Early in the morning, I don't know how many times I took her again. The bed was a mess, and we went through several more frenzied torments and unions.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Mei Zhixuan finally woke up again, while Xuan Yuan Yue was still lying exhausted in his comfortable arms like a little bird.

Mei Zhixuan carefully scooted up onto the couch, leaned back, and gazed at her gentle and beautiful eyes for a while. Then he gently rested his chin on her forehead, and stroked her smooth and delicate shoulder that was slightly exposed under the brocade quilt with one hand, falling into deep thought.

Although he had been intentionally avoiding her since their wedding, he was ultimately moved by her sincerity and tenderness. How could he bear to refuse a woman so devoted to him?

It seems that many things in life are like last night's sudden and intense rain, leaving no room for avoidance and catching one off guard.

But now, even with such a solemn and beautiful vow, if that day truly comes, can she really keep it?

For hundreds of years, the four kingdoms of Lingkong Continent have maintained peaceful coexistence due to their fear of the mysterious power of the guardians of Western Qin.

Now, the Western Qin has surprisingly launched a war against the Northern Lie.

Could it be that they have truly found the Guardian and regained the support of that mysterious power? Only then would they dare to start a war so recklessly?

Upon learning of the war in the Northwest, the Dongning court could not simply sit idly by and wait for its demise.

They were preparing for the worst, secretly and actively, but regarding that mysterious power, people had only ever heard of it; no one had ever actually seen it.

On the battlefield, as the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." But in such a chaotic situation, if a major battle were to actually break out, the consequences would obviously be unimaginable.

I wonder if that mysterious guardian power will appear on the battlefield of the Northwest War?

With this thought in mind, he suddenly shifted his gaze to the face of Xuan Yuan Yue in his arms.

Just then, Xuan Yuan Yue's long eyelashes fluttered slightly twice, and then she slowly opened her eyes, which were as bright as the Milky Way.

Upon seeing this, Mei Zhixuan gently whispered in his ear, "Awake?"

Xuan Yuan Yue nodded shyly to him, then sat up and closed the gauze robe beside her, about to get off the bed, when Mei Zhi Xuan pulled her back into his arms with great force, and they met each other's eyes.

For a moment, Xuan Yuan Yue felt her heart pounding. After a brief pause, she quickly turned her head and said, "Your Highness, please don't. The nanny once said that the first time in the bedroom, things shouldn't be too..."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer until she finally stopped, bowing her head deeply and burying her entire face in his burning chest.

Mei Zhixuan looked down at her blushing, shy face, raised an eyebrow and smiled, deliberately teasing, "Oh? What else did the old woman teach you?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue was startled and her body stiffened, as if she dared not stick her head out again.

In an instant, the room fell silent as the two greedily savored this long-awaited intimacy, wishing they could stay like this forever, never to be separated until death.

After an unknown amount of time, Mei Zhixuan finally spoke and asked, "By the way, I've heard people say that you, the guardians of Western Qin, possess a mysterious and powerful force. How could you have so carelessly lost it?"

Sure enough, he finally asked about it.

In her heart, Xuan Yuan Yue had long felt that there must be some hidden reason why Dong Ning Kingdom had so resolutely rejected the marriage alliance with her Western Qin royal family at the beginning, but then suddenly changed its mind halfway through.

She had already considered this point at that time, and naturally, she already had a countermeasure in place.

With this thought in mind, Xuan Yuan Yue slowly broke free from his embrace, stood up, and looked at him deeply. As she got out of bed to change and do her hair, she calmly said, "I wasn't born yet at the time, so I don't know much about this matter. I only heard that after the Guardian was lost, my grandfather was filled with remorse and fell ill. Since then, no one in the palace has dared to talk about this. Apart from that, I know nothing about the Guardian."

Mei Zhixuan thought for a moment, but still refused to give up and asked again, "I've heard that the guardian of Western Qin is a woman of unparalleled beauty. Such an important person, shouldn't your Western Qin palace have her portrait or something like that? How come you still can't find her?"

Xuanyuan Yue paused for a moment, composed herself, and while picking up a comb from the table to comb a strand of her hair, she said, "I heard from Mother that there used to be a portrait of the guardian in the palace..."

Before she could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan's eyes lit up. He sat up abruptly from the couch, looked at her profile, and asked urgently, "Is there really a portrait of the Guardian?"

Xuanyuan Yue was startled when she saw this. She turned her head to look at him, then turned back to continue what she was doing and said calmly, "However, when my grandfather was on his deathbed, for some reason he personally destroyed the portrait of the guardian."

"Destroyed?" Mei Zhixuan's glimmer of hope was instantly extinguished, leaving him with an expression of utter disappointment and a deflated sigh.

