"Huajiejie, it's been a long time since you last applied makeup for Luan'er, and it's been a while since you last slept together with Luan'er. You've finally come to the Rui'an Palace today, so why don't you stay a bit longer and keep Luan'er company?"

Ming Luan was clearly dissatisfied with Chu Qitong's response. She pouted and clung to Chu Qitong's arm, coquettishly saying. In that moment, she displayed only the shy and coy demeanor of a young girl, completely devoid of the arrogance she had shown in front of those wealthy young ladies.

When Mingluan was still young, the Empress Dowager had not yet passed away. The King of Ruian, along with his consort, resided on the border all year round. Mingluan was therefore raised by the Empress Dowager, as there was only one other girl in the palace, Chu Qitong, who was Mingluan's only playmate.

Ming Luan has always enjoyed sticking to Chu Qitong since she was young. Many nights, she would cuddle up in Chu Qitong's Qiwu Palace and compete with Chu Mingze, that little brat, for the attention of her sister. At one point, the Empress Dowager went to the temple, so she simply left Ming Luan in Chu Qitong's Qiwu Palace, and she stayed there for a full month.

As for Mingluan, she always used the excuse of being afraid to avoid going to the side palace prepared for her by Chu Qitong. She also did not allow her personal maidservant to accompany her. Instead, she relentlessly clung to Chu Qitong. Chu Qitong had no choice but to agree to sleep with Mingluan. For that month, every night, Chu Qitong had to first coax Chu Mingze to sleep before returning to soothe Mingluan.

Later on, the King of Ruian won a great battle and returned to the capital in triumph. As a matter of course, Mingluan was welcomed back to the palace. Chu Qitong saw her less frequently, so naturally, she no longer had the chance to dress her up. However, Chu Qitong did not expect that Mingluan, who had already come of age, still relied on her so much.

Chu Qitong gently patted the hand that Ming Luan was holding her arm with, using her usual gentle tone and said, "Luan'er, be good. Ze is still waiting for his sister to go back to the palace. It's snowing again today. If sister returns late, Ze might be scared in the palace. Sister promises you, can she come and accompany you again in the future?"

"It's that annoying Chu Mingze again, always competing with me for Sister Hua's attention. How can a boy be so annoying?" After Chu Qitong finished speaking, Mingluan let go of her arm and stomped her foot angrily. For Mingluan, Chu Mingze was like a roadblock, always getting in the way of her and Sister Hua getting closer.

"Hao le, Luan'er bie shengqi le, jiejie daying yihou you shijian yi ding lai pei ni jiu shi le, xianzai shijian bu zao le, jiejie zhende gai zou le, Luan'er yao guai ya." Chu Qitong de shengyin you rou le jifen, ta xiang xiaoshihou hong Ming Luan shuijiao yiguan disheng hongzhe Ming Luan, Ming Luan zhidao Chu Qitong jintian bukeneng liu xia

With Luluo in tow, Chu Qitong left the Rui'an Palace and approached the carriage. Suddenly, Chu Qitong caught a whiff of a strong smell of blood. Despite being extremely faint in the chilly wind, the scent of blood did not escape Chu Qitong's nose.

Chu Qitong felt that the smell of blood was coming from her own carriage. Unable to help herself, she sharpened her focus and turned to Li Luo, saying, "I just caught a whiff of Minguan's rouge, it smelled quite nice. Go and ask her where she bought it from."

Chu Qitong pushed Lilo away, reached up, and took off the golden hairpin from her head, clutching it in her hand. She quickly lifted the curtain of the carriage and, upon seeing the person inside, Chu Qitong's hand holding the hairpin became a bit stiff. Her expression showed a slight change, but in the end, she calmly tucked the hairpin back into her hair.