As Xuan Yuanhan was wondering what was going on, he glanced over and saw Cheng Liang roll up the portrait of the guardian that had been spread out on the table. He was about to leave with the scroll that Lu Xian had given to Lu Tianjiao in his hand. Xuan Yuanhan quickly stopped him and said, "Wait, let me see the painting in your hand."

"Your Highness, didn't Dean Lu just say that this painting was a portrait of Miss Lu made last night? Your Highness... would you like to see it?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang looked at him with astonishment, wondering if he had misheard.

Even if Lu Tianjiao herself dressed up meticulously, appearing affectionate and submissive before her master, or charming and alluring, he would never have given her a second glance. Yet now, he actually wanted to see her portrait. Moreover, the shocking revelation on the night of the Lantern Festival was still vivid in his mind, never fading away.

While he was still pondering whether it was real or fake, Xuan Yuanhan walked up to him and slowly took the scroll that Cheng Liang was clutching tightly in his hand.

Xuan Yuanhan stared at the rolled-up scroll for a moment, then said quietly, "Lu Xian would never dare to be so bold as to have me deliver Lu Tianjiao's portrait on his behalf. He must be doing this on purpose to draw my attention to this painting. There must be some hidden secret in this painting."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang finally came to his senses. "So that's how it is. I thought Your Highness had feelings for Miss Lu..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan's icy gaze silenced him, silencing him from his words.

Xuanyuan Han returned to the table where the Guardian's portrait was and sat down. He took the two scrolls in his hands and examined them carefully for a long time, inside and out. He said, "After all these years, he has finally fulfilled his mission, found a method, and completed the important task of restoring the Guardian's portrait. But why did I only learn about this most important matter after my elder brother did, even though I had entrusted it to him?"

"Given Lu Xian's character and loyalty to His Highness, he shouldn't betray His Highness!" Cheng Liang said, puzzled.

"Could it be... there must be spies from the palace infiltrated into the Western Qin Academy. He couldn't wait to report to me and discuss it before my brother beat him to it." Xuan Yuanhan suddenly recalled his encounter with Mei Zhixuan in the early morning and couldn't help but make the connection.

Over the years, how could he not know that he and the Prince of Qin's mansion had been under Emperor Jing's secret and close surveillance? If he were to meet with Mei Zhixuan in private without any reason, who knows what kind of trouble the suspicious Emperor Jing would cause.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was stunned. "Then the portrait of the guardian that His Majesty asked Lu Xian to bring to His Highness..."

Before Cheng Liang could finish his question, Xuan Yuanhan blurted out, "Is it a copy that Lu Xian made based on the original?"

At that moment, Lu Xian's words suddenly came to mind, and he couldn't help but repeat them in his mind, "I was bored last night, so I made this portrait from memory. Please, Your Highness, pass it on to my daughter..."

As Xuanyuan Han was pondering, he suddenly and hastily unfolded the portraits of the guardian and Lu Tianjiao and laid them out on the table.

After examining them carefully, he said, "The ink on both paintings seems to be still wet, so they were definitely painted at the same time last night, without a doubt."

After glancing at it from the side, Cheng Liang asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the Emperor forced Lu Xian to tamper with the portrait of the guardian he copied? Is the guardian's appearance actually fake?"

"No, since he has ordered me to spare no effort in finding the Guardian, he will definitely provide me with a portrait of the true Guardian." Xuan Yuanhan stared intently at the somewhat peculiar face in Lu Tianjiao's portrait and affirmed.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly blurted out, "Unless both of these guardian portraits are fake."

"What? It's all fake? That means Lu Xian didn't complete the important task of restoring the Guardian's portrait. Does that mean he's deceiving the emperor?" Cheng Liang's eyes widened in surprise.

Xuan Yuanhan completely ignored Cheng Liang's words about deceiving the emperor. His deep eyes remained fixed on the rare and beautiful phoenix eyes in Lu Tianjiao's portrait, as if he were trying to absorb his entire being into the eyes in the painting, which was extremely mesmerizing.

After a long pause, he suddenly asked in a daze, "Cheng Liang, in your memory, did Lu Tianjiao have a pair of phoenix eyes that are extremely rare in the world?"

When Cheng Liang was suddenly asked this question, he couldn't help but recall the gentle smile Lu Tianjiao had given him a few days ago when she came to his courtyard to ask him to send someone to escort Mei Xiyuan to the City God Temple in the south of the city. Looking at the pair of bright eyes in the portrait, he said, "Miss Lu's eyes don't seem to be like this. In a portrait, the eyes are the soul of a person. Is Lu Xian senile? He can't even remember what his own daughter's eyes look like."

Upon hearing Cheng Liang's words, Xuan Yuanhan stared at his face in surprise and said seriously, "Oh, is that not how it is?"

