Romance of a Twin Flower – Ding Yuxi, Peng Xiaoran

Nie Sangyu was running frantically on a mountain path with a group of soldiers chasing her closely behind. She looked ahead and realized that she had reached the edge of a cliff with no chance of escape. Her husband, Ning Yuxuan, had also come after her because he suspected that Concubine Wen's injury was caused by Nie Sangyu. She was desperate and cursed Ning Yuxuan to a life of despair just like hers before jumping off the cliff. As she fell into the river at the bottom of the cliff, she remembered her childhood love and marriage with Ning Yuxuan and felt bitter about it.

When Nie Sangyu woke up in the Ning residence, her personal maid, Mu Xu, came to serve her, but she didn't recognize her. Mu Xu was scared and thought that Nie Sangyu didn't like her name, so she offered to change it. Nie Sangyu was confused and realized that she had fallen off the cliff. When she tried to leave her room, the guards stopped her. She went back to her room and asked Mu Xu for information.

The story began with Nie Sangyu wanting a chicken. She asked the steward and the maid, Ban Xia, to buy it for her. Ban Xia rushed to get the chicken, afraid that Nie Sangyu would kill her if she was even a minute late. When she tried to catch the chicken, it scratched her, and she used force to get it out, angering Nie Sangyu, who was drawing a plum blossom picture. Ban Xia begged Duke Hou and Miss Xue to save her while being dragged out.

When Nie Sangyu heard the word "Duke," she asked about Ning Yuxuan's whereabouts and learned that he was at the government office. She wanted to wait for him to have a meal together, which scared her serving maid. Ning Yuxuan took three days off to marry his second wife. He then became a hero by single-handedly killing a group of bandits who had just arrived in the city.

Nie Sangyu learned from Mu Xu that Ning Yuxuan was not only a hero, but also the most handsome man in the capital, and she was sure that many women liked him. Ning Yuxuan had been fighting bandits for many years, and there must be some who had escaped his grasp. In order to catch them all, he specially arranged the activity of marrying the second wife, to lure them out. However, Nie Sangyu was jealous and not only let a rooster replace Ning Yuxuan in the wedding procession, but also attempted to assassinate Concubine Wen at the wedding banquet. On the day of the wedding, the bandits who wanted to kill Ning Yuxuan easily entered the Ning residence, thinking it was too easy, but before they could think more, they saw Ning Yuxuan appear. Nie Sangyu had also married a rooster before, but now Concubine Wen could make Ning Yuxuan appear in person, which made her very jealous, so she caused a scene at the wedding banquet. Concubine Wen was injured, and Ning Yuxuan blamed Nie Sangyu for it, which made him unhappy. Afterward, he made Nie Sangyu sign a confession. Nie Sangyu thought she was not wrong and refused to sign, but as the officer, Ning Yuxuan had interrogated many prisoners and Nie Sangyu couldn't fool him, so she had to sign the confession and move to the Siguo Pavilion. The Siguo Pavilion was desolate, covered in cobwebs and dust. Mu Xu was worried that Nie Sangyu wouldn't be able to adapt to living there, but to her surprise, Nie Sangyu asked Mu Xu to leave for three hours and cleaned up the Siguo Pavilion herself, making Mu Xu unable to believe it. Ning Yuxuan only had the servants prepare a bowl of rice and two dishes of vegetables for Nie Sangyu, but she couldn't eat it. So, she sneaked into the kitchen at night to find something to eat, but to her surprise, there was nothing to eat in the huge kitchen of the Ning residence. Nie Sangyu saw some vegetables in the kitchen and decided to cook them herself. She made a large table of food and sat down to eat. Suddenly, she smelled the burning of firewood and thought she was mistaken, but soon realized that the kitchen was on fire. She tried to put out the fire, but it was too big. The servants of the Ning residence also noticed the fire and came to help. Ning Yuxuan was worried that the fire would spread, so he ordered the kitchen to be demolished. He accidentally heard Nie Sangyu's cries for help and rushed to save her.

Nie Sangyu was frightened when she saw Ning Yuxuan lying motionless in the bathtub, thinking he had fainted. She quickly lifted him onto the bed and covered him with clothes to keep him warm. Ning Yuxuan turned over and continued sleeping, so Nie Sangyu was relieved and explained that she was innocent. She then left to find evidence at the fire scene where she found a lock buried in the ruins and a hairpin that smelled suspicious. The next day, Nie Sangyu was summoned to see Ning Yuxuan and encountered a tired-looking Wen Wan on the way. Wen Wan was scared and quickly retreated when she saw Nie Sangyu, who was confused until Mu Xu reminded her that she had stabbed Wen Wan. Wen Wan pretended that the clothes covering Ning Yuxuan were given to her by him. Nie Sangyu was not jealous and left with Mu Xu. When they arrived at the front hall, the servants avoided eye contact with Nie Sangyu, showing her usual authority. Ning Yuxuan asked Nie Sangyu why she was in the kitchen when she was supposed to be in the Siguo Pavilion. Nie Sangyu said she was hungry and went to find food, but found no witnesses. She claimed that the fire started from outside and the kitchen door was locked from the outside. Only Ban Xia and Tan Xiang, the first-class maids, were allowed to move freely at night in the Ning Mansion. They denied setting the fire, and Qian Lianxue, Ban Xia's mistress, pleaded with Nie Sangyu for mercy. Nie Sangyu was not moved and used the lock and hairpin she found as evidence to prove her innocence.

