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

Miao region.

Miao King's Palace.

The silver ornaments on his body jingled as the Miao king paced back and forth in the main hall, surrounded by Miao people wearing curved knives.

"king."

The high priest straightened his posture, stepped in, and looked straight ahead.

"Priest, you've finally arrived."

"Haven't you found Sang Che yet?"

Having already allied with several small kingdoms bordering Miao territory, the Miao king was brimming with confidence. Taking advantage of the chaos and upheaval in the court during the change of emperors in the Central Plains, he saw this as the perfect opportunity to launch an attack.

Once the central government stabilizes, its measures to contain the Miao region will likely come down like a torrential downpour.

Rather than being fish on the chopping block, it's better to strike first.

Let's give it a shot.

Perhaps a glimmer of hope can be found.

The high priest bowed his head.

"Your Majesty, the Holy Maiden is unwilling to refine the Gu King, and she is not in Miao territory."

Hearing the high priest's absurd words.

The Miao King scoffed, "She is the holy maiden of Miao territory. Does she intend to sacrifice the bloodline left behind by the great god Chi You for her own selfish desires?"

"What kind of logic is that!"

"I really spoil her!"

Seeing that the Miao king was furious, the high priest bowed.

"Your Majesty, the Holy Maiden is acting on the will of the gods; no one in the world can sway her."

"Your Majesty... you must not provoke the wrath of the gods."

Upon hearing this, the Miao king drew his sword and pressed it against the high priest's neck.

Crimson blood congealed into beads along the silver blade. The Miao King threatened menacingly, "Priest, you're a clever man."

"I have tolerated Sang Che time and time again. If she were not the saintess chosen by God, she would have died in my hands countless times for being so disrespectful."

"I've been so lenient with her only because of God."

"It's no use telling me this. I'm sending men to bring Sang Che back right now and make her hand over the Gu King to me!"

The scimitar was withdrawn like a gust of wind, and the shallow wound on the high priest's neck terrified him.

"Priest, if you send someone to secretly inform Sang Che and there is much obstruction, then next time... I will not be lenient."

"I'll make sure your head rolls off the ground."

Faced with the Miao King's obsession, the High Priest knew that the Miao region was likely to be engulfed in internal strife.

He had to find a way to tell the saintess.

Make the saintess wary of the king's persona!

...

Bathed in candlelight, Sang Che wore a headband as she nestled in Yin Huaixi's bedroom.

A light drizzle began to fall outside the window, pattering softly onto the green tiles, creating a misty atmosphere everywhere.

In front of Sang Che were Han Chinese medical books. She was engrossed in reading them, and Yin Huaixi, knowing her interest, found her many more.

"These are all originals, some are handwritten copies that I found. Just make do with them."

Yin Huaixi doesn't keep Sang Che locked up all the time; she lets him out to relax.

Yin Huaixi, who had also been confined to a dark room, understood how unpleasant that feeling truly was.

It will drive you crazy.

She hasn't been idle these past few days either. Yin Huaixi knows that her elder sister has sought out people who understand and study Gu magic in order to find her. There are even a few familiar Miao people who have taken her elder sister's money and have been doing things for her.

Having obtained connections from his elder sister, Yin Huaixi instructed those people to search far and wide for any major events that might be happening in Miao territory.

Yin Huaixi also received a lot of rumors, and she became increasingly clear that Sang Che's departure that day was not a bluff or a joke as he had done before.

What Sang Che said is true.

"Miss, are you going to personally serve these pastries to Chen Wan?"

"Or I'll do it."

Qingmei was quick and efficient. She felt sorry for her mistress who was always busy with this and that, and wanted to do more for her.

How could Yin Huaixi not know Qingmei's little thoughts? She sighed inwardly, Qingmei probably didn't know that she served Sang Che, who couldn't take care of himself, every day in the Miao village.

Serving tea and water to Sang Che, washing his feet, face, and body was something that became second nature after a few tries.

