After bidding farewell to Xiao Mo, Bai Ruxue hummed a light tune while walking toward her mountain cave home.

At the cave entrance, Little Green stuck out her tongue, looking left and right.

"Sister..."

When Little Green saw her sister return, her vertical pupils suddenly brightened, and she quickly crawled toward her sister.

"Little Green~"

Bai Ruxue quickened her pace and walked forward.

"Sister, where did you go again?" Little Green sighed.

Little Green had noticed that over these past few years, except during hibernation, her sister loved to wander around.

"I went to see Xiao Mo~" Bai Ruxue said happily.

"Eh?" Little Green was startled, "Sister, how could you go see Xiao Mo? You just learned to transform, and you're not skilled at it yet. What if you were exposed?"

"I won't be." Bai Ruxue put her hands on her hips, very proudly, "Sister's transformation technique is excellent."

"It's not good at all," Little Green felt mentally exhausted, "Sister, look at your feet."

"Hm?" Bai Ruxue looked down and discovered her feet had turned back into a tail.

"It's fine, it's fine." Bai Ruxue patted her tail and transformed back into human feet, "I must have relaxed when I was coming back just now. He definitely didn't notice."

"Really?" Little Green flicked her forked tongue, "But sister, you're silly."

Bai Ruxue puffed out her cheeks, "Little Green, you're the silly one! Sister isn't silly at all!"

Little Green: "..."

"Little Green, let me tell you, I secretly put some silver in his pocket today." Bai Ruxue's eyes sparkled as she said proudly, "When I collect more silver, I'll give it all to him. Humans use silver to buy things, so he can buy lots and lots of things."

"Sister, are you going to see him again tomorrow?" Little Green really didn't know what to do with her sister.

"Of course I am." Bai Ruxue said matter-of-factly, "Sister hasn't finished repaying the favor yet. Your sister is a good snake who knows how to repay kindness."

"Then sister, how would you consider the favor fully repaid?" Little Green felt a bit tired in her heart.

"Emmm..." Bai Ruxue seemed to think seriously for a moment, then said very straightforwardly, "I don't know either."

Little Green: "..."

"Little Green, Little Green, generally speaking, how should a girl repay a life-saving favor? Do you know?" Bai Ruxue asked her sister in return.

"Sister, I'm a snake, not a human."

"Oh, then I guess sister will have to read more books."

"Read books?"

"Yes, he was reading today. Although I couldn't understand it, it seemed very impressive. Maybe human books have the answer."

"But sister, can you read?"

"I can't~ But it doesn't matter, sister has a way."

With that, Bai Ruxue happily ran off again.

"Sister, it's so late, where are you going?" Little Green called out behind her sister.

"To collect silver and gather herbs," the girl's voice drifted leisurely through the mountain forest.

"Gather herbs?"

The next day.

After listening to the village chief's lesson in the morning, Xiao Mo asked the village chief a few questions from his books, then continued riding the cow up the mountain.

He planned to gather more medicinal herbs today, exchange them for some silver, and then buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

When he returned yesterday, Xiao Mo discovered an extra piece of silver in his clothes pocket.

He knew it was secretly placed there by Little White.

Xiao Mo kept the silver and put it in a small pouch.

That piece of broken silver wasn't much. Xiao Mo didn't plan to spend it, but rather save it for her.

Because Little White said she would continue collecting silver for him, Xiao Mo wanted to see how much she could collect.

He did this for no other reason than it was amusing.

On She Mountain, Xiao Mo herded cattle while picking medicinal herbs.

"Xiao Mo..."

When Xiao Mo had gathered a small basket, a girl's light and cheerful voice came from behind him.

Xiao Mo turned around to see Bai Ruxue looking at him with a beaming smile.

"Miss Bai." Xiao Mo bowed respectfully.

"Xiao Mo, play with me." Bai Ruxue said innocently, as if this little girl had no worries at all.

Xiao Mo shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't have time today. I need to collect some medicinal materials to sell, as I need to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones."

"You do have time. Come with me." Bai Ruxue pulled Xiao Mo's hand and walked forward.

"Miss Bai, wait, let me lead the cow."

"Oh, oh, then hurry up."

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the girl brought Xiao Mo to a place filled with the purple sun grass and blue waterfall flowers he was looking for.

"How can this place have so many of the medicinal materials I need?" Xiao Mo thought in surprise.

Crouching down, Xiao Mo picked a flower and found that the plants here were loose, as if they had been buried.

Xiao Mo turned his head, his gaze falling on the girl's hands, which had bits of soil on them and were slightly scraped.

"I see."

Xiao Mo understood. These medicinal materials were all buried here by her.

With so much purple sun grass and blue waterfall flowers, she must have searched all night.

"How is it? This much is enough, right? You have to spend your remaining time playing with me." Bai Ruxue lifted her fair little chin.

"It's enough." Xiao Mo nodded, "Then what would you like to play, miss?"

"I want to read books!"

"Read books?"

"Mm-hmm, I want you to teach me to read. Is that okay?" Bai Ruxue happily walked forward, taking out a piece of broken silver with her soil-stained little hands, "I can pay tuition fees."

At the residence of the Minister of Rites in Zhou Kingdom.

The maid Xiao Chun walked into the young miss's back courtyard.

Every time she entered the young miss's back courtyard, Xiao Chun felt as if she had come to another world.

In this world, there were only two colors: purple and blue.

Purple sun grass in purple.

Blue waterfall flowers in blue.

In the pavilion in the back courtyard, the young miss was reading.

Xiao Chun had grown up with the young miss. The young miss had loved reading since childhood and knew many, many things.

Without realizing it, when the young miss grew up, she had already become the foremost talented woman in Zhou Kingdom.

"Young miss..." Xiao Chun walked forward and curtsied to the young miss, "The Empress Dowager's female official has come, saying she's here to teach the young miss palace etiquette."

"Mm, I understand." Yan Ruxue continued turning the pages, "After I finish these few pages, I'll go over."

Xiao Chun looked at the young miss's profile, her lips gently pressed together, and couldn't help asking, "Does the young miss really want to enter the palace?"

Entering the palace is as deep as the sea. In Xiao Chun's view, such a beautiful and talented woman as the young miss should not be locked away in the deep palace.

Yan Ruxue closed her book. Instead of answering the maid, she asked in return, "Xiao Chun, if someone saved your life, how would you repay them?"

"How to repay... how to repay..."

Just as Xiao Chun was thinking, Yan Ruxue stood up and gently placed the collection of strange tales in her hand on her head.

"It's written in the book."

The young lady placed her hands in front of her and walked out of the courtyard with dignity, the spring breeze gently caressing the flowers and grass.

"The answer is to pledge oneself in marriage~"