Chapter 141: Why on Earth Should I Save Them?! (Bonus Chapter for Red Packets)

Jin'er caught her expression and, knowing that she still harbored deep affection for Chu Yifan, stepped closer with a smile and lowered her voice to tease, "Haven't managed to marry yourself off to him yet?"

Hearing this, Ying'er blushed and said with a touch of vexation, "What nonsense are you talking about? With our great revenge still unfulfilled, how could I have the mind for anything else?"

Seeing that Ying'er's face was completely flushed, Jin'er dropped the teasing, offered a quiet smile, and changed the subject. "Have you two been in the Tu Kingdom all these years?"

"Not entirely." At this, Ying'er glanced over at Chu Yifan, seemingly seeking his consent.

Watching the two of them, Jin'er felt certain they were hiding some major secret, though it wasn't her place to press. At that moment, Chu Yifan walked up slowly.

"Do you know who that child we wanted you to save just now was?" he asked Jin'er, stopping right in front of her and Ying'er.

Jin'er shook her head, fixing her gaze on him as she waited for what he had to say next.

"Your imperial younger brother," Chu Yifan said flatly.

A wave of profound shock washed over Jin'er. She had never imagined that any of the imperial lineage of the Mu Kingdom could have survived. Yet, shock aside, this "imperial brother" business no longer had anything to do with her.

"From the moment I crawled out of the mass grave when I was ten years old, I cut all ties with the imperial family of the Mu Kingdom. A prince is a prince; don't ever call him my imperial brother," Jin'er said coldly, her heart filled with disdain and resentment toward that cold-blooded, ruthless royal clan.

Chu Yifan raised an eyebrow, lowered his head with a slight smile, and said, "I know the late emperor owed you and Consort Yun a great deal, and so did my father." Before he could finish, Jin'er lifted her gaze to him in astonishment.

"That's right. The person who personally raised his hand against you and Consort Yun back then was the Grand General of the Mu Kingdom—who is also my father," Chu Yifan stated without a trace of concealment.

At these words, Jin'er turned her face away and let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. "Heh... It seems my initial judgment of your character was entirely correct."

Ying'er looked back and forth between Chu Yifan and Jin'er, her brows knitted in a deep frown. She wanted to step in and ease the tension, but she had no idea what to say.

"I have spent my life wandering far and wide, never once meddling in court affairs. It wasn't until the sudden downfall of the Mu Kingdom, when both my father and my elder brother perished in the chaos of war, that I hurried back and learned the truth of many things. Regarding the Princess and Consort Yun, I feel profound regret. The late emperor and my father owed you both immensely, but they are dead now. I only hope, Princess, that you can let go of your hatred and consider the greater good."

Jin'er froze at these words, then let out an amused, mocking scoff. "The greater good? What greater good? I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

"May I ask you a question first?" Chu Yifan asked, staring fixedly at Jin'er.

"What question?"

"Before you entered the Liu residence as a maidservant, the two of us crossed paths once. I was leading an ambush against the Prince of Ning of the Jin Kingdom, and you were there." He paused, leaving the sentence unfinished as his eyes questioned her.

Jin'er was startled. Rummaging through her memories, she recalled that when she had traveled back to the commandery in the company of Nangong Che, they had indeed been ambushed along the way by people from the Mu Kingdom.

"The Prince of Ning? Nangong Che?" Jin'er asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It seems you do know him," Chu Yifan said, his eyes narrowing slightly with profound meaning.

"He's a prince?" Though a trace of surprise flickered across Jin'er's face, she quickly found it entirely fitting. His bearing and elegance were absolute proof that he was no ordinary mortal. Though several years had passed and she could no longer picture his features with absolute clarity, the gentle, jade-like, peerless aura he exuded still lingered vividly in her memory.

"I didn't know him beforehand. I merely had the good fortune of being rescued by him halfway, and hitched a ride in his carriage back to the commandery," Jin'er replied, composing herself and speaking with complete calm.

"Oh? Yet I wouldn't take him for someone given to meddlesome acts of kindness," Chu Yifan smiled, looking as though he doubted her words.

"Just what are you trying to say? What does it matter whether I know him or not? By what right do you stand here interrogating me like a common criminal? This is utterly absurd!" Furious, Jin'er turned on her heel, ready to storm off in a huff, but Ying'er caught her firmly by the arm.

"Jin'er, don't be angry. Brother Yifan is only thinking of everyone's safety. He just wanted to clear up a few doubts; he didn't mean to interrogate you," Ying'er coaxed, trying to smooth things over while casting a meaningful look at Chu Yifan, urging him to soften his tone.

"Such spirit. It suits a princess well. Heh..." Chu Yifan crossed his arms over his chest, maintaining a picture of leisurely composure.

Hearing this, Jin'er whipped her head around to glare at him, her voice chilling. "If not for Ying'er's sake, I wouldn't even deign to look at you!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Doesn't the Princess think it rather unfair to treat me this way? My father's actions had nothing to do with me. Simply because I happen to bear a resemblance to him, I must bear the brunt of your baseless hostility? Actually, I don't believe I look all that much like my father. Perhaps once you get to know me better, you won't see him in me at all." Tilting his head, Chu Yifan offered a half-smile as he watched her. The expression was indescribably charming, though to Jin'er, it was exceptionally punchable.