Ban Xia no longer had any hope of luck and cried, admitting that she was the one who started the fire. The reason was that Nie Sangyu punished her by branding a plum blossom on her body and not allowing her to seek medical treatment. Nie Sangyu looked at Ban Xia's terrifying wounds and couldn't help but tear up. She now understood why Mu Xu said she had done many wrong things before. She sincerely apologized to Ban Xia and Wen Wan and asked everyone present to forgive her for her past mistakes. Ning Yuxuan saw that the truth had been revealed and told everyone to go home and live their lives peacefully without causing trouble. Nie Sangyu knew that Ban Xia's injuries were so severe that only Shuhen ointment could remove them. She searched for money but found that she only had two small pieces of silver after being the madam for four years, which was not enough to buy medicine. When Mu Xu told Nie Sangyu that she had a precious box and kept the key herself, Nie Sangyu thought there were many silver notes inside. However, when she opened it, she found that it was all portraits of Ning Yuxuan, which disappointed her. Qian Lianxue thanked Nie Sangyu for not punishing Ban Xia for starting the fire and invited her to dinner at Kui Xing Lou. Unexpectedly, Nie Sangyu found a business opportunity and sold the portraits to various ladies who were obsessed with Ning Yuxuan, earning a lot of money. She generously gave half of it to Qian Lianxue and used the rest to make Shuhen ointment for Ban Xia. Mu Xu was moved by Nie Sangyu's consideration for her servants and felt that Nie Sangyu had completely changed from before. Nie Sangyu tasted the sweetness of selling portraits and started charging people to secretly sneak into the Duke's mansion to see Ning Yuxuan. When Ning Yuxuan found out about Nie Sangyu's actions, he had Gui Bai as a witness and confiscated all the silver Nie Sangyu had earned recently, which made Nie Sangyu feel extremely distressed but helpless. Unexpectedly, someone found Mu Xu and was willing to pay 500 taels of silver for a chance to have dinner with Ning Yuxuan.

In order to get Ning Yuxuan to go to Kui Xing Lou, Nie Sangyu tried every means possible. First, she praised Ning Yuxuan for his martial arts skills, and then suggested that a doctor had advised him to revisit familiar places to regain his memory. However, Ning Yuxuan refused, thinking that Nie Sangyu was too domineering in the past and preferred her current silly and foolish demeanor. Nie Sangyu had to come up with another plan and decided to make lotus seed soup and wait for Ning Yuxuan outside the yamen. However, Ning Yuxuan refused to eat her food, which made her angry. She then pretended to smile and told him that a girl was infatuated with him and would die if he didn't meet her. But Ning Yuxuan still ignored her and insisted that she stay ten meters away from him. Nie Sangyu and Mu Xu drank lotus seed soup while thinking of ways to win over Ning Yuxuan. They learned that he had a beloved sweat-blood horse and decided to use it as leverage. Soon, Ning Yuxuan received a threat from Nie Sangyu, saying that if he didn't attend the banquet at Kui Xing Lou, his horse would be killed and eaten. Ning Yuxuan was suspicious and realized that there must be something going on. He asked Gui Bai to bring archers and set up an ambush. Miss Gao rented the entire Kui Xing Lou just to have dinner with Ning Yuxuan. Nie Sangyu praised her for her generosity, but when Ning Yuxuan arrived, Miss Gao was surprised and ran away. Suddenly, several black-clothed men appeared and tried to kill Ning Yuxuan. Gui Bai and his archers fought back, catching the attackers off guard. In a moment of desperation, Yuan Lang took Nie Sangyu as a hostage, but Ning Yuxuan was determined to capture Yuan Lang, regardless of Nie Sangyu's safety. Yuan Lang noticed the jade pendant hanging on Nie Sangyu's body and pushed her away to escape with his men. They eventually fled to the Hongta Temple's library. Ning Yuxuan and his men chased them to the temple, thinking that A Lang was hiding in the library. However, the abbot and Tao Siwei stopped them, warning that it was a royal temple and that they would be giving their political enemies a handle if they forced their way in. Ning Yuxuan pretended to give up the search, but secretly instructed Gui Bai to station some unfamiliar faces outside the temple to keep watch.

Master Liao Ran is A Lang's uncle. He sent A Lang to Dingxia Mountain in his early years to temper his character. However, eighteen years later, A Lang still insisted on causing trouble for Ning Yuxuan, the son of Ning Zhongtian who died with his father. Liao Ran saw that A Lang couldn't let go for so many years, so he let him do what he wanted.

After Ning Yuxuan returned home, he questioned Nie Sangyu about why Yuan Lang would take an arrow for her and demanded that she explain their relationship. Nie Sangyu didn't know why and didn't even know Yuan Lang. She only admitted that she led Ning Yuxuan to Kui Xing Lou for 500 taels of silver, which put him in danger. She knew it was her fault, but Ning Yuxuan didn't save her, so they were even.

