"Why don't you try this jasmine tea, Your Highness? This is Yun'er's... oh, no, this is the tea that Her Highness the Princess Consort loved most before she got married!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan finally spoke, but it was still about Yi Shangyun: "Does Yun'er like to drink jasmine tea?"
Yi Shangkun smiled and began brewing tea, explaining, "Fragrance acts as a guide, and tea as a medicine, capable of detoxifying all poisons. Jasmine tea is made by blending and scenting tea leaves with fresh jasmine flowers, allowing the tea to absorb the floral fragrance. The aroma of the tea and the fragrance of jasmine blend together, earning it the reputation of 'the supreme flavor of jasmine, ranked as the first fragrance in the world.' Jasmine is also considered a symbol of purity and indifference to fame and fortune, representing a kind of integrity. Some believe that when jasmine blooms, all other flowers lose their fragrance, making jasmine the 'heavenly fragrance,' and it has even been regarded as a sacred object in Buddhism, along with the Bodhi tree."
In the blink of an eye, a cup of bright yellow tea with a fragrant aroma was presented to Xuan Yuanhan.
Xuanyuan Han looked at it, reached out and took it, bringing it close to his nose. He smelled the aroma emanating from the tea leaves, which was strong but not overpowering, fragrant and long-lasting, with a refreshing scent and no unpleasant odor.
I took a sip and found it to be smooth and not bitter or astringent, which immediately made me feel much happier.
Seeing that he seemed to like it, Yi Shangkun said, "This tea also has the effects of regulating qi and relieving depression, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and soothing the liver and improving eyesight."
Perhaps it was because he had spent too much time in the mansion today, his mind was filled with thoughts of Yi Shangyun's past.
Including that inexplicable rumor that spread throughout the city, Xuan Yuanhan thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "I heard that Yun'er was unconscious in the manor for a whole year. I wonder why such a thing happened? After she woke up, just as the rumors said, her behavior was completely different from before, like a completely different person?"
As he spoke, he personally filled all the empty teacups on the stone table one by one.
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun was immediately startled. He slowly looked towards the wall of Mingyue Pavilion in the courtyard, which was located on the east side. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Her Majesty was frail from a young age, and her status was also special. As a result, she suffered a lot in the manor when she was young. It was all my fault for not protecting her properly. I don't know why, but one day she suddenly fainted while standing by the wall in the courtyard. But now it's all in the past. If she offends His Highness in the future in the Prince's manor, I hope His Highness can forgive her and not be angry with her."
Xuanyuan Han saw the hesitation in his words and said earnestly, "Since I have already chosen her, and with the wild goose as my letter of commitment, I have married her with the three letters and six rites, and with an eight-bearer sedan chair. No matter what happens in the future, I will always stand by her side and protect her. From now on, she is everything to me, my life. I don't need you to tell me what to do!"
After speaking, he put down his teacup, got up and left the Misty Rain Pavilion.
Just then, Yi Shangyun quietly slipped in through the back door.
She tiptoed to Yi Shangkun's side and whispered, "Father, Father..."
Yi Shangkun, who was still lost in thought watching Xuan Yuanhan's angry departure, was suddenly jolted back to reality by being shaken on the arm: "You...where did you go? His Highness Prince Qin was waiting for you here just now, and he just left."
"Shh..." Yi Shangyun quickly put two fingers to his lips, shushing Yi Shangkun not to speak loudly.
"Father, keep your voice down and don't make a fuss. I've finally managed to get some peace and quiet."
Yi Shangkun said angrily, "Now that you're married, how can you still speak so rudely? On your homecoming day, you left your husband alone in a strange house while you secretly ran away. Do you know that your husband is His Highness the Prince of Qin, who holds a high position of power? How could you act and speak without regard for your status!"
Yi Shangyun seemed to realize his mistake, so he obediently sat down in the seat where Xuan Yuanhan had just sat.
After running around all day without a sip of water, in this sweltering heat, I finally got home and realized my throat was practically on fire.
"Father, why did you brew my favorite jasmine tea today?"
Upon seeing several cups of jasmine tea that had just cooled down on the stone table in front of him, he hurriedly picked them up and gulped down a few mouthfuls before he could catch his breath.
Yi Shangkun then understood why Xuan Yuanhan had filled all the teacups, but he had only drunk from the one Xuan Yuanhan had handed him. It turned out that Xuan Yuanhan's deep affection for Yi Shangyun was all in the details.
So he slowly said to her, "These cups of tea were specially prepared for you by His Highness Prince Qin. His Highness is so good to you, yet you find him annoying and deliberately avoid him. How heartbroken he would be if he knew."
Upon learning this, Yi Shangyun pursed her lips, seemingly regretting her actions.
She then explained to Yi Shangkun, "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. I really had no choice but to go out because I couldn't tell His Highness and didn't want him to worry about me. Actually, I went out to see Dingxiang because I accidentally got hurt yesterday while taking a knife for her. His Highness is still angry with me, so I ran out on my own."
