Leng Qingtang cast his gaze on Gu Yunxi, whose face took on an astonished expression. There was more seriousness in his voice.

"Where exactly did you go that day?"

"I was bored so I went to the market with Qinger..."

Gu Yunxi whispered. A trace of panic flashed through her eyes and was caught by Leng Qingtang's eyes sharp as a falcon.

They opened wide yet remained dark and calm, shining coldly.

Gu Yunxi lowered her eyes unnaturally at the redness in the Master's palm.

"Where did you find it?"

"A servant picked up this morning in the yard. You were too careless..."

Without raising her head, she could hear the hint of coldness in the Master's unruffled and bland voice. He stretched his arm, motioning her to come closer.

Gu Yunxi was nervous, aware of her lie. Her eyelashes quivered as she approached him like an obedient puppet. Then he held up her right hand and stroked it gently.

When he was about to re-wrap the red string for her, she withdrew her right arm suddenly.

Leng Qingtang was surprised. His face sank as his eyes were fraught with a chilling fog.

"No?"

Looking at the panicking girl with her right arm high in the air, he asked indifferently.

"I was busy managing the mansion recently, and it is inconvenient to wear it. I'll have to take it off for work and may lose it again..."

After a moment of silence, Gu Yunxi murmured with her eyes low and her countenance intricate.

Leng Qingtang nodded slowly and chuckled softly.

"You are exhausted lately. In that case, I will leave my daily care to Yanwan and the three meals to the chef. You shall rest well and inform me of your destination should you wish to go out."

Gu Yunxi looked up at the Master's emotionless face, shocked. After a moment, she pursed her lips tightly and nodded heavily.

"As you command!"

Leng Qingtang extended his arm towards her, handing her the red string. His cold eyes fell on her along with a hint of threat.

Without a word, Gu Yunxi clasped it and turned to leave.

"Girl, do you remember the words I told you to lock in your heart?"

Suddenly, he asked behind her in a hoarse voice.

Gu Yunxi halted in front of the door as her feelings rippled in her gloomy heart. Finally, she broke her muteness unconcernedly.

"You told me too much... I can't remember what you are referring to!"

She could not see the Master's face but could feel his bitter glare shot from behind instantly.

The room sank into silence.

In the end, she opened the door resolutely and left without a trace of hesitation.

In the room, Leng Qingtang slowly closed his eyes, touching his chest with his freezing palm. He seemed traumatized physically and mentally with a wilted and painful expression.

Gu Yunxi ran into Imperial Doctor Jiang in the corridor, who was rushing back to the Imperial Hospital.

Gu Yunxi asked him about the Master's wound.

Doctor Jiang only shook his head.

"Judging from the symptoms, it's luckily mere suppuration. Just now, I have had the Master's utensils checked closely and found nothing abnormal. There is no conclusion as to what had gone wrong."

"This is strange..."

Gu Yunxi lowered her head in confusion and uneasiness.

"The Master has just instructed the chef to take care of his meals. He must believe that I was not serving him well."

Doctor Jiang only shook his head with a smile.

"You should understand that the Master deliberately alienates you and keeps your hands out of everything to protect you."

In shock, Gu Yunxi raised her head to meet Doctor Jiang’s shrewd eyes.

"Miss Yun, I sincerely offer you a piece of advice that you be cautious and keep your guard on."

Then he gave her two taps on the shoulder as encouragement and left with the medicine box on his back.

Gu Yunxi frowned and was slightly perplexed. Bowing her head, she cast her limpid gaze on the red string in her palm and lost in a reverie.

...

Past midday, Gu Yunxi was reading in her room. Qinger was tidying the room, muttering,

"My Lady, go to bed for a while. You've been studying right after lunch. Aren't you afraid to rot in this room? The weather is beautiful. Let me accompany you for a walk outside."

Gu Yunxi frowned without moving her eyes from the pages.

"No! I'll have to report to the Master if I want to go out. I don't want to be in his room!"

In recent days, people had been gossiping about the Master's increasing favor for Yanwan. Expensive jewelry, fine garments, delicious food, and precious valuables streamed to her place. She liked thrush birds, so the Master had more than a dozen sent to her at one time. The birds chirped all day long in the gold cages hung in the yard, never seeming to bore the couple. There were also tailless chipmunks imported from foreign lands, no bigger than a hand. These little creatures were kept in cages with running wheels and bells.

Some juicy gossip had it that the two were found under the porch before noon, where Yanwan helped the Master to walk, and before long, they hugged together. It was also rumored that they had consummated the marriage, and the Master was seen doing Yanwan's makeup for her by a servant in the morning.

Qinger had no ill intentions, but her big mouth repeated all the details to Gu Yunxi, regardless of her Lady's feeling.

