When Wei Ning turned around, he and Yi Shangyun looked at each other in surprise and exclaimed at the same time.

"General Wei..."

"Your Highness..."

Yi Shangyun stopped and saw that a general was kneeling under the noses of several guards. He asked in bewilderment, "General Wei, why are you kneeling here?"

After not seeing him for several days, Wei Ning was so excited to finally see Yi Shangyun standing in front of him again that he almost stood up.

But then he remembered what Xuan Yuanhan had just said, so he silently knelt back down again.

He then asked with concern, "When did Your Highness wake up? Is there anything you still feel uncomfortable about?"

Yi Shangyun quickly reassured him, saying, "General Wei, don't worry, I'm fine, it's nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ning finally felt relieved, as a huge weight had been weighing on his heart for so many days.

Finally, he let out a long sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "Thank goodness, this night of kneeling wasn't in vain. Her Majesty has finally woken up. If you hadn't woken up, my sins would have been truly immense..."

“One night…you actually knelt here all night? If I don’t wake up, your sins…” Yi Shangyun repeated Wei Ning’s words.

Finally, it dawned on him: "Did His Highness make you kneel here? He actually made you kneel all night?"

Yi Shangyun stared at his face in utter astonishment.

Wei Ning, however, said willingly, "Your Highness is right to punish me. It was indeed my fault for failing in my duties, which put Her Majesty in such a dangerous situation."

Yi Shangyun immediately felt deeply apologetic and quickly bent down to help him up, saying, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. General Wei, please get up quickly!"

Wei Ning refused, saying, "Your Highness, you don't need to worry about me. I am here to accept the punishment willingly."

Seeing that he could not sway him at all, Yi Shangyun immediately realized that Xuan Yuanhan must be preventing him from getting up.

So he gritted his teeth, let go of her hand, and said, "You wait here, I'll go see His Highness right away."

Before he could say anything more, Yi Shangyun hurriedly asked Wei Ning, "By the way, have you seen where His Highness went?"

Wei Ning then stretched out a hand and pointed in the direction where Xuan Yuanhan had just disappeared.

Yi Shangyun hurriedly left only one sentence: "General Wei, you must take some men to carefully check whether the newly built shelters are sturdy enough. This is very important. Whether we can get through this massive sandstorm in Luxian County depends entirely on them."

As soon as he finished speaking, he hurriedly chased after Xuan Yuanhan...

Wei Ning watched the two people leave one after the other, feeling extremely conflicted. He thought to himself, "Should I listen to His Highness and continue to kneel here to be punished... or should I listen to the Princess and immediately take people to check the shelter?"

We hurried along, trudging through the mud.

Yi Shangyun followed in Xuan Yuanhan's footsteps and saw him stop outside the tent and give some instructions to the two guards outside.

Seeing this, Yi Shangyun stretched out his ears as much as he could, trying to hear something, but all he heard was the whistling of the wind.

After Xuanyuan Han finished speaking, he walked straight inside, completely unaware that she was still behind him.

Even now, she still couldn't understand: "What's wrong with His Highness? Why is he suddenly so angry?"

Although they were completely baffled, they had no choice but to step forward.

Because she still had so many things to finish before this massive sandstorm hit.

She did hope to get help from Xuanyuan Han.

With this thought in mind, she finally mustered her courage again and took the first step.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the outside of the tent, he was stopped by the two guards who blocked him at the door, saying, "His Highness has extremely important matters to attend to, and no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter and disturb him."

Yi Shangyun was startled and said, "Could you two please inform His Highness so I can see him? It will be quick, okay?"

One of the guards explained, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, His Highness has ordered that no one is allowed to enter and disturb us at this time!"

Yi Shangyun paused for a moment, then looked at him again to confirm: "Even I can't?"

The guard slowly shook his head.

It seemed that Xuan Yuanhan was determined not to see her, and Yi Shangyun seemed to have no other choice but to silently go back.

She walked along listlessly, head down, feeling utterly dejected, when she suddenly overheard a conversation between two guards approaching her.

"His Highness is truly good to our Princess! He was afraid that everything the Princess had done for the people of Lu County would be destroyed by the heavy rain and all his efforts would be in vain. Last night, he personally joined the people in the flood relief efforts, and didn't sleep a wink until dawn before returning to camp."

"Who can argue with that... When His Highness heard the news of the Princess's disappearance, he rushed to Lu County even before the imperial decree arrived!"

"Your Highness and the Princess have done so much for the people. I hope that Lu County can truly get through this sandstorm safely!"

