Hearing someone enter, Cheng Liang weakly glanced sideways and saw a slender girl slowly coming into view.
The young woman, dressed in a magnificent crimson gown and adorned with jewels, exuded an innate nobility from head to toe, as she slowly walked in.
When she got closer and was genuinely shocked, she realized that this person was none other than Yi Shangyun, who had risen overnight to become the most noble and incomparable legitimate princess of the Dongning Kingdom. The Dongning King bestowed upon her the title "Yongning," meaning to ensure eternal peace and tranquility.
She snapped back to her senses in an instant, then gave a cold snort, turning her gaze away and adopting a disdainful expression, seemingly with a hint of mockery, saying, "Who do we have here? It's Princess Yongning. Now that you are the most honored woman in Dongning Kingdom, why would you come to such an unlucky place?"
Yi Shangyun knew that he was upset and had nowhere to vent his anger, so he was blaming himself. In fact, all the things that had happened during this period felt like a dream to her, let alone Cheng Liang.
But what can she do right now?
On the night of the Lantern Festival, in full view of everyone, Mei Zhixuan presented overwhelming evidence to try to kill Xuan Yuanhan, who did not offer any defense.
She wanted to believe him, but the facts before her made it impossible for her to understand what was really going on.
For countless days, she wished it were all just a nightmare, that when she woke up, she would still be nestled in that warm, strong embrace that gave her boundless security, beside someone. Still in that little courtyard, where, not long ago, there had been the happiest time of her life.
Unfortunately, reality is always so cruel and merciless.
Her current attire, seemingly noble and imposing, actually felt like a bone-deep shackle, binding and restricting her, making it impossible for her to do anything, no matter where she was or what she was doing, or even to breathe, which was the most mundane and normal thing in the world.
God knows how much she wanted to escape all of this, but given the current chaos, where could she possibly go?
"You all go out and keep watch from a distance!"
As soon as Yi Shangyun entered, he dismissed all the jailers and stood silently for a while before slowly speaking, "General Cheng, I know you've been blaming me. On the night of the Lantern Festival, I shouldn't have sneaked out with Young Master Yi and been used..."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang could no longer suppress his anger and immediately interrupted him, shouting, "Blame you? Shouldn't you? To be honest, if it weren't for these shackles, I, Cheng Liang, would want to kill you! Do you know that His Highness's current state is entirely due to you? In the past, every appearance of yours has disrupted His Highness's reason and thrown him into disarray. Before he met you, His Highness had never been indecisive. You, you are simply a knot in His Highness's life, an unbreakable knot!"
Seeing that Cheng Liang was already furious, Yi Shangyun could only apologize and say, "I'm sorry, I know that I messed everything up."
Cheng Liang gave a bitter laugh and continued, "You know? Do you know what the consequences will be for His Highness Prince Qin, who has been exposed because of this operation that you personally ruined?"
For days, Yi Shangyun had heard people in the palace discussing the serious consequences of this matter, but Cheng Liang's words still caught her attention. She murmured in puzzlement, "Consequences?"
Cheng Liang gritted his teeth and said, "And who knows how the King of Dongning will punish us now? Will he spare our lives? Even if His Highness is able to return to Xiqin, all that he did before, the northern expedition, and now the eastern campaign, even if he ultimately swore to be an enemy of the whole world just for you. Even if His Majesty acquiesced to all of this before because of the final interests, now, in order to protect himself, he will personally tear His Highness to pieces to give the Lingkong Kingdom an explanation."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was stunned: "What did you say? For me..."
"Hmph... It's a pity that His Highness did so much for you in silence, only to have it all benefit someone else in the end." Looking at the heartless Yi Shangyun before him, Cheng Liang thought for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh coldly.
However, when it came to the current marriage alliance, Yi Shangyun didn't want to say anything more.
Seeing that Cheng Liang was already eager to protect his master, but that the master and servant seemed to be intentionally hiding something from him.
Yi Shangyun disregarded everything else. He remembered that when he came out of the Qingxin Palace of the King of Dongning, several high-ranking officials went in to pay their respects and discuss how, to prevent any unforeseen complications, they would behead all those involved in the matter within the next two days.
In a moment of urgency, he cut straight to the point: "I just want to ask you one last time, what are you and His Highness hiding? His Highness himself is unwilling to say, so don't you have anything to say to me either?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang's heart skipped a beat. He feared that if he didn't speak up now, he might never have another chance. Despite his thoughts, he pretended to be puzzled and asked, "I wonder what Princess Yongning is talking about?"
