Nianzu was teaching Chuntao how to play the zither. She was seated on his lap while her petite figure was covered fully by Nianzu's body. He had held her both hands and gently moved them over the strings while telling her about each string function.

  "Prince Nianzu, my fingers are hurting. Shall we stop?" Chuntao asked him after practicing for an hour. Nianzu nodded and apologized to her for not caring about that. He moved back while Chuntao moved down from his lap.

  "Are your legs numb? Let me press them," She urged.

  "Chun, I am fine. Show me your fingers," he said. Chuntao outstretched her hands. The red marks were visible at the tip of her fingers.

  Nianzu placed his hands under the back of her palms to hold them and blew air over them. Chuntao smiled and said, "Prince Nianzu, I had never imagined that playing zither is so tough. Prince Nianzu is indeed gifted in music."

  Nianzu pulled out the drawer and took out a tiny box from inside it. Opening it, he sprinkled the white powder over her fingers and then dabbed them with a tiny cotton pad.

  "I am not gifted. I have had an interest in music since my childhood days. To relieve my stress, I seek music's help. I was not good at expressing my anger, but somewhere it used to trouble me from inside. Music calmed me down," Nianzu explained to her.

  "You do not need to force yourself to learn it. Your fingers will hurt and I cannot afford that. Can't you drop this idea of learning zither?" He asked her again.

  Chuntao refused. "I cannot do that, Prince Nianzu. I want to learn it. One needs to bear the pain to learn something," she stated and looked at her fingers. "They will heal soon," she then said.

  "Tomorrow there is a hunting match between the brothers. Brother Sheng and Sister Lili will not be able to join us," he informed Chuntao.

  "Will you also hunt down the animals? Isn't that bad?" She asked Nianzu.

  "I will for my Brothers sake, but will not kill any animal," Nianzu asserted.

  "You will lose then," Chuntao stated.

  "That's better than taking a life," Nianzu said and smiled. "With this, I recall the early days when we brothers used to go out with our father for hunting. Brother Wanxi used to cry every time an arrow was shot. Brother Sheng used to scold him so much," he said and smiled.

  "Brother Wanxi does not like to kill anyone. He does not even carry any weapon. Was that the reason he used to cry?" Chuntao asked Nianzu, who nodded his head.

  "Brother Wanxi does not believe in taking life," asserted Nianzu and put back the box inside the drawer.

  "Even Prince Nianzu does not believe in taking life. The Empress Dowager has come to meet me earlier. Does Prince Nianzu not meet her regularly?" Chuntao asked her.

  "I visited her a week ago," Nianzu replied.

  "Earlier, you used to visit her every day," Chuntao said. "Are you still angry with her? Since when have you become so stubborn?" She complained to him.

  "I try to forget that, Chun," Nianzu answered.

  "Hopefully, Prince Nianzu will soon amend his broken relationship with his mother," Chuntao opined. "Prince Nianzu, Sister Liao Jun is going out with her husband for sightseeing before the first snowfall. Once the lands will be covered with snow, it would be difficult to go out," she stated.

  "Where do you want to go?" He asked her.

  "Can we go to the Buddhist Shrine? The scenic beauty around the shrine is marvelous. I will also offer prayers for Sister Lili's health and safety," Chuntao expressed her desire.

  "I will take you to the shrine the day after tomorrow," Nianzu replied.

  "Thank you for acknowledging my humble request," Chuntao bowed before him and then lifted her head.

  "Let's have a walk in the Royal garden," Nianzu said and stood up. He extended his hand out. Chuntao caught it and he pulled her up. She adjusted her dress and hair, before leaving for the Royal Garden.

  ~~~~~

  Huo Jin stood behind Yin Na, who had extended the string outwardly. Her hand was trembling when Huo Jin held it, thus stabilizing the grip on the bow.

  Yin Na narrowly gazed at him and found how close he was to her! It made her nervous. But Huo Jin's focus was not on that. "Yin Na, the aim should be clear while extending the string and putting an arrow over it. Don't let your hands get trembled, else you will lose focus and just like earlier, will end up losing arrows. Train yourself to focus on the arrow only," Huo Jin advised her.

  "I understand, Huo Jin," she replied.

  Huo Jin slowly removed his hands from hers and stepped back.

  "Can you tell me what you are seeing?" He questioned her.

  "I can see the large board," she answered.

  "Yin Na, as I said your focus should be entirely at the central part. That's important. You need to choose your aim before shooting an arrow," he explained to her.

  "Oh!" Yin Na closed her right eye and focused on the aim with the left one. Her hand was again staggering in the air.

  "Release it," Huo Jin said.

  Yin Na did so. Alas, the arrow hit at the topmost part of the board, far away from the central target. She moved her right arm as it started to ache. She got dejected because this was the twentieth time she failed.

  She turned to Huo Jin and apologized to him. "Forgive me. Despite your teachings, I am unable to do anything well," Yin Na said.

  Huo Jin started to laugh and it confused her. After he stopped, he took a step towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You started today, so it's not going to give you results so early. Be patient and practice daily for an hour," Huo Jin told her. He slowly moved his hands down and took away the bow from her. He noticed the bruises on her hands.

  "Since it was the first day, let's stop. You need to give proper rest to your hands as well," Huo Jin advised her. Wang Fuxing, who was at the other side of the ground, watched them from the pavilion.

  "Is there something going on between these two?" Wang Fuxing asked his servant.

  "Master, Miss Yin Na has feelings for Huo Jin. However, he has no interest in her," the servant replied to Wang Fuxing.

  "Announce in the capital that I am looking for a capable groom for his daughter," Wang Fuxing commanded his servant, who bowed.

  "Master, but will Miss Yin Na not get sad?" He expressed his concern.

  "I want to see if there's any spark from Huo Jin's side. Wang Hao told me that he's devoted to his dead lover. It would be a waste of time for Yin Na to run after Huo Jin, who will never acknowledge her…… However, with the arrival of marriage proposals for her, there is a chance that Huo Jin might open his heart for her, and I will be able to see his true feelings," Wang Fuxing proclaimed and walked away.