Ning Yuxuan brought out the whip that Nie Sangyu invented and questioned her again, but she insisted that she didn't have it and was wronged. She couldn't help but cry bitterly. Wen Wan came out and added fuel to the fire, pretending to care about Ning Yuxuan's injury but actually torturing Nie Sangyu. Although Ning Yuxuan was angry, he didn't really want to whip Nie Sangyu. Unexpectedly, Wen Wan found a loophole in his words and tempted the executioner to do it, causing Nie Sangyu to faint.

Ning Yuxuan knew something was wrong and sent Gui Bai to investigate. He found out that Wen Wan was the one who caused it. However, the executioner still confessed that on the day of the wedding banquet, Wen Wan took the initiative to stab herself, and Nie Sangyu was wronged. In order to minimize the impact, Ning Yuxuan decided not to reveal the truth and took the blame for Wen Wan. Nie Sangyu thought that Ning Yuxuan ordered her punishment.

At Siguo Pavilion, Nie Sangyu woke up in pain and looked at her scars, feeling aggrieved. She felt that no one in the mansion liked her except for Mu Xu, so she decided to leave. Qin Yixian heard that Nie Sangyu was whipped and her life was in danger, so he rushed to Ning's mansion to check on her and brought a bottle of golden wound medicine. Nie Sangyu was carried to Ning Yuxuan and handed him a divorce letter, threatening to divorce him. Qin Yixian found it funny, but Ning Yuxuan felt embarrassed and suspected that Gui Bai had rescued the wrong person that day.

When the news of Nie Sangyu's divorce spread to Concubine Wen's ears, she was happy but also worried that Nie Sangyu was just saying it casually. So she went to inquire about the situation. Nie Sangyu didn't know Concubine Wen's thoughts and felt guilty for stabbing her that day, so he gave her the last bottle of scar removal cream. Concubine Wen pretended to be happy but then gave it to her servant, saying she could throw it away if she didn't like it. Mu Xu knew that Nie Sangyu wanted to leave the Ning Mansion but had no money left after giving away the last bottle of cream. Nie Sangyu thought of using the cream to make money and went to Qian Lianxue for help. Qian Lianxue refused at first because she felt guilty for helping sell Ning Yuxuan's paintings and causing Nie Sangyu to be punished. But Nie Sangyu explained her situation and convinced her to work together, with Ban Xia as their best advertisement. Nie Sangyu lay on a lounge chair and directed Mu Xu to make the cream while Ban Xia and Qian Lianxue were in charge of selling it. Soon, it became popular among the maidservants in the mansion. However, Concubine Wen was jealous of Nie Sangyu's success and poured hot water on the rose tree at night, causing all the roses to fall and the cream production to stop. Qian Lianxue was worried about losing their source of income, but Nie Sangyu saw it as an opportunity to raise the price of the cream and make more profit. The cream was effective and well-known, and many rich ladies inquired about it. Nie Sangyu planned to make more money from them and only allowed Qian Lianxue to give them samples but not sell them. Qian Lianxue was worried that the ladies would buy the cream from others in the mansion, but Nie Sangyu didn't mind and thought it was good for everyone in the mansion to make some money. After all, she was the one producing the product.

Nie Sangyu's injury has already healed, and she is preparing to leave Ning Mansion. She gave away everything in her Siguo Pavilion and only took a pear to confront Ning Yuxuan, telling him that she would leave tomorrow at three o'clock. Ning Yuxuan was reading a book when Nie Sangyu took it away and made him listen to her seriously. Unexpectedly, Ning Yuxuan said that he would personally see her off tomorrow and took a bite of her pear. Nie Sangyu was so angry that she turned and left, and Ning Yuxuan had no way to deal with her. He could only pick up the book and continue reading irritably. Nie Sangyu specially gathered the people in the mansion and gave each of them a bottle of Shuhen ointment, asking them to see her off tomorrow. The next day, the people who came to see her off waited at the door for a while, but Nie Sangyu did not show up. Qian Lianxue suspected that Nie Sangyu was delayed by something, but Wen Wan, who wanted Nie Sangyu to leave, praised her for being a trustworthy person and said that she would keep her promise. At this time, Nie Sangyu was praising herself for her cleverness. She deliberately led everyone to the front door and planned to leave from the back door with Mu Xu. However, when she opened the door, she saw a group of soldiers standing at the door. She quickly closed the door, but Ning Yuxuan had already arrived and ordered someone to take Nie Sangyu back to Siguo Pavilion. Nie Sangyu refused to go back and held onto the railing next to her. However, she was no match for the soldiers and could only be dragged away. Nie Sangyu was very unhappy and criticized Ning Yuxuan for not keeping his promise. This kind of attitude probably meant that he was not close to his parents either. Nie Sangyu's words hurt Ning Yuxuan, who had lost his father at an early age. He couldn't help but frown, scaring Nie Sangyu into shutting up. Gui Bai reported that there were bandits gathering ten miles away, so Ning Yuxuan immediately led people to suppress them. When they arrived, they found that the so-called bandits were just a group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people. A woman holding a child begged Ning Yuxuan for help. Her child had not eaten for three days and was about to starve to death. Ning Yuxuan felt sympathy and took off his cloak to cover the child. The woman took advantage of this and attacked Ning Yuxuan with a knife, stabbing him in the abdomen and causing blood to gush out. The reason why the woman attempted to assassinate him was because Ning Yuxuan had suppressed the bandits too much and had imprisoned their family's pillar. They had no way out and wanted to die with Ning Yuxuan. In order to save the woman from being killed by the court, Ning Yuxuan asked Gui Bai to buy medicine for him. He walked to Siguo Pavilion with his injury and was saved by Nie Sangyu with a bowl of medicine mixed with cow dung.

