When Yi Shangyun returned to the Qin Prince's Mansion from Haitang Valley, Xuanyuan Han had already returned from the palace.
She dismounted at the gate and rushed towards the pavilion where she was temporarily residing in the Prince of Qin's residence. She was just in time to run into Xuan Yuanhan, who was on his way to the Chenghua Hall of the Prince's residence.
"You..." Xuan Yuanhan was about to ask about the poisoned woman's condition when he suddenly saw Yi Shangyun's red, tear-filled eyes, as if she had already been crying.
"Your Highness, Prince Qin," Yi Shangyun bowed hastily, then rose and walked past Xuan Yuanhan.
Seeing Yi Shangyun in such a disheveled state, Xuan Yuanhan murmured to himself, "What's wrong with her?"
As soon as Yi Shangyun returned to the attic, she buried her face in her arms on the desk in the study and burst into tears. At that moment, she felt extremely wronged, as if only a good cry could release the emotions she had suppressed for so long.
"Wei Mingxuan, you bastard, where have you been? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" Yi Shangyun cried as she spoke.
In the 21st century, she loved Wei Mingxuan so much, but he left and disappeared without leaving a single word; while Yang Junzhe, whom she thought could be her best friend, recklessly tried to force a marriage into their friendship.
From childhood to adulthood, she has borne all the hardships alone.
Now in this Western Qin Kingdom, she is still alone and helpless, possessing only the body of the original owner, but unable to receive the genuine love and care of the original owner's parents.
Ugly, useless, broken engagement... all these labels made her feel depressed, wronged, and innocent.
And Yi Sanshao, the person she wanted to truly treat as a friend in this country, was being so disrespectful to her today.
She felt completely broken down, almost unable to breathe, wondering if there was any world or space left for her to breathe in. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life in a quiet corner of the world, enjoying tranquility and quietude.
Seemingly exhausted, she slumped onto the table, stroking the seven-colored jade bracelet with gold threads on her wrist. Suddenly, she noticed that blood-red patterns had appeared on it, somewhat resembling the letter "T". Looking at it, she suddenly raised her voice and roared, "When can I go back? I want to go back! I want to return to my world!"
Xuan Yuanhan, who was standing to the side, heard these words clearly. He had been watching her from the doorway of her pavilion for quite some time, but she hadn't noticed at all.
Finally, Xuan Yuanhan took a deep breath, as if he had mustered up his courage, and walked in to her side.
After he passed by, he handed her a man's handkerchief, but his eyes were fixed straight ahead without looking at Yi Shangyun. Yi Shangyun was startled by the sudden handkerchief and quickly stood up.
Upon seeing the person, she dared not accept the handkerchief offered by him. She hurriedly wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hands and sleeves, and said, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"
Xuan Yuanhan gave her a sneer, seemingly on purpose. "Hmph, this entire Prince Qin's mansion belongs to me. Can't I come here?"
"That's not what I meant," Yi Shangyun hurriedly explained.
"Then what do you mean?" Xuan Yuanhan actually pressed on. In the past, how could the King of Qin have done such a childish thing? If Cheng Liang knew, who knows how he would laugh at him?
He had barely opened his mouth when he suddenly realized his question was somewhat awkward, so he changed the subject, saying, "Are you not used to staying in the Prince's residence and want to go back to the palace?"
Upon hearing the voice, Yi Shangyun immediately looked into his eyes and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I am living very well. Why do you say that?"
Xuan Yuanhan glared at her. "Then what did you mean when you said you wanted to go back?"
Yi Shangyun realized that Xuan Yuanhan might have overheard her words, so she explained, "What I said just now was not what Your Highness thinks. Please don't take it to heart. I'm really fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
"Tell me what happened just now, and perhaps I can help you." Although he meant to comfort people, Xuan Yuanhan's indifferent tone and icy eyes made it clear that he didn't think so at all.
“Your Highness, I am truly good,” Yi Shangyun said.
He seemed to realize his slip of the tongue, his eyebrows and eyes suddenly rising high but immediately returning to their usual coldness, and said, "That's good. I came to ask about the condition of the poisoned woman you brought back last night."
Yi Shangyun then remembered that she had not yet reported this matter to Xuan Yuanhan since returning from Haitang Valley, so she immediately began to speak in a serious and solemn manner.
"Your Highness, you don't know yet, do you? That woman is actually the old woman's missing daughter-in-law, named Yu Niang. But she was not only poisoned by a slow-acting herb, but also... and she lost her memory."
Xuanyuan Han, who had been keeping his eyes down, suddenly looked up at Yi Shangyun, clearly surprised. Seeing his surprised expression, Yi Shangyun continued, "Your Highness, while treating Yu Niang, I discovered something that I find very strange, and I believe Your Highness must know about it."
"What is it?" Xuan Yuanhan was as sparing with words as ever, his language concise and refined.
"I've thought about it carefully all day, and I've found that the poison that my mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, Yu Niang, were given is a bit strange. I don't know exactly what the problem is, but it just feels a bit suspicious and I can't figure it out. Your Highness is a person in the court and is familiar with the affairs of the country and the current situation, perhaps you can guess what it is," Yi Shangyun said earnestly.
"When I first met the old woman in the market, I discovered that the poison she was afflicted with was a form of Gu poison..."
Before Yi Shangyun could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan exclaimed in surprise, "Gu poison?!"
