Yan Hong nodded. "At first, she resisted and refused, but later, when the Pavilion Master threatened Yun'er with our lives, she agreed."
"How could she agree? How could she agree? No, I absolutely cannot let the Pavilion Master take Yun'er away, absolutely not." Lanxiang said through gritted teeth, while anxiously calculating every possible way she could think of to save Yi Shangyun.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, as if she had already made up her mind. She quickly got up, took Yan Hong's hand, and was about to leave when she said, "Now, we haven't found the two people Yun'er asked me to find. It seems that this is the only way... Let's go find His Highness Prince Qin and expose the Pavilion Master's conspiracy. Prince Qin will definitely be able to save Yun'er."
Yan Hong hesitated for a moment, then frowned and asked doubtfully, "Your Highness Prince Qin? Would she concern herself with the affairs of us commoners?"
"Have you forgotten the woman in the portrait that His Highness Prince Qin sent people to search for in Wanjiao Pavilion? That's Yun'er! You'd never guess that Yun'er is a physician in Prince Qin's mansion," Lanxiang said with delight.
Hearing Lanxiang's words, Yanhong stared blankly, finally realizing the truth, but still couldn't believe it. "So that's how it is, but... even if she is a female physician in the Prince Qin's mansion, she is ultimately just a lowly servant in the mansion. How could the Prince Qin possibly care?"
Seeing Yan Hong's suspicious expression, Lan Xiang became annoyed and pouted, saying, "Oh, stop being so paranoid and fussy. Since the King of Qin sent someone to paint such a lifelike portrait and came to find her personally, he must have his reasons. I think Yun'er has an extraordinary air about her; she's righteous, fearless in the face of danger, and has a proud spirit—she's definitely not an ordinary woman. Perhaps the King of Qin has feelings for her..."
As Lanxiang spoke, she seemed to have guessed something very subtle, and then stopped herself from speaking.
Then, she frowned as if she had some concerns, and hesitantly asked Yan Hong, "But if we expose Wan Jiao Pavilion's conspiracy to the Prince of Qin, Aunt Ru and the Pavilion Master will be in cahoots. This might implicate Aunt Ru. Can you really bear to do that?"
Yan Hong listened silently, her worry deepening. She thought about it carefully. Aunt Ru, for the sake of her son and the hope of revenge someday, had always been obedient to Tuoba Ze, acting as his accomplice and always cautious, offering no protection whatsoever. Tuoba Ze was ambitious and ruthless; sooner or later, something bad would happen to them.
After a moment, with a determined heart and gritted teeth, Yan Hong said, "Aunt Ru... she has been blinded by hatred and lost her mind. In this life, only the Western Qin Kingdom can be Yan Hong's eternal home. I will not go anywhere else but Western Qin. Sister Xiang'er is Yan Hong's only family in this world. From now on, wherever Sister Xiang'er goes, Yan Hong will follow. Yan Hong and Sister Xiang'er will never be separated in this life."
After they finished speaking, they looked deeply into each other's eyes, hugged each other tightly, and their faces instantly filled with tears.
Just then, from the end of the dark road behind them, a continuous "clattering" sound of horses' hooves suddenly came, along with the faint glow of candlelight.
Upon hearing the sound, the two immediately retreated behind the stone lion in a panic, hiding themselves warily. They slowly peeked out half of their heads, staring intently in the direction from which the sound came.
By the dim candlelight, Lanxiang sensed that it resembled a procession from some government office and couldn't help but wonder, "In the dead of night, in the pitch black, why would officials be making such a grand display on the street?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Hong's eyes darted around. After a moment's thought, she said, "Sister Xiang'er, why don't we... report this to the authorities? If we go to find His Highness Prince Qin, we don't even know where to look. Even if we did know where to find him, how could someone as high and mighty as Prince Qin be someone we lowly and insignificant people could easily meet? Besides, even if we did meet him, he might not believe what we say! He might even beat us up or lock us up. Then, there would be no one left to save Yun'er or expose the Pavilion Master's conspiracy."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lanxiang glared at Yanhong fiercely. She had just scolded her, and she had already forgotten so quickly. She was always so timid, fearful, and suspicious. Lanxiang sighed helplessly and said, "No, I believe that the Qin King, the war god who is praised by everyone for loving his people like his own children, is not such a power-hungry and incompetent person. Besides, the Wanjiao Pavilion has many connections among the officials in Western Qin. We don't even know if the current official is colluding with the pavilion master. If we go out and happen to fall into their hands, wouldn't that be walking into a trap? Rather than that, we might as well put all our bets on the Qin King."
“But…” Yan Hong still felt that the rare appearance of this government office was an excellent opportunity to seek help that could not be missed, and wanted to persuade her again.
However, Lanxiang resolutely shut her down, scolding, "Stop talking. My mind is made up. Don't come up with any more bad ideas. This matter is of utmost importance and cannot tolerate the slightest mistake. Instead of wasting time thinking about these nonsense things, you should think about where we can find His Highness Prince Qin!"
