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

A stove fire was burning in the back kitchen of the Taoist temple.

The imperial concubine took the small bowl handed to her by the maid and personally tasted the dessert to see if it was well made.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"This servant greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort."

A familiar voice came from outside the door.

Following the sound, the Imperial Concubine looked towards the source and saw the head maid who always accompanied Zhao Huining carrying a tray, bowing to her.

"Spring Rain, is that you?"

"What brings you to the kitchen?"

Before arriving, Chunyu knew she would meet the Imperial Concubine, so she spoke up as the prince instructed: "Your Highness, a few of my maids are a little hungry. Your Highness took pity on them because they are young and ordered me to cook some snacks for them to fill their stomachs."

At first glance, there doesn't seem to be any problem.

Unfortunately, she knew His Highness too well and was well aware that His Highness and His Majesty actually had very similar personalities.

A maid who can receive His Highness's special favor is a rare find.

She smiled faintly.

"Yeah?"

"His Majesty came here to pay respects to the late Empress and instructed that everything be kept simple. I had nowhere else to go, so I borrowed the kitchen of the Taoist temple."

"Since it is Her Highness the Princess who needs it, then I shall take my leave."

The Imperial Concubine beckoned to her accompanying maid and instructed her head maid, "Alan, go and deliver this to His Majesty and His Highness."

"I will be there shortly."

The palace maid, named Alan, received the imperial concubine's order and withdrew with the items.

...

Following the path of the spring rain.

The imperial concubine walked along, looking around as she went.

She went to the place where Zhao Huining was resting temporarily. The Consort did not go up to disturb her directly, but instead stood at the corner of the eaves and listened attentively.

Since becoming the head of the palace, she has rarely done anything so undignified.

However, she was indeed curious about what Zhao Huining was hiding from His Majesty…

However, after listening for a while, the concubine's clothes on her shoulders became wet, but she heard nothing.

Zhao Huining's courtyard was deathly silent. She sighed and was just about to leave to go to the emperor's side.

Then they saw two tall, slender women in tight-fitting clothes walking out of Zhao Huining's room.

The two men gripped long swords, their expressions cold and stern.

The Imperial Concubine recognized the two men at a glance as the guards who often accompanied Zhao Huining.

She began to ponder.

She stepped forward and said to the two guards, "Gentlemen, His Highness is busy with His Majesty, so he sent me to find you."

Upon seeing that it was the Imperial Concubine, the guards quickly greeted her and bowed, without suspecting anything.

As the two hurriedly left, the Imperial Concubine was about to go into the house when she bumped into two of Zhao Huining's maids.

The two men were carrying empty food boxes. When they saw the Imperial Concubine arrive, they only showed a moment of panic before quickly regaining their composure.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Concubine still managed to capture this scene, and she was now certain that Zhao Huining was indeed hiding something from His Majesty and the court officials.

Even when His Majesty and His Highness came out together to pay respects to the late Empress, His Highness was still worried about the "secret" she was hiding.

"Your Highness, this is where His Highness rests at night. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to go in."

Hearing Zhao Huining's maid's obstruction, the Imperial Concubine smiled and took out a small jewelry box from her sleeve, gently waving it at everyone.

"I have known Your Highness since childhood. Today, Your Highness must be saddened to pay respects to the late Empress. I am merely offering Your Highness some things you like to please you."

"If you allow me to put it down myself, I will leave now."

How could a maidservant dare to actually stop the Imperial Concubine? Besides, repeatedly recommending her would only make it seem like she was trying to cover something up.

The crowd could only step back and let the Imperial Concubine in, while keeping a close eye on her every move.

Zhao Huining's resting room had clearly been well-maintained; instead of the strong incense smell of a Taoist temple, a familiar, subtle fragrance wafted through the air.

The woman's aura...

The imperial concubine was taken aback. As a connoisseur of fragrances, she could identify which medicinal herbs produced the scent.

Unlike the incense pills that Zhao Huining usually makes, this scent is more mysterious, alluring, and even seductive.

If this were in the inner palace, anyone who dared to use such medicine on His Majesty would probably have been rejected by him long ago.

Despite her inner surprise and doubt, the Imperial Concubine did not show it on her face. She went to Zhao Huining's dressing table and put the box down.

But then he noticed that the flowers in the vase were incredibly beautiful, completely unlike His Highness's usual tastes.

A thought popped into the Consort's mind, and she was horrified when she recalled Zhao Huining's strange behavior these past few days.

Could it be... that His Highness is really hiding a woman right under His Majesty's nose!?

The Imperial Concubine was so certain because she knew Zhao Huining's likes and dislikes too well. It seemed that His Majesty had not noticed for so long because he was unaware of the prince's daily joys and sorrows.

This also shows that Zhao Yuan was a selfish person from beginning to end, and he didn't care about these crucial details at all.

...

Jiawan, who was hiding in the closet, had a heart pounding wildly.

She had heard from the elders of her clan about how Sang Che had been taken to the imperial court as a hostage and suffered torture.

The elders in the clan described the people in the imperial court as demons incarnate. When Jiawan was a child, she was curious and often asked the elders about the cruel punishments of the imperial court.

Now, it's about to be discovered by the imperial court...

Jiawan's mind was filled with images of the court's methods of torture, such as being torn apart by five horses or being executed by slow slicing.

Staying by Zhao Huining's side, Jiawan even knew she might suffer humiliation, but her A-Ning... her good A-Ning...

She would only get angry and argue with A-Che, but she never allowed her subordinates to show her the slightest disrespect.

The hatred he once felt for Zhao Huining began to transform into dependence.

Jiawan clasped her hands together and prayed in her heart that her Aning could return soon.

Don't let her be discovered by people in the imperial court.

...

"You're finally back! Quickly put the firewood here! This dry wood will be useful for our distinguished guests later!"

The Taoist priest in the temple gave Yin Huaixi and Sang Che, who were carrying firewood, a series of instructions without paying close attention to their faces hidden under their straw hats.

Yin Huaixi obediently threw the firewood into the woodshed. She unloaded the basket from her back and lowered her voice, saying, "Fellow Daoist, is there any rice left in the pot? The road up the mountain is difficult, and the two of us have been carrying this all the way. We're almost starving."

Upon hearing her question, the Taoist priest immediately became serious: "The kitchen is unusable right now. We've set up a stove outside and steamed some buns. Go and get a couple to tide you over."

The two nodded and were about to walk outside.

To everyone's surprise, the Taoist priest turned around and said, "You two wait here."

As her feet touched the ground, Yin Huaixi concealed two hidden fragrant pills in her hand. These pills were made by her after reading ancient books.

It is said that anyone who smells this scent will either fall into a deep sleep for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, or sleep for three days and three nights.

They really gave themselves away right away. Yin Huaixi decided to use this trick first, at least to knock these people unconscious.

Sang Che didn't move at all. She could sense Yin Huaixi's eagerness to protect her, and her heart was filled with sweetness.

They didn't care that they were now surrounded by wolves eyeing them.

As for this bunch of amateurs, if they really charge up, Sang Che only needs to beckon with his hand, and all the poisonous insects hiding in the woodshed will come out in full force.

We'll bite them so hard they won't be left with a single piece of armor.

The Taoist priest said, "You two must avoid the room where the princess is staying. My master said something is not right there."

"In short, avoid leaning forward if you can avoid it; that's what my master told me."

Upon hearing this, Sang Che and Yin Huaixi answered in unison, "Yes, Senior Brother."

Sang Che: "We will definitely avoid the room where the Princess is staying."