For YuLan, time had been passing swiftly ever since she started her new life. It had been roughly four months since she retained her first consciousness in her current body. Although sometimes she was still saddened with her lost life as Mia Simmons, and she could not help to worry about the loved ones she left behind, her current life was thankfully busy enough that she could not mull over her past for too long. 

Today was the last day of the year. She had not seen Ji LanBai, Ji SongLi, the two Madames, and General Ji since the morning after breakfast. The masters had sent the servants away after they prepared meal provisions for the day and the night. They secluded themselves inside the main building, while the servants did whatever they need to do for their own preparations towards the New Year's Eve.

During the previous days leading towards the end of the year, YuLan noticed the hustle and bustle in the estate. Everyone seemed to be busy doing things she was not very familiar about. A lot of incenses had been prepared inside the many different rooms in the estate. For the courtyards, red round lanterns were hung on the higher trees, rows after rows of them swaying eerily at nights. Everything had been set up in relative silence. For New Year's Eve's festivities' preparation, the atmosphere seemed quite somber.

But today topped it all. The estate was so quiet; even the majority of the servants had retreated to their chambers, leaving only a few scattered people could be seen in the estate. YuLan asked Meng-momo earlier, but the old woman just gave her a small smile, 

"Tonight is quite special. Just make sure you do not go outside the room after it gets dark before midnight."

Meng-momo did not even stay in the main building to attend to the first Madam. After making sure Wu JianRui had all the necessary medication and supply for her to be self-sufficient for the day and night, she retreated to her own personal chamber. Meng-momo's room was separate from the other servants and maids, it was a privilege for her granted by Wu JianRui.

YuLan could not stay in her bedroom as it was located in the main building which was off-limits for today only, except for the Masters. Everyone was requested to stay awake until midnight passed, thus she could go back to her bedroom later. Therefore, she had been very idle and decided to visit the maids' quarters, where Xiao Hui, Xiao Lin, Xiao Han, Xiao Su, and Xiao He resided. In the estate, the five girls had been accommodated in a decently-sized communal room. YuLan and those girls finally had time to bond together, talking about anything and everything. 

YuLan was quite amused that her little friends were very much in fascination towards the two generals' sons and the thee princes. Xiao Hui, being the loyal little maid towards her employers, put Ji SongLi at the top of the list. She was into the elegant gentlemanly type who carried just the right touch of aloofness. In her opinion, Young Master Ji ticked all the boxes.

The other girls were evenly split towards the other four boys. Xiao Su blushed red when she recalled Zhen BuFeng's sweaty figure as he swung his bamboo spear during morning practices in the courtyard. Xiao He was envious to her own Young Miss due to Third Prince Zhang GuoFu's seemingly loving and respectful attitude towards his fiancee. Xiao Lin thought very highly of the Crown Prince Zhang KongJing and his friendly demeanor. Xiao Han loved the somewhat-detached Second Prince Zhang JunLi.

Listening to the five's arguments on who was best, YuLan just blinked her eyes in amusement. They were all seven to nine years old only.

"Do females in this era hit puberty early?" She mused in her mind, "I think I only had my first crush in high school... ."  Then, she was reminded of Ji LanBai, who was more interested in cakes than boys, and YuLan was immediately comforted.

Then Xiao Hui suddenly turn her attention to YuLan,

"Xiao Hua, what about the Third Prince?" She grinned teasingly. Xiao Hui still called YuLan 'Xiao Hua' whenever the Young Miss was not around. "He was the one carrying you when you got hurt back at the street festival." 

Of course YuLan was already aware of this and she had expressed her gratitude towards the young prince. But that was all. It merely gave her the impression that the Third Prince had been very well educated in his conduct. She commended him silently in her heart, but what was with the meaningful and starry looks her little friends were giving her? For starters, he was their own Young Miss' fiance!

Xiao He lamented, "YuLan, I did not know you that well back in the orphanage. But you are clearly the big sister of us all." She said this even though she was older in age than the latter. It seemed that YuLan had been posthumously regarded as their little leader.