Ning Yuxuan woke up and was furious when he saw his disheveled appearance. Nie Sangyu explained that she had tied him up to feed him medicine, but Ning Yuxuan was still angry. Gui Bai returned injured and informed Ning Yuxuan that he had been attacked and robbed of his medicine and money. Ning Yuxuan suspected that there was more to the story and instructed Gui Bai not to reveal the attack to anyone. Later, when Gui Bai carried Ning Yuxuan back to his room, Ning Yuxuan was in so much pain that he hit Gui Bai's chest repeatedly. Gui Bai advised Ning Yuxuan to rest and recover before returning to his duties, but Ning Yuxuan felt trapped and had to stay.

The next day, Gui Bai brought food to Ning Yuxuan and noticed that the Siguo Pavilion had no tables. Ning Yuxuan learned that Nie Sangyu had given everything away and was angry, but he did not want to mistreat himself. He quickly had the pavilion redecorated and Nie Sangyu mocked him for not being able to handle the hardships of the pavilion. Ning Yuxuan was not going to let himself be mistreated and ordered Gui Bai to kick Nie Sangyu out.

At night, Nie Sangyu had to sleep on a cot while Ning Yuxuan slept in her bed. She was not happy about it and put up a screen to block Ning Yuxuan's view. Ning Yuxuan wondered why Nie Sangyu had changed so much and got up to look at her. She was scared but he only glanced at her before returning to his bed. Lord Tan summoned Ling Jianxing and criticized him for being useless against Ning Yuxuan. If he could not win the position of Prime Minister, he would lose everything he had gained.

Ling Jianxing understood Lord Tan's meaning and after returning home, he had his subordinates inquire about Ning Yuxuan's whereabouts. They found out that he was sick with a cold at home and suspected that he was injured. Wen Wan learned that Ning Yuxuan had stayed at Siguo Pavilion last night and was so angry that she bit her silver teeth. The next day, she brought Tan Xiang with her and tried to barge in to see Ning Yuxuan. However, Mu Xu stopped her and reminded her that it was not convenient at the moment. Soon, Wen Wan heard the voices of Ning Yuxuan and Nie Sangyu talking intimately, which made her unable to maintain her calm and she left with Tan Xiang. Mu Xu was pleased to see Wen Wan fail. Nie Sangyu and Mu Xu were making ointment in the courtyard when Ning Yuxuan couldn't help but secretly look at Nie Sangyu from the window. He was infected by her smile and couldn't help but stare at her. Mu Xu noticed Ning Yuxuan peeking and reminded Nie Sangyu. Nie Sangyu scolded Ning Yuxuan for being a pervert who criticized her when he was in front of her but liked to peek at her. Ning Yuxuan felt embarrassed but couldn't hide his smile. Nie Sangyu planned to sell more ointments and deliberately annoyed Ning Yuxuan to go out and see the market. She then took Mu Xu to the street to promote the ointment. Yuan Lang came to find her and proposed to invest in opening a store with her. After confirming Nie Sangyu's jade pendant, he deliberately showed the mark of the tea gang, but Nie Sangyu did not recognize it. Yuan Lang concluded that Nie Sangyu had amnesia and instructed Zhao Long and Zhao Hu not to harass her again. Ning Yuxuan sent Gui Bai to find Nie Sangyu when she didn't return home late. He claimed that he needed her to come back to change his medicine. When Nie Sangyu returned to the mansion and saw that Ning Yuxuan's wound was healed, she asked him if he missed her, but he denied it. Ling Jianxing proposed to reward the Longxiang Army for their merits at the court meeting today and suggested that Ning Yuxuan attend. Everyone knew that Nie Sangyu, Ning Yuxuan's wife, could not attend and they were waiting to see Ning Yuxuan's embarrassment.

Under the coercion and temptation of Ning Yuxuan, Nie Sangyu finally agreed to enter the palace with him. On the day of entering the palace, Nie Sangyu followed Ning Yuxuan obediently. Worried that others would find out about her memory loss, Ning Yuxuan reminded her to be careful with her words. Nie Sangyu asked Ning Yuxuan what kind of husband and wife relationship they should play, and she could do it. This made Ning Yuxuan speechless, so he quickly found an excuse to leave.

