Just as everyone was turning to leave, preparing to pack up and set off for Western Qin that very night, Lanxiang suddenly spoke hesitantly:
"Your Highness, Lanxiang has another matter to report, concerning the arrangements for Yan'er's funeral. Should we send her back to the Yi family residence in the west of the city for burial, or bury her here? This matter shouldn't trouble Your Highness, but Yan'er was Miss Yi's only personal maid, and it would be best for Miss Yi to decide. However, Miss Yi's whereabouts are currently unknown. Yan'er, in her search for her master, was also implicated by Lanxiang, which unfortunately led to her death far from home. Therefore, I implore Your Highness to make this decision on behalf of Miss Yi."
Thinking that Yan'er had died because of her, Lanxiang originally wanted to help her with the funeral arrangements, but when she thought of how Yan'er had only thought of her mistress until her death, Lanxiang knew her wish and hesitated.
However, if one wanted a wealthy family like the Yi family to treat a lowly maidservant well, perhaps only Xuan Yuanhan could do that. Therefore, she boldly made the request to him.
Xuanyuan Han pondered for a moment, then said coldly, "Yan'er is quite a loyal servant. She traveled thousands of miles to find her master, and she has been with Yun'er since childhood. Yun'er will surely miss her often in the future. If it were Yun'er, she would never let her die far from home and end up as a lonely ghost."
Upon realizing this, Xuan Yuanhan ordered: "Cheng Liang, cremate Yan'er's body on the spot and take her ashes back to Western Qin. Instruct the Yi family to arrange a proper burial for her, and say that it is my order."
"Your subordinate obeys." Cheng Liang bowed and accepted the order.
"In that case, Lanxiang will go down and make preparations for Yan'er, and send her on her way."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang felt a great sense of relief. She wiped away her tears with relief and turned to leave with Cheng Liang to take care of the matter quickly.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he bumped into the young guard who had been guarding Yan'er's body. Cheng Liang reacted quickly and grabbed Lanxiang's arm in time, preventing her from falling to the ground.
The young guard, who had stumbled in as if he'd seen a ghost, didn't have time to dodge. He stumbled back two steps and landed heavily on the threshold behind him, clutching his aching backside. He then scrambled to his feet and knelt before Xuan Yuanhan with a thud, stammering as if he'd suddenly become tongue-tied:
"Your Highness, it's terrible! It's...it's...it's come back to life! You have to go see it, you have to go...you have to go see it!"
"What did you say? What do you mean by 'resurrected corpse'?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang hurriedly released his hand from Lan Xiang's arm and went over to grab the young guard's arm to ask.
"Yan'er, Yan'er, she, she, she..." The young guard seemed to be trying his best to soften his tone, but he was obviously terrified by the situation and became more and more anxious. In the end, all he could do was make some incomprehensible gestures and couldn't say a word.
"Let's go take a look!" Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan narrowed his eyes, then lifted the hem of his robe and strode out the door. Everyone present followed him, completely bewildered.
In the dead of night, in front of a small, detached house called "Qinghui Pavilion" in the corner of the East Garden's backyard, a white lantern faintly glows with the dim light of a candle.
In the quiet night, a crescent moon shone brightly, and the evening breeze gently rustled the dense bamboo grove on both sides of the cottage.
The white lantern hanging high in front of the door was specially hung up for the departure of Yan'er.
However, inside Qinghui Pavilion, which was supposed to contain only Yan'er's body, various ear-piercing and eerie sounds, as if someone were smashing doors, windows, or things, were constantly emanating from it: "Crash, crack, bang..."
The gate of Qinghui Pavilion was firmly locked with a sturdy padlock. In the courtyard in front of the gate, a dozen guards huddled together, trembling with fear.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Cheng Liang hurried forward and questioned the guard, "What happened inside?"
Upon hearing this, a guard turned around tremblingly and said to him, "Reporting to General Cheng, there is... there is... there is a ghost inside."
"How dare you! In broad daylight, what kind of ghost is this?" Cheng Liang immediately shouted angrily at him.
"No, there really is a ghost. If you don't believe me, General, listen for yourself. There's clearly only one dead body placed in Qinghui Pavilion, but now..."
As the guard was speaking, the same piercing and eerie sound suddenly rang out from inside the house again: "Crack, bang..."
"A ghost!" Upon hearing this, the dozen or so guards shouted in unison and ran away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Come back, all of you come back, you bastards!" Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang turned around in a rage and shouted at their fleeing backs.
At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan and the others had also arrived at the courtyard of Qinghui Pavilion. Cheng Liang then asked for permission to break down the door and enter: "Your Highness."
