Chapter 85

Today she spent more time strolling in the garden than usual and walked a little further. Unexpectedly, she found herself walking to the courtyard where she had died in her previous life.

Just then, several maids who were tending the garden passed by. Mu Yulu called out to them and asked what the abandoned courtyard had been used for.

The maids stopped in their tracks, and one of them stepped forward to report, "Your Highness, that used to be the residence of a gardener. Because he was good at growing flowers, His Highness rewarded him with a courtyard."

Mu Yulu's gaze remained fixed on the broken bricks and tiles of the courtyard. "What happened next? Where did the gardener go? And why was this courtyard abandoned?"

The maid pursed her lips, looking very hesitant.

Mu Yulu said in a deep voice, "Just answer my questions. What kind of behavior is this, stammering like that?"

Mu Yulu usually had a calm and indifferent demeanor. Sometimes, when the servants would spread rumors about her, she would just laugh it off and never get angry. This was the first time she had spoken so sternly to the servants in the mansion. The maid was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and said, "It's not that I intentionally concealed anything, it's just that the gardener's fate was not good, and I was afraid of alarming the princess."

Mu Yulu's heart tightened, but she still pretended to be nonchalant and asked her, "Just tell me directly, what exactly happened to him in the end?"

The maid then said, "Later, the prince found out that he was a spy sent by the palace, so the prince buried him alive, saying that... that he would use his body as fertilizer."

Mu Yulu hadn't eaten much that morning, and when she heard the maid say that, she felt nauseous and dry heaved, but nothing came out. Her stomach churned, and her mouth tasted incredibly bitter.

Seeing that she was suddenly in such pain, Tanxiang supported her while trying to send someone to find a doctor, but Mu Yulu stopped her.

Using the sandalwood incense for support, she straightened up and waved to the kneeling maids, "Alright, you may leave now."

She then walked toward the abandoned courtyard.

Tanxiang hurriedly tried to stop her: "Your Highness, this place is unlucky, shouldn't we stay here?"

Mu Yulu shook her head and brushed her hand away. "If you're scared, wait for me here. I'll go in and take a look myself."

After saying that, she stepped into the broken threshold without looking back. Tanxiang hesitated for a long time behind her, but finally gritted her teeth and followed her.

Inside the gate is a small courtyard completely abandoned by time.

The weeds were knee-high, rustling in the cold wind. Several old locust trees leaned against the corner of the wall, their bare branches twisted and reaching towards the gray sky, like drowning people desperately reaching out for help.

In the corner were two dilapidated side rooms, their doors and windows crooked, the paper covering the windows tattered and creaking in the wind.

The sunlight shone on the two side rooms, but instead of bringing warmth, it made the dilapidated scene even clearer and added to the eeriness.

Whether it was psychological or the maid's words had left a deep impression on Tanxiang, she felt that the place was eerily quiet.

She followed closely behind Mu Yulu, and when she saw that the other was actually going to go into the inner room, she was so frightened that she kept tugging at her sleeve, "That's the room where that gardener lived before he died. He died such a tragic death, shouldn't we not go in?"

Mu Yulu asked, somewhat dazed, "Really? You also think she died a tragic death?"

Sandalwood wanted to retreat but couldn't, and dared not leave, so it could only nod helplessly.

Mu Yulu finally stopped at this moment.

In her past life, it was right here that Mu Qinhan stood at the door with a gloomy face, condescendingly bestowing upon her a white silk ribbon, saying that this was his final act of mercy towards her.

She ended her life here, unaware that the previous owner of this courtyard had no better fate than her.

She still remembers seeing Mu Qinhan's indifferent back as her vision blurred with tears, and the feeling of suffocation and the pain of her flesh being torn apart when the white silk was tied around her neck.

Even after living two lifetimes, she would never forget the pain she felt when she was on the verge of death in her previous life.

Sandalwood's voice pulled her back to reality: "Your Highness, what are you doing here? Let's go back quickly."

Mu Yulu stared at her blankly for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the room: "I'm looking at my burial place."

Her words startled Tanxiang quite a bit. The little girl immediately clung tightly to Mu Yulu's body. It was only then that she realized that Mu Yulu was terribly cold all over. The clothes she was wearing didn't seem to provide her with any warmth. She radiated coldness, like an ice sculpture dug out of an ice cellar.

At this moment, Mu Yulu was indeed immersed in the boundless, despairing darkness and cold.

She had a vague feeling that her fate in this life was aligning with the trajectory of her past life at an irresistible speed.

Despite her many efforts since her rebirth, she was still forced to marry into the royal family in the end.

Liu Wenshuang, who was clearly supposed to appear several months after Mu Qinhan's poison took effect, actually showed up ahead of schedule.

