The smile on Consort Chun's face seemed to freeze instantly, and only gradually faded after a long while. She wondered to herself, "Could it be that I was really wrong?"

But still unwilling to give up, she wanted to confirm again, then lowered her gaze to her abdomen and asked again, "This child... really has nothing to do with the King of Qin? You... are you sure about this?"

Yi Shangyun pretended to be extremely certain and said to her seriously, "Your Highness, how could I speak carelessly about such a matter concerning a woman's reputation?"

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes and gently stroked her belly, saying, "To be honest, Your Highness, this child is the Crown Prince of Nan'an. I presume Your Highness is already aware that my late father intended to form an alliance with Nan'an..."

Before Yi Shangyun could finish speaking, Consort Chun impatiently said, "But I heard that this matter has already been shelved, hasn't it?"

Yi Shangyun explained, "That was just a rumor spread by some people. Everything was delayed simply because of the major epidemic that suddenly broke out in Dongning Kingdom."

Consort Chun and Zhang Mama looked at each other in surprise for a moment. After a while, they looked at Shang Yun's eyes again. For a moment, they found it difficult to judge whether what she said was true or false.

Her expression gradually darkened, and she asked with utmost seriousness, "I will ask you one more time, do you really not want to be the Princess Consort of the Qin Prince's Mansion?"

"I want to, of course I want to. How could I not want to? But I can't." Faced with Consort Chun's question, Yi Shangyun struggled internally.

But in the end, she said nonchalantly, "Your Highness is joking!"

Finally regaining her composure, Consort Chun took a deep breath, straightened her back, and raised her head to say, "Then tell me your purpose?"

"My purpose?" Yi Shangyun asked, puzzled, looking at Consort Chun's obviously changed attitude.

Consort Chun said, "Why would you give up being the perfectly noble Princess of Dongning Kingdom and return to Xiqin Kingdom? If it's just to visit your adoptive parents, why come all the way to the gates of the Prince of Qin's residence?"

Yi Shangyun suddenly realized what was happening and, coming to his senses, truthfully said, "As everyone knows, a severe epidemic has broken out in my Dongning Kingdom. We need to order a large quantity of a certain medicinal herb from Xiqin in order to save the millions of people in our country."

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun was taken aback, secretly admiring her: "This girl is indeed kind and brave. She disregards her current noble status and position, and single-handedly goes through countless hardships to find a way to save the country and its people. With such a person protecting Dongning, how can the country not be stable!"

After regaining her composure, Consort Chun continued, "What kind of medicinal herbs do you want to order?"

“It’s ephedra, which is only produced in abundance in the Western Qin Kingdom,” Yi Shangyun answered eagerly.

Consort Chun thought for a moment and said, "I can give you ephedra, but on one condition."

"Conditions? What are they?" Yi Shangyun asked anxiously.

Consort Chun said, "Although you keep saying to me that you don't like Prince Qin, I think you know better than anyone else that in Prince Qin's heart, you are more important than anything else."

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun felt ashamed and slowly lowered her head.

Consort Chun continued, "Since your heart is not with the Prince of Qin, then do not give him any more illusions or hopes. I can give you anything you want, but from now on, I will never allow you to do anything to hurt him."

Yi Shangyun suddenly realized: "I understand. As long as the Empress Dowager is willing to lend a helping hand to save the people of Dongning, I will never see Your Highness again from now on."

Consort Chun smiled and said, "Princess Yongning is indeed a clever child; she understands things very quickly. In three days, I will order someone to escort the ephedra you requested to Longhu City at full speed."

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun knelt down in front of her with a thud, bowed deeply and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

At this moment, Consort Chun took one last serious look at Yi Shangyun lying on the ground, feeling a mix of reluctance, helplessness, and confusion...

After turning around, Granny Zhang asked the Dowager Consort Chun with a puzzled look, "Your Highness, do you think what that girl said is credible?"

Consort Chun said, "Even if her words are truly unbelievable, she has made up her mind not to enter my Prince Qin's residence. Her mind is so firm, what can I do about it?"

"Is the child in her womb actually His Highness's?" asked Granny Zhang.

Consort Chun thought for a moment, but did not answer her question directly. She only instructed, "Send some clever people to escort the medicinal herbs. When they arrive, make sure to find out more about this matter for me. Wherever she goes, make sure someone protects her for me."

“Yes,” Zhang Mama replied.

The moonlight is soft and gentle, and the lake water flows gently.

The moon and water reflect each other, and the clear sound of flowing water makes the surroundings even more tranquil. Everything in front of you is so beautiful and serene.

