In Jingyang Palace of the Palace in the capital—

Gu Yunyao was sitting alone and enjoying tea. Suddenly, her mind was in a trance and her wrist lost its strength. She buckled a cup of tea on the ground.

Song Qin asked in a hurry,

"Master, are you okay? Let me clean it..."

Gu Yunyao did not seem to hear those words and quietly bent over to pick up the porcelain pieces.

The pain at her fingertips made her tremble, and her dull eyes returned to clarity.

"Oh, it's bleeding."

Song Qin screamed and hurried to find the bandage.

Gu Yunyao looked straight at the blood like a bright fire on her snow-white finger. She looked more worried.

Why was she restless today?

In the Palace of Guiping—

When Huanan Xin rushed into the Qushui Hall with a serious look, he saw Gu Yunxi sitting at the long table and wiping the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief in her thin fingers.

Seeing the young emperor, she did not get up in a hurry. She bypassed the table case and bowed respectfully. In a soft voice, she said,

"I pay respect to Your Majesty."

Only in a moment, the young emperor's face stiffened. The tall figure against the sunshine was gilded by the noon sun, which was clear and dazzling.

His original frozen expression slowly relaxed. The mist in his brown eyes melted, and a smile appeared on his handsome face, warm and pleasant.

"Dear, please get up soon."

In a big stride, Huanan Xin couldn't wait to hold her arms and help her up.

He couldn't believe it. Chen Ying told him in the morning that Lady Yun refused to obey his order. She not only refused to be the emperor's concubine, but also kicked up a row in the Qushui Hall.

Now he personally came to see her. She was sitting in the bedroom and having a meal conscientiously. When he came, she even welcomed him differentially. How did she kick up a row or disobey his orders?

However, in the past, this girl entered the Palace with multiple identities. She experienced a lot and was a sly figure.

Was there any other purpose in her sweetness and deference? Huanan Xin must figure it out.

"Dear, you are in the Qushui Hall with the door closed. I'm worried so I come to see you. You... What are you doing?"

Huanan Xin looked at the mess on the floor slightly and turned to Wu Yong. Then he quietly focused his eyes on Gu Di who was dressed as a eunuch.

The moment when he gazed at Gu Di, Gu Di felt a sense of urgency and pressure.

His palms in the eunuch wide sleeve became a hand blade. He was ready to take action and kill the emperor at any time.

Wu Yong was afraid that Gu Di's disguise would be recognized by Huanan Xin, so he hurriedly walked sideways and gave a salute to block Huanan Xin's confusing sight. Then he flattered,

"Your Majesty, I find the lunchtime is coming, so I then take Lord Zhang to send some meals to Her Grace and comforted her. Now Her Grace is in a good mood. Look, she has taken more than half a bowl of fish soup."

Gu Yunxi, with a hand held by the emperor, nodded and echoed,

"Yes, if it is not Taoist priest who tells me, I will not know you've done so many things for me. Your Majesty, thank you for caring for Imperial Mother Yu."

Then she was about to pay a courtesy call and the gesture of holding up her dress hems was elegant and charming.

Seeing this, Huanan Xin felt excited. He hurriedly supported the girl's elbow to help her up and smiled,

"It ain't necessarily so."

Wu Yong took the opportunity to bow and say,

"Since Her Grace has finished the meal, I won't bother her. I should leave with Lord Zhang now. Your Majesty, I help Her Grace to get over her worries. So..."

With a greedy grin, he walked close to Huanan Xin.

"Hmm?" Huanan Xin sneered in disdain. "You are just a false priest. Get out quickly. There will be no shortage of your reward!"

"Thanks for your reward."

Wu Yong bowed hypocritically and tipped Gu Di on the side the wink, He pretended to assume the dignity of another,

"What are you looking at? Come to help me clean up these. Don't make the hall full of food smells. Also, remember to ask someone to come over and clean the Qushui Hall later. Pay attention to these jade pieces. Don't trip up Her Grace."

Now Gu Di had to temporarily hide his reluctant expression and cut Huanan Xin some slack.

Quickly cleaning up the cups, dishes, and chopsticks, Gu Di bowed his head.

And followed Wu Yong out of the Qushui Hall.

Gu Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

Her vision just detoured from the direction of the door and was completely occupied by a handsome face.

The man looked directly at her and his eyes were scorching with light and undisguised spoil,

"Dear, do you like the food in the Palace?"

Gu Yunxi glanced at the table with her glittering eyes. She smiled and shook her head,

"With all due respect, it's not satisfactory. The taste is either bland or salty. Take the bowl of crab roe fish soup I just took for example. Ginger juice is the most important in that soup. If you put a small amount of ginger juice, it will be difficult to hold down the fishy smell of the sea fish. But that bowl soup happens to have too much ginger juice, which grabs the fresh flavor of the crab roe."

Hearing this, Huanan Xin clapped his hands and smiled,

"The comment is good. When it comes to food, no one can match you. I often miss the old days. I was the prince and you were the chief maid of Chuxiu Palace. Every time I tasted the food you made, I felt so happy..."

Gu Yunxi looked down and didn't respond with her eyelashes trembling.

