Gu Yunxi looked down. A hint of trepidation passed through her eyes. Luckily, it was concealed by her thick eyelashes. So her shocking look was not discovered by the Master.

She stared at the wood hairpin on the table. The corner of her mouth twitched, but she couldn't say anything.

Lu Qiange gave her this hairpin because he saw the screen with magnolia flower patterns in her bedroom!

She knew Lu Qiange had feelings for her, but she couldn't resist accepting the hairpin. She just considered it as a token for their sincere friendship and put it in the jewelry box.

Now the Master finally found out its existence.

Even a dumb person could clearly see this would be a gift from a man!

"What? You can't talk now? Do you have nothing to say to me or simply just don't want to explain?"

Across the table, the Master stood up coldly. His slanted eyes were bleak and gloomy. He glared at Gu Yunxi who kept silent.

"Who is he?"

Taking a deep breath, Leng Qingtang asked quietly. His sharp eyes focused on her panicking look. He didn't move at all.

"Speak! Who is he?!"

He waited for a while and questioned her again. His look was even sharper, and his tone was more serious.

Across the table, they stood against each other. Comparing to the condescending Master who was wearing a green python robe, Gu Yunxi, who was in purple guard clothes, seemed particularly small.

She bit her bottom lip tightly, blushed like a kid who just made a mistake, and said quietly with a panicking tone,

"You went through my stuff in private..."

"Let me ask you, who is he?"

Leng Qingtang suddenly leaned forward. He was feeble as if he had lost all his strength. He hurriedly supported on the table to steady his frail body.

He felt his heart hurt. He breathed heavily and frowned tightly. Underneath the tall dragon-patterned hat, there was sweat emerging on his forehead.

Gu Yunxi noticed there was something wrong with the Master. She wanted to support him up, but she was scared of all the cold hostility he was giving out.

Feeling nervous, Gu Yunxi twisted her face a bit and hummed,

"It's just a friend... I just think of him as a friend!"

The second half of her explanation was completely redundant.

She already passed fifteen. If a man had given her a hairpin, it would have meant that he liked her and wanted to marry her.

Leng Qingtang humphed and smiled coldly,

"I guess he's a very important friend. Otherwise, you won't give him your hair!"

Gu Yunxi suddenly looked up. She was terrified and rebutted weakly,

"It's not like that!"

The Master completely misunderstood her! A long time ago, when she explained the severed hair, she did lie. But she never thought the lie would be the misunderstanding today!

He must have thought that she had a lover and used her hair in exchange for the hairpin. And those were the token of their love!

But at this moment, she couldn't explain this misunderstanding.

She looked at the Master sorrowfully and saw cold light shone out of his eyes. Behind it was the chilling intention to kill. Anyone who looked at him would be extremely frightened.

His face was pale and his eyes were bloody. With a slashing momentum, his face was cold and eery as if he had come from hell.

This horrifying look was nothing like the gentle and kind man he usually was! Gu Yunxi couldn't help but think this was probably the Eastern Depot monster’s real face that could terrify children.

Leng Qingtang grabbed the hairpin. He used all his strength and walked around the table, dashing to Gu Yunxi.

"Let me ask you again. Who is that man? How much does he know about you? And how far did you two go?!"

His paranoia broke her heart into pieces.

She shook her head and didn't say a word. Her tear fell like rain. She didn't expect him to be so paranoid and had such a dirty thought!

She couldn't say it.

Gu Yunxi made her mind.

Once she told the Master the truth, with the investigation ability of the Eastern Depot's guards, they would soon find Lu Qiange. And he would probably get killed because of that!

Even though he was garrulous, he was not a bad person. Lu Qiange was a decent swordsman.

He saved her from Ming Lan and also saved the whole imperial envoy of the Eastern Depot in Fanyang, Jiangan.

She didn't hate Lu Qiange at all, so she couldn't let anything happen to him!

Finally, Leng Qingtang couldn't hold it anymore. He was furious because of Gu Yunxi's silence.

He held on to the two ends of the hairpin and held it up in front of her eyes. Then he used some strength. The breaking sound rang up.

Gu Yunxi inhaled a cold breath. She stared at it shockingly. That hairpin was broken into two pieces in the Master's cold hands.

Her tears rushed down, but they couldn't take away the sadness and bitterness in her heart.

She just felt like he was biased. He could have Pei Rushi and Yanwan in his life without thinking about her. But he was jealous because of a hairpin and didn't let her go.

Maybe she had been wearing the man's clothes for too long, and he had forgotten that she was a girl. She wanted to have someone to love and be loved.

Her tears were all over her face. She stared at the Master angrily and asked slowly,

"Pei Rushi gave you The Exquisite Collection of Delicacies, and Yanwan gave you a handkerchief. Yet I can't have a friend to give me a hairpin?"