Yi Shangyun stood alone by the lake, gazing absently at the waves gently kissing the rocks, the lake reflecting the faint moonlight.

She let the night breeze, carrying the refreshing scent of peonies, gently caress her soft hair.

This feeling made her unable to distinguish whether it was her own hair or her current mood.

"Since your heart is not with the King of Qin, then give him no more illusions or hopes. I can give you anything you want, but from now on, I will never allow you to do anything to hurt him."

...

The words Consort Chun spoke before she left still echoed clearly in her ears.

Yes... the legitimate daughter of the Yi family? The guardian of Western Qin? Princess Yongning? ...Who exactly is she? And what will become of her?

Now, her original purpose for returning to Western Qin has been achieved so easily. The thousands of citizens have finally been rescued; she should be happy, but at this moment, she can't feel any joy at all!

All of this is because I can never face the fact that the two of them are destined to be enemies forever. Rather than having a brief period of companionship, it would be better not to start at all. Who else can I blame?

...

Lost in thought, he returned to Yunshui Pavilion and carefully tidied up the room, restoring it to its original state.

Yi Shangyun emerged from the back gate, slowly descended the stone steps, and finally turned back for one last, reluctant look at the Qin Prince's mansion, which was brightly lit by candlelight.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he finally uttered a low whisper: "Your Highness, take care!"

Just as he turned to continue walking away, he suddenly heard a familiar, deep voice behind him: "Do you know how rude it is to leave without saying goodbye every time?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun stopped in her tracks, her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment it felt as if she could barely breathe.

Of course she knew that the person behind her was the one she had longed for countless times, the one she yearned to see again, even if only from afar.

What's truly frightening is that this one greedy glance could be enough to destroy all her decisions, making her obediently submit and never want to leave again.

After much deliberation, she bit her lip hard and finally managed to resist turning around.

Suddenly, she pretended not to hear anything and brazenly started walking away from him again, quickening her pace to slip away.

"Yi Shangyun, how dare you? Stop right there!"

Sure enough, another urgent call to stop followed, but Yi Shangyun pretended not to hear and continued her increasingly rapid pace.

Standing on the other side of the same street, Xuan Yuanhan could hardly believe his eyes. Yet, facing that thin but stubborn figure, he felt utterly helpless.

He had no idea what had happened. This woman was even more outrageous than ever before, leaving without a word.

If it weren't for my inexplicable panic causing me to end the tea gathering with the ministers early and return home in time, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to see her one last time.

"Yi Shangyun, what exactly do you take my Qin Prince's Mansion for? Is it just a place for you to rest and heal after each injury?"

Xuanyuan Han followed closely behind, saying as he walked, "All these years, what have you taken me for, and what have I done for you? In your heart, am I just someone you can do without, like a puppet that you can summon and dismiss at will?"

Seeing that Yi Shangyun still showed no sign of stopping, he continued to move forward and said, "Do you know how many times I have struggled with this in my heart, and almost gave up on you completely in order to fulfill your wish to become the Crown Princess of Nan'an?"

Memories flooded back, and he paused for a moment before continuing, "But when I learned that you had disappeared from the plague zone even though you were pregnant, I was frantic with worry. At that moment, I knew that I was doomed to lose. I had lost to you completely. If you were not in this world, I would have no reason to live."

Xuanyuan Han was extremely anxious and furious. He didn't know how he could keep her, and he couldn't even believe that he could say such a thing.

And Yi Shangyun finally stopped walking and slowly closed her eyes.

No woman in the world could resist such heartfelt and tender words of love.

At that moment, she longed to turn around and rush towards the man, to embrace him tightly and never let go again.

But damned reason held her back tightly, and in the end, she clenched her fists, opened her eyes, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, in this life, it is Yun'er who has wronged Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan immediately said coldly, "Yi Shangyun, you have no heart!"

Standing there blankly behind him, he said, "Once upon a time, I, like everyone else, wondered what medicine could cure the pain of unrequited love? Some say that two ounces of nine-leafed Paris polyphylla, one mace of cicada nymphs on the winter solstice, decocted with snow from the previous year, can cure the pain of unrequited love. But Paris polyphylla has only seven leaves and one flower, where do cicada nymphs come from on the winter solstice, how can snow be from the previous year, and how can unrequited love be relieved?"

Yi Shangyun sighed and replied, "When summer withers into a nine-story tower, and the cicadas appear three feet underground, snow falls at midnight on New Year's Eve, a year has passed since it landed, and longing can be relieved."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan was extremely astonished. What he had thought was an unsolvable problem was now answered so fluently by her. For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words: "Are you deliberately trying to misinterpret my meaning?"