Four people walked briskly on the palace road.

"Brother, hurry up. It's high time!"

"Why blame me? You're late, too."

"You took too long to change your clothes."

"The nannies have dressed me since my birth and you wouldn't help."

"Well, fine. Hurry up now. Huo Cheng is waiting at the gate of divine prowess."

The four people walking side by side were Prince Chen Huanan Xin, the Fourth Princess Huanan Jiyan, and two maids, Yaoer and Jin'er.

Confined in the Palace for so long, Huanan Jiyan could no longer bear it.

The Empress had left for Yonglu Temple on a one-day fast. Hence, the Princess was free in Kunning Palace until tomorrow. Huanan Jiyan had ordered the imperial bodyguard Huo Cheng to take her brother and her on a trip out of the Palace.

Dumb as he might look like, Prince Chen had waited early at the agreed meeting spot for the fun trip. However, his sister did not show up until the sun was setting.

They had already changed into casual garments and brought a navy robe for Prince Chen as well. After changing his gold crown into plain headgear, they dashed to meet with Huo Cheng who was off duty.

The Palace was easy to enter but hard to exit. Huanan Jiyan brought the imperial bodyguard Huo Cheng just to make full use of his identity as an imperial bodyguard. The access might be rather stricter if they arrived later.

Two maids walked past them across the road. They each had a blue bamboo basket slung over one shoulder. The yellow tassels on the baskets were waving in the breeze.

Prince Chen noticed the shorter girl who was walking behind. His face didn’t show any clear emotion, but his eyes shone coldly.

He felt it was getting more and more interesting.

Jin'er walked closer to Huanan Jiyan and whispered,

"Your Grace, those are the maids of Yongning Palace. Do you notice them just now? The one behind is the new girl who often gets bullied by that vixen."

"I see. She's beautiful. No wonder that vixen is jealous."

Huanan Jiyan commented carelessly as she quickened her steps.

The plan went smoothly. Once out of the gate of divine prowess, the four departed with Huo Cheng and headed to the Eastern Depot.

When Gu Yunxi ran to the gate with the news, she saw the Fourth Princess and Prince Chen dressed like common gentlemen and the two maids dressed as their valets.

Before Gu Yunxi could greet them, Prince Chen stepped forward and hugged her dearly,

"Sweet lady, how are you lately? I miss you so much."

Huanan Xin's enthusiastic greeting before the Eastern Depot guards overwhelmed Gu Yunxi. She felt embarrassed and didn't step back to keep her distance until he was satisfied.

Huanan Jiyan stood close to Gu Yunxi, studying her soft purple leather armor. And then she took the broadsword on her waist and fiddled with it curiously.

Gu Yunxi looked at them in surprise,

"Why are you all out of the Palace?"

"Because my brother missed you so much that he had to drag me here to see you."

Huanan Jiyan's eyes gleamed wickedly. Her dimpled cheeks blushed while she was grinning innocently.

Frowning and aggrieved, Prince Chen raised his voice to retort immediately,

"It was you who wanted to see your dear Lu and required me to ask when Yunxi would find him!"

"Ah..."

The lie was exposed on the spot. Huanan Jiyan embarrassedly scratched the back of her neck. Grinning, she first cast her eyes on indignant Prince Chen, then on helpless Yaoer and Jin'er, and finally on bewildered Gu Yunxi,

"Hehe. It's been over ten days since you left the Palace. I was so worried that I decided to check it out by myself."

Gu Yunxi understood that she couldn't let the Fourth Princess know that Master had beaten Lu, so she invited them to a dinner meeting at Baoyue Restaurant.

She told a Depot worker to pass on the news to Master that he didn’t have to wait for her for dinner and then led the four to North Street.

Prince Chen seemed to be out of the Palace for the first time. He walked in the forefront hand in hand with Gu Yunxi, looking around with endless curiosity and naive smiles.

With a few peeks at him, Gu Yunxi was overcome with emotions,

“Alas, what a handsome young man! Yet a fool tormented by the cruel life in the Palace.”

There were not many customers at Baoyue Restaurant at this time and the shopkeeper was extremely enthusiastic about Gu Yunxi who was in the Eastern Depot uniform. He eagerly accompanied them to the best private room on the second floor.

Prince Chen's face darkened after taking the seat. He pouted his lips,

"Sweet lady, instead of staying in the Eastern Depot, why not come with us to the Palace? You can cook for me in Concubine Xu's palace. But now we have to eat in a restaurant."

Huanan Jiyan almost sprayed the tea she had just sipped. She managed to drink it and chuckled,

"My brother is such a bad liar. It seems that he likes you."

Prince Chen giggled approvingly, not awkward at all.

Complicated relationships with other men had always troubled Gu Yunxi the most. However, Prince Chen was crazy and stupid. His pursuit might be as naive as that of a child. Thus, she did not take it seriously and only hid her embarrassment behind the teacup.

Nonetheless, the chilling awkwardness disrupted Huanan Jiyan and so she continued,

"Tu Muxue, does the Eastern Depot have no news about Lu Zhu?"

