In the sunless private dungeon, old women would occasionally come to deliver food.
But when Mu Wan Yun asked for water to wash up, the old women completely ignored her. As time went on, Mu Wan Yun stopped wasting her energy asking.
Mu Wan Yun could smell the stench coming from her own body after days without washing. She looked at her emaciated arms and sighed.
'I wonder who became the Emperor,' she thought.
「In the Imperial Palace.」
Lu Jingxing asked Prince Jian, who stood before him, with confusion, "What do you mean by that?"
Prince Jian said, "Back then, the deposed empress from the Mu family schemed up my marriage to Mu Wanruo. My uncle planned to play along with their plot, agreeing to the marriage and then having Mu Wanruo abducted and killed. He intended to humiliate the Mu Family and charge them with defying an imperial edict."
Who would have thought the Mu Family would actually bring back a girl from the Yangzhou countryside who looked just like Mu Wanruo.
On the wedding day, she claimed to be the Mu Family's second daughter—what was her name... Wanyun, right, Mu Wan Yun. After that, she was locked up in a private prison. When the Mu Family members were dealt with, she was forgotten."
Hearing the name Mu Wan Yun, Lu Jingxing's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. 'So she wasn't Mu Qingyun's concubine after all? She's actually a daughter of the Mu Family?'
Prince Jian continued, "She's even prettier than Mu Wanruo. Imperial Brother, I'll be going now. Who knows what state she's in after being locked up for two months. My mother is anxious about my marriage. Since we were halfway through a wedding, why not have her deal with my mother?"
Lu Jingxing stood up. "You dare!"
Startled, Prince Jian gave a nervous laugh. "Just kidding. So, what should be done with her? She's a Mu Family member, but everyone in Chang'an knows the Mu Family's second daughter died years ago. I wonder why the Mu Family had her stay in the countryside?"
"Bring her to the palace," Lu Jingxing said.
"Yes," Prince Jian replied.
...
When Prince Jian went down to the private dungeon and released Mu Wan Yun, she emerged and looked at the dazzling light outside. She shielded her eyes from the intense sunlight, which made them ache terribly.
Prince Jian said to Mu Wan Yun, "His Majesty wants to see you."
Mu Wan Yun trembled as she asked Prince Jian, "Who is the new Emperor?"
'It can't be Prince Rong, can it?'
Prince Jian said, "How could you be worthy of knowing His Majesty's name? Hurry up and take a bath, change your clothes, and get to the palace."
Mu Wan Yun followed a maid to bathe and wash up, feeling as if she were washing her neck in preparation for the executioner's axe. She asked the maid if Prince Rong had ascended the throne, but the maid didn't dare say a single word.
Dressed in new clothes, Mu Wan Yun looked at the wedding attire discarded on the floor and sighed.
When they reached Xuanwu Street in Chang'an, Mu Wan Yun saw how bustling it was, a world apart from when she had first arrived in the city. This was the prosperous and lively Chang'an that everyone yearned for.
Mu Wan Yun gazed at the blue sky and white clouds. She didn't want to die here in Chang'an City. She had to go back, back to Yangzhou. Seeing that it was already winter, Lu Jingxing should have been home by now.
'He must have been furious when he got home and saw the divorce letter, right?'
She missed her husband. Though he was extremely cold to her, at least he wouldn't try to kill her.
With this in mind, Mu Wan Yun pretended to have a stomachache and said to Prince Jian, "Prince, my stomach hurts. May I be excused for a moment?"
Prince Jian frowned. "We're almost at the palace..."
Mu Wan Yun looked distressed. "Nature calls. I beg you, Prince, please allow it."
Prince Jian said helplessly, "Be quick."
Mu Wan Yun went into a nearby privy. The guards, being men, waited outside the courtyard, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape. She quickly scrambled over the wall and heard people outside discussing the new Emperor.
