The masked man flew up to the pinnacle of a building in the Palace and looked down at the bustling crowd in Wutong Garden. Among them were the guards from the Eastern Depot, the Honour Guards, and inside officers.

His lips curled beneath his mask while he was smiling to himself.

"Huh, imbeciles."

...

Wutong Garden—

After Ai Qing, the first captain of the Eastern Depot, fought against the masked man on the bank of the Silver River, he sent people to inform the Master on the other side of the river and search the injured opponents at the same time.

Leng Qingtang received the news and went to unite with his subordinates. Following the blood-strewn outskirts, they finally made it into the Palace.

Leng Qingtang hurriedly led his men in the search, but he did not dare to make too much noise. The Imperial Ceremony Office was told that they were hunting a thief.

The guards and inside officers acted separately. In one hour, they had followed the blood patches into Wutong Garden only to find Prince Chen Huanan Xin with his wounded hand.

When Ai Qing rushed into the Main Hall, he saw the nanny coaxing Prince Chen while bandaging his hand. Meanwhile, she asked him where the wound had come from.

Obviously, the nanny could tell that the retarded prince had made trouble outside again. After all, the usually tranquil Wutong Garden was now swarmed with the Eastern Depot guards and the Imperial Ceremony Officers.

Ai Qing frowned and watched the busy nanny. His face sank as he punched his left fist into his right palm, sighing bitterly.

"Alas! We have been chasing a carrot on a stick. He played us again."

"Don't fret. Let's find more clues."

The crowd dispersed to give way to Leng Qingtang, who walked over as he consoled.

"Master."

Ai Qing saluted him, and Leng Qingtang waved at him.

"I just checked the site with men and found the bloodstains suspiciously overlapped in the Imperial Garden rockeries. We also found something there..."

Then a secret guard stepped forward and presented a blood-stained crossbow bolt on both hands.

Ai Qing took it, and his eyes brightened immediately.

"Yes, this is the weapon that the first tribe had injured him with. This means..."

He suddenly understood and looked up at the Master in shock.

Now that the man had removed the arrow to and bandaged the wound in the Imperial Garden, why would there be blood afterwards?

Leng Qingtang nodded.

"Prince Chen was probably stabbed deliberately by him so that he could mislead us with the boy's blood. I'll be certain if I ask him."

Leng Qingtang strode up to Prince Chen seating on a chair and found him still crying out of pain. So, he bowed down and smiled, coaxing him gently.

"Please be good, Prince Chen. I told you last time that you must not go out of Wutong Garden. Where have you been tonight and what hurt your little hand so?"

Prince Chen stopped sobbing, sniffed, and then pouted his mouth.

"I won't tell you. No way."

Leng Qingtang put on a beautiful smile and whispered with a mysterious look.

"Tell me, and I will take you to the Concubinary Kitchen for yummy food."

Hearing his promise, Prince Chen grasped Leng Qingtang's robe and threw a tantrum.

"Yummy, yummy. I want yummy food."

"Then tell me, how was your hand injured?"

"I was stabbed by a tree in the garden."

Prince Chen gave away the "truth" without hesitation. Subsequently, he burst into tears again in a fit of grievance.

Leng Qingtang was startled. He continued.

"There, there. Don't be afraid. Prince Chen is the bravest boy. Listen to your nanny and go to bed now. Your hand won't hurt tomorrow."

He patted Prince Chen on the back, continuing to coax him tenderly. His investigative eyes, however, reached far out of the Main Hall.

Should he believe what Huanan Xin said?

Near the rockeries in the Imperial Garden, there were indeed a few branches with spikes.

The servants in Wutong Garden had been negligent, and hence Prince Chen was larking about after dark.

The deduction was reasonable that he had accidentally bumped into thorns that penetrated his hand.

Leng Qingtang pondered that Prince Chen was too silly to understand threats. If he had been hurt by the horrible masked man, he would freak out by now. How could he be gabbing for food?

Yet, his hand was hurt at this sensitive time...

All in all, the Eastern Depot would return empty-handed tonight. Leng Qingtang was frustrated when he thought about it.

He listlessly ordered an Imperial Ceremony Officer to first take Prince Chen to the Imperial Hospital for his wound and then to the Concubinary Kitchen for a snack.

Then, he beckoned his men to retreat. The crowd followed Leng Qingtang out of the Palace.

Prince Chen sat silently with his head low. His eyes were hidden in the shadow, but his lips curled up slightly in the orange candlelight. Nonetheless, none of the team noticed his sly smile.

——

After leaving the Imperial Garden, Gu Yunxi carefully avoided the troops of the Eastern Depot and the Honour Guards and hurried back to the Chuxiu Palace.

Lanxin was pacing the side room anxiously. When she heard the rustle by the door, she saw Gu Yunxi open the door and sneak in.

"Oh my, where have you been? I have been waiting for you forever!"

Lanxin hugged Gu Yunxi excitedly and started nagging.

"There was a loss in the Palace. Return later and Chuxiu Palace will be locked. I'm so worried! Dear, what happened to you?"