When Nie Sangyu was alone, she overheard several official wives discussing their skin conditions. She saw this as a great business opportunity and started chatting with them. Just as she was about to promote her beauty cream, Tao Siwei came over and wiped the table and chairs for her, inviting her to sit down. Nie Sangyu thanked him, but this scared Tao Siwei. He assumed that Nie Sangyu didn't remember the past and reminded her that she didn't behave like this before, let alone thank him. He suggested that Nie Sangyu slap him twice or scold him to regain the familiar feeling they had as classmates. Nie Sangyu thought Tao Siwei was a masochist and quickly said that the emperor was coming and they should go greet him, which made Tao Siwei leave.

Ning Yuxuan learned that the emperor had chosen him to attend the banquet because of Ling Jianxing's proposal, which made him suspicious. Lord Tan also attended the banquet and talked about what he had done for the emperor in the past. The emperor hinted that if he hadn't learned to ride a horse, someone would have controlled the reins. Lord Tan's face changed when he heard this and he sat down obediently, not daring to say anything more.

Nie Sangyu watched the palace dance for the first time and was very excited. Ning Yuxuan reminded her to pay attention to her manners. Nie Sangyu didn't want to be a wooden person, so she asked Ning Yuxuan to pinch her leg and show their affection in front of the emperor. Ning Yuxuan pinched her hard, making her unable to bear the pain. Ling Jianxing deliberately came over to toast and mentioned Wen Wan, hoping to make Nie Sangyu lose her composure, but she remained calm, which surprised him.

In order to flatter the emperor, Ling Jianxing specially rushed six hundred miles to bring in fresh crabs for everyone to taste. Nie Sangyu saw the steamed crabs and felt that they were wasting such good crabs, so she didn't want to eat them. Ling Jianxing thought that Nie Sangyu had never eaten crabs before and said he would give her an extra one, but he was actually mocking Ning Yuxuan for marrying an ignorant woman.

Nie Sangyu didn't wait for Ling Jianxing to send someone to help her peel the crabs. She quickly dismantled them herself and then expressed her dissatisfaction with Ling Jianxing's method of transporting the crabs, stating that there was a better way to get better-tasting crabs.

The Emperor was intrigued by Nie Sangyu's words and asked her to make spicy crabs on the spot. After tasting them, he exclaimed how fresh they were. Ling Jianxing was surprised that he had worked so hard but Nie Sangyu had stolen the show and almost bit his teeth in anger.

Ling Jianxing challenged Ning Yuxuan to a sword fight to expose his injury, but Nie Sangyu, who had just appeared in front of the Emperor, used the excuse that Ning Yuxuan was still recovering from a serious illness and begged the Emperor to allow him to abstain from the fight.

Lord Tan, seeing that Ling Jianxing had not achieved his goal, immediately brought up the time when the country was in turmoil and he had fought while ill, criticizing the current generation for being too weak. Tao Siwei stood up and offered to fight, but after thinking it over, Ning Yuxuan volunteered to participate in the competition. Ling Jianxing agreed to the terms, and they each inserted a flag into their clothing, with the first to capture the other's flag being declared the winner.

Ling Jianxing was sure that Ning Yuxuan was injured and used all his strength to force him to reveal his injury. He even resorted to dirty tricks, but Nie Sangyu suddenly rushed forward and scared Ling Jianxing, who was then forced to retreat by Ning Yuxuan's move, causing his flag to fall and allowing Nie Sangyu to grab it.

The Emperor believed that as a member of the Nie family, Nie Sangyu should know the rules of the competition, but he also recognized her concern for her husband's safety. He not only did not punish her but also awarded her the title of second-rank noblewoman. However, because of the violation of the rules, the Emperor declared Ning Yuxuan the loser.

Nie Sangyu originally did not want the title, but Lord Tan and Ning Yuxuan did not allow her to refuse it. She became a model wife to Ning Yuxuan, and seeing the shining title, she thought it could improve her image and business prospects. In order to keep the title, she proposed a delay in separation, which was exactly what Ning Yuxuan wanted.

Mu Xu was tasked by Nie Sangyu to distribute invitations for a banquet at the Ning residence. However, after waiting for an hour, no one had arrived, causing Nie Sangyu to suspect that Mu Xu had not done his job properly. Mu Xu insisted that he had delivered the invitations to the stewards of each household.

Just then, General Nie and his wife, as well as Nie Qingyun, arrived. Nie Sangyu did not recognize them as her own family and praised their demeanor in front of Mu Xu. When Mu Xu revealed their identities, Nie Sangyu rushed to greet them warmly.

Nie Sangyu addressed General Nie as "mother" and frightened Mrs. Nie, who thought that Nie Sangyu had suffered some injustice at the Ning residence. Nie Qingyun was also scared and hid behind Mrs. Nie, showing how intimidating Nie Sangyu could be.

Nie Sangyu claimed to have lost her memory and did not remember anything from before. She praised Nie Qingyun for being young, beautiful, and elegant, which made Nie Qingyun very happy.

