Qinger blushed even more when hearing the word "dowry".

She curiously opened the wood box. It was full of gold and silver, on the top of which was a stack of letters of credit.

Qinger's heart seemed to miss a beat as her eyes widened. She shut the box and pushed it back.

"My lady, I can't take this!"

Gu Yunxi smiled and pushed it to Qinger again.

"You and I have gone through so many things together and I've always seen you as my family. Marriage is a big deal for a woman, so her family should give her gifts. But you know, we've been roaming for years and I have disguised as a man. Thus, I don’t have much use of jewelry. I hope you don't think these things tacky..."

Heartbroken, Qinger quickly shook her head and looked at the box with tears,

"I do not mean that. You should think more about yourself and keep these savings."

"You don't have to worry for me. I'll tell you a secret. I have a box filled with letters of credit on the top of the cabinet in my room in the Master's Mansion! Don't worry. I am not short of money."

Gu Yunxi leaned closer to Qinger to whisper her secret mysteriously. Her eyes glowed beautifully in the candlelight as she grinned. Qinger looked at the unfamiliar face and suddenly captured a familiar aura of kindness that had been missing for a long time.

"Then I accept the gift. Thank you, my lady!"

Qinger was overjoyed and took the box without further decline. When she lowered her head, sadness flashed across her eyes.

Plucking up her courage, Qinger raised her head and asked seriously,

"Lady, the medical sage molded your face before, why can't he change it back?"

Startled, Gu Yunxi smiled bitterly.

"It is not that simple. To change it back, I'll need to find my original face first. But it's been nearly two years, it has long turned into rot."

However, Gu Yunxi wrinkled her brows in concentration.

The Master had mentioned a woman who had helped His Highness escape from the battle of Yangfangkou between the Eastern Depot and the ratters. That woman had appeared in the Palace many times and she had always covered her face with a black mask. Who was her?

...

In the early spring, the breeze was a bit warmed than in the winter. The bare branches in the garden had been covered by buds.

Immediately after lunch, Tu Muxue was secretly called over by a low-ranking eunuch from Yongning Palace. Seeing that they were alone, he quietly told her that her acquaintance was urgently waiting for her in the Pavilion of Good Omens.

Could Jingyang Palace have taken the bait?

Tu Muxue showed no excitement on her delicate face. She simply thanked the eunuch and slipped out calmly.

At the beginning when she first entered the Palace, the Imperial Noble Concubine and her had made a plan. The punishment had been a show for people, or more accurately, for Gu Yunyao. She had not expected that she would be hooked so quickly.

The Pavilion of Good Omens was a three-story building. It had been built at the beginning of Da Yi's establishment. The architecture was specially designed to conform to the feng shui, a traditional geomancy, of the Palace and to maintain the balance of the five elements. Usually it was used to store ancient books and antiques, and thus unfrequented.

Tu Muxue trotted to the meeting place and looked around under the glazed archway.

"My young lady."

Not far away, a person whispered. When Tu Muxue looked in that direction, she saw a man in a dark red uniform leaning over the white marble fence on the west corner of the building.

That must be Zhao An.

Tu Muxue had done her homework before being sent to the Palace by Ming Lan. She had kept in her heart the information of the opponents, especially Concubine Yu and her people.

Tu Muxue concluded that Zhao An was the Chief Eunuch of Jingyang Palace by studying his uniform. Subsequently, her delicate face changed suddenly to present boundless grievances and pathetic melancholy.

"Lord Zhao..."

The two approached each other quickly. Zhao An heard the familiar voice again when the girl spoke one foot apart. At that moment, he thought of another person, Madam Mu who had appeared shortly in the Palace.

The girl before him was undoubtedly the young lady. Yet strangely, something was missing.

The girl's sobs interrupted Zhao An’s speculation. He affectionately examined the girl who was almost emaciated and dropped to his knees,

"My lady, I come too late. You must have suffered a lot."

The girl's eyes widened with perplexity. But in the next moment, she also knelt and cried,

"Lord Zhao, please arise. How dare I take the lady's title? You are being overflattering."

Tu Muxue didn't know the past of the Yunyao and Yunxi, so she still couldn't understand why a servant would show such respect and obedience to a maid like her.

Zhao An was also slightly puzzled.

Two years ago, the two sisters had reunited in the Palace at the Kanfang Pavilion. Since then, Zhao An and Song Qin had regarded Gu Yunxi as their lady. In the later meeting out of the Palace, they had never treated her differently.

Yunxi should have accepted it long ago. Why was she so frightened after a year and a half?

Perceiving Zhao An’s astonished expression, Tu Muxue came to the fearful realization that she might have made a mistake before the people of Jingyang Palace. Her face changed drastically as she burst into tears,

"Lord Zhao, it's great to see you. I thought I would never see Her Grace again in my life..."

