Once Li Yun opened her eyes gently, she was stunned by the surrounding scenery.

There was a pavilion near the lake, which was decorated with red fencing and green plank, while the corridor leading to the pavilion was sinuous and exquisite. At the same time, the warm breeze was blowing those exuberant plants and blooming flowers. What a luxury and beautiful scene! In particular, those flowers that planted by the fence were of extremely rare and precious species, and those pairs of jade-like mandarin ducks and red-crowned cranes in the lake were even rarer as they almost became extinct in modern times. There were also other elaborate treasures, like the artificial hills, carved stones, and various works of art in the pavilion.

A pavilion near the lake

She couldn’t help but be stunned at the moment, thinking could there be any place like this in today’s age of chemical technology? Even the Suzhou gardens and those royal gardens in Beijing were not as good as this one.

When she was in a daze, there was a girl chattering indignantly by her ears.

“Miss, you should teach those arrogant women a lesson! Who are you? Now they actually dare to hit you in today’s gathering of appreciating poems regardless of Her Majesty. They are simply anarchic!”

“As your servant, may I have a word? Miss, you have indulged those women more than before. If you go on like this, His Highness will be seduced by those mean girls sooner or later!”

“Just now His Highness clearly saw that you were bullied, but he turned a blind eye and just left. It’s really annoying.”

“I think you should let His Highness be aware that you are the person he is going to marry. If you do not take action, everyone would dare to take advantage of you.”

“…”

“Miss, why don’t you speak for such a long time? Have you heard my words?”

“Miss?”

The irritating sound ruined Li Yun’s mood enjoying the eye-catching scenery. She turned her head towards the direction of the voice, then saw a little girl dressed in a costume as a maid standing next to her.

The girl was about twelve or thirteen years old, moving a cattail leaf fan. Her eyes were obviously angry, and her tender face was full of sorrow. Noticing Li Yun’s being absent-minded, the girl was a bit amazed.

Li Yun looked at her unsatisfactorily, getting more absent-minded.

The girl was stunned for a moment. After a while, with tension and uncertainty, the girl asked, “Miss, are… are you not feeling well?”

Li Yun didn’t speak. Her misty eyes gradually got a focus. Suddenly, her eyes became bright and looked straight at the girl.

“Mi…” The girl trembled due to Li Yun’s gaze, and the hand waving the fan immediately stopped. She stepped back and squatted on the ground. Her knees touched the ground and slammed. Her voice quavered, “Miss, forgive me. I was too angry just now. I shouldn’t discuss His Highness.”

His Highness? Li Yun was confused. Were they acting? Who dares to tease her? She looked at the girl, pouting. The obsidian on the ground exuded black and clear light, which was very eye-catching under the sun. Her eyes fell on the blood of the girl’s forehead, and her mind changed rapidly.

But if they were acting, why were there no lights and staff? If they were acting, the girl who was bleeding was too hard-working. If she did not stanch the bleeding and wrap her b.l.o.o.d.y forehead, it would definitely get worse. Were there people who had to harm themselves in order to earn a living?

If they were not acting, then where was she?

“Miss, please forgive me this time! I’ll never say that again.” begged the girl, who started kowtowing again since Li Yun did not respond. Her forehead hit the obsidian and made a crisp sound. After only a few times, there was bright red blood stained the obsidian; black against red, making the obsidian glowing brighter than before.

Li Yun stared at the bright red blood on the obsidian, then her pupil constricted. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked up along the sunlight that shone on the ground. The glare of the noonday sun bathed the earth with dazzling sunlight, everything was tinted gold. Li Yun just took a look and then turned her sight back to the girl who was kowtowing constantly.

“Please, Miss…” The girl seemed not to feel the pain on her forehead but kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

“You… stand up first,” said Li Yun. Her voice was dull but young, mixed with confusion. With only a few words, she found her voice sweet and melodious, and it would sound like a warbler if without that dullness. It was a strange voice which she was not familiar with. But when she looked herself over, she was stunned again.

She was also in an ancient silk dress. This lilac dress was made of silks and satins, embroidered with large crabapple flowers. The flowers and leaves were as vivid as the real ones but not complicatedly-fabricated. The st.i.tchwork was subtle and the embroidery threads glowed, apparently, it was weaved by high-cla.s.s embroiders. The dress reached down to her feet and was adorned with a gold border, which was weaved with real gold threads.

