Both worlds are like dreams

The place that Gu Qinglan took Xuehuang to turned out to be another famous restaurant in Shangyang City besides Tianxianglou, called Hanxianglou.

The dishes at Hanxianglou are prepared in a variety of ways, but they only use one ingredient: fish. Whether it is steamed, braised, sweet and sour, pan-fried, or deep-fried, the taste is always excellent.

After Xuehuang had eaten to her satisfaction, Gu Qinglan took her to Jingmeng Garden to listen to a play for an afternoon.

However, there was always a tail following them. Situ Yue was already dead, so who sent the tail?

Could it be that Situ Yue was just a cover, with someone else behind the scenes? Did the descendants of the Beiyuan royal family who killed him want to silence him?

If they wanted to silence her, what did the people of the Beiyuan royal family want from her? If they didn't want to silence her, but just wanted revenge, then who was following her was the Phantom or the mysterious master who appeared in Jinxiu Tower that day?

Xue Huang thought for a long time but could not get an answer. She couldn't even understand what the play on the stage was saying.

When she reacted, it was a line from an opera that caught her attention, "Do you remember, when Beiyuan surrendered, the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, and the sky of Taiji Palace was stained with blood?"

There was a newly-staged play on the stage, telling the story of Beiyuan's war to destroy the country, and how Beiling's iron hooves broke through the gate of Beiyuan's palace and massacred Beiyuan's citizens.

"This play... isn't quite right." Gu Qinglan said.

"Yes," Xue Huang said, "This troupe is so openly portraying Bei Ling's cruelty and brutality, don't they want to live?"

At this time, a charming voice suddenly came from Xue Huang's side, "Do you also think Bei Ling is cruel and inhumane?"

Xue Huang looked over when she heard the voice and saw a woman in black sitting next to her, slumped lazily in a chair, looking at her with a charming smile.

"It's hard to say," Xue Huang said. "I haven't seen it myself, so this play can't be counted, right?"

The woman in black was very surprised by her answer and asked, "What if everything in the play is true?"

"Then I think the people who staged this play had better run away as soon as possible." Xue Huang said sincerely.

This is Shangyang City. This drama is being staged under the noses of General Dingguo and King Hanxi. Do you think you have lived too long?

What courage! Xue Huang admired him deeply.

The woman in black was amused by the sincerity on Xue Huang's face, "Aren't you afraid?"

"What am I afraid of?" Xue Huang asked back.

"Haven't you noticed? There are only three of us in the audience today. The others ran away as soon as they heard the names of King Han Xi and Shen Congfeng." said the woman in black.

Xue Huang turned her head and took a look. The theater, which was crowded when she came in, was now only occupied by the three of them. The noisy theater was now very quiet. She was distracted just now and didn't notice it.

Nowadays, the people of Beiling would be scared whenever they heard the names of Shen Congfeng and Mo Yunchen, let alone have the courage to listen to a play here.

"Sister," Xue Huang asked, looking at her beautiful face, "Aren't you afraid?"

"If I say I'm afraid, will you protect me?" the woman in black said with a smile.

"I'm afraid I still need my sister to protect me." Xue Huang said meaningfully.

"If you need it, I'm willing to do it." said the woman in black.

Xue Huang smiled and said nothing.

At this time, the play on stage had ended.

Xue Huang stood up and left with Gu Qinglan. But as soon as they reached the door, they found that the sky was covered with dark clouds and it had begun to rain.

"Let's wait a moment before leaving." Gu Qinglan said.

"It's okay," Xue Huang said with a smile, "It's not raining heavily."

The two men were planning to go back in the rain, but the woman in black followed them.

"I have an extra umbrella here. I'll lend it to you." The woman in black handed an oil-paper umbrella to Xue Huang.

"No thanks." Xue Huang said politely. "This little rain is nothing."

"You'd better take it." The woman in black smiled. "Girls should try not to catch a cold."

Xue Huang had no choice but to take it, "Thank you very much."

"It's going to be windy and rainy tonight, so go back early and don't go out again." After saying that, the woman in black slowly left with an umbrella.

Xue Huang looked at her back and said to Gu Qinglan: "Strange sister."

"Have you seen it before?" Gu Qinglan asked.

Xue Huang shook her head.

"Then let me take you home first." Gu Qinglan opened the umbrella and covered her head.

The two walked side by side on the road, talking and laughing, but they didn't notice that a cold gaze was following them from a carriage on the side of the road.

"Who is the person next to Gu Qinglan?" asked the person in the carriage.

"Your Highness, according to the information brought back by Phantom, she is a descendant of Guigu."

"Descendants of Guiguzi?" The voice was unusually cold, yet seemed ethereal and unpredictable.

