After provoking the holy maiden of Miao territory, she was infected with a love curse.

After hanging the clothes on the hanger, Yin Huaixi finally took a look at the men's clothes that Sang Che had prepared for her.

This outfit wasn't as eye-catching as Sang Che's; it was a simple, dark color, like something a refined scholar in a school would wear.

A jet-black headscarf was worn on her head, revealing only her eyebrows and eyes.

"Why aren't we dressed the same? Instead... I'm being made to look like a young man in a school?"

She reached out and smoothed the hem of her dress.

Yin Huaixi hadn't worn men's clothes for a long time and felt a little uncomfortable.

In the past, when she would sneak out to play behind her sisters' backs, Yin Huaixi would change into the ordinary robes of the family servants to avoid being recognized.

Imitating the mannerisms of Han Chinese men, Sang Che gently waved a folding fan, pressing it against her chest. She lowered her voice, and a completely different, androgynous tone came through: "Huai Xi, from now on, you are my page."

Yin Huaixi: "..."

Yin Huaixi: "Ache, you're really getting the better end of the deal while pretending to be innocent. According to Han Chinese, I've always been studying in a private school, while you... have never even been to a Han Chinese private school."

"How come I've become your page?"

"Eat and take away!"

With her sleeves rolled up, Yin Huaixi seemed ready to playfully tease Sang Che.

Faced with Yin Huaixi's flying "slap", Sang Che did not dodge, but used the folding fan to block Yin Huaixi's downward momentum.

She maintained the demeanor of a Han Chinese, but she no longer appeared as innocent and naive as before; instead, she seemed to possess a playful and frivolous nature.

"Huaixi, do you know that my former teacher was the top scholar in the imperial examination and the former Grand Secretary?"

"He taught me a lot and did help me understand Han Chinese culture, but unfortunately... I think he was overrated and had an inexplicable pedantry."

After being rebuked by Sang Che, Yin Huaixi recalled the palace life of Sang Che, which was not described in detail in the novel, and became curious.

She rolled up her sleeves and became gentle again.

She really resembled a refined and gentle scholar, her eyes sparkling.

"Ah Che, what did you experience in the palace...? Was that place magnificent and imposing?"

When questioned by Yin Huaixi, Sang Che lowered her eyes thoughtfully. When she was first brought into the palace, the emperor's attitude towards her was relatively friendly.

They simply considered her a barbarian and even sent their chief minister to teach her Han Chinese knowledge and culture.

It is called "education".

Sang Che, however, did not take it to heart. She paid only half-hearted attention to the current chief minister.

It must be said that Sang Che had a deep impression of the current Grand Secretary. No matter how much Sang Che humiliated him, he remained calm and composed.

He seemed to completely disregard Sang Che's sarcastic remarks.

Only when he is extremely angry will he turn and leave.

Yin Huaixi: "Why haven't you replied to me for so long, A-Che? You're not happy in the palace, are you?"

As the "handsome scholar" in front of her got closer and closer, she lost her composure.

Sang Che simply put down the folding fan in her hand, put her hands behind her back, and covered her fingers, which were red from gripping the fan handle, with her wide sleeves.

"I am doing very well in the palace."

"Huaixi, you don't need to worry about anything."

"If those people in the imperial court really wanted me dead, they would have done it long ago."

"Why should I still be standing here saying all this to you?"

Sang Che would always try to find some excuse to stick close to her, as if he wanted to say every sweet word in the world.

Seeing the way the girl was avoiding his gaze, Yin Huaixi had already made up her mind.

Over the course of their time together, Sang Che has come to understand her, and she, in turn, has come to understand every little detail of Sang Che, including the meaning behind his every smile and frown.

Sang Che was not happy in the palace. Even though the author wrote it very vaguely and only mentioned it briefly, the author would not spend extra time writing about it unless it was a scene of "big fish and meat".

But even from the side, one can roughly guess what Sang Che has been through.

Gone was her previous "anger." Yin Huaixi stepped forward, taking over Sang Che's entire field of vision. She reached out and flicked the beads hanging from the edge of Sang Che's hat with her finger.

"Ah Che, I didn't mean to bring this up. I just... wanted to know more about you."

"After all, I know nothing about your past."

A black scarf hung down, and Sang Che met Yin Huaixi's still curious eyes, but this time, Sang Che saw a hint of pity for her in them.

Han people generally consider the favor shown to them by those in power to be a humiliation.

For example, a husband doesn't want his wife to earn more money than him, and an older person doesn't want a younger person to be more famous or accomplished than him.

But this kind of gaze from Yin Huaixi was exactly what Sang Che wanted and craved most.

If there is no joy in her heart, no emotion whatsoever, how could she toss and turn in bed for someone who has never entered her heart, with sorrow hanging over her brows and eyes?

Reaching out and grabbing Yin Huaixi's index finger, Sang Che pulled on Yin Huaixi's wrist and slowly pressed Yin Huaixi's palm close to her heart.

My fingertips touched the smooth fabric, and I felt my heart pounding.

Sang Che's eyes were filled with an unyielding, sticky love. She pursed her lips and smiled as she answered Yin Huaixi's question.

"Huaixi, you don't want to know about my past... and you'd better not know what happened in my past."

"The fewer people who know about that, the better."

Rejected again, Yin Huaixi's fingertips involuntarily curled. She really wanted to pinch Sang Che's chest hard and let her taste what the consequences of being stubborn would be.

Thinking this way, Yin Huaixi also acted accordingly.

She tightened her fingertips, watching the embroidered floral patterns wrinkle, regardless of whether Sang Che was in pain or not.

Yin Huaixi: "Ache, you have something you can't say, so I can say we can choose differently."

"But don't underestimate my heart. The fact that I asked means I want to know what happened to you in the past."

"I want to know every little detail."

As Yin Huaixi pressed Sang Che with her questions, all her words, though seemingly inadequate, turned into pure joy.

The gloom that had been on the surface vanished with the wind and disappeared into nothingness under Yin Huaixi's comforting words.

"Huaixi, once we get to the capital, you'll know what kind of place it is. Now I know you care about me and love me, and that's enough."

...

Ever since receiving Sang Che's message.

Jia Wancai finally broke free from her despair. She sat by the window, looking at the method for making Gu poison that she had written herself.

Finally, he put it in an envelope, intending to hand it to Zhao Huining personally.

"Do you think His Highness truly loves that strange woman who was captured and brought back?"

Outside the window, a maid carrying flowerpots walked by, intending to remove the few peony plants.

The two were close together, and when no one was around, they began to whisper in each other's ears.

"Sister, the head aunt has already told us not to say such nonsense, yet you're still saying it here... Be careful your Highness doesn't catch you."

"I was just curious, wasn't I? Some time ago, His Highness specifically instructed Lord Jiang to transport rare flowers back to the capital, as well as countless exotic beasts. I heard that His Highness intended to send them to please the women."

The other person shook his head: "His Highness's thoughts are beyond the comprehension of either of us."

She paused slightly, her expression changing, before continuing, "However, if His Highness prefers women, that would explain why His Highness hasn't chosen a consort all these years."

"No matter how much His Majesty urged him, His Highness remained unmoved."

Upon hearing the two maids mention that Zhao Huining was looking for a consort, Jiawan forcefully bent a corner of the neatly packaged envelope with her fingers.