Inside the Zihe Pavilion, Consort Chun's gaze was fixed intently on a blue-green painting in front of her, as if she were lost in some deep memory.
Yi Shangyun knew she had broken her promise, even though it wasn't her intention, but she still couldn't keep their agreement. So, as soon as she stepped inside, she went straight to the Empress Dowager and knelt down in sincere obeisance: "Greetings to the Empress Dowager!"
The room was silent, save for the rising smoke from cigarettes.
Consort Chun's gaze was not interrupted by her sincere voice and left the painting. She then calmly said to her as always, "You've come. Get up!"
Yi Shangyun did not rush to get up.
From the night she decided to leave, when Xuan Yuanhan caught her, stopped her, and brought her back to the Qin Prince's mansion, she knew that this moment was bound to come sooner or later.
In any case, she should rightfully give her an explanation.
So he continued kneeling and explaining, "Your Highness, please understand. It wasn't that I broke my promise. I know my sins are grave. That night, I had already packed my bags and prepared to leave. I would go to the ends of the earth, hide my identity, and never set foot in Western Qin again. But... but..."
Having said that, recalling everything that had happened with Xuan Yuanhan, she was just thinking about how to continue when Consort Chun raised a hand to stop her: "You don't need to explain anything to me anymore, I already know."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun thought that Consort Chun was truly angry with her and wanted to go back on her promise to exchange the herbs. Her heart skipped a beat, and after a moment's thought, she became even more nervous.
Thinking back, it has been quite some time since I left Longhu City. Now, at this critical juncture of disaster relief, the situation in Longhu City can no longer be delayed.
If innocent people are implicated because of my own actions and miss out on this batch of life-saving herbs, not only will all the efforts and sacrifices of so many people day and night be wasted, but the entire city's residents will also miss out on treatment. If the epidemic continues to spread to other areas, the consequences will be unimaginable.
At this thought, she suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Consort Chun's face, pleadingly explaining, "No, Your Highness, please hear my explanation. That night, I did indeed leave quietly, but I never expected to run into His Highness Prince Qin as soon as I stepped out of the residence. His Highness, he, he..."
Whenever she thinks of that seemingly cold and domineering face, she always finds herself unable to resist him, and she can never do anything about it.
While she was pondering, Consort Chun suddenly called out to her again: "Come here!"
"I……"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun's thoughts were interrupted once again. She hesitated for a moment, confused, before slowly getting up and walking towards him.
Consort Chun picked up the scroll in front of her with both hands and introduced it with deep emotion: "The vast expanse of water and the layered mountains in this 'A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains' were all painted by the late Emperor himself, stroke by stroke. It is the late Emperor's best vision for our Western Qin Kingdom..."
Time has passed and things have changed, but looking back, the scenes of the past seem to reappear as if they happened yesterday. Consort Chun couldn't help but shed tears.
She paused, then her face filled with deep sorrow, and continued, "Although the Western Qin Kingdom is still in turmoil, I firmly believe that the late emperor's expectations will be fulfilled in the near future."
As she spoke, she slowly shifted her gaze, looking firmly at Yi Shangyun's face.
As their eyes met, Yi Shangyun suddenly recalled their brief time together in the south of the city. He always felt that the woman in front of him possessed a noble temperament that seemed to be etched into her very bones, unlike any other woman in the world.
A moment later, Consort Chun withdrew her gaze.
She gently put down the painting in her hand, stood up, and walked towards the soft couch by the window, a hint of disappointment on her face. "It's a pity that neither the late emperor nor I will ever see the magnificent Western Qin Kingdom again..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly came to her senses and followed closely behind to comfort her, saying, "No, Your Highness, you will see it."
Upon hearing this, Consort Chun turned her back to her, secretly delighted. Sure enough, she had not misjudged her; she had not completely forgotten their past affection.
After sitting down on the tatami mat, he reached out and picked up a cup of tea from the table to moisten his throat.
Seeing that the tea in the cup had long since stopped steaming, Yi Shangyun quickly snatched it away and poured a new cup for him.
He then handed it to her again, saying with concern, "The tea has gone cold, Your Highness, please have a hot one."
At this moment, the joy that had been hidden in her heart could no longer be concealed and finally surfaced on her face. She glanced at her, raised her hand to take the hot tea that Yi Shangyun handed over, and took a very comfortable sip.
He then said, "Please sit down too."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yi Shangyun replied and sat down as well.
