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

This sound is unusual.

The speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness with which he wielded the knife, and his ability to infiltrate the princess's residence silently, clearly indicated that he was no ordinary person.

Sang Che couldn't care less about that.

Her attention was entirely focused on Yin Huaixi. She reached out and held Yin Huaixi's wrist, and Sang Che fed the decocted Chinese medicine to Yin Huaixi.

The warm liquid choked me, and a bitter taste spread through my throat.

Yin Huaixi coughed twice, her eyes reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Ah Che, you..."

The words of blame had not yet been uttered.

Yin Huaixi noticed that Sang Che's expression was off. Before she could ask, Sang Che stood up and blocked her way.

It has a strong sense of protecting one's own.

Even the simplest prison uniform, when wrapped around Sang Che, looked like the most beautiful garment in Miao territory.

A group of uninvited guests, dressed in black armor and with their heads and faces covered, only their eyes showing, broke into the dungeon.

The leader held a long knife in his hand, the blade still stained with blood, which was flowing down.

Then, the man in black leaned close to the leader's ear and whispered something.

The leader wiped the blood from the blade with the back of his arm and sheathed his long sword.

He carefully examined Sang Che's attire.

Miao people?

It seems the news from above is indeed accurate.

It seems that Her Highness the Princess has indeed kept such a beautiful woman from a foreign land in her residence.

This is the person he's looking for.

With a slight twitch of his fingers, the soldier who had already taken the key bent down and opened the iron gate.

"My lady, His Majesty has spoken."

"I hope the young lady will be sensible."

"Don't put His Majesty in a difficult position."

Sitting in the haystack, Yin Huaixi heard the leader repeatedly addressing him as "Your Majesty," and at that moment, she already knew what was going on.

These uninvited guests were sent by the emperor.

It's obvious that with such a commotion at the Taoist temple, right under the emperor's nose, how could the emperor not know about it?

Holding the ceramic bowl in her fingers, Yin Huaixi swallowed all the Chinese medicine without thinking.

This medicine was obtained for her by Jiawan, after all, so she couldn't waste it.

Not even a single drop.

Faced with the aggressive advances of the men in black, Sang Che remained calm and composed. She leaned against the prison door, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Is this the attitude your Emperor has when he summons me?"

"It seems like they're not entirely sincere."

Sang Che's tone was full of provocation.

This also made the man in black lose his temper.

"Young lady, I advise you not to refuse a toast only to suffer the consequences. If you are so disrespectful to His Majesty, how can you expect to survive?"

The sheathed sword was drawn again, and just as it was about to be pressed against Sang Che's throat, Yin Huaixi reached out and grabbed the blade.

She glared at the rude man in black before her, letting the blade cut her palm and blood flow from between her fingers.

They still have no intention of giving up Sang Che.

"You woman, how dare you!"

"Didn't you hear? This is His Majesty's order!!"

Yin Huaixi was berated harshly, and he released his long sword.

Despite the deep gash in her palm, she ignored the pain.

She remained calm under pressure, instead raising an eyebrow: "Your Excellency, since this is His Majesty's order, if you have found the wrong person, that would be a capital offense."

"Once we get to the Golden Palace, don't blame me for not warning you."

"Do you really think that if Her Highness the Princess truly cared for this woman before you, she would have left her in this dark and gloomy dungeon?"

When Yin Huaixi said this, she was uneasy. She knew without a doubt that these people had come to the wrong person.

Sangche and Jiawan are both from Miao territory and have similar appearances, but they are not the same person.

Originally, it would have been perfect for Zhao Huining if the emperor's men had captured Sang Che, thus diverting the trouble to Zhao Huining.

Sang Che's presence could dispel the emperor's doubts and also allow Zhao Huining to completely hide Jia Wan away, preventing anyone from finding her.

She and Zhao Huining had reached an agreement: as long as the princess proved the Yin family's innocence, the entire Yin family would be safe.

As for her, she can safely return to Lingshui City and continue to be the third young lady of the Yin family.

But all of this would come at the cost of Sang Che's life.

She still carries the love curse planted by Sang Che; their fates are intertwined, one prospers, the other suffers.

If Sang Che loses his life, then she will probably be in grave danger as well.

Regardless of the reason, and despite any lingering reluctance in her heart, Yin Huaixi could not hand Sang Che over to these men in black today.

The Princess will consider Jiawan's thoughts and feelings, and will not go so far as to kill the two of them.

But who knows what that unpredictable emperor is thinking?

He could kill someone if he displeased him with just a glance.

...

Upon hearing Yin Huaixi's words, the leader of the men in black sneered, "Quite the silver tongue. If I didn't have definite information, why would I be here?"

"Since you resist so much, then I think you don't need to listen to what His Majesty has to say to you."

"Men, knock him out and take him away."

The Miao people are stubborn by nature and extremely unpredictable.

Before we arrived, we were instructed that if they remained obstinate, we would not be so lenient.

Whether alive or dead, they must be brought before His Majesty.

The man in black in front of her spun the blade, aiming the back of the blade at Yin Huaixi. In a flash, the raised blade was broken by a pebble thrown by Sang Che.

A crisp, metallic clang.

As the group of men in black drew their blades and were about to swarm forward, eerie rustling sounds emanated from the dimly lit dungeon.

Sang Che stood with her hands behind her back, clearly facing a life-or-death situation, yet she showed no fear whatsoever.

Before the leader could react...

Immediately, a series of footsteps echoed in the dungeon as countless poisonous insects, emerging from the walls and cracks in the bricks, swarmed into the black-clad man's boots.

"Aaaaaaah..."

"Boss... there are bugs!"

Unexpectedly, this woman remained so imposing even in the dungeon. The leader, enduring the pain of being bitten by poisonous insects, reached for his waist.

Just in case.

He came here with medicine powder specifically designed to counteract Gu poison.

However, this item is rare, so His Majesty did not approve many.

The sachet in his hand was priceless.

"Ah Che, be careful!"

Seeing the man reach out and pull open the sachet, Yin Huaixi rushed forward, grabbed Sang Che's body, and tackled him to the ground.

Not knowing what was inside the sachet, Yin Huaixi was naturally worried that Sang Che would be blinded by the poison powder.

The orange-yellow powder spread throughout the prison, killing the swarms of poisonous insects that touched it!

Their slender legs stopped moving, and they curled up, turning their bellies upside down.

"Come closer to me!"

He just gave the order.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the outer perimeter of the dungeon, and the leader knew something was wrong.

It seems the tail wasn't cleaned properly.

The little mouse was sent to inform the Princess.

Remembering the emperor's instructions, he could only glare resentfully at Yin Huaixi's back through his mask, sighing inwardly, "Why is this woman of the same clan so close to a Miao man?"

Instead of ruining his plans, he repeatedly blocked the Miao woman's path.

Anyone who didn't know better would think these two women were lovers!

"withdraw!"

"Don't get caught!"

At his command, the man turned and left.

Yin Huaixi, who was holding Sang Che tightly in her arms, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had long forgotten the pain in her palms and the blood that kept flowing out. She reached out and cupped Sang Che's cheeks.

Yin Huaixi's concern had long exceeded her expectations, but she was completely unaware of this subconscious action.

"Ah Che, are you alright?"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seeing Yin Huaixi's panic, Sang Che reached out and pressed his fingers against the back of her hand.

She let Yin Huaixi's warm blood soak her body.

"Huaixi...you are cherishing me."

"Is it right?"