After sending off Cheng Wanli, Gu Yunxi went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the Master.

A figure flashed outside, preceding a graceful woman wearing perfume and a flowing gown.

Slender as a willow, Gu Yunxi was standing before the large wooden chopping board and cutting vegetables. Her fair and long fingers grasped a giant kitchen knife as if it was not a clumsy and heavy chunk of iron.

In the blink of an eye, a handful of sour beans were sliced up and neatly lay into a green row on the chopping board.

As soon as she looked up, Yunxi found Yanwan standing next to her. Tilting her head, the woman was watching her cutting vegetables with interest.

Gu Yunxi was taken by surprise, so she stopped immediately.

"Lady Yanwan, why are you here?"

"The imperial doctor in the Palace came over to change the dressing of the Master's wound. It's inappropriate for me to stay. The servant told me you are in the kitchen, so I came to lend a hand."

Yanwan folded her hands and smiled gently at Gu Yunxi. Her voice was pleasant to the ears.

"Well, it's smoky here. You should go elsewhere. When dinner is ready, I will have it delivered."

After she said that, Gu Yunxi lowered her eyes and continued to cut vegetables.

Perhaps because of the woman's saccharine voice, Gu Yunxi would always feel a little uncomfortable whenever she heard it. She was envious of her and disappointed in herself at the same time.

Not speaking anymore, she sullenly blanched the shredded beans in hot water and then fried them skillfully in the pan.

Yanwan raised her head and sniffed. She watched the smoke rolling up into the air but did not flinch a little. Instead, she stepped closer to Gu Yunxi and sang praises in her sweet voice.

"You are indeed a light-handed man, Lord Yun. Cooking calls for skill and patience. I'm ashamed of my inferiority to you."

Yunxi did not intend to join the conversation, but then she remembered that Yanwan came from the Palace and should not be ignored. Hence Gu Yunxi began to chat with her without stopping her work at hand.

"Lady Yanwan, what were you responsible for in the Kunning Palace before?"

Gu Yunxi wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about the girl living with them.

"My daily tasks were not complicated. I only needed to tend the flowers, birds, and fish in the Kunning Palace. In winter, I had even fewer tasks and spent the most time looking after plum trees and bluegrass."

"I didn't have to mind too much about the plants that were not in the season. So, in winter, I was also responsible for tending the fireplace in Her Grace's palace."

"Uh-huh…"

Gu Yunxi casually replied as she served the fried dishes to the plate.

Yanwan took advantage of Gu Yunxi's business and glanced at her. Curling her delicate lips, she put on a seductive smile mixed with inexplicable maliciousness. Tall and slender, she looked around with her charming eyes.

Yanwan pinched the piping of her wide sleeves and slowly twirled them. She said leisurely as if she was talking to a family,

"At the beginning of last winter, I was trying to light a charcoal stove in the courtyard. And it so happened that I ran into Master Leng and poured all the charcoal on him. At that time, I was really scared. Now in retrospect, the Master and I are predestined!"

When did that happen?

Gu Yunxi was surprised for she never heard the Master mention it. However, it still stung when Yanwan said that they were predestinated.

"Then, you must have been punished afterward?"

Gu Yunxi blinked anxiously and questioned instinctively. Her trembling voice easily revealed her anxiety to Yanwan by her side.

So she smiled quietly and continued to lure her.

"Of course I was. The chief maid was ready to fine my whole year's salary. Thanks to Master Leng's mediation, the punishment was waived!"

Huh, the Master was truly tender toward women...

Suddenly, a grim incongruity rose in Gu Yunxi's heart.

Yanwan went on uninterrupted by her ears.

"I could not be more grateful. The Master stained his handkerchief when wiping the charcoal stains. So I embroidered a new one and wanted to give him the next time he came..."

Embroidered a handkerchief? What kind of handkerchief? Yunxi had never heard the Master talk about it.

She knew that the rules in the Palace were copious. Maids and servants were prohibited from passing gifts or they would face harsh sentences.

But the Master was superior to a common servant eunuch. Even if he was gifted by an admirer, it should be fine.

As if weightless, Yunxi's heart lost its direction. Then it felt like buried under heavyweights, blocking her breath. Her feelings were indescribable in words.

"Alas! I've always been clumsy and not good at needlework at all. I was afraid that my work would be too vulgar for the Master's taste. So I asked a madam working for the Sewing Office in the Imperial Ceremonial Service to sketch the patterns for me first. I thought the apology gift must be fancy to express my gratitude to the Master..."

Next to her, Gu Yunxi had turned as stiff as a statue.

Yanwan was close at hand, but her voice, eddying and shifting, seemed far away.

Gu Yunxi was not a naive child.

She understood what it meant for a woman to give a man an embroidered handkerchief!

The Master was a dignified man. Every time he showed in the Garden, he would be tailed by a bunch of young damsels. The girls would admire him from a distance with undivided attention.

Gu Yunxi believed that a handsome man like him, a eunuch as he was, would be the focus of eyes wherever he went!

"Oh, no."

Gu Yunxi was trapped in wild thoughts when a sudden shout came.

Gu Yunxi's recoiled in shock and recomposed in a flash.

