Pingting nodded and looking in the direction that Chu Beijie had been pointing at, she saw a guqin on the table. When she sat down, she couldn't help noticing that it was the Phoenix Paulownia-Guqin.

The music began again......

It was like the first time one had seen the Alps, the pine branches decorated with snow and the fierce wind billowing in the background. A scene of sorrow.

Slowly, the wind died away and the snow came again. Though it was still cold, there was more life in it. The snow had yet to stop but some small animals had already come out in search for food. They scurried up the trees and picked some berries. Then they paused, as if they were hearing something. They had disappeared before one even realised it.

The mountains were quiet.

Soon, joyful laughter was heard, far away. Around four children had come to have a snow fight and suddenly, there were balls of snow flying all over the place. They were half-yelling, half-laughing, messing around but either way, they were having fun.

The qin sound came to a joyous end.

Chu Beijie was comfortably leaning on his chair and opening his eyes he said, "Nice but why isn't there a reverberation?"

"There's no set way to interpreting music, so why isn't stopping at the happiest moment acceptable?" She bit her lip.

Their eyes met and they were wondering why their hearts were beating so fast. Finally, Chu Beijie cleared his throat, clapped twice while ordering, "Yangfeng, come here."

Pingting stood up from the guqin, slowly shuffled closer to him. There was about a table's distance between them when she mischievously asked, "Does Duke still plan to drink my soup?"

Thinking of the disgusting soup, Chu Beijie had to shake his head vigorously.

"Then... I'll take it out."

She took the plates, backing rapidly out of the room.

Chu Beijie watched her disappear in bewilderment. Then he clapped quietly.

Chu Moran appeared in the doorway.

"Duke."

"There's a qin maid in Gui Le, who goes by the name Yangfeng." Chu Beijie shrugged, "Research her."

"Yes, I will begin immediately."

Pingting had begun to settle down in the Zhen-Bei Ducal Residence. It wasn't hard serving Chu Beijie – it was much like her Jing-An Ducal Residence days. She didn't have to prepare any tea or do any hard work. All she had to do was to play qin and listen to him.

Everyone in the residence knew that she was special to Chu Beijie, and no one dared to treat her badly. Everyone called her, 'Miss Yangfeng'.

Summer was not yet over when the water lilies began to bloom. One day, the two were talking after lunch.

"How big is this world?"

"I should be asking Duke instead. How should I know?" Pingting tilted her head, slightly rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me Duke wants to know, so Duke can command the soldiers to conquer all of it?"

Chu Beijie laughed, "Why not?"

Pingting raised an eyebrow, "I don't believe the rest of the world will give up so easily. There are four countries. Dong Lin has Duke of course, but the other three... well, even the Marquess of Jing-An in Gui Le isn't that easy to be taken down.

"He Xia?" Chu Beijie hummed, face breaking into a mysterious smile.

"Oh yeah, back then, what did you mean by saying that I might be able to see the Marquess soon?" Pingting pretended to recall, "I saw him from behind the blinds once back in the Prince's Residence. He looked heroic and I had a pretty good impression of him. An outstanding person, I'd say." Before she even realised it, Chu Beijie had his arms over her again.

"Good impression? An outstanding person?" Chu Beijie's voice was dangerous.

Pingting however, laughed at this. "Are you jealous, Duke?" Seeing that Chu Beijie was indeed jealous, she quietly added "Duke, please don't be stingy. Besides, I heard that he was targeted by the Gui Le King. Maybe he's already dead."

Chu Beijie laughed darkly while shaking his head, "If he dies so easily, he wouldn't be He Xia anymore."

Pingting's heart began to race because she had been waiting for this chance for a long time. "In other words, Duke knows where he is?" She couldn't control her excitement.

"He Xia escaped from the Gui Le city grounds and Gui Le is currently being monitored by the soldiers. Sigh, I almost caught him a couple of days ago." Sensing her body shake, he asked, "Yangfeng, are you okay?"