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

This stopped Sang Che from making "bad" speculations.

Yin Huaixi, however, could not calm down.

She knew that Sang Che could not be trusted entirely, but the imperial court was even less trustworthy!

My second sister is just outside Fengming Mountain. If we can find a way to contact her, the safest approach would be to have her retreat to Lingshui City to recuperate.

They've been struggling to keep going.

Exhausting his energy and dealing with the poisonous miasma are only part of the problem. If he were to arouse the suspicion of the one sitting on the dragon throne, Yin Huaixi would likely implicate the entire Yin family.

If her desire to leave brings catastrophic disaster to the Yin family, which her sisters are struggling to support, Yin Huaixi would rather not leave.

Knowing what she was thinking, Sang Che simply lowered his eyes and stared at Yin Huaixi's disheveled, thin nightgown, hooking it with his fingers and untying the straps.

A sudden chill swept in.

Yin Huaixi turned her head and gently reprimanded Sang Che for his actions.

"What are you going to do now?"

"In broad daylight, Sang Che... don't you have any shame?"

Sang Che shook his head slightly, his face innocent and clear, like a newborn fawn startled by a hunter in the forest.

"Huaixi, I just wanted to help you change your clothes. It's almost autumn, aren't you cold standing there like this?"

Listen to her explanation.

Yin Huaixi then lowered her eyes to carefully examine the disheveled and wrinkled nightgown, and crossed her arms to cover her chest.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself, Your Excellency."

"I am a lowly servant with hands and feet; I can take care of myself."

"My lord, please have a maidservant come and help the Holy Maiden bathe and change her clothes."

Hearing Yin Huaixi tease him like that, Sang Che smiled and then pretended to be dejected.

"Huaixi, do you think I can't get along with a normal person like you?"

"If that's really what you think, you can just tell me directly... there's no need to beat around the bush."

The tone was gentle and tactful.

It didn't sound like an accusation, but rather a heartfelt sense of grievance.

Yin Huaixi couldn't stand this kind of thing, but Sang Che seemed to have her weakness in mind, and he would do it to her every day.

I knew she was lying.

After a moment of struggle, Yin Huaixi lowered her eyes and chose to approach Sang Che.

"I didn't think that way."

"But... you have to promise me that if you change clothes with me, you won't do anything inappropriate."

Sang Che's promises could still be trusted to some extent, but Yin Huaixi really didn't want to experience the last time when Sang Che insisted on dragging her and "biting" her halfway through changing clothes.

Instead of changing into clean clothes, they got dirty and messy along with the old ones!

That's really infuriating.

Listening quietly, Sang Che raised one hand and said, "You Han people love to swear oaths to heaven, so I will swear an oath to Huai Xi as well."

"I will absolutely not do Huaixi later..."

He didn't even have time to finish saying it.

Yin Huaixi covered Sang Che's thin lips with her palm, frowned, and whispered in Sang Che's ear, "I never asked you to make any promises."

"Sang Che, breaking a promise is punishable by lightning. I don't know if you can keep your promise, but right now... I need you, and I don't want you to be struck by lightning."

Sang Che cannot die now.

She is very important to him.

This thought lingered in Yin Huaixi's mind; she thought it, and she acted on it.

...

kitchen.

The group of people were happily kneading dough.

Yiyun, who was helping out by carrying two bundles of firewood, noticed Acai sneakily eating freshly steamed buns in a corner.

She brushed the dust off herself, walked over to A-Cai, and said, "The Holy Maiden has always fed you well, are you still hungry?"

"Have you packed your bags? We'll be leaving soon."

Upon hearing Yiyun mention leaving, Acai's expression turned gloomy.

She held out a small steamed bun and said listlessly to Yiyun, "This Han Chinese food is quite delicious. You should try a bite."

Yiyun did not refuse.

She still has to deliver food to the saintess and that person later; if she doesn't eat her fill, she won't have the energy to work.

As Yiyun bit into the savory meat filling, she heard the people around her chattering away.

"I know that the Holy Maiden has her reasons for leaving Phoenix Cry Mountain, but I'm quite reluctant to leave here."

"The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, it's just that there are a lot of Han Chinese here, but... isn't it quite amusing how they get completely fooled?"

Hearing her reluctance to part, Yiyun sighed.

"Yes, I'm quite comfortable staying here, but there's nothing I can do. The Holy Maiden has given orders, so we have to obey her. You little head of yours, you're not allowed to think about anything else..."

The two were chatting enthusiastically when suddenly, someone burst into the kitchen.

"Yiyun, take me to see Ache."

The sudden appearance of Jiawan, who had not been seen for a long time, caught the two off guard. Compared to the period when Sang Che was injured and looked extremely haggard, Jiawan had now recovered to her previous state, with good energy and complexion.

"Oh, Master Shui."

"I'll take you to find the saintess right now."

"However, the Holy Maiden hasn't risen yet, Lord Ah Shui, you may have to wait a little longer..."

If Sang Che gets up, Yi Yun won't have to hide here and sneak some steamed buns anymore.

"What's wrong with her? The sun's high in the sky and she's still not up. Ah Che isn't usually like this..."

As soon as she spoke, everyone in the kitchen stared at Jia Wan's "pure as water" face.

He sighed inwardly.

Ah Shui is really... simple-minded!

Realizing what was happening belatedly, Jiawan shut her mouth and didn't say anything more.

She's just a bit oblivious and careless, but that doesn't mean she's completely clueless.

The two slept in the same bed.

It was nearly noon, and the sun was high in the sky, but I was still not up.

What was done is self-evident.

...

"arrive."

"Lord Ah Shui, please wait a moment while I knock on the door."

Yiyun didn't want to offend Sang Che at this time, but she had no choice; she couldn't disobey Lord Ashui's orders.

We had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Just as he was about to reach out and knock on the door.

Jiawan was the first to stop Yiyun's actions. Her eyes were sharp as she turned to Yiyun and said, "It's alright, you can go down first. I have something important to discuss with Ache, it has nothing to do with you."

I heard that I didn't need to get involved in this mess.

Yiyun beamed with joy.

"Very well, Lord Ah Shui, I will take my leave now and will not disturb you and the Holy Maiden's discussion."

She talked a good game and did exactly what she was told, but she slipped away faster than anyone else.

Jiawan glanced at her back, not caring much, and pushed open the door to enter under the watchful eyes of the guards.

"Ah Che!"

"Ah Che! I need to talk to you!"

After calling out twice, Jiawan walked straight inside.

She was quite familiar with the layout of Sang Che's residence, so she wasn't completely lost.

"What brings you here?"

A lazy voice came from behind the screen. Sang Che was barefoot, with only a loose braid. Jia Wan's eyes gleamed.

It was as if...he wanted to devour her.

"Of course, it's something important!"

Jiawan rushed over to Sang Che, a smile on her face, and reached out to grab his wrists.

But Sang Che dodged it silently.

Huaixi is still here; she should, as the Han people say, maintain an appropriate distance from others.

Friends shouldn't do what wives do.

"What's so important?"

Jiawan didn't care about Sang Che's evasiveness. She placed her palm against Sang Che's ear and whispered, "A-Che, do you have any medicine that can arouse...desire?"

"I need this."

As Yin Huaixi eavesdropped behind the screen, a fog slowly rose in her mind.

What's wrong with this child?

What's wrong with you?