"So, after His Majesty was deposed as Crown Prince, he didn't give up on himself. He was only fifteen when he went to Yangzhou City, befriended the Yangzhou Military Governor, and trained soldiers in Yinxing Village. That's how he was able to suppress the Mu family's forces this time."
Mu Wan Yun heard them mention Yinxing Village. 'Isn't that my village?' she thought. 'The deposed Crown Prince was training soldiers in Yinxing Village? How could I not have known about this?'
"The great Duke Mansion fell just like that. Duchess Wei and the concubines have all been made sinful slaves, and the Third and Fourth Misses have been demoted to low status and sent to the Music Bureau."
"The court faction deserved it. They framed Empress Wei and had the Crown Prince deposed back then. Now that the new Emperor has ascended the throne, of course he's going to settle the score with them."
"Still, it's pitiful for the women of the Mu Residence. To fall from pampered young ladies to a low status where anyone can abuse them."
Mu Wan Yun thought to herself, 'So the deposed Crown Prince took the throne. In a way, I've gotten my revenge for being forced into that marriage. But I'm still a Mu by name, a member of the Mu Family.'
'From what they're saying, the Mu Family did so much to wrong the new Emperor. All the Mu women have been reduced to a low status. If I go before him, I'll surely be punished too.'
'After thinking it over and over, it's better to return to Yangzhou as soon as possible.'
'Yangzhou is far from the Emperor's reach. I might be able to escape this disaster.'
Just as Mu Wan Yun was feeling good about her plan, she was suddenly surrounded by guards. Prince Jian walked up to her and said, "Miss Mu, please proceed to the palace."
Mu Wan Yun sighed, knowing full well she couldn't escape, and followed Prince Jian into the palace.
The palace walls were high. Mu Wan Yun looked up at the towering palace gates, her heart pounding with fear.
Upon entering Taiji Palace, she saw a majestic hall with four massive, carved pillars. The floor was paved with rare white jade bricks, a picture of sheer extravagance.
Trembling, Mu Wan Yun knelt down. "This common woman, Mu Wan Yun, pays her respects to Your Majesty."
Mu Wan Yun didn't dare raise her head to look at the man before her.
The palace attendants and Prince Jian withdrew. When Mu Wan Yun heard no sound for a long time, she secretly peeked up to size up the person in front of her. At one glance, she shot up excitedly.
Mu Wan Yun trotted over and threw her arms around the man. "Husband! What are you doing here? Husband, I missed you so much! Are you here to save me? Where's His Majesty? How did you get into the palace?"
Lu Jingxing pried Mu Wan Yun's fingers off his waist one by one. "Husband? Have you forgotten the divorce letter you wrote with your own hand? You've certainly gotten capable, haven't you? Learned to write for just two years and you already know how to write a divorce letter!"
Mu Wan Yun wrapped her arms around him again, clinging to Lu Jingxing's slim waist and refusing to let go. "That divorce letter was fake! It doesn't count! Let's not get divorced. Let's go back to Yangzhou together, okay?"
This time, however, Lu Jingxing shoved her away. Mu Wan Yun staggered back a step and nearly fell. She looked at him pitifully. "Husband..."
Lu Jingxing frowned. "We are already divorced. Don't call me 'husband.' The day you coveted the Mu Family's wealth and fortune, wrote that divorce letter, and left our home, we were no longer husband and wife!"
"I was wrong... I already regret writing the divorce letter," Mu Wan Yun said.
"Of course you regret it now that the Mu Family has fallen. Otherwise, you'd still be playing the part of the high and mighty second young miss of the Duke Mansion, having abandoned your poor husband!"
Mu Wan Yun lowered her head, unable to explain. After all, if the Mu Family had treated her even a little better, she really would have done as her husband said.
"Husband..."
"I told you, do not call me 'husband.'"
"Darling..." Mu Wan Yun stepped forward and tugged on the corner of Lu Jingxing's sleeve. "Then can I call you 'darling' from now on?"