At noon, there was no empty seat on the first floor of Xuanxiang Restaurant.

A young actress in a long and blue garment embroidered with clouds and lightening sat on one side of the platform. Sitting in the report chair, she held a fan and talked about one story in Journey to the East.

The actress named Hua Wuyan had just worked in Xuanxiang Restaurant not long before. Although she just talked about stories for about 15 minutes every morning, plenty of people gathered there.

It was not only because she was one of a few actresses among storytellers. Apart from her youth and good appearance, she also had one strange ability that common people didn't owe.

When she talked about stories, she always held a water pipe.

During the period of telling stories, she sometimes smoked it.

When she finished telling a story, the water pipe had been almost smoked.

At that time, some strange and red spots would occur in her cheeks. The spots were like plum flowers, appearing and blossoming, which made her face become more beautiful.

The guests in Xuanxiang Restaurant were all touched by the strange scene of "plum flowers blossoming in the face". The news spread by word of mouth, so many people went there to see the scene.

"If you want to know how crafty Bai Mudan attracted Lv Dongbin, please listen to my illustrations later."

After putting the attention-catching block on the table, the actress suddenly stopped speaking. Then she slowly held the purple water pipe made of copper, making the last smoke.

"Aye! Look! The plum flowers blossom! They blossom! How beautiful!"

Guests in the seat whispered and talked with each other, widening their eyes and staring at the actress's delicate face.

Suddenly, some noise occurred from the street. Then a group of Imperial Guards pushed the crowd away and rushed into the restaurant.

"Manager! Where is the manager?"

Fu Danqing who was disguised as a man strode from the counter, smiling and saluting the centurion who led the group.

"Sir, what do you command?"

The centurion held his sword and impatiently glanced at Fu Danqing.

"Tomorrow Imperial Noble Concubine Duanmin will be buried in Mount Yin. At that time, the funeral group will pass by this street. So do you know what you should do?"

"Yes, I know. At that time, I will obey the rule of funeral and close my restaurant for a day."

Fu Danqing hustled to nod and flatter.

The centurion shifted his eyes and ignored her, directly walking to the report platform. Then a disgusting smile appeared on his ugly face.

"Aye yo! You have finished telling a story? Look at the plum flowers on your face! How beautiful..."

"Centurion Sun, your smile is even worse than the cry. If Wuyan is frightened, I will seriously punish you."

The centurion had reached his hand, but then he suddenly stopped. He kneeled and became nervous, even not daring to raise his head.

"Master, please forgive me..."

Leshuang slowly stood up from a chair with his hands held behind his back. He wore a dark garment embroidered with moon and shadows, just with a blue sachet tied on his waist.

Now that he dressed like a young man and sat in a seat in the corner, people would hardly watch him.

"You have finished your task, but you should also stay here. I think you are so free. So, tomorrow you don't guard in the Court of Patrol of North Town. You just go away as far as possible!"

After seriously rebuking him, Leshuang walked to the long table and held the actress's delicate hands, gently smiling.

"Wuyan, I accompany you to the room."

The centurion who showed off had already fainted, being taken out of the restaurant by his members.

"Aye yo! It is okay! It is okay now! Please continue to drink and eat!"

As the trouble was solved, Fu Danqing smiled and served guests.

"How bold he is! A centurion in Imperial Guards should dare to casually touch the woman admired by Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot."

Guests in their seats gathered up, eating sunflower seeds and talking.

"Yeah, what kind of curse Xuanxiang Restaurant is enforced? Girls here are all admired by eunuchs. Previously it is Ruiji. Now it is Hua Wuyan."

"But the most hapless one is Her Grace, Concubine Yun, in the Palace. I had ever watched a match between her and people from Ying State. Her Grace is really both beautiful and skillful, but she died. What a pity!"

"Exactly! After she died, she is promoted to be Imperial Noble Concubine Duanmin. How meaningless it is..."

Fu Danqing held a copper kettle with a long spout and added water to cups for guests one after another. When she heard people regretting and sighing, she felt interesting.

...

After walking into a room in the rear court of Xuanxiang Restaurant, they closed the door. Then Leshuang immediately kneeled and seriously spoke.

"Just now I offended you. Please forgive me, master."

The woman smiled and turned around, uncovering the fake face for disguise. Then Gu Yunxi's delicate face appeared.

"Get up, Xiaobei. Thanks for your former help."

Leshuang stood up and helped Gu Yunxi to sit on the chair in person.

Seeing the numerous red sores on her face, he felt worried.

Leshuang clearly knew why plum flowers would blossom on her face after Gu Yunxi smoked the water pipe.

The special tobacco in the water pipe was a kind of rare herb.

Gu Yunxi ignited the tobaccos and inhaled them into her lung with Qianji poison by means of the water pipe. Only by doing so, she could gradually remove the toxicity.

After smoking, part of the toxicity of Qianji poison would be expelled to her face. As a result, her face would be covered with red sores.

Besides, in order to cover her identity after going out of the Palace, Gu Yunxi wore another kind of garment and disguised herself. Those red sores occurred through the thin fake face, seeming to be wonderful figures. While people looked at them, the figures looked like beautiful plum flowers.

