Under the umbrella, Gu Yunxi watched Madam Liao slowly disappeared with her ceaseless cursing behind a side door at the gate of divine prowess.

Refraining from anger, Gu Yunxi regained her composure silently and swiftly.

"Muxue, let's go back."

Holding up the umbrella, Lanxin noticed her friend's strange look. Her limpid eyes blinked as she urged.

Gu Yunxi shook her head and replied casually.

"You may go first. I want to have a walk."

"Walk? In this weather?"

Lanxin's small face was full of disbelief. But when she saw Yunxi's solemn look and tightly pressed lips, she changed her words.

"Well, as you wish. I will follow you."

"You don't have to..."

Retracting her cold gaze from the gate, Gu Yunxi turned to Lanxin and smiled.

"Take the umbrella with you and go first. You don't need to follow me."

Then, she withdrew her damp hands into the sleeves and stepped out from under the umbrella. Lanxin exclaimed in puzzlement behind her.

"Muxue, Muxue... Where are you going? It's raining—"

Gu Yunxi walked in the drizzle, letting the rain gradually wet her skirt, shoes, and socks. Her slender figure appeared lonely on the empty road.

Occasionally, maids under umbrellas would pass by. When they saw Gu Yunxi in the chief maid's court dress, they all stopped to curtsy to her and to address her respectfully as "Madam".

She nodded slightly and kept walking in the rain.

Washed clean by rain, the road under her feet was long and straight, stretching endlessly.

Every time Gu Yunxi strode over a puddle, she felt that she was walking in blood. Every step was a shocking contest between life and death.

She couldn't help turning back to look at the road behind several times, wondering if it was tinted with bloody footprints.

It was not the first time that she killed. Back in Qiling, she had had blood on her hands as a guard to survive.

This time, she didn't do it herself. She managed to eliminate those who wanted to hurt her only with tactics. But afterward, she was suffering mentally.

Gu Yunxi knew the cruelty of competition in the Palace where lives were taken easily. However, the fact was bewildering and unacceptable that she had to foul her soul with these evil deeds and became vicious just for self-preservation and superiority.

While in distress, a touch of fresh green jumped into her vision.

Gu Yunxi hurriedly ceased her thoughts to have a look and found that she was before the holy osmanthus tree outside the palatial garden of Concubinary Kitchen.

The crown was luxuriantly green and full of vitality.

Once again, she helplessly fell into the memory of the Eastern Depot, when she was in Leng's Mansion with the family-like people.

Once, she had been a naive child "kidnapped" into the Eastern Depot by the shrewd and handsome man, who cherished and spoiled her.

How she missed those carefree days. Albeit in men's clothes, she could snuggle against him and live carefreely without any conspiracy.

She couldn't stop imagining how Master Leng would react if he learnt that his girl had grown so ruthless and scheming.

Overwhelmed by sadness, Gu Yunxi trembled out of breath.

Gloomily, she turned sideways to walk around the trunk. But before she could proceed, she unexpectedly ran into the man behind the tree.

Her eyes widened, and then her eyelashes fluttered. Her purple figure froze as she stared at the man. Standing calmly under an umbrella, he was dressed in a blue robe embroidered with python.

He looked handsome in this rainy afternoon.

The beautiful scenery along with his graceful look stirred Gu Yunxi's mind. Her heart throbbed uncontrollably.

Leng Qingtang came prepared today.

After days of secret investigations, the Imperial Ceremony Office had already figured out the schedule and habits of the maid named "Tu Muxue".

Before noon today, the informant had reported that Tu Muxue had gone to the gate of divine prowess. Leng Qingtang deducted that she would take a shortcut when returning to Chuxiu Palace as usual. Hence, he wandered near the Concubinary Kitchen before the fork in the road.

He was waiting for her especially because when he met her last time in the Violent Room, her voice, her demeanor, and the way she cried out of control had left him with too many questions.

Just for one woman in his heart, he must find the answer from her as soon as possible.

When their eyes met, Leng Qingtang once again felt the strange intimacy engulfing his body. This feeling was too strong and wonderful to be a fantasy or illusion.

He immediately approached her. Within three strides, he had covered her thin and soaked body under the large umbrella.

Gu Yunxi had been drenched by rain. The freezing drops slowly dripped down her messy hair as her graceful body shivered for the coldness. She might not even know how awkward she looked.