Yanwan looked panicked as she pointed her jade-like finger to the wok and yelled,

"Lord Yun, the dish was burnt!"

Only then did Gu Yunxi remember the dish and look down subconsciously. The chicken was completely burnt into a dry and black mess sticking on the hot pot.

Extremely embarrassed, Gu Yunxi's cheeks flushed.

"I'm sorry... I was preoccupied with your story..."

Yanwan's lips twitched slightly with a faint smile. Her delicate face was inexplicable, showing a complicated emotion that was hard to capture.

Turning her head subtly, she fixed her bright eyes on Gu Yunxi's nervous face and gently asked,

"Lord Yun, what were you thinking of just now?"

"No... nothing..."

Gu Yunxi was uncomfortable under Yanwan's bizarre gaze. She shoveled the waste in the pot swiftly and carried it to the water tank with both hands, avoiding her scrutiny eyes.

Distressed, she tried to scoop water into the pot but spilled half of it on the floor.

This upset Gu Yunxi greatly. She crouched to clean up and didn't notice Yanwan, who was standing elegantly before her. On that exquisite face, a vicious sneer flickered.

After brushing the wok, Gu Yunxi raised her head and told Yanwan,

"Lady Yanwan, please bring the melon and oxtail porridge to the Master's room first. The beef marrow will solidify as it gets cold, and the taste will be ruined."

"Will do!"

Yanwan answered gladly. She put a lid on the white porcelain soup cup, placed it in the food box, and left with it happily.

With Yanwan gone, Gu Yunxi soon became absent-minded after making two more dishes. She pulled over a chair and sat down with a sorrowful face.

Should she believe Yanwan's words?

She should because Yanwan was an acquaintance who she knew little about.

She should not because no virtuous girl would joke about such sensitive matters.

Did the Master really accept Yanwan's embroidered handkerchief?

Gu Yunxi was in no mood to cook dinner. She sat around with her thoughts all in a muddle.

After a while, a young servant trotted into the kitchen and saluted Gu Yunxi.

"Lord Yun, the Master invited you for dinner."

Gu Yunxi got up, pointed at the three freshly cooked dishes on the table, and ordered the servant casually,

"Take these to the Master. Tell him I'm tired and have retreated to my room."

Turning around, she hurried out of the kitchen.

Outside the Cold Palace, at midnight.

In the corner of the ruined building, a man facing the wall where the red paint had peeled off whispered for a long while.

Before long, the silence was broken by a hoarse and haggard voice from behind the wall. It sounded like an old woman.

"That was a trick to kill two birds with one stone. The attack was disguised as an assassination, but the true purpose was to abort Concubine Xu's child. Then the Eastern Depot Master was framed by the assassins' words. Whoever behind this scheme was quite ruthless. However, should Leng Qingtang lose power, it will be very detrimental to your future plans!"

"Please rest assured. I have sent that one to help the Eastern Depot secretly."

The female on the other side of the wall paused for a second and then suggested casually,

"The foreigners are ambitions and untrustworthy. Be careful."

...

Xiaoye Chamber, the Palace, at noon.

Gu Yunyao paced up and down in the palace, looking anxious.

For days, her sister Gu Yunxi had kept sending informants to get in touch with her, urging her to acquire the damsel roster of the Apsara Dance on the Spring Banquet as soon as possible.

Chief Eunuch Zhao An stood by the side with his arms down. He was well aware of what his master was worried about.

He bowed and then soothed her softly.

"Your Ladyship, don't be too anxious. I have an idea of how to get what the young Lady wants."

Gu Yunyao immediately stopped at his words. Her smooth cheeks were clouded by bitterness. And when she spoke, there was an insurmountable resentment.

"I don't understand! How did that Leng Qingtang charm Yunxi? His trouble worries her this much. If it's for Yunxi, I will spare no effort. But she only wants to help him! You know what Lord Leng had done to you and me!"

Zhao An frowned. With an imperceptible sigh, he spoke with a flat tone.

"Fate has its way. We've come together to this day. Why bother wallowing in the past?"

"Now that you and he are in the same boat, you can only succeed if you paddle it together. If he's drowned, it's not easy for you to cross the river alone! Your Ladyship, to help him now is to help ourselves."

Gu Yunyao looked directly at Zhao An with glittering eyes that were filled with affection beyond expression.

"I have to reconsider. I've failed you before..."

Zhao An smiled calmly. Looking downwards, his voice became gentler.

"Now is the best time. We don't have to hide anymore. I can accompany you all time without causing any suspicion..."

"In the next life, I will compensate you well..."

Gu Yunyao's heart ached worse. Out of grief, she couldn't refrain from promising.

Zhao An didn't wish to tell the truth to Gu Yunyao that he never believed in reincarnation.

Only by living well in this life without regrets could one be worthy of himself and the people he protected.

Returning to business, Zhao An refrained himself and folded his hands in his sleeves. Bowing slightly to Gu Yunyao, he said,

"Your Ladyship, I thought of a clever plan. But it requires you to contribute a golden feather brocade that His Majesty awarded you."

Gu Yunyao was overjoyed and broke into an agreement.

"I'm more than willing! For the sake of Yunxi, I can sacrifice everything. Song Qin, go fetch the brocade given by His Majesty."