The invitation in her hand looked so simple, but Huo Churan felt her stomach tighten every time she read it.
She's a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, beautiful and powerful. Why would she invite me to dinner? It doesn't make sense, it makes no sense at all. Huo Churan thought to herself.
Although my identity is the Regent's Consort of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Regent himself is unwilling to touch me.
My father didn't treat me like a daughter either. In his eyes, I was nothing more than an object.
It's just an item used to exchange for power and benefits!
Perhaps the princess was just testing me? Has she already guessed something?
Or perhaps, it wasn't even a letter from Her Highness the Princess?
Huo Churan stared at the invitation, thinking silently. It seemed that it was indeed handwritten by Zhao Zhilan.
What is she really thinking?
Perhaps I have misunderstood Her Highness; perhaps this invitation is merely a polite gesture, a simple expression of goodwill; perhaps this is just an ordinary dinner party.
But this is the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Great Xia Imperial Palace.
It seems I'll have to attend the dinner quietly...
If Huo Churan learned anything in these seventeen years, besides obedience, it was that no one could be trusted.
But no matter what she thought in her heart, she had to accept it.
She had no status; she was merely a daughter given away as a gift by her father.
She sighed deeply, then took out paper and pen and wrote a kind and friendly reply to Zhao Zhilan, indicating that she accepted the invitation.
When the appointed night arrived, a member of the Imperial Guard came to her room.
Jiang Wan'er took pity on her and gave her absolute freedom. As long as she didn't leave the capital and as long as someone was protecting her, she could freely come and go as the princess did.
Following the Imperial Guards, they arrived at the palace, at Zhao Zhilan's residence.
Upon seeing Zhao Zhilan, Huo Churan immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness!"
"Why are you being so polite? I've already said, just treat me like your older sister!" Zhao Zhilan quickly stepped forward and helped her up.
Huo Churan could tell that the Great Xia princess was genuinely kind to her.
Zhao Zhilan's kindness towards her was different from that towards Su Qing'er and Sun Ruoxi. The latter seemed to be half sympathy and half politeness, while the Great Xia Princess's gaze just now seemed to truly regard her as a sister.
Living in the Regent's Palace, she had been without other female companions for so long that she had almost forgotten the joy of it.
In Liangzhou, her sixth sister taught her to play the guqin, her tenth sister shared all the gossip with her, and her eighth sister always had interesting stories to tell. Although her youngest sister was prone to crying, she was also the most obedient to her.
"Your Highness, I dare not!" Huo Churan's voice was very soft, so soft that she herself could not hear it clearly.
"Hey!" Zhao Zhilan said, feigning anger. "Honestly, don't just stand there, come in and sit down!"
Upon entering the room, Huo Churan saw two other girls who seemed to be around the same age as her.
"Let me introduce you. These two are my cousins. The taller one is called Zhao Daixi, and the one next to her is called Zhao Yayue. Hehe, they are both my fourth uncle's daughters."
“We’re all from a collateral branch of the Zhao family, we’ll never become princesses,” Zhao Daixi said with a double meaning. She was witty and slender. The other woman was beautiful and shy.
The two little girls happily recruited Huo Churan, as if they had been friends since childhood.
As soon as they sat down, they began to show Huo Churan their needlework skills and then discussed topics related to girls.
Before Huo Churan could say much, they started playing Go, playing the piano, and even singing with her.
Zhao Daixi has a good voice; with just a little encouragement, she can play the piano and sing at the same time.
The songs are all based on popular love stories from the Great Xia Dynasty.
While they were having a great time, Zhao Daixi suddenly suggested playing a kissing game.
These words sent a shiver down Huo Churan's spine. "A kissing game?" she asked uneasily.
"Yeah, it's not like you're kissing a man, what are you panicking about?"
She's right, we're all girls, what's there to panic about!
For some reason, Huo Churan developed a strong interest in Zhao Daixi's game.
In Liangzhou, her father would only stop her from doing whatever she wanted and would only demand that she obey.
Before the game even started, Zhao Daixi was explaining the rules when Zhao Yayue suddenly said, "Speaking of which, His Highness the Regent is so handsome. Kissing him must feel amazing, right?"
Hey, Sister Churan, did you kiss him on your wedding night?
"Newlywed?" Huo Churan was speechless for a moment. "He..."
He didn't kiss me, and he didn't touch me! That's what she thought to herself, but she pursed her lips and didn't dare say it aloud.
"Hehe, it must be both embarrassing and exciting, right?" Zhao Daixi continued. "Haha, if only I could marry a great hero like the Regent!"
Zhao Zhilan frowned, telling her to shut up.
"They're all just little kids, they don't understand anything!" Zhao Zhilan thought to herself. "They're all silly little girls, they've never seen war, never witnessed death, they don't understand anything."
Their minds were filled only with songs and stories, just like mine before Lin Mo beheaded my father. Zhao Zhilan felt both pity and envy for them.
Huo Churan, however, is quite different!
"My dear sister, how are the Regent's family treating you?" Zhao Zhilan asked. "If they dare to bully you, just tell me."
“They are very good, really very good!” Huo Churan said. “The Regent is too!”
Lin Mo is known to others as a murderous monster who commits all kinds of evil, but in front of Huo Churan, he is a gentleman.
"That's good!" Zhao Zhilan said. "Otherwise, I would have definitely reported this to His Majesty and punished him, hahaha!"
Though words are unspoken, the listener takes them to heart.
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