"No, you can't!"

Leng Qingtang roared. He shook his hand madly and threw the hairpin pieces on the ground hard,

"You can only stay in the Eastern Depot and stay with me forever!"

All was silent.

His bloody and muddy eyes reflected her images. She was sad, weak, and crying.

His heart ached. A salty feeling rushed from his heart to his throat.

Leng Qingtang gritted his teeth and swallowed the blood back.

He rested for a while. His voice was cold like night wind. It blew through her ears feebly,

"It’s ok if you don't want to say it. Go ride a horse on the Training Field until you want to talk to me."

Gu Yunxi stared at the Master's eyes. She couldn't find any of the past tenderness, just anger.

She didn't fight back but raised her arm and wiped away her tears. Gu Yunxi hid her sadness deep in her eyes and ran out directly to the Training Field.

On one side of the wall, there was a small corner of pink clothes. Yanwan was hiding in the dark, looking at this war that she stirred up from the beginning to the end.

Under the lightning, her cold and ruthless eyes froze. She smiled with an ice-temperament.

Wonderful! Wonderful! This was exactly what she wanted.

“Leng Qingtang, Gu Yunxi, you killed my brother, and I want you to suffer ten times harder than I did. I want you to pay with your blood!”

...

The wind started to blow. The heartrending sound was like a ghost crying. The sand scraped through Gu Yunxi's face, and it hurt so much. The roar of thunder came from the faraway sky.

A rainstorm was about to happen.

Gu Yunxi picked the fiercest horse.

The horse keeper tried to stop her again and again. He said that horse was just trained. It may go wild again running in such extreme weather.

The lightning stroke, the thunder bombed. The cold white light was like a ghostly ax, cleaving the dark sky. A clap of thunder exploded in the sky on top of Gu Yunxi. The earth shook because of it.

Gu Yunxi rode the horse and ran on the wide Training Field, couldn't remember how long and how far she had been riding. She raised her hand and whipped the horse hard, willfully letting her anger out, but she couldn't get rid of all the negative feelings in her heart.

Another lightning stroke hit the entire Eastern Depot.

Xiao Xiaoshen and Qinger stood outside the main hall. They looked up and were worried about Gu Yunxi.

"Master, it's about to rain!"

Xiao Xiaoshen walked up to Leng Qingtang and said hurriedly.

Leng Qingtang sat straight and didn't say anything. His face was as dark as the night sky that was about to rain.

This hairpin incident was stirred up by someone intentionally. He knew that. Yet she did make a mistake first and got caught by others.

Leng Qingtang felt angry and at the same time, also jealous.

Who was the man? How did he dare go after the Commander-in-chief’s girl of the Eastern Depot?

On the other hand, he must stay vigilant. The Garden was taken over, and Nanny Gu went to the Western Depot’s prison. Pei Rushi’s book had been found out. All these signs showed that the cover of Gu Yunxi might have been blown.

If the person she contacted had not been a friend but a spy investigating her, the consequences would have been ugly.

He protected her, loved her, and was jealous because of her, so he lost control and got mad at her.

He couldn't tell all these to her but only kept them in his heart. He could only allow the unspeakable pain to hurt himself.

"Master, the rain is coming!"

Seeing the Master keep silent for a long time, Xiao Xiaoshen pointed outside and said worriedly again.

What he was implying was to stop waiting and get Yunxi back before the rain!

Qinger narrowed her eyes angrily. She pushed Xiao Xiaoshen aside and rushed to the Master.

"Master, why are you so cruel to Lady?!"

After hearing Qinger, he finally looked up slowly. His cold eyes fell on Qinger. Qinger's heart shook. She looked panicked.

She calmed herself down and said quickly,

"Do you know how much she suffered for you? How much she did for you? Last year, she fell off the cliff because of someone's plot. She fought with wolfs for the silver antlers. She didn't die after the fall or get bitten to death because she was thinking about you and wanted to wait for you!"

"She wanted to be with you, so she traveled with you to the six counties of Jiangan. In Qiling, she was nearly burned to death. When she returned to the capital, she went to the central prison with you and got punished. Did you forget all these?"

While she was speaking, Qinger felt sad and angry. She was already in tears. She changed her breath and continued,

"To get the Eastern Depot out of trouble sooner, she went to Wanhua Tower to exchange the paintings with Fu Danqing, but you scolded her because of the Jiaozhu Pear Curd. Do you know how much she suffered for making it? For the paintings, she was nearly raped by someone from the Western Depot. She never mentioned any of these to you! Now you have a spouse, and you are not only ruthless to her but also want to tie her up with you! Have you ever thought about her? She wears men's clothes every day, staying by your side without any title. Since you don't love her anymore, why can't you let her go?"

