"Girl, do you know what you're doing?"

Yi Shangyun knew what he was worried about, but after so many things between her and Xuan Yuanhan, their relationship had become as firm as a rock, without a trace of doubt.

So, she looked firmly into Yi Sanshao's eyes and said, "No matter who I was or what I was born, whether I was a useless ugly girl who could be bullied by everyone, or a noble princess of Dongning Kingdom, or a descendant of a mysterious guardian... for the rest of my life, I will only be the Princess Consort of Qin, nothing more."

Hearing these words, I realized that her determination towards Xuan Yuanhan had reached this point. For him, she was even willing to disregard everything and abandon all her possessions.

As for Xuanyuan Han, he probably knew all about her identity much earlier.

Therefore, he had always known in his heart that keeping Yi Shangyun by his side was fraught with danger, but even so, he still wanted to protect her. And to protect her meant that he was destined to fight against the entire Lingkong in this lifetime.

What kind of fate in this world allows two people to meet, get to know each other, cherish each other, love each other, and stay together?

For a moment, he was consumed by jealousy, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Despite having prepared himself mentally, he was still stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly laughed, a laugh clearly filled with helplessness towards the stubborn Yi Shangyun. Even so, he still wanted to try one more time, hoping to persuade her to stay away from Xuan Yuanhan, that is, to stay away from the turmoil of the struggle for power.

Young Master Yi looked into her eyes and said, "Girl, can you stop deceiving yourself? Do you really think it's possible to just be the Princess Consort of Qin? Who is Xuan Yuanhan? His wolfish ambitions have long been exposed. Perhaps, some people on this Spirit Void Continent already know of your existence. Just because you are a descendant of the Guardians and possess that mysterious power, you might be fought over by various factions and torn to shreds."

How could Yi Shangyun not know all this? But things had already come to this, and she had to make a choice.

Whether to submit to fate or fight against it, this was her final choice after all this. So she gritted her teeth and answered him with unwavering determination, "I'm not afraid."

As expected, she has always been like this, so stubborn, so stubborn that it's heartbreaking.

Left with no other choice, Young Master Yi could only try to probe from the people around him: "Even if you're not afraid, don't you think about the people around you?"

Finally, a hint of hesitation appeared on Yi Shangyun's face: "The people around me..."

Seeing her reaction, Young Master Yi mistakenly thought that this time it might be useful, so he continued to analyze: "Since you will become the fuse that ignites the world's conflicts, then the people around you will naturally suffer because of you. Aren't you afraid that one day they will be hurt? Of course, that includes that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han. But if you go into hiding and live in seclusion, the consequences will be different."

But to everyone's surprise, Yi Shangyun came to her senses in a short while and said with a resolute and serious expression, "I think I can protect them!"

Young Master Yi was immediately astonished: "Girl, you..."

Yi Shangyun raised his head high, met his gaze, and said slowly, "If I really am a descendant of some guardian, but I can't even protect the people I want to protect, then what use is this guardian? Let the world know sooner rather than later that today's guardians are nothing but useless people! Then, who would bother to fight for or snatch such a completely useless guardian?"

At this point, Young Master Yi seemed completely defeated. He closed his captivating eyes, but was still unwilling to give up. He asked her, "What about me?"

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, shooting directly at Yi Shangyun's face, questioning her: "Why can your love be given to everything in the world, but not even a fraction to me?"

Yi Shangyun truly had no idea how to explain this issue. He lowered his gaze and could only speak from the heart: "Love is love, and not loving is not loving. As for you, Third Young Master, I have always regarded you as an older brother. Now I can only say... I'm sorry!"

Helpless, Yi Shangyun said the same thing she always had before, then turned and walked away.

As her figure receded into the distance, and he sensed she was about to disappear around the street corner, Young Master Yi, his back to her, looked utterly desolate and lonely. He murmured a sigh, "Girl, you're so stubbornly choosing him; sooner or later, you'll definitely regret it..."

As soon as Yi Shangyun carefully tucked the silver notes into her pocket and stepped out of the pawnshop, Cheng Liang, who had been ordered to follow her, saw that she had already gone far away. He then led his men out of the shop and appeared in front of the shopkeeper.

Upon seeing the menacing look on the newcomers' faces, the shopkeeper immediately hid the gold and jade bracelet he was carefully examining behind his back. At the same time, his smile gradually faded, and he timidly asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Before he could react, Cheng Liang coldly commanded, "Take it out!"

Seemingly quite frightened by the newcomer's demeanor, the shopkeeper stammered, puzzled, "Take...take it out? Take what out."

Seeing that the shopkeeper was asking a question he already knew the answer to, Cheng Liang became impatient and ordered, "What did that woman who just left pawn here? Hurry up and take it out."

