At night, the wind blew and the fire spread. In the sky above the Prefect's Mansion, the thunder roared and the lightning exploded.

"Don't be scared, Ruo. Hold on tight! You have to hold on tight!"

Gu Yunxi stared at Wenren Junzheng, who was stepping back. Her eery and cold look softened and gradually warmed up.

She faintly remembered the nightmare that had troubled her since she was little. In her dream, there was a man who called out to her anxiously and painfully. He hid half of his face under the half-worn bamboo hat. Was it him?

But why was he the enemy of the Eastern Depot? Who was him?

She stared at Wenren's empty sleeve that waved in the air. She tried to fill in the blank of her memory. She struggled to piece it up.

She was torn inside. Wenren Junzheng looked at Leng Qingtang. Tears emerged in his woeful eyes. He had a pathetic and angry look.

"Why did you do this? Leng Qingtang, answer me! Is she the daughter of Zheng Ran?!"

Wenren Junzheng born the pain and pointed his broadsword at Gu Yunxi who looked panicking. He turned his head and asked Leng Qingtang. Because he was too emotional, with his fierce questioning, another stream of blood gushed out of his chest wound. He was pale. He covered the wound with his palm, and his fingers were all covered by the blood.

Leng Qingtang stood up. He calmly stared at his opponent who was suffering from the pain, looked dull.

He didn't want to answer Wenren's question.

The most painful thing in the world was that they could be congenial allies that drank and talked together, yet they became enemies accidentally. They eventually couldn't avoid the fight.

He watched them in the light, being praised as heroic soldiers. But he had to hide in the dark. He was hated, spat, and misunderstood.

And he was used to being hated and spat. He was used to licking his wound alone and tasting the pain of misunderstanding.

The lightning stroke from the sky lit up the ground that was full of fire.

"Master, we're here!"

Some people jumped off the high wall, waving the weapons in their hands. A large group of men from the Eastern Depot shouted loudly and smashed open the front and back doors of the Prefect's Mansion that were chained tightly. They dashed into the Mansion and entered the fire sea.

"Sir, we can't hold it any longer. Let's go!"

Two men dressed like guards came over and grabbed Wenren Junzheng.

Ai Qing, Lu Rong, and Yuan Qian, who came from the back door, surrounded them.

"Let them go."

Suddenly, Leng Qingtang ordered the three captains.

"Master!" All of them were confused, but they didn't dare disobey him. They all looked angry and reluctant.

Leng Qingtang only ever gave his order once. He ignored his men. Being supported by Gu Yunxi, he faced Wenren Junzheng. His deep, slanted-eyes were calm like no one else.

"I'll let you go today. Save your life, and live until the truth comes out!"

Wenren Junzheng froze. He was speechless. He wanted to look at Gu Yunxi again when being supported by the two men by his sides.

"Sir, let's go!"

After a while, they jumped off. Three shadows went over the raging fire.

The fire was eventually put off. The Prefect's Mansion that used to be magnificent yet hid atrocious crimes and the busy Donglai post house were all burnt.

After the fire, the guards of the Eastern Depot followed Gu Yunxi and found the secret room in the debris. They found Feng Yunheng, who was suffocated by the thick smoke.

Feng Yunheng committed multiple crimes before death. He deserved to die like this.

Leng Qingtang then reported this to the government. He wrote that the prefect of Qiling county died in the fire and asked to reselect a prefect.

On the other hand, the ledger that Xiao Xiaoshen and others found in the Feng's Mansion was quite useful.

Leng Qingtang prepared to go from the ledger and check the local officials mentioned in the ledger one by one, no matter they were still in position or not. So he could follow the lead and found the evidence of government officials being corrupted and stealing from the treasury to finish the task that Empress Qian gave him before he left.

To deceive the officials and avoid spooking them, in the report he sent, he didn't mention anything about Feng Yunheng's corruption.

So far, the Eastern Depot had inspected the disaster in Jiangan by the Emperor's order. They passed six counties, Fengyuan, Fanyang, Fuji, Yanzhou, Heshuo, and Qiling. Now the whole inspection finally ended.

