The second day of the ninth lunar month

Today was the deathday of the deceased Crown Prince, Huanan Yiyan. Since the Emperor believed in Taoism and the Empress believed in Buddhism, the honor guards set out during the period of the day from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and went to the royal Dao Temple, the Pengxian Temple, to participate in the religious rites of worship first. Then Empress Qian went to Yonglu Temple to chant sutras to pray for blessing according to the convention every year. When she came back to the Palace, it was already the period of the day from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and getting dark.

The moon was bright and the stars were few. The night breeze was violent.

The gauze curtain of the imperial carriage was fluttering in the wind. Empress Qian was sitting in the middle. Her dress was made of brocade with the cloud and flying phoenix patterns. Her sleeved over-dress was embroidered with red-brown dark ripples whose color was plain, neat, and dignified. Her biological daughter, the fourth princess, Huanan Jiyan was sitting beside her.

Beyond the vast and mighty procession, layer after layer of palace buildings could be seen which were half-veiled under the dark and boundless sky.

The road in the Palace was cold. Though rare flowers and herbs on both sides were luxuriant, they withered and languished after being attacked by the autumn frost and night dew.

The fog was very thin like pelagic fluffy catkins. The sight stirred up Empress Qian's feelings. She thought of her dead son and sighed with tears in her eyes.

People's life was so short. Her son had died. What was the point of the flashy extravagance in front of her eyes?

When they came to an intersection, the honour guards stopped. The eunuch led the way with light. The maid helped the Empress and the princess off the imperial carriage.

The people of Kunning Palace came up and escorted their masters to continue to move ahead.

When they were passing the bamboo garden, Empress Qian found the twinkling glimmers in the woods. She ordered the crowd to stop and sent a eunuch to check.

After a little while, the eunuch brought a woman to Empress Qian.

After laying down the Kongming Lantern in her hands in a state of anxiety, the woman knelt down at the feet of the Empress. She murmured in a low voice which was gentle and trembling.

"I am Jieyu Sun Shengsheng from Hanxiang Residence. It's a great honor for me to see Your Grace. God bless you!"

The head of Empress Qian tilted slightly to one side. She looked at the woman up and down who was wearing a simple, elegant, and light green skirt and whose hair was up in a bun with a lotus hairpin with tassels at one side of her head. Her posture was delicate and lovingly pathetic. She was extremely deferential.

Empress Qian remembered her name.

"Sun Shengsheng... The daughter of Sun Min who is a Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. I remember you. I heard that you were ill after coming to the Palace. Have you recovered?"

"I have recovered."

Sun Shengsheng answered while lowering her head. Her voice was very melodious.

"I seldom come out. Now I spend most time cultivating my morality, cultivating my mind, and studying the Buddhist doctrine in my palace."

"Really?"

After hearing that she was studying the Buddhist doctrine, Empress Qian was interested in her.

Now Emperor Jingxiao attached great importance to Taoism. Many people in the Palace wanted to flatter the Emperor, so all people worshiped Taoism.

After hearing that she had the same belief as her, Empress Qian was very happy. She moved one step forward and said,

"Raise your head. Let me see."

Sun Shengsheng was very humble. She raised her head slowly.

Her skin was like grease and her eyebrows were comely and black. Her delicate eyes were glittering. What an amazing face! She seemed to be 16 to 17 years old. Under the palace lantern, her obedient, tender, and lovely figure was charming and gentle like a graceful painting.

Empress Qian nodded with satisfaction and turned her eyes to the Kongming Lantern beside Sun Shengsheng. She was stunned for a moment.

"It is not the Mid-Autumn Festival or Obon Festival today. It is dark now. Why do not you go back to your palace but fly the Kongming Lantern here?"

Sun Shengsheng nodded.

"Because today is the deathday of the deceased Crown Prince. I am too humble and not allowed to leave the Palace at will. Therefore, I made several Kongming Lanterns in person to worship the Crown Prince and pray that he could bless His Majesty, Empress, and Da Yi in heaven so that our country can be at peace and prosperous and our people can live a peaceful life."

Empress Qian was stunned. She was completely moved by Sun Shengsheng's kindness and love for the country and the people. Her eyes became red.

"Good...good!"

Empress Qian nodded with satisfaction. Her eyes were glittering under the palace lantern.

"You have not been in the Palace for a long time, but keep these things in mind. You are really an observant and conscientious person... It is late, so you go back to have a rest. When you are free, you can come to Kunning Palace to visit me."

Sun Shengsheng's eyelashes rose immediately. She was surprised and did not expect such a result.

She was too excited and kept kowtowing to express gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Grace."

The fourth princess, Huanan Jiyan, was wearing a cyan dress that could touch the floor and was embroidered with flowers. Her lotus leaf dress pendulum moved with the wind, which was like layers of waves.

The princess took her mother's arm. She took a glance at Sun Shengsheng and laughed with arrogance.

"Humph, another person who wants to fawn upon the influential people..."

Empress Qian did not care. She sneered, looked at Sun Shengsheng, and said,

"Even if she wants to fawn upon the influential people, she should know who is influential. She is a clever person."

After they left, Sun Shengsheng stood up in the alley and could not wait to turn her head and say in a low voice.

"Muxue, come out."

Gu Yunxi rounded the granite, walked to Sun Shengsheng, and saluted.

"Congratulations! If you can grasp the chance, your dream will come true sooner or later."

"Muxue, thank you!"