Gu Yunxi suffered gravely at first but eventually, she was numb. The Master had become more and more bewildering to her. She thought he was not the kind of philanders after sensual pleasures. What was he thinking?

"Now that he has a spouse, can he disguise you as a man and lock you in the mansion for a lifetime? The youth of a girl runs fast like water and only lasts for a few years. Aren't you concerned about your future?"

"Don't worry yourself for me!"

Gu Yunxi was upset by her words and walked out. But Qinger chased down the porch.

"Where are you going?"

"Looking for food..."

"But you just had lunch..."

Gu Yunxi hurried to the kitchen. Passing the corner, she looked inside through the half-open window and spotted a graceful figure.

It was Yanwan!

Gu Yunxi instinctively dodged behind the window, squinted one eye, and peeped inside.

Strange things had been going on in the mansion for days. Thinking of the advice from Zhaoyi Yu and Imperial Doctor Jiang, Gu Yunxi suspected Yanwan even more.

Gu Yunyao once said that it was unbelievable that the woman had confided in Gu Yunxi and flattered her in private right after she settled in the mansion.

Qinger also found it suspicious for the woman to put the blame on Gu Yunxi for the Master's ulcerated wound.

And what Gu Yunxi found the most incredible was that the woman showed her The Exquisite Collection of Delicacies when she first came here!

She remembered it clearly that after she had read the book, she asked Yanwan to put it back. But when she went to find the book again for Fu Danqing's painting, it was on the bottom shelf of the bookrack.

From that, she could tell Yanwan was lying! The Exquisite Collection of Delicacies was never accidentally knocked to the ground in the first place.

What was her purpose?

Gu Yunxi was frightened by her own speculations. So, every time before the Master took meals or medicine, she would rush to the kitchen to spy in the dark.

It was inconvenient for her to tell Qinger the truth. The maid was kind, but she did not know when to zip up.

Now that Yanwan was caught in the kitchen, it really delighted Gu Yunxi that her hard work had finally paid off.

The kitchen was filled with herbs’ scent, showing it was almost time for the Master to take medicine.

From the position of Gu Yunxi, she could only see Yanwan's arched back. She was standing before the stove, and her hands were busy with something.

After a moment, Yanwan finally turned sideways, groping in the right wide sleeve with her left hand.

"Yanwan!"

Gu Yunxi couldn't resist showing up outside the door. As she shouted, she had already stormed before her.

Yanwan's slim body flinched in shock for Gu Yunxi's sudden appearance. Her comely face immediately turned pale as sweat beaded on her forehead.

Her countenance was precisely what Gu Yunxi expected.

"What are you doing?"

Gu Yunxi stared solemnly at Yanwan, and then she cast her cold gaze at the steaming pot on the stove.

The lid had been removed!

Flowing out from the decoction was a strange herbal fragrance.

Yanwan gradually recovered her composure, but her face still remained sickly pale. Smiling, she said,

"The decoction is ready; I've come for it."

"What did you put in it?"

"Lord Yun, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Yanwan's smile was bright, but her glare was shining coldly.

A young eunuch came in, saying that he was here to fetch the Master's decoction. Yanwan motioned him to get it from on the stove. Nonetheless, before he could go near it, Gu Yunxi raised her leg and kicked the pot over.

"It's poisonous."

The pot shards, pieces of herbs, and decoction were scattered and poured all over the ground.

The eunuch was terrified into motionlessness.

Gu Yunxi rushed to Yanwan and grabbed her wrist fiercely.

"Wait."

Gu Yunxi's pupils shrank at a heart-piercing screech before she hurriedly let go.

Yanwan sat slumped in sweats as traces of scarlet blood soaked through her right sleeve.

Gu Yunxi stared blankly at Yanwan. With her face twisted in extreme pain, she was helped by the eunuch to escape from the kitchen.

Looking at the mess, Gu Yunxi was shocked.

Before long, Kang Hai came to summon her to the Master's room immediately.

When she arrived, she saw Xiao Xiaoshen standing under the porch and passing her a meaningful glance.

In the room, Yanwan was sitting next to the Master's bed. Her once pale face was now flushed as the eunuch wrapped her injured right arm. Two more guards were standing by, waiting for instructions.

"Don't do such stupid things anymore! You cannot trust the prescription from a folk sorcerer. Look at your fair skin. My heart will ache should it be scared..."

When Gu Yunxi entered, she spotted the Master lying on his side with an affectionate smile. He was gently wiping the tears with a white handkerchief from Yanwan's cheeks.

Gu Yunxi blushed. She felt as if her eyes had been stung by bees, hurting greatly.

Concealing his smile, Leng Qingtang turned his face to Gu Yunxi and said coldly,

"I just ordered Xiaoshen to take you to the Eastern Depot. You will pack up and leave soon. Do not return without summons."

"..."