On February the eleventh, the Eastern Depot convoy returned from the road they came, marching towards the capital.

Because the Master was hurt internally, they marched slowly and rested more often. Therefore, when they arrived at the capital, it was already the end of February.

On the way back, Gu Yunxi had asked the Master multiple times who the one-arm man that pretended to be the prefect of Qiling county was.

Leng Qingtang didn't say a word about it. If she had questioned too often, he would have been angry and anxious. So Gu Yunxi stopped asking.

After resting in the Mansion for a while, Leng Qingtang went to the Palace to see the Emperor. He reported the spending of this disaster relief and each county's culture and story to Emperor Jingxiao and Empress Qian.

When talking about how the folk respected the Emperor, he especially embellished, focusing on the description. During the whole talk, he was eloquent, and his words were like rivers that flooded the Emperor with joy. The Emperor didn't even realize this handsome and high-spirited man in front of him was suffering from an internal wound.

After that, Leng Qingtang stayed at home and rested for almost a month until he was finally well.

During this time, Imperial Doctor Jiang came to the Master's Mansion quite often. He checked the Master's pulse and prescribed him medicine.

Gu Yunxi accompanied the Master day and night and took care of his daily life.

The time passed, and it was the spring equinox.

The capital had sunny days in a roll. The sky was clear blue, and the sunshine was just right. After some light rain in the middle of the night, the willow on the roadside turned green. The winter jasmine turned yellow, and flowers bloomed on the branches. It was lively everywhere.

Every year on the spring equinox, there was a big banquet in the Palace, called "Spring Banquet". It was set to celebrate the coming of spring and the revival of lives.

At then, the Emperor would attend with all the concubines and banquet with the government officials, hoping for an auspicious sign of prosper.

The Imperial Ceremony Office needed to prepare for the Spring Banquet. As the seal keeper, Leng Qingtang spent days in the Imperial Ceremony Office. He came back to the Master's Mansion quite late every day.

This evening, Gu Yunxi thought that it was about time. So she boiled the decoction that nursed the Master's internal wound and poured it into a bowl to cool down. She then quietly waited by the table for the Master to come back.

Her black shadow was on the white wall. The silhouette of her face was clear. Her eyelashes were long and curly. She tied up her hair high. The man's clothes looked charming on her.

A rustling sound came from outside. It was raining again.

The night of early spring was still cold with the breeze. The wind came into the room with the dampness. Gu Yunxi curled up uncomfortably.

The candlelight sparked on the wooden square table, waving in the air.

Gu Yunxi was bored. She supported her chin with her hand and stared at the orange candlelight, listening to the rain dropping. Her eyelids gradually closed up.

When she was drifting off, she heard the sound of metal clashing and people roaring.

She opened her eyes wide in fear. It was that world again.

The burning fire reflected on the snow, endless killing, the roar, and the blood that was like smashed red plum flowers.

The scene suddenly changed. She was grabbed by a big hand and was put on someone's back. A hoarse and deep voice called by her ears,

"Don't be scared, Ruo. Hold on tight! You have to hold on tight!"

Gu Yunxi was terrified. She looked down subconsciously.

It was the strong man who wore a bamboo hat!

Her tiny hand shook. She reached out tentatively and threw over the bamboo hat.

At that moment, she saw the side of the man's face. It was Wenren Junzheng!

A sliver light blinked in front of her eyes. Her body bumped off. With a trembling sigh, she saw the left half of Wenren's arm fell on the ground.

"Ah!"

Gu Yunxi shouted and woke up from the nightmare. Her elbow lost balance, and her head banged on the table. She moaned again.

"What's wrong? It's me..."

Leng Qingtang just came back to the Master's Mansion when he heard Gu Yunxi's shout.

He shook off the rain on the robe in haste and walked to her. He put a warm palm on her back and asked softly,

"Did I scare you?"

Gu Yunxi rubbed her eyes. She nervously looked at the door. Her voice showed that she was not fully awake,

"Master, what's that sound outside?"

"It's rain."

He looked outside surprisingly and turned back. He smiled and answered her, and then wiped the sweat off her forehead with his hand.