"That's right," Xiao Hui added with a snort, "You are clearly more elegant than the Young Miss."

YuLan gave her a chiding glare, to which Xiao Hui just pouted.

"I think if any of us could attract attention of noble young masters," Xiao Su sighed, "It would be you, YuLan-jie."

"And the Crown Prince has been very open whenever he complimented you, Yulan-jie," Xiao Lin added with a blush, "I am willing to let go of my crush if it's for you, jie." 

"I am certainly NOT interested in attracting no young masters' attention!" YuLan scowled inside, "The Crown Prince is the oldest and he is only fifteen! In my past life, if I got pregnant in high school, that would be the age of my child."

"Alright, enough." YuLan flicked Xiao Lin's forehead lightly. Of everyone, Xiao Lin was the oldest and tallest, probably close to nine years of age. But the latter called her 'jie' as well, making YuLan not sure whether to laugh or frown. Although she thought of all these girls as her younger sisters, but being called 'jie' by a girl almost a head taller than herself gave her an odd feeling. 

Regardless in her past life or now, women-talk ultimately made her tired. YuLan quickly evaded the topic by starting to prepare their supper. After the morning breakfast, all the servants had to prepare their own meals for lunch and dinner as well, setting them aside in multiple boxes. After everyone had their rations, the kitchen was closed. No one would be allowed access until the next day. YuLan was still intrigued with this unusual way to celebrate New Year's Eve.

When she was about to close the windows, she noticed night had descended upon them. The red lanterns outside swayed eerily once again, the red orbs more prominent in the dark. The girls then helped her to set the table for their communal meal, lighting some smaller lanterns, thankfully not red in color, to brighten up the room.

The girls chattered all throughout their meal, while YuLan tried her best to maneuver around their girly talks about certain Princes or certain Young Masters. 

As soon as she had her fill, she quickly left their bedroom, leaving the girls happily chatting amongst themselves.  Xiao Hui gave her a quick glance, but she did not seem to be interested in following YuLan this time. Perhaps, it was due to the gloomy atmosphere outside.

Traversing the corridors lit by rows of red lanterns, she made her way to the main courtyard. At every certain distance along the paths, there were some incenses lit inside a stone bowl. The smoke and smell from those incenses permeated everywhere. There was not a certain rule of aroma for the incenses used; but for YuLan, they still made her nose hurt and her eyes watered. It was also one of the reasons she did not want to stay indoor for long with the girls; the smell of the incense in the room was getting too much.

She headed to the main courtyard. She figured, even though there were incenses positioned there as well, the open space should at least lessen the smell. 

This was her first New Year's Eve as Bai YuLan.  Though solitude was hardly a nice way of celebrating, it was better than gossiping about boys whose voices had hardly broken yet while getting intoxicated with incense.

Noticing the round lanterns along the way, she was suddenly reminded that she had not noticed the moon lately. It seemed to always be obscured behind the darkness of the sky. Walking with light steps towards the open space of the courtyard while still admiring the amount of red orbs swaying from every tree branch and building sills, she shifted her gaze towards the sky.

And she stilled.

She had been missing the moon for the past week. Yet, the moment it appeared, there were two, and they were both blood-red. One moon was noticeably smaller and looked a bit hazy, but they were both definitely moons, not just some aligning planets. Even YuLan could make out some similarities of the surfaces. One was just a smaller, more blur version of the other.

Perhaps this phenomenon contributed to the weird atmosphere of the estate for the past week and today. However, one thing came to mind; Bai YuLan was not sure if she was in ancient China anymore. In fact, she was not sure if she was in the same planet Earth she used to know. 

Suddenly, the small details she had been noticing for the past months came to mind: the garments and attires worn by the people were not the ones she knew used to be worn in historical records.

