Seeing that Tuoba Ze had taken three steps in two and reached Yi Shangyun's bedside, after carefully examining him for a moment, he suddenly lifted the corner of the quilt and reached out a hand towards the belt on Yi Shangyun's chest without any cover.

Tuoba Hong felt as if his heartbeat had stopped for a moment, and he rushed forward anxiously, grabbing the hand that was frozen in mid-air and asking, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Tuoba Ze looked astonished, turned his head and paused in his eyes, then asked in confusion, "Why are you so nervous? Do you think I would eat her in front of you? I'm naturally checking to see if she has that phoenix mark on her body, to see if she is really a descendant of the guardian?"

Tuoba Hong appeared determined not to loosen his grip even slightly until he could clearly sense the subtle movement of Tuoba Ze's hand as he prepared to withdraw.

Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! Didn't you hear what I just heard? The one who said that was just a crazy beggar. How can you believe the words of a madman? You know her better than I do. In terms of appearance and temperament, she is not even a fraction as good as the guardian of Western Qin. How could she possibly be her?"

"Step aside, what harm is there in taking a look?"

Unexpectedly, Tuoba Ze was already bewitched, deeply captivated by the guard's seemingly convincing words. Ignoring all attempts to dissuade him, he pushed away Tuoba Hong's outstretched hand and continued to probe towards Yi Shangyun's sash.

In a moment of desperation, Tuoba Hong suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Brother, stop! She is already my woman. You cannot touch her!"

Just as his fingertips touched the purple ribbon on her chest, he froze at the sound of her voice, then suddenly turned around and exclaimed in astonishment, "What? You actually... Is this true?"

Tuoba Hong took a deep breath, as if he had made a solemn decision, and said with certainty, "It is absolutely true."

As he spoke, he took two steps forward, passing Tuoba Ze, and went to Yi Shangyun's bedside to tuck the corner of the quilt back in. He said calmly, "Actually, it was because of my impulsive words that she swallowed that half-resurrection pill in her panic. However, since I have already expressed my feelings and determination to her, whether she agrees in the end or not, I will marry no one but her in this life."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze took two steps back in a daze and was immediately stunned.

The tent fell into a deathly silence, his face turning deathly pale. He himself, too, harbored some selfish desires for her. Otherwise, given his temperament, he would have already forced himself on her.

Originally, I thought that my younger brother was merely intrigued and curious about a woman who grew up in Western Qin, and that he had no real feelings for her. But after hearing these words, I realized that he was already deeply in love with her.

After staring intently at the ground for a long while, Tuoba Ze suddenly came to his senses and ordered the guard beside him, "Go and find a woman nearby."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Hong immediately turned around and called out to him again, "Your Majesty."

However, Tuoba Ze had already turned his back and refused to say anything more to him.

Although Tuoba Hong was still quite dissatisfied with his actions, he was clearly unable to persuade him any further and had no choice but to wait anxiously with him in the tent for the upcoming inspection results.

As soon as the guard left, he began to pray in his heart over and over again: It's not her, it's not her, it can't be her, she absolutely can't have any damned phoenix mark on her body, but in his heart he had already denied the result of his prayer.

If she really is, will he still be able to protect her then? Will he really be able to stop his brother, who always acts arbitrarily?

Upon realizing this, he found himself involuntarily getting up slowly and pacing back and forth inside the tent.

Tuoba Ze, who was standing quietly to the side, was also feeling frustrated and helpless. When he saw Tuoba Ze walking back and forth in front of him, he complained, "Can you please be quiet for a while and stop walking around like this? You're making me dizzy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something, and after observing her unusually absent-minded behavior for a moment, he asked in a deep voice with repeated surprise, "Are you hiding something from me? Is it related to her? You don't want me to examine her, could it be that you forced her to..."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Hong suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly interrupted him, saying, "Your Majesty, you are overthinking this. How could I force myself on her? I'm just... I'm just worried about her health. I don't know when she will wake up."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze finally breathed a deep sigh of relief, his brows unfurrowing as he said, "Didn't that guard just say that the eldest young lady of the Yi family was once unconscious for a whole year? Don't worry, she'll be fine. Perhaps... she's too frightened by what you said to wake up!"

Tuoba Ze glanced at him and said jokingly.

The two were exchanging words, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes revealing each other's shortcomings, and sometimes making personal attacks, when the guards soon brought back a simple and unpretentious grassland woman.

The woman was woken up from her home in the middle of the night and learned that it was the eldest prince who had sent her on this mission. She was filled with anxiety and fear the whole way.

