The night was balmy with constant breezes.

Tu Muxue sneaked back to Jingyang Palace before the palace gate was locked and entered the side room in the dark.

Because of Gu Yunyao's care, she got special treatment in Jingyang Palace, who could live in a room alone without living with other palace maids.

With the usual alertness of people who had kung fu, Tu Muxue clearly felt that there was someone in the room when the door was closed.

"Who is there?"

With a sharp shout, which was as low as a man’s voice, the person waiting in the room was taken aback for a moment.

"It's me... Yunxi, you are back!"

In the darkness, Tu Muxue's eyes turned sullen. But then she changed her accent, saying like a gentle young girl.

"Sister? It's me. I'm back. Why don't you light a candle?"

Tu Muxue walked quickly to the table and lit the candle. The yellow light flickered and instantly illuminated the small dark room.

Gu Yunyao sat on the side of the bed with her black hair hanging down. Only a long fur coat was wrapped around her underwear.

When it turned bright, she saw the girl beside the table clearly.

Teardrops hung on her charming cheeks, shining brightly under the swaying candlelight, which looked beautiful but also pitiful.

"Why... Why did you cry?"

Gu Yunyao felt something was wrong after some time.

Before leaving the Palace, she was dressed beautifully, but when she came back, she had messy hair and was disheveled.

Gu Yunyao had gone through too many things, so she instinctively realized that the situation was not good. She stood up and rushed to the girl.

"Yunxi, what's the matter? Tell me, what happened?"

The girl cried more mournfully. She crossed her arms, shaking her head sadly.

"Sister, don't ask about it anymore. I'm fine. I'm fine..."

"Bullsh*t!"

Gu Yunyao didn't follow her words and grabbed the girl by one hand to calm her down.

The girl screamed in pain.

Gu Yunyao was shocked, lifting her sleeves, only to see the various bruises on her long and snow-white arms.

"Who did it? Tell me who did this to you!"

Gu Yunyao shouted hysterically, resentful and distressed.

She kept Song Qin’s words to herself before the girl was settled in.

Seeing that Yunxi didn’t come back late at night, she was anxious and helpless, not able to fall asleep at all. So, she came to the side room where she lived to wait for her.

She just wanted to see when her sister would come back and whether she was scheming and unstable as others said.

After a long time after the drumming, the door finally opened, but her strange voice made Gu Yunyao so confused.

But at this moment, facing the scars on the girl's body, Gu Yunyao completely put all the doubts and anger behind. She had a heartache, repeatedly questioning what happened to the girl on earth.

The girl sobbed in Gu Yunyao's arms and cried loudly,

"Sister, I have nothing now. I feel so bad..."

…

Under the moon, Lu Qiange picked up Huanan Jiyan and walked to the riverbank.

Looking at the heart of the river for a while, he bit his teeth, hugged the girl tightly, and jumped into the water.

Late at night, the river in early spring was still extremely cold. Lu Qiange took Huanan Jiyan into the water and almost sank to the bottom with a sudden drop.

His thought was simple.

He was the third prince of Suoluo Family in Udan and his identity in Da Yi was the disciple of Wenren Junzheng, the sub-chieftain of the Clan of Swords, who was the famous The Lone Ranger.

No matter what happened, he couldn't act like those unmoral people. He wouldn't take advantage of the little girl in this case.

Although there was nothing wrong with saving the princess, if he found Yunxi someday in the future, he would feel ashamed to meet her and marry her!

At the moment, the Fourth Princess's body was so hot due to the philter and the best way was to cool her down. In this way, it was best to make use of the reed marshes.

It was so urgent that he could only put aside the traditional moral codes that it was improper for men and women to touch each other in passing objects.

In the river, Lu Qiange held the girl's waist tightly with his arms. His legs gathered strength to kick the water slightly, which made the two persons float to the surface of the river with ease.

The cold water infiltrated every burning pore of Huanan Jiyan, making her calm down slowly.

