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

"I have arranged everything properly for the goods Your Highness asked me to transport. Is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do?"

The person standing in front of Zhao Huining lowered his eyes and bowed humbly.

"Well done."

"Go to the accounting office and collect your reward."

Zhao Huining raised her hand to play the zither. She didn't even glance at the man. Her music was melodious and rare in the mortal world.

"Yes."

"Your Highness, I will take my leave now."

The man turned and left, and the steward standing outside the pavilion stepped forward without making a sound, took out a thick booklet from his sleeve, and personally handed it to Zhao Huining.

"Your Highness, this is a list of noble young men from the capital sent by Princess Ziwan. I hope Your Highness will take a look."

Upon hearing that familiar name, Zhao Huining's original intention to have the steward take it away and burn it was halted.

As soon as she stopped playing the zither, the music also disappeared.

"Was it really given to you by Aster?"

The butler nodded, not daring to hide anything.

"Your Highness, it was indeed given to me by Ziwan's personal maid. I saw it with my own eyes, there's no mistake."

She also instructed that this valuable register must be delivered to His Highness.

Zhao Huining sighed and said, "Just leave it here. Since she brought it, if I let you burn it directly, she, who is bedridden, will surely suffer a heart attack from anxiety."

Why should I... needlessly upset her?

I could hear the melancholy in His Highness's tone.

The butler said nothing more.

As he obediently put down the list and was about to leave quietly, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure in a dress emerging from behind the screen.

Although the person was hiding behind the chrysanthemum pot, it was not difficult to tell from the lush branches and leaves and the bright yellow chrysanthemums in full bloom that this person was the foreign woman that His Highness cared so much about.

The steward hesitated whether to speak up and remind His Highness, but his lack of retreat had already attracted Zhao Huining's attention.

Reaching out to touch the sweet oranges presented as tribute on the white jade plate beside the table, Zhao Huining swiftly threw them backward.

The orange hit Jiawan, who was hiding behind the chrysanthemum pot, with perfect accuracy.

All that could be heard was a grimacing sound like a cat, as the person who was hit made. Then, Jiawan raised her hand to cover her forehead, her nose stinging with tears.

That really hurt!

After throwing the oranges, Zhao Huining turned around and looked back. The face that was completely unexpected appeared in front of her. Zhao Huining smiled slightly.

She turned to the butler and instructed him, "You may leave now. I will handle this little thief who was eavesdropping on our conversation."

The butler responded with a "yes," quickened his pace, and hurriedly left the pavilion.

Having served in the Princess's residence for many years, it's best if he doesn't know things that His Highness doesn't want him to know.

Jia Wan was naturally unhappy about being called a "little thief." She stared at Zhao Huining, rubbing her temples with her fingers, clearly looking extremely aggrieved.

"I...I wasn't eavesdropping on your conversation...I was listening openly and honestly, how is that stealing!"

Faced with Jiawan's sophistry, Zhao Huining got up, walked to her, bent down to pick up the tangerine, and patted it.

It was handed to Jiawan.

"Hey, these are newly arrived sweet oranges, they taste like honey, sweet but not cloying."

"Ah Shui, I'll give you this as an apology, how about it?"

Jia Wan, who was successfully angered by Zhao Huining's actions, naturally did not give Zhao Huining a good look. She reached out and grabbed the back of Zhao Huining's hand, making her hold the orange in her hand against her chest.

"Isn't someone looking for a fiancé? I think Sweet Orange is more suitable for Your Highness than for me."

Jiawan's sentence was completely unrelated and lacked context.

To Zhao Huining's surprise, she played with the orange with her rounded fingertips, seemingly lost in thought.

Today, Zhao Huining was dressed in a long dress, her usual heroic spirit completely transformed into a delicate femininity. She smiled and said, "A-Shui, is there a deeper meaning behind your words?"

"Don't you... want me to see that list?"

Zhao Huining, who was constantly being urged, had long been used to the endless stream of names being sent to her princess residence, and naturally wouldn't give any other people a second glance.

But Ziwan had grown up with her since childhood, and was frail and sickly, just like Lin Daiyu in the book, panting with every step.

Even leaving the house was a luxury for her, and Zhao Huining was unwilling to go against her wishes, which is why she didn't ask the steward to take it out and burn it.

Feeling stared at so openly, Jia Wan snorted coldly. This time, she angrily took the tangerine from Zhao Huining's hand and peeled it herself.

Jiawan gritted her teeth.

She wished Zhao Huining was an orange in her hand, to be peeled, stripped of its fibers, chewed up, and swallowed whole!

"You can watch it for as long as you want, I don't care. I came here... to tell you that I've written down the method you wanted."

"As for finding people to test the medicine, that's something you should consider. I'm stuck here and can't get out, so naturally I have no way to test the effects of this prescription."

Originally, Jiawan had been waiting for Zhao Huining to come and ask her for the prescription, but to her surprise, she stood by the window with the envelope in her hand, looking quite composed.

But then they heard the maids talking about Zhao Huining's choice of a consort. The two maids were busy for a while, asking all the famous and well-known young men in the capital.

However, she still couldn't figure out who the future prince consort would be, and the more Jiawan listened, the more uneasy she felt.

Although their statuses are now completely different, and she, who was once high and mighty, has become Zhao Huining's prisoner, Jiawan only feels that Zhao Huining belongs to her.

The feeling of something she had touched being remembered by others and tainted with other scents was something Jiawan could not accept.

So, clutching the envelope, she found an excuse and successfully left the bedchamber.

Since agreeing to Zhao Huining's "unreasonable" request, that person has indeed not asked her for anything else.

Jiawan could wander around any part of the princess's residence whenever she wanted.

Unexpectedly, she received a prescription personally delivered by Jiawan. Zhao Huining reached out and pinched the orange segment in Jiawan's hand, then grabbed Jiawan's finger and brought it to her lips.

Gently hold the orange segment in your mouth, and the sweet juice of the orange will overflow between your lips and teeth.

When Jiawan touched Zhao Huining's soft lips, she was quite startled and quickly retreated.

She accidentally bumped into the screen next to her. Zhao Huining was even more delighted to see that even the arrogant Jiawan could show such an expression.

With her hands behind her back, the pearl hairpins in Zhao Huining's hair swayed as she stepped forward, leaving Jiawan nowhere to retreat but to stare at her and stammer.

Turn your face to one side.

She began to avoid eye contact with Zhao Huining.

Her heart pounded wildly. Jiawan gripped the screen with her fingers, cursing her useless body in her heart for being so pathetic!

"Ah Shui, I always keep my word. Now that you've given me this prescription, I can find anything you want for you."

"If it's something you're embarrassed to talk about, and you don't want to tell others, just tell me directly. I won't gossip or ridicule others."

"Whatever you want, that's what you get."

Without pushing Jiawan too far, Zhao Huining distanced herself, allowing Jiawan to make a choice.

Hearing Zhao Huining's question, Jiawan grew bolder. She looked at Zhao Huining's face and hooked her fingers around her dress.

He then said, "I want you... to be my A-Ning again."

"May I?"