In the Kanfang Pavilion.

"What?"

Gu Yunyao was stunned at the news about the assassination in the Baohe Palace.

She didn't love Emperor Jingxiao, so she reacted to the news with a pale face and trembling on the chair instead of beating breast and the cease of breath.

Zhao An came over and patted her back with his soft and warm palm, comforting,

"Your Ladyship, relax, please..."

Then he turned to the maid sending this news, "How about His Majesty?"

"The assassins died on the spot. His Majesty is safe and sound."

The maid answered. Gu Yunxi sitting at the other side of the stone table jumped up and rushed out of the pavilion. She stopped in front of that maid and asked anxiously,

"The assassins are dead? Have His Majesty found out who did it?"

The maid looked up to glance at Gu Yunxi's robe which indicated the Eastern Depot. She opened her mouth in fright as if she gasped and dared not speak.

In the pavilion behind, Zhao An said impatiently,

"Just tell the truth."

"It's... the Eastern Depot... The assassin was instructed by Master Leng of the Eastern Depot!"

The young maid closed her eyes after she answered in a trembled voice, waiting for the guard of the Eastern Depot to beat her to death with a blow.

"That's... That's impossible..."

Gu Yunxi felt like there was a thunder stroking her head. She stared at the maid, shaking her head in shock and confusion.

How could Master instruct assassins to kill the Emperor...

She was on tenterhooks. Stepping back a few steps, Gu Yunxi turned around to Gu Yunyao and called her with pathetically,

"Sister..."

Sparks flew before her eyes. She went limp and was about to faint.

"Support her!"

Zhao An saw that Gu Yunxi was in a bad state, so he immediately ordered two eunuchs to support her and help her sit in the pavilion.

With her head lowered desperately, Gu Yunxi kept repeating a sentence,

"Master won't do that... Master won't do that..."

Gu Yunyao calmed down and comforted her,

"Don't worry, Yunxi. I'll go back to Baohe Palace. Now, you leave the Palace with my people! Quickly!"

Such an appalling event happened in the Palace, so the Imperial Guards would close all the gates soon. She had to send her sister out, Gu Yunyao thought. She mustn't get her involved in.

Seeing that Gu Yunxi had no reaction, Gu Yunyao asked Zhao An,

"Find a way to send Yunxi safely out of the Palace."

"Yes, please rest assured."

Zhao An replied. He thought for a while, looked around, and pointed to a eunuch,

"Come here, put off your clothes behind the tree over there, and give it to Lady."

Then he called another eunuch,

"Later, you lead Lady to leave here through Yongshun Gate with the water wagon... Take these silver scraps to bribe Lord Qiu, he is in charge of the water service, and find an excuse for going out..."

Suddenly, Gu Yunxi grabbed Gu Yunyao's sleeve, speaking pathetically,

"Sister, can I go with you? I want to be with the Master..."

Gu Yunyao shook her head in panic,

"No, you can't! At this time, everyone is trying his best to prove his innocence. You can't get involved in it! Don't be silly. Exit the Palace. Don't say anything! Lord Leng will go back soon!

"But..."

"Rest assured. I'm in the same boat with him, so I won't let bad things happen to him. It's just that we've just met and are about to part. I don't know when we can meet again..."

Gu Yunyao was reluctant to be apart from Gu Yunxi and was on the verge of tears. Zhao An urged her,

"Please hurry up, Your Ladyship! Or it will be too late to catch the water wagon!"

He waved his hand to the maids,

"Clean up the table and protect her Ladyship to Baohe Palace."

Gu Yunxi gazed at her shoes and made up her mind. She overturned the food container.

In a sound of clatter, the porcelain bowl containing the sober-up soup was broken, and soup splattered all over the ground.

Gu Yunxi collected the porcelain pieces into the container and spoke to Yunyao,

"Sister, even if you don't take me with you, I'll manage to see him myself!"

Gu Yunyao was secretly surprised. She had never thought that just a year later, the “Idiot”, who was always bullied by other people in the Garden, could be so adamant.

Now Gu Yunyao couldn't see cowardice and self-abasement from Gu Yunxi's delicate face. The light of confidence and tenaciousness in Gu Yunxi's clear eyes moved Gu Yunyao and made her admire.

"Well, I'll bring you with me..." Gu Yunyao shook her head and then exhorted,

"Don't say anything in Baohe Palace. If you are questioned, watch your words."

...

In Baohe Palace.

When Gu Yunyao arrived, the atmosphere was still tense and serious.

"It will be fine if Concubine Xu conducts a safe delivery. However, if any one of them is not good, I will make you pay."

Gu Yunyao heard the Emperor's angry roar just as she reached the door of the main palace.

Spring Banquet could not carry on due to the assassination. The tables were removed, and civil and military officials stood on two sides of the palace hall, with their heads lowered and their breath held, waiting for the news about Concubine Xu's delivery.

Gu Yunyao tried hard to hold back her fear. She supported her limp body and walked to the high platform where the Emperor was, maintaining the demure manner of a rank-second Zhaoyi. Although, her heart beat madly as she stepped on the embroidered carpet, stained with irregularly shaped red or black scabbled blood.

The seven bodies of the assassins had been carried out for examination before she came in.

"Where did you go? How come you return so late?"

Emperor Jingxiao enquired Gu Yunyao with anger.

He was in a bad mood because of the assassination. When he saw Zhaoyi Yu coming back, he realized that he hadn't seen her for a while and was both worried and upset about her.

"I cannot hold the drink, so I went out to get some air and returned to change my dress. When I heard the event in Baohe Palace, I hurriedly come back. I'm really sorry for not accompanying you, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

Gu Yunyao made a sincere salute in front of the dragon table. Her voice was elegant as an orchid, making her tone gentle and soft.