Granted, she did not have the best knowledge in China empires and various dynasties throughout the ages. However, her mother was really into her Chinese roots and actually majored in Chinese history and literature. Her mother had particular passion of the ancient dynasties and always shared her knowledge to her two daughters every chance she had. Therefore, more or less, YuLan knew the different apparels for each major dynasties written in historical records. 

The current world she was in seemed to be a mash-up of different dynasties, blended together. For example, the older Madames wore clothing similar to those of Song or Han dynasties, while the Young Miss and the young female maids wore garments worn in Sui or Tang dynasty. 

       

(Inspiration of apparel. From left to right: Song, Han, Sui/Tang (which are somewhat similar)

The men's apparel was much simpler, so YuLan had not put too much thought on it. 

Perhaps, her soul had been transported to a world and time not of the one she previously knew?

YuLan was baffled. She was an agnostic in her past life, almost a borderline atheist even. She was not too conceited to think that there were no other beings apart from humans, perhaps aliens in other planets. But she always thought old tales like the yellow springs, Old Meng's soup, different versions of heaven and hell constantly drilled by different religions were just that: stories.

She sat alone at a stone table, her head still tilting upwards to admire the two red moons. Suddenly, her peripheral vision noticed a figure sitting across table. YuLan was surprised to realize that she actually had not sensed the person's arrival until he had sat right across her. 

It was Ji SongLi.

"It seems that the Young Master is getting stealthier." YuLan thought.

Propping his chin on his hands and leaning against the stone table, he also had his eyes on the two red moons.

"Is it past midnight, already?"

After all, no one was supposed to leave the inner chambers or buildings before midnight. She was not one to believe in superstition, thus she had ignored the warnings and ventured out herself.

"I sneaked out," Ji SongLi said, noticing the silent inquiry of her gaze. He focused on her more, finally noticing her warm breaths forming balls of cloud, faintly visible in the darkness of the night . He frowned and walked towards where she sat, before untying the thick hooded cloak he was wearing.

YuLan's shoulders moved to avoid Ji SongLi who wanted to put his cloak on her, but he seemed to be faster and pressed her shoulders down in place. Her brows furrowed in slight discomfort while he tied the cloak around her neck, ensuring the hooded part to thoroughly cover the top of her head. Satisfied after she was bundled in the thick cloak, he half-leaned on the stone table, now very close to where she was sitting.

"Do you know the legend of the twin red moons?" Ji SongLi asked.

YuLan shook her head. Tightening her grip on the hood to keep her ears warm, she peeked at the youth; at least Ji SongLi did not seem bothered with the cold despite having given his cloak to her. The cloak felt warm and comforting.

"There is a deity that has always been envious of the Moon God residing in the higher realms," he started. "They both live in separate worlds, but sometimes these two worlds get so close to each other, causing a rift to appear. During this time, this deity can sneak into the same realm where the Moon God resides."

"Yep, definitely not the same China I know." YuLan was astonished.

"Although the Moon God is one of the higher gods and the deity is normally not his equal, when this rift appears, the Moon God will be at his weakest. The night sky will be as dark as a black ink and the Moon God will bleed red due to the disturbance the rift causes. The deity always takes this chance to resemble the Moon God's being then try to steal his physical body."

"As humans who have always been blessed by moonlight, we try to assist the Moon God to elude the deity. We hang red lanterns to confuse the deity so he wouldn't find the Moon God's real body, and we lit incenses so the smell would distract him."

YuLan stared at the two moons, absorbing what she had just heard. 

"Those red lanterns do resemble the round red moon... ."

He continued, "During these moments, no mortals should be seen from the sky, lest the deity noticed our intervention which may cause the Moon God's demise." 

YuLan turned  her gaze to SongLi, "Then why is Young Master here?"

"Obviously I don't believe in old wives' tales," his lips were curled lightly, "and from the look of it, neither do you."

"Well, that's because I came from yet another world it seems," YuLan amusedly thought, "where there's flying metal birds in the sky and steel vehicles on ground that must seem as amazing as your Moon God.... . "

"Then I assume this.... 'rift' will close at midnight?" YuLan asked.

