The Imperial Palace.Under an unfrequented quillaja, a slender dark shadow lingered. He looked up at the trunk, with his hands folded behind his back. After the morning ritual, Leng Qingtang did not return to the Eastern Depot right away. Instead, he stayed here, waiting for someone to arrive. Not after long, a young man wearing a crimson taoist tunic and a tall purple hat walked slowly from the corner of the palace wall, looking spiritual and extraordinary. When he stopped before the quillaja, he saluted Leng Qingtang, "I'm the Taoist priest Yu Xuanji. Good morning, My Master." His clear voice was elegant and cadenced as if one jade had been dropped on another. Leng Qingtang looked back in response and pursed his thin lips into a smile, "You are too kind, High Priest." Good-looking and well-mannered, Yu Xuanji originated from the Imperial Taoist temple, the Pengxian Temple

The moon was glowing in the sky. A sheer layer of thin cloud floated around it, allowing bits of star lights to shine through. Misty moonlight shone on the large smooth leaf of the banana tree in the yard, reflecting a delicate and hazy white light, like smoke floating in the air, adding a sense of mystery and seduction to this airless autumn night. The Southern Residence of the Eastern Depot was way more lively than usual. The Master had gathered everyone here for dinner tonight. Depot workers carried in two of the largest square tables and pieced them together in the middle of the yard. It was just dinner time. Cheng Wanli, the Chiliarch, Xiao Xiaoshen, the rank-fourth sword-bearing guard, and ten captains of the Eastern Depot all came. It was the first celebration of the Double Ninth Festival in the Eastern Depot. Everybody felt especially excited. Everyone brought something, wine, fruit, vegetables, and gifts. All of them w

After lunch, Gu Yunxi asked the depot worker to prepare a pot of hot water. Then, she took a shower in the house and put on the long blue skirt and short jacket. Gu Yunxi was excited for a while after putting on women's clothes again. Master Leng Qingtang arrived when she was sitting at the dressing table and wearing make-up. When he saw Gu Yunxi, he was surprised with brightness in his deep black eyes. This dress was selected by him, from the style and the color to the size. Now it seemed that it fitted her well and outlined her slender and youthful body. Gu Yunxi was standing in front of the Master with her hair cascading like a waterfall. It seemed that she was an orchid blooming quietly. One could see some moisture around her body since she just took a shower. She was like an elegant fairy. The black of her long hair and the blue of her skirt met and made her face clearer and fairer. Leng Qingtan

Right after returning to the Master's Mansion, Ming Lan and the eunuchs encircled the plate of flower cakes sent by Gu Yunxi dubiously. To bake the cakes, one needed to mix the yeast-fermented white dough with honey, milk, and ghee. Then, it was rolled, folded, and cut into small squares, which were later roasted. Consequently, the dough rose, and its surface was rendered layered and flakey. Lastly, topped with a layer of almond crumble, the half-an-inch thick pastry was made. Although the cooking process was time-consuming, the pastry was crispy and flavorsome. With a sweet aroma of almond and milk and the resemblance of snowy flowers, it was hence named "flower cake". Qin Zhong frowned, swallowing his saliva hard at the snow-white and delicious-smelling pastry right before his eyes. "Master, could it be poisonous?" Greedy as he might be, his suspicion remained. Yun Guaner was shrewd. She lied about her gender an

On the way back to the Eastern Depot, the three people in the carriage were all in silence. Once one had idle time, he would spend more time imagining things. At this time, it was the elaborate-style painting booklet brought by Ming Lan that was constantly frying Leng Qingtang's mind. Those still pictures which inadvertently jumped into his eyes were so enchanting and enthralling that they seemed to be ghosts endowed with invisible lives, violently and inescapably messing around in front of Leng Qingtang's eyes. At this very moment, Gu Yunxi was sitting beside him, looking tiny and pretty. Suddenly, there were a lot of evil thoughts in his mind. If he had pushed down this graceful and svelte little girl, lying on her water-like silky body, feeling those pictures, how exciting it would have been to see her self-possessed and blissful look. Leng Qingtang only felt that the blood in his body swelled sharply, and the