With Mei Wuchang accompanying her, Jiu Yue toned down her usual demeanor a little.
To maintain her act, she still asked a few trivial questions along the way.
"Since I'm so capable, wasn’t I supposed to be guarding Prince Ping personally before? How did I end up living in such a remote, rundown courtyard?"
At first, Mei Wuchang didn’t think much of it and answered casually, "Both of us used to be Prince Ping’s personal guards. It’s just that later, this courtyard…"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly fell silent.
Jiu Yue looked at him curiously. "What about this courtyard?"
Mei Wuchang scratched his head and replied vaguely, "A troublesome person lived here, so Prince Ping sent you to keep an eye on them."
"A troublesome person?" Jiu Yue stroked her chin and smiled. "I’m guessing… a woman?"
Mei Wuchang’s heart skipped a beat. Recalling past events, he instinctively wanted to avoid the topic—but when he turned to look at Jiu Yue, he couldn’t help asking, "Didn’t you lose your memory?"
Jiu Yue waved her hand dismissively. "It’s just common sense. Guarding Prince Ping is more important than watching someone else, yet he sent me—the more skilled one—to monitor that person instead of you. So, naturally, I figured it must be a woman."
Mei Wuchang was stunned.
They say a woman’s intuition is terrifying—today, he witnessed it firsthand!
He forced a dry laugh to mask his discomfort.
Jiu Yue observed his reaction discreetly before changing the subject. "But for Prince Ping to lock someone up in a place like this… that person must have been a threat to him, right?"
"Yeah," Mei Wuchang replied cautiously. "But don’t worry, that person’s already dead. Once Prince Ping returns, he’ll definitely assign you a new residence."
"Dead…" Jiu Yue paused mid-step, lowering her gaze to hide the turmoil in her eyes. Unconsciously, she pressed a hand to her chest, where an inexplicable ache swelled.
The reaction was intense.
Jiu Yue was almost certain now—something had been hidden about the original owner’s relationship with that princess.
Even the Mute Girl didn’t know… perhaps even Prince Ping himself was unaware.
Taking a slow breath, Jiu Yue kept her expression neutral and caught up with Mei Wuchang.
Seeing her indifferent reaction and lack of further questions, Mei Wuchang was relieved, and the two tacitly avoided the topic.
Upon entering the courtyard, the Mute Girl emerged at the sound of footsteps.
The moment she saw Jiu Yue’s face, her jaw dropped. If she could make a sound, the courtyard would have echoed with a shrill scream—
What shocked her wasn’t that Jiu Yue was alive, but that she dared to return, escorted openly by Prince Ping’s men.
But Mei Wuchang clearly didn’t know the two had already met several times.
Noticing the exchange, his eyes narrowed, and he stepped between them, blocking their line of sight.
"This is the Mute Girl who serves here," he said, addressing Jiu Yue—but his venomous glare was fixed on the Mute Girl. "She won’t speak out of turn, so Prince Ping, in his mercy, let her live. Of course, if she bothers you, you can just kill her."
At first, Jiu Yue found it odd.
The Mute Girl had said earlier that she clung to life for Xue'er’s sake—so why could Mei Wuchang so casually suggest killing her?
Then, shifting slightly, she noticed Mei Wuchang’s sinister smirk again.
Ah, the words were meant for the Mute Girl!
The underlying message was clear: if she dared "speak," she’d lose her life.
The Mute Girl remained silent.
Because… she’d already "said" everything she needed to.
So she lowered her head, afraid that staring at Jiu Yue any longer would arouse Mei Wuchang’s suspicion.
To Mei Wuchang, this was simply her being compliant.
With the threat delivered, Mei Wuchang turned back to Jiu Yue with a friendly smile. "Take your time settling in. Prince Ping will return soon."
Jiu Yue gave a faint "Mm" and wandered off, pretending to inspect the place.
Mei Wuchang didn’t leave either, keeping her within sight.
The Mute Girl sensed the strange tension between them but paid no mind, not even sparing Jiu Yue another glance as she went about her tasks.
Jiu Yue had already explored this courtyard multiple times, so after feigning interest for another round, she climbed onto a beam and hung upside down, swaying slightly as she watched Mei Wuchang from a distance.
Even if she were slow, she’d have realized by now—Mei Wuchang was here to monitor her.
But Jiu Yue wasn’t annoyed. She patiently studied his reactions.
The Mute Girl had seen the original owner’s true face—they were clearly close. Yet now, under Mei Wuchang’s watch, the Mute Girl acted cold. That was how one should behave toward a "watcher."
This confirmed her suspicions.
The original owner had concealed her kindness toward the princess. Prince Ping surely didn’t know—from his perspective, the original owner had merely been a dutiful overseer.
Mei Wuchang’s reluctance to discuss the princess was obvious. But if they didn’t know about the original owner’s goodwill, why were they so wary of her bringing up the princess?
Jiu Yue tugged at her hair, her thoughts tangled—until Prince Ping stepped into the courtyard.
A sudden realization struck her, and she seized it.
How could she have forgotten the key word?
Betrayal!
The original owner’s betrayal!
Now that she’d lost her memory, Prince Ping had stopped hunting her—precisely because she no longer remembered her past betrayal, and he was satisfied with this outcome.
So, what Mei Wuchang feared her mentioning must be tied to that betrayal.
Which meant—
In Prince Ping’s eyes, the original owner’s betrayal was linked to the princess.
And that was the truth.
But here was the twist: Prince Ping didn’t know about the original owner’s bond with the princess…
Jiu Yue’s eyelids twitched, and she sucked in a sharp breath.
Two women and one man… Ugh!
Don’t tell me this is some ridiculous love triangle?
He loves her, she loves her, she loves him???
He killed her, so she killed him for her???
Jiu Yue’s eyes widened, her mind buzzing with absurd scenarios…
"It’s late. Why aren’t you asleep yet?" Prince Ping stood beneath the corridor, looking up at her.
The faint candlelight flickered in his eyes, but his gaze was piercingly bright, tinged with something resembling affection.
Jiu Yue: "…"
She dropped to the ground and bent over the railing. "Ugh—cough."
Prince Ping paused, then stepped forward to pat her back. "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing." Jiu Yue leaped two meters away, forcing a strained smile. "Probably just dizzy from not eating and hanging upside down earlier."
Prince Ping frowned reproachfully. "Why are you still so careless with yourself?"
Jiu Yue: "…"
She couldn’t hold back. "In this dump of a courtyard, with only a mute servant who can’t even fetch me a cup of hot water—how exactly am I supposed to take care of myself?"
