"Our most important task right now is..."

As he was speaking, Xuanyuan Han suddenly stopped.

He secretly wondered, "Could it be that he has really found out that Yun'er is the descendant of the lost guardian?"

"Given that man's character, if he knew that the descendant of the lost guardian was my queen, he would definitely not let me go. But I am perfectly fine right now."

"Could it be that he doesn't know?"

What exactly does he want to do?

"But if he didn't know, why did he keep Yun'er by his side?"

At this moment, Xuanyuan Han clearly could no longer fathom Emperor Jing's true nature.

"Your Highness..."

"Your Highness..."

It was Cheng Liang's voice that woke him up again.

Xuanyuan Han continued his original thoughts and said, "The most important thing right now is to find out as soon as possible what the Emperor is using to threaten Yun'er. The reason that makes Yun'er willing to fake her death and never see me again must be something extraordinary."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will investigate personally!"

After receiving the order, Cheng Liang hurriedly left the main hall.

As evening approached, a cold wind suddenly blew into the palace.

She blew on an ancient book that Xuan Yuanhan was holding, causing its pages to flip rapidly before his eyes.

He slowly got up and walked into the courtyard.

Looking up at the last rays of the setting sun, he frowned.

Then, he muttered to himself, "The weather is getting colder and colder. It must be snowing on the grasslands by now!"

The grasslands in November.

The colorful attire has long since faded, and the endless expanse of fragrant grass where "the wind blows the grass low to reveal cattle and sheep" is no longer seen.

Right now, the world is covered in endless white snow, and the earth seems to have been dressed in a holy white coat overnight, making it even more tranquil and vast.

The towering cliffs and majestic peaks, like giants with outstretched arms, tightly embrace this free and magnificent land.

On the snow.

In the distance, a continuous scene of thousands of horses galloping suddenly appeared from the bottom of the slope.

Listen closely, and you can also hear faint, unrestrained voices approaching: "Giddy up...giddy up..."

Gradually, when the tall, magnificent horse leading the way finally appeared, it became clear that it was Tuoba Ze leading his men, galloping freely across the snow.

Among the guards accompanying him, one sighed and said, "Your Highness, these past few years, we've been hiding here and there, traveling all over the country, practically traversing every mountain and river in Lingkong. But after all this time, our great grasslands are still the most liberating and joyful place!"

Tuoba Ze intuitively felt that he had never felt so happy and at ease during the days when Yi Shangyun was around.

Not only that, but he also seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

He then cracked his whip forcefully and said with absolute certainty, "Of course! Where else in the world can you find such a comfortable and carefree place? Rest assured, soon, this prince will reclaim this land that belongs to us. Not only that, you will gain even more than before..."

Upon hearing this, the group around him exchanged glances, then chorused, "The Crown Prince is mighty! We swear to follow you to the death!"

They eventually reached a higher, more open area where the snow was thinner and could protect the horses from the blizzard.

The group slowly came to a stop and dismounted.

At this moment, a guard dared to chuckle and joke, "Ever since that woman came to the grasslands, have you noticed that the Crown Prince is completely different from before? He's become...much gentler!"

If this had happened in the past, anyone who dared to say such a thing in front of Tuoba Ze would have been courting death!

But now, Tuoba Ze actually felt quite pleased with himself after hearing these words.

Even their faces and the corners of their mouths were filled with happy smiles.

Upon seeing this, everyone began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"Who can argue with that!"

As the saying goes, even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman.

"It seems the Crown Prince is serious this time."

Just as Tuoba Ze was listening to his favorite topic and secretly feeling smug.

Suddenly, another person spoke cautiously, seemingly with some concern: "But that woman, she is ultimately one of King Qin Xuanyuan Han's people. Can we really trust her completely?"

Upon hearing this, the smiles on everyone's faces instantly froze.

Sure enough, soon after, Tuoba Ze shouted sharply, "You scoundrel! Everyone knows that the Princess Consort of Qin has passed away. Sooner or later, this woman will belong to me. Don't speak ill of her again, or I will not let you off easily!"

Upon hearing this, the man was instantly terrified and curled up into a tight ball.

Not daring to move, he could only repeatedly agree, "Yes, yes, yes, I will never dare to say such a thing again!"

At this moment, the others also spoke up to explain, "Your Highness, please calm down. He meant well and was worried that we might be tricked!"

Finally, Tuoba Ze raised one leg and kicked the man hard, shouting, "Get lost!"

The man panicked and lost his way, slipped, and tumbled down the hillside.