"Correct. When new day comes, the two different worlds' link will once again be severed and the Moon God will once again be safe from the deity's evil clutches. At least until the next rift occurs."

YuLan, "How often does this happen?" 

Ji SongLi was silent at this, seemingly lost in thought, "Well, the last one happened when I was not even born yet. Father said the last blood moons appeared just over fifteen years ago, when the Crown Prince was born" He paused as he tried to remember further, "Before that, it was roughly ten years. There doesn't seem to be set intervals of the phenomenon. But the Imperial astrologers could always predict and tell the citizens exactly when the twin blood moons would appear. This year it just happened to be the New Year's Eve."

YuLan nodded in understanding. It seemed that the gloomy atmosphere, with the incenses and red lanterns, was not to celebrate New Year's Eve, but more for this twin blood lunar occurrence.

They both fell in silence for a while with their own thoughts, time passed gradually in the stillness of the night. Then the smaller red moons gradually became dimmer in its color and presence, until finally disappearing behind the dark blanket of the sky.

Ji SongLi muttered, "The deity has left. Once again, the Moon God is safe."

There was a trace of ridicule in his tone that YuLan could not miss. She understood that Ji SongLi did not believe in the superstition as well. However, what had caught her her attention was, Ji SongLi seemed to have become more animated in his speech, more expressive ever since their last encounter about the flower bud about week ago.

"Come to think of it, tonight is the first time I see him smile a little."

Ever since she laid eyes on the young boy, Ji SongLi looked as though he had the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. But now, it seemed that he had started to embrace his burden as part of himself and no longer treated it as so.

In the sky, the bigger moon gradually turned color into pale blue, its usual color normally seen at night. YuLan blinked and could not help but think that the phenomenon was quite miraculous. 

"Midnight has passed," Ji SongLi smiled at her. Both of them soon noticed the excited voices from inside the buildings, even from beyond the residence walls, where the common streets were. Everyone seemed to have been hanging on a thread waiting for the unlucky twin red moons to pass and were now genuinely delighted to start the New Year.

Soon, she could hear the sounds of firecrackers and people shouting on the street exclaiming their New Year's greetings to whoever would hear them in the middle of the night. The stark contrast of atmosphere made YuLan chuckle in amusement, until she noticed Ji SongLi's eyes fixated on her.

"YuLan... ," he said, a trace of anxiety in his soft voice, "I have a couple of favors to ask of you."

YuLan gave him an encouraging smile, and that eased his furrowing brows.

"I'd like it if you don't call me 'Young Master' anymore," Ji SongLi gave her a soft nervous smile. YuLan thought this youth actually looked adorable. 

"Ji LanBai and Ji SongLi definitely have good genes," she thought.

"Call me SongLi-ge... ," Ji SongLi prompted. Yet, when he saw the girl's lips quirked slightly, he quickly added, "Or just SongLi will do!"

Ji SongLi was a bit at a lost. Was it not reasonable to request YuLan to call him 'gege'? After all, he was older. Yet, why did the other party did not seem too pleased? There was even a trace of irony in her smile.

Finally, YuLan herself welcomed his request with open arms. Calling a teenager who was more than half her old soul's age 'gege' would be more difficult than calling him 'Young Master'. After all, she could treat the 'Young Master' title the same as calling her boss. Still, calling him by his direct name would be much better. She would not have any reservation when Ji SongLi himself had requested so.

Giving a bright smile, she nodded. 

Feeling encouraged, Ji SongLi's own smile blossomed. This time YuLan quickly averted her gaze away. This boy's smile was truly dangerous! Especially when she swore she could saw just the faintest blush on his cheeks. Why did she feel like she was the one who was embarrassed!

With his voice suddenly as soft as a whisper, YuLan had to strain her ears hard to catch what he said next,

"My birthday is the tenth day of summer. Do you mind making me something? Just like what you have given to my sister." Then he added hastily, "Though preferably less sweet."