Looking away, she was sitting on a stone chair made of white jade, her hand leaning against the stone table made of the same material. Her hands were pet.i.te and white and so were her arms; around her wrist was a jade bangle, which was smooth and crystal clear and verdant light shone from it. It was obviously invaluable. The jade beads of chai (a type of hairpin in ancient China) and the pendant of golden buyao (a type of hairpin in ancient China; the pedant will shake or sway as the person who wears it takes steps, bu means steps, while yao means shaking or swaying) were hanging from her both sides, which were also delicate and valuable.

chai

buyao

Seeing her clothing, Li Yun’s mind went blank again when she was just sober a little.

“Miss, have you forgiven me?” The girl suddenly raised her head and looked at Li Yun with surprise. But when she found Li Yun wasn’t looking at her, the surprised expression on her face was frozen. She lowered her head and said timidly in a low voice, “Unless you spare me, or I dare not get up.”

Hearing the words, Li Yun clenched her hands unconsciously and then looked up to the girl kneeling in front of her again.

Although the girl’s dress was in good quality, the cloth was much cheaper than her silk dress if took a close look. And the jewelry that the girl was wearing was even much worse than hers. Her eyes constricted slightly but she said nothing.

Dressing of a servant girl

Dressing of a distinguished Miss

The girl didn’t hear Li Yun’s words of forgiveness, she didn’t dare to speak more but kept her head down silently. There was bright red blood dripping from her forehead, but she didn’t seem to feel the pain, kneeling motionlessly.

“Repeat what you have just said.” Li Yun required calmly. This time, her voice was free of dullness, but a bit of deep, from which the kneeling girl felt an invisible pressure.

Li Yun had spent so many years struggling in the most desperate circ.u.mstances. She had already trained herself into a person who could calm down quickly and kept an observant eye on whatever spooky and strange situations she would encounter.

The girl heard and her body trembled a little, seemingly holding infinite remorse and fear, she begged, “Miss, it’s all my fault, and I will never gossip about His Highness. I’m willing to go to the was.h.i.+ng area. Miss, I still have to take care of my grandmother, she’s my only family, please spare me!”

“I said, repeat what you’ve just said again!” Li Yun’s voice deepened.

“Mi…” The girl seemed to continue begging for mercy, but when hearing Li Yun’s words, she s.h.i.+vered and held her jaw immediately.

“Speak!” Li Yun stared at the girl. She wanted to know what this place was, why she was here and became another person.

“Yes… I’m speaking now.” The girl lowered her head in fear and didn’t dare to move. Without any delay, she repeated those words she had just said indignantly when Li Yun woke up.

It took a few minutes to finish. After speaking, she bent to the ground statically, while the cold sweat on her back wet her thin dress. Now she was aware that she shouldn’t gossip about His Highness. What a serious crime she committed! If His Highness heard that, she would have been beheaded, instead of kneeling here and asking for forgiveness.

“Well!” After hearing the words, Li Yun’s eyes turned deeper. It’s hard to recognize her emotion from her voice, but actually, her mind was like a rough ocean. Such a pet.i.te figure, such thin and fair fingers, and such strange dressing style, how could this be her own body? A weird feeling struck her and the picturesque scenery around also faded. Was she in a dream?

Thinking of that, she suddenly pinched her palm with great force. The sharp pain came from her palm, but she didn’t take it real and then pinched the palm two more times. She loosened her hands and secretly pinched her waist again. Through the soft cloth, she also felt the piercing pain on her waist.

All at once, her expression changed several times. A chill ran through her heart. It was not a dream!

The girl dared not speak, and then it fell into silence again. Except for the breeze, there was no more sound.

“Repeat what you said just now. His Highness… did he really disregard me when seeing I was bullied?” Li Yun weighed her words for a long time and then spoke in a trembling deep voice.

“Miss?” The girl was stunned by Li Yun’s request. Keen to notice something wrong with Miss, she suddenly looked up.

“Tell me!” Li Yun withdrew her hands quietly. First, she needed to know the present situation.