Zhao An rose and helped Gu Yunxi up. He was occupied with strange feelings but he couldn't fault it for a while.

He only knew that Gu Yunxi would lovingly call Gu Yunyao "sister" when they were alone. Had she suffered so much in Yongning Palace that she was tamed to be cautious with her words and deeds?

Looking at her sunken face, Zhao An said with concern,

"My young lady, are you hungry. Have you eaten lunch?"

The girl became more aggrieved. She wiped tears on her cheeks and shook her head,

"I got the name of a dish wrong in lunch, so Her Grace punished me not to eat all day."

Zhao An sighed, looking around vigilantly, and he took out a package from his sleeves and stuffed it into the girl's hands. He then whispered,

"Here, take some snacks first."

The girl pursed her lips and opened the parcel. Quietly, she stuffed the soft pastries in her mouth without chewing and was almost choked.

"My young lady, don't hurry..."

The girl's violent cough frightened Zhao An. As he clapped her back in a panic, he was also choked with tears.

Looking down at her trembling swollen little hands, Zhao An teared up and asked in a quivering voice,

"Is the Imperial Noble Concubine still punishing you?"

The girl stared blankly for an instant and then buried her face to cry. Her thin shoulders shook pathetically as she sobbed. Slowly, she rolled up the sleeve cuff to uncover her bruised arm. The old and new injures overlapped and sent down a chill down Zhao An's spine as he took a breath in shock.

The tears overflowed the girl's eyes as she pulled Zhao An's sleeves and cried.

"Lord Zhao, I beg you. Please talk to Concubine Yu to save me from the sufferings as soon as possible. I will slave for her to repay her kindness. I am afraid that I will not live longer there. Ooh, I don't want to die..."

Deeply touched, Zhao An wiped his eyes.

No wonder Your Grace hated Leng Qingtang so much. If it hadn’t been for him, the weak girl would not have gone to visit Ming Lan alone and then been kidnapped, and she would not be tortured by Wan Yuyao now.

Restraining his sadness, Zhao An sighed long,

"Don't worry, my young lady. Her Grace will never abandon you. She will find out a way to rescue you as soon as possible. Therefore, you must be patient and careful when working in the Imperial Noble Concubine."

With these words, Zhao An took out some silver.

Tu Muxue was taken aback,

"Please take it back. I dare not have it."

Zhao An forcibly stuffed it into her hands and told her,

"Take it. You'll have to use it in the Palace. Her Grace said your life might be easier if you could bribe the people there."

"Then, please thank Her Grace for me."

The girl lowered her eyes in tears again.

...

In Jingyang Palace...

At one hour of the afternoon nap, Gu Yunyao felt a headache when she got up from the couch. She did not react much in the early pregnancy, except for the occasional headaches she was having now.

Song Qin noticed her discomfort. She tried to ease her pain by using a wet rhino horn comb to comb her hair.

Zhao An hurriedly went to the palatial garden, lift the curtain up, and entered the room. He knelt before the armchair and greeted his lady,

"Your Grace."

Seeing him back from his mission, the woman in front of the bronze mirror suddenly woke up from her drowsiness. She turned her head quickly and asked eagerly,

"Have you seen her?"

Zhao An nodded,

"Yes, Your Grace."

Gu Yunyao pursed her lips nervously,

"Is she not going well?"

Zhao An dared not look up but give a slight nod,

"Yes, the young lady is in a bad situation. She is beaten and scolded every day in Yongning Palace and also hungry at every turn. Thanks to Song Qin, I brought some food and the young lady ate like a wolf. It was really distressing."

Song Qin listened with trepidation and said sadly,

"The Imperial Noble Concubine is so cruel. Is she trying to abuse her to death?"

Tears sprung to Gu Yunyao's eyes. She asserted,

"No, I can't stand it anymore. Zhao An, bribe someone in Yongning Palace to buy me a meeting with Yunxi."

Zhao An thought for a while and objected,

"Your Grace, that would be inappropriate."

Gu Yunyao was always irritable when it came to Yunxi. She shouted with her face dark,

"How so?"

Zhao An looked down and comforted her patiently,

"Your Grace, you and the young lady are both in the Palace. It is not convenient for you to meet her as outside. Now she is working in Yongning Palace, whose mistress hates Your Grace, so Your Grace shouldn't go personally. If the Imperial Noble Concubine learns that you are meeting secretly, I am afraid she will torture the young lady even harder."

Gu Yunyao gradually calmed down, looking a little embarrassed,

"You are right. But I grew up with her and now I have a little power in the harem. How can I not save her in such circumstances?"

Zhao An pondered for a moment and replied quietly,

"I have heard that there are two herbs that have opposite properties. To drink their decoction will induce allergies which is similar to smallpox."

Gu Yunyao's eyes brightened up,

"Do you mean..."