“That’s definitely not the case. I think Miss Lu’s eyes are quite round, they should be small round eyes. The eye shape is round, the palpebral fissure is short and narrow, little white is exposed, and the eyeballs appear small. Actually, it’s a kind of cute and innocent eye shape by nature, but unfortunately…” Cheng Liang looked at Lu Tianjiao’s portrait very seriously, shook his head, and said with great regret.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan, whose gaze had been lingering on the two portraits of women, seemed to instantly understand and said, "Could it be... 'transferring flowers to trees'? Cheng Liang, grind the ink!"

"'Transplanting flowers and grafting trees'... Ah? Your Highness, what are you going to do..." Cheng Liang said, feeling very puzzled, while hurriedly stepping forward to start grinding ink.

Xuanyuan Han picked up his brush and hurriedly copied Lu Xian's painting on a blank sheet of paper. He spoke with a rare air of good mood, "I know why Lu Xian asked me to pass on this painting. He knew I wouldn't look at any woman's portrait except the Guardian's. That's why he deliberately instructed me to take a good look at Lu Tianjiao's painting. You were right earlier, 'In a portrait, the eyes are a person's soul.' The eyes in Lu Tianjiao's portrait aren't her real eyes, but the Guardian's. I've heard the Guardian is incredibly beautiful, 'Her hands are like soft shoots, her skin like solidified cream, her neck like a cicada's, her teeth like melon seeds, her forehead broad and her eyebrows arched, her smile enchanting, her eyes bright and beautiful.' She's like a celestial maiden descended to earth. How could she not be as beautiful as Lu Tianjiao's eyes? On the contrary, look at the eyes in the Guardian's portrait—those are the small, round eyes you just mentioned about Lu Tianjiao."

Cheng Liang seemed a little confused by what he heard, only understanding the last sentence, which said that the eyes on the guardian's portrait were indeed small, round eyes. He then looked over and exclaimed with delight, "It really is!"

Xuanyuan Han wrote furiously and continued, "Therefore, replace the small round eyes in the Guardian's portrait with a pair of rare and beautiful phoenix eyes in Lu Tianjiao's portrait, which do not match his actual appearance. This... is the true appearance of the Guardian."

While the two were talking, the guardian's face, which had been pieced together and copied by Xuan Yuanhan, was drawn separately.

At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan stared at her, seemingly stunned. However, it wasn't because the guardian's beauty had finally been restored; what surprised him was something he himself couldn't quite explain.

After a while, he murmured to Cheng Liang, who was standing beside him with an expectant look, "Cheng Liang, don't you think this person looks familiar?"

"Yes, I also feel that they look somewhat familiar, as if I've seen them somewhere before," Cheng Liang said after examining them carefully for a long time.

"Where exactly have I seen him before?" Xuan Yuanhan asked himself silently.

For a moment, the hall was silent, save for the cheerful, bright candlelight that flickered and swayed gracefully, and wisps of incense smoke that drifted endlessly in the air...

That night, in the Western Qin imperial palace.

After Lu Xian and his son returned to the palace to report to Emperor Jing, they hurriedly left the palace and headed straight back to the Western Qin Academy.

At this moment, the Grand Eunuch hurriedly entered the palace, bowed, and approached Emperor Jing to report, "Your Majesty, the people who escorted Lu Xian to the Prince of Qin's residence have returned and said that Lu Xian, apart from announcing the imperial decree, did not say anything else to the Prince of Qin. However... last night, after Lu Xian finished copying the portrait of the Guardian, he also made a portrait of his daughter, which he unexpectedly brought to the Prince of Qin's residence today to be given to his daughter."

"Have you checked the portrait of Lu Xian's daughter... and found anything amiss?" Emperor Jing paused his teacup, which he was about to drink, and asked suspiciously.

"The materials used in the painting are all from the palace. This servant has personally checked them carefully many times and found nothing unusual." The Grand Eunuch was still somewhat afraid, but he still answered confidently.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple... In any case, what follows is of utmost importance. I must send people to keep a close eye on the Qin Prince's Mansion and the Western Qin Academy. Just in case, we can't rely solely on the Qin Prince to find the Guardian. We also need to send another group of elite assassins to Lingkong as soon as possible. Report back immediately if there's any disturbance." Emperor Jing said, his eyes half-closed, revealing a serious and determined expression.

"But Your Majesty, as the reigning emperor of the Western Qin Kingdom, why is it so urgent to find the Guardian? It is said that the Guardian is neither a subject nor a noble, is not subject to the court's control, and does not receive a salary from the court. As long as she exists in some corner of this world, she can have a telepathic connection with the emperor and find ways to resolve his dangers..."

Before the Grand Eunuch could finish speaking, Emperor Jing stared at him with piercing eyes and made him fall silent, lowering his head and daring not to say another word.

A moment later, the Grand Eunuch cautiously reminded him once again, "Your Majesty, according to the rules, the portrait of the guardian should be kept by the Empress for any unforeseen circumstances."

"After having someone make a copy, give the original to the Empress!" Emperor Jing said after a long silence.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Just as the Grand Eunuch was about to leave, Emperor Jing hurriedly added, "Also, send someone to carefully investigate whether Lu Xian's daughter truly received her father's gift, or... whether that painting... has another purpose!"