Tuoba Ze looked at Yu Niang's heartbroken appearance and let out a deep breath.
After a long while, Yu Niang suddenly stopped crying, but she didn't even bother to wipe away the tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. She slowly raised her eyes, filled with despair, and said, "So be it. Now that Ping An is gone, what's the point of Yu Niang living? Come on, kill me or torture me, it's all up to you. Anyway, having been to a place like this, even if I could get out, I would never have the face to see my family again. It's better to die, at least it'll be a clean end."
As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her head, leaned against the wall, and slowly closed her beautiful eyes. Tuoba Ze seemed to feel a little reluctant. After watching her remain silent for a long time, he turned his back and whispered to the madam beside him, "Do it."
Then, the madam slowly pulled out a sharp dagger that she had prepared beforehand and walked towards him step by step...
As soon as the two stepped out of the secret room, the guards standing at the door happily cupped their hands and congratulated Tuoba Ze, saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness, you have succeeded."
However, Tuoba Ze slowly removed the black and white horse-shaped mask from his face, revealing a solemn expression. Contrary to what the guards had said, there was no joy on his face.
At this moment, the madam noticed his somewhat melancholy face and hurriedly said, "Then... this old servant will go down and speed up the preparation of the Ice Beauty Gu poison?"
Tuoba Ze blinked, waved his hand at her, and the madam quietly retreated.
At this moment, the guard stepped forward and followed behind Tuoba Ze, asking as they walked, "Your Highness, have you found out the identity of the woman in the portrait from Yu Niang? What important person is it that only has a portrait but no words, yet has made the esteemed Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, personally come to the south of the city and search so extensively in the Wanjiao Pavilion?"
How could these two not recognize the renowned War God, King Qin of Western Qin, whose fame resounded throughout the heavens? And today, the government officials suddenly entered Wanjiao Pavilion in a grand manner to search for someone, and they quickly discovered the distinguished guest in Xiangmanlou across the street—Xuanyuan Han.
After a long silence, Tuoba Ze walked with his hands behind his back, saying leisurely to the guard beside him, "Yu Niang said that when she was working in the Qin Prince's mansion, she saw the woman in the portrait. Her name was Yi Shangyun, and she was a lowly medicine girl in the Western Qin Imperial Palace."
"Yi Shangyun, why does that name sound so familiar?" Upon hearing this, the guard scratched his head and hurriedly tried to recall.
Half a day later, he finally remembered and exclaimed in surprise.
"I remember now, isn't she the woman who recently cured the smallpox poison we had inflicted on the Crown Prince of Western Qin?"
Tuoba Ze immediately stopped Youyou's steps, turned around and stared at her in surprise, saying in astonishment.
It's her!
Reminded by the guard, he finally remembered the woman who had once intrigued him so much: the daughter of a pharmacist in the Imperial Pharmacy of the Western Qin Kingdom, ugly and useless, jilted by the young master of the Western Qin Academy. Later, to atone for her father's dereliction of duty, she was punished by the Western Qin Emperor and forced to serve as a lowly pharmacist in the Imperial Pharmacy. Now, however, the Western Qin Emperor had bestowed her upon the Princess of Qin's residence to be her personal physician.
"Qin Prince's Mansion? Xuanyuan Han? Qin Princess? Western Qin Academy?..." Tuoba Ze muttered to himself, a deep, unreadable expression on his face.
The guard nodded in affirmation, then asked with a puzzled look, "However, I don't know how Your Highness knew that Yu Niang would recognize the woman in the portrait?"
Having seen countless people, Tuoba Ze immediately recognized the white-robed gentleman who had come to Wanjiao Pavilion that night as the woman in disguise upon seeing the portrait in the soldiers' hands. "These two people who came to the pavilion today are highly suspicious. Not only are they unwilling to show their true faces, but in Wanjiao Pavilion, which is renowned throughout Western Qin, what kind of women haven't they seen? Yet they haven't been able to find a girl they like. Therefore, I, the prince, have concluded that they are not here for leisure, but to search for someone. Since none of these women are the one they are looking for, only this Yu Niang remains, and she must be someone Yu Niang knows."
Upon hearing this, the guard immediately submitted and said, "Your Majesty is wise. Fortunately, we moved Yu Niang in advance, otherwise we would have definitely messed up the important matter."
Tuoba Ze sneered and turned to continue walking forward. He squinted and muttered, "Yi Shangyun, hmph… you certainly have guts. I'll remember you. A mere weak woman, not only daring to come to my Wanjiao Pavilion alone to cause trouble, but also making the King of Western Qin condescend to personally make such a grand search for you. You must be no ordinary woman. And you even managed to cure the smallpox poison I specially prepared. Hmph… I'll see just how capable you really are."
"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Prince, we've finally found you!" Cheng Liang, accompanied by several guards, finally spotted the siblings on horseback. He quickly dismounted and surrounded Xuan Yuan Yue and Xuan Yuan Hao.
After leaving Ruyi Residence, the group searched for a while and finally encountered the brother and sister on their way back to Ruyi Residence.
When the two sisters saw Cheng Liang, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more at ease.
