Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan was so reluctant to speak, Cheng Liang had some suspicions in his heart, but he still refused to believe that his master had obviously really taken a liking to this ugly girl.
But he was also worried; wasn't his master's wedding imminent?!
At this moment, Yi Shangkun had just returned to the Imperial Pharmacy after leaving the palace on official business.
A colleague, seeing him return travel-worn, coldly remarked, "Pharmacist Yi is quite capable; he's raised a fine daughter."
"What do you mean?" Yi Shangkun asked with a puzzled look and a frown.
He was still unaware of what had happened that day. When he turned around, he saw that everyone around him was whispering and talking amongst themselves, giving him strange looks, and he wondered what they were discussing.
"Your good daughter has actually managed to get close to His Highness the Prince of Qin. Doesn't Pharmacist Yi know that? I really can't believe it. Pharmacist Yi must have a bright future ahead of him." His colleague's words were full of contempt and sarcasm.
"Nonsense! How could my daughter do such a thing?" Yi Shangkun said angrily, extremely surprised.
"Hmph, everyone in the Imperial Pharmacy saw it with their own eyes today. Your daughter was personally carried back to the Pharmacy by His Highness Prince Qin in front of everyone. If you don't believe me, why don't you go and ask your precious daughter yourself?" A colleague raised his eyebrows and provoked.
Yi Shangkun was speechless for a long time before finally sitting down. Someone muttered, "The imperial palace has always been a place of trouble. I didn't want you to enter the palace, but it was unavoidable. I only hoped that you could keep a low profile, be careful, and protect yourself. Unfortunately, it still didn't work out..."
Seeing him hesitate for a long time before letting out a long sigh, then shaking his head with a worried expression, he continued, "What was bound to happen has finally happened; there's no escaping it. This daughter before me looks and acts more and more like her birth mother, especially after waking up from a year-long coma—strong, brave, and kind. Is this fate? I only hoped she would live out her birth mother's dying wish, to live a peaceful and long life. I thought marrying her to the young master of the Western Qin Academy would give her a stable and prosperous life, but who would have thought there would be a broken engagement? And now, it's all because of me that she's entangled with these high-ranking members of the royal family; it's always me who's dragging her down."
Yi Shangkun sighed deeply, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as black holes...
Inside the medicine shop, Yi Shangyun finally woke up and slowly opened her eyes. She felt a splitting headache, and the events that happened before she fainted came flooding back to her mind.
When Dingxiang saw that she had woken up, she immediately went over and helped her up while asking with tears in her eyes, "Yun'er, how are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"
"It's alright, I'm much better now, don't worry," Yi Shangyun said, forcing herself to smile as she comforted Dingxiang and wiped away her tears. She knew Dingxiang must have been quite frightened this time.
"Yun'er, it was His Highness Prince Qin who saved you. The head medicine maid was demoted to a low-level medicine worker and given fifty strokes of the cane. She probably won't be able to get out of bed for at least a month. Oh, and Yun'er, can you guess who the head medicine master appointed as the new head medicine maid?" Dingxiang suddenly said to Yi Shangyun with great joy.
Yi Shangyun didn't care about this issue. At this moment, she just watched Dingxiang happily, seemingly forgetting all the fright she had experienced that day. Dingxiang said to herself with envy, "Yun'er, from today onwards you... Yi Shangyun, will be the head pharmacist of the Imperial Pharmacy. Now we've finally overcome our hardships and seen the light at the end of the tunnel. We'll never be bullied again."
However, Yi Shangyun did not feel the joy that Dingxiang had imagined. She remained pale and haggard, only slightly pursing her lips and blinking her eyes gently.
"Yun'er, there's something I want to ask you. Are you... are you very familiar with His Highness Prince Qin?" Dingxiang realized that she was getting a little too excited and suddenly felt embarrassed, so she changed the subject.
"No, how could someone like me be familiar with someone of such high status?" Yi Shangyun looked at himself from head to toe and said this.
But her eyes involuntarily darted away, and she tried to recall if she really knew him. How could someone of her status and appearance be associated with the supreme and noble King of Qin? She felt that it would be a desecration of the King of Qin, something she had never dared to hope for.
Upon hearing this, Dingxiang looked at Yi Shangyun suspiciously from left to right for a long time. Finally, she pouted and said with some doubt, "That's strange. I saw that you were in critical condition after being punished by the Great Medicine Maiden. I was originally going to Fenghua Palace to report to Princess Yue for help, but who knew that I would run into His Highness Prince Qin on the way. I didn't expect him to come to the Imperial Pharmacy in person, and... in front of everyone, he carried you, who was unconscious, all the way to the Medicine Maiden's bed. It doesn't seem like you two are strangers at all." As Dingxiang spoke, she scratched her head, as if she had a huge mystery that she couldn't solve.
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was startled and asked, "What did you just say? His Highness Prince Qin... His Highness carried me back?"
"Yes, after you fell ill and fainted in the small woodshed, the Prince of Qin was so worried that he personally carried you all the way back to the medicine ward and placed you on the bed. He even had the imperial physician carefully examine you before leaving. Everyone in the imperial pharmacy saw it, and no one present was not shocked or frightened. That was His Highness the Prince of Qin, who was as noble as a god!" Dingxiang said with an envious expression.