“…Yes!” The girl immediately lowered her head. She dared not to think over the reason why Miss required her to repeat what happened just now but answered quickly, “Today, Miss was not comfortable and didn’t want to join in the gathering of appreciating poems. But considering that His Highness would take part in it, you came here, too. However, that two abominable people, the second daughter of the Rong Royal family and the princess of the Prince Filial family, together with Princess Qingwan, wanted to push you into the water. But fortunately, after the Prime Minister’s daughter Miss Yuning told them that Prince Jing who always stays at home and the young Lord Ran who studied far away from his home in these years would partic.i.p.ate in the gathering, then they went there hastily. I’ve observed that they harbored malicious intentions today. I asked Miss you accompany Her Majesty, but you refused. Miss, you’ve never been so embarra.s.sed! You can’t swim. If you fell into the lake, you would definitely suffer a lot. Fortunately…”

“Why do I have a headache?” asked Li Yun carefully. She frowned, being anxious because of the girl’s words. Since she did not fall into the water, why she was dizzy, as if she had woken up after a long sleep.

“Miss, you hit your head on the guardrail by the lake, and thus you feel faint.” replied the girl immediately.

“So I hit my head. No wonder I don’t remember what happened!” said Li Yun, kneading her forehead. She clenched hands in the sleeves, her face looking pale and body s.h.i.+vering slightly. Her voice seemed casual, but only she herself knew how hard she supported her body not to fall down.

If it was not in a dream, Li Yun thought she must have met a ghost.

But was there a ghost in the daytime? She looked up at the sun.

“Miss, you don’t remember what happened?” The girl was shocked and her face turned pale.

“Hum…” Li Yun did not deny.

“In addition to this, are there other things you don’t remember?” asked the girl urgently, raising her face. It was stained with blood, but she seemed to be unaware.

“I don’t remember…” Li Yun was thinking about how to gain more information without exposing her ident.i.ty.

She just spoke, and there was a chuckle coming from afar. A male spoke with a humorous and clear voice, “Sister Yue, everyone has gone to the garden. Why are you here? I just saw His Highness also went to the garden. If you don’t come, I’m afraid he would be captivated by other girls and totally forget about you.”

Hearing these words, Li Yun hurriedly turned her head toward that man.

 .

Once Li Yun opened her eyes gently, she was stunned by the surrounding scenery..

There was a pavilion near the lake, which was decorated with red fencing and green plank, while the corridor leading to the pavilion was sinuous and exquisite. At the same time, the warm breeze was blowing those exuberant plants and blooming flowers. What a luxury and beautiful scene! In particular, those flowers that planted by the fence were of extremely rare and precious species, and those pairs of jade-like mandarin ducks and red-crowned cranes in the lake were even rarer as they almost became extinct in modern times. There were also other elaborate treasures, like the artificial hills, carved stones, and various works of art in the pavilion..

 .

.

A pavilion near the lake.

She couldn’t help but be stunned at the moment, thinking could there be any place like this in today’s age of chemical technology? Even the Suzhou gardens and those royal gardens in Beijing were not as good as this one..

When she was in a daze, there was a girl chattering indignantly by her ears..

“Miss, you should teach those arrogant women a lesson! Who are you? Now they actually dare to hit you in today’s gathering of appreciating poems regardless of Her Majesty. They are simply anarchic!”.

“As your servant, may I have a word? Miss, you have indulged those women more than before. If you go on like this, His Highness will be seduced by those mean girls sooner or later!”.

“Just now His Highness clearly saw that you were bullied, but he turned a blind eye and just left. It’s really annoying.”.

“I think you should let His Highness be aware that you are the person he is going to marry. If you do not take action, everyone would dare to take advantage of you.”.

“…”.

“Miss, why don’t you speak for such a long time? Have you heard my words?”.

“Miss?”.

The irritating sound ruined Li Yun’s mood enjoying the eye-catching scenery. She turned her head towards the direction of the voice, then saw a little girl dressed in a costume as a maid standing next to her..

The girl was about twelve or thirteen years old, moving a cattail leaf fan. Her eyes were obviously angry, and her tender face was full of sorrow. Noticing Li Yun’s being absent-minded, the girl was a bit amazed..

Li Yun looked at her unsatisfactorily, getting more absent-minded..

The girl was stunned for a moment. After a while, with tension and uncertainty, the girl asked, “Miss, are… are you not feeling well?”.

