There were excellent chefs in the mansion of Qi Yuan, even not worse than the imperial cooks. After all, Emperor Yun Su sent them here as a gift. However, Qi Yuan, the master of the mansion of Qi Yuan, didn’t need them. He insisted on cooking for Wu Xin every night.

The food was barely acceptable and eatable. However, Qi Yuan still enjoyed it. Fortunately, Wu Xin was not a picky eater. She always ate the food he cooked as long as it was not raw.

Gradually, Wu Xin became interested in cooking as an onlooker. She didn’t think it was boring and learned how to cook from Qi Yuan. The teacher’s food always looked good, but the taste had not improved at all. In contrast, the food the student made didn’t look attractive. However, the taste was much better. It became a mystery if the teacher was too bad or the student was too clever.

Cooking was regarded as their special entertainment. Every day, Qi Yuan enjoyed it so much. He worked while showing others he was enjoying the sweetness of love—he seemed to change into a different person.

Qi Yuan used to be serious. These days, he always grinned, either laughing foolishly or staring at the air thinking about something. Well, those imperial guards had been used to it. They felt it strange at first, and now everyone only felt speechless.

However, now Qi Yuan even acted this way in front of the emperor, Yun Su! This was a bit too much. Yun Su saw Qi Yuan and shook his head every day. Qi Yuan was not his right-hand man anymore but a simple fool! Yun Su was even more curious about the disfigured woman, Wu Xin, which was not really a piece of good news.

Of course, their romantic relationship didn’t have any influence on Wu Xin. She was very normal. During the day, Wu Xin stayed in the kitchen to practice her cooking skills. She found cooking interesting, and she wanted to cook for Xuan Zhi.

After all, Xuan Zhi was the most special and the only person she cared about. These days, Xuan Zhi had an enjoyable time. Wu Xin learned to cook new dishes every night and cooked for him the next day. It was so sweet, and the taste of the dishes was also nice.

Since then, Xuan Zhi had lunch which was prepared by his beloved woman every day. The food she prepared was full of love. If she didn’t need to avenge her country and family, they would be a perfectly-matched couple who enjoyed real happiness.

There was real and false happiness day and night in the kitchen of the mansion of Qi Yuan. This place had become a place full of beautiful memories.

In the hot summer, a special and traditional festival of the Empire of Yun arrived—the Lantern Festival on the Seventh Night of July. For Wu Xin, this festival had always been so special in her memory.

Many years ago, Princess Xi, who was just a simple girl at that time, Kong Yue, and Xuan Zhi spent this day together. That day was the first time Princess Xi saw Kong Yue in a man’s outfit. It was the first time Princess Xi bought pearls as gifts. At the same time, Kong Yue and Xuan Zhi received gifts for the first time. It was also the first time Kong Yue kissed Princess Xi on the roof of the main bedroom of the Xiyan Palace that night. Both of them gave their first kiss to each other.

Now the pearls were still there, but the owner of one pearl had gone. The time spent with Kong Yue was Princess Xi’s most precious and happiest memory.

After Kong Yue left, Wu Xin hid in her room, drinking desperately until she got drunk every Lantern Festival. She didn’t want to go out. It was only on this day that she would indulge herself, venting her sorrow and pain completely without controlling herself. Xuan Zhi had always accompanied her and stayed with her silently.

Wu Xin kept drinking on the day of the Lantern Festival in the recent two years. She still missed Kong Yue. However, she was not so sad and hurt now. However, Lantern Festival had been a day that Shui Yinzhu would vent her true feelings freely.

Wu Xin didn’t hate Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan was not involved in her parents’ deaths, her country’s destruction, or the event of killing Kong Yue and the others in the hunting field that year. The only thing he did was accompany Yun Su by doing his duty to protect him. She wanted to kill Qi Yuan only because he was Yun Su’s confidant. Killing him could hurt Yun Su, which would also bring chaos to the imperial guards of the Empire of Yun.

Wu Xin had been ready to act a long time ago. However, spending time with Qi Yuan these days, she found he was not a scheming person. He was nice, and he was even a little silly.

Maybe Wu Xin was still too soft to deal with this kind of people who she didn’t hate. She could act a long time ago. However, she stopped every time she saw Qi Yuan.

The action had been delayed. Every year, Wu Xin would avoid any arrangements at the Lantern Festival. This year, because of her indecision, she had to face the day when she was the most fragile mentally. However, she didn’t know when she could make up her mind to kill Qi Yuan.

On the main street of Huaiyang City, young men and women walked around early in the morning. The scene was so lively. This Lantern Festival on the Seventh Night of July was still as busy as usual.