Gu Yunxi was startled in a trance. The Master's freezing words were like a sharp blade, stabbing her fragile heart.

After a while, she sneered as tears mounted in her reddish eyes.

"If you want to drive me away, you might as well send me off for good. We shall part our ways from now!"

Leng Qingtang hurled his blazing glare at her as appalling coldness radiated from his body.

"Sitting around all day with no aim but suspicions. You must repent yourself at the Eastern Depot!"

After many days of indifference and now the groundless accusations, Gu Yunxi finally could not bear it anymore. She pointed at Yanwan and shouted at the Master with tears,

"Why do I have to repent? I'm too suspicious? It's me who caught her poisoning your decoction. You should investigate what she hid in her right cuff!"

Leng Qingtang curled his lips in cruel disdain.

"Yanwan, tell it yourself."

Yanwan nodded with a somewhat restrained and shy expression.

"I've heard from the elder that human blood is the most effective for curing all diseases. The Master's wound has been inflamed for a while, and I figured it might take long for Doctor Jiang to make the diagnosis. So, I cut my wrist for blood and added it in the pot to help the Master recover sooner."

Then she slowly lifted her wide sleeve and revealed her bandaged right arm stained with blood. It was a ghastly sight indeed.

Gu Yunxi was dumbfounded at her explanation.

Yanwan put down her sleeves with smiling eyes.

"Don't be angry, Master. It's nothing serious. Lord Yun had been taking care of your meals for a long time, and it has become natural for him. His cautiousness rooted in his care for you. I'm willing to clarify the misunderstanding as long as no harm comes to you. Compared to which, my grievances matter not."

These words were meant to fan the flames.

Gu Yunxi burst in indignation immediately. She pressed towards Yanwan with icy eyes and questioned sharply,

"You're acting! What do you want with all your plots and schemes?"

"Lord Yun, what are you talking about? I don't understand!"

Yanwan looked horrified and wronged. Retorting coyly, she threw herself into the Master's embrace.

Seeing the Master spread his arms to protect her, Gu Yunxi went into a fell mood and became exasperated.

"You don't understand?! You were the maid from the Empress's Palace. You pretended to be illiterate that day and deliberately led me to read Pei Rushi's Exquisite Collection of Delicacies..."

A roar stopped her abruptly.

Gu Yunxi closed her mouth in shock and cast her eyes slowly towards the Master.

As she thought, emitting ruthless resentment, the Master looked solemn and cold with eyes locked on Gu Yunxi's perplexed face.

Suddenly, he flung his hand and overturned the tray in the little eunuch’s hand.

Many medicine-containing bottles and jars were shattered into pieces.

It really was her! She peeped at that book and learned how to make "Jiaozhu Pear Curd". It was also her who had willingly found Yu Xuanji.

"Don't ever enter my study! Get out! Get out now."

His shout was loud enough to shake the ground. And his usually limpid eyes were now blazing with rage, searing Gu Yunxi's heart like a burning iron.

Without rebuttals or resistance, she uttered nil and turned to run out.

The atmosphere in the room became more solemn subsequently.

Seeing that the crisis was over, Yanwan hurriedly got out of the Master's arms, put on a smiley face, and ordered the servants,

"Forget it! It's all fine. Now go back to your own work, people! The Master needs to rest. Leave him."

After they left, Leng Qingtang smiled quietly and curled his index finger to Yanwan.

She approached obediently and was pulled to the bed.

He held up her little hand and scrutinized it. The brilliance in his eyes was obscured by his long thick eyelashes.

"Yun Guaner has been with me since childhood. I spoiled him. He lost his manners and offended you just now. Don't take it to your heart."

Yanwan replied with a shy smile.

"I understand. Lord Yun is a promising young man. It is reasonable for him to have your favor. Now that I'm wedded to you, I only wish to love you wholeheartedly. Only if you can pity me and share to me part of that favor, I will be satisfied."

Leng Qingtang embraced Yanwan again.

"Today you have been gravely wronged. Tell me what reward do you want? I will grant it to you."

His voice was long and sultry, charmed with seemingly infinite affection. Yet before she could notice, subtlety flashed across his beautiful eyes.

Eyes comfortably squinted, Yanwan rest her head on the Master's chest and gently opened her rosy lips.

"Not long ago, I sent porridge to Lord Yun’s room and saw him playing with a unique wood hairpin. When I asked him, he said it was a rarity unavailable on the market. I could tell from his cherishing moves that it was a gift from you. With your permission, may I have one as well?"

"Wooden hairpin?"

Leng Qingtang was slightly surprised as doubts condensed in his black eyes.

"Why? The magnolia flower hairpin was not gifted by you?"

Pouting, Yanwan fixed her widened eyes on him in confusion.

Leng Qingtang's eyes flickered with a mere trace of a smile.

"It's just a wood hairpin. No big deal! I will give you one later."