The dawn had broken. It was morning again.

After breakfast, Gu Yunxi and Qinger left Master's Mansion and hung around on the street.

Getting up early, Gu Yunxi tried to make Jiaozhu Pear Curd again. She added a little salt and alkali powder to the well water, trying to imitate the saltiness of Liyu. Unfortunately, in the end, the curd steamed out of the oven was like a pulp, unable to be solidified.

Thus, her try turned out to be a failure again.

Distracted, Gu Yunxi asked Qinger to change to men's clothes and accompany her to take a stroll on the street.

Walking across one street after another, every time she passed a restaurant or a teahouse, Gu Yunxi would ask the shopkeeper whether Liyu was sold here.

Anyone who heard this shook his head. Some even regarded Gu Yunxi and her maid as abnormal, casting strange eyes on them.

Liyu (pear blossom rain), its literal meaning referred to the spring rain during the pear blossom season. Yet on second thoughts, it was an extremely precious rarity.

Now it was almost the end of March. The pear trees didn't bloom as it was not yet the Tomb-Sweeping Day (April 5th). Even if a few days later, when the flowers bloomed around the Tomb-Sweeping Day, who could guarantee that it would rain in such a short period?

Thereby, to attain Liyu required both the fine weather and the luck.

Unwittingly, they had passed a dozen blocks. A whole morning had passed. The two of them were exhausted, so they went to an open-air tea shed on the roadside to rest.

Gu Yunxi showed an unhappy look. Her dull-looking eyes stared in silence at the big cup of tea on the table. Her mind was in a mess, still haunted by the Jiaozhu Pear Curd after she thought it over and over again.

The mixed well water couldn't make formed curd. But when she changed to ordinary well water, the curd was not the taste she wanted.

What should she do?

Seeing this, Qinger couldn't refrain from saying,

"My Lady, you are too honest. If you are told to do it yourself, you just do it yourself. Why don't you ask Chiliarch Cheng to look for someone in the Palace, ask the Madams in Concubinary Kitchen to make something unique, and send it to the courtesan? She didn't follow you every day. How would she know that it was not made by you?"

Raising her eyes drearily and seeing Qinger, who appeared so naive and simple, on the other side of the table, Gu Yunxi felt her really lovely.

Gu Yunxi repressed her negative emotions and smiled gently, explaining to her in patience,

"I thought of it a long time ago. The Madams in the Palace could make it, but now the Eastern Depot is in danger. Countless pairs of eyes are watching us, so we can not disturb the Palace. After today, if I still can't make a satisfying Jiaozhu Pear Curd, I will have to bother Zhaoyi Yu again. I will let her ask Concubinary Kitchen to make a fine dish and take out of the Palace in her own name. Then I will give it to Fu Danqing to check."

Qinger blinked her eyes. Her eyes changed a little as if she was thinking of something, and her round, chubby, white face showed some worries.

"Lady, how can you be sure that we will find the one looking the same as the portrait? What if all their faces have been ruined by bad guys? Won't it be a waste of time?"

Qinger wasn't overthinking. In fact, the same concern existed in Gu Yunxi's heart.

But currently, there weren't any guards who were still free to move except those in the Eastern Depot. There was a lack of labor. Though Gu Yunxi's idea was not clever, for those people, it was the best plan.

Gu Yunxi smiled bitterly, took the bowl to have some hot tea, and said,

"The damsels in the Garden are not only outstanding in dancing skills, but also remarkable in look. Compared to talents, faces are their true value. If anyone's face is ruined, even if she is extremely talented, she will be no longer valuable. Instead of trying to ruin their faces and selling them at a discount, it's better to kill them. All of them have a track record and are always in trouble. No one wants to get into trouble because of them."

Qinger understood and nodded her head. Squinting at Gu Yunxi's beautiful oval face, she laughed in a low voice,

"Indeed, when they see how pretty our Lady is, they will know how beautiful the damsels look in the Garden!"

Shocked by the maid's compliment in disguise, Gu Yunxi blushed, feeling a little shy,

"Qinger, you are getting less upright!"

Qinger couldn't help giggling.

Gu Yunxi looked afar, her eyes turning hollow. She exclaimed with some kind of sorrow,

"As long as we are persistent and careful enough, I believe we can save at least one of the three people! As long as the witness is here, it can be proved that the accident on the Spring Banquet had nothing to do with our Master. In this way, the Eastern Depot will be freed from the Honor Guards' besieging soon."

Hearing this, Qinger's expression suddenly changed. She dropped her eyes a little, showing some sorrow,

"How I hope to find the three of them as soon as possible... Over thirty days have passed. There is no news about the captains. Xiaoshen... we haven't seen him for a long time..."

