The Aloof Prince Chapter 21 - Steal back the Jade

Hi guys,

Thanks for supporting the first release. I hope that with each release my translation will get better and not worsen. Hahaha! Anyway, here is the next chapter of the Aloof Prince! Happy Reading!

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Translator: Rize

Editor: Erica Phantomhive

The Aloof Prince Chapter 21 - Steal back the Jade

Walking back to Listening Flower Pavilion, Mu Yun Jin's mood was very good, especially when she thought of Mu Lingzhu's eyes that revealed anger and sadness. She could feel her body refresh, she couldn’t help but walk more gently. A delicate voice came from the side of the trail:

“Third sister...”

Mu Yun Jin halted her steps and turned around to see Mu Xiarou standing there. Mu Yun Jin looked at her indifferently as she faintly opened her mouth to speak:

“Did fifth sister especially wait for me?”

“Yes third sister, Rou'er has been waiting for you for a long time.”

Mu Xiarou came forward, she blinked, pretending to be well-behaved in front of Mu Yun Jin.

“Why are you waiting for me?”

Mu Yun Jin eyed Mu Xiarou before she continued walking. Mu Xiarou sweetly smiled towards her.

“I want to congratulate the third sister. It seems something good will happen soon to elder sister.”

After she heard this, Mu Yun Jin understood Mu Xiarou's intention and forced a smile.

“Thank you, little sister.”

“We are family; between us sisters, there is no need to be polite.”

Mu Xiarou smilingly replied. Mu Yun Jin carefully looked at Mu Xiarou. If not for that day she and Mu Ling Zhu stormed in her courtyard to find trouble, then looking at her harmless smile now, she would have thought that she is an innocent child.

However, she is not innocent at all.

“Not long ago, my mother and I talked privately. Elder sister was born beautiful, so you will definitely be able to marry into the royal family.”

Mu Xiarou smiled and intimately held Mu Yun Jin`s arm. She (MYJ) let her (MX) take her arm saying:

“Younger sister is not bad, later there will naturally be a good man.”

“I will take elder sister's auspicious words,”

Mu Xiarou loosen her hold on Mu Yun Jin`s arm and moved it towards her as she shyly opened her lips.

“That after elder sister will enter the royal family. You will find a good man for younger sister.”

Listening to Mu Xia Rou talk for a long time, she finally said her main point. Mu Yun Jin stopped walking, her eyes focused on Mu Xiarou. Glancing at her from top to bottom, she reached out her hands to straighten Mu Xiarou's hair strands.

“As long as little sister is obedient, elder sister will not ill-treat you."

Mu Yun Jin's eyes flashed with a fine light as she stressed again.

“You do know what being obedient means right?”

Mu Xiarou got scared at Mu Yun Jin's severe tone, she abruptly became afraid to look at Mu Yun Jin’s eyes and immediately nodded her head.

“It is late. Little sister should go to rest early.”

She laughed lightly, as she dismissed Mu Xiarou. As if hearing a pardon from a general, Mu Xiarou quickly ran away.

After some time, Mu Yun Jin arrived at her Listening Flower Pavilion. She saw that inside the candles were brightly lit. Zi Xiang heard the sound of the opening door and immediately ran:

“Miss, you are back!”

“Yes, I have returned, quickly help me prepare a water bath, I really want to take a bath.”

Mu Yun Jin stretched out, and yawned, this whole day was tiring to death.

“Miss, Please wait before you take a bath, Aunt Zhang has been here since this afternoon, go see her first.”

Zi Xiang supported Mu Yun Jin and walked towards the Listening Flower Pavilion's small hall.

Aunt Zhang? Mu Yun Jin slightly frowned and thought: it seems that that day when the jade went missing she heard Zi Xiang mention this person. After a while, they arrived at the small hall. She saw an old woman sitting inside, her clothes plain and simple, her hair was already white and you could only vaguely see some black hair. When the old woman saw Mu Yun Jin's figure she immediately got up and her eyes suddenly reddened.

“Third Miss, I haven’t seen you for so many years, you have grown up to be refined and beautiful”

“Hello, Aunt Zhang.”

Although she was still unable to figure out her connection to Aunt Zhang, it looks like she was intimate with her (MYJ), so greeting her now seemed right. Aunt Zhang nodded as she pulled Mu Yun Jin's hand to sit down. She carefully looked at Mu Yun Jin up and down, and when she was pleased she nodded again:

“To see the young miss grow up safe and sound, this old servant is truly happy.”

“Ah right, Aunt Zhang, ever since you retired ten years ago from the residence, the miss days has not been easy, over the years, it was a long hard road but we were able to endure.”

Zi Xiang looked at Mu Yunjin as she spoke. She remembers that recently, after the incident with Aunt Su, some of her (MYJ) memory is missing and so she was worried that Mu Yunjin wouldn't remember Aunt Zhang. That way Zi Xiang aptly reminded Mu Yunjin. She (MYJ) looked at her with grateful eyes.

“This old servant is sorry for the young miss, now seeing the young miss, this old servant's heavy heart weight has lessened.”

Aunt Zhang sighed, firmly holding Mu Yun Jin's hand.

“Aunt does not need to blame herself, Yun Jin is soon going to be of marriageable age and is going to endure first and have a good life afterward, in front of misfortunes that are coming.”

Mu Yun Jin reasoned, Aunt Zhang sniffed and nodded her head. After a moment, Aunt Zhang recalled something and wiped away her tears.

“Oh, that's right! Young miss, the jade ornament you have always worn, is it still well preserved?”

With those words, Mu Yun Jin and Zi Xiang looked at each other quickly, and reassured Aunt Zhang:

“It is in good condition.”