Li Yun didn’t speak. Her misty eyes gradually got a focus. Suddenly, her eyes became bright and looked straight at the girl..

“Mi…” The girl trembled due to Li Yun’s gaze, and the hand waving the fan immediately stopped. She stepped back and squatted on the ground. Her knees touched the ground and slammed. Her voice quavered, “Miss, forgive me. I was too angry just now. I shouldn’t discuss His Highness.”.

His Highness? Li Yun was confused. Were they acting? Who dares to tease her? She looked at the girl, pouting. The obsidian on the ground exuded black and clear light, which was very eye-catching under the sun. Her eyes fell on the blood of the girl’s forehead, and her mind changed rapidly..

But if they were acting, why were there no lights and staff? If they were acting, the girl who was bleeding was too hard-working. If she did not stanch the bleeding and wrap her b.l.o.o.d.y forehead, it would definitely get worse. Were there people who had to harm themselves in order to earn a living?.

If they were not acting, then where was she?.

“Miss, please forgive me this time! I’ll never say that again.” begged the girl, who started kowtowing again since Li Yun did not respond. Her forehead hit the obsidian and made a crisp sound. After only a few times, there was bright red blood stained the obsidian; black against red, making the obsidian glowing brighter than before..

Li Yun stared at the bright red blood on the obsidian, then her pupil constricted. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked up along the sunlight that shone on the ground. The glare of the noonday sun bathed the earth with dazzling sunlight, everything was tinted gold. Li Yun just took a look and then turned her sight back to the girl who was kowtowing constantly..

“Please, Miss…” The girl seemed not to feel the pain on her forehead but kept kowtowing and begging for mercy..

“You… stand up first,” said Li Yun. Her voice was dull but young, mixed with confusion. With only a few words, she found her voice sweet and melodious, and it would sound like a warbler if without that dullness. It was a strange voice which she was not familiar with. But when she looked herself over, she was stunned again..

She was also in an ancient silk dress. This lilac dress was made of silks and satins, embroidered with large crabapple flowers. The flowers and leaves were as vivid as the real ones but not complicatedly-fabricated. The st.i.tchwork was subtle and the embroidery threads glowed, apparently, it was weaved by high-cla.s.s embroiders. The dress reached down to her feet and was adorned with a gold border, which was weaved with real gold threads..

Looking away, she was sitting on a stone chair made of white jade, her hand leaning against the stone table made of the same material. Her hands were pet.i.te and white and so were her arms; around her wrist was a jade bangle, which was smooth and crystal clear and verdant light shone from it. It was obviously invaluable. The jade beads of chai (a type of hairpin in ancient China) and the pendant of golden buyao (a type of hairpin in ancient China; the pedant will shake or sway as the person who wears it takes steps, bu means steps, while yao means shaking or swaying) were hanging from her both sides, which were also delicate and valuable..

 .

.

chai.

.

buyao.

Seeing her clothing, Li Yun’s mind went blank again when she was just sober a little..

“Miss, have you forgiven me?” The girl suddenly raised her head and looked at Li Yun with surprise. But when she found Li Yun wasn’t looking at her, the surprised expression on her face was frozen. She lowered her head and said timidly in a low voice, “Unless you spare me, or I dare not get up.”.

Hearing the words, Li Yun clenched her hands unconsciously and then looked up to the girl kneeling in front of her again.  .

Although the girl’s dress was in good quality, the cloth was much cheaper than her silk dress if took a close look. And the jewelry that the girl was wearing was even much worse than hers. Her eyes constricted slightly but she said nothing..

.

Dressing of a servant girl.

.

Dressing of a distinguished Miss.

The girl didn’t hear Li Yun’s words of forgiveness, she didn’t dare to speak more but kept her head down silently. There was bright red blood dripping from her forehead, but she didn’t seem to feel the pain, kneeling motionlessly..

“Repeat what you have just said.” Li Yun required calmly. This time, her voice was free of dullness, but a bit of deep, from which the kneeling girl felt an invisible pressure..

Li Yun had spent so many years struggling in the most desperate circ.u.mstances. She had already trained herself into a person who could calm down quickly and kept an observant eye on whatever spooky and strange situations she would encounter..

The girl heard and her body trembled a little, seemingly holding infinite remorse and fear, she begged, “Miss, it’s all my fault, and I will never gossip about His Highness. I’m willing to go to the was.h.i.+ng area. Miss, I still have to take care of my grandmother, she’s my only family, please spare me!”.