Compared with her usual voice, Qinger's tone today was not very high. In the second half of the sentence, her voice turned lower.

There was only a small table between Gu Yunxi and her. So it was quite clear for Gu Yunxi to hear her words.

At once, Gu Yunxi opened her eyes wide. The delicate features suddenly gave an expression of extreme incredulity. She shouted in surprise,

"Really? Qinger, you... Do you have a crush on Brother Xiaoshen?! When did it happen?"

"Oh, Lady, please keep your voice down!"

Feeling shy, Qinger blushed and replied to her, embarrassed.

"..."

Gu Yunxi calmed down and looked around, only to see that the other people in the tea shed were all in amazement, looking straight at Qinger and her with different expressions on their faces. They all looked puzzled, shocked, and surprised.

Gu Yunxi suddenly realized that she and Qinger were both dressed in men's clothes. Her shouts just now could make others suspect easily.

In a panic, Gu Yunxi drank up the cup of water, took out some money, put it on the table, and ran away with Qinger.

Not until they got rid of those strange eyes did they pacify themselves.

Gu Yunxi turned to Qinger, thinking,

These two pairs were good! She and the Master, her maid and the Master's close guard.

Then she smiled bitterly,

"It’s good for you. Anyway, you can't stay with me forever. After two years, when you are grown up, I will tell the Master and Uncle Cheng, and they will let you marry Xiaoshen."

Qinger was silent, blushing. She lowered her head shyly without saying anything more.

There were more and more passers-by on the street, bustling and rustling.

Gu Yunxi then realized that the street they were on now was lined with shops. There were obviously more booths on it than those they crossed before. No wonder it attracted a lot of tourists.

"So strange. What day is it today?"

"Lady, today is the middle of the month. Ahead is the royal temple, Pengxian Temple. Every year in the middle of the one month before and after the Tomb-Sweeping Day, the temple will open and accept pilgrims. In recent years, Yu Xuanji, the High Priest of the imperial court, will visit the temple and speak dharma."

When she was in the Garden, Gu Yunxi almost lived a reclusive and secluded life. She knew little about what Qinger said to her now. After hearing her words, she was not much interested.

After a short walk, they followed the crowd like a flock of fish in the river and reached the Pengxian Temple.

This place was worthy of the royal Taoist temple.

Not yet close to the main door and from a few miles away, people could already see the towering red walls and the yellow, bright glass tiles. If one looked at it carefully, each piece of the glazed tile's edge was carved with a flying dragon, which was majestic and lifelike. The carving skills were so superb that every piece of the fine scales was in clear texture on the winding dragon body. Every part of it was displaying that here was different from other Taoist temples. It was tinted with the splendor and grandeur of the royal nobility.

Raising his eyes, one could see the exquisite buildings, standing solemnly and orderly beyond the glittering glazed tile wall. The verdant rows of ancient trees in the sky resembled verdant clouds linked together among the buildings and palaces. They appeared inviting decorations.

Near the red walls, occasionally a few branches of ancient trees were pressed bending by the dense young leaves, hanging on the glazed tiles. When the breeze blew, the patchy color, the red walls, and the adjacent clean road would cast a living shadow, which, with the rhythm of the leaves, constantly undulated.

As if enamored by the whirling scene, Qinger suddenly whimmed after a few steps. She pulled Gu Yunxi's arm and beamed with joy,

"Lady, let's pay a visit to the temple! "

Seeing Qinger was on top of the world, Gu Yunxi didn't want to disappoint her. Yet at the exact moment, the Jiaozhu Pear Curd was occupying her mind, and the flashing scenes made her headache.

Eyes darker, Gu Yunxi shook her head,

"No, let's move forward. We still have important things to deal with!"

"Dear Lady, please! I haven't hung around on the street for a long time. Today is the fifteenth day of the month, and the fair is busy. Let's relax for a moment!"

Gu Yunxi felt sympathetic for her pleading, so she agreed after thinking for a while,

"Okay. We will just stroll for thirty minutes. Then we will go to the street ahead and see if there are any shops or teahouses."

"Sure! Thank you, my Lady!"

Qinger's eyes were lit up with joy. They kept flickering to Gu Yunxi like bright starlight.

Gu Yunxi changed her facial expression and began to complain,

"I have told you many times. When we are out, can't you call me Lord?"

Without finishing her sentence, she was turned to the right side by Qinger, who grabbed her arms. They went forward to Pengxian Temple’s gate.

