"I...I don't know her..." Upon hearing the rather shocking news that Mei Zhixuan brought tonight, Mei Xiyuan's eyes blinked twice, stunned, and she stammered.
Before she could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan quickly cut her off, interrupting her, "No, she's not dead, she must not be dead. She is a descendant of the Empress Dowager, a member of the royal family of Dongning Kingdom. With the protection of our ancestors in heaven, she wouldn't die so easily. She absolutely cannot be dead; she must still be alive. At the time, I also thought she and that Prince Qin had fallen off the cliff together and were surely dead. But later, when I followed his deputy, I discovered that Prince Qin was still alive, while she..."
Having said this much, Mei Zhixuan seemed unable to bear continuing. Instead, he stared intently into her eyes and said with utmost seriousness, "The reason I've come here is to personally and solemnly warn you: If you dare to disobey orders or cause trouble again in the future, don't blame me for disregarding our past sibling relationship and reporting your actions to Father Emperor. You should know how important Mother Empress and her bloodline are in Father Emperor's eyes!"
After uttering those last words with a fierce tone, Mei Zhixuan snorted coldly and then left without hesitation.
"Royal brother, royal brother..." Mei Xiyuan suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly took two steps forward to catch up, but to her surprise, Mei Zhixuan really did not turn around to look at her again.
Watching Mei Zhixuan's resolute and resentful departure, Mei Xiyuan, who was once a beautiful woman with fair skin, delicate features, and a charming red beauty mark between her eyebrows, her usual arrogance and pride had vanished.
At that moment, she collapsed to the ground, utterly helpless, her eyes brimming with tears. She silently apologized, seemingly with utter resignation, "I'm sorry... Empress Dowager, I'm so sorry..."
"This old servant respectfully sees off His Highness the Third Prince!" With this farewell, Granny Zhao rushed in. From afar, she saw Mei Xiyuan slumped on the cold ground, looking bewildered and heartbroken. She quickly went forward to support her and asked with concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong? What happened?"
“Granny Zhao, she’s dead, she’s dead! Waaah…” Hearing Granny Zhao’s voice, Mei Xiyuan, filled with mixed feelings, suddenly hugged her tightly and burst into tears.
All along, the hatred of losing her love had made her a Qin Princess in name only, causing her to lose face in front of everyone in the Qin Prince's mansion. She had painstakingly planned so many ways to deal with Yi Shangyun.
When she learned that Mei Zhixuan had personally investigated and was now even more certain about Yi Shangyun's background, despite having made so many preparations in her heart, she was still surprised to learn of her death and was astonished that she would be so heartbroken.
Yes, after all, she was the only bloodline of her stepmother, the only one in the world who had ever truly and purely loved her!
From beginning to end, all she wanted was to drive her out of the King of Qin's world and give him a complete husband; she never once considered taking her life. She even thought that if she could agree to live a life of anonymity, without affecting her and her mother's current status and life, she would even defy her mother's orders and grant her whatever she wanted…
But she died, she just died like that...
Granny Zhao stood guard outside the door, not hearing the conversation inside very clearly, only occasionally catching Mei Zhixuan's shouts.
At this moment, all she could do was gently pat Mei Xiyuan's back and comfort her with heartache, saying, "Cry, cry, and everything will be alright after you cry it out."
Mei Xiyuan leaned sadly on Zhao Mama's shoulder, sobbing with tears streaming down her face, "Mama, my brother said she's dead. She actually fell off a cliff and died. I didn't want her to die, I really didn't want her to die. Did I do something wrong? If I could have done something sooner, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up like this, losing her life in vain."
As Granny Zhao continued to gently pat her back, she sighed, "This isn't your fault, it's Heaven's fault. Who made you born into an imperial family? Who made you the daughter of both His Majesty and the Empress? His Majesty wants you to fully cooperate with the Third Prince to find the missing princess and the mysterious power of the Western Qin Kingdom that is rumored throughout the entire Lingkong Continent; while the Empress wants you to kill the princess, eliminate future troubles, help the increasingly powerful King of Qin become emperor, and become the Empress of Western Qin to make up for her greatest regret in life. Alas, you are destined to never be yourself in this life. It's truly hard on you, poor child..."
Zhao Mama's words were full of heartache and helplessness. Mei Xiyuan hugged her tightly, crying her heart out, and finally closed her beautiful eyes, two lines of crystal tears silently sliding down her pretty face.
Mei Zhixuan strode angrily towards the gate of the City God Temple when, as if descending from the sky, an old Taoist priest in a blue robe appeared. He was nearly sixty years old, with a full white beard, a cloth bag slung over his shoulder, and held a fortune-telling banner in one hand and a copper bell in the other. He blocked Mei Zhixuan's path.