"She has fought with Phantom several times since she came to Shangyang City. It was she who ruined the plan to assassinate Gu Qinglan."

"Don't you think she looks familiar?"

"Indeed. Your Majesty, should we test her?"

"No need," the man lowered the curtain, "we will fight again soon."

The carriage slowly drove away, and Xuehuang and Gu Qinglan returned to Jinxiu Tower.

The rain was getting heavier at this time, and the stalls in the market had closed early.

Gu Qinglan kept his umbrella tilted towards Xue Huang all the way, but half of his body was already wet by the rain.

Xue Huang pulled him into Jinxiu Building and found him an empty room on the third floor. "Brother Qinglan, it's raining so hard, you shouldn't go back today. I'll go find my second uncle and lend you one of his clothes."

"Thank you." Gu Qinglan said.

Xue Huang immediately ran to Wei Yunzhou's room, where he was still studying the chess game.

"Uncle, lend me a set of clothes."

Wei Yunzhou glanced at her and didn't ask her what she was doing, indicating that she should go find it herself.

Xue Huang opened his closet and found that it was filled with all black clothes. However, the fabrics were high-quality, the workmanship was fine, and the prices were expensive.

She really had nothing to choose from, so she could only pick one set at random to give to Gu Qinglan.

"Go change quickly." Xue Huang said.

Gu Qinglan nodded, took the clothes, and went behind the screen to change.

Xue Huang went to bring him a pot of hot tea, and when she came back, he had already changed his clothes.

Gu Qinglan has a very casual appearance to begin with, and wearing this black suit makes him look more steady, reserved, dignified and generous.

Xue Huang smiled and said, "Brother Qinglan, how come you look so good in anything you wear?"

"Miss Xuehuang, thank you for your compliment." Gu Qinglan said.

"Really?" Xue Huang said, staring at him with her chin lowered. "You're so beautiful. I can't get enough of you."

"You should also change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold." Gu Qinglan said with a smile.

"I'm fine," Xue Huang said with a smile, "What's a little rain? When we were in Guigu, the bamboo house we lived in was leaking wind and rain."

"You are a girl," Gu Qinglan said, "and you have a cold body, so you should pay more attention to keeping warm."

“I was born with this.”

"Your physique is cold, different from that of ordinary people. Is that why you can practice such a mysterious ice technique?"

Xue Huang nodded, "Mysterious Ice Curse is a martial art that has existed since the founding of Guigu Sect. Because of its special requirements for physical fitness, I am the only one who has mastered it in the past thousand years."

"I heard that King Han Xi's martial arts is also a very mysterious ice technique. Are there any similarities between the two?" Gu Qinglan asked.

"His martial arts is called the Ice Art, which is similar to the Mysterious Ice Curse, but he has nothing to do with Guigu. I have fought with him before, and the Ice Art's greatest function is freezing. The Mysterious Ice Curse also has this ability, but it can be combined with my internal strength to condense into anything I want. But King Hanxi has a deep internal force, and his Ice Art has reached the pinnacle."

"King Han Xi's martial arts skills are unfathomable. It is not easy for you to fight with him so many times." Gu Qinglan's eyes were full of worry.

"Indeed," Xue Huang said, "If it weren't for Guigu Qishang Sword Technique, I might not be able to defend against his killing moves. His dual swordsmanship is very superb."

"He is returning to Shangyang City to report on his work this time. He will not leave in the short term, and the court will become more complicated."

"Don't worry," Xue Huang said, "No matter how powerful he is, he won't rebel. I believe that with your and the Fifth Prince's wisdom, you will be able to eliminate their power."

"Okay," Gu Qinglan said, "You should go change your clothes first."

Xue Huang nodded, went back to her room and changed into clean clothes. Afterwards, she took Gu Qinglan to find Wei Yunzhou for dinner, and then she and Wei Yunzhou worked together to play Gu Qinglan's chess game until midnight.

He is worthy of being called a chess master. Even Wei Yunzhou feels inferior to him.

Xue Huang racked her brains and finally became so sleepy that she just lay down and fell asleep.

However, she was awakened by a deafening thunder outside the window. She looked at the night sky with heavy rain. This scene seemed like something big was about to happen.

But she was really sleepy, so she turned over and stayed in Wei Yunzhou's room to continue sleeping.

Wei Yunzhou and Gu Qinglan didn't want to wake her up, so they paused their chess game and agreed to play again another day. Then they covered Xuehuang with a blanket and left quietly.

However, Xue Huang slept very uneasily that night, as she always felt that something big was going to happen.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Mo Ruilin brought a very shocking news - the Beiyuan royal family made a comeback, attacked the prince's mansion at night, and kidnapped the second prince.