"Master, people in the Eastern Depot and I are in the outside. You just need to have a rest and take care of yourself, so you don't need to show up in person."

Gu Yunxi was so firm and insistent, which was exactly admired by Leshuang.

Gu Yunxi smiled with appreciation, slightly rubbing the burning red sores with fingers.

"I am okay. Now that I have escaped with difficulty, I shouldn't also be an ignorant woman. I should see and hear the citizens' conditions in person. If I still rely on people in the Eastern Depot, you will confront with some troublesome things."

Leshuang served a cup of warm tea.

"I just worry about your body. Master, when will Imperial Doctor Jiang make the antidote? What kind of medicine is required? I can help you."

Gu Yunxi slightly shook her head.

"Not necessary. Brother Xian once said, in Mount Fuyue of Ying State there is a kind of Snow Toad. It can remove all toxicity in the world. He will go to Ying State and bring Snow Toad back."

Gu Yunxi wiped and polished the water pipe with a soft cloth, suddenly talking about another thing.

"Haven’t you found Yue Xilou?"

Leshuang sadly lowered his head.

"The order for arrest has been delivered to provinces for many days. But there are no messages from the Eastern Depot Branch. If he went to a foreign country indeed, it will be hard to arrest him."

Gu Yunxi slowly nodded.

"Yes. But if we want to make an announcement to our neighboring countries, Huanan Xin's imperial seal is needed. The thing is serious and important, so it is very difficult to complete the whole process."

Leshuang became serious and guaranteed.

"Anyhow, we people in the Eastern Depot will try to seek Yue Xilou. Killing him immediately is better than delaying and confronting with many accidents."

―

Gu Di led two groups of people from Da Yi and Ying State, leaving the Jinmen Ferry. They sailed and in the third noon, people smoothly reached Ancient Shuimen Port in Ying State.

Then they left the boats and went ashore for half a day. The next morning, they went to Jingdu.

In the visit to Ying State, except for 50 members of Honour Guards dispatched by Huanan Xin, Gu Di also let 10 members of Tianyan Faction disguise to be guards in the Ninth Prince's Mansion and accompany him.

They monitored Mrs. Yuancang in turn for fear that she would commit suicide.

Two important officials of Ying State were murdered in succession in Da Yi, which made the relationship between Da Yi and Ying State a little bad.

Currently, Ying State had stopped all seaborne trade with Da Yi.

Gu Di thought Mrs. Yuancang was both a witness and a murderer in the two cases, so she could never be hurt in Ying State.

Anyhow, after the two countries' people met each other, people of Da Yi would deliver the coffins and Mrs. Yuancang to people of Ying State. At that time, the safety of Mrs. Yuancang would not be related to Huanan Xian.

When Gu Di and his members went to Shuimen Port, they didn't find people of Ying State preparing to greet them.

The autumn in Ying State was not so different from that in Da Yi.

As a member of Tianyan Faction, Gu Di and his members had been living in Ying State for several years. So he was so familiar with Ying State.

He clearly knew how to go from Ancient Shuimen Port to Jingdu.

He carefully calculated. If they walked and sometimes stopped, the whole group would spend just one whole day and a night to reach Jingdu.

At sunset, the sky became dark and an intensive rain suddenly sprinkled.

The group was marching in the mountains.

Gu Di knew once the intensive rain in autumn fell, it would not quickly stop.

At that time, the road in mountains would be muddy and they would confront with trouble.

However, it had been impossible to go out of the woods and find a hotel to rest as planned.

Gu Di let people stop and build up tents now.

Honour Guards took no more than 20 tents, so they couldn't afford two groups of people's rest.

Gu Di gave people of Ying State 12 tents and just left 5 tents. He and the 50 people of Honour Guards would use the tents in turn.

In the late evening, the rain stopped and the air became cold in the woods.

Gu Di walked into a tent and changed his half-wet garment. Being a little sleepy and lying on the bed, he prepared to sleep for a while.

After closing his eyes for a while, he gradually because unconscious.

On the outside, it suddenly became noisy. People shouted.

"Bandit! Take them!"

Gu Di suddenly woke up, turning around and getting up. Then he held a sword and went out of the tent.

"Your Highness, be careful! Some bandits robbed our horses! There are many bandits!"

His members held swords and pointed at the figures gradually disappearing in the vision not far away.

"Catch!"

Gu Di waved a sword, making a sharp light in the dark air.

He led his members and several Honour Guards, rushing in the direction of the figures going.

Along the way, a sense of harsh bloody smell stopped them.

When a person ignited a fire torch, they could clearly see the horses robbed by bandits lying on the road.

They were all wounded by blades, being dead or going to die.

On the short road, the blood flowed like a stream.

As his pupils suddenly contracted, Gu Di nervously shouted.

"Bad things! We are schemed! Quick to go back to our camp!"

When they came back, they found plenty of tents were in fire and flames were burning.

Evidently, people had a fight near the camp. The warriors of Ying State all lay on the ground, being seriously wounded or dead.

Gu Di was astonished and hustled to run to Mrs. Yuancang's accommodation, raising his hand and lifting the curtain.

Mrs. Yuancang lay on the bed, contaminated by blood. Her body was cold.

In her heart, an ear-shaped blade was inserted...