A guard hurried forward and respectfully handed a secret letter to Xuanyuan Han with both hands.
"Your Highness, this is a confidential letter that just arrived from the palace. Please take a look!"
Xuanyuan Han stared blankly at the letter that the guard was holding high, a letter he had been eagerly anticipating.
He knew all along that in order to protect the identity of the Guardian's descendant, which was coveted by the world, he had been somewhat anxious about that plan, and had been kept under close surveillance.
Just as the truth was about to surface, both the Empress Dowager and Emperor Jing seemed to have become aware of their hidden spies in the palace.
Left with no other choice, he had to remove many people, pretend to be relaxed, and replace them with several new faces.
Even so, no news has come from the palace for quite some time.
It seemed as if all plans had come to a standstill. Although he was anxious, he could only wait for another opportunity.
Unexpectedly, no sooner had Yi Shangyun left than new news arrived, albeit belatedly.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that perhaps he was only thinking about protecting her, but he had fundamentally overlooked the fact that he really couldn't protect her at all!
As the guardian of Western Qin, if I am the true chosen one, rather than having her risk her life to protect me one day, I would rather let her go.
However, for the first time in his life, he began to have doubts and question everything he had done over the years.
"Which is more important, the world or her?"
"Now that she has completely left me and will never come back, does everything I have done really still matter?"
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan seemed to be deep in thought, Cheng Liang reached out and took the secret letter from the guard.
After delivering the secret letter, the guard turned and left.
"Your Highness..."
"Your Highness..."
It wasn't until a familiar voice finally roused him that Xuanyuan Han took the secret letter and unfolded it.
His mood was low, and his gaze moved slowly and listlessly across the paper.
There was no trace of emotion in his eyes anymore.
However, Cheng Liang, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Your Highness, has there finally been a new development in the matter?"
Xuanyuan Han then handed the message to Cheng Liang and walked towards Lin Yuexuan on his own.
As Cheng Liang walked behind him, he immediately began muttering to himself.
"Long En recently purchased a courtyard house in the city. Our people found out that an old woman and a young woman live there. Long En frequently visits this house and seems to have a very close relationship with the woman. Upon investigation, the woman's name is... Lan Xiang!"
Slowly shifting his gaze, Cheng Liang seemed to suddenly remember something, so he scratched his forehead with one hand, hurriedly searching his memory.
He muttered to himself, "Lanxiang...that name sounds familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before?"
Xuanyuan Han said in a deep voice, "Lanxiang, that's Yun'er from back then..."
I'm afraid to mention her, yet she's everywhere without me even realizing it.
He paused for a moment, then continued, "In order to find Ling'er's mother, she risked her life to go alone to Wanjiao Pavilion in the south of the city, where she was kidnapped."
Cheng Liang quickly searched his memory and finally realized, exclaiming in surprise, "It was her!"
Then, Xuanyuan Han added, "Lanxiang, she is Long En's daughter."
"What?"
"Lanxiang is Long En's daughter?!"
"That is the Empress Dowager's own granddaughter..."
"The Empress Dowager's own granddaughter, how could she be..."
"The girl who was bullied by everyone in Wanjiao Pavilion..."
Cheng Liang was extremely surprised.
"This truly is karma; no one escapes the judgment of Heaven. Who would have thought that this mother and son, who committed evil, would be the ones to suffer the consequences..."
Still unable to bear it any longer, she stopped and asked, puzzled, "How did Your Highness know all this?"
Looking back, if it weren't for Yi Shangyun, how would he have discovered this secret?
Xuanyuan Han frowned and slowly said, "Back then, when we were dismantling the Xiaolong Society, I considered that Long En had saved Yun'er's life, and that he still had a conscience. I also saw that he and his daughter had just reunited, and his plight was pitiful. The Xiaolong Society hadn't caused any real harm to the court, and the real perpetrator was Long Ye, who had already suffered the consequences of his actions and died. So I turned a blind eye and intended to spare Long En's life. But I never expected that he would actually be..."
As he spoke, he then fell into deep thought again.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at Lin Yuexuan.
After a moment's thought, Xuan Yuanhan instructed, "Although Lanxiang was once a courtesan, she is not inherently bad. Tomorrow, you must personally investigate and find out what this father and daughter are up to. I fear we don't have much time left! Right now, Mei Zhixuan's 200,000-strong army is advancing menacingly and will soon reach our border. Yet the Emperor seems completely unconcerned about it; there must be a hidden reason behind this. We must not be careless any longer!"
Cheng Liang immediately clasped his hands in a fist and accepted the order: "Yes!"