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun quickly lowered her head, her pale face instantly flushing red. She murmured, "He said the Seven-Colored Gold Jade Bracelet was a gift from him, and he even hugged it in front of everyone... King Qin, King Qin, you're trying to kill me! How can someone as unfortunate as me accept this? This is the Western Qin Kingdom a thousand years ago, not the 21st century!"
Then, she stared at her two small, thin hands that were slowly opening, and with lightning speed, she covered her entire face. Dingxiang looked at her with a completely bewildered expression.
......
Ever since the incident where the King of Qin personally visited the Imperial Pharmacy to protect Yi Shangyun, no one in the entire Imperial Pharmacy has dared to make things difficult for Yi Shangyun. Even the head of the academy always treats her with utmost respect and deference.
Now everyone thinks that Yi Shangyun is the one the King of Qin wants, and he even gave her a bracelet. It's possible that she will become the concubine of the King of Qin's mansion before long.
Who is the King of Qin? The line of people trying to curry favor with him stretches all the way out of the Western Qin kingdom, and they still can't find his door. Looking across the entire Western Qin kingdom, who would dare to oppose him? That would be like an egg hitting a rock, courting certain death.
Yi Shangyun thus became the chief pharmacist of the Imperial Pharmacy, and her life in the palace became much easier.
One day, a young female medicine seller hurriedly came to report, "Elder female medicine seller, a medicine merchant says he wants to see you."
"See me? I don't know any medicine merchants," Yi Shangyun asked, puzzled.
Yi Shangyun followed the young medicine girl and quickly arrived at the reception room of the Imperial Pharmacy. Upon entering, she saw that the person was facing away from her. The person's back was tall and imposing, with one hand behind his back, dressed in a black outfit, and his dark hair was half-tied up. Yi Shangyun stared at the person in a daze, wondering who this person could be.
Upon hearing Yi Shangyun's footsteps, the newcomer hurriedly turned around, and Yi Shangyun's symbolic peach blossom eyes immediately appeared before him, revealing a carefree and unrestrained demeanor.
Yi Shangyun's eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, "Third Young Master!"
Indeed, the person who came was Yi Junhao, the master of Baicaotang in Baicaogu, also known as the Third Young Master Yi.
"How did you know I worked at the Imperial Pharmacy?" Yi Shangyun asked, utterly puzzled.
"There's nothing in this world that I, the Third Young Master Yi, can't do if I want to know it or do it. Girl, are you still angry with your Third Brother?" Yi Junhao said arrogantly as he walked up to Yi Shangyun, slowly approaching her and asking tentatively with a hint of worry.
"Third Young Master, please don't bring up the past again. I only wish to treat you as a friend because I see you as a righteous and generous person. If you also want to be my friend, please be more respectful and refrain from such rudeness in the future, otherwise..." Yi Shangyun said in a serious tone, but before she could finish speaking, Third Young Master Yi interrupted her.
"Girl, don't worry. Since you truly consider me a friend, I, Yi Junhao, promise that I will never be rude to you again. If I ever treat you lightly again, may I, Yi Junhao, die a horrible death," Young Master Yi solemnly swore.
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun lowered her head, pursed her lips, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. Yi Junhao saw that she had completely forgiven him at this moment.
In fact, he knew that he had lost control of his emotions in Haitang Valley last time and that his behavior was indeed too abrupt. He had been very troubled by this ever since, fearing that Yi Shangyun would no longer see him or believe him.
Just then, some medicinal herbs needed to be delivered to the palace, so he took the opportunity to personally apologize to Yi Shangyun. Fortunately, he was forgiven, and he knew that this kind-hearted girl would not really hold a grudge against him.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun also envied Yi Junhao's carefree and unrestrained nature, as well as his superb medical skills. Having such a friend and confidant was indeed very good, but this was definitely not the kind of friend Yi Junhao wanted. She had to be frank with him and didn't want any misunderstandings or resentments between them in the future.
That night, in a quiet house near the eastern outskirts of Butterfly Valley of Xiqin Academy, the lights were on.
"Your Highness, Princess Yongle will arrive in Western Qin in three days. The post stations have all been set up and are just waiting for the princess's arrival," a personal guard reported in detail.
The Third Prince, as the guard had described, stood with his back to him, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a long white brocade robe, his black hair was tied up, his posture was upright, and his profile was gentle and refined, exuding an air of nobility.
The man asked in a very magnetic voice, "How's the investigation going with the person I asked you to look into?"
"Your Highness," the guard replied with great concern, "Back then, the late Empress fell into an abyss in the Western Qin Kingdom. Her guards, who were protecting her, were all killed. Later, the palace spies only found out that after the Empress fell into the abyss, she was helped by a couple in the mountains and gave birth to a princess before suddenly passing away. The princess was entrusted to the couple for adoption in her final moments. But now, time has passed, and the couple has long since disappeared. I'm afraid the princess's fate is also grim."
The man addressed as the Third Prince by the guards was none other than Mei Zhixuan, the third prince of the wealthy Dongning Kingdom on the Lingkong Continent, and the third brother of Princess Mei Xiyuan of Yongle, who was to be married to Prince Xuanyuan Han of the Western Qin Kingdom soon.
His trip to the Western Qin Kingdom was ostensibly to send a bride, but in reality, it was for...
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