Mai returned to the Investigation Bureau to find Inspector Lin because it required a badge to investigate people, and not just any badge.

Three men were walking around, placing books on the large dark brown bookshelf.

"Is Grand Inspector Lin available?" Mai asked in a low voice.

One of the men stopped and looked at her. "Grand Inspector Lin is at an important meeting, but he left something for you."

He walked over to a table and picked up a bundle of silk cloth, which he handed to her. She opened it carefully and saw a golden badge with a dragon's head, the emperor's seal, which meant that Inspector Lin's words were the emperor's words.

"He knew I would need it." she murmured softly. He was very thoughtful.

She went home and changed into a plain white robe closed with a white belt. Her hair was in a tight bun with a white ribbon, and she put a black wooden hairpin in it.

On her way to the girl's residence, she spotted Meiling, a tall, slender palace maid who had helped Mai obtain the exotic fruits for her facial masks. Meiling stood in front of the Blooming Flower, a large red temple building with a curved golden roof. At the top was a golden dragon acting as a guardian. It had a snake body, breathed fire, and had red eyes. Meiling was with a large group of women dressed in beautiful luxurious dresses and beautiful shiny hair ornaments. They were discussing with each other while some of them giggled. Others shushed them while looking around as if searching for a specific person.

Mai felt nostalgic seeing the Blooming Flower because it was where her master had taught her Cupid Call.

She looked at her right hand, rubbed her fingers, furrowed her brows, and mumbled, "I wonder what happened to the minister's son. Has he married and had children?"

She approached the building to sense the atmosphere, but suddenly saw her master's face in front of her, smiling at her. It was a friendly smile, and her heart ached.

"Master, where are you? Are you really dead?"

Mai had been forbidden to visit the Eternal Peak where her master had been executed. She was sure there was still something of him left there. She sighed deeply and turned around, but as she was about to leave, a woman suddenly spoke.

"Brother Luo Tian, what are you doing here?" Meiling walked towards her with a friendly smile.

She wore a long pink silk dress with white cherry blossoms on it, and there was a floral pattern on the shoulders. She was slim, petite, and only a head taller than Mai.

"Sister Meiling. Good afternoon. I have an errand in town and happened to pass by here."

Meiling's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her right hand, saying, "Young Master. It's unlike you to come here. Have you finally reached maturity and become interested in the mature flowers here?" Her voice carried a teasing undertone.

"Sister Meiling, are you talking to the physician?" asked a woman in a white dress who was approaching them.

Physician? Mai looked at her and suddenly became curious. All the women here were privy to the juicy news in town.

Meiling looked at Mai and playfully smiled, replying, "No, but this is Imperial Physician Liang Gu's grandchild, Young Master Luo Tian. He's much better."

She suddenly grabbed Mai's right hand and said, "Come, Young Master. There are some people you need to meet."

Mai wasn't a physician, and pretending to be one could get her in trouble, but her identity might grant her immunity. She wanted to go in and see the place again and followed the women.

They entered the same large courtyard Mai remembered and walked towards the large garden with bonsai trees and wooden benches.

Meiling looked at her and said, "Wait here, Young Master. We need to make sure it's okay for you to come in."

Mai nodded, but the moment they rounded the building, she began to explore. She hadn't seen the entire garden last time because she had bumped into a boy.

"That's where I met that boy."

She walked to the end of a large dark brown building, and suddenly, she heard the sound of a zither.

Her heart skipped a beat. Mai loved the sound of the zither and had always wanted to play one.

"My piano and violin teacher played the zither but refused to let me touch one." She sighed and walked around the building.

In front of her was a large garden with a pond, and in the middle stood a large green wooden pavilion. Inside sat a handsome man playing the zither. He wore a black robe, was slim, and broad-shouldered. In front of him lay a dark green zither with white strings that he lightly touched with his slender fingers. It emitted a beautiful melody even though he was only playing single notes. The garden was empty of people.

“Where is everyone?”

"This is the Blooming Flower, always filled with guests. Is he a VIP guest?"

Ugh. She didn't want anything to do with perverse VIP guests and decided to turn around, but suddenly, the man looked up, and they made eye contact. He blinked a few times, and just when Mai thought he would ignore her, he suddenly pointed at her and motioned with his index finger for her to come to him.

