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

Sang Che lay on the bed, his face pale, while doctors and shamans came and went outside the curtains.

With dark circles under her eyes, Jiawan was so busy that she was dizzy. Fortunately, Huahe arrived in time to support the swaying Jiawan.

"I'll stay here and guard this place. Ah Shui, you should go and rest for now."

Hearing the familiar voice, Jiawan turned her head and stared blankly at Huahe, asking, "Huahe, has anyone sent word from outside the village that they've found Aning...?"

"She's in poor health and has always been frail. If she were to wander alone and encounter snakes, insects, rats, or anything like that... she definitely wouldn't be able to handle it."

Hua He lowered her eyes, avoiding the sincerity in Jia Wan's gaze, and sighed.

"Ah Shui, she's escaped."

"He went with the people who hurt A-Che."

"Stop thinking about her; it's just causing you unnecessary trouble."

Jiawan's emotions, which she had been trying to control over these past few days, were completely ignited by Huahe's words of comfort, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She shook her head: "You're lying!"

"Ah Ning swore to me that she wouldn't... she wouldn't... abandon me and leave this place!"

Seeing Jiawan sinking deeper and deeper into her delusion, Huahe looked up at her and said coldly, "Ashui, didn't you see Ache being carried back injured that day?"

"With A-Che's abilities, who in this Miao region can rival her? Only the imperial court could have injured her so badly and still manage to escape unscathed with your medicine man."

"I'm saying all this so you can wake up as soon as possible, Ah Shui—everything before, that person was lying to you."

Good medicine tastes bitter, and honest advice is hard to hear.

The Chinese idioms that Zhao Huining had mentioned to Jiawan before suddenly appeared in her mind.

Yes, Hua He was right.

The Ah Ning she longed for was always pretending; it was she who wanted to elope with Yin Huaixi, and it was also she who led the fierce soldiers outside the village in a menacing manner.

The calmer Jiawan became, the more she wanted to laugh.

Was she treated like a fool by Zhao Huining from beginning to end?

Those beautiful and touching words.

I just used it casually to appease her.

Supporting her weak body, Jiawan sat on a bamboo chair, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at Huahe's face.

Exhausted, she asked, "Huahe, since you are half Han Chinese, do you know... what I'm about to say means?"

Seeing that she had finally listened to her advice, Hua He quickly put down the medicine box and listened attentively.

"Ah Shui, please speak."

Jiawan: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

After saying that, Jiawan stared intently at Huahe with her bright, watery eyes. Her eagerness to know made Huahe swallow hard, her face showing embarrassment.

"Ah Shui... this isn't something an ordinary person would say. Where did you hear that?"

"You absolutely must not tell anyone!"

Hua He has been in Fengming Mountain Village for a long time, and Jia Wan has never seen her so flustered. It seems that... this title is not ordinary.

She frowned, not revealing the whole story, but just casually lied: "I saw it in a storybook. I asked Aning to explain it to me, but she wouldn't say... Now that she's not here, I have no choice but to ask you."

Hua He knew that Jia Wan was lying, but she didn't press the issue.

Instead, he explained to Jiawan in detail what she had just asked.

Hua He: "In the Central Plains there is a court, which listens to only one person, that person is the ruler, such as the Miao King."

"The ruler of a country in the Central Plains is also called the emperor. If the emperor marries, the wife is the empress."

"If the emperor and empress have children, the empress will be called 'Mother Empress' and the emperor 'Father Emperor'."

Listening intently, Jiawan gripped the edge of the wooden table with her fingers, almost breaking it in two.

...

Sang Che's bedroom is outside.

Supporting her weak body, Yin Huaixi slowly walked to the door, her palm pressed against the half-closed wooden door, but she didn't have the courage to push it open.

Two Miao soldiers, fully armed and with curved swords at their waists, stood behind her, monitoring her.

The two had been solemn at first, but once they reached Sang Che's door, their resolute expressions turned sorrowful.

He lowered his head.

It seemed they were praying for Sang Che's safety.

Pressing her ear against the wall, Yin Huaixi heard a commotion inside the room, with footsteps coming and going.

In the past, Yin Huaixi would probably have been hoping that Sang Che would be lying on his sickbed, on the verge of death, and step into the underworld.

But she has no such thoughts right now. After all, Sang Che became like this because he saved her.

Otherwise, with her abilities, she could easily escape from the guards with just a little maneuvering.

A breeze carrying the scent of bamboo from Fengming Mountain ruffled the stray hairs falling beside Yin Huaixi's temples. She moved her fingers away from the wooden door, choosing to concede defeat.

If she doesn't go to see Sang Che's pitiful state, she might still be able to speak ill of her as before, treat her fiercely, and show her no kindness whatsoever.

Yin Huaixi made a resolute decision. She turned around and walked back. She had only taken two steps when she heard someone crying tears of joy coming from inside the house.

"The Holy Maiden... the Holy Maiden has awakened!"

"The Holy Maiden is carefree!"

The Miao soldiers following Yin Huaixi immediately knelt down and bowed several times towards Sang Che's bedroom with utmost piety.

Suddenly turning her head, Yin Huaixi couldn't care less about anything else. She... didn't know what was wrong with her; she just wanted to see Sang Che like a madwoman, to ask her if she was in a lot of pain, and why she had slept longer than her...

Clutching her dress, the few steps she took as she ran aggravated Yin Huaixi's still-healing wound, causing it to ache faintly.

But she couldn't care less about that.

As the palm pushed open the wooden door, the witch doctors standing in Sang Che's bedroom all turned around.

The words of rebuke were on the tip of their tongues, but they swallowed them back. The Holy Maiden had been so stubborn about this Han woman that she probably wanted to see this Han woman first.

...

With her eyes slightly narrowed, Sang Che stared blankly at the bed curtains, her breathing rising and falling.

The long-unseen light rushed into my pupils.

She...can see.

Although it's not very clear, such a change is far better than being trapped in darkness for eternity.

As Yin Huaixi's fingers gripped the soft fabric, her tinnitus still lingering, she heard the sound of everyone kneeling down in unison.

"May the Holy Maiden be well! We have no worries!"

"May the Holy Maiden be well! We... have no worries!"

More than the thrill of surviving a disaster, Sang Che wanted to know how Yin Huaixi was doing...

The worm she fed to Yin Huaixi wasn't a real worm, but a fat worm that resembled a worm.

It does not harm the human body when consumed; on the contrary, it can help resist some toxins.

The real Gu worm... Sang Che planted it in Yin Huaixi's body long ago when she decided to leave.

The pleasure of the night made Yin Huaixi forget the pain of the Gu worm entering her body. Sang Che was soaking wet, and his hair was stuck to his face.

She cupped Yin Huaixi's cheek in her hands, kissing him passionately and deeply, without letting Yin Huaixi notice anything amiss.

Even then, she could discern the expression on Yin Huaixi's beautiful face.

Sang Che was captivated by the sight.

She really wanted to see Yin Huaixi with red eyes, choking her as she cried.

That would be so beautiful…

Very beautiful.

Supporting his body with his palms, Sang Che used his fingers to hook up the drooping robe and drape it over his shoulders.

Turning her gaze to the side, she looked up through the thin gauze curtain and saw the person she had been longing for day and night carrying a light blue dress, walking straight into her line of sight.

Huaixi... came to see her.