The shopkeeper clearly knew the visitor's purpose, but he was really reluctant to part with the rare treasure he had just acquired. So, he recklessly mustered up a bit of courage.

"That woman just now? What woman just now? No woman has come to my shop today! Who are you? How dare you cause trouble here? I'll call for help right now..."

Before he could finish speaking, a guard behind Cheng Liang quickly stepped forward and placed a gleaming longsword against his thick neck.

The shopkeeper was so frightened he almost lost his soul. His eyes widened as he stared down at the incredibly sharp blade in front of him. For a moment, he didn't dare to speak, let alone breathe normally.

At this moment, Cheng Liang issued an ultimatum: "What... you still won't hand it over? It seems this shopkeeper truly values ​​treasures more than his own life. In that case, what are we waiting for? Hurry up and send the shopkeeper on his way..."

"I'll hand it over, I'll hand it over, I'll hand it over!"

Upon hearing this, the fat, oily-faced shopkeeper, trembling all over, finally handed over the seven-colored gold and jade bracelet hidden in his sleeve.

She couldn't help but feel extremely distressed, almost crying as she said, "This is truly a rare treasure. I've never seen such a spiritual bracelet in my entire life. It cost me a full five hundred taels!"

Cheng Liang snatched it away, carefully wiped it clean, and put it away. Looking at the still expectant shopkeeper, he said contemptuously, "Since you know this is a bracelet with a certain spiritual power, how could you not know that it is not worthy of someone like you? In this lifetime, you should be content to have seen it once!"

After saying that, he took out a silver note from his person, walked over and placed it on the counter, and left with his men.

By this time, the shopkeeper was already in a state of shock and no longer cared about the silver notes.

The shop assistant picked up the silver note and looked at it. He was immediately surprised and said, "Shopkeeper, the stamp on this five hundred taels of silver note is... is... the stamp of the Prince of Qin's Mansion."

Hearing this, the shopkeeper snapped out of his daze and looked at the conspicuous stamp on the silver note the servant had brought over. He exclaimed in surprise, "What? Could they be from the Prince of Qin's mansion?"

"It should be!" The servant had a vague feeling that when he met Cheng Liang, he heard others talking about him as the most capable deputy general by the King of Qin's side, so he said with certainty.

The shopkeeper paused, then asked in confusion, "Then... what exactly is the relationship between that woman and the Prince of Qin's mansion?"

Just then, the servant beside him finally remembered: "No wonder that woman looked somewhat familiar. I finally remember, she is the eldest daughter of the Yi family, who just got married a couple of days ago. She is now the Princess Consort of Qin!"

The shopkeeper was stunned upon hearing this. He grabbed the servant's ear tightly and scolded him loudly, "What? You useless thing! What kind of eyesight do you have? Why didn't you say earlier that she was the Princess Consort of Qin?!"

Just as the shopkeeper's other large, fat hand was about to fall on his head, the servant quickly raised his hands to protect his head and pitifully explained, "I just remembered. She rarely goes out. I only saw her once when I went to the street to watch the excitement of the King of Qin's wedding. The King of Qin's wedding was a rare sight, with the streets deserted."

The shopkeeper was so frightened that his legs went weak and he could only kneel on the ground, clutching the five hundred taels of silver note tightly in his hand, crying and wailing, "My God, what should we do? We've offended the Prince of Qin's mansion, what will become of us?!"

The lush green trees cast deep shadows on the long summer days; the reflection of the pavilions is cast into the pond; the crystal curtains sway in the gentle breeze; and the whole courtyard is filled with the fragrance of roses.

In the backyard of the Yi family mansion, beneath the Mingyue Pavilion, a strong early summer atmosphere permeated the air.

A faint scent of herbs wafted through the air as Xuan Yuanhan and Yi Shangkun sat in the pavilion, enjoying tea together.

Xuanyuan Han carefully looked around and thought to himself, "This is where she grew up."

Seeing that he was looking around at the small courtyard, Yi Shangkun apologized and said, "My humble abode is simple and not comparable to the Prince's mansion. I hope Your Highness will not take offense at my lack of hospitality."

Xuanyuan Han had nothing to say to him; he simply wanted to wait here for Yi Shangyun to return so he could see her.

Seeing that he did not respond, Yi Shangkun looked slightly embarrassed. In fact, he knew that he had no say in front of Xuan Yuanhan.

However, it would be impolite not to personally serve her, so she suggested, "Why don't you try this jasmine tea, Your Highness? This is Yun'er's... oh, no, this is the tea that the Princess Consort loved most before she got married!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han finally spoke...