Nie Sangyu saw some rare items that General Nie had brought from the northwest and immediately expressed interest in doing business with them. General Nie asked if Nie Sangyu was not doing well, and she replied that she wanted to divorce and open a water powder shop. After hearing Nie Sangyu's complaints about Ning Yuxuan, General Nie thought it was a secret matter and left in a hurry.

Nie Sangyu changed into her second-rank court dress and walked hand in hand with Ning Yuxuan to the banquet hall. However, upon seeing the few guests present, she became depressed. Ning Yuxuan insisted that she sit in the main seat and give a speech, which made her uncomfortable. After the banquet, Nie Sangyu asked Ning Yuxuan to help her pay for half of the expenses, but he refused. This made her angry, and she drank too much and publicly flirted with Ning Yuxuan, saying that he looked like her crush and had a sweet smell.

Wen Wan watched as Nie Sangyu and Ning Yuxuan grew closer, feeling sour. She suggested sending the drunk Nie Sangyu home, but Ning Yuxuan insisted that Mu Xu escort her instead.

Today, Nie Xiangyuan recognized the jade pendant on Nie Sangyu and immediately sent someone to find Ji Ming in Luan County.

After drinking too much, Nie Sangyu fell asleep in Fei Yuan Ge. Ning Yuxuan instructed Gui Bai to settle the bill for the banquet and noticed his changing attitude towards Nie Sangyu. Gui Bai's observation made Ning Yuxuan embarrassed.

Nie Sangyu stumbled into Ning Yuxuan's room and tried to seduce him. He allowed her to kiss him but then tried to send her away. However, Nie Sangyu was too drunk to listen and continued to pursue him. Ning Yuxuan became angry and had her tied up in Fei Yuan Ge.

Ling Jianxing was angry with Nie Sangyu for ruining his reputation and wanted revenge. He learned that Wang Mang from the Ministry of Punishment disliked Ning Yuxuan and planned to use him to harm Ning Yuxuan.

There was suddenly a wave of criticism against Nie Sangyu in the capital, accusing her of various crimes. She argued back but was recognized and pelted with rotten vegetables. Nie Sangyu returned to Ning Yuxuan's residence in a sorry state and was comforted by him. He gave her a red bean and promised to help her with the situation. The next day, all the storytellers were suddenly mute.

Nie Sangyu was upset because this only confirmed the rumors about her. Yuan Lang received news that someone was going to kill the bandits and went to save them. He discovered that the killer had a Tea Association mark on his hand and decided to investigate.

Nie Sangyu sat on the street with a veil covering her face, feeling unhappy. When she turned her head, she saw a horse looking at her and couldn't help but joke about killing the horse for meat. The owner of the horse arrived just in time, and Nie Sangyu quickly explained that she was only joking.

Yuan Lang learned from his subordinates that Nie Sangyu was feeling down and went to find her. To make her laugh, he invited her to eat roasted cakes by the river. Nie Sangyu asked about Yuan Lang's background and learned that his mother had died long ago, and his village had been burned down. She couldn't help but feel sad for him.

Yuan Lang felt that Nie Sangyu was the person he was looking for to marry, but since she had lost her memory, he didn't dare to reveal his identity. He could only find a common ground between them, which was opening a shop. He believed that with Nie Sangyu's vision, she would succeed. This made Nie Sangyu very happy, and they celebrated with roasted cakes.

Ning Yuxuan was dealing with rumors about Nie Sangyu when he saw her leaving with Mu Xu and Yuan Lang. Since they hadn't returned late at night, he couldn't help but worry and pace around. When he heard Nie Sangyu's footsteps outside, he quickly sat down and pretended nothing was wrong. However, Nie Sangyu could tell that he was worried about her.

Nie Sangyu accused Ning Yuxuan of poisoning the reputation of the Sour Scholar Gang, which would only make her look worse. Ning Yuxuan explained that he had collected evidence of the gang's lies the night before, and the scholars had lost their voices from talking too much. Nie Sangyu apologized for misunderstanding him, but she could sense that Ning Yuxuan was very concerned about her lately and suspected that he had feelings for her. However, Ning Yuxuan denied it and said he was only trying to maintain the dignity of her second-rank noble title.

Gui Bai suddenly reported that an official from the Da Li Si had come to the Duke's Mansion to see Ning Yuxuan. Nie Sangyu thought that Da Li Si had acted quickly and was going to deal with the Sour Scholar Gang, but Ning Yuxuan knew that these people were coming for him. He learned that they were investigating the killing of refugees and quietly instructed Gui Bai to investigate the clues while he went with the officials from the Da Li Si. Nie Sangyu was worried about Ning Yuxuan's safety and urged him to come back safely.

Gui Bai went to investigate the site where the refugees were killed and found some important evidence. However, he was attacked by someone who threw a smoke bomb and ran away. Gui Bai returned and told Nie Sangyu that he had found important evidence and wanted to go to Da Li Si to explain the situation to Ning Yuxuan. Nie Sangyu advised him to stay calm since the Da Li Si was not like other places, and they needed to find a way to handle the situation.

Nie Sangyu disguised Gui Bai as her maid and had him carry her imperial edict to sneak into the Dali Si at night. After revealing her identity and bribing the guards, she was finally able to visit Ning Yuxuan in his cell.