Yi Shangkun asked, puzzled, "Why did you go out to look for her?"
The cloud on the clothes did not answer.
Seeing that she was truly in a difficult position, Yi Shangkun pressed her for an answer: "What's wrong? Can't you even tell your father?"
Yi Shangyun pursed his lips and shook his head, but suddenly blurted out, "Father, could you lend me some silver?"
Yi Shangkun was puzzled and asked, "You stay in the Prince's mansion all day, what do you need money for? How much do you need?"
Yi Shangyun stammered for a long time, unsure of how to begin.
Yi Shangkun had never seen her so hesitant, so he asked her again, "How much silver do you want to borrow? What do you need it for?"
Finally, Yi Shangyun timidly stretched out a slender five-fingered mountain.
Yi Shangkun guessed, "Five taels?"
Yi Shangyun shook her head.
Yi Shangkun then asked, "Fifty taels?"
Yi Shangyun shook his head again, like a rattle-drum.
Yi Shangkun was somewhat surprised: "Could it be five hundred taels? Where would you need so much silver?"
Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun still shook her head.
Yi Shangkun could hardly believe it: "Could it be five thousand taels?"
Clearly, this was an astronomical sum for a mere pharmacist in the palace, yet Yi Shangyun seemed somewhat reluctant, saying, "If possible, this much is fine for now."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun stood up in astonishment and almost roared at Yi Shangyun, "What did you say? You want to borrow five thousand taels of silver from your father, and you even said... this much first, do you mean there's more to come?"
At this point, Yi Shangyun pursed her lips tightly and dared not speak again.
The five fingers she stretched out were not five taels, nor five hundred taels, nor five thousand taels. She herself did not even know the exact amount. Wasn't the amount of money she needed for what she wanted to do as heavy as the five fingers she stretched out at this moment?
But she deliberately didn't say what the money was for. Yi Shangkun paused, then asked in a low voice, "Such a large sum of money is something I, as your father, am truly powerless to help with. Why don't you go and borrow it from His Highness Prince Qin?"
Yi Shangyun actually felt that the amount he needed was likely a bottomless pit, and Yi Shangkun definitely couldn't help him, so he could only say, "It's okay, if Father doesn't have it, I'll think of another way."
With his back to Yi Shangyun, Yi Shangkun said, "Father doesn't know what happened to you, or what you want to do. But I think that whatever you do, now that you're married, you should be of one mind as husband and wife and discuss everything together, instead of hiding everything from him. If he finds out one day that you'd rather borrow money from all over than rely on him, he'll be heartbroken."
After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and walked out the door, leaving Yi Shangyun alone in the Misty Rain Pavilion, lost in thought.
In a shady corner of the front courtyard of the Yi residence.
Cheng Liang was ordered to follow Yi Shangyun from the moment she left home in the afternoon, and now he had just returned to the Yi residence.
Xuanyuan Han asked, "Where did the Princess Consort go today? Who did she meet, and what did she do?"
Cheng Liang reported truthfully: "The princess went to Yanfu Temple first and met with Ding Yaonu."
Sure enough, upon hearing the name of the person who injured Yi Shangyun, Xuan Yuanhan frowned and asked in confusion, "Why isn't Ding Yaonu working in the palace? What is she doing at Yanfu Temple?"
Cheng Liang recalled, "Your Highness, do you still remember the sandstorm in the Northwest region some time ago that caused many people to be displaced? Some of them fled to the capital, but were killed by the Emperor's men. Fortunately, they were rescued by our people. Later, it was this Ding Yao Nu who brought these people to Yanfu Temple in the mountains and settled them down. Now, it is Ding Yao Nu alone who is helping the temple treat the sick."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's brows finally relaxed, and he said, "So, this Ding Yaonu is actually a woman of decent character."
Cheng Liang thought for a moment and said, "The person that Her Highness the Princess values must not be too bad."
Xuanyuan Han said fiercely, "If not, then I will make Yun'er pay back a thousand times over for what she suffered on her behalf."
At this moment, Cheng Liang took out a jewelry box from his person and presented it to Xuan Yuanhan with both hands: "Your Highness!"
Xuanyuan Han glanced at it and asked, "What is this?"
Upon opening it, he was immediately dumbfounded and asked, "Isn't this seven-colored gold and jade bracelet something the princess always wore close to her body? How did it end up with you?"
Cheng Liang said, "I just redeemed this from a pawnshop on the road."
Xuanyuan Han was shocked: "How could she pawn such an important bracelet? I remember that this was a treasure she once protected with her own life."
Cheng Liang said, "The moment the princess left, I ransomed her back."
Xuanyuan Han gripped the bracelet tightly in his hand and asked, "What does she want to do?"
Cheng Liang reported, "Her Highness the Princess has used all the money she received from the pawnshop to purchase supplies and herbs for the disaster victims at Yanfu Temple."
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han couldn't help but frown again and said, "Why didn't she ask me about the money? Instead, she preferred to pawn her jewelry. What does she value her money for? Why didn't she think of me first when something happened?"
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