Mu Yun Jin smiled, right now the Jade is with Chu Li, of course, it can be said that it is in good condition.

“That’s good.”

Aunt Zhang nodded her head. Then she suddenly started speaking in a low voice, so that only the two of them could hear her:

“That Jade is extremely important for the young miss and must be kept safe, it cannot fall into another person's hand.”

Aunt Zhang managed to bring up Mu Yun Jin’s curiosity.

“Extremely important? But that jade has been with me for many years, I did not find anything peculiar.”

“There are some things that this servant originally should not speak of. But now, Miss is already in your marriageable age, this old servant might as well reveal a little. Young Miss, do you really feel that you are not favored here in the residence, just because you lack scholarly knowledge and you aren’t timid? In the Flower Butterfly City, are all rich young misses outstanding in talents? Are they all clever and intelligent? But they still receive parental love. From the first madam, have you ever received a trace of maternal love? From the Prime Minister, do you feel a hint of warmth? Have you ever thought of the reason for all of this?”

“......”

Aunt Zhang's speech suddenly exploded in Mu Yun Jin's ears and Mu Yun Jin felt that countless fragments flashed and surrounded her, as she slowly pieced them together into a complete pattern.

“I am not Mu Family's flesh?”

Mu Yun Jin's voice was low. She gave Aunt Zhang a probing look. Aunt Zhang slightly sighed, closed her eyes, and nodded. After Aunt Zhang's confirmation, Mu Yun Jin suddenly felt more relaxed before them. Concerning this issue, she also imagined but did not expect that her idea turned out to be true.

“That Jade ornament is left by your family as a keepsake, so you must take care of it well, it must not be lost, do you understand?”

Aunt Zhang fixed her attention on her. Listening to Aunt Zhang speak, Mu Yun Jin felt surprisingly embarrassed, she did not expect that the Jade was actually important to her, yet she already agreed to sell it to Chu Li. But in this situation selling naturally cannot be done, but she cannot back out as well - Chu Li would definitely react. At the thought of these, Mu Yun Jin felt somewhat fidgety.

“The hour is late and it has been tiring for Aunt Zhang, It would be better to rest early.”

Mu Yun Jin changed the topic. Aunt Zhang nodded.

Afterward, back in the bedroom, Mu Yun Jin sat in the bathtub, tightly frowning, pondering over how to talk to Chu Li. Zi Xiang helped Mu Yun Jin put petals in the tub. After a while Zi Xiang lowered the flower basket, stomped her feet:

“Miss, what do we do? The Jade is lost... Just in case Miss' biological family comes to look for you, how would we prove?”

Zi Xiang anxiously cried, tears almost spilling.

“Do not worry, the Jade is with Chu Li, he was the one who picked it up.”

She looked at the anxious little girl and revealed the truth. As soon as she heard Chu Li's name, Zi Xiang immediately opened her mouth.

“Miss, the sixth prince, and your relationship has developed quickly, even leaving the Jade to the sixth prince?”

“Loathsome girl, I said he picked it up, why are you letting your imagination run wild?”

Mu Yun Jin glared at Zi Xiang. Zi Xiang wily smiled and continued helping Mu Yun Jin place petals in her bath.

“This servant is happy for you. In any case, Young Miss will sooner or later become the sixth prince’s imperial wife.”

Mu Yun Jin choked and suddenly was unable to respond.

All throughout the night, Mu Yun Jin tossed and turned in bed. Her mind was, continuously pondering over how to tell Chu Li that she is breaking their deal. At the carriage, Chu Li clearly showed that he particularly set his heart on the jade and is very determined to have it.

But the Jade is related to her past, and is very important to her; anyhow, it is important to get it back. Mu Yun Jin then sat up, annoyingly scratched her head, got out of bed and lit a candle, and looked at the time. It is almost the fourth of the five-night watch periods (between 1:00 to 3:00 am). She glanced outside in the dim light of the night. Mu Yun Jin bit her lips, her mind forming a plan.

“It would be better to steal back the Jade.”

Stopping in her thoughts, Mu Yun Jin herself was somewhat speechless. It is definitely her stuff, but she still has to go as far as to steal it back. But now, there is no better option than this one.

After a cup of tea, Mu Yun Jin put on black clothes, covered her face with black cloth, and blew out the candle in the room. Then quietly opened the window and got out. Her footsteps were light and graceful, her figure immediately disappeared in the silence of the night...

After effortlessly climbing over the wall of the Prime Minister's Residence, Mu Yun Jin followed her memory, going in the direction of the palace. Along the way Mu Yun Jin`s, skill and agility were like that of a black cat, continuously sneaking in every corner of the streets and alleys. After a while, Mu Yun Jin stopped in front of the palace, hid in the dark, observed the nearby palace guards. It is already the fourth of the five-night watch periods, the guards in front of the palace were showing hints of weariness. They did not discover anything amiss in the night nor did they discover that someone has already quietly sneaked into the palace.

Inside the palace, the black-clothed Mu Yun Jin was hiding in the top of a tree, her mind somewhat in a mess. Through the trees, she kept looking at her surroundings. Damn, her actions right now are extremely reckless; she doesn’t even know in which place is Chu Li residing! Since this is a huge palace, she ought to find a way to seek that person. Fortunately, not far from her a team of patrol troops came. A lucky coincidence - they stopped below Mu Yun Jin's hiding place...

“Leader, the fourth prince’s and fifth prince’s palaces over there have already been patrolled, now only the third prince’s Palace in the Moon and the sixth prince’s Glass Spring Palace are left to patrol.”

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