"I'll go."

"Qingmei, keep an eye on all the correspondence in and out of the manor. If there's anything, remember to let me know immediately."

Seeing that her mistress didn't want anyone to disturb her meeting with Chen Wan, Qingmei didn't say anything more, accepted the order, and withdrew.

The conversation at the door did not escape Sang Che's ears. Faced with Yin Huaixi's extremely gentle confinement, Sang Che sometimes really wanted to say that Huaixi was never ruthless enough.

With her beloved coming, Sang Che had no interest in reading medical books anymore, so she simply stretched out her fingers and turned the medical books upside down.

Suddenly, a small red snake crawled up the windowsill, carrying a brown bamboo tube in its mouth, its pupils gleaming.

The little tooth slowly climbed down and put the brown bamboo tube down.

By gently stroking the patterns on the bamboo tube with her fingers, Sang Che knew that this was an important letter sent to her by the High Priest.

Without hesitation, Sang Che twisted the lid of the brown bamboo tube and pulled out the letter.

The inscription read: "Holy Maiden, the King is determined to obtain the Gu King and intends to harm you. I urge you not to trust the King's messenger, or you will suffer a bloody disaster."

Sang Che knew that the High Priest would not lie to her. The High Priest was a devout believer in the gods. For him, whether he believed in the Miao King or in her, the Holy Maiden, the High Priest would always consult the oracle before going out.

Ask the gods for their opinion.

Clear footsteps approached. Sang Che placed the letter in front of the faintly burning candle flame, but before he could light it, Yin Huaixi walked out from behind the screen with a menacing air.

"Ah Che, what are you burning?"

"Am I not allowed to read this letter?"

He was stunned for a moment, and the firelight flickered.

The letter, yellowish-brown in Sang Che's hand, was instantly ignited. Yin Huaixi didn't care about anything else; she reached out and snatched the letter away, extinguishing the flames.

The letter was half burned, but fortunately Yin Huaixi intervened in time and saved the letter that Sang Che was trying to destroy.

She glared at Sang Che.

I've finished reading the above content.

The scattered words were roughly what Yin Huaixi had guessed.

As expected, trouble has broken out in Miao territory. The Miao king is about to take action against Sang Che, who possesses the divine blood of Chi You.

"Huaixi, aren't you afraid of burning your hands doing that?"

Sang Che stood up, her sky-blue headband hanging down from her shoulder, and she pulled Yin Huaixi's hand with great concern.

He opened her palm and carefully examined it for any burn marks from the flames.

"If you want to see, I will show you... There's no need to do this, to ruin your body like this."

Sang Che looked up, his eyes filled with heartache.

But the more she acted like this, the more Yin Huaixi disliked her. Why didn't Sang Che treat her like this before, and why didn't he mention leaving her side?

At that time, Yin Huaixi, who didn't care about Sang Che, was probably able to let Sang Che go from her side and even throw a three-day banquet.

The gongs and drums were banged, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

With a forceful clench of her palm, Yin Huaixi ignored the burns on her fingers, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it at Sang Che's chest.

Yin Huaixi looked at Sang Che with the coldest gaze, and said in a deliberately cold voice, "A-Che, if you continue like this, I will lock you up in a cage."

"I told you, you're not allowed to go and die."

"Since you were bought to me by my eldest sister and you signed a contract, you are now mine."

Yin Huaixi took a step closer. She both hated and loved the person in front of her. She pressed her palm against Sang Che's shoulder and pushed him back into the chair.

"Besides, you're so sickly and weak, if you go back, you'll just be walking into a trap and deliberately courting death."

Sang Che looked up at her, did not refute, but simply smiled.

"Huaixi, you..."

Yin Huaixi ignored it.

"Ah Che... these are all methods you taught me. You should also experience what happens when you provoke others."

"I should demand it back from you."

She reached out and pinched Sang Che's chin, lifting it forcefully to force him to look her in the eye.