After the Dukes banquet ended, the Princess left in a rage and announced that she wanted Mu JinYu to marry her willingly. The Duke finally heard about the incident and grounded Mu JinYu in rage before ordering his men to investigate the situation.

Meanwhile, Liu JinZheng, who learned about the cause and effect of the incident from his daughter, wrote a long letter to scold his sister, the Duchess. As for Mu JinYu, his name and reputation in the city were once again the trending news, as the people were all discussing his actions at the Dukes banquet.

Though Mu JinYu was grounded, he was, in fact, enjoying every second of it. Except for the bothersome handwritten letters from the Princess, and the fact that he could not go out for a drink with his buddies, he was actually living the leisurely life.

Whats more, because of this, he was able to spend more time on Gu MingYue and he devoted himself to the great cause of seed planting!

He had to thank the arrogant princess, who did not wish to handle Gu MingYue through the hands of the royalties, and instead, wished to wait for Mu JinYu to finally realized that she was the only one for him.

Wei Min decided arrogantly that this will be the only victory she would accept.

Spring finally left and summer was finally here.

Though he worked hard every day, Mu JinYu was not having any success in impregnating Gu MingYue. In truth, though he had always drunk the soup that the Duchess gave, he had always managed to vomit out the liquid secretly after the Duchesss servant left. Could it be that though little, the medicinal soup had accumulated within his body throughout the years and was now causing his infertility?

Gu MingYue wore a light and slightly translucent green silk dress, with white laces weaved around the neck and embroidered patterns around the rims of her dress, which fluttered ever so slightly whenever she moved.

She was leaning lazily in the arms of the man beside her while her black silky casually draped over her shoulders. There was no need for artificial makeup, as she still looked effortlessly coquettish.

The weather had been getting hotter recently, and people tend to become easily exhausted under the hot weather. However, the handsome man beside her has a somewhat cooling body, which was extremely comfortable to lean onto.

This was why she had been spending her days nesting within his arms, unwilling to move even an inch.

Mu JinYus punishment would be ending soon in a few days, as well as the day of his birth mothers death. Every year, as the day approaches, Mu JinYu would travel to the temple outside the city and stay for a few days in order to pray for his deceased mother.

As she was thinking about this, Gu MingYue felt something sliding through near the tip of her ear.

It was a crested hairpin.

I saw this on one of the roadside booths and bought it because it was cheap. I didnt manage to gift it away, so you can keep it. Mu JinYu said while keeping his eyes steady, but she knew that he was taking peeks at her reaction from the corner of his eye.

Such an awkward man Gu MingYue thought cheekily as she took hold of the crested hairpin. Growing up with jewelry, it was easy for her to notice the value of this hairpin, and it was obviously a custom-crafted piece, as the workmanship on it was exquisite. The crested hairpin was lined with golden threads and dotted with gems, with the biggest one being pure jade.

However, since the man did not wish to admit it, she would not expose him. She smiled sweetly and accepted the gift, before praising him in a cute and sweet manner.

The corners of his mouth tilt upwards at her reaction. He was willing to pamper and love her for the rest of their lives if she would remain gentle and well-behaved.

In fact, he loves the fact that she would always place him first within her heart, and follow whatever he says. Never had he thought of the possibility that she would one day leave him, because in such a patriarchal world, where would she go and how can she survive without him?

At this moment, he would not have thought that in the near future, he would almost lose her forever.

Once again, being too full of oneself was highly unrecommended.

Sure enough, the Duke lifted his punishment after a few days, as Mu JinYu would be taking his leave to the temple for quite some time, but the only difference being that he would be bringing Gu MingYue along with him this year.

In fact, Gu MingYue had been waiting for this day to come. It was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her to give him the hardest blow and secure a place for herself within his heart. She would let him know how much he needed her, and completely shake his resolve to marry the Princess for a better future

The temple was not far, but also not too near to the city, in fact, it was even farther away than the Royal Hunting Grounds. It took them four consecutive days of endless traveling to finally reach the ancient temple hidden in an old forest deep within the mountains.

Mu JinYus mother had actually stayed within this ancient temple for a period of time when she was a child, and she was actually the disciple of Master JingDe. Hence why, every year during the anniversary of her death, he would visit this temple to experience the life his mother had as he prayed for her.

This year, Gu MingYue behaved properly and accompanied him as they listened to the zen chantings sincerely. Furthermore, because the ancient temple was a holy place, and the fact that Mu JinYu did not wish to defile his late mothers living quarters, they had stopped doing it altogether.

However, as a young and energetic man, there were times that he dirtied the bed due to the inevitable wet dreams he had.

After a week, the two began making their way home, but halfway through the journey back, they ran into trouble.

It was a group of mountain bandits, and all of them had their faces covered as they blocked the path. All of them were tall and looked well-trained, and it was obvious that they were not ordinary bandits.

Mu JinYu knew that it would be difficult to escape from this situation, as he had not expected this to happen and did not bring along many guards with him from the Dukedom. The mountains have always been a peaceful place and the people nearby all lived in peace and contentment, so there was no reason for bandits to appear.

The bandits came out of nowhere, but they did not ask for money, instead, they demanded everyone to leave their carriage.

This was a telltale sign, if they were not after the money, that means that they wanted the life of someone.

Ruo Lan, do not be afraid. Mu JinYu said in a low comforting tone as held the trembling beauty as she buried her face into his strong chest, before pulling out his sword with his other hand.

They cannot stay within the carriage, because if his limited guards were to fail, the two of them would be like fishes trapped, easy for the picking. This group of bandits approached them even when his carriage showed the official logo of the Dukedom, which confirmed his assumption that these were actually professional assassins sent to kill him.

The only way to survive now is to leave the limited space of the carriage, so he could let go and defend himself freely.

The beauty was still trembling in fear within his arm, and he kissed her tenderly on the forehead before repeating firmly, Do not be afraid, Ruo Lan, I promise that well return home safely.

He could not see her face clearly, so naturally, he wouldnt know that Gu MingYue was, in fact, not trembling from fear, but from excitement.

FROM WHAT EXCITEMENT? Let me read the first before I continue translating! >:O

Enjoy and feel free to comment on my work! <3