and kissed her hard on the lips. He didn't forget to say, "Shi Shu's lips are so beautiful, I can't help but want to taste them. Hehehe."

Shi Shu struggled fiercely, but Liu Yi didn't make things difficult for her. He loosened his grip and let her break free.

Shi Shu ran out of the alley without looking back, tears welling up in her eyes.

She ran back to the Mu residence as fast as she could.

She returned to the house and saw Xiao Tao helping her make the bed and tidy her clothes. She rushed over, hugged Xiao Tao, and began to wail.

"Sister Shishu, what's wrong?" Xiaotao asked, bewildered.

Shi Shu didn't say anything, she just kept crying.

Xiao Tao was helpless. She could only let her hold her until Shi Shu had cried enough and her voice had subsided before she finally asked, "Sister, what's wrong?"

Seeing Xiao Tao's genuine concern, Shi Shu slowly recounted what had just happened.

After listening, Xiao Tao angrily slammed her hand on the bed and said, "The guards of the Prince Jing's mansion are too much! No way, let's go find the Sixth Miss and ask her to stand up for you!"

As she spoke, she tried to pull Shishu to find Mu Jiaojiao.

Shi Shu grabbed Xiao Tao, tears streaming down her face again. She sobbed, "Miss won't care. She's only focused on currying favor with Prince Jing's son. If she finds out that Prince Jing's son's confidant has designs on me, she'll just hand me over to that guard."

"What? How could Miss Six do this?" Xiao Tao said in surprise.

Shi Shu quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Xiao Tao, keep your voice down. If someone hears you, you'll be in trouble."

Xiao Tao said indignantly, "Sister grew up with Miss, how could Sixth Miss treat you like this?"

“Sister Shihua also grew up with Miss, but just because the young master glanced at her, Miss found an excuse to almost ruin Shihua’s face. She was in bed for so long that time. If it weren’t for the medicine you brought that saved her life, I’m afraid…” Shishu said, holding Xiaotao’s hand.

When Xiao Tao heard about medicine, a dark glint flashed in her eyes. Perhaps, this was the time to sow discord between Shi Shu and Shi Hua and Mu Jiao Jiao.

She hesitated for a long time, looking like she wanted to say something but dared not, which caught Shi Shu's attention.

Shi Shu took Xiao Tao's hand and asked, "Xiao Tao, just say what you want to say. Do we sisters have to keep things to ourselves like this?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tao no longer hesitated and said, "Actually, the medicine was given to me by the Fifth Miss to give to Sister Shihua."

"What?" Shi Shu looked at Xiao Tao in surprise and released her hand at the same time.

Xiao Tao hurriedly grabbed her hand and said, "Sister, listen to me. That day, the Fifth Miss passed by our room and heard me and Xiao Hong crying. She came in to take a look and saw that Sister Shi Hua was on the verge of death. She then called me out and gave me a pill, telling me to dissolve it in water and give it to Sister Shi Hua."

Upon hearing this, Shi Shu calmed down and asked, "And then what happened?"

"Later, it seemed that the medicine really worked for Sister Shihua, so I mustered up my courage and went to ask Miss Wu for help. Unexpectedly, Miss Wu gave me another pill and a small bottle of ointment without saying a word."

Xiao Tao hurriedly raised her hand and swore, "Sister, what I said is true. I haven't seen Miss Wu since then. The medicine you used last time was the one left over from before. Really, you have to believe me."