"It smells so good! It's better than anything I've ever eaten!"

Wenhui's eyes sparkled as she looked at the grilled fish with great curiosity.

"Of course it's delicious. The fish itself is fresh, and with my secret seasoning, you won't find a second serving in Yuanqi."

As she spoke, Zhong Muyu handed the largest grilled fish to Wen Hui, who ate it with gusto, her mouth greasy and she was overjoyed.

Wenjiao simply watched from the side without making a move.

Zhong Muyu's heart skipped a beat. He had been careless. Wen Jiao was now in spirit form, so she couldn't eat anything like that.

Wenhui noticed it too: "Ajiao, you eat!"

I'm not hungry yet.

"You'll be hungry soon, even if you're not hungry now. This is something the Princess herself baked; it's absolutely unique. If you don't eat it now, you'll never have the chance again."

Looking at the grilled fish stretched out in front of her, Wen Jiao looked troubled and turned to Zhong Muyu for help.

Zhong Muyu smiled and said, "Since you're not hungry now, let's eat later. I'll save some for you."

Wenhui said, "But won't the fish smell fishy when it's cold?"

"It's okay, I don't mind!"

Wenjiao waved her hand.

Since that was the case, Wenhui didn't insist anymore and began to eat heartily, finishing two fish and still wanting more.

Having successfully dealt with the lunch issue, Zhong Muyu then let the two of them explore other places until sunset.

It's time to part ways.

Wenhui looked reluctant to part: "I really hope we can play together again in the future."

"Although there is no chance now, I will always remember you, and I will always remember today."

"Yes, I can too. I'll head home now, take care!"

Wen Hui waved to Wen Jiao, and Wen Jiao smiled and waved goodbye in return.

After she had completely left, Zhong Muyu, who was hiding in the shadows, walked over and said, "It's time, Wenjiao, we should go back."

"Yes, let's go."

As the sun set, Wen Jiao's body began to appear somewhat transparent. Zhong Muyu asked, "Want to come into my space again?"

"No need, this stretch of road is fine. I want to see more of Qingshui Village."

"good."

Zhong Muyu said no more, and the two remained silent until they returned to the barrier.

Chi Xuanzhu had been waiting for a long time: "Wenjiao, has your wish been fulfilled after today's trip?"

"Your wish has been fulfilled, your obsession has been released, please begin, Master."

Wenjiao's tone was calm, yet it carried an unwavering determination.

"Okay, come with me."

With a flick of his whisk, Chi Xuanzhu transformed Wen Jiao into a wisp of green smoke, which followed him to a cliff.

“Starting from here, go downhill, and you will reach the underworld. Your soul bears the mark of my magic, and the ghost messengers will understand and will not make things difficult for you.”

"Thank you, Master, and thank you, Your Highness."

Wen Jiao transformed into human form one last time, bowed to them again, and then flew down the cliff like a wisp of smoke, disappearing without a trace.

"Sister Wenjiao, waaaaah..."

Behind him, the remaining three maids wept bitterly.

After all, they were sisters who had been together for many years, so it was inevitable that they would feel reluctant to part ways.

"they……"

Zhong Muyu was about to step forward to comfort them, but Chi Xuanzhu stopped her: "Let them cry, this is something they have to go through."

The two quietly left the edge of the cliff, and Chi Xuanzhu said sincerely again, "This time we really owe you a lot of thanks, please allow me to thank you again."

"It was just a small act of kindness, and I'm happy to do good deeds. But most importantly, I hope that such tragedies will not happen again in the future."

"Didn't you successfully rescue Wenhui? This is a good start. As long as we are willing to work hard, we can definitely change this bad habit. I also hope that one day there won't be a single maid in my Yanshan."

“That’s right. Alright, now that things are over, I should go back. If I don’t, they’ll worry.”

Yes, they all value you and love you very much.

Chi Xuanzhu's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, but Zhong Muyu didn't have time to think about it carefully. After saying goodbye to Chi Xuanzhu, she left Yanshan.

When she descended the mountain, only a faint red glow remained on the horizon. People in the villages below lit oil lamps, and wisps of smoke rose slowly from their chimneys.

The evening breeze ruffled Zhong Muyu's hair. She felt both curious and exhilarated by what she had experienced that day.

Just then, two figures ran towards her from not far away. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were Chengfeng and Zhiyu.

"Your Highness! We've finally found you!"

They seemed to have been searching for a long time. When Chengfeng finally saw her, he was so exhausted that he could barely breathe.

Zhiyu asked, "Where did you go again? We can't find you anywhere. We went to ask the girl named Wenhui, but they didn't know either."

"It's rare to run into an old friend, so I kindly offered to see him off. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Chengfeng said, "Please don't talk about that yet. The Prince is getting anxious because you haven't returned by now."

"Lu Ziyuan, that's true. Then let's hurry back."

Hearing that he was worried, Zhong Muyu immediately followed the two of them back to their residence.

The aroma of dinner wafted from the courtyard. As soon as Zaochun saw her, she happily rushed over. Zhong Muyu asked, "Where is Lu Ziyuan?"

"The prince is still inside, but he seems very angry."

"Okay, I'll go check on him."

Zhong Muyu went outside and gently knocked on the door, but no one answered.

The door was ajar, and the light illuminated Lu Ziyuan's figure, who remained motionless.

Zhong Muyu coughed lightly: "I'll come in if you don't open the door!"

After saying that, she pushed open the door and went inside.

Lu Ziyuan was reading a book there and didn't even look up when he heard the noise, as if Zhong Muyu didn't exist.

I'm really angry.

"Lu Ziyuan? A-Yuan? Your Highness?"

Zhong Muyu called his name three times, but he turned his head away and snorted coldly.

"Oh dear, are you really angry? Don't be angry, look, I'm back now."

After being nagged by her several times, Lu Ziyuan put down the book. Anyway, he was just going through the motions and didn't really read it.

"Where did you go today?"

“You’ve been traveling around a lot. You can ask Chengfeng to vouch for that, or go find Wenhui.”

Lu Ziyuan still looked dissatisfied: "You asked me to come to Qingshui Village with you, but you've been running off to play with other people all day. You must have gone to see that Chi Xuanzhu again, right?"

Chi Xuanzhu also lives here, which is what worries him the most.

Zhong Muyu said calmly, "Yes, he asked me for help with something, and after I helped him, I went to find Wen Hui."

That's the truth, but she won't tell anyone the truth about Wenjiao; it's an agreement.

To his surprise, Lu Ziyuan was even more dissatisfied, his surging jealousy almost overwhelming Zhong Muyu: "You, you actually admitted it just like that!"

"I haven't done anything wrong, so why am I afraid to admit it? Okay, stop overthinking. Don't you know me? It's normal for people from the same village and friends to help each other, isn't it? Besides, they even saved my life."