Xuanyuan Han's face was icy cold. Tall and imposing, he stood like a mountain, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit. He exuded mystery and majesty, radiating an arrogant and domineering aura. At this moment, he was like a god of the night, standing with his hands behind his back beneath the sky, looking down upon all living beings.
He nodded slightly to him, and Cheng Liang immediately turned around and kicked the door open. Just as he was about to step inside, Lan Xiang stepped forward and stopped him, saying, "Wait, General Cheng, let me do it."
After receiving his master's instructions, Cheng Liang turned around and stepped back to stand guard at the door.
Lanxiang gently placed her hands on the cold door and pushed it open. She then saw that the room was a chaotic mess, littered with shards of porcelain and various pieces of furniture, some intact, some broken, scattered about. Yan'er was nowhere to be seen on the small bed inside.
Upon seeing this, Lanxiang quickly glanced into the corner of the room and saw Yan'er in a dark corner, her back pressed tightly against the wall, dressed in blood-stained clothes, looking extremely terrified.
As soon as she saw someone push the door open and enter, she rushed forward like a madwoman without even looking, grabbed a teapot from the table, and smashed it forcefully towards the doorway.
Lanxiang caught a glimpse of a teapot flying towards her and quickly dodged it. The teapot just missed her ear and crashed into the door panel, then slid to the ground with a crisp "crack" sound, splashing tea everywhere.
Lanxiang stared in astonishment at Yan'er, who had suddenly become as strong as an ox. After a moment, she cried out in surprise, "Yan'er, is it really you?"
"Sister Lanxiang?" Hearing the familiar voice, Yan'er finally calmed down, walked into the light, stared at Lanxiang's familiar face, and called out softly.
"Swallow"
"Sister Lanxiang"
The two gazed into each other's eyes for a long time before bursting into a passionate embrace.
"That's wonderful, Yan'er, this is truly wonderful! You're still alive! You're not dead! You're really not dead!" After a long while, Lanxiang released her embrace and began to examine Yan'er's wounds, saying excitedly.
"I'm not dead. It turns out I'm not dead. I thought I had arrived in the underworld and been imprisoned by the legendary Black and White Impermanence." It seemed that Yan'er only realized what had happened at this moment.
When the two finally understood what had happened, they couldn't help but burst into tears and embrace each other again.
After a while, Lanxiang asked, puzzled, "Yan'er, why did the wound you sustained from Long Ye's poisoned dart disappear without a trace?"
Yan'er shook her head, seemingly equally puzzled, but then anxiously asked, "By the way, Sister Lanxiang, where is Miss? Where is my Miss? I'm looking for my Miss. Yan'er remembers, just as Yan'er was about to close her eyes, my Miss returned. She really came back safely, didn't she? Right?"
Seeing the anticipation and joy in Yan'er's eyes for Yi Shangyun, Ran Lanxiang tried to change the subject, saying, "Yan'er, you've just woken up, change out of these blood-stained clothes first! His Highness Prince Qin is here too. If you go out to meet people like this, don't offend him. Rest here for a while, and I'll go get you a clean set of clothes right away."
Seeing Lanxiang's evasive manner, as if she had something she couldn't say, Yan'er felt a bad premonition and called out to Lanxiang, who was about to leave: "Sister Lanxiang, come back."
However, Lanxiang ignored Yan'er's obstruction and continued walking forward without stopping, saying in a seemingly calm tone, "Yan'er, be good and wait here obediently. I'll be right back."
Seeing this, Yan'er looked at the departing figure with a serious expression and loudly questioned, "My young lady has been in trouble, hasn't she?"
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang stopped, took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and walked back to Yan'er's side. She took Yan'er's hand and said solemnly, "Yan'er, I'm sorry. Miss Yi..."
"My young lady, what happened to her?" Before Lanxiang could even say anything, Yan'er's eyes were already brimming with tears.
After hearing everything Lanxiang said, Yan'er immediately collapsed to the ground.
"Yan'er, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You protected me with your life. I should have protected your young lady properly. It's all my fault for being useless. I'm so sorry. Yan'er, say something. You can hit me, scold me, anything is fine. Just don't stay silent like this, it'll make you sick. Yan'er, say something! Hit me, scold me..." In her desperation, Lanxiang grabbed Yan'er's hand and slapped it across her own face.
After sitting on the ground in a daze for a long time, Yan'er suddenly muttered to herself, "Miss, Miss, Miss..." Then, as if in a daze, she slowly got up, shook off Lanxiang's support, and moved towards the door step by step. But before she had taken two steps, she fell to the ground with a thud.
"Help! Help! Yan'er, Yan'er..."
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