Consort Chun then said meaningfully, "If all of this were just a dream, if this were still the time when we first met in the south of the city, if you had never left my side, how wonderful that would be!"
Hearing these words and recalling the past, Yi Shangyun fell silent.
In the vast palace, the two fell silent once again.
After an unknown amount of time, Consort Chun suddenly spoke again, but her question was abrupt: "If this Spirit Void Continent truly needs a wise ruler to unify it..."
She paused, then looked at Yi Shangyun's lowered face again and asked her seriously, "West Qin, East Ning, which would you choose?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly snapped out of his daze, looked at her face in surprise, and for a moment clearly didn't know how to answer: "I..."
After hesitating for a while, he saw that Consort Chun's expectant gaze towards his answer was so firm that he realized he couldn't avoid it even if he wanted to.
He pondered for a moment and then said, "Your Highness, who will ultimately win the battle for Lingkong? I think whether it is Western Qin or Eastern Ning... throughout history, the struggle for the world has always been about who wins the hearts of the people."
Upon hearing her reply, Consort Chun smiled and reached for the teacup again, but Yun Fu poured tea for her.
While there is some truth to this, it seems that Consort Chun, like most people, prefers to believe in ancient legends.
So she tentatively asked, "Haven't you heard that on this continent, the one who guards the land will rule?"
Unbeknownst to her, Yi Shangyun was so engrossed in pouring tea and listening to Consort Chun's words that she didn't even realize the tea had overflowed from her cup.
By the time she finally realized it, the overflowing tea had already dripped down the table and onto the hem of Consort Chun's robe.
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun came to her senses and, upon noticing, hurriedly took out a silk handkerchief and went forward to wipe the corner of Consort Chun's clothes.
As she nervously stood up, a cup of hot tea that she had just poured was spilled onto her hands. Unconcerned, she repeatedly apologized to the Dowager Consort Chun, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Consort Chun took her hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. But be careful not to burn your hand."
Hearing the commotion coming from inside, Zhang Mama and Huan'er, who had been waiting outside ready to serve, rushed into the hall. Upon seeing the scene before them, they hurried forward to help.
Zhang Mama anxiously checked her over and asked, "Is Your Highness alright? Were you burned?"
Huan'er quickly started cleaning up the mess.
Yi Shangyun kept apologizing: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, it's all my fault for being careless."
Consort Chun said anxiously, "I'm fine. Quickly check her hand; she must have been scalded by boiling water."
Upon hearing the sound, Granny Zhang hurriedly pulled out one of Yi Shangyun's hands, which was hidden behind her back, to check it. Yi Shangyun let out a muffled groan of pain.
Only then did everyone notice that the back of her left hand was scalded bright red by boiling water.
Upon seeing this, Granny Zhang immediately called out to the maid outside the door, "Quickly bring in the best burn ointment!"
Thus, Yi Shangyun was forcibly pressed down onto the couch by the crowd. Consort Chun personally and carefully applied the ointment and bandaged her up, but even so, she was still worried.
Just then, Huan'er exclaimed, "Oh dear, why is the girl's skirt wet?"
Following Huan'er's pointing finger, Consort Chun clearly saw that her dress was soaked through at some point, with a large area of it already visible.
He then hurriedly ordered, "Huan'er, hurry up and take the girl inside to change into a clean set of clothes."
Huan'er was about to step forward when Yi Shangyun quickly stood up to stop her, saying, "The weather has warmed up recently, so it's no big deal if my clothes get a little wet. I can change them myself when I get back, so there's no need to trouble yourself."
Huan'er said, "How can that be? Your hand is injured and it's inconvenient for you to help. Let me help you!"
Seeing Huan'er's hand about to touch him, Yi Shangyun quickly reached out to stop it, insisting, "No need, really no need, I can manage on my own..."
Just as the two were arguing, Consort Chun spoke up again sternly: "Enough, stop arguing!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent.
Consort Chun said, "Now that you are about to become a mother, if you can't even take care of yourself, how will you take care of your child in the future? Don't you understand that doing this makes it easy to catch a cold?"
At this moment, Yi Shangyun had no choice but to lower his head and admit his mistake: "I'm sorry, it was my fault."
Zhang Mama gave a knowing look, and Yi Shangyun obediently followed Huan'er away, with Zhang Mama following closely behind.
Not long after, a maidservant hurried out from inside, approached Consort Chun, and whispered in her ear.
Suddenly, Consort Chun's eyes widened, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Really? You really saw it?"
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