Gui Bai showed Ning Yuxuan the shoes and tea bag he found at the scene of the murder, and Ning Yuxuan realized that the victim was the same group who had previously attempted to assassinate him. He began to suspect that Ling Jianxing and the tea gang were involved, but he couldn't be sure. He sent Gui Bai to investigate in Haifang, but Ning Yuxuan believed that there were still variables at play.

Nie Sangyu wanted to help Ning Yuxuan, so after leaving the Dali Si, she threatened Gui Bai to reveal the truth about Ning Yuxuan's attack. Eventually, she realized that Ning Yuxuan was a good official.

Suddenly, rumors spread throughout the capital that Ning Yuxuan was a serial killer and that he and Nie Sangyu were a devilish couple who had done many evil deeds. The servants of the Hou Mansion were worried that Nie Sangyu would misunderstand Ning Yuxuan, so they explained that he had always been kind-hearted. After the death of the old Duke, he stopped speaking and locked himself in his room for several days and nights. He only spoke again after more than a year, but then the old lady died, and that was the last time he cried.

Nie Sangyu was moved by Ning Yuxuan's tragic past and decided to help him. She bought off the Sour Wen Gang and had them spread the word about Ning Yuxuan's good deeds. The people spontaneously offered incense and petitioned, which alarmed the Emperor. Ning Yuxuan was released, but he lost his title and was exiled to Haifang for privately dealing with bandits.

Lord Tan knew about this and thought that Ling Jianxing was a fool for not seeing the Emperor's true intentions. He threatened him, saying that the tea had been steeped for too long and had lost its flavor, so it was time to change it. Ling Jianxing promised to keep Ning Yuxuan out of Haifang.

Nie Sangyu learned that the Emperor was sending Ning Yuxuan to Haifang, and she suspected that there was a deeper meaning behind it. When she heard from Mu Xu that Ning Yuxuan would return the next day, she was overjoyed. Nie Sangyu knew that Ning Yuxuan must have suffered a lot in prison these days, so she decided to do something to help him get rid of bad luck.

At the entrance of the Ning Mansion, many people were waiting for Ning Yuxuan to return. When Wen Wan saw Ning Yuxuan, she went up to greet him, but he was looking for Nie Sangyu and was disappointed when he couldn't find her in the crowd. Then, Nie Sangyu's voice came, asking everyone to make way. She and Mu Xu carried a burning basin of fresh willow branches to the door and urged Ning Yuxuan to step over it to get rid of bad luck. However, Ning Yuxuan felt embarrassed and asked Nie Sangyu to stop. He went into the Hou Mansion from the side of the basin. Nie Sangyu's efforts and intentions were in vain.

Back in his room, Gui Bai told Ning Yuxuan that Nie Sangyu really wanted to help him get rid of bad luck. The pomelo leaves for foot soaking were specially selected by her from the market early in the morning. Ning Yuxuan felt much better after hearing this from Gui Bai. He sent Gui Bai away and looked at the footbath water, thinking for a while before finally taking off his shoes and enjoying Nie Sangyu's kindness.

After learning that Ning Yuxuan was being transferred to Haifang, Yuan Lang had doubts about the tea gang and decided to say goodbye to Master Liao Ran and go to Haifang.

Ning Yuxuan was worried that Nie Sangyu had offended Ling Jianxing and it would be dangerous for her to stay alone, so he decided to take her with him to Haifang. However, Nie Sangyu, who only wanted to open a shop, didn't want to go at all.

Wen Wan offered to go with Ning Yuxuan to take care of him, but he declined. So she changed her mind and said she wanted to go to Haifang to see the bustling market and find some unique items. Nie Sangyu changed her mind and decided to go too, which pleased Ning Yuxuan. He gave her a box of gold bars when she asked for money.

The next day, Nie Sangyu gave Wen Wan a motion sickness ointment and Wen Wan gave her some peas. However, Nie Sangyu got sick from the peas and Wen Wan realized that she had given Ning Yuxuan cooked peas instead of raw ones. Ning Yuxuan scolded Wen Wan for her carelessness and reminded her that Nie Sangyu had not done anything wrong since losing her memory.

Ning Yuxuan found Nie Sangyu's obsession with money amusing as she insisted on carrying her own belongings. Wen Wan was left behind in the capital to reflect on her actions.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wen Wan sent a mat to Ning Yuxuan, hoping to plead for his safety every day. However, Ning Yuxuan believed that it was Nie Sangyu who should apologize. Wen Wan then apologized to Nie Sangyu and tried to give her the mat, but Nie Sangyu refused. Wen Wan watched as Nie Sangyu and Ning Yuxuan left together, no longer looking pitiful but rather fierce.

Ling Jianxing had already studied Ning Yuxuan's travel route in detail and had decided to kill him on the weakest defense route.

At the inn, Ning Yuxuan asked Nie Sangyu to get a room from the innkeeper, praising her high status and ability to get a better room. However, Nie Sangyu deliberately got a straw room for Ning Yuxuan and took the better room for herself, thinking that Ning Yuxuan would come to change rooms. But Ning Yuxuan never came, so Nie Sangyu went to the woods to chat with the stars out of boredom.

