After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"Bitter?" The porcelain spoon in her hand was thrown back into the medicine bowl on the table with a crisp, pleasant clang. "If you really can't bear to spit it out, why didn't you drink the medicine I brewed a few days ago? What a waste! Or are you blaming me for not protecting you properly and making you a cripple?"

"Of course, if you want to blame me, I'll accept it. It was indeed my fault. I'm sorry, but there won't be a next time. But if you don't take your medicine, your leg injury won't heal. What if you catch a cold after a while? Are you planning to suffer to death from the pain?"

"Princess, this servant did not..."

Xiang An interrupted, "Yes, you didn't refuse to drink the medicine, you didn't blame me, you were even happy that I was beaten, because you had already expected it when I was beaten in the teahouse. You just didn't want to see Diao Xi, so when you saw him bring the medicine, you overturned it all in a fit of anger."

"Slave..."

"You don't want to be a burden to him, you don't want to be a hindrance to him, you want to break things off with him, and you want him to find a healthy woman and spend the rest of his life happily together."

Xiao Ru exclaimed in surprise, "How could the princess...?"

Xiang An continued, "You have a good idea, but what about Diao Xi? Do you know what he's thinking?"

"This servant dares not," two lines of clear tears fell down, Xiao Ru covered her face with her hands and sobbed softly, "Princess, to tell you the truth, Diao Xi has been treating this servant more gently and patiently than usual lately, never complaining, and never showing any unusual behavior towards this servant, but it is precisely because of this that this servant cannot say it."

If Diao Xi has even the slightest dissatisfaction, dislike, or anything else, Xiao Ru will not feel any difficulty.

Xiang An gently wiped away Xiao Ru's tears with his fingers, then placed his hand on her shoulder. His expression was solemn, and his eyes were serious. "Xiao Ru, the most precious thing in life is affection, the easiest thing to lose is affection, and the hardest thing to keep is affection. But affection originates from the heart, and where the heart goes, affection goes."

"Although people's hearts are fickle, what matters more is what one thinks in one's heart. If one's heart is filled with doubt, one's feelings will not be firm. At this time, people with feelings in the world will often lament the missed opportunity to express their deep affection. But if one does not care about the outcome, does not judge right or wrong, does not think back and forth, and lays out all the doubts and anxieties in one's heart, there may not be so many 'missed opportunities' in the world."

Love is something that is always elusive and difficult to grasp, yet it often fills people with longing.

"Slave..."

"Xiao Ru, love begins in the heart and is a gamble on the conscience of both parties. In a casino, the odds are even, and the same is true in the arena of love. If you get a clear answer, even if you lose, your courage is commendable. You will not betray yourself, nor will you betray the deep affection."

Xiao Ru's eyes shone incredibly brightly against her pale, bloodless face. Xiang An couldn't help but gently stroke Xiao Ru's eyelids with his fingertips, feeling a series of tremors beneath his fingertips, his eyes filled with heartache.

When she was a spirit, she had seen Xiao Ru embroidering a purse under the eaves lamp. Diao Xi approached her from the darkness with a lantern, and then the light merged with the light. Diao Xi led Xiao Ru into the house, where the light was even brighter.

Truly, as long as two hearts are in harmony, what does it matter if there is no lamp or moon?

Xiang An gently patted Xiao Ru's shoulder with her palm, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ru's eyes reddened even more. Suddenly, she turned her head away, refusing to look at Xiang An any longer. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and said in a hoarse voice, "Princess, this servant wants to speak with Diao Xi."

Having been injured for several days, this was the first time Xiao Ru had taken the initiative to mention wanting to see Diao Xi.

"Alright, I'll go and call him here." Xiang An agreed, grabbed a thin blanket and gently covered Xiao Ru's lap, then got up and left.

A slightly cool hand suddenly gently pulled Xiang An's hand.

Xiang An looked at Xiao Ru with a puzzled expression. Xiao Ru touched the blanket on her knee with her other hand. "Princess, please don't send anything to my room anymore."

“I have served the princess for many years. Besides serving the princess, I can do nothing else. I can never repay the kindness the princess has shown me. Now I have only been punished with a beating. How can you be so kind to me and cover me with this emerald quilt?”

During the Spring Equinox, artisans in Sichuan feed tens of thousands of silkworms with the tenderest mulberry leaf tips, raising them until they grow up and spin silk. The artisans then extract the silk thread by thread and weave it into a quilt cover. Finally, they fill it with the softest and brightest feathers from the abdomen of a kingfisher. It takes three years to make a single kingfisher quilt.

Xiang An gently patted Xiao Ru's hand, his words carrying a soothing tone, "Keep covered up in peace. A blanket is hard to come by, and so is genuine kindness."

The sun was shining brightly outside, and the cicadas were chirping incessantly.

Walking up to Qi Yuanshen, seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead, Xiang An forced a smile: "Get up."

Qi Yuanshen's straight body trembled slightly as he stood up, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, and bowed: "Thank you for your grace, Princess."

Praise is a reward, punishment is also a reward; thunder and rain are both acts of divine grace.

Xiang An looked him up and down, her gaze finally settling on his shoulder. "The other day, I heard you say you have a younger brother?"

"Yes. My younger brother is not yet of age and is sometimes naive."

"I like him."

Qi Yuanshen suddenly raised his head.

"From your words, I can sense that he is a warm and sincere man. As for you, Young Master Qi, you are more tactful. But I dislike guessing games, so I like his personality. I wonder if Young Master Qi is angry to hear this?"

"No, I am overjoyed."

Xiang An gave a soft "hmm" and waved him home. She had no interest in watching people suffer under the sun.

"Princess, someone just delivered a box." Xiao Ling hurried in, carrying a red lacquered box.

The red lacquered box had an ordinary appearance, with only a small lock on one side.

"Who sent it? Did they deliver a message?"

Xiang An ran his hand over the box, but did not feel any mechanism.

"It was given to me by a little beggar. The person who gave him the box said there was nothing valuable inside, and that the princess could open it using the simplest method." Xiaoling held the box and looked it over, puzzled. "The simplest way is to use a key, but he didn't give me one—Princess, why did you throw it away?"

Xiao Ling was speechless. It was too late to stop her. The box slammed heavily onto the steps with a dull thud. The box broke, revealing several sheets of paper inside.

"Princess, it's a letter!" Xiao Ling bent down, picked it up, and handed it to Xiang An with both hands.

The first thing Xiang An noticed was the handwriting. It was bold and vigorous, with a sharp edge hidden in the turns. The handwriting was beautiful, but unfamiliar.

After reading the entire article carefully on the second glance, it turned out to be about Wei Wenrun's furniture shop.

Take another one, which lists the major and minor events in Wei Wenrun's life.

The third one lists Wei Wenrun's family members and friends.

The fourth sheet lists Wei Wenrun's likes and dislikes.

The fifth one is written with Wei Wenrun's name on it...

The sixth one, Wei Wenrun...

The entire thirteen pages contained writings about only one person.

"Wei Wenrun, Wei Wenrun, it's still Wei Wenrun, it's all Wei Wenrun! The messenger is crazy!" Xiao Ling exclaimed.