Chapter 89: Don't even think about divorce!

These words struck Li Bao'er like a thunderclap.

Her eyes widened abruptly, all her emotions freezing in that instant. A jumble of blurry memories surged through her mind: the quiet bamboo forest, the pungent stench of blood, a severely wounded, dying boy with a defiant gaze, her clumsy bandaging, and that… that jade pendant she had treasured to this day!

The person she'd been searching for was actually Mu Cenlin?!

"Wait! 001!" she almost screamed in her mind, "Is what he said true?! Is that boy from Jinfo Temple really him?! Didn't you say the target was the one with a beauty mark under his eye?! What's going on?!"

[Host, host! Wait a minute!] 001's voice also carried an unusual air of panic.

[I was offline for those few years and didn't know the plot between you and the male lead, but I noticed that the beauty mark under the male lead's eye was because he was disfigured by an injury. However, the storyline where you two had contact in childhood was due to your own destiny!]

But the Great Demon King doesn't lie; he's the boy you saved at the Golden Buddha Temple years ago!

The chaotic confirmation of 001 was like a final blow, completely stunning Li Bao'er.

"It's...you?" Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, trembling with disbelief. The handsome yet scarred face before her gradually overlapped with the blurry, blood-stained face of the boy in her memory.

So, he recognized her a long time ago?

So, all these years, the people she's targeted and hurt are actually the people she unintentionally saved? And the people she's been searching for all this time?

A tremendous sense of absurdity and a belated panic gripped her instantly, leaving her feeling cold all over and her face deathly pale.

Mu Cenlin clearly felt the intense fluctuations in her emotions. The sense of panic rising from the bottom of her heart made Mu Cenlin frown. He pressed his forehead against hers, preventing her from escaping, and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips.

“It is I,” he confirmed, his voice deep and tender, yet carrying an indescribable complexity. “From the time you were nine years old, trembling as you bandaged my wounds in the bamboo forest, saying ‘I will not let you die,’ I have always remembered you.”

Looking at her suddenly pale face and her eyes that instantly filled with tears, Mu Cenlin continued, "Why do you think I have tolerated you until now? Why do you tolerate me challenging my bottom line time and time again for that good-for-nothing Mu Yuan?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Bao'er grabbed the hand that was gently stroking her cheek, her eyes already brimming with tears.

"At that time, your heart was entirely devoted to Mu Yuan; I couldn't bring myself to steal someone else's love."

"Idiot!" The last syllable faded between their lips. This kiss was Bao'er's first initiative, filled with moisture and tenderness.

Mu Cen's heart softened drastically at this moment. He felt the girl's eager longing and passion on his lips, and his long-lonely heart was filled with fresh blood. His heartbeat was throbbing because of her.

In an instant, Mu Cenlin took the initiative, as if all the misunderstandings of the past years could be melted away by this kiss. It wasn't until the two of them fell into the brocade quilt and Bao'er could hardly breathe that he let go and separated them.

Bao'er looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears, her voice still choked with sobs, yet unusually clear: "I...I haven't forgotten you. Never."

These words caused Mu Cenlin to pause slightly, and a deeper wave of emotion surged in his eyes.

Li Bao'er gripped his hand tightly, her fingertips pressing down slightly, as if she were grasping some kind of lost and regained proof. Her thoughts became exceptionally clear through her tears, and those details she had previously overlooked now surfaced vividly.

“That jade pendant… I’ve always kept it close to my body, never letting it out of my sight.” Her voice trembled slightly. “And… and you’ve asked me about its origins time and time again, and even when I asked Mu Yuan to inquire about the Golden Buddha Temple from many years ago, it was all to find you.”

"Because you said we would meet again in ten years, I waited for you in the bamboo house all night long that night!"

Bao'er sniffed and continued, "I didn't see you, and I was afraid something had happened to you, so I asked Mu Yuan for help."

Thinking back to how vague she had been, and how she had deliberately avoided those topics to avoid causing Mu Cenlin to misunderstand, Li Bao'er felt as if fate had been playing tricks on the two of them.

Bao'er's heart felt like it had been clenched tightly: "When did you recognize me?"

Seeing the girl in his arms crying miserably with red eyes, Mu Cenlin could no longer deceive himself. He had never escaped the trap called "Li Bao'er". His heart was moved by her every move.

Mu Cenlin's voice was hoarse as he gently wiped away her tears with his calloused hands: "After the border situation stabilized, I secretly sent people to find you. If you want to know when I recognized you?"

He held Bao'er tightly in his arms, his chin resting on her forehead. "From the moment you saved me and I survived, I've always known who you are."

Looking at the man before her, no longer the fragile boy in the bamboo forest who needed her rescue, but the powerful and absolute Prince Jing, Li Bao'er felt a mix of sourness and throbbing in her heart, along with a lingering fear.

Li Bao'er clutched his collar, her voice muffled and trembling with tears: "You've suffered so much to become like this, but all these years, I've only been causing you trouble and bullying you. You're not allowed to hate me, do you hear me?"

She grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, glaring at him with red-rimmed eyes: "And another thing, don't even think about divorce! Not even in your wildest dreams!"

Li Bao'er was perfectly clear-headed at the moment. When she first transmigrated here, she never expected to have any romantic feelings in a place like this. She just wanted to protect her mother and younger brother, work hard to make money, and become a carefree rich woman, traveling around and having fun.

The only time she had any girlish feelings for him was when she was saving that boy back then, but she felt that the world was so big that there was basically no chance of seeing him again, so that little bit of excitement had long been buried deep inside.

Who would have thought! This damn mission objective had already been revealed! It turns out they were either misunderstanding each other, it's unbelievable!

Now, things have taken a turn for the worse. By some twist of fate, the imperial decree has been issued, and she is now the rightful Princess Consort of Jing! It would be foolish for her to let go of this title and man that have been handed to her so readily!

All those previous promises of "cooperation" and "non-interference" are meaningless! She's gone back on her word!