What did Huanan Xin's words mean? Did the scene touch a chord in his heart or was he flying her kite? Anyway, it was better to say nothing.

On the other hand, Wu Yong said that Huanan Xin had many substitutes. In that case, this Huanan Xin was indeed different from the person seen at the feast that night. She must be careful about his identity.

The person on the opposite was unable to contain himself when she was thinking. He stepped forward and stretched his hands to hold the beloved girl into his arms.

Gu Yunxi was surprised and leaned on his solid chest. She even didn't dare to move.

It was unexpected, but she knew that as a concubine, she couldn't avoid it.

"What's wrong with you, Dear? Why is your body so stiff?"

Huanan Xin lowered his head and blinked. His thin lips touched the girl's scented black hair. He said in a dubious voice,

"Let me help you relax, okay?"

He kissed the girl's black hair, causing her to instantly flush. She subconsciously lifted her small hands and uneasily scratched the front part of his robe embroidered with a dragon.

Huanan Xin ambiguously sneered. He grasped the girl's hand with his slender fingers and put it on his chest. Then he intended to kiss her lips.

"Your Majesty—"

The girl screamed and turned her head to avoid his kiss.

He looked sullen and hid the chagrin quietly. Huanan Xin pinched the beauty's chin and raised it.

The girl wore a lake blue dress with disheveled hair. The ribbons on her waist had gone, and her beautiful body was hidden in a large hem, representing a lazy beauty.

Her face was delicate and her skin was fine and smooth as snow. In her clear eyes, there was shyness and nervousness. Seeing her elegant figure, no one would be angry.

"Yunxi, tell me the truth, are you willing to be my woman?"

With her heart up and down, the girl tried to suppress her panic and resume her breath,

"Your Majesty, I have no other choice."

Huanan Xin raised eyebrows and his eyes became sharp,

"I have decreed that I shall carry to Wangxian Rise tomorrow to pray for the well-being of all mankind."

He had already learned of the plan of the Eastern Depot from Min Rui. Now he stood here and invited her directly, which was clearly a kind of test.

Gu Yunxi believed that now if she continued to cover up in the face of Huanan Xin, things would go wrong.

Determined to kneel on the ground, the girl bowed,

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Huanan Xin's eyes gradually became deep and he suddenly changed the topic,

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

The girl answered calmly,

"It's my great honor to go to Wangxian Rise with the emperor. Besides, Your Majesty loves me. So how can you let me die?"

Huanan Xin said nothing and no longer frowned. He stretched his arms to help her up and laughed wildly,

"Dear, you're smart. I won't let you die. Tomorrow you should do as I tell you, and you will be safe."

…

In the night, the wind blew slowly. The moon sometimes hid in the clouds and sometimes appeared, spilling the clear light to the quiet world.

Several black figures secretly sneaked into the Royal Palace of Guiping. In the blink of an eye, these people knocked down the guards, took off their official suits, and threw them into the river outside.

In the Qushui Hall—

Gu Yunxi stood in front of the copper flower table, quietly watching the windless automatic flame on the lamp.

Her thoughts were filled with memories, sweet and sad. The main character in her mind was the same man.

Gu Yunxi had not yet dared to face herself. When did she become so miserable?

The Master just died not long ago. She followed his twin brother in a fog and then accepted Huanan Xin for a certain purpose.

The spirit of the Master must have known this and resented her treachery and disloyalty.

Otherwise, why did she never dream of the Master at night?

She missed the Master much. She was unusually eager to meet him in the dream, even if for only once.

At noon, Huanan Xin came to the Qushui Hall to sound out her and reveal his innermost feelings. He also took the opportunity to take liberties with her.

She repeatedly refused him with physical discomfort. Until a eunuch came to clean up what had previously been broken by her, Huanan Xin stopped.

When he left, he dismissed the guards outside the hall and sent a female slave called "Dong Zhu" to serve her. The maid helped her put on a gorgeous palace dress and combed for her.

A heavy sadness poured into her heart. Due to gazing at the fire, her sore eyes slowly ran out of tears.

That delicate figure fell on the window, attracting the attention of a man outside the hall.

With a frown, he finally couldn't bear that his girl was dejected here. Looking around and finding no one here, he rushed to the eaves of the window. Thinking for a while, he recited,

"The distant mountains are slightly black, and the near island is green. The sea god occupies the palace under the sea, and the fisherman closes the doors and windows. Dark clouds are waiting for the dawn, retreating tides liberate the island's hidden spirituality. When the sun rises in the east, I will see peace and tranquility."

Hearing this in the hall, Dong Zhu stopped her work and stood up impatiently. She complained,

"Who is this? How can you be so unruly? Why are you making noise here in the middle of the night?"

At this moment, Gu Yunxi stood up in a panic. She recalled the particularly familiar voice and became excited.

Was it a hallucination? Or was it the soul of Master Leng who really came back to see her?

It was right!

He wrote the poem, which contained her name, so she remembered it clearly.

Her heartbeat seemed to miss a beat. Gu Yunxi hurried to open the door and ran out of the hall.

It was empty and the moon shone brightly. The sky and earth were covered with moonlight.