I tended to ask him whether he knew Bathroom Lord wanted to meet me so he took me here to create a chance for us. The words almost slipped my mouth but I suddenly changed my mind. I asked, “Where are we having lunch?”

His face froze for a few seconds and then he asked me, “Do you fancy the vegan meal in the temple?”

The little beauty Chaoyang had already told me she was heading for the vegan meal in the temple, so if I went there now, we might meet again. Now was a sensitive period, so the less trouble the better. I thought for a while and shook my head, “I don’t like vegan.”

Qi Sheng said, “It’s okay, then we should return to Sheng City first. I know a place with fantastic food, we should try it.”

Then he took me down the mountain.

Cui mountain was more than 20 li (one li is 500 meters) away from Sheng City. If we returned now, we would not make it until past noon. I patted on my empty belly, regretting at myself for not having more pastries in the morning.

Qi Sheng was gracefully leading the way. I deliberately slowed down and waited for Xie Yi to catch up. What I didn’t know was that as I slowed down my pace, Xie Yi who was following me behind also slowed down, keeping a distance of twenty or thirty steps, not too close nor too far.

Without any other choice, I turned around and waved at her.

Xie Yi was a little confused, then she ran towards me and asked in a low voice, “What can I help you with?”

I was so hungry that beads of sweat started oozing from my forehead. I grabbed her by her lapel and asked, “Do you have anything to eat?”

Xie Yi was shocked by my behavior, and after a long while, she was finally able to find half a slice of rose cake wrapped in a handkerchief in her pocket with her trembling hands, “I couldn’t help tasting it so this is all I have left.”

Half a slice it was, at least it could fill my stomach.

As soon as I put the rose cake inside my mouth, Qi Sheng turned around and looked at me inquiringly, “Are you hungry?”

Hungry? I was dragged out by him early in the morning. When I finally got the chance to have a pastry, he took half of it.

In the whole morning I was occupied in mountain climbing and kowtow. Now the sun had risen to the middle of the sky, how could I not be hungry?

I wanted to grab his thigh and cry, “Your Majesty, I am indeed hungry!”

Maybe my eyes had betrayed me, as even though I didn’t reply, Qi Sheng chuckled and said, “Look at you now. You’ve only missed a meal. When I was in the army and hadn’t consumed anything for three days, I was in a better shape than you are now.”

Having said this, he took me by hand, and his pace was picked up.

As we exited the mountain, a guard came to us, and looked concerned. He whispered towards Qi Sheng’s ear, “Master, someone damaged our carriage down the mountain and the carriage is already broken.”

I was shocked. I turned around to look at Qi Sheng and he asked coldly, “What happened?”

The guard briefed him hurriedly. In short, it was “an accident”.

As Fuyuang Temple was a popular spot for incensing and praying, there were many visitors. Therefore, under the mountain, an area was designated for visitors to park their carriages and rest their horses.

At first, smart vendors carried loads of food to sell to servants and stablemen who were looking after the carriages inside the area. Then it turned to a quite large market, and even attracted sideshow performers.

I went straight up the mountain with Qi Sheng after we got off the carriage, so did those guards who were supposed to protect us, which left the stableman and two casually dressed guards down the mountain to look after the carriage. They were afraid of causing any trouble and dare not hang around, so they only stood by the carriage and waited for our return. However, trouble would find its way to you even if you wanted no part of it. Somehow, a horse nearby was suddenly startled and everything turned into a mess.

The venue became chaotic and everyone tried to avoid the startled horse. The performers were about to rotate their fire rings, and were in no mood of performing after witnessing the scene. They threw the fire ring out, which landed right on our carriage.

The fire ring was burning vigorously and it contained combustibles inside so our carriage was lighted up in a blinking second.

The stableman and guard were trying to contain the startled horse in front of the carriage but paid no attention to the fire. When they realized it, though they managed to save the horse, the carriage was burned to the steel skeleton. It was of no use anymore.

It was such an “accident”!

Qi Sheng looked calm but his eyes turned gloomy.

Fuyuan Temple was twenty li away from Sheng City, and we were at a time without public transportation, so there were three ways for everyone to come and light the incense sticks:

Ride a horse or a mule, which simply depended on your preference. If you wanted it the smart way, you would ride a horse, and if you wanted it the safe way, you would ride a mule. Of course, some with great personality would ride an ox.

Or people would take the carriage. Whether it was a horse-driven carriage or an ox-driven one depended on your family condition. Wealthy family would usually have a luxuriously decorated horse-driven carriage, and if you were a normal household, you would take the ox carriage. Though it would be slower, it could save you some footwork.