In the dead of night, he was surprised to see him appear so suddenly and mysteriously. Although he was also somewhat annoyed by many things, he still restrained himself and respectfully bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Daoist Master. It's so late at night, why are you still awake?"
The old Taoist priest in the green robe smiled at him, stroked his short white beard, and said leisurely, "I recently calculated that a distinguished person from a foreign land will arrive at the City God Temple late tonight, so I have come to pay my respects."
"A noble person from a foreign land?" Mei Zhixuan narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, and was immediately taken aback. He asked again.
"Indeed, the 'noble person from a foreign land' that I spoke of is none other than you, young master, the Third Prince of Dongning Kingdom, gentle and refined yet most valiant and skilled in battle," the old Taoist in the green robe said, making his intentions clear.
Mei Zhixuan was instantly shocked upon hearing this, and stared blankly into the eyes of the old Taoist priest in the green robe, asking, "How did you know my identity, Taoist priest?"
The old Taoist priest in the green robe smiled, then said even more mysteriously, "This humble Taoist not only knows the Third Prince's identity, but also his destiny. I wonder if Your Highness would be interested in having this humble Taoist divine your fate?"
“The environment is created by the mind. I don’t believe in such things. I believe more in ‘human effort can accomplish anything.’ It’s late. I’m sorry to have troubled you to make this trip. I have other important matters to attend to, so I must take my leave!” Mei Zhixuan said, then clasped his hands in farewell and turned to leave.
The old Taoist priest in the green robe chuckled lightly, his back to Mei Zhixuan's departing figure, and said, "Third Prince, you've come all the way to Western Qin, could it be that you're also after that mysterious power that protects Western Qin?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan turned around abruptly and asked in surprise, "It is said throughout the world that every emperor of the Western Qin royal family has a mysterious guardian. They pass down their lineage through a single bloodline, possessing the most magical and precious bloodline in the world, and are sworn to protect the emperor of Western Qin. It is rumored that as long as their guardian has descendants, the Western Qin kingdom will live forever, immortal and indestructible. Some even say that whoever obtains this descendant will rule the world... I wonder if what you are talking about is this mysterious power?"
Only then did the old Taoist in the green robe slowly turn around again and nod at him with a smile.
"I've heard of the legendary guardians of Western Qin, that mysterious power. Is it now just a facade? Daoist, you've traveled far and wide; haven't you seen how Western Qin is now plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities? It's no longer the Western Qin of the past! Emperor Jing is incompetent and tyrannical, imposing exorbitant taxes that have made the people suffer. Although the Spirit Void War God, King Qin, has protected us these past years, how can he possibly stand against the strength of my wealthy and powerful Dongning Kingdom... This continent will soon be entirely Dongning's territory, an unstoppable force." Mei Zhixuan said with a smug look on his face.
"Then may I ask, since Dongning Kingdom is so powerful, why does the King of Dongning still not agree to His Highness the Third Prince sending a single soldier to Xiqin Kingdom? Instead, he has sent Dongning's most esteemed Princess Yongle here for a marriage alliance. Isn't it because of his fear of the mysterious power of Xiqin? Or... could it be that the King of Dongning has given His Highness the Third Prince and Princess Yongle some very important tasks? For example... in addition to that, they also need to find your country's legitimate princess who was lost in Xiqin Kingdom 17 years ago." The Taoist priest in the green robe spoke with sharp insight and resounding conviction.
"You...where did you learn all this from?" Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan immediately stared at him with wide eyes, extremely shocked. Who exactly was this old Taoist in green robes? How could he know such secrets about Dongning Kingdom? No...it could even be said that he knew everything about Dongning Kingdom.
The two stared at each other for a long moment, then Mei Zhixuan took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing, "That's right. I have heard the rumors about the guardians of Western Qin. It is said that they were the most loyal clan who followed the ancestors of Western Qin in expanding the territory, and for generations they swore to protect the emperor of Western Qin to the death. However, 18 years ago, due to an internal strife in Western Qin, the entire clan was wiped out, leaving only a 15-year-old orphan girl. It is said that she grew up to be as beautiful as a fairy, and the emperor of Western Qin was particularly fond of her and wanted to take her into the harem, but she unexpectedly fell off a cliff and died on the way to the palace. Taoist Master, if that is the case, then what does my Eastern Ning Kingdom have to fear? I was just about to present the results of my search for the guardians to my father."
"Oh, really? I originally thought the Third Prince would be different from those ordinary mortals in the world, but I didn't expect that the Third Prince would also believe that the guardian could disappear from this world so easily?" The Taoist priest in the green robe raised his eyebrows and said.
"Could it be... that the Taoist priest means..."
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