All of this happened too suddenly.
For a moment, Physician Yue found it hard to accept and didn't know what else to say.
Hearing what sounded like some commotion in the front yard, Physician Yue sighed and hurriedly went back to check.
As I was leaving, I paused for a moment beside Dingxiang.
He specifically instructed: "Take the Empress inside quickly, and no matter what happens later, do not come out!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Dingxiang then snapped out of her daze and quickly went over to help Yi Shangyun into the house: "Let's go inside quickly!"
Yi Shangyun frowned, but could only turn around and go back into the house with Dingxiang.
As he walked along the corridor leading to the front yard, Doctor Yue's mind was already in complete chaos.
"What on earth is going on?!"
"Isn't the legitimate daughter of the Yi Medicine Master's family also a hidden gem of Dongning Kingdom?"
"Why now..."
"So it doesn't belong to this time and space anymore?"
"So, who exactly is she?"
"How could such a bizarre thing happen in the world?!"
While muttering to himself, he returned to the front courtyard and saw that it was Cheng Liang himself leading a group of people to Xinglin Pavilion.
So he quickly stopped thinking and cleared his throat.
Pretending that nothing had happened, and trying to maintain his usual calm demeanor, he stepped forward and asked, "General, what brings you to my Apricot Grove Pavilion today? And you've brought a few brothers with you. May I ask what brings you here?"
After Cheng Liang stood still, his eyes scanned the surroundings sharply. He glanced around and asked, "Imperial Physician Le, have any suspicious people appeared at Xinglin Pavilion in the past two days?"
"A suspicious person?" Physician Yue silently repeated.
He immediately seemed to guess what was going on, but he had to pretend he didn't quite understand Cheng Liang's meaning.
"Inside Xinglin Pavilion, it has always been just me and Dingxiang. I wonder which suspicious person the general is referring to?"
Seeing the confusion in Physician Yue's eyes, Cheng Liang explained, "Oh, it's like this. The night the Consort entered the manor, His Highness lost something extremely important and specially sent me to search for it throughout the manor."
Imperial Physician Yue pressed on, "What did Your Highness lose?"
Cheng Liang kept giving vague answers: "That is something that His Highness regards as more important than his own life!"
Seeing that Physician Yue still couldn't understand what he was saying, Cheng Liang gave up and stopped explaining.
As he began to act, he said, "Alright, Physician Yue, you go ahead with your work. I've already thoroughly searched the rest of the mansion with my men. Now, only your Xinglin Pavilion remains. Just consider this a routine inspection with my men. I'll just wander around and take a look."
Knowing he couldn't cover up the fact that he was stopping the operation, Physician Yue said, "Of course, General, please do as you please!"
But he added a word of caution: "However, the women living in this backyard are from the palace. General, please be mindful of your conduct!"
Cheng Liang composed himself and said, "I know what I'm doing, don't worry!"
As Cheng Liang continued walking towards the backyard, Physician Yue could only walk in the opposite direction, strolling towards the front yard.
Cheng Liang suddenly stopped and called out to him, "Imperial Physician Le, I think you should come with me to the backyard to take a look, lest we roughnecks accidentally disturb Miss Dingxiang, that would be terrible!"
Although Imperial Physician Yue really wanted to go, he pretended to be busy: "But I still have the Imperial Concubine's medicine to drink tonight simmering on the stove, I have to go and check on it!"
Cheng Liang insisted, "It's alright, we'll finish soon."
Physician Yue seemed very hesitant.
He looked at the front yard, then at the long corridor leading to the back yard, and finally relented, saying, "Alright then, please follow me."
So he led everyone toward the backyard.
"clove!"
"Lilac, where are you?"
"General Cheng has arrived with his men. Why don't you come out and pay your respects?"
Upon reaching the backyard, Physician Yue called out twice, but received no response from Dingxiang.
Physician Yue then said to Cheng Liang, "This girl is quite mischievous; she's always appearing and disappearing mysteriously. Who knows where she's run off to right now?"
Seeing that Cheng Liang had no intention of leaving, it seemed he wouldn't give up until he had thoroughly searched the place.
So he said, "How about this, I'll personally show you around first."
Cheng Liang nodded, not being polite at all, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Physician Le!"
So they went from room to room, checking each one one by one, until they were almost done, but they still couldn't find Dingxiang and Yishangyun.
At this moment, Cheng Liang was not the only one puzzled; Imperial Physician Yue was also among them.
He was wondering to himself, "Where did those two go?"
Just as Physician Yue was pondering to himself, Cheng Liang shifted his gaze to a two-story wooden house in the corner of the courtyard and asked, "What's this?"
Doctor Yue snapped out of his daze, glanced at it, and said, "Oh, this is some kind of studio that girl built herself!"
Cheng Liang thought for a moment, then raised one hand to signal the two guards: "Go and take a look!"