And for those with no money for anything, they had to walk.

Now we were in a situation without a carriage, but luckily, we still had the horse, which was not that bad.

The problem was that I was dressed in a traditional women’s outfit, so it would be less graceful if I rode the horse. Now the best option would be sending someone back to the city immediately to find us a carriage and take us back. However, I would have to wait till night to have anything to eat.

I uncontrollably patted on my belly.
Qi Sheng stood quietly for a while, then he suddenly smiled. He turned around and said to me, “Let’s go, we’ll have some vegan food in the temple.”

Having spent enough time with him, I came to understand his character and believed that Bathroom Lord had really pissed him off this time. I felt a bit confused, because if Bathroom Lord wanted to meet me in private, there was no need for such a drama. He was a prince, and his birth mother was an Empress Dowager in the palace. Even though we were monitored inside the palace, there was still a way to meet me, so why bother making such a fuss?

I walked towards the temple with Qi Sheng, and after we finished a vegan meal in the back chamber, we “accidentally” ran into Princess Chaoyang once again on our way out.

Princess Chaoyang wore a smile as bright as a flower. She was not accompanied by her girlfriends this time, instead a young man was standing beside her. It was Yang Yan, a close brother of Bathroom Lord’s.

I couldn’t help looking behind Yang Yan, but Bathroom Lord was nowhere in sight.

Qi Sheng had sent Yang Yu to Yunxi to squash the rebellion, so he couldn’t ignore Yang Yan for the sake of his father. And Yang Yan just returned from Yunxi a few days ago, so Qi Sheng asked him about the situation in Yunxi.

The little beauty listened for a while and then she got impatient. She took my sleeve and begged in a voice not too loud nor too low, “My good sister-in-law, let’s not hear them talking about these boring things. I heard that a new garden was built in the west side of the temple and it has a marvelous view inside. Let’s go and have a look.”

My heart skipped a beat. Okay, everything that was doomed to come would come eventually!

I turned around to look at Qi Sheng a few steps away, who was also looking towards my direction. My eyes widened, as if to ensure him with my eyes, that I was absolutely loyal to him and I had no second thought.

Qi Sheng grinned and told Chaoyang, “Go, and take some servants with you. The sun is fierce, so don’t get your sister-in-law burned.”

Chaoyang hastily nodded, and took my arm to leave.

There was no need to ask this time and Xie Yi followed immediately.

There was indeed a large garden on the west side, with blooming flowers and lush trees inside. At one corner of the garden, water was diverted inside for landscaping. A little bridge sat over the creek, which looked quite cozy.

The little beauty Chaoyang led me onto the bridge and then we heard a cry from behind. Alright, Xie Yi felt into the water just as expected. I knew they needed a way to took Xie Yi away from me but I wasn’t expecting such a violent action to directly push her into the pond.

You could never expect a woman to be tender to other women!

The pond was not deep and the water was just up to Xie Yi’s waist. Several maids nervously pulled her out of the water. She was not injured, but she was drenched all over. She was dressed light in the summer and her single clothing clung to her body, which revealed her shape.

I inspected her. She really needed to scale up nutrition as she was already fifteen or sixteen, but still looked extremely skinny.

Chaoyang’s eyes shone with mischief, and she asked the maids to help Xie Yi change into something clean. Xie Yi tried to dry her skirt, and shot aggrieved looks towards me.

Poor girl, you shouldn’t have come with me in the first place. Once you came, you just became their enemy! I sighed and nodded towards her, patting her hands as comfort, “Just go.”

Xie Yi was unwillingly taken away by the maids. Chaoyong stopped her smiling, and dragged me towards the inner side of the garden with a serious look. She said to me in a low voice, “We should hurry, ninth elder brother and the others were already waiting for a long time.”

I needed to run to catch up with her and I only wanted to ask: girl, do you know what you’re doing now? Do you know what the consequence will be? It is obvious that you want to take advantage of Qi Sheng, so will he ever spare you? Bathroom Lord has nothing to fear now, but what about you? You are still waiting to get married, so if Qi Sheng wants to punish you, it will be so easy. As long as he grands you a marriage, you will be begging for a second life.

Well, those who knew nothing feared nothing.

Chaoyang took me to a secluded chamber and I saw Bathroom Lord sitting inside the moment I entered. A man around fifty sat beside him. He looked familiar but I couldn’t recall where I had met him.

Bathroom Lord and the man both stood up, and Bathroom Lord nodded at Chaoyang, then she exited the room and closed the door behind.

I sat down by the table and poured myself a cup of tea. The tea was lukewarm so they were indeed waiting for quite some time.