"This king..."

For many days, he had been thinking about her with all his heart, but after hesitating for a long time, he could only squeeze out three words that were the most pale and powerless in the world.

"sorry."

For the past few days, Yi Shangyun had been seething with hatred, but when she finally saw him in person, she couldn't understand why her tears were so uncontrollable.

Looking at his ever-cold face, tears that had been welling up in her eyes rolled down her face the moment she heard those three words.

He forced a bitter smile and repeated his words in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry? Has Your Highness Qin done something wrong? Why do you need to apologize?"

"Wrong... perhaps, everything was wrong from the very beginning," Xuan Yuanhan thought to himself.

Even now, facing the person he cares about most in the world, Xuan Yuanhan still has no intention of defending himself.

The room was silent, and Yi Shangyun waited quietly for him to give her an explanation in person.

Perhaps, even now, deep in her heart, she still harbors a sliver of hope and expectation for him.

But how should Xuanyuan Han begin?

The thought that she would never have a child of her own, and that he would be gone from her life without her by her side, leaving her destitute and alone...

The thought that after Emperor Jing bestowed the marriage upon her, even though she already knew the ending, she still shared a beautiful dream with her...

Thinking about all the little things that have happened between the two of them since they first met...

Everything, so much, I was so reluctant to let go, but...

Now, he only hates himself. He thought he could control everything, but how did things turn out like this?

Just as he was deep in thought, a low voice suddenly came to his ear: "Did you have someone do this?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly froze, staring at the teacup in his hand, his heart skipping a beat.

Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun could no longer suppress the emotions that had nearly caused her to collapse several times in a long time. She suddenly raised her voice and shouted, "I'm asking if you had someone do it?"

What does it feel like when someone is overjoyed, thinking they are about to have a lifetime of happiness, only to fall hard and lose everything? It's probably like her feeling of utter despair right now.

She felt as if her heart was breaking, as if she could hardly breathe, and she clutched her chest tightly with one hand: "Do you know that it was a baby boy who was already beginning to take on a human form?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Handun looked up into her eyes and was stunned.

"A boy?" At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan's heart was breaking. His fist was clenched so tightly that no one but himself noticed.

Yi Shangyun shook her head and said, "Poor child, I had a connection with him, yet I never even got to see him. Even if he's not your child, you can't treat him like this, you can't treat him like this, you can't..."

Seeing her strained and hoarse voice, heartbroken and emotionally distraught, Xuan Yuanhan, fearing she might hurt herself, could no longer restrain himself and hurriedly got up to go to her side and press down on her shoulders.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry, I ordered all of this to be done. But your health is more important..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun suddenly interrupted him coldly: "Why?"

"Why did you do this?" Yi Shangyun was already in tears.

Xuanyuan Han remained silent.

"Do you really think this child is Third Young Master's?" Seeing that he didn't speak, Yi Shangyun frowned and asked speculatively.

At this moment, Xuanyuan Han slowly withdrew his hand and took a deep breath: "Yes. Your wedding with me is imminent, and I hope you can enter the Qin Prince's mansion with a clean record."

Yi Shangyun shook her head, tears streaming down her face, saying repeatedly, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it. You know perfectly well that child is yours, yours, and has always only been yours. Why are you so cruel to him..."

Xuanyuan Han placed his hands behind his back and said in a low voice, "This concerns the bloodline of my Xuanyuan royal family, so I must be extremely cautious."

At this moment, Yi Shangyun suddenly felt that the man in front of her was so unfamiliar, as if she had never known him before.

Yet she was so certain that just a few days ago, this man had been so good to her; he was still the best version of himself in the world.

It was precisely because of his repeated and intense attacks that she finally made up her mind to let go of all her defenses and hesitations and accept this arranged marriage.

But now, what exactly happened?

It felt like a dream...

Xuanyuan Han didn't say anything more, silently sat down and went back to drink a cup of tea.

"The wedding...you and me..." Yi Shangyun said, then closed her eyes tightly at the end.

Suddenly, there was a loud "snap".

Yi Shangyun slapped Xuan Yuanhan hard across the face.

“Xuanyuan Han, you're a liar. This slap was delivered by me in place of the child who is gone. I was heartbroken and grieving for his passing, but now I'm actually relieved, because you don't deserve to be his father at all. I hate you, and I will never forgive you in this lifetime…”

After saying that, Yi Shangyun lifted her skirt, wiped away her tears, and ran out.

Watching his departing figure, Xuan Yuanhan felt as if his own heart had died along with it...

"Waaaaah..."

On the quiet lakeside, Yi Shangyun sat on the ground, hugging her knees and burying her head in her hands, crying sadly. Tears fell one by one into the lake water at her feet.