She arrived here today without even realizing it; who knows if it wasn't fate's arrangement?

She suddenly realized that her worst fears had come true; all her efforts had failed to change her fate, and this place would likely become her final resting place once again.

Thinking of this, she trembled all over, her heart felt as if it were being entangled by vines, tightening and tightening until she could no longer breathe.

The next second she turned around and ran away as if her life depended on it.

Tanxiang chased after her, but she didn't know where Mu Yulu got the strength to run so fast. After turning a corner, she could no longer find Mu Yulu's figure.

Mu Yulu ran for her life, as if she were being chased by vengeful ghosts. She only stopped when she reached the relatively open south side of the Prince's Garden, where a lake appeared before her and the terrifying withered branches were no longer around.

The lake water shimmered with a cool light under the early winter sun. The bare branches of the weeping willows swayed in the cold wind by the pond. Several koi carp, unafraid of the cold, swam in the shallow water near the shore, waiting for people on the bank to feed them.

On the lake shore, a figure wearing a crimson cloak was leisurely leaning against a tree, scattering fish food into the lake.

It was Liu Wenshuang, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

I hadn't seen her for several months, and she seemed to have become even more plump.

The bright red she wore stood out starkly against the desolate winter garden, and this peaceful scene only intensified the pain in Mu Yulu's heart.

She suddenly felt incredibly angry, and this anger instantly overwhelmed her reason, driving her forward and, as if possessed, reaching her hand behind Liu Wenshuang's back.

Why is it that even though everything has gone according to their wishes, Mu Qinhan still refuses to let her leave? They are living a blissful life in the royal palace, while she is imprisoned here like a living dead.

She couldn't help but wonder, what if Liu Wenshuang died?

Mu Qinhan might be heartbroken and wish she were dead.

Her hand hovered in mid-air, not yet touching Liu Wenshuang's clothes, but a surge of pleasure had already risen in her heart.

But the next second, she suddenly realized what she had been doing. After realizing it, a great sadness surged into her heart like a tide, drowning out her anger.

If she really pushed Liu Wenshuang down, then she is not as good as she was in her previous life, and she has truly lived two lives in vain.

After her rebirth, she desperately distanced herself from Mu Qinhan, precisely to avoid the fate of her previous life and to prevent herself from going astray again due to love turning into hatred. Now, she is blinded by hatred, how is this any different from her previous life when she was blinded by jealousy?

Thinking of this, she broke out in a cold sweat and was about to retract her outstretched hand when she heard Mu Qinhan's voice from not far away: "Mu Yulu! What are you doing?"

The moment Mu Qinhan's voice rang out, Liu Wenshuang turned her head to look in the direction of the sound. However, as soon as she turned her head, she saw Mu Yulu reach her hand behind her back, as if to push her. Startled, she stumbled and actually fell towards the lake.

Mu Yulu was startled and reached out to pull her, but she was pulled down into the icy lake water.

The impact of the two falling into the water at the same time was so great that the icy lake water instantly submerged their heads.

The familiar feeling of suffocation returned once again. Mu Yulu gripped Liu Wenshuang's hand tightly and desperately pulled her to the surface. Just as they surfaced, they saw Mu Qinhan rushing towards them.

Upon arriving at the lake, he jumped into the water without hesitation, snatched Liu Wenshuang from Mu Yulu's hands, and swam ashore with her.

After setting Liu Wenshuang down on the shore, he trembled as he pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her pale lips and calling her name again and again.

However, she frowned and fell into a coma, and no matter how he called out to her, she did not wake up.

Mu Yulu followed them and swam ashore. As soon as she reached the shore, she saw Mu Qinhan turn around and stare intently at her, his usually calm eyes now churning with turbulent emotions.

She saw surprise, anger, and cold accusation in his eyes.

"I..." She opened her mouth but then closed it again, and in the end said nothing.

Given the current situation, she knew she had no way to defend herself.

Mu Qinhan didn't speak. He stared at Mu Yulu for a while as if she were a stranger, then carried Liu Wenshuang away.

Mu Yulu wiped the cold water from her hair and stood there in a disheveled state.

She knew this would happen.

She knew this would happen.

Fate gave her a second chance at life, but it also meant she had to do everything in her power to escape the trajectory of her past life. If she couldn't, an even more tragic ending awaited her.

Fortunately, she never harbored any illusions about Mu Qinhan in this life. Otherwise, facing Liu Wenshuang's betrayal and Mu Qinhan's infidelity, she would have been in even more pain than in her previous life.

Shivering in the cold wind, she laughed wildly as if she had survived a disaster. This was the bizarre scene that Tanxiang saw when she arrived at the lake.