Yi Junhao put his arm around the madam and said helplessly, "If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place. You have to reap what you sow."
The madam seemed too weak to say anything more, and with great difficulty, she took out a bright yellow sachet from her body and placed it in Yi Junhao's hand, her mouth opening and closing weakly.
Upon seeing her, Yi Junhao instinctively leaned down and pressed one ear to her lips, wanting to hear her last words.
Just then, the madam suddenly caught sight of Yi Junhao, who was bending down, and the red mole hidden behind his ear in a place she knew all too well. Her eyes widened in astonishment.
"What do you want to say?" Yi Junhao leaned down and whispered in his ear.
But suddenly, the madam reached out, mustered all the remaining strength she had, and tightly grasped Yi Junhao's shoulder, saying weakly yet excitedly, "Hao'er, my son, my Hao'er..."
Yi Junhao listened intently for a long time, making sure he had done his best. After hearing what she said, he slowly stood up and moved away from her ear. The madam's voice was too weak for him to clearly confirm what he had heard.
Suddenly, his warm and captivating peach blossom eyes fell upon the bright yellow sachet clutched tightly in his hand, as if trying to confirm the dying man's last words. He spoke, "You said this sachet was for... Hao'er, right? Who is Hao'er? Is he a boy? Is he your son? Or someone else? Is he in Nan'an?"
However, the madam had already stopped responding to him, staring at him as if she had died with her eyes wide open, her breath stopped, but her pale face was full of a satisfied smile, as if she had no regrets in this life.
After a long silence, Yi Junhao turned his attention from the sachet to her eyes and discovered that the madam had passed away.
For a moment, for some reason, he suddenly felt a strange sadness. He sighed softly, seemingly with great regret, and then slowly reached out to close her eyes. He said confidently, "Don't worry! I will definitely find a way to help you find the owner of this sachet."
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was once again stunned by a face that reappeared before him like an incredible and magnificent zombie transformation.
Although he had already mentally prepared for the shocking turn of events involving the Gu refiner after the Ice Beauty Gu was broken, and even somewhat looked forward to it, wondering what such a vicious woman looked like in her youth, he was stunned. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he was seeing. "How could it be, how could it be you..." After a long while, he finally came to his senses and exclaimed in surprise.
Indeed, as Yi Junhao said, the madam who had truly died had indeed shed her bloated appearance and her weathered face, sculpted by the relentless passage of time.
Her face and graceful figure truly brought back memories of a person, the most beautiful years of their youth, that fresh and vibrant eighteen-year-old.
But this face was clearly the face of Yi Junhao's most gentle and kind wet nurse, a face he would never forget. He was both surprised and delighted.
It turns out that the madam of Wanjiao Pavilion, a top-tier poison master from Nan'an Kingdom, was none other than his long-lost wet nurse.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand all the cruel things that had happened to her over the years.
Back then, it was because of his father and mother that his wet nurse left her homeland of Nan'an with a heart full of resentment.
Hatred tormented her day and night until she met the wicked, treacherous Tuoba Ze, who bewitched and manipulated her. One wrong step led to another, until she was driven to despair and died far from home.
Yi Junhao gazed silently at her face; her complexion was full and rosy, making her look as if she were asleep.
Yi Junhao gripped the sachet tightly in one hand, while holding the madam close to his chest with the other, letting her rest against his firm and warm chest, the side closest to his heart.
He slowly closed his eyes, and suddenly saw two belated tears quietly flowing down his cheeks.
He held her quietly, basking in the rare warmth of the sun. Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, bathing them in its glow, as if taking them back to his childhood. His wet nurse gently held him, basking in the sun in the yard, playing with him, and humming the lullaby she had composed just for him.
With his eyes closed, tears welled in Yi Junhao's eyes as he softly hummed, "Little baby, round and round, eat lots of rice, grow up quickly, marry a girl, and bring her into the house. Between heaven and earth, all things are born, and all things grow, and all grasses flourish. My love for you, your affection for me, I save lives, you make medicine, let's be a pair, living bodhisattvas on earth..."
After a long pause, his voice choked with sobs as he repeatedly apologized, "Nanny, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it's all Hao'er's fault, but you're the one who's suffering..."
His heart was filled with mixed emotions. Although she had kept quiet about everything he asked about her past and refused to say another word, he couldn't bring himself to ask her one more question. If he had asked just one more question, she might not have left this world in such despair.