Yi Shangyun nodded firmly and said, "Yes, this servant was definitely poisoned by Gu. Fortunately, my mother-in-law was only slightly poisoned at that time. If it had been any later, I'm afraid..."
Yi Shangyun hesitated for a moment before continuing, "As for my mother-in-law's daughter-in-law, Yu Niang, I had some suspicions yesterday. To verify my suspicions, I carefully confirmed with her this morning after she woke up. The poison Yu Niang was poisoned with is Gelsemium elegans."
"It's not too difficult to detoxify from Gelsemium elegans. You can decoct mung beans, honeysuckle, and licorice root and drink the detoxifying decoction."
"However, the type of poisoning her comes from a northern nomadic country, and there are many different kinds of poisoning herbs in Western Qin. There is absolutely no need to import poisoning herbs from outside. If it was done by people from Western Qin, there would be no need to go to such lengths. Therefore, I suspect that the person who poisoned her is most likely from a northern nomadic country."
"What's so strange about the poisoning of the old woman?" Xuan Yuanhan asked again.
"I'm certain the type of poison that my mother-in-law was afflicted with originated from the Southern Kingdom. I suspect the person who poisoned her was also very likely from the Southern Kingdom." Yi Shangyun suddenly realized something, her eyes widened as she looked at Xuan Yuanhan's back and exclaimed in alarm, "Your Highness, there are foreign spies in Western Qin. There must be a big conspiracy."
Xuanyuan Han stood by the window with his hands behind his back, silently gazing out at the view with a gloomy expression.
Half a day later, he finally withdrew his gaze, put one hand behind his back, turned around and looked directly into Yi Shangyun's phoenix eyes. He slowly walked step by step to Yi Shangyun's front. Yi Shangyun looked at him with a somewhat flustered and nervous expression, probably because he had been quite frightened by Young Master Yi today.
When Xuan Yuanhan walked up to her, he stared at her intently for a moment before saying slowly and deliberately, "This matter must not be told to a second person." Yi Shangyun nodded thoughtfully in agreement.
After seeing Yi Shangyun agree, he kept his eyes fixed on her for a long time before turning around and walking out of the pavilion.
Yi Shangyun was so frightened that her legs went weak. She then sat down heavily with a "thump" and found that she was sweating profusely from nervousness. Her palms, which she was clenching tightly in her hands, were also damp.
How could one not be nervous being stared at so closely and with such an ambiguous gaze by such a godlike man? He was none other than His Highness the Prince of Qin, who looked down upon the world and was incomparably noble.
Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanhan stopped at the door and said, "If you're sad, look up at the sky," before leaving.
Yi Shangyun quickly looked up and stared at his departing figure for a long while before getting up and going to the courtyard. She slowly raised her head and looked at the boundless blue sky in front of her.
This is the sky over Western Qin. Despite the vicissitudes of time, the changing of dynasties, and the transformation of the world, this blue sky has remained unchanged throughout history.
“Wei Mingxuan, you must still be here, right…”
Stepping out of the attic, Xuan Yuanhan looked at the handkerchief he had just been about to hand to Yi Shangyun and thought, "This woman is indeed intelligent, meticulous, and strong and brave." A handsome smile involuntarily curved his lips, and even his eyebrows relaxed.
Upon arriving at Chenghua Hall, he found Vice General Cheng Liang waiting for him.
When Xuan Yuanhan approached, the prince quickly bowed and greeted him.
"What did you find out?" Xuan Yuanhan asked coldly, having already withdrawn all his previous expression.
"Miss Yi went to Begonia Valley today. She met a man at Hundred Herbs Hall, and he took her there. The man's identity is very secretive and cannot be found. Moreover..." As he spoke, Cheng Liang hesitated and couldn't finish his sentence.
"And what?" Xuan Yuanhan asked, his brows furrowed, as if he sensed something was amiss.
"Moreover, some villagers passing by saw that the man made inappropriate advances towards Miss Yi," Cheng Liang glanced furtively at Xuan Yuanhan, and seeing his increasingly angry expression, he immediately continued, "Oh, but according to the villagers, Miss Yi was very angry about the man's actions, so she got up and rode away."
Xuanyuan Han was very angry, but he could only endure it because he didn't know what he could do or how to do it. He was afraid that one day he would reach his breaking point.
"Find that person at all costs!" Xuan Yuanhan ordered. Cheng Liang obeyed.
"Also, the Northern Lie Kingdom and the Southern An Kingdom, hurry up and investigate their spy bases in Western Qin. We can't wait any longer; they've already started making their moves. Also, remind our foreign spies to be extra careful," Xuan Yuanhan said meaningfully.
Cheng Liang also asked with a serious expression, "What about Dongning? Should we investigate that too?"
Xuanyuan Han took a deep breath and then said, "There's no need to investigate Dongning for now. If I'm not mistaken, once their princess arrives in Xiqin, their spies will surely be exposed."
"Yes, I understand." Cheng Liang immediately understood and then slowly retreated, gently closing the door behind him.
It was late at night when Xuan Yuanhan returned to his bedchamber. Standing by the window, he could see that Yi Shangyun was temporarily staying in the pavilion of the Qin Prince's mansion. The lights were still on, and she had not yet rested.
Unconsciously, Xuan Yuanhan pulled out the silk handkerchief embroidered with the character "Yun" from his sleeve again, staring at it intently, thinking: Isn't he Wei Mingxuan, the one she murmured during her illness? If so, why was she crying so bitterly in the attic today? Who exactly is Wei Mingxuan?
......
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