Much later.

The group sat together, lit a campfire, and chatted while eating the meat and wine they had brought with them.

Only Tuoba Ze remained silent, as if he were deep in thought.

Upon seeing this, the guard who had just spoken of Tuoba Ze, who was overjoyed, got up and handed him the wine pouch.

Tuoba Ze looked up at him, then reached out and took it.

I took a sip and instantly felt my whole body warm up.

The guard sat down beside him and slowly said, "Your Highness, however, there is a saying that one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others. What Atu just said may be rough, but the principle is not wrong, and it is not entirely without reason."

Tuoba Ze glared at him after hearing this.

The guard's gaze flickered for a moment, but he still insisted on continuing, "We have already suffered once from the power of this woman and that King of Qin. We must not suffer again. We simply cannot afford to do so."

Tuoba Ze had been silent for a long time because he had been thinking about this problem.

So he asked the guard, "Do you perhaps have a way?"

The guard thought for a moment and then analyzed.

"That woman has a special status. She is not only the most respected legitimate princess of the wealthy Dongning Kingdom, but she is also the future heir of Dongning Kingdom. In addition, she is the white moonlight of the Crown Prince of Nan'an, and she is also the weakness of Prince Qin Xuanyuanhan, whom we can manipulate at will. These are indeed a good bargaining chip for us."

As the guard spoke, he couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected that the death of the Second Prince, along with Lu Tianjiao, would actually be such a great gift to us."

Tuoba Ze seemed to understand somewhat: "So... what do you mean?"

The guard then asked Tuoba Ze, "Your Highness, why don't you think about what is most important to that woman?"

At this point, Tuoba Ze finally understood completely.

Then, startled, she looked at the guard's face: "You mean...that child..."

The guard nodded, confirming his thoughts.

After a moment's thought, the guard added, "It seems that the woman will be due to give birth in less than a month at most..."

But Tuoba Ze hesitated.

"But that woman cherishes that child as her own life. The only reason she's staying here is to give birth to this child safely. If I, the prince, were to harm that child, or use that child, I'm afraid she would never forgive me..."

The guards never expected that in just a few months, Tuoba Ze would become so hesitant.

So he said somewhat anxiously, "Time is running out. At this critical juncture, the Crown Prince must not be soft-hearted. Besides, we are not trying to take the child's life."

For a moment, Tuoba Ze felt flustered and confused.

He gulped down several mouthfuls of strong liquor, and even choked on it accidentally.

"Cough cough cough..."

After letting out a series of heavy coughs, he finally only managed to say, "Allow this prince to think about it some more, to think about it some more..."

Meanwhile, at the Cloud Clinic not far away...

Even now, heavily pregnant, Yi Shangyun still insists on coming here every morning to personally see patients for half a day.

Regardless of the number of people, or the weather, they work tirelessly day after day, month after month.

Right now.

Inside the clinic, among the few people queuing, some were whispering amongst themselves.

"Now the clinic is deserted and there are fewer and fewer people coming for treatment."

"What do you know?"

"Thanks to the girl's efforts over the past few months in educating our poor herders about common basic medical conditions, many minor illnesses and pains can be completely cured at home with the medicines they have on hand. They will no longer be at a loss because of a little illness or minor injury, and they will not need to go out to see a doctor."

"Oh, I see!"

"If there's no business, won't the clinic have to go out of business one day?"

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..."

"What are you saying, you jinx? Don't let the girl hear you."

Therefore, there aren't that many patients in the clinic these days.

Many people who come here for medical treatment say the same thing when they see her.

"The young lady looks like she's about to give birth, how come she's still seeing patients? That's too hard on her!"

Yi Shangyun felt that her body was still able to cope.

Instead, keeping yourself busy every day can help you pass the time that would otherwise be spent overthinking.

The patient in front got up and left.

"Next..."

A woman's voice rang out.

A tall man slowly approached, hunched over, clutching his stomach tightly, groaning incessantly, perhaps due to the torment of his illness.

Upon seeing this, Yi Shangyun frowned and asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The tall man looked like he was in great pain and said, "My stomach hurts, it hurts terribly, like it's being stabbed with a knife."

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun hurriedly reached out and explored the spot that was being pressed tightly.

Does it hurt here?

The man shook his head and said, "Not here, a little lower."

Yi Shangyun then moved her hand down and asked again, "Is it here?"

The man continued to shake his head: "A little lower, just a little lower."

Suddenly, Yi Shangyun seemed to realize something...