At this moment, Yi Junhao thought: In the last moment of her life, did she know that the person by her side who saw her off was her Hao'er? And me?
...
In the willow grove not far away, amidst the glint of swords and the clash of spears, after a fierce battle, all the Northern Lie bandits had been successfully captured by Cheng Liang's men.
Only the head guard and Cheng Liang remained, their swords still tightly gripped, clashing repeatedly. Both were nimble and agile, fighting with all their might. The swords clashed, their sounds buzzing and their flashes dazzling; countless rounds had already passed.
Suddenly, before the leader could react, there was a clang, and Cheng Liang struck out with lightning speed, knocking the longsword from the guard leader's hand. As the leader looked at the falling sword in surprise, Cheng Liang immediately kicked him down with one leg. The guard was quickly pinned under Cheng Liang's foot, unable to move at all.
Cheng Liang held his longsword to his face and shouted angrily, "Hurry up and tell me, where exactly does that secret passage in the Wanjiao Pavilion's secret chamber lead?"
The head guard revealed an extremely eerie face and said, "Release me, and I will tell you."
After a moment's thought, Cheng Liang figured he wouldn't have any more tricks up his sleeve, so he slowly lifted his foot.
Suddenly, as the guard stood up, he secretly took out a packet of some kind of powder and sprinkled it into Cheng Liang's eyes.
Cheng Liang quickly stretched out his arm and covered his entire face with his sleeve.
Unexpectedly, the guard then swiftly released a cloud of smoke into the crowd. Just as everyone was panicking, thinking it was going to be an unexpected explosion, he took advantage of the moment when everyone's vision was blurred, grabbed his injured and bleeding arm, and fled, disappearing in an instant.
"General, the head guard has escaped. What should we do?" Cheng Liang's subordinate asked in a panic as the smoke cleared.
Cheng Liang surveyed the surrounding terrain, but the guard was nowhere to be seen. He then looked down at the bloodstains on the ground, which were from the guard leader's arm that he had stabbed during the melee. Judging from the direction of the bloodstains, the guard had fled north.
As if he had already made up his mind, Cheng Liang hurriedly ordered his generals, saying, "'The monks may run away, but the temples cannot.' Leave a few men to escort these Northern Lie bandits, along with all the other thieves found in Wanjiao Pavilion, back to await their fate. The rest of you, follow me, heading north!"
After receiving the order, the generals immediately split into two groups and began to act separately.
Halfway up the mountain in the north and south of the city, Yi Shangyun was gently stroking her belly as she timidly approached the edge of the cliff in front of her, wanting to peek at the unfathomable wonder of nature before her. However, she was instantly stunned into silence.
Looking down from the cliff in front of us, we could only see wisps of smoke swirling in a deep valley, which was like a black hole, where nothing could be seen.
So, after just one glance, she was so frightened that she quickly withdrew her foot and took several steps back to reach a safe area. Then, still looking like she was in shock, she swallowed hard and patted her chest, muttering in surprise, "Oh my god, such a high cliff, if you fall off, you won't even find a bone fragment."
After a long while, she finally took a deep breath and calmed down. As if she had been so frightened, the stomach pain that had been unbearable just moments before disappeared.
She felt thirsty and glanced around, spotting a clear mountain stream nearby. She walked over, squatted down, scooped up some water, and drank it. The water tasted sweet and refreshing, which calmed her down. She smiled contentedly and stood up.
Just as he was about to walk back the way he came, he suddenly heard the two guards that Tuoba Ze had sent to follow him whispering and discussing something to each other.
So, Yi Shangyun hid behind a clump of dead trees nearby and began to listen.
One of the shorter guards asked a chubby guard, "I wonder if that pretty young lady locked in the secret room will live or die?"
The chubby guard replied, "Yes, it would be a real shame if that young lady died. But His Highness has personally ordered that she be locked in a secret room to fend for herself, so who would dare release her? In a place like that, she's probably doomed..."
The short guard said regretfully, "Then wouldn't that mean Yi Shangyun has been tricked by His Highness? She only agreed to return to Beilie with us in exchange for that young lady. Judging from her temperament, how could an ordinary, weak woman go into the lion's den alone and do such astonishing things? She's not someone to be trifled with. If she finds out in the future, who knows what might happen?"
After saying this, the two shook their heads together and sighed deeply. Yi Shangyun, who was hiding to the side, immediately frowned, clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth...
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