Shaking her head, Gu Yunxi put down the teacup,

"Lu must have been delayed by some business at home. He's great at martial arts. So please don't worry, Your Grace. He will surely come back safely to meet Your Grace again."

Huanan Jiyan tilted her head and cast her shiny eyes on Gu Yunxi,

"I had the impression that you and Lu Zhu were acquaintances. Tell me where exactly he is from. How is his family? And how did you meet him?"

Caught off guard by the sudden questions, Gu Yunxi was tongue-tied.

Meanwhile, a waiter knocked on the door and announced in a measured tone that was special to his trade,

"Dear customers, here come the dishes!"

After the delicacies were set on the table, the waiters left the room and closed the door behind them.

To stop the Fourth Princess's inquisition, Gu Yunxi changed the topic,

"Your Highness, Your Grace, how are things in the Palace? Are Concubine Xu and Concubine Yu well?"

Huanan Jiyan waved her hand casually,

"Rest assured. They can't be better. Concubine Yu moved to Jingyang Palace long ago. Her belly had already shown. I'll have a little brother or sister by this winter."

Gu Yunxi could tell from Huanan Jiyan's delightful expression that Concubine Yu was indeed having a good time. So she was finally relieved from distress and could enjoy a moment of peace.

Holding the steaming teacup in his hands, Prince Chen masked his handsome face with vapor so none could easily comprehend his intention,

"Yongning Palace is quite noisy lately. I always drop by to have a look."

Smiling, Prince Chen clapped his hands,

"A new maid, more beautiful than Wan Yuyao, went there and gets tortured every day."

"Right. That vixen Wan Yuyao is so sinful. She can simply kick the maidout if she dislikes her. But she'd rather keep her to torment."

Huanan Jiyan nodded in accord. She picked roasted pork with chopsticks and then stuffed an oily chunk into her mouth.

"I've heard about it, too."

Gu Yunxi replied as a frown kissed her brows.

Gu Yunxi had heard about the maid tortured by the Imperial Noble Concubine in the Eastern Depot. Somehow, whenever she heard about it, anxiety would gnaw her heart. There was no different this time.

Who was that maid? The Imperial Noble Concubine was so jealous that she insisted on keeping her in suffering. How beautiful could she be?

Time passed by very fast during dinner. Huanan Jiyan ordered another pot of wine for her indulgence. And Prince Chen was playing cute, demanding Gu Yunxi to feed him.

Gu Yunxi was familiar with the spoiled princess. In the maids' continual entreaties, she patiently fed Prince Chen while hoping for the dinner to end sooner.

Finally, it was dark and they needed to part their ways.

Intoxicated, Huanan Jiyan had a fit in the breeze and went limp on Gu Yunxi.

Gu Yunxi almost lost her senses.

Yaoer and Jin'er were not good at kung fu. Prince Chen was retarded and the Fourth Princess was drunk. How could she let them go like that?

With no choice, Gu Yunxi and Yaoer carried the Fourth Princess when Jin'er looked after Prince Chen. The five trudged to the Palace.

The Palace at midnight was illuminated splendidly. The lanterns swayed in the breeze as the candles sparkled.

...

Under the moon, a man sat on the untrimmed branches.

He was of medium stature and was wearing tight clothes as black as the sky. His square face was sheltered under a bamboo hat, hard to discern. Basked in the moonlight, an empty sleeve was fluttering in the wind. It was quite a striking scene.

Not far away from the branches, a woman called in shock on top of the red wall. Her dulcet voice quivered out of uncontrollable sentiments,

"I didn't expect to see you again... in my life... It... It feels like a dream..."

Sighing, Wenren Junzheng put down one leg on the branch. He looked hesitantly across the red wall and found a slender figure by the broken corner.

His heart seemed to have stopped beating.

Wenren Junzheng opened his mouth a little. Suddenly, he turned his head back, looking at the heavily set buildings in the distance and then he cleared his throat,

"I escorted Qiange to the Palace and dropped by to visit Xin."

The woman smirked,

"Xin lives in Wutong Garden, you know that. Why lies? Is it so hard for you to speak truthfully that you are here to see me?"

Wenren Junzheng's back tightened. He touched his hat, almost stiffly.

After a moment of silence, he mumbled,

"It's not hard. But I don't have the right to say that. I could not give you the peaceful life you wanted before..."

"It's just an alternative."

The woman on the red wall interrupted Wenren Junzheng and spoke willfully,

“You wanted adventures, while I... I have realized that it's foolish of me to wait for you. I belong to the court. To survive, I have to earn Emperor's favor and bear his children.”

“I've gone through all the hardships. Still, I need to thank you. For the sake of our shared past, you taught Xin kung fu and told him how to play dumb to keep his life.”

Startled, Wenren Junzheng exhaled sadly,

"That is my only way to repay you. Do you wish to gamble on? I'm confused by Qiange's stories. The things you made Xin do... Are those for him, or for you?"

The woman burst into frosty laughter,

"I carried Xin in my belly for ten months. Mother and son are connected and we share the fruits. There's no difference between him and me. No matter what, the present situation is enough to prove our success after decades of work. Am I wrong?"