The candlelight sparkled and shone on Gu Yunxi up with the dim light. Her dress was muddy, and her expression was desolate.

"Oh, my God! What happened?"

Lanxin carefully scanned Gu Yunxi from head to toe and exclaimed angrily after she found her loose clothes.

"Were you robbed? Tell me who did it, and I will let Fan get them!"

Gu Yunxi smiled bitterly and shook her head. Tears began to hang from her eyes.

She strode heavily to her bed. After two steps, her insides throbbed, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Muxue? Are you well?"

Lanxin was stunned for a moment, but then she rushed over.

She didn't know that Gu Yunxi was having an attack of Hanfu Powder addiction. Her whole body was convulsed with pain, and her face was twisted. Believing she was having a relapse, Lanxin was sweating all over due to stress.

"Muxue, wait. I'll go fetch a doctor."

Before Lanxin could get up with a pale face, Gu Yunxi trembled to stop her. She endured the severe pain in her body and mumbled.

"Quick... My medicine is in the bedside cabinet... Help me..."

Lanxin went straight to the bedstand without hesitation. She overturned the cabinet only to find a delicate rouge box under a pile of clothes.

Tearing, Lanxin stomped her feet.

"Muxue, what now? I can't find the medicine you mentioned!"

"That rouge box!"

Gu Yunxi squeezed a scream out of her gritted teeth and then turned over on her back, sobbing in anguish.

When drug addiction hit her, she would suffer unusual pain.

It felt like the bites of thousands of ants, which nibbled away her skin, flesh, and lastly her bones.

Had it not been for him, she would not have managed it.

Lanxin picked up the rouge box and ran back. She grabbed Gu Yunxi's shaking hand to put the box in her cold palm. With the utmost concentration, she watched her friend open the box and dip her finger in the brown balm. Squinting, Yunxi sucked her finger and savored it greedily.

The unstoppable and desperate urge finally receded.

"Muxue... Are you alright?"

Seeing the girl on the ground gradually recovering, Lanxin wiped the sweat from her sideburns and asked tentatively.

"I'm fine. Could you help me up?"

Gu Yunxi murmured weakly with tired eyes.

Lanxin nodded and did so.

Soaked with sweat, Gu Yunxi stood up and put away the rouge box.

Lanxin helped her sit on the bed. Distressed, she crouched down to study her bloodless skin and sunken eyes.

"Muxue. What just happened to you?"

Gu Yunxi wriggled her dry lips, looking miserable.

"Will you keep a secret for me? I've been in bad shape since I was little. As a woman, I can't inherit the jade craftsmanship of the Tus. To make a living, I had to hide my illness so I could enter the Palace. The balm is the ground medicine that I have prepared so that I can conceal the truth from the Garden."

"Well…"

Lanxin nodded but did not comprehend completely. Gu Yunxi grabbed her and begged.

"Promise me not to talk about it, not even to Fan."

This was an emergency, and it was impossible to hide it from Lanxin. Having helped her before, she would have to bet on Lanxin's conscience.

Unless it was necessary, Gu Yunxi never wanted to kill her.

Determined, Lanxin held Gu Yunxi's hands and warmed them with her temperature.

"Muxue, we are good sisters. And I'll never return kindness with ingratitude. Everyone is suffering in the Palace, and we're supposed to look out for each other. Don't worry. I will take care of you from now on."

"Thank you."

Gu Yunxi was touched by her warmth and her nostrils shivered.

Lanxin's words came from the bottom of her heart, which reminded her of some people.

Once, Master Leng and Imperial Doctor Jiang went through much trouble to cure her of fainting from blood, so she could finally live freely without medicine. Now, she was treading on the old path of surviving on medication...

Her disgraceful and lowly obsession humiliated her. Even if she could quit it in the future, she would not have the courage to face Master Leng and tell him.

"I am Gu Yunxi. Your girl!"

And besides, she just learned the big secret that Pei Rushi, Master Leng, and she were related in a so awkward way!

No. They were unlikely to go back to the past.

The more Gu Yunxi wondered, the bluer she was. When Lanxin saw tears down upon her cheeks, she thought Yunxi was sad for her illness. So she accompanied her quietly and wiped her tears away.

With a rustle near the door, Cuiqiao showed up.

She was a maid working in the side hall and the niece of Madam Liao, the head of the kitchen. She shared the room with Gu Yunxi, Lanxin, and Yunmei the bathroom janitor.

"Why, what are you two doing?"

Cuiqiao glanced at them and said indifferently.

She had been nice to Gu Yunxi before but turned much colder to Gu Yunxi since she stood out before the concubine with the "ghee hill".

Lanxin stood up indignantly with arms akimbo and retorted upon her.

"What? Can't we be homesick?"

"Tut-tut! It's not been long since you came..."

Cuiqiao rolled her eyes at Gu Yunxi disdainfully and wandered to her bed.

Suddenly, she paused and scrutinized Gu Yunxi.

"Where did she go? Why is she covered in mud?"