Soaking in the water, the girl's face was not as red as before, and her twitching facial features also got a little better.

The cold water seemed to make her feel so comfortable. Her eyelashes moved slightly and she slid her head gently, trying to get close to the man's solid chest.

However, the water in the river was not shallow. When she lowered her head in a coma, her nose was flooded by the water, which made her start coughing.

Lu Qiange put on a cold face and gathered strength to lift the girl high, travelling in the river alone.

The moonlight on his head was cold and the water behind him was shimmering and flowing slowly, turning into ripples.

After landing, Lu Qiange laid the wet girl on the big stone.

At this time, the girl's dress was drenched, clinging to her graceful body and outlining her superb figure. Her skin that had been soaked in river water for a long time looked white and flawless, glistening in the air before dawn.

The girl hadn't come to her sense yet. Her breath was steady, her face looked peaceful, and countless fine droplets could be seen on her hanging hair.

In her deep sleep, she moved her pink lips. Her dense eyelashes quivered occasionally, which was absolutely charming.

Facing the temptation of the sleepy girl, Lu Qiange didn't seem to have any interest. After a few glances, he sneezed extremely loudly when the wind passed his nose.

He looked back at the girl again, only to see that she was curling up and shaking constantly.

Lu Qiange frowned and shook his head, muttering.

"You're really troublesome."

Regardless of everything, he picked up Huanan Jiyan and set her in a right posture. They sat cross-legged face to face. He stretched his palms and put them on the girl's shoulders, injecting his internal strength into her body to dispel the coldness.

After a while, Lu Qiange stopped it. Huanan Jiyan's body softened and then she leaned against his chest.

The wind blew and the reeds swayed. Lu Qiange held the girl quietly, savoring the last dark moment before dawn with a complicated mood.

After a while, the girl opened her eyes faintly and coughed a few times.

"How are you feeling?"

Lu Qiange asked.

Huanan Jiyan regained her consciousness suddenly, looked at the man in astonishment, and then turned to look around.

A wild place, reed marshes, and white moonlight…

"Zhu, what happened? Why are you drenched?"

The girl screamed in surprise and then stretched out her slender fingers to wring out the water at the hem of his clothes.

At this moment, Lu Qiange's heart suddenly became confused, as if something went into his heart rampantly, breaking his persistence and stubbornness.

When she looked up, she saw the man's blank face. The girl smiled shyly with her cheeks slightly hot.

Reminiscing about what happened before, she was puzzled,

"By the way, what happened just now? Why did you fight with Xier? I didn't expect the palace maid to have kung fu. And, why did you call her Gu Yunxi?"

"You got poisoned just now..."

Lu Qiange looked at the rippling lake and sighed, but couldn’t explain what the "poison" was to her clearly.

"What?"

Huanan Jiyan looked stunned. Her lips moved and a gleam of terror flashed through her clear eyes. Looking at herself subconsciously, she looked excited. Her small hands grabbed the man's big cool hand and there was great admiration in her eyes.

"So, Zhu, you saved me? Zhu, thank you! How can I repay you since you have saved my life?"

"Um... You don't have to thank me..."

Lu Qiange turned his eyes embarrassedly.

"Zhu, you haven't told me what exactly is your relationship with Xier? Why did she say that she had an engagement with you? Why did you have a fight with your future wife?"

Lu Qiange frowned and said in a low voice,

"You should tell me first. Why did you come to the teahouse with her?"

Huanan Jiyan said bluntly,

"I couldn't find you when I came out of Jingyang Palace. When I was anxious, she came to me. She asked me about our relationship and told me that you knew each other before entering the Palace and that you promised to marry her after she was released. I was angry naturally. When I questioned her, she said that she would meet you in a teahouse, so I would like to follow her to find out the truth."

Lu Qiange stood up coldly and raised his eyebrows,

"Why did you get angry after hearing that I would marry her?"