It was crowded and dense. As long as they could see, there were backs of countless heads slowly shaking. Gu Yunxi couldn't see the whole royal Taoist temple at all, only feeling that she was surrounded by a solemn atmosphere in the pines and cypresses, with the golden color of grandeur everywhere.

As Gu Yunxi ambled, she felt the unusual atmosphere here, thinking secretly,

Such a kind of atmosphere which could make people come to observe and respect with great esteem was not only the Taoist atmosphere condensed by the pious mind of the numerous worshippers and the enlightened mind of the practitioners, but also the majestic and magnificent atmosphere indicated by the word "royal".

Patiently, the two of them followed the slowly moving crowd step by step and finally entered the main hall.

On the altar of the shrine, there were the sculptures of Sanqing Patriarch. They all looked amiable and placid, filling the hearts of those devout men and women with a sense of reverence.

Under the shrine was a long Nanmu incense table, on which there was a purple gold incense burner with double handles, a lotus candelabrum, and a bronze flower drinking vessel.

Over the sculptures of Sanqing Patriarch and the four sides of the main hall hung some pairs of lotus streamers and a flying dragon jewelry cover.

At first, Gu Yunxi and Qinger prayed at Sanqing Patriarch on the embroidered futon in front of the incense table. Then they donated some money to the priests. Finally, Gu Yunxi, prodded by Qinger, went to the divination east of the main hall and drew a divination stick.

The aged priest with a white beard who sat on the seat took the divination stick and glanced over it, frowning for a moment. Then he turned to Gu Yunxi, who looked handsome in her suit, and inquired benignly,

"Young lord, what do you want to ask?"

Gu Yunxi felt somehow nervous and smiled in embarrassment. She looked at Qinger and then looked straight at the priest and replied,

"Marriage."

Just when the priest was about to speak, he suddenly turned sight, his eyes soaked thoroughly by the color of fiery red.

A clear sound, with a irresistible momentum, rose from Gu Yunxi's back,

"As you are inquiring about marriage, why not let me explain the words on the stick for you?"

As Gu Yunxi turned back, the old priest stood up and saluted to the comer.

He was dressed in a red garment with patterns of the Eight Trigrams. His black hair was highly bundled, with a hibiscus crown on his head. The slender figure displayed an extraordinary fairy posture.

He had an angular face, with a white, flawless complexion, from which emerged some coldness. His eyes were dark and bottomless. Long eyebrows appeared quietly elegant, with a sense of aloof from the worldly success. His nose was high and straight, and his lips were extremely beautiful. When he pursed his lips, a feeling of indifference and alienation was shown unintentionally.

If the poem line "the childe on the path is as beautiful as jade" could be used to express Leng Qingtang's handsomeness, then only one line could perfectly interpret this man’s beauty of detachment and alienation from the world:

"The coldness of his snow-white skin shines on people."

Gazing at the man with delicate features motionlessly, Gu Yunxi didn't know whether it was because her face was burned by his fiery robe that her cheeks unexpectedly flushed.

As he saw Gu Yunxi's reaction, his lips moved slightly, like a simple smile. He then took two steps forward and came closer to her.

Qinger frowned. She had realized that her Lady behaved unusually after the man appeared. She stretched out her hand to pull Gu Yunxi back a few steps and looked at the man unhappily, querying him in displeasure,

"Hey! Who are you? Don't come too close to my Lord! "

There was a boy servant with the man. Hearing Qinger's offensive words, he smiled bitterly, raised his head arrogantly, and deliberately elongated his voice,

"This is the owner of Pengxian Temple, Yu Xuanji, the High Priest of our country!"

Qinger was shocked and said nothing.

The indifferent face of the man in red turned gloomier. He lowered his eyes and squinted at the boy, reproaching,

"Bigmouth!"

Gu Yunxi came back to earth and looked at the man in front of her again, her face stunned.

His age seemed to be even younger than her Master Leng Qingtang. He was... High Priest!

Emperor Jingxiao advocated Taoism and Confucianism. Since he was High Priest, he must be someone close to the Emperor.

Yu Xuanji's deep eyes stared at Gu Yunxi, who was rather embarrassed. As he spoke, his euphonious voice was like a ringing bell,

"Lord, do you recognize me?"

Gu Yunxi felt awkward and didn't know how to answer. She only felt the man was familiar, but she couldn’t recall whether she had ever met him and where she met him.

Yu Xuanji's eyes curved as if smiling. He casually prompted her,

"In early March in Baohe Palace, I happened to meet you once."

"!"