After a slight hesitation, Xuan Yuan Yue hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "General Cheng, have you found Yun'er?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang felt ashamed and helpless. "I had found it, but then I lost it again."
"What do you mean by that, General Cheng?" Xuan Yuanhao suddenly interjected, puzzled.
"Your Highnesses, please mount your horses. I'll tell you as we ride. Our master just found out that you two went out without permission and he was furious!" Upon hearing that Xuan Yuanhan was so angry, the siblings looked at each other and stuck out their tongues.
So, Cheng Liang told the siblings everything that had happened that night in Wanjiao Pavilion and Ruyi Residence in detail...
After listening to Cheng Liang's words, Xuan Yuan Yue hesitated for a moment and asked, "General Cheng, are you sure that the woman who took Yun'er away was from Wan Jiao Pavilion?"
"According to Your Highness, she should be a woman from Wanjiao Pavilion. It's just a pity that I couldn't see her face clearly upstairs at the time, so I'm afraid she'll be hard to find. Wanjiao Pavilion is too well hidden. Your Highness is certain that there must be a great mystery inside, but I have not been able to make any breakthroughs so far..." Cheng Liang sighed.
Xuan Yuan Yue pondered for a moment, then a thought suddenly struck her: "Didn't General Cheng just say that Young Master Yi saw Yun'er in Wan Jiao Pavilion? Could it be that he also saw and knew the woman who took Yun'er away?"
Cheng Liang suddenly realized something. "That's right, how could I have forgotten about that? Young Master Yi must know who Miss Yi left with. As long as we find Young Master Yi, we can find the woman who took Miss Yi away from Wanjiao Pavilion. And if we find that woman, we will definitely find Miss Yi."
Cheng Liang's gloomy expression vanished instantly, replaced by a broad smile, as if he had instantly regained all his strength and courage...
Before she knew it, it was late at night. After settling Yi Shangyun in, Lanxiang carefully made her way back to her room in Wanjiao Pavilion.
As soon as she entered the room, a pair of strong, powerful hands grabbed her neck from behind. She heard the man quickly lock the door and then ask, "Are you Lanxiang?"
"Who are you?" Lanxiang had her back to the man, so she couldn't see his face at all.
"Enough with the nonsense, where did you take Yun'er? What are you planning to do with her?" the man said fiercely.
Lanxiang asked in confusion, "Yun'er?"
The man then realized that Lanxiang didn't even know Yi Shangyun's name. So, he showed her a portrait of Yi Shangyun that the soldiers had used to search for people.
Upon seeing her, Lanxiang thought to herself, "So her name is Yun'er."
But after a moment's thought, she said to him, "Oh, it's her. Didn't she go back a long time ago?"
"Nonsense! I waited at Ruyi Residence for most of the night and didn't see her anywhere. She said she would go back after she finished her business, but why haven't I seen her yet? What have you done to her?" The man seemed to be losing patience as he spoke to her, and he tightened his grip on her neck.
However, Lanxiang, not daring to back down, remained tight-lipped, saying, "I told you she went back long ago. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Even if you take my life, it will be in vain."
"You..." The man seemed somewhat helpless, but after a slight hesitation, as if he had already made another plan, he said, "It seems that you won't speak unless I teach you a lesson today?"
"What do you want to do?" Lanxiang suddenly felt a sense of fear.
Seeing that the woman was quick-witted and her mouth seemed difficult to pry open, the man released her neck and instead grabbed her arm forcefully, pushing her into the inner room in two steps.
Lanxiang then saw the man's face clearly. He was wearing an extremely alluring purple-red cotton robe and had slender, almond-shaped eyes. "So it's you!"
However, Yi Junhao had no intention of wasting words with her. He simply took out a small glass bottle and asked, "Do you know what this is?"
Lanxiang looked at the mysterious bottle in his hand and had a bad feeling. She couldn't help but feel afraid and took two steps back.
At this moment, Yi Junhao revealed a strange smile and said mysteriously to Lanxiang, "This is the Beauty-Corroding Water, which is extracted and refined from the poison sprayed by the Sea Kirin, a highly toxic creature in the deep sea. Just one drop is enough to instantly ruin your beautiful face... Well, are you still unwilling to tell the truth? Tell me quickly where you took Yun'er?"
As he spoke, Yi Junhao glared at Lanxiang with an extremely fierce look in his eyes.
Lanxiang hesitated for a moment, then glared at him and said calmly, "Let alone Lanxiang's face, even if Lanxiang's body were to be destroyed today, the same words would still be 'No comment'."
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao was slightly startled, then angrily retorted, "Do you think I'm bluffing you? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you?"
As he spoke, Yi Junhao uncorked the glass bottle and slowly approached Lanxiang.
Lanxiang froze instantly. As the stopper was opened, the mouth of the glass bottle in his hand was immediately enveloped in a wisp of smoke, which seemed to have a strong corrosive effect.
However, as Yi Junhao approached, Lanxiang's body couldn't help but back away step by step, and she crashed into the window behind her, her body instantly pressed heavily against the window.
She glanced out the window at the dark, empty backyard, then quickly closed her eyes tightly...
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