Xuanyuan Yue nodded, then added, shattering his hopes completely, saying, "Not only that, but everyone who saw the Guardian's portrait also died mysteriously one after another."

At that moment, Mei Zhixuan felt a mix of emotions.

As she leaned against the couch, lost in thought about what he had said, Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly remembered what had happened in the study earlier. So she suppressed her surprise and asked calmly, "Your Highness really saw a woman with a phoenix mark on her body?"

Mei Zhixuan then came to his senses, lifted the brocade quilt and slowly walked to Xuan Yuan Yue's back. He gently placed his two large, well-defined hands on her shoulders, leaned down and smiled mischievously in her ear, and whispered, "Can I take this as you being jealous?"

Xuanyuan Yue suddenly realized what was happening and said shyly, "Your Highness always teases me. I was just curious what kind of woman would have such a noble mark on her body."

As Mei Zhixuan took the comb from her hand, he recalled, "This phoenix mark, in fact, once appeared on the body of the Empress Dowager."

Xuan Yuan Yue was startled. Looking into his eyes through the mirror in front of her, she said, "It is the late Empress who has passed away many years ago, whom Father still misses very much."

Mei Zhixuan nodded, his expression suddenly becoming serious.

Although Xuanyuan Yue had not been at the Dongning Imperial Palace for long, she had already heard some rumors about the late Empress.

Then, a sense of curiosity arose in his heart, and he asked, "Who exactly was the late Empress? I've heard that she was deeply loved by the people, and there are even many temples built in her honor in various places to pray for her."

Mei Zhixuan sighed, remained silent for a while, and then his expression suddenly became extremely serious. While combing Xuan Yuan Yue's hair, he spoke softly.

"That was seventeen years ago. Seventeen years ago, the entire nation of Dongning, inside and outside the palace, was suddenly swept away by a plague as fierce as a tiger. Just when the whole country was helpless and could only burn incense and pray to the heavens for mercy, a miraculous woman appeared. She was kind-hearted and skilled in medicine, and worked day and night, neglecting sleep and meals, to develop a prescription. Finally, she saved Dongning from its dire straits. What is even more commendable is that, with such a huge expenditure on medicines during the national crisis, she refused to accept a single penny of support from the court. She made all the medicines herself, risking her life to travel through the mountains and cliffs of Dongning, using the freshest herbs she had personally collected. She said that only in this way would the medicine be most effective."

"In that case, the late Empress was truly a rare and extraordinary woman," Xuan Yuan Yue exclaimed in agreement. As she lowered her head, a question suddenly arose in her mind: "What was the background and origin of the late Empress?"

Mei Zhixuan reached into the jewelry box and picked out an exquisite red plum blossom gold hairpin. As he was about to insert it into Xuan Yuan Yue's hair, he said, "Because she said she had amnesia and knew nothing about her past. So until her death, no one knew her background or origins."

Hesitating for a moment, Xuan Yuan Yue frowned deeply, pursed her lips, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Then... how exactly did the late Empress die?"

Mei Zhixuan's hand suddenly trembled, and his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed tightly. His voice turned cold as he said, "My stepmother died after falling off a cliff due to persecution by unknown forces after she went to the Western Qin Kingdom."

Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly stood up in surprise, turned to look into his eyes and said, "What? The Empress of Dongning Kingdom died within the borders of my Western Qin Kingdom? What exactly happened?"

Mei Zhixuan suddenly felt weak and sat down, placing Xuan Yuan Yue on his lap and pulling her into his arms, saying, "Not only that, at that time, the Empress Dowager was already pregnant and about to give birth. One day, she seemed to have lost her mind, ignoring everything and insisting on going to Western Qin. Despite having guards with her, in the end... the tragedy that followed occurred."

"How could she not even care about the child in her womb? Why was she in such a hurry to go to Western Qin?" Xuan Yuan Yue murmured, utterly incredulous.

However, her mind was in turmoil. Could it be that the guardian of Xiqin really did encounter an accident but did not die, but instead lost his memory and ended up in Dongning Kingdom, becoming the Empress of Dongning? This is truly unbelievable!

At this moment, Mei Zhixuan was thinking about how he had to find out the truth about what happened back then, as well as about his pitiful younger sister, whose fate was so tragic and whose life and death were still unknown.

With this thought in mind, Mei Zhixuan gritted his teeth and said, "By the way, I'm going on a long trip. You'll be all alone in the palace, so be careful in everything you do."

"Your Highness, please rest assured, I will be fine," Xuan Yuan Yue said obediently.

Mei Zhixuan gazed into her eyes with lingering reluctance for a moment, then pulled her into his arms, thinking to himself, "Yue'er, don't disappoint me!"