The wind of early winter blew into the courtyard with a chill, brushed the face of Leng Qingtang, and made his scalp numb.

He smiled at the girl outside the door and replied,

"Hua'er has just come. Now he and Yunxi go to the business street on the border to buy spices."

Huanan Jiyan showed a sharp color in her eyes, and her exquisite face was like a frozen river. She didn’t change her expression for a while.

When she calmed down her anger, the girl turned around and left. Behind her was Leng Qingtang's confused voice.

"What's the matter? You'd better come in and wait for him. They'll be back soon."

Huanan Jiyan suddenly stopped. Her head lowered slightly, and her voice was depressed,

"Zhu didn't tell me when he came out."

His smile suddenly froze. Leng Qingtang didn't know how to answer her for a moment.

He felt a slight sense of foreboding.

At the next moment, Huanan Jiyan turned around resolutely. She strode into the yard and said calmly,

"Well, I'll stay here and wait for him!"

The two walked down the corridor one after the other.

Leng Qingtang pulled a wooden chair and said with a smile,

"I'll continue to grind these spices later. If you feel cold, you can go inside and wait for them."

The girl looked absently at the mess of a table and slowly shook her head, without much vitality.

"Uncle, I just want to talk to you in the corridor."

"Well, wait a minute. I'll make you some honey rose tea."

Leng Qingtang returned to the loft and quickly brought out a plate of snacks.

The hot air curled out of the bamboo-shaped jade goblet, and the white smoke diffused the sweet smell of honey mixed with the rich smell of roses.

Huanan Jiyan reached out to pick up the tea cup. The abrupt blisters on the backs of those two thin white hands were completely exposed in front of Leng Qingtang.

Seeing his face shocked, Huanan Jiyan hurriedly covered it with her sleeves, smiled awkwardly, and explained,

"I was accidentally injured..."

Leng Qingtang nodded to show understanding.

"Are those bubbles made by hot oil? Are you learning to cook?"

"Should you know this?"

Leng Qingtang continued to work with a stone pestle and smiled modestly.

"In the past, I couldn't even enter the kitchen. Now I can cook several simple meals. In fact, life is the same for each of us."

The girl raised her glass in silence, and her beautiful eyes were blurred by the fragrant smoke.

For a long time, her eyes fell aimlessly to a point on the ground. She said softly,

"Uncle, I want to be as capable as Yunxi. But the more I want to do my best, the more I fail. How can I be as good as Yunxi?"

The sound of grinding sand suddenly stopped.

The man looked at the girl calmly. Suddenly, he realized something.

The girl was full of depression. She was looked directly at by his sharp eyes and was suddenly nervous.

"Jiyan, you are unique. You don't have to imitate others."

Putting down the tools in his hand, Leng Qingtang looked into the clear sky and looked far away at the leisurely wandering clouds with calm eyebrows.

"I believe you are smart and will not waste your wisdom on trying to be others."

The girl became infinitely aggrieved from surprise. She bit her lip and hurriedly explained,

"But..."

"Jiyan, you should be quite confident. Confidence is not only a kind of wisdom but also a kind of tolerance."

The girl didn't speak, and there seemed to be a sharp sword inserted in her chest. She thought hard for a long time and suddenly asked,

"Are you tolerant of Aunt all the time? Do you trust her so much? The last time when Zhu came, I heard she asked Zhu to do something for her in the kitchen. What was it? Did she tell you?"

―

The carriage sped for an hour and stopped at a busy street corner.

There was only a small double-layer loft without a courtyard parapet. The five-color enamel spherical dome was the traditional architectural style of Udan.

At first glance, it could be seen that the wall of the loft more than ten meters high was wrapped by vines layer by layer, dense like a cobweb.

At this time, in winter, the long vines all over the wall were dry. The leaves were withered, and the winding branches looked like countless ghost hands in strange shapes and they intertwined with each other, enveloping the whole small building.

Even during the day, it was frightening to see such a gray, lonely, and bleak building towering in the sun.

Lu Qiange's two men stood five meters away from the small building. When they saw Lu Qiange arrive, they buckled the door of the small building after saluting.

In an instant, the wooden door opened itself.

Lu Qiange entered first. Gu Yunxi followed, and two men guarded in front of the door.

The light on the first floor was particularly dark, and there were only two or three candles on the copper table, shaking slightly.

The air was full of a strange smell, which was what the four of them smelled at the scene of the bonding ritual on the day of the Autumn Hunting Convention.

There were square iron cages, large and small, stacked everywhere. Inside were live foxes, snakes, cocks, and crows. They kept waving their teeth and claws at Gu Yunxi. They looked very angry.

There were many sealed transparent glass cans placed on a long table, which contained toads, snakes, and some unnamed reptiles.

Gu Yunxi was so frightened that she put one hand on her chest and couldn't breathe.

Lu Qiange patted her on the back and signaled her to relax.

There was no one on the chair.

When Lu Qiange was confused, several sharp and harsh voices came from the southwest corner.

"Go to the second floor. Go to the second floor."

Through the flickering light of the fire, they looked for a sound and saw that there was a black feather bird standing on the hanging bird rack, with a bright yellow beak half open and lazily spreading its wings.

The sound just came from the bird.

Now Lu Qiange also clenched his fist and walked cautiously.

This place was really weird. They had to be careful.

They walked all the way up to the second floor.

In front of them was a transparent hall. The six story bookshelves, which were higher than one person, were connected in pairs, occupying the four walls, and each floor was filled with books.

Behind the triple white curtain sat a woman with her knees crossed. The woman was dressed in a black robe and a hat made of animal hair and pheasant feathers.

The woman's face was covered with a mask. She was the witch who presided over the blood bonding ritual that day.

"Hello, Your Highness."

Seeing Lu Qiange and Gu Yunxi, an old lady behind the mask said in an old and dull voice.

Lu Qiange gave a little courtesy and had a pious attitude.

"Master, my friend wants you to preside over a blood bonding ritual."

"I already know. Last time your people came to see me. They have conveyed your ideas to me. Well, you all sit down."

The witch motioned them to look at the round table in front of her.

There was a white wax burning in the middle of the wheel-sized table.

Probably because of enough phosphorous powder, the light of the candle was green and strange as if it had been a ghostly light from the hell.

Next to the candle was a round and bright white crystal ball, which was smooth and reflected by the green flame, and the reflected light was particularly gloomy.

Gu Yunxi inadvertently lowered her eyes and only looked at the base of the crystal ball. She suddenly felt that her body was weak and soft, like stepping into the air.

The base of the ball was a skull. Two dark eye holes were pointing at her. She was very afraid.

After sitting down, Lu Qiange felt uncomfortable with the strange peace for a long time.

He put his fist half clenched in front of his lips, coughed, and said,

"Master, what is necessary for the ceremony...?"

"Hush!"

The witch suddenly raised a finger to signal Lu Qiange to be silent. The old lady with the mask was aimed at Gu Yunxi's face. Behind the mask, a pair of brown golden pupils were bright and overflowed with excited brilliance.

"You will be the empress, the future owner of the Eastern Palace."