Not far away, Xuan Yuanhan and Yi Sanshao stood side by side, gazing at her retreating figure.

Heaven knows how much bitterness, pain, and reluctance Xuan Yuanhan felt at that moment.

He suppressed his emotions and said to Young Master Yi, "From now on, Yun'er is in your care."

Young Master Yi looked at his face and suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

He suddenly realized that perhaps Xuanyuan Han was the one who loved Yaya the most in the world.

Seeing the reluctance and helplessness in Xuan Yuanhan's eyes, Young Master Yi wavered for the first time and said, "Why not tell her the truth? As long as you don't care that she can't give you this girl..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Han said firmly, "No need, take her away..."

Young Master Yi wanted to say something more: "But..."

Xuan Yuanhan patted Yi Sanshao on the shoulder: "This time, I have made sure she has completely given up on her hopes. From now on... please treat her better."

After saying that, he slowly withdrew his hand, then turned and left dejectedly.

After watching Xuan Yuanhan leave, Yi Sanshao took a deep breath and walked up to Yi Shangyun.

He slowly knelt down, stroked her head, and comforted her, saying, "Little girl, don't be sad. You still have me. I will always be by your side and never leave you."

At this moment, Yi Shangyun's completely collapsed inner world desperately needed someone to lean on, so she slowly raised her head and glanced at Young Master Yi.

From beginning to end, only the person in front of me was so kind, so sincere, and so consistent in his heart.

Thinking about it, she felt extremely wronged and buried her face in his broad, warm embrace, bursting into tears: "Third Young Master..."

Outside Baicao Valley.

Upon seeing Xuan Yuanhan emerge from afar, Cheng Liang rushed forward to greet him: "Your Highness..."

At that moment, he was unaware that Xuan Yuanhan was clutching his chest.

He continued talking to himself, "How is it? Did Young Master Yi make things difficult for His Highness? Did His Highness see Miss Yi? Is Miss Yi alright?"

As he walked, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which immediately stained the ground beneath his feet red.

In an instant, Xuan Yuanhan felt everything go black before his eyes, his legs went weak, and he collapsed.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Cheng Liang quickly reached out to support him.

He kept calling out in her ear, "Your Highness... Your Highness..."

Clouds roll and unroll.

The next day, as soon as it was light, Cheng Liang hurriedly entered Mingyue Pavilion.

Xuanyuan Han groggily opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, asking, "Is there any movement from the Yi residence?"

"The Yi family..." Cheng Liang stammered, seeing that his master's condition was not good, as if he wanted to hide something.

He simply said, "Your Highness should take care of your health first. I have followed Your Highness in battle for many years and have never seen Your Highness so weak."

Xuanyuan Han knew perfectly well that Cheng Liang was deliberately changing the subject. In his haste, he coughed heavily and shouted with difficulty, "Hurry up and tell me what exactly happened at the Yi residence?"

Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang hurriedly stepped forward to help him up from the bed, saying, "Your Highness, please take care of yourself. There's been no movement from the Yi residence, but... but..."

"But what?" Xuan Yuanhan pressed for an answer.

"The news that just came from the palace says..." Cheng Liang was truly shocked by the news, and he was afraid that his master would not be able to accept it.

"What did the message say?" Xuan Yuanhan asked again.

"News has come from the palace...it says...it says..."

Hesitantly, Cheng Liang steeled his heart and finally blurted out, "The Emperor has finally discovered our plan. He has already sent men to ambush us outside the border. As soon as Miss Yi and her family cross the border of Western Qin, they will... they will..."

Xuanyuan Han was truly astonished by this, staring wide-eyed at Cheng Liang.

Cheng Liang said, "As soon as Miss Yi leaves the border of Western Qin, we will kill her. Then we will claim to the outside world that Miss Yi was attacked by bandits from Nan'an and died in Nan'an, in order to provoke war between Dongning and Nan'an. Then Your Highness can go and reap the benefits."

"I fear that Your Majesty's plan is not so simple," Xuan Yuanhan said, sounding quite meaningful.

"Your Highness, in this way, we have personally sent Miss Yi down a path of no return. What should we do now?" Cheng Liang asked anxiously.

"In the end, all of this could not escape the eyes of my imperial brother," Xuan Yuanhan said quietly.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Cheng Liang asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xuanyuan Han picked up a secret memorial from the desk and handed it to Cheng Liang, saying, "Go quickly and arrange things according to my plan, and do everything you can to protect Yun'er's safety."

Cheng Liang took the document, opened it, and immediately smiled, then perked up and accepted the order.

"Your Highness is wise. Your subordinate obeys. Your subordinate will go and make arrangements immediately to ensure the safety of Miss Yi."