Sun Shengsheng grasped Gu Yunxi's hands. Her excitement was shown in facial expressions.

After the punishment in Yongning Palace, Sun Shengsheng was less presumptuous. She should believe that Gu Yunxi was helping her.

Gu Yunxi compressed her lips into a little smile. Her dark face was not very distinct in the thick darkness.

Sun Shengsheng asked,

"What should I do next? I do not know what I should say when I visit the Empress tomorrow."

Gu Yunxi's smile was carefree and leisurely. She put her hands on the shoulders of Sun Shengsheng, asked her to calm down as soon as possible, and said leisurely,

"Do not be nervous. Read Buddhist texts tonight. You can talk with the Empress with an attitude of learning tomorrow."

"Good. You could bring good luck to me. I will always follow your advice in the future."

Though Sun Shengsheng had a bad temper, if she admired someone, she would firmly believe that person. She did not expect that she had been involved in a special and tangled warfare.

Gu Yunxi smiled. There was a hint of brilliant rays in her sharp and small eyes.

"You do not need to be like this. You should know that the most important thing is to win the trust of the Empress. Only Empress Qian could protect you."

Sun Shengsheng was slightly shocked. She gasped and nodded seriously.

"Got it. Now I am going back to Hanxiang Residence to study Buddhist texts. See you!"

"See you!"

Gu Yunxi saluted to gaze after Sun Shengsheng. She slowly straightened up and the cold sheen could be seen in her narrowed eyes.

According to the scheme of Gu Yunxi, with the help of Empress Qian, Sun Shengsheng could be elevated, which could divert the attention of Yongning Palace, contribute to the rise of Eastern Palace, and draw a helper over to her side to fight the Wans.

Gu Yunyao could win the Emperor's love again very soon, which was a double-edged sword. She could be proud in front of other people. However, she still faced the danger of being killed by other people secretly.

Gu Yunxi wanted to protect her elder sister so that she could be safe in the war of the imperial harem without the need to kill anyone.

The situation of confrontation had formed. Once the war began, it could not stop easily.

Gu Yunxi sneered and prepared to go back to Chuxiu Palace. When she was turning around, she came across another person.

The moonlight was dim. The bamboo leaves were luxuriant and moving with the wind in the thin night fog.

He was standing in the dark shadow with his hands behind his back. His robe pendulum was moving slightly. His eyebrows and eyes were as pretty as a picture. He looked at her through the fog with deep and sharp eyes which seemed to be tearing her skin and flesh. He could know what she was thinking at the bottom of her heart.

Gu Yunxi's eyelids fluttered due to scare. She took a step back and bent to greet him.

"Good evening, Master Leng."

Something warm touched Gu Yunxi's elbow. It was Mater Leng's hand which was helping Gu Yunxi up.

There was a layer of rising and thin smoke over his deep and black eyes which were as cold as a deep and cold pool. Whoever saw his eyes might feel nervous.

"Are you happy?"

He asked suddenly in a tone that was neither urgent nor slow, cold, and ethereal in the night.

Gu Yunxi's face became pale. She lowered her head and looked down. She seemed to be calm on the surface. However, her heart was nearly exploding.

Leng Qingtang, whose pupil color was dark, could see through everything. He questioned for a second time.

"You have to deal with gratitude and resentment and frame others or be framed by others in the Palace every day. Are you happy?"

Gu Yunxi raised her eyes and opened them widely.

"I have no choice. It is better to frame others than to be framed by others."

While they were looking at each other, the glitter which was like the water in Leng Qingtang's eyes disappeared gradually. He gave a long gasp and felt distressed.

"You said that you just wanted to see that person in the Palace. Now you have seen him. Why not leave the Palace quickly? I can help you."

Gu Yunxi was shocked. Obviously, he had another implication.

Then, she turned her head in panic and avoided seeing his eyes.

There was a deep and sincere feeling in his lonely and desolate eyes. Even if she made no sound, he could feel the unspeakable pain in her heart which seemed to have been cut by a knife. She was painful in her heart, which could be seen in her eyes.

When he was looking at the indifferent and cold girl in front of him, Leng Qingtang stretched out his hands to grab her shoulders and said determinedly,

"I can help you leave the Palace and do what you want to do. Anyway, I just hope that you can be yourself instead of being manipulated by others."

Gu Yunxi felt a heavy blow on her heart and was stupefied immediately. There were tears in her eyes.

Some time later, she said,

"That is my business."

Gu Yunxi dodged and wanted to escape. A big hand held her wrist. He said in a cold and harsh voice,

"Do not force me to cancel your fake census registration!"

She trembled and looked back in horror.

He seemed to have known...

He controlled her shoulder and embraced her. Full of tender feelings, he said in a low voice,

"I can protect you. I have told you before. I can defend you any time as long as you want."

He had said this in the Eastern Depot that year.

"Come back to the Eastern Depot and come back to me, OK?"

He closed his eyes and begged her. His delicate jaw leaned against the lower part at the back of her neck.

Once her identity was debunked by Master Leng, she would not be able to disguise her lie.

She was distracted due to too much trouble at this moment. She tried her best to hold back tears, disengage herself from his arms, sneer at him, and say in a low and bitter voice,

"I cannot... You said that when we could not escape from the problem, we should face it. Now I am very deeply involved in these problems. Everything cannot go back to the past."

She walked slowly with a pause after each step. Later, she began to run.

Leng Qingtang stood in the bamboo forest in a trance and watched her go away disconsolately. Her familiar back was sad and thin.