"Do you think... those strange and wonderful things that the Princess Consort made are really useful?"

"I think it's okay..."

"Yes, I believe in our Empress too!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun looked around and saw that the ground was covered in mud.

He murmured to himself, "So His Highness really didn't sleep a wink last night, and even went to personally help the people with drainage and disaster relief. For someone of his noble status to..."

With that thought in mind, she no longer hesitated and suddenly turned around.

As he caught up with the two guards who had already passed him and walked up to him, a handsome smile suddenly appeared on his lips as he said, "I believe it too."

Upon hearing this, the two guards stopped in their tracks, looked at Yi Shangyun walking straight ahead, and then looked at each other in surprise, saying, "Is that... Her Highness the Princess?"

Yi Shangyun returned to the camp gate once more, resolutely lifted her skirt, knelt down, and declared loudly, "Today, I must see Your Highness, or I will kneel here until Your Highness is willing to see me!"

Upon seeing his posture, the two guards exchanged glances, their hearts beginning to waver.

I'm eager to try it out and want to find a reason to go in.

Just then, Xuanyuan Han, who had heard his voice, finally slowly walked out of the tent.

His face and voice remained cold as ever, and he only scolded her, "You're still sick, why aren't you resting? What are you doing here being so stubborn?"

Yi Shangyun quickly raised her head and apologized, "I'm sorry, Yun'er really didn't know that Your Highness had been protecting the people of Lu County all night last night."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan thought to himself, "I didn't expect her to come all this way to say this. It seems you still don't want to tell the truth?"

Seemingly growing impatient, Xuanyuan Han said, "Protecting the people of Western Qin is my duty. If you came here for that reason, then there's no need for you to do so!"

Seeing that Yi Shangyun still didn't know where she had gone wrong and couldn't be honest with him, Xuan Yuanhan didn't want to hear her continue, so he declined, saying, "You should go back!"

Just as Xuan Yuanhan reluctantly uttered those words and was about to turn back, Yi Shangyun was truly at a loss for what to do.

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck him, and with a courage that seemed to come from nowhere, he suddenly stood up in front of the two guards and lunged at them.

Before Xuan Yuanhan could react, she completed all the movements in one go, tiptoed, stretched out her arm, gently hooked her arm around his neck, and sealed his lips with a kiss.

The two guards were stunned by his actions and quickly and consciously turned to the side.

Xuanyuan Han's interest seemed to be instantly ignited by it.

Then, staring intently at her as she drifted into a daze with her eyes closed, he suddenly pushed her away.

Just as Yi Shangyun was stunned and unsure of what to do next, Xuan Yuanhan said to him sternly, "You asked for this, don't regret it later!"

After saying that, he scooped her up in his arms and turned back into the tent...

During their separation, Xuan Yuanhan had been desperately missing her, and now he was demanding from her again and again, while she could only give in return.

After several rounds of passionate lovemaking that left both of them drenched in sweat, Yi Shangyun finally ran out of strength and collapsed helplessly into his strong arms.

He held her tightly in his arms, and she buried her head deep in his heart like a kitten.

Finally, she felt his warmth and heartbeat, and his extremely calm breathing, all the more real than ever before.

She so wished that such peaceful and serene moments would exist in every day of their future life together.

Xuanyuan Han, however, was filled with regret, for he had never been so rough with her before, leaving his marks all over her body.

"You belong to me alone, so why should I leave these exclusive marks on you?"

In truth, he had already begun to regret it the moment he did it, regretting why he had treated her that way. He loved her so much, considered her his life, and should have been incredibly gentle, but…

With that thought in mind, he looked at the marks left on her body and asked, "Does it hurt?"

At this moment, Yi Shangyun seemed to have no strength left to speak, and kept her eyes gently closed, as if she were in a deep sleep.

Seeing that she did not respond, Xuan Yuanhan, still seemingly angry, said, "This is my punishment for you! I just said that you brought this on yourself, so don't regret it!"

The room was silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Yi Shangyun finally spoke: "Your Highness, please stop making things difficult for General Wei. Everything he has done is simply following my instructions."

Hearing that Yi Shangyun had finally spoken, but was still pleading for someone else, he was angry, but he had no choice but to grant her wish. So he called out to the guards outside the tent: "Someone come here!"

Upon hearing the summons from inside, the guards immediately entered and waited outside the screen to receive orders: "What are your orders, Your Highness?!"

Xuanyuan Han ordered, "Go and tell Wei Ning to stop kneeling."

"Yes!" The guard accepted the order and immediately withdrew.