Blankly standing before him, she gazed at his handsome face and did not react until the cold fragrance on him filled her nose.

After all, he was a rank-second official. How could she, a rank-fifth maid, act so reckless? How long had she been staring at him shamelessly like this?

But for some reason, when she saw him, she would immediately remove her thorny armor and transform into an innocent and harmless girl.

Blushed, she hurried to kneel.

"Forgive me, my lord!"

The voice in his ears was familiar, while the facial features were so strange.

Fraught with doubts, Leng Qingtang reached to her and spared her apology.

"No need. It's raining..."

He wanted to say, "It's raining. Don't wet your dress." But then he noted her soaked clothes, so he quickly changed his words.

"It's raining. Why don't you use an umbrella?"

Gu Yunxi humbly bowed her head. Though she wanted to look up again at the long-missing face, she had to restrain the crazy idea. Instead, she replied in a quivering voice.

"Master, it was not raining when I went out for work. So, I didn't bring an umbrella."

Leng Qingtang raised his eyebrows silently as he locked his dark eyes on the girl. Abruptly, he exposed her lie.

"It has been raining since midnight..."

Gu Yunxi's face stiffened. She was so nervous that she forgot herself and raised her head. Thus, her flustered eyes met with his again by accident.

The eyes he cast on her were clear, quiet, deep, and sharp, harboring the magic to read one's mind.

It was an awe-inspiring power, but fascinating at the same time...

Leng Qingtang didn't say a word. His eyes flickered, scanning the girl's young face.

Her facial features were not strikingly beautiful or exquisite, but still charmingly comely and elegant.

However, the eyes on this unfamiliar face were radiating with the brilliance of Yunxi. And her juicy lips were uttering the same voice as Yunxi.

Unexplainably, his heart hurt as if pierced by a knife.

Seeing that the girl's eyes were watery and glittering with confusion, he asked tentatively.

"Are you worried about something?"

She lowered her head and remained silent. He noticed that she had joined her hands close together under her sleeves, so he thought for a moment and then asked again.

"Could you tell me? Perhaps I can help you."

Unlike other eunuchs, the Master's voice was attractive, magnetic, and difficult to refuse.

Long ago, Gu Yunxi had lost defense against the Master's voice.

"I... I just sent away a senior who worked in my palace. After two months in the Palace, my respect for the seniors has been rewarded with plotting. Although I struggled to reverse the predicament, it is still unsettling to see them punished and end miserably."

Thinking of the hollows on Madam Liao's legs where her knees should have been, Gu Yunxi realized the evil she had committed. It turned out she was not completely good. She had a dark side, too.

She cared very much about Master Leng's view of her nature. Now that she saw him, she confessed her concern in one breath. Immediately, her heart was relieved, free from pain and entanglement.

Of course, Leng Qingtang knew what happened in Chuxiu Palace a few days ago. Her confiding in him now revealed her innocence, which resembled the little girl in his heart.

Smiled slightly, Leng Qingtang only gave her one glance and then cast his look into the distance behind her.

"Your regret means that you are not smart enough or ruthless enough. The Palace is a quagmire resided by both men and monsters. To get out of it, you have to ignore everything around you and climb up on others."

Feeling that the girl took a violent shake, Leng Qingtang withdrew his decisive eyes and put them back on her shocked and speechless face.

After a pause, he looked into her eyes and asked.

"Muxue, why did you enter the Palace?"

She welcomed his gaze bravely without cringing. Biting her lower lip, she clearly replied.

"To reunite with the person I miss!"

Her reply was soft, sad, and meaningful. Leng Qingtang could not help but blink in surprise, watching her eyes reddened and her nose twitched.

He had countless words stuck in his chest, desperately wanting out. Yet, he did not know where to start.

Only the pattering of the rain continued.

Leng Qingtang came back to his senses first. His eyes shone as he smiled.

"In this way, you must first try to protect yourself. Remember, when you can't avoid the fight against the monster, you must face it. And to win the fight, you must first become a monster. No matter what, you must survive. Once you die, you won't see the person you wish to meet again."

"I've been silly. Thank you for your teaching, Master."

Gu Yunxi's was touched. The blush on her cheeks became brighter when she curtsied to him.

Leng Qingtang looked around and grinned gently.

"It's late. How about taking you back to Chuxiu Palace?"