"I..."

Huanan Jiyan blushed. She wanted to say something, but finally she swallowed the words.

She rolled her eyes, and immediately changed the subject,

"Don't talk about that. Why did you fight with her?"

Lu Qiange pondered for a moment and his fingers moved between his eyebrows,

"You may not believe. That person is not an ordinary woman. She is not the real Gu Yunxi. It is a complete disaster to keep her in the Palace!"

Huanan Jiyan was in panic, but she believed in Lu Qiange’s words.

"So, if she keeps staying in Jingyang Palace, it can be detrimental to Concubine Yu! Concubine Yu and Concubine Xu are both good people. Concubine Xu has been dead. If Concubine Yu also..."

Lu Qiange looked sullen and gritted his teeth,

"I must go back to the Palace and tell Concubine Yu the truth."

"I will go with you. I can help you!"

Huanan Jiyan said determinedly and grabbed his hand.

Her soft and warm palm made the man's heart warm. His eyes were no longer cold and he said with embarrassment,

"It was I who got you involved and soaked in the river. Why not find a place to change your clothes first?"

"It's okay. It's more important to go back to the Palace. The clothes are almost dry right now."

Huanan Jiyan smoothed her hair, grinning.

…

In the morning, the Palace was extremely busy. The palace maids decorated the Palace with lanterns and streamers for the Spring Banquet at night.

Recently, many things have happened in the Palace, but they didn't affect Emperor Jingxiao's mood for the festival. He wanted to host a banquet, dispelling the bad luck in the Palace.

Leng Qingtang entered the Palace early in the morning, with only his close guard Gu Yunxi and four guards.

As soon as they arrived at the Imperial Ceremony Office, Bingbi Liu handed a package to Master before he was seated for a cup of tea,

"Look, this was discovered by Luzi at the door in the early morning when he was hanging lanterns. It was stuffed in the mouth of the stone beast guarding the gate on the right."

Leng Qingtang was surprised and opened the cloth bag slowly.

Bingbi Liu had a solemn expression and sighed slightly.

"Master, be careful. There is pollen of iron reed in the paper. The letter was written to you by Nanny Tong."

As the cloth bag didn’t have a signature when he got it, Bingbi Liu, as the second-commander of the Imperial Ceremony Office and the trusted follower of Leng Qingtang, had the right to read it first in accordance with the usual rules. Only then did he find that there was a letter in it, which was written to his Master.

"Nanny Tong?"

Leng Qingtang was extremely surprised. He thought about the people he knew well, but there was no one whose surname was Tong.

Why did this person leave a letter for him? Why didn't she send it to the Imperial Ceremony Office directly but stuffed it into the mouth of the stone beast guarding the gate?

Gu Yunxi suddenly exclaimed,

"Master, Nanny Tong is the nanny who raised the Seventh Prince Huanan Lin."

She had heard this name before when she visited Yongning Palace at night. She only felt familiar with it at that time. But at this time, she finally remembered.

Leng Qingtang hurriedly unfolded the package completely and took out a thick mass of something, a letter, and an ingot of gold.

Leng Qingtang took the letter and let Gu Yunxi read it with him.

And then, both of them were shocked.

Gu Yunxi's eyes turned wet and red and she couldn't calm down for a long time.

She had always thought that the deep Palace was so complicated and most of the people in the Palace would bully the weak and fear the strong.

But the words in this letter were full of the loyalty and courage of a servant. Her feelings for her master were really touching.

Keeping the letter, Leng Qingtang asked,

"Where is Nanny Tong now?"

Bingbi Liu sighed and shook his head,

"After I got the letter, I sent someone to investigate it. But the Seventh Prince's fostering nanny has already been changed. I am afraid that Nanny Tong has been killed."

While they were sighing for it, a little eunuch hurried in.

"Master, something wrong happened. Concubine Jin in Weiyan Chamber is dead!"