However, Wu Xin felt extremely uncomfortable this day. She was used to venting herself on this day. She stayed on the bed in her room, even though she woke up early in the morning and didn’t have breakfast with Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan felt a little strange about Wu Xin’s weird behavior, but he still had to go to work in the palace. Therefore, he didn’t ask any questions. He thought he could accompany Wu Xin in the evening after he came back. It was just that his idea was the last thing the woman liked today.

In Wu Xin’s room during the day, an unexpected person arrived—the highly skilled doctor, Uncle Zhi. Uncle Zhi didn’t want to come here. However, Xuan Zhi forced him to be here. As an old man, he was taken here so quickly by Xuan Zhi that he was almost scared to death.

Looking at Wu Xin, who was tortured by stomachache on the bed, Uncle Zhi sighed and touched the thinning hair on his head. He felt so distressed! He knew that something was wrong with this girl’s body again. Well, his hair would become even more thinning.

Uncle Zhi asked Xuan Zhi to guard outside. Xuan Zhi didn’t want to, but he was driven out. Uncle Zhi was going to have a good talk with Wu Xin. Xuan Zhi became annoying when it came to things about Wu Xin, making things more troublesome. In this case, the old man would become bold even more quickly.

Therefore, after Xuan Zhi left reluctantly, Uncle Zhi sat next to Wu Xin’s bed to check her body. He whispered, “Princess! Stop torturing yourself, okay?”

“Uncle Zhi, is it the sequelae of the Heat Poison?”

“Yes.”

“Is it because I didn’t take the antidote for a few days before?”

“Princess, you know it, but you still do it.”

Wu Xin was clever, and she knew the reason why she had a stomachache. However, Qi Yuan had a high fever in those three days, holding her hand and not letting her go, so she could not take the antidote.

“Uncle Zhi, my period had been delayed. Is it related to it?”

“Princess, if the Heat Poison in your body was not removed, I’m afraid you would never have your period again. You would be even more unbearably painful on the first day of your period.”

“Really? What will happen if it keeps going like this?”

“You can’t get pregnant.”

Wu Xin didn’t mind it when she heard this. After all, she stopped caring about her life long ago. However, she didn’t know why she suddenly thought of Xuan Zhi. She wanted to say that she didn’t care about it. However, she changed her mind inexplicably, “Uncle Zhi, I will continue taking the Heat Poison, and I will also take the antidote at night. Anyway, you are a highly skilled doctor. You can cure me when it is over.”

After Uncle Zhi heard her words, he wished he could give this girl a good lesson. Two hairs on his head fell off again. However, he could only endure it. He was a man who was destined to suffer.

“I’ll try to find a way, Princess. Please try your best not to torture your body.”

“Okay, I know. Uncle Zhi, give me some painkillers.”

“Okay.”

“Uncle Zhi, if Zhi asks about my condition, tell him that it’s just because of my period and I will soon recover. Don’t let him know, and don’t make him worry.”

“I know. I know what I should tell him.”

In the evening, everyone outside was so joyful. However, such an atmosphere didn’t affect the woman. Wu Xin no longer had a stomachache after taking some painkillers that night. The Lantern Festival was special for her. She didn’t want to go out. However, Qi Yuan forced her to do so. He wanted to make her happy. However, he had no idea that Wu Xin was particularly vulnerable today.

There were loving couples everywhere on the street. Wu Xin crushed her nails into her palms. She felt so uncomfortable, and she could no longer control her tears.

Qi Yuan didn’t turn around. He was still pulling Wu Xin’s sleeves and ran to a place where people guessed the lantern riddles excitedly. In these years, it was the first time for him to celebrate the Lantern Festival on the Seventh Night of July. He tried his best to make his lover happy. He suddenly felt some water on his hand. He felt very strange and looked up at Wu Xin.

The woman next to him had her face covered with a veil. Her eyes had been clean and beautiful, but now they were red and swollen. Her tears were on his hand. Wu Xin was clenching her fists. He loosened her hands, and there were blood marks on her palms.

Qi Yuan felt so confused and also pitiful. Qi Yuan kept asking Wu Xin what was going on, but Wu Xin cried without a word. He hugged her to comfort her. However, Wu Xin didn’t let him touch her. She pushed him away and squeezed into the crowd desperately. Only today, she couldn’t hide her true feelings to please him.

There were so many people on the street at the Lantern Festival. Soon Qi Yuan could not see Wu Xin, who deliberately escaped from him. He could not see her again. He desperately searched for Wu Xin and began to regret why he took her out tonight. She didn’t want to go out at the beginning. He should have noticed it. He thought it was because Wu Xin felt awkward because of her appearance. Now he finally realized this special day reminded her of the painful past.

Qi Yuan was searching for her anxiously, and it was so noisy. Many men and women were putting flower lanterns on the creek in Huaiyang City. But Wu Xin looked so lonely, like a square peg in a round hole.