Xuanyuan Yue chuckled and said, "Coincidentally? Hmph... This is by no means a coincidence. Uncle Qin was making such a big show of himself traveling at night just to wait for you to appear. Why didn't you come to His Highness the King of Qin for help from the beginning?"
"Uncle Qin?" Upon hearing this, Lanxiang realized with surprise that the seemingly dashing woman on horseback who had been asking her questions was actually Princess Qin. And seeing how concerned and anxious she seemed about Yi Shangyun's matter, could it be that the two of them were also acquainted?
Coming to her senses, Lanxiang quickly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness Prince Qin and Your Highness the Princess, when I was being chased by assassins, Yun'er realized they were after my life. She suggested that she go and fetch my grandmother so I could find someone at Wanjiao Pavilion to seek help. I knew Your Highness was looking for Yun'er at Wanjiao Pavilion, and initially suggested I seek His Highness's protection directly. But Yun'er said His Highness was using this as a pretext to find me, while actually handling important matters of the court. I mustn't let His Highness be distracted by my affairs and ruin his plans. Even if I met His Highness, I mustn't reveal a single word. If I weren't so desperate and at a loss, I wouldn't dare..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue silently shifted her gaze to Xuan Yuan Han, only to see his brows furrowing more and more tightly. Little did she know that at this moment, anger was rising within him. This incredibly foolish woman always loved to think she was so clever and self-righteous. When would she ever understand his heart?
After a long pause, he spoke, asking, "Do you know Yu Niang?"
"Yu Niang?" Upon hearing this name, Lan Xiang couldn't help but lower her head and tremble slightly. "I wonder why Your Highness would ask about Yu Niang?"
"Yu Niang was someone I placed in Wan Jiao Pavilion, but she disappeared without a trace not long ago. Do you know where she is now?"
"I see. Yu Niang, she has been locked up in the pavilion in the backyard of Wan Jiao Pavilion by the Pavilion Master."
"Nonsense! My men have thoroughly searched the backyard of Wanjiao Pavilion many times, and found no place where anyone could be detained!" Xuan Yuanhan suddenly raised his voice and shouted angrily.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Yu Niang and Yun'er are indeed locked in a secret room in the back courtyard of Wan Jiao Pavilion." Upon seeing this, Yan Hong hurriedly stepped forward to explain. Lan Xiang was also quite surprised by this. As she had expected, the forbidden area in the back courtyard pavilion was indeed full of hidden secrets.
"A secret room?" Xuan Yuanhan murmured, looking at Yan Hong with a puzzled expression.
Yan Hong continued, "I am Yan Hong from Wan Jiao Pavilion, and also the madam's adopted daughter. I overheard the madam mentioning that there is an extremely mysterious secret room in the pavilion in the backyard of Wan Jiao Pavilion."
"Do you know where the mechanism is in that secret room?" Xuan Yuanhan asked excitedly.
However, Yan Hong shook her head helplessly.
Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she hurriedly said, "Since the madam knows there is a secret room in the attic, perhaps she knows the mechanism to open it. I will go and ask the madam; I think she will definitely tell me."
Without a moment's hesitation, Xuan Yuanhan paused for a moment, then raised his hand, and a guard stepped forward and said to the two women kneeling on the ground, "Miss, quickly mount your horse."
Thus, a large and imposing procession continued its rapid march towards Wanjiao Pavilion in the pitch-black night.
In the tea room in the backyard of Wanjiao Pavilion.
Tuoba Ze's personal guard asked earnestly once again, "Your Highness, we have yet to investigate the mysterious power of the Western Qin Kingdom. Does Your Highness really intend to return to the country like this?"
Tuoba Ze sat at the tea table, gazing at the constantly boiling water before him, and murmured, "'Where there's life, there's hope.' For the past two years, there has been absolutely no news about that extremely mysterious and powerful force in the world. We haven't even figured out what this force actually is. We only have scattered information that whoever possesses this power will rule the world. Is this force a mysterious tribe, or a special woman? Is it a divine sword capable of slaying demons and monsters, or a mysterious bloodline possessing the most wondrous power in the world, or a sacred artifact passed down through generations of this mysterious tribe—a power capable of creating miracles? Everything…"
He paused for a moment, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, then exhaled a breath of stale air and continued, "Forget it, let's go back first. We can discuss this matter further later. Right now, Wanjiao Pavilion is on the verge of collapse."
After he finished speaking, he looked up at the place across the street, a place to which he had devoted so much effort and sweat, his face filled with reluctance and helplessness.
At this moment, the guard beside him also looked in the direction he was looking, and then said, "Very well, we'll be back sooner or later anyway. I just hope that when we return to Western Qin next year, the Second Prince will be able to work together with us. That would be wonderful..."
Seeing that his master was still gazing at him with a long, reluctant look in his eyes, the guard changed the subject and said, "Your Highness, please take Yi Shangyun and leave through the secret passage first. I will cover your retreat."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze withdrew his gaze, came to his senses, slowly got up, and walked to the guard. Suddenly, he put his hand on the guard's shoulder and patted him, saying in a particularly polite manner, "These years, you have followed me on my travels, you have worked hard."