Rolling her eyes, she let out a scornful scoff. "I have no desire to waste another breath arguing with you. Rest assured, even if I truly despise you, I am not the sort to demand a son pay for his father's debts. You needn't worry that I will do anything to you."

"You?" Chu Yifan chuckled as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "I have never once worried about that."

Utterly exasperated by his endless games, Jin'er gave him one final, scathing glare before turning to Ying'er. "Ying'er, I'll come see you in a couple of days. The two of us can have a proper chat alone. I'm leaving now." With that, she didn't wait for Ying'er to reply, turning and striding toward the main gate.

"Brother Yifan..." Ying'er called out helplessly, watching him blur into motion. In the blink of an eye, Chu Yifan had stepped directly into Jin'er's path, blocking her way.

"Surname Chu, don't force me to use violence!" Jin'er raised her head, glaring coldly at him as a nameless fury surged within her.

"The young prince is dead. The Restoration Army will lose its purpose and direction." When he spoke this time, Chu Yifan's previous rebellious nonchalance was entirely gone, replaced by a grave and steady solemnity.

"The Restoration Army?" Stunned, Jin'er stared at him, taking a long moment to pick her jaw up off the floor before frowning. "You people still haven't given up?"

Taking a deep breath, Chu Yifan raised his gaze to the azure sky and murmured, "If we gave up, how could our fallen comrades ever rest in peace? What kind of future could our brothers, who are currently living in the shadows like rats, possibly hope for? And what of the common people, still suffering in the depths of misery?"

He had once thought himself indifferent to the plight of the world, wishing only to live out a carefree, leisurely existence. Yet when faced with a shattered nation, a fallen home, and a people suffering without a livelihood, the hot blood of a military household lying dormant in the depths of his heart began to boil.

"Isn't the rule of the Jin Kingdom acceptable enough? Most common people probably don't care who sits on the throne," Jin'er remarked dismissively.

"Perhaps. But unfortunately, the Jin Kingdom has never regarded them as its own subjects. The first couple of years were tolerable, but lately, the imperial court of the Jin Kingdom has grown insatiably ambitious. They have continuously expanded their military, forcibly conscripting soldiers from the regions that formerly belonged to the Mu Kingdom. They have dragged away countless young men, and the momentum is only growing more ruthless. Lately, they haven't even spared teenagers in their early teens.

Now, the Jin Kingdom and the Tu Kingdom are about to enter into a political marriage. Once the two nations form an alliance, war is bound to erupt. When that happens, every single able-bodied man of the Mu Kingdom will undoubtedly be conscripted and driven to the front lines as cannon fodder. The consequences will be too dreadful to contemplate.

Rather than marching to a meaningless death without a shred of dignity, we would be better off restoring the rule of the Mu Kingdom. At least then, people would feel a sense of home, rather than living as mere slaves of the Jin Kingdom as they do now." Lowering his gaze to look at Jin'er, Chu Yifan continued, "To unite everyone's hearts, we must be led by the orthodox bloodline of the imperial family. The young prince is gravely ill with no hope of recovery, leaving everyone panicked and lost. Your appearance at this exact moment must be the will of heaven."

Having listened to his long-winded speech, Jin'er finally grasped his intentions. "Heh, I understand now. But I'm afraid your calculations are entirely mistaken. To begin with, I am that inauspicious princess who was long ago spurned by everyone. How could I possibly rally any military morale? Don't forget, back then, everyone believed my mother and I were the ones who brought about the destruction of the Mu Kingdom."

Unfazed, Chu Yifan smiled faintly. "No matter what, you remain a legitimate imperial daughter. Furthermore, everyone knows you were strangled to death in public by the Grand General himself. Rising from the dead—we can frame that as the decree of the gods. We can even employ a few other methods to 'complete' the old prophecy and turn the tides of fate."

A crooked, mocking smile played at the corner of Jin'er's lips. She had to admit he was quite the strategist, but why on earth should she muddy herself in these murky waters?

"It sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, I have no interest."

"Yet you are a princess of the Mu Kingdom. That is an unalterable fact," Chu Yifan said, his expression turning solemn.

"Ha! A princess... A princess whom her own imperial father ordered to be executed in public, while civil and military officials looked on with cold indifference; whose corpse was casually tossed into a mass grave after her death, and whom the common people regretted not having executed two years sooner!" Jin'er stared at Chu Yifan, her eyes cold as she gritted her teeth in rage. "They treated me like that—why on earth should I save them? What do their lives or deaths have to do with me?!"

All these years, the resentment toward the Mu Kingdom buried deep within Jin'er's heart had never erupted with such thorough release as it did now. Though this outburst left her emotionally charged, the heavy suppression weighing on her soul for so long seemed to lift just a fraction.

Stunned, Chu Yifan and Ying'er stood in place, staring at her in utter shock. They had never seen her display such fury. That angry voice was saturated with absolute dominance, wild arrogance, and a chilling indifference to everything in the world.

Ignoring the two stunned figures, Jin'er turned away coldly, her foot pressing against the ground as her form rose into the air like a streak of white light, vanishing beyond the courtyard wall in the blink of an eye.

This left Ying'er even more astonished. After several years apart, how was this the same little girl who used to follow her to learn stances?

"Brother Yifan, what do we do now?" Ying'er snapped out of her daze, turning to him with a frown.

Without answering her question, Chu Yifan simply kept his eyes fixed on the direction where Jin'er had disappeared, murmuring almost to himself, "She certainly possesses the bearing of a monarch."