Yi Shangyun seemed to have realized Cheng Liang's hesitation, so she pressed him again: "I want to know, were the gunpowder found that night yours?"
Cheng Liang hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "That gunpowder is both ours and not ours."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun narrowed his eyes and asked in confusion, "Is it? And it isn't? What do you mean?"
After hesitating for a long time, unwilling to let his master be falsely accused, Cheng Liang finally decided to seize this opportunity. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind before telling him in detail: "That batch of gunpowder was originally ordered by Mei Zhixuan from my Xi Qin."
"What? The Third Prince? Him?" Yi Shangyun's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this.
Once he came to his senses, he recalled for a moment and said, "Ordering gunpowder requires prior special approval from the Emperor, especially such a large quantity. But I have been serving by the Emperor's side since this morning, and I have not seen him review or mention any memorials regarding the ordering of such a large quantity of gunpowder. What does he intend to do with so much gunpowder?"
Their eyes slowly met. Cheng Liang realized that an unbelievable suspicion had clearly arisen in Yi Shangyun's mind, while Yi Shangyun saw that Cheng Liang seemed to already know something.
Finally, Cheng Liang looked away and continued, "Back in Western Qin, His Highness told the Emperor that the Third Prince's wolfish ambitions were already obvious, and suggested that this batch of gunpowder be of inferior quality. But..."
After a pause, seeing that Yi Shangyun was listening intently, Cheng Liang seemed reluctant to continue: "His Highness said that the Third Prince's wolfish ambitions are obvious. Before knowing what he is planning, for the safety of the people of both countries, he suggested that this batch of gunpowder be replaced with inferior quality to make raw materials for fireworks. But His Majesty said that this batch of gunpowder must be of the highest quality, and the Third Prince's good intentions cannot be wasted. He said that in a conflict between two countries, what does it matter if a few enemy citizens die without losing a single soldier? Moreover, His Highness must personally escort the gunpowder to Dongning this time. It is a matter of great importance; success is the only option."
Yi Shangyun exclaimed in surprise, "Only some citizens of enemy countries died? So you're just following the Emperor's orders..."
Cheng Liang knew what she was thinking and quickly interrupted her: "No, Your Highness later had his subordinates secretly prepare another batch of gunpowder that could be used to make realistic fireworks."
"Your Highness, Yun'er was right to trust you after all," Yi Shangyun thought to herself.
Cheng Liang continued quietly, "Because most of the escorts for the gunpowder were the Emperor's confidants, we had to carry real gunpowder with us the whole way. Moreover, the Emperor's moles in Dongning were very powerful; they even obtained the city's defensive map. Those responsible for setting up the detonation points were all the Emperor's henchmen. We tried several times but couldn't infiltrate them. But at the crucial moment on the night of the operation, His Highness still forcibly seized the map."
Cheng Liang paused, recalling those thrilling moments, which still seemed unbelievable to him, yet he was extremely worried: "I'm afraid that the Emperor already knows about the theft of the map."
Yi Shangyun was also surprised, and listened carefully with a frown.
Cheng Liang recalled and continued, "After His Highness seized the map of the gunpowder detonation points in the city, he immediately ordered his subordinates to replace them all with fireworks."
Yi Shangyun was stunned, muttering, "Why would he do this? Isn't he afraid of disobeying the Emperor's decree, and the consequences would befall him..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Liang thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness's actions are not only for you alone, but also for...Princess Yue!"
“Yes, if Mei Zhixuan really gets his hands on this batch of gunpowder, no matter what his intentions are, he will be guilty of a heinous crime. At that time, Princess Yue will definitely be implicated, and the little prince, I’m afraid…” Yi Shangyun said in extreme fear.
Obviously, no one knows what the consequences would be if the King of Dongning discovered this, or if Mei Zhixuan's plan succeeded.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Cheng Liang remained perplexed: "That night, we clearly replaced all the gunpowder with fireworks, and we hid all the gunpowder, so how could it all end up being gunpowder?"
Yi Shangyun took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and silently pondered the course of events for a moment. He had already understood what had happened. He opened his bright eyes and said, "It was Young Master Yi. He helped Mei Zhixuan."
Cheng Liang asked, "Young Master Yi, why did he do this?"
Yi Shangyun pondered for a moment before speaking, "For my sake, this was the condition for their alliance. In this way, everything makes sense."
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