The guard bowed respectfully to him in a flustered manner and said, "What are you saying, Master? It is my honor to be able to follow you and share your burdens in this life."
Then, Tuoba Ze slowly walked to the window, closed his eyes, and said quietly, "Apart from the madam, deal with everyone else in Wanjiao Pavilion. Remember, don't leave any trace."
He spoke extremely vicious words as if they were nothing more than trivial matters, as if human life were no different from that of grass.
The guard listened with a puzzled look, then hesitated before asking, "What about Yu Niang? Your Highness wouldn't really agree to Yi Shangyun's request and release her, would you...?"
Tuoba Ze kept his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought or perhaps simply resting.
After a long silence, as if he had finally made a difficult decision, he slowly said, "Keep her locked in the dark room and let her fend for herself. Whether she lives or dies is up to fate..."
Hearing this, the guard felt confident and said with certainty, "Your Highness, rest assured, I know what to do. Your Highness, please prepare and set off quickly, as Prince Qin Xuanyuan Han and his guards are not here right now."
"Yes, take good care of yourself, and catch up as soon as you've settled everything here."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guard withdrew to make the preparations.
Tuoba Ze returned to the tea table and sat down, lost in deep thought.
Inside the secret room, someone suddenly pushed the door open, and a beam of light immediately shot in.
Under the pitch-black sky, Yu Niang instinctively squinted and raised her hand slightly to shield her eyes from the glaring light.
After a while, as if she had finally adjusted to the long-unseen sliver of light, she slowly opened her eyes and gradually saw that the person who pushed open the door was a beautiful young woman with a veil covering her face. She couldn't believe her eyes. In this life, she could see her old friend again. So, half in belief and half in surprise, she weakly called out, "Miss Yi, is that you?"
As soon as they entered the dark room, the guards removed the black cloth covering Yun's clothes and eyes.
Hearing the voice, she frantically searched the pitch-black chamber for its source, calling out, "Yu...Yu Niang, is that you? Where are you?"
Upon hearing the affirmative response, Yu Niang burst into tears of joy, saying, "I'm here, Miss Yi, it really is you, it really is you, Miss Yi."
After searching for a long time without finding the person she was looking for, Yi Shangyun angrily shouted at the guards behind her, "Quickly light the lamp for me!"
To everyone's surprise, instead of lighting a lamp for her, the man suddenly reached out and shoved her forcefully through the door.
Yi Shangyun was pushed so hard that she stumbled and fell into a dark corner, startling several mice into squealing. She was immediately terrified.
To be specific, she was terrified. Because in the 21st century, no one would imagine that this fearless, rugged woman from Northwest China would be so terrified of rats. She couldn't even bear to look at a picture of a rat.
For a moment, she hugged herself tightly, wishing she possessed some extraordinary skill or divine power, so she could float in the air or hang upside down. Or perhaps, like Xiaolongnu in the TV series "The Return of the Condor Heroes," she could simply use a rope as a bed to lie across...
In short, as long as her feet don't touch the ground where rats are scurrying around, anything goes.
But how could that be? In this unfamiliar time and space, she was just an ordinary, weak woman, who at most carried a so-called divine artifact that seemed to be broken.
At that moment, she felt that the place was as cold as an ice cellar, eerie and terrifying, and extremely chilling.
While she was still in shock and lost in thought, the guard suddenly turned and locked the door. Only then did Yi Shangyun snap out of her daze and run frantically to the door, pressing herself against it and pounding on it with all her might, shouting, "Open the door! Open the door now! Open the door for me! Bastard, liar, son of a bitch..."
In the end, she realized that despite all her caution, she had still been deceived by Tuoba Ze, that untrustworthy wolf.
Finally, she slowly and helplessly gave up this futile struggle and stopped what she was doing.
She thought to herself, "Could it be that he already knew I would never die for my country? And he even used a trick against me, luring me to this dark and gloomy place and locking me up with Yu Niang?"
At that moment, a saying suddenly came to mind, and it truly applied to her: "It's better to believe in ghosts than to believe a man's words."
Speaking of Yu Niang, right, when she first came in, she seemed to hear a woman's voice. She immediately murmured, "Yu Niang, right, Yu Niang, where are you?"
As he spoke, he reached out and continued groping in the darkness.
“Miss Yi, Yu Niang is here, here…” Yu Niang responded weakly.
"Where, where, Yu Niang, where are you? Ah..." In the darkness, a scream was heard. Yi Shangyun seemed to have tripped over something and fell heavily to the ground, feeling intense pain.
Yu Niang slowly reached out and touched Yi Shangyun's ankle, which had been tripped by her slumped body. Yi Shangyun didn't realize that Yu Niang's hand had caught her, and cried out in surprise again, "Ah..."
"Don't be afraid, it's me, I'm Yu Niang," Yu Niang said weakly to her.
"Yu Niang, Yu Niang, it really is you, I've finally found you, I've finally found you..." Yi Shangyun then followed the hand that was holding his ankle and found Yu Niang's body. He rushed over and hugged her tightly in his arms.
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