Little did they know that their conversation by the lake was overheard by Xuan Yuanhan and his servant Cheng Liang, who were hidden by the reeds nearby.

"Finally, my unborn child is gone..." Despite everything that had happened before, Xuan Yuanhan still felt a jolt in his heart.

Already grieving the loss of his son, he now watched helplessly as the woman he loved nestled in another man's arms.

Xuanyuan Han frowned immediately and clenched his fists tightly.

In the past, he would have rushed forward without hesitation to teach that person a lesson, but now...

I feel deeply resentful.

For a time, although I tried to suppress and endure my extremely bad emotions, I couldn't stop them from fermenting and amplifying infinitely.

Suddenly, he even had the thought of killing that man to vent his grief over losing his son.

However, upon recalling their conversation just now, Yi Shangyun clearly already knew that she had personally killed their child.

He thought that this time, she would definitely not forgive him.

It seems that even before he had ever faced such a difficult decision, he had already anticipated everything that would happen and the consequences he would have to bear.

At this moment, just as he had expected, everything was unfolding before his eyes.

So, isn't all of this exactly what I expected?

He had never felt so strongly that this time, he was truly going to lose her completely.

But he was so reluctant to part with it...

As he was pondering this, Cheng Liang, who was standing to the side, looked around and suddenly froze. He recognized the man in front of him and stared at him in astonishment, saying, "It's him?! He's still alive."

He turned around and saw that Xuan Yuanhan had already turned and walked away dejectedly. He turned around and hurried away after him, lowering his voice slightly as he said, "Your Highness, wait for me..."

Just then, Yi Sanshao, who had previously split up with the two to search for Yi Shangyun on the other side, had obviously come up empty-handed.

Seeing Xuan Yuanhan and his servant storming past, Young Master Yi asked, "Have you found anything here?"

Xuanyuan Han didn't even glance at him, and just kept his head down, heading back the way he came.

"Hmph!" Cheng Liang snorted at him as he passed by.

"What's wrong with you all?" Young Master Yi asked, puzzled.

Not understanding what had happened between the two, Young Master Yi turned around and shouted at their departing figures, "Where are you going?"

However, they received no response.

He muttered to himself, extremely puzzled, "It seems they must not have gained anything either!"

Upon further reflection, he said, "That's not right. Zisu clearly has a strong azalea fragrance on her body. Such a strong scent could only be found in this Azalea Valley."

Thinking of this, he looked around and said with great concern, "Girl, where are you?"

Then he secretly vowed, "No matter where you are, I will find you."

They remained silent the entire way, focusing only on galloping on their horses, until the lanterns were lit at dusk, when the master and servant finally returned to the Prince of Qin's residence.

As soon as Xuanyuan Han dismounted, he headed straight back to Chenghua Palace.

Unexpectedly, halfway through his journey, he was suddenly stopped by Consort Chun, who had been anxiously waiting all day in a pavilion along his usual route home: "My son..."

At this point, Xuanyuan Han seemed to finally snap out of his reverie, stopped and stepped forward to greet her with clasped hands, saying, "Mother."

With Huan'er's help, Consort Chun rose from the pavilion and walked over to him. She helped him up and asked with concern, "How is it? Have you found Miss Yi's whereabouts? Is she...is she alright?"

Xuanyuan Han shook his head and said, "Not yet!"

Consort Chun asked in bewilderment, "I heard from someone that a man named Third Young Master came to the manor early this morning. He and Miss Yi are quite familiar with each other. Why can't he find her either?"

Xuan Yuanhan looked serious, but still spoke sparingly, saying, "No."

Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan said nothing, only looking exhausted.

Although disappointed, Consort Chun said helplessly, "Your Highness, you must take care of yourself. You have been traveling for a day and a night. Go back and rest early. Miss Yi is very lucky and should be fine."

Xuanyuan Han seemed unwilling to say anything more at the moment, and simply replied, "Your subject understands, thank you for your concern, Mother. Your subject takes his leave."

Watching Xuan Yuanhan's departing figure, Consort Chun shook her head, feeling helpless and distressed, and said, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault for being too impatient. I never thought it would harm you."

"Your Highness, what are we going to do now? The wedding is just around the corner, and there is still no sign of Miss Yi. If that happens, the Yi family will be accused of disobeying the imperial decree, which is a serious crime! Moreover, this marriage was requested by Your Highness personally in the palace, and I'm afraid it will also implicate our Prince's Mansion." Zhang Mama beside her said with great concern.

Consort Chun never expected that what she thought would bring lovers together and create a beautiful marriage would turn into a scheme by Emperor Jing.

At this moment, she gritted her teeth and said, "I swear, even if it costs me my old life, I will protect my son."

Finally back in the main hall, seeing his master's eyes filled with anger, Cheng Liang handed him a cup of hot tea.