At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan sat at his desk, feeling utterly exhausted, so he pinched the bridge of his nose, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, it's late, you should go and rest!"
Too many things have happened recently, especially regarding Yi Shangyun, and Cheng Liang is genuinely worried about his master.
After much hesitation, she finally mustered the courage to speak and comfort him: "Your Highness, Yi Shangkun and his son may have already left the palace and will soon return home. Your Highness need not worry too much. As for the Princess Consort..."
He paused, gathering his thoughts, and continued, "Since Her Majesty has chosen to leave, Your Highness, you shouldn't be too sad. After all, perhaps it's for the best for Her Majesty to leave now, so we no longer have so many concerns!"
Facing the upcoming situation, Cheng Liang was full of confidence: "At worst, it'll be another tough battle. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. The brothers have been preparing for so long. It's time to teach those bastards a lesson and let them know the consequences of daring to provoke Western Qin!"
Xuanyuan Han knew his intentions, so he said, "You've worked hard these past years. I'm fine, you may leave!"
Helpless, Cheng Liang could only turn around and retreat.
Before I knew it, snowflakes began to fall softly once again in the quiet night.
Inside the Yunshui Pavilion.
The pavilions and towers are arranged in a pleasing and orderly manner.
Looking back, everything seems as peaceful and beautiful as ever.
After returning to Lin Yuexuan to bathe and change clothes, Xuan Yuanhan put on a white brocade robe and slowly walked over as if it were a habit.
As you push open the door, a warm and cozy feeling greets you.
The air was still filled with the familiar, faint scent of herbs that made me feel inexplicably at ease as soon as I entered.
All the interior furnishings and displays are still as they were when the clouds were on the robe.
Everything seems unchanged, but in reality, the place is truly deserted, and time has passed and will never return.
Suddenly snapping out of her reverie, she lightly brushed the snowflakes off her shoulder with her fingertips and slowly stepped across the threshold.
Her gaze swept across the hall, as if the image of Yi Shangyun's every smile and frown still lingered everywhere she looked; her shadow was everywhere she looked.
Unfortunately, when he reached out, he ended up grabbing nothing.
Helpless, he could only slowly sit down in the place where she usually sat and personally boil a pot of water.
He slowly opened his mouth and began to talk to himself in the air.
"How exactly did they do that?"
"How much love must that be?"
"It has only been a few days since we parted, yet it feels like an eternity. I am constantly in a daze and have fallen ill from longing!"
"When I close my eyes, all I see in my mind is your image."
"When I open my eyes, only anything related to you can lift my spirits."
"You are so cruel!"
"That's so cruel!"
"Can't you truly feel all the little things we've shared over the years, my feelings for you, everything we've been through together?"
"13 years..."
"The 13 years since he left..."
"You waited for him for 13 years!"
"How exactly have you managed to get through these past 13 years?"
"If it were me, how could I bear to let you wait like this?"
"It's all my fault! In the end, I couldn't do it, and I couldn't protect you!"
The hot water boils and makes a "bubbling" sound.
He picked up the teapot and brewed a cup of tea.
That was a health-preserving tea that Yi Shangyun had specially prepared for him.
But smelling its fragrance, he continued slowly, "For the rest of my life, I will have a cup of fragrant tea, but I will never have anyone to drink it with again."
"Day and night, we were inseparable, our love as close as the music of zither and lute. In the end, it all vanished like a bubble. If I had known beforehand that it was all just a mirage, a reflection in a mirror, I would have..."
He paused, still unable to bear it: "I will still choose to meet you and fall into your trap."
There are too many regrets in my heart: "But..."
"There are still many things that I haven't had time to do with you."
"I've heard that the Lantern Festival at the West City Market is the most lively on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year. I've never had the chance to enjoy the lanterns and boats there with you before."
"I think you'll really like it!"
...
She wanted to try to continue speaking, but tears had already blurred her vision.
"If I had known you would leave, I should have treated you better, much better."
Now, I only wish that you find peace and tranquility in your world, and that your years be free from worries!
At this moment, it seemed as if all the misunderstandings he had before about her, her hot and cold attitude towards him, and her aloofness all vanished.
Even now, rumors still circulate among the people about the strange events that happened on the night the eldest daughter of the Yi family suddenly awoke after being in a coma for a year, but these have all been forgotten.
In the quiet night, only endless longing remains, flowing gently, sorrowful and poignant...
As dawn approached.
The whole world was once again covered in a layer of silver.
Along with a few clear, varying depths of footprints left on the thick snow, the gate of the Yi