His fingers slid through the fine and smooth skin that felt like ivory. The delicate touch moved his heart.

The temperature of the decoction was just right. Gu Yunxi served the Master the decoction. He washed his mouth with clean water and then washed his hand and face.

"The Spring Banquet is in a few days. I'll arrange for you to see Zhaoyi Yu. What do you think?"

Leng Qingtang was wearing white nightclothes. He sipped the tea and said to Gu Yunxi.

He hadn't forgotten her wish to see her sister. Now it would be a good chance.

"Zhaoyi?" Gu Yunxi was dazed.

Leng Qingtang put down the teacup and explained with a smile,

"Yunyao is doing well in the Palace. She took the lead and donated money to Jiangan. His Majesty raised her rank from Jieyu to Zhaoyi." (Note: Zhaoyi and Jieyu are titles of the Emperor's concubines. Zhaoyi is superior to Jieyu.)

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Hearing this, Gu Yunxi was so excited that she jumped up from the chair. Her eyes were shining, filled with joy,

"His Majesty likes sister, and she is like-minded with His Majesty. That's the best!"

Leng Qingtang's charming smile went stiff for a moment. A strange light slid through his sharp eyes.

He looked down slightly. He didn't say anything more, but finished the topic with one sentence,

"In these two days, go learn the etiquette of the Palace with Chiliarch Cheng. You can then follow me to the Palace in March the eighth."

"Sure!" She agreed joyfully. She looked at the Master with a smile and said meaningfully,

"It's time for sleep. Good night." She then walked in small steps and slowly moved to the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Leng Qingtang was about to sit on the bed. Seeing Gu Yunxi leave, he immediately called her.

Since they came back, to look after the wounded Master, Gu Yunxi stayed in the same room with him day and night. Now she was leaving and the bed was half-empty. He couldn't get used to it.

"I'm going back to my room..."

Gu Yunxi said coyly. Her face was all red, so were her ears.

"I still need someone to serve me! If you leave, who will pour me water at night if I get thirsty?"

Gu Yunxi pouted and said to the Master impatiently,

"You're all well now. Could you let me have a good sleep? You were alone before. Did you have this much need at night too?"

Leng Qingtang immediately started coughing. His straight body suddenly started wobbling. He acted rascally,

"Who said... I was all well? I feel dizzy... I can't breathe..."

Gu Yunxi smiled. She couldn't help but shook her head. When she just walked over, he grabbed her and pressed her on the bed.

March the eighth.

The twilight shone. A group of carriage rode out of Leng's Mansion and went straight to the Palace.

At this hour, the Palace was decorated with lanterns and streamers. The lanterns were high up and shining. It was full of the atmosphere of festivity everywhere.

According to the rules of the Palace, once the Spring Banquet started, the officials needed to enter the Palace from the west and east door in two lines. The servants could only wait outside.

At 7 a.m., the drum and music started. Leng Qingtang lined up with the liberal officials. They walked into the Palace through the east door in order.

Gu Yunxi and Cheng Wanli waited outside the east entrance.

When they came, Leng Qingtang had already told them that half an hour after the Spring Banquet started, a eunuch would lead Gu Yunxi into the Palace to see Gu Yunyao.

Gu Yunxi was carrying a hamper. When she was waiting, she met An Hong from the Western Depot. He was accompanied by two young eunuchs.

He sneered at Gu Yunxi with a cold look, quite provocative.

Gu Yunxi was surprised when meeting his eyes.

Was she too sensitive?

She felt like An Hong's look was familiar. That cold, reckless, and provocative look was like the man in black that she met in Qianqi Mountain on the way to Jiangan.

She thought about it quietly, looking down and searching on his neck carefully.

The temperature dropped radically in the morning and night of early spring. An Hong was still wearing a thick white robe. The tall, dark red collar covered his neck. She couldn't see anything.

Gu Yunxi sighed and looked back in disappointment.

She thought about it more carefully. The incident in Qianqi Mountain had passed for two months. Even if he had been An Hong, after more than sixty days, his wound would have healed. She wouldn't find any trace.