Gu Yunxi was surprised. She then realized that when the accident on the Spring Banquet happened, she was slapped by Ming Lan in Baohe Palace. Afterward, one person spoke in time and respectfully requested the Emperor to move to Elixir Chamber so that she could be freed from the second punishment.

As if just waking up from a dream, Gu Yunxi blamed herself for being too blunt. She saluted to Yu Xuanji in a hurry,

"Sorry, sorry for I didn’t recognize you. I have no intention to offend Your Eminence. Please forgive me."

Yu Xuanji waved his hands and smiled faintly,

"Lord, that's all right. On that day, I really respect your fearlessness and faithfulness of protecting your Master regardless of your own life. Although I don't interfere with the political affairs, I make personal friends with Master Leng of the Eastern Depot. Now it's the Tomb-Sweeping Day. Elixir Chamber and the Pengxian Temple are both busy, so it is inconvenient for me to visit the Master in his Mansion. How is Master Leng's injury now?"

"Your Eminence, don't worry. The Master has turned better. In about ten days, he will be able to get down and walk."

Gu Yunxi answered gracefully.

"That couldn't be better..."

Yu Xuanji nodded with pleasure and switched the topic,

"Today, it's my honor to meet you here and see you asking for the divination in this temple. Would you mind letting me have a look at your divination stick?"

"Okay..."

Gu Yunxi looked slightly shy. She hesitated for a while and presented the stick to Yu Xuanji in both hands.

On that day, he helped her secretly in Baohe Palace. As he looked cold but not evil, he shouldn't be a treacherous man.

Yu Xuanji lowered his eyes and looked at the title on the stick:

"Nvwa Refined the Stones"

Gently raising his eyebrows, he turned over the stick and silently read the words on the other side,

"I lost my needle on my old ship. I'm still looking for it at sea. If I want to find the original needle, it will take time and effort."

Gu Yunxi stared at Yu Xuanji's white face, concentrated. Seeing him remaining silent for a long time and his pink, delicate, thin lips showing a smile of alienation, she could not help but feel uncertain. She asked timidly,

"Your Eminence, what's the meaning of the stick?"

Yu Xuanji eventually raised his head, eyes landing on Gu Yunxi, who looked unsettled. He asked her in return slyly,

"Lord, are you inquiring about marriage?"

"Exactly!"

"This is the stick of great misfortune. It is a sign of great danger!"

Actually it was just a stick of ordinariness. It meant that people who had predestined relationship would stay together after great efforts.

"How... how can it be..."

Gu Yunxi didn't know she was deceived by him. Her face turned pale at once. The expression of eagerness and grievance showed a kind of inexplicable charming gesture in others' eyes.

Qinger raised her eyes, looking at Yu Xuanji sharply, shouting,

"Don't listen to the priest. He is talking nonsense!"

Yu Xuanji smiled bitterly with a look of slight irony,

"A man who cultivates himself according to a religious doctrine speaks well. This stick says 'looking for a needle in a sea is a sign of laborious ordeal', and the title is exactly 'Nvwa Refined the Stones'."

Nvwa was a goddess. She used up her primordial spirit to refine the stones for mending the broken sky and destroyed herself. If you are inquiring about fame and wealth, it will be good. But you are asking about the marriage, so the indication is that the two lovers will break up, which is a relatively good condition, and the worse condition will be..."

"What?!" Gu Yunxi was so nervous that her pupil dilated suddenly, and she asked again urgently.

Yu Xuanji took a few steps forward and bowed a little. His young, beautiful but insensitive face was only two fingers apart from Gu Yunxi's sorrowful, frightened, and shocked face.

His eyes were wide open, and that pair of bright eyes seemed to reach into her heart and soul in an instant.

His clear voice seemed solemn and cold. Yu Xuanji clarified to her word by word,

"Between the two, one will die an unnatural death!"

Gu Yunxi was so shocked that her fingers were trembling. She took several steps backward, and her sweat kept dripping like a shower of rain. It was very difficult for her to accept the result.

"No... how can it be..."

She raised her hand anxiously and used her hand's back to wipe the sweat on her forehead. The red silk rope on her wrist moved slightly, and the two delicate gold beans collided with each other, firmly affecting Yu Xuanji’s sight.

The cold light flitted through his eyes, and with a smile, he began to ask,

"Lord, which lady have you taken fancy to that makes you so anxious?"

Qinger rolled her eyes at him, pulling her Lady,

"Let's go. We won't stay here. Let's continue to look for Liyu!"

Behind her, Yu Xuanji's eyes reflected a gleam of light. He suddenly asked in a high voice,

"Are you looking for the rain during the pear blossoms season? I have it in my temple."