He had asked in bewilderment, "Your Highness, if you can't let go, why don't you try to fight for it?"

Xuanyuan Han remained silent for a while, then took out an imperial edict and placed it on the table in front of him. This edict had just been issued by Emperor Jing during the morning court session the day before Cheng Liang's return.

"What is this?" Cheng Liang asked, picking it up with a puzzled look.

But as soon as he unfolded it and glanced at the writing on it, he was shocked and exclaimed, "What? His Majesty wants His Highness to set off immediately after the wedding to personally lead troops to conquer Dongning Kingdom?"

Xuanyuan Han recalled in a deep voice: "When I discovered that the 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains' painting, which was personally painted by my father, was missing from my mother's room, I knew that my mother must have pitied Yun'er's child growing bigger every day, so she secretly used it as bait to ask the Empress Dowager for a marriage."

Cheng Liang was shocked: "What? The Imperial Concubine actually gave her most beloved 'A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains' to the Empress Dowager?"

Xuanyuan Han said, "At that time, I knew that even if my mother had deceived the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager had agreed, the Emperor would not have agreed easily. The Emperor is suspicious by nature. How could he believe that my mother would ask for a powerless woman to be my princess? But I did not expect that the marriage decree would come so quickly! At that time, I knew that there must be something more to it."

Xuanyuan Han took a sip of hot tea and continued, "It wasn't until a few days ago, when my confinement was lifted and I met with the palace guards, that I learned the Emperor had discovered that Yun'er was Princess Yongning of Dongning Kingdom. Therefore, this time, whether I go to war or not, I am certain to die!"

Cheng Liang thought for a moment, then asked in alarm, "But what about Princess Yue? Does the Emperor really not care about the princess's safety?"

Xuanyuan Han exhaled a breath of turbid air and said, "As a princess, Yue'er was born to be a pawn. To be able to walk hand in hand with the one she loves for a while, even if it is a fleeting and brief happiness, is already an extreme luxury. How can she still crave to actually grow old with him!"

At this point, Cheng Liang finally understood: "So Your Highness was afraid that if the two countries went to war, Miss Yi would be caught in a dilemma, so he would rather Miss Yi hate you for the rest of her life than explain or fight for her?"

"Actually, that abortion soup..." Xuan Yuanhan paused, though extremely reluctant, he still continued, "That abortion soup was indeed arranged by me personally by Physician Yue, so now, what explanation do I have?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang could hardly believe his ears: "What? The abortion potion was yours, Your Highness..."

Cheng Liang couldn't believe his master could be so heartless as to treat an innocent life. He exclaimed, "But why? Just because the child in Miss Yi's womb is Young Master Yi's, so Your Highness..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Han retorted, "Of course not, that child is mine, and has always been mine."

"Your Highness, what did you say? The child in Miss Yi's womb is Your Highness..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was both excited and puzzled, even completely bewildered, and asked, "If that's the case, then why..."

Xuan Yuanhan was heartbroken. He gritted his teeth and said, "Because of Yun'er's health, giving birth to that child would cost her her life!"

At this point, Cheng Liang finally understood everything, and silently said with heartache, "How could this happen? Miss Yi is such a good person..."

Who could argue with that? The master and servant fell into deep thought once again.

Suddenly, Cheng Liang snapped out of his daze and said anxiously, "Oh no! The wedding is in three days, and the Yi family knows nothing about it. What will happen then...?"

Cheng Liang couldn't even bear to think about such a massive conspiracy.

After a moment's thought, Xuan Yuanhan instructed, "Go to the Yi family residence in the west of the city immediately and arrange for Yi Shangkun to quietly leave Xi Qin with his entire family."

Cheng Liang thought for a moment, then said worriedly, "But if they leave Western Qin, where else can they go?"

Xuan Yuanhan thought for a moment and said, "Go to Hundred Herbs Valley and find Young Master Yi, and have him take them away..."

Cheng Liang asked, puzzled, "Young Master Yi..."

After recalling for a moment, Xuan Yuanhan said, "Dongning and Nan'an almost formed a marriage alliance before, so the old king of Nan'an must have been planning ahead. Now, I can't worry about much else, I only hope that Young Master Yi can protect Yun'er well..."

Seeing how deeply Xuanyuan Han loved Yi Shangyun, Cheng Liang felt extremely sorry for him: "Your Highness..."

Xuanyuan Han urged, "Go quickly. There are still three days until the wedding. If we are late, it may be too late. I'm sure the Emperor has already sent people to keep an eye on the Yi family."

"Your subordinate obeys." Finally, Cheng Liang gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, accepted the order, and turned to leave the main hall.

After arranging everything, Xuanyuan Han silently said in his heart, "I'm sorry, in this life, I can no longer protect you..."