After saying that, he angrily turned his gaze away and refused to look at the grand procession of the government office at night.
Yan Hong had no choice but to shut up, but she still stared longingly at the lifeline that was about to slip away, unwilling to give up.
As the procession drew closer to the two, and as it reached the street corner and was about to turn away, Yan Hong suddenly saw, under the much brighter candlelight than that used by officials when traveling at night, an official plaque with the words "Prince Qin's Mansion" clearly engraved on it, held high by two guards at the front of the procession.
For a moment, she seemed unable to believe her eyes, repeatedly rubbing her perfectly normal eyes. Suddenly, she was so shocked that she stammered, "Sister Xiang'er, Sister Xiang'er, quick, quick, look... it's... it's the official title plaque of the Qin... Qin... Qin Wangfu."
However, Lanxiang completely ignored her attempts to persuade her. She remained leaning against the stone lion, lost in thought, and said calmly, "What? An official title plaque from the Prince of Qin's residence? Don't waste your time trying to fool me. No matter what you say or do today, I will absolutely not agree to you reporting this to the authorities. I don't trust anyone but His Highness the Prince of Qin."
Yan Hong, watching the departing procession, frantically grabbed Lan Xiang's arm and shook it violently, almost crying with anxiety. "Sister Xiang'er, look! Look! I'm not kidding you, it really is the Qin Prince's procession! If you don't go and stop them, they'll turn and leave..."
"Don't waste your energy. I'm busy thinking. It's the middle of the night. Why is His Highness Prince Qin wandering the streets in the dark instead of getting some rest?"
Lanxiang continued speaking as always, without fail.
Just as the last row of guards in the procession was about to disappear from her sight, Yan Hong suddenly sighed and turned back to look at Lan Xiang with a helpless look. She then turned and ran, rushing straight towards the procession.
"It's the middle of the night, and it's pitch black. If you rush out like this, you might get mistaken for an assassin and captured!" Lanxiang was also surprised and hurriedly shouted at him while standing up and chasing after him.
"Your Highness, save me! Your Highness, save me!"
"Uncle Qin, listen, it sounds like a woman calling for help nearby?" Hearing the faint cries for help from a woman, Xuan Yuan Yue frowned and looked at Xuan Yuan Han with a puzzled expression from her horse.
Xuanyuan Han then looked at Xuanyuan Yue, slowed his pace, and listened intently. He then raised one hand high, and the entire group immediately stopped.
A guard behind them seemed to have vaguely heard the same cry for help. He turned around and saw two women closely following the group. He quickly stepped forward and reported, "Your Highness, two women are chasing after us."
Upon hearing the sound, everyone turned around and looked behind them.
At this moment, Yan Hong didn't know where she got the courage from. The usually timid and cowardly girl was now like a chivalrous heroine who had rushed out of the martial arts world. As soon as she caught up with the group, she knelt down heavily with a "thump" and bravely shouted, "Your Highness Prince Qin, save me! Your Highness Prince Qin, save me..."
At this moment, Lanxiang also caught up, panting. With her hands on her hips, she knelt down beside Yanhong before she could even catch her breath and speak.
At this moment, the servant of Ruyi Residence quickly pointed at Lanxiang from the crowd and said urgently, "Your Highness, it's her! The woman who came to Ruyi Residence looking for someone is the one who came later."
Hearing the familiar servant's voice and the address he used, Lanxiang secretly glanced up at the imposing, arrogant, and cold-looking man on horseback in front of her.
She finally realized that what Yan Hong had told her earlier was all true; this really was the official title plaque and the grandeur of the Prince of Qin's mansion.
Just as Lanxiang was still immersed in her unbelievable daze, Xuanyuan Han asked in surprise, "You are Lanxiang?"
Lanxiang suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly replied, "Yes, this humble woman is indeed Lanxiang."
"Bring them to me." Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han immediately gave the order.
Upon stepping forward, Lanxiang bowed deeply and knelt down, urgently pleading, "Your Highness, please save Yun'er. Yun'er... she has been captured by the Master of Wanjiao Pavilion, who is also the First Prince of Beilie, Tuoba Ze, and is being imprisoned in Wanjiao Pavilion."
"What?" Before Xuan Yuanhan could speak, Xuan Yuanyue exclaimed in surprise.
Upon seeing this, Lanxiang quickly explained, "It's all my fault. The Pavilion Master originally sent someone to take my life. But Yun'er was afraid that my home had already been ambushed, so she went back to fetch my elderly grandmother and instructed me to go to Wanjiao Pavilion and find a young master named Jiang Zhixuan to wait for her. If she didn't return before dawn, she was to ask another young master named Yi Junhao for help. But... I'm useless, I couldn't find either of them. Helpless, I was just about to ask His Highness Prince Qin for help when, unexpectedly, I ran into His Highness Prince Qin."
Xuanyuan Yue chuckled and said, "Coincidentally? Hmph... This is by no means a coincidence. Uncle Qin was making such a big show of himself traveling at night just to wait for you to appear. Why didn't you come to His Highness the King of Qin for help from the beginning?"
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