Her cry made Leng Qingtang's body shook. He clutched his fists and was dazed. He couldn't get himself together for a while.

Among the things Qinger said, he knew some of them. But he also learned some new just now!

He looked down dejectedly. Supporting his forehead with his cold hand, he felt remorseful.

"What do you know?"

He kept silent for a while. Then Leng Qingtang spoke with a hoarse voice,

"She must stay by my side. They have already put up a tight encirclement out there. Once she is without the Eastern Depot’s protection, she can leave but never be able to return!"

"..."

Qinger was shocked. Her face immediately turned pale.

The lightning continued, and the wind blew.

Gu Yunxi's horse completely went wild. It dashed out of the Training Field. After knocking over some fences, it went north. There was a puff of smoke under the galloping hooves.

At first, Gu Yunxi pulled the halter with strength. She kicked the stomach of the horse and whipped its butt. But instead of quieting down the horse, it became more rampant.

It ran willfully and went into the woods without giving any consideration to the person on its back.

Gu Yunxi closed her legs around the horse's stomach tightly, holding on to its neck. She stayed on the horse’s back without moving to avoid getting scraped by the branches coming her way.

Across the woods, the horse galloped more and arrived at an open plain in the north suburb.

The night was dark and the river was sinuous. It reflected a cold light under the flickering lightning.

Gu Yunxi tried to pull the halter with the strength to let the horse stop. But it wouldn't. The horse neighed and repeatedly raised its hoofs and kicked its back legs. It wanted to toss Gu Yunxi off its back.

A white shadow landed behind Gu Yunxi swiftly. He pulled the halter hard and kicked the horse's stomach. He then controlled the wild horse.

He held the startled girl by her thin waist. Gently stepping on the saddle, he jumped up and landed on the ground with the girl safely.

"Are you alright? Why are you riding horses in the middle of the night? Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the Eastern Depot?"

Lu Qiange was wearing a stylish white robe and had a big broadsword behind his back. His shining purple eyes focused on Gu Yunxi's pale face, full of affection.

Gu Yunxi's body shook. She stepped back and avoided his touch.

She thought he was joking last night. He didn't take it seriously and she didn't either. But he was actually here, standing right in front of her.

"Lu, why… You..."

He smiled gently at her and said quietly,

"Didn't we agree yesterday that I'll come to get you today?"

She was anxious and shook her head hard,

"I never agreed to that!"

"Yunxi!"

He came close to her and said with a stronger tone. He stroke her face with his tender fingers. Looking at her red and swollen eyes, he frowned,

"I can't leave you to suffer at the Eastern Depot! I know he made you cry again! Leave! Leave with me! I'll adore you and love you from now on!"

"No!"

She responded with one word resolutely and decisively. She stepped back again, looking serious.

"Why?!"

Lu Qiange asked disappointedly. His handsome face was full of worry.

Gu Yunxi said calmly,

"I've said the reasons many times before. Now I'm going back."

She walked forward with her head down. He didn't say anything and tried to stop her.

"Yunxi, I want you! You'll be my wife! I want to take you to see my mother and tell her about us!"

"Let go! I'm not leaving with you!"

He badgered, and she struggled. Gu Yunxi was then against a tree trunk, nowhere to go.

The girl in front of Lu Qiange was delicate, beautiful, and charming. Lu Qiange never wanted to be rude to her.

His eyes went soft and warm just like the light feathers to comfort the girl’s terrified heart.

"Yunxi, tell me. What do you want?"

Hearing this almost ethereal voice, she calmed down a lot.

That pair of purple eyes were so innocent and pure, without any impurity or evil thoughts.

"Lu, let go. You can't give me what I want."

His heart broke into pieces at that moment!

Lu Qiange was lost. He then smiled bitterly,

"I can't let go. Can you? Fine, do you know what I want?"

She didn't say anything.

He smiled faintly. His voice was light like cotton,

"Yunxi, come to me."

Emotions rolled in her heart. She didn't know she was moved or lost or... Gu Yunxi was eventually melted by his adoration.

She looked at him quietly, letting him close in and hold her in his arms. His fingers went through her eyelids, closing her eyes. He bent his head down and was going to kiss her lips.

A lightning stroke and lit up the ground. The thunder startled Gu Yunxi, and she opened her eyes abruptly.

She glanced at a person in green in the near distance. He had a temperament as cold as a deadly ghost, staring indifferently at them who hugging each other.

His eyes remained calm, black and deep but without any emotion. It seemed that if anyone had looked at him, they would have gone straight down to hell.

The lightning continuously stroke. The Qingshui Liuyun sword in his right hand was ringing and shinning under the brutal ablution of the lightning, couldn't withhold Leng Qingtang’s killing intent.