Ning Yuxuan was thinking about how to proceed on his journey and unknowingly walked into the woods, where he saw Nie Sangyu. They sat together and watched the stars. Surprisingly, Nie Sangyu could predict the weather from the stars' behavior, which amazed Ning Yuxuan. He asked if she could remember anything from the past, but Nie Sangyu couldn't recall anything.

Ning Yuxuan was certain that Ling Jianxing would not miss such a good opportunity and would definitely send assassins to kill him, so he had Gui Bai prepare for it. The Tian room was too conspicuous and would definitely become the target of the assassins. In order to ensure Nie Sangyu's safety, Ning Yuxuan had her stay in the firewood room with him.

Nie Sangyu didn't want to go, but Gui Bai wouldn't let her stay in the Tian room, so Nie Sangyu had to obediently go to the firewood room. She found that the conditions in the firewood room were not only dirty and messy, but there was only one bed. She quickly declared that she would not sleep on the same bed as Ning Yuxuan.

Ning Yuxuan was looking through the window crack, observing the situation in the post station. Nie Sangyu was very curious and went to see as well, but she didn't find anything and couldn't help but suspect that Ning Yuxuan was lying to her. She threatened him not to have any improper thoughts about her.

It was late at night and Nie Sangyu was too tired to stay awake. She was also worried that Ning Yuxuan would peek at her, so she sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket and dozed off. Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu in front of him and found that she was really different. He suspected that she was not the real Nie Sangyu, but he didn't know who she really was. Ning Yuxuan remembered that there was a mark on Nie Sangyu's shoulder and wanted to verify it, but with Nie Sangyu's current guard against him, he couldn't see it.

The assassins attacked and they identified the Tian room as Ning Yuxuan's and went straight to it. They didn't expect Gui Bai to catch them off guard, but there were too many of them and there was another wave in the hall. Ning Yuxuan heard the sound of fighting and woke up Nie Sangyu who was dozing off. This frightened Nie Sangyu and she instinctively wanted to escape, but Ning Yuxuan reassured her and told her to stay here obediently. He would protect her. Nie Sangyu heard this and surprisingly felt a sense of security, so she stayed in the firewood room.

Ning Yuxuan joined the battle and quickly killed the assassins, but he knew that Ling Jianxing would definitely not only send this group of people, so he left two soldiers to guard Nie Sangyu and took the others to ambush Ling Jianxing's people. As expected, he was right and he defeated the enemy.

Nie Sangyu was worried about Ning Yuxuan's safety, so she left the woodshed and let the person who pretended to be dead take advantage of the situation and kidnap her to threaten Ning Yuxuan. Nie Sangyu thought that Ning Yuxuan would also choose to abandon her, but he ultimately chose to put down his sword for the person he cared about, just like his father, which surprised Nie Sangyu. The assassin tried to take Ning Yuxuan's life while he was unarmed, but he had a hidden short sword and used it to kill his opponent. He then dragged Nie Sangyu and fled with his injured body, eventually being forced to jump into the river.

Ning Yuxuan and Nie Sangyu were washed up on the riverbank, and when he woke up, he found that Nie Sangyu's clothes on her shoulder were torn, revealing her skin without any marks, so he concluded that she was not the original Nie Sangyu. Nie Sangyu made a simple stretcher overnight and pulled Ning Yuxuan back, and personally made medicine for him. Mu Xu noticed that Ning Yuxuan's attitude towards Nie Sangyu had improved a lot, which made her happy, and Nie Sangyu was also happy that she was no longer someone who could be sacrificed at any time in Ning Yuxuan's eyes.

Yuan Lang discovered the traces of the fight at the inn last night, but did not find Ning Yuxuan's body, guessing that it was the work of his opponent, but Ning Yuxuan was lucky enough to survive. Yuan Lang was worried that Nie Sangyu would be in danger if she stayed by Ning Yuxuan's side and wanted to take her back.

Ning Yuxuan sat in the carriage with his injuries, and the bumpy ride made him very uncomfortable. Nie Sangyu took the initiative to let him lean on her shoulder, willing to live and die with him, which moved Ning Yuxuan and made him want to help Nie Sangyu recover her memory as soon as possible.

In Haifang, Nie Sangyu sat in the carriage and looked at the bustling streets, smiling happily, but Ning Yuxuan reminded her that they would definitely want to return to the capital when they arrived at the county government, but Nie Sangyu didn't believe it and they made a bet.

At the county government, Nie Sangyu looked at the dilapidated county government in front of her and couldn't believe that this was the place where Ning Yuxuan had come from afar to work. She wanted to turn around and leave, but Ning Yuxuan had come all the way to Haifang and didn't want to go back, so he led a group of people into the county government. The county government was desolate, and banknotes were scattered everywhere, giving off a gloomy atmosphere. Nie Sangyu walked carefully and looked around, and when she found a coffin in the main room, she screamed in fright and ran back to Ning Yuxuan. Ning Yuxuan went to check with Gui Bai and found that the coffin was empty, realizing that someone was warning him.