At first, Physician Yue didn't think much of it, but when he saw two guards heading towards the wooden house, he was shocked and chased after them while trying to stop them.
"No, General!"
"This...this is not allowed."
"You can't do it here."
Cheng Liang asked, puzzled, "Why not here?"
Physician Yue spread his arms wide, blocking the doorway, and said, "General, you may not know this, but this is not only her studio, but also the place where Miss Dingxiang takes herbal baths to detoxify every day."
Now that the entire mansion has been searched, there is still no trace of Yi Shangyun. Cheng Liang naturally cannot let any place go unchecked.
He could not be stopped by anyone: "Imperial Physician Yue, I am ordered by His Highness to search every corner of the Prince's mansion, therefore..."
Immediately following, an apology was issued: "I'm sorry!"
Suddenly, a large hand slammed its hand down on the door of the wooden house with a loud "bang."
Inside the house, Dingxiang was indeed there.
I heard a loud "bang".
Immediately afterwards, someone was seen pushing the door open and entering.
Dingxiang nimbly reached out and grabbed a dress from the clothes rack next to her, covering her chest with it.
Curled up tightly in the bathtub, she let out a terrified scream: "General Cheng, what are you doing?"
I thought Cheng Liang would back down upon seeing this, but to my surprise, Cheng Liang not only did not retreat even half a step, but also slowly moved forward.
Dingxiang stared intently into his eyes, her face full of doubt, and said, "General Cheng!"
I walked around the bathtub myself, again and again, but still found nothing.
Cheng Liang then apologized to her, saying, "I'm sorry, Miss Dingxiang. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that His Highness's lost item was too valuable, so I did it. I hope you can forgive me!"
Dingxiang said angrily, "Now that we've searched the place, and I'm sure you've already seen it all, General, there's nothing here. So, General, may I leave now?"
"Walk!"
Cheng Liang seemed to have no other choice but to leave quietly with his men.
"Respectfully seeing off the General!"
As the group of people left in disappointment, Physician Yue, standing outside the door and having overheard everything that had happened inside, also spoke.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun emerged from the bathtub filled with various antidote herbs floating on the surface of the water and took a deep breath.
With Dingxiang's help, she removed the herbs stuck to her hair and asked, "How is it? Are they all gone?"
Dingxiang nodded, but she still felt a little scared: "That was really close!"
As they spoke, they had both changed into clean clothes.
Yi Shangyun said thoughtfully, "It seems he has begun to suspect that I did not leave the Qin Prince's residence, which is why he sent people to search everywhere."
"What should we do then?" Dingxiang asked, extremely worried.
Yi Shangyun thought for a moment and said, "This place is not safe to stay for long. It seems I must find a way to leave."
Hearing that she planned to leave, Dingxiang was truly reluctant to let her go, but she was even more worried: "But where can you go if you leave here?"
Yi Shangyun placed a hand on Dingxiang's shoulder and said, "The world is vast, and I'm sure there will always be a place for me. The reason I decided to return to Western Qin was because I was worried about you. Now that the poison in your body has been cured, and I see that you are doing well in the Qin Prince's mansion, I am relieved. Physician Le is a highly skilled physician, but he has never taken on any apprentices in his life. It is your blessing that you can follow him."
After speaking, he paused, a sense of worry suddenly rising in his heart: "Next, I think I should also explore how I can return to the world that originally belonged to me."
Dingxiang asked, "Do you have any clues?"
Yi Shangyun revealed a faint smile and said, "Not yet, but since everything started at the Yi family mansion in the west of the city, perhaps there is a way back for me there!"
Even though she had not yet regained her memory, Dingxiang was still reluctant to part with her. She wanted to keep her with her, but she knew she couldn't be so selfish.
She was genuinely disappointed: "Everyone here says that His Highness the Prince of Qin truly loves you! Can't you give him a chance? Why insist on leaving?"
Yi Shangyun's heart, which had already been somewhat shaken by Xuan Yuanhan's repeated disruptions, was completely thrown into chaos by Dingxiang's question.
It took a long time before things calmed down again.
But he uttered two words with absolute resolve: "No!"
Upon hearing this, Dingxiang paused for a moment.
Yi Shangyun got up and walked out of the small wooden house. She said to Physician Le, who had been waiting in the courtyard, "Physician Le, I'm sure General Cheng and the others are looking for me. The Prince's mansion must be heavily guarded right now, so I'll have to trouble you to find a way to get me out of the mansion!"
Seeing that he was determined to leave, Imperial Physician Yue felt extremely reluctant: "Your Highness, I have never seen His Highness so attentive to any other woman before. Perhaps you should at least be honest with him..."
Yi Shangyun feared that if they continued talking, she might really waver, so she quickly stopped them, saying, "Alright, my mind is made up, there's no need to persuade me anymore! We've known each other for a while now..."
After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Let's part ways here!"
Physician Yue and Dingxiang could only call out to her silently one last time:
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness!"
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