Mai furrowed her brows and hesitated. "What the hell does he want with me? Is he into men?"

She became irritated but also curious and chose to approach him. He was much more handsome up close, and she thought Inspector Lin was handsome, but this man was almost on par with him. Almost. They resembled each other a lot.

She bowed deeply to him and said, "Good afternoon, My Lord. What can I do for you?"

The man studied her and leaned on his right arm, smiling kindly.

"What is your name, young man?" he asked in a curious tone.

"My name is Luo Tian, My Lord," Mai replied immediately.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Really? That name doesn't suit you."

He patted the green cushion to his right and asked her to sit who sat down beside him and looked at him, blinking.

"You seemed very interested in either me or the zither." he said in a gentle voice, looking deeply into her eyes.

Mai looked at the zither and replied, "My music teacher never let me touch a zither because she said it was difficult to play. When I think about it, I already played too many instruments, so it was probably smart not to learn to play more. One shouldn't bite off more than they can chew."

"Everything requires practice. Your teacher was probably afraid you would end up as a failure. Would you like to learn now?" The man looked at his zither and put his right arm around her, leaning forward.

Mai felt his warm breath and smelled his scent. He smelled of flora, and she was reminded of nature. There was a hint of jasmine, which she found to be a beautiful flower. Why does he smell like flowers?

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a pleasant scent, my lord?" she asked without thinking.

The man blinked and leaned his mouth towards her left ear.

He whispered in a crisp voice, "No one has ever dared to speak their mind to me before."

His words gave Mai goosebumps, and she was immediately reminded of her situation. Damn!

She slowly turned her head to the left and bumped into his nose. She felt his warm breath, and there was a strong floral scent. Her heart suddenly beat faster, and she became confused and nervous. She pulled her head back slightly and focused on his chest. Damn, he's well-built! If she wasn't already interested in Inspector Lin, she might have fallen for him.

"Sorry, my lord. Can you forgive my foul mouth? I forgot to wash it this morning." She felt embarrassed and ashamed of her words.

A confident smile spread across the man's lips, and he said in a soft voice, "If you give me a kiss, I'll overlook it."

Mai thought she had heard wrong and slowly looked up at him. She furrowed her brows and looked him deep in the eyes. They rested on her. He's serious! So, he really is into men! Fine. If this could save her from a beheading.

"My lord, do you promise that this will stay between us?" Her voice was small and hoarse.

He quickly looked around and nodded. "No one's watching."

At his words, Mai leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips. His floral scent was now much stronger, and she was overwhelmed by the scent of jasmine. She imagined a forest of jasmine flowers, but suddenly she saw Inspector Lin's face in front of her. She quickly pulled her head back. That was close!

She bit her lip and made eye contact with the man. He tricked me!

Mai looked like someone who had just had their first kiss stolen. Suddenly, she heard women laughing, reminding her of Meiling.

She stood up and bowed deeply to the man. "My Lord, I apologize if I disturbed you, but I have another errand here. Have a good day, and I trust you'll keep your promise."

Mai turned around, but as she was about to leave, he suddenly grabbed her left hand. It was warm, and she felt a strange sensation in her stomach.

"Do you come here often?" He asked, looking up at her.

Mai shook her head and replied in a low voice, "I promised to help a friend with an errand here. It's my first time here, My Lord."

The man let go of her hand, and she hurried away, feeling her heart racing in her throat.

"Damn, that was close." she muttered, hoping they wouldn't run into each other again.

The man looked at his hand, rubbed his fingers in his palm. He smiled and sniffed them, then licked them.

"I was just joking when I asked for a kiss. I thought she would kiss me on the cheek. Is she stupid or what?"

"She smelled of lilies. It's the same girl from back then. They have the same mole on their necks."

He sniffed his hands again and touched his lips. "She tasted heavenly. Her lips were incredibly soft. I could get used to that taste."

He sighed deeply and lay down on the cushions, looking up at the clear blue sky. He closed his eyes and sniffed his fingers again.

"When will I see her again? Her name was Luo Tian... Luo Tian!" He abruptly opened his eyes and sat up.

He broke into an ecstatic grin and muttered, "So it's the soldier from the inspection day. Grandma was right that fate would find me and bring me together with it."