Chapter 187: She’s Not a Good Person, and You Are?

The attendant placed all the gift boxes in her room. They filled the table, so he set the rest on the floor and began opening them one by one.

Mu Yunzhu saw him and snapped, "What are you opening them for?"

The attendant paused. "Aren’t you going to take a look, Princess?"

He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at most of the items inside.

Mu Yunzhu waved her hand impatiently. "Take them all away. Get them out of my sight."

As she spoke, her gaze suddenly fixed on one spot. "Wait."

She stopped the attendant who was about to take the boxes, bent over, and pulled a jade hairpin from one of them. It looked identical to the one her cousin had been holding earlier.

She examined it carefully for a moment, then looked back into the box. There were more than ten jade hairpins, each exquisitely carved, and every single one looked more beautiful than the one in her hand.

The box before her held jade hairpins. The one beside it had jade bracelets, and next to that were agate bracelets, golden jade bracelets, pearl necklaces, and pearl and jade hairpins... A single glance revealed that every box was dazzlingly beautiful. In contrast, the jade hairpin in her hand seemed to grow cheaper the longer she looked at it.

Mu Yunzhu’s beauty and status meant she never lacked for admirers. Many men had sent her precious gifts just to win a single glance of her favor, but no one had ever sent her so much at once, as if it all cost nothing.

’What on earth is this Princess Xuanyang trying to do?’

Many people in the Capital City were watching Princess Xuanyang’s movements. It was hard to ignore the grand spectacle of Xiao Li leading her people out on a sweeping shopping spree.

Some self-proclaimed experts on Princess Xuanyang even visited every shop she’d been to and made a rough tally of her purchases.

The final sum was shocking to hear. More than ten thousand taels of gold—an astronomical figure most people could never earn in a lifetime—was spent by Princess Xuanyang in a single go. And it was all for a princess from another nation.

’It must be nice to be so rich and reckless!’

The thought of becoming Princess Xuanyang’s Prince Consort suddenly became a lot more appealing.

Mu Yunzhu had just learned of this news when Liu Xueyin came to find her, dressed in a plain white dress, with that very jade hairpin in her hair.

Liu Xueyin’s brows were tightly knit, as if she held a sorrow that could never be dispelled. Her body was frail, her face pale, and she looked so pitiful it would stir compassion in anyone.

"Yunzhu, I heard Princess Xuanyang sent you many things."

Mu Yunzhu’s face was cold, her beautiful, fox-like eyes icy. "What does that have to do with you?"

At her tone, Liu Xueyin’s brow furrowed even more. Although she knew Mu Yunzhu disliked her, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her be deceived.

"Princess Xuanyang is no good. She’s definitely plotting something. Don’t be deceived by her. You must send back everything she gave you."

Mu Yunzhu sneered. "She’s no good? And you are?"

Liu Xueyin’s expression soured, but she persisted. "Yunzhu, I know you don’t like me, but don’t forget that your cousin and she are mortal enemies."

Suspicion filled Mu Yunzhu’s eyes, and then a sudden realization struck her. "Of course I know. But my cousin hasn’t said a word. Why are you in such a rush? Don’t tell me you’ve been bullied by her, too?"

For an instant, the hatred in Liu Xueyin’s eyes was too intense to conceal, twisting her usually placid, desireless face into a contorted mask.

’This is more than simple bullying,’ Mu Yunzhu realized.

And yet, Liu Xueyin had never before mentioned being bullied herself. Instead, she always spoke of the feud between Mu Yunzhu’s cousin and that Princess Xuanyang.

Mu Yunzhu narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning sharp. "You know, you normally don’t even want to talk to me, yet you’ve repeatedly told me about my cousin being hurt, as if you’re afraid I’ll forget."

"Are you trying to get me to help my cousin get revenge, or to help *you* get revenge?"

Mu Yunzhu had a bad temper, but she wasn’t a fool.

Her cousin had told her father that he’d fled after a failed attempt to seize the throne made him a wanted man. He hadn’t mentioned Princess Xuanyang at all. Even today, seeing her with gifts from the princess, he had only told her not to cause trouble.

But Liu Xueyin had come to find her back in Chi Rong, claiming that her cousin had been humiliated and plotted against by his sister, Princess Xuanyang, and had nearly lost his life several times.

She had cried the whole time, making her cousin sound truly pitiful.

Looking back now, she wondered how much of that story was even true.

With her intentions exposed, Liu Xueyin grew flustered and snapped, "Everything I said is true! If you don’t believe me, go ask your cousin! It’s true she’s hurt me time and again, but I’ll settle the score between us myself."

The way she stood there, chest puffed out, looking stubborn and ambitious, only made Mu Yunzhu scoff.

It wasn’t that Mu Yunzhu looked down on her, but Liu Xueyin looked so sickly and frail. She couldn’t lift a thing and looked like she might trip just by walking.

’All she did was wallow in self-pity, waiting for my cousin to hand her everything. Talking about getting her own revenge... what could she possibly use to get it?’

Mu Yunzhu was too disdainful to argue with her, and instead raised her hand and plucked the hairpin from her head.

"What are you doing?" Liu Xueyin cried out.

Mu Yunzhu examined it closely. Sure enough, it was identical to the one she had received. The material, the pattern, all of it was the same. It probably even came from the same shop.

"Give it back to me." Liu Xueyin reached out to snatch it back. She grabbed the jade hairpin, but in her haste, her grip wasn’t firm, and it went flying.

CRACK!

The moment it hit the ground, it shattered into pieces.

As luck would have it, Xiao Jingyu arrived. Just as his foot crossed the threshold, the jade hairpin landed in front of him and shattered.

Even Mu Yunzhu was stunned for a moment. ’I was just looking at it, I never said I wouldn’t give it back. What’s she so worked up about?’

However, she didn’t take it to heart. A broken hairpin was just a broken hairpin. At worst, she could just buy a new one. It was no big deal.

Yet Liu Xueyin acted as if the sky had fallen. She staggered forward and threw herself down, bending to grab the broken jade pieces.

"Aah!"

The shards pierced her hand, and it began to bleed instantly.

Xiao Jingyu’s expression changed abruptly. He grabbed her hand. "Don’t pick them up."

Liu Xueyin shoved him away, clutched the fragments, and ran outside, crying.

Before chasing after her, Xiao Jingyu glanced back at Mu Yunzhu. Though he said nothing, the warning in his eyes was palpable.

Mu Yunzhu was speechless. ’What was that look for? I’m not the one who broke it.’

She was left with a disgusting feeling, like she’d swallowed a fly she couldn’t cough up.

"Al Shun."

A young, masked guard entered, his black attire sharp and his demeanor cold. "Princess."

Mu Yunzhu opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately, she remained silent.

Her cousin was the son of her father’s younger sister. Her father admired him and wanted to compensate him for his past troubles. But throughout this journey, she had seen no sign of the ambition needed to soar like an eagle. Instead, he just seemed to be getting better and better at placating people.

----

In the original story, by the time Xiao Jingyu’s true identity was revealed, he was already the Emperor.

Mu Yunzhu was sent for a political marriage, and the man she met was already the Emperor. She was captivated by his imperial majesty, and her heart fell for him.

But now, everything was happening ahead of schedule. Not only did Xiao Jingyu have to rely on her father to help him seize the throne, but he was also busy placating people at inappropriate times while he should have been plotting his rise to power.

They were husband and wife, so it was normal for them to be affectionate. But they argued so often, and he had to placate her every single day.

It made one seriously doubt whether he had what it takes to become an Emperor.