As soon as the woman was led into the tent by the guards, she huddled up in fear and bowed respectfully to the two princes.

Tuoba Hong immediately recognized the woman as the aunt who had just been treated by Yi Shangyun for a difficult twin birth. He quietly shook his head at her and gave her a look, but Tuoba Ze noticed and stopped him with his sharp eyes.

On the way to bring him here, the guards had already given him a detailed explanation of what they were here to do.

After the woman met the two princes, everyone else consciously left the tent and went outside.

Tuoba Hong was the last to go over and straighten the blanket for Yi Shangyun. He was also the last to walk out of the tent. Standing on the grass, he looked up at the starry sky, feeling a pang of sadness and a jumble of thoughts.

Time passed by, bit by bit.

Finally, the woman finished her inspection and came out of the tent. She reported to Tuoba Ze and Tuoba Hong, who were anxiously waiting outside, "Your Highnesses, that girl does not have any phoenix mark on her body."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Hong's heart, which had been pounding in his throat, finally sank back into his stomach, settled down, and he breathed a sigh of relief before stepping lightly into the tent.

However, Tuoba Ze still looked at him with some disbelief and asked again, "Are you sure you didn't see wrong? There really isn't a phoenix-shaped birthmark or any other mark on her shoulder?"

The woman said tremblingly, "This lowly woman has thoroughly examined the girl's entire body several times, even... even her most private parts have been checked. I absolutely cannot be mistaken. The girl's body is clean, without any blemishes, except..."

Seeing a hint of hesitation finally appear in the woman's eyes, Tuoba Ze's hope was rekindled, and he hurriedly asked, "What is it? Tell me quickly!"

The woman frowned and said softly, "That girl is just too thin and frail. I've heard that the Western Qin Kingdom is vast and rich, and its people are powerful and wealthy, but how come she's not as strong as the women of our grasslands!"

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze glared fiercely at the woman, who quickly lowered her head.

Tuoba Ze was stunned for a moment, seemingly quite surprised by the result and somewhat disappointed. Finally, he closed his eyes and waved weakly at her. The woman then hurriedly left as if fleeing.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Tuoba Hong was nowhere to be seen in the pitch-black night of the grassland. He then turned his gaze to the guard beside him who had been timidly waiting for his punishment, and said angrily, "Idiot, where have you been gathering this rubbish all day? Get out!"

After saying that, he strode into the tent.

"I deserve to die, I deserve to die..." The poor guard, with a bitter and self-righteous expression, trembled and stood alone outside the tent, facing the wind of the grassland, standing foolishly in the air.

Hearing Tuoba Ze enter, footsteps slowly approached. Tuoba Hong sat with his back to Yi Shangyun on the bed, and said with a hint of contempt, "Is Your Majesty satisfied now?"

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze stopped and turned to him, coldly retorting, "What do you mean by that? I'm only doing this out of caution, just in case. If she really is that guardian of Western Qin, and has infiltrated my Northern Lie with ulterior motives, becoming a spy for King Xuanyuan Han of Qin, wouldn't I be setting myself on fire?"

"You're always suspicious and acting on a whim. Your Majesty is becoming increasingly arbitrary. If this continues, you'll be the only one who controls this grassland!" Tuoba Hong said, suppressing his anger.

"you……"

As the saying goes, without expectations there are no disappointments. Because of many unfortunate events, Tuoba Ze was already extremely depressed and unhappy.

Having wasted so much time working in the middle of the night, he was incredibly frustrated and had nowhere to vent his anger. These words enraged him, and he was about to explode when he thought of their deep brotherhood and hesitated. He silently suppressed his anger and finally said in a deep voice, "I don't want to argue with you."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Tuoba Ze glanced sideways and suddenly noticed that the sky outside seemed to be turning slightly white.

Another night has passed, and he has to leave again, not knowing how the battle is going.

So he slowly walked up behind Tuoba Hong, his hand lingering in mid-air for a long time before gently landing on Tuoba Hong's shoulder. He then exhaled a deep breath, still somewhat angry.

"Alright, it's getting late, I have to go. Listen to me, send her back to the maid to be cared for. I know what you're thinking, but if you truly love her, you must make yourself stronger, and make Bei Lie stronger. Only by standing tall on the Ling Kong Continent, becoming a true powerhouse, a strong nation, can you protect everything you want to protect, and possess everything you desire. If the result is becoming a slave of a conquered nation, a prisoner of another, tell me, in this world, which woman would still be willing to be with you?"

After a pause, seeing that Tuoba Hong remained unmoved, Tuoba Ze finally said helplessly, "I never force you to do anything... You decide what to do!"