“I said, repeat what you’ve just said again!” Li Yun’s voice deepened..

“Mi…” The girl seemed to continue begging for mercy, but when hearing Li Yun’s words, she s.h.i.+vered and held her jaw immediately..

“Speak!” Li Yun stared at the girl. She wanted to know what this place was, why she was here and became another person..

“Yes… I’m speaking now.” The girl lowered her head in fear and didn’t dare to move. Without any delay, she repeated those words she had just said indignantly when Li Yun woke up..

It took a few minutes to finish. After speaking, she bent to the ground statically, while the cold sweat on her back wet her thin dress. Now she was aware that she shouldn’t gossip about His Highness. What a serious crime she committed! If His Highness heard that, she would have been beheaded, instead of kneeling here and asking for forgiveness..

“Well!” After hearing the words, Li Yun’s eyes turned deeper. It’s hard to recognize her emotion from her voice, but actually, her mind was like a rough ocean. Such a pet.i.te figure, such thin and fair fingers, and such strange dressing style, how could this be her own body? A weird feeling struck her and the picturesque scenery around also faded. Was she in a dream?.

Thinking of that, she suddenly pinched her palm with great force. The sharp pain came from her palm, but she didn’t take it real and then pinched the palm two more times. She loosened her hands and secretly pinched her waist again. Through the soft cloth, she also felt the piercing pain on her waist..

All at once, her expression changed several times. A chill ran through her heart. It was not a dream!.

The girl dared not speak, and then it fell into silence again. Except for the breeze, there was no more sound..

“Repeat what you said just now. His Highness… did he really disregard me when seeing I was bullied?” Li Yun weighed her words for a long time and then spoke in a trembling deep voice..

“Miss?” The girl was stunned by Li Yun’s request. Keen to notice something wrong with Miss, she suddenly looked up..

“Tell me!” Li Yun withdrew her hands quietly. First, she needed to know the present situation..

“…Yes!” The girl immediately lowered her head. She dared not to think over the reason why Miss required her to repeat what happened just now but answered quickly, “Today, Miss was not comfortable and didn’t want to join in the gathering of appreciating poems. But considering that His Highness would take part in it, you came here, too. However, that two abominable people, the second daughter of the Rong Royal family and the princess of the Prince Filial family, together with Princess Qingwan, wanted to push you into the water. But fortunately, after the Prime Minister’s daughter Miss Yuning told them that Prince Jing who always stays at home and the young Lord Ran who studied far away from his home in these years would partic.i.p.ate in the gathering, then they went there hastily. I’ve observed that they harbored malicious intentions today. I asked Miss you accompany Her Majesty, but you refused. Miss, you’ve never been so embarra.s.sed! You can’t swim. If you fell into the lake, you would definitely suffer a lot. Fortunately…”.

“Why do I have a headache?” asked Li Yun carefully. She frowned, being anxious because of the girl’s words. Since she did not fall into the water, why she was dizzy, as if she had woken up after a long sleep..

“Miss, you hit your head on the guardrail by the lake, and thus you feel faint.” replied the girl immediately..

“So I hit my head. No wonder I don’t remember what happened!” said Li Yun, kneading her forehead. She clenched hands in the sleeves, her face looking pale and body s.h.i.+vering slightly. Her voice seemed casual, but only she herself knew how hard she supported her body not to fall down..

If it was not in a dream, Li Yun thought she must have met a ghost..

But was there a ghost in the daytime? She looked up at the sun..

“Miss, you don’t remember what happened?” The girl was shocked and her face turned pale..

“Hum…” Li Yun did not deny..

“In addition to this, are there other things you don’t remember?” asked the girl urgently, raising her face. It was stained with blood, but she seemed to be unaware..

“I don’t remember…” Li Yun was thinking about how to gain more information without exposing her ident.i.ty..

She just spoke, and there was a chuckle coming from afar. A male spoke with a humorous and clear voice, “Sister Yue, everyone has gone to the garden. Why are you here? I just saw His Highness also went to the garden. If you don’t come, I’m afraid he would be captivated by other girls and totally forget about you.”.

Hearing these words, Li Yun hurriedly turned her head toward that man..