Emperor Jingxiao's inexplicable anger was put out by her tender tone. He pulled her close to him and spoke with tender affection,

"I was worried about you. You should tell me where you go next time you leave."

"I'm to blame..."

Lord Hu, the Eunuch Superintendent, knew the situation well. He asked servants to add a chair beside the dragon table, and Emperor Jingxiao let Gu Yunyao sit next to him.

Seeing the Emperor's glum face, Gu Yunyao consoled,

"Please don't worry, Your Majesty. Sister Xu is blessed by gods as your concubine, so gods will turn her ill luck into good and bless her safe labor."

Emperor Jingxiao's complexion eased at her consolation. He patted on her hand,

"Thanks to your lucky words."

Wan Yuyao, the Imperial Noble Concubine, stood aside, watching Emperor Jingxiao and Gu Yunyao huddling and whispering, and ground her teeth. Surges of indignant resentment curled riot in her heart.

In the side chamber, several nannies and maids shuttled in and out. Piercing cries burst out from the well-lighted chamber.

Gu Yunxi went into the Main Hall with Zhaoyi's servants and saw Leng Qingtang kneeling beside a pool of blood at a glance.

His sky-blue figure used to be straight and tall, but now, it curled up in a bearing posture.

Something was tearing her heart into falling pieces. Pain spread through the bones...

Gu Yunxi was in a blank that she forgot all about the Palace rules and her sister's advice.

Holding the food container, she ran over and threw herself on her knees beside Leng Qingtang, crying,

"Master..."

Leng Qingtang turned his head and was shocked to see Gu Yunxi here. He asked in a low voice, "Why are you here? You shouldn't come!"

Ming Lan in the east had noticed Gu Yunxi sneaking in. He lifted his lips to reveal a sneer of schadenfreude.

Hey, she also came! Good, she could make tonight more interesting...

Standing in a high place, Wan Yuyao also found a young guard who appeared near Leng Qingtang. She frowned and spoke,

"Zhaoyi Yu, who did you bring in? It's a mess here, and we haven't ascertained the plotter of this time's assassination. How can you bring in an unidentified person?"

Gu Yunyao knew that the Imperial Noble Concubine was making trouble for her, so she stood up, slightly bowed to Wan Yuyao, and said calmly,

"Your Grace, I met this young guard halfway. He was in haste to send something to Baohe Palace, but he didn't remember the way, so I brought him here."

"Send something to Baohe Palace? What is it? Ming Lan, ask him!"

Noble Concubine Wan blustered and gave Ming Lan a malicious, certain eye. It seemed that she somehow managed to find an excuse to punish others.

"As your command, Your Grace."

Ming Lan grinned. Noble Concubine Wan's order touched his spot. He leisurely paced over and stopped in front of Gu Yunxi, asking acidly,

"Her Grace is asking you. You must tell the truth. What are you a young guard doing in the Palace?"

"I brought sober-up soup for Master Leng."

Gu Yunxi answered with her head bowed. She really didn't want to see Ming Lan's heavy make-up and pointed chin.

"Sober-up soup?"

Ming Lan rose his brows in suspicion. He looked at Gu Yunxi, then lifted the food container, and opened it.

Inside the container, it was liquid residue except for a few pieces of whiteware.

Ming Lan suddenly put on a fierce look. He snapped the cover on and questioned,

"How dare you! You said you send sober-up soup to Master Leng, so where is the sober-up soup? Where is it? You are lying! Lord Leng sent you into the Palace as a contact inside to harm His Majesty, didn't he?"

Gu Yunxi was resentful at his inquiry, but she had to hold back her hatred. She answered with a stony face,

"It's my first time coming into the Palace. It was so dark that I stumbled and dropped the container. The porcelain was broken, and the sober-up soup spilled."

It was a reasonable excuse! Ming Lan could not find a reason to refute.

Sitting beside Emperor Jingxiao, Gu Yunyao was nervous to watch Commander-in-chief of the Western Depot obstructing her sister, so she interposed immediately,

"When I met him on the way to Xiaoye Chamber, he was crying. Then I came to ask him about what happened and knew that he lost his way. I comforted him."

"I thought that I have sober-up soup in my chamber's kitchen, and I can give him some to help him fulfill his task without being blamed by Master Leng. When I was going to take him to Xiaoye Chamber, I received the news and came here with him."

"Yuyao, it's so kind of you."

Gu Yunyao's reasonable explanation reminded Emperor Jingxiao of her taking the lead of the donation to Jiangan, so he praised her.

Ming Lan's face stiffed. He could no longer query about Gu Yunxi.

At this point, the crying from the side chamber died down, which flurried people in the Main Hall.

Gu Yunxi knelt on the ground. For a long while, she remained in a trance, being unaware of the passing time and where she was.

Finally, a cheerful baby cry crackled through the night sky.

Civil and military officials put their hearts back in their bellies.

Empress Qian ran into the Main Hall. Her make-up was blurred by sweat. She could hardly wait to reach the high platform and spoke loud at the door,

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Sister Xu gave birth to a little prince! They're both doing well."

Emperor Jingxiao stunned. He sat still on the dragon throne, staring at Empress Qian, surprised and doubtful.

Gu Yunyao immediately rose to her feet and knelt at him, smiling bright,

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The officials also knelt at the same time and said,

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Her Grace."

In the atmosphere of jubilance, Wan Yuyao was the only one who put on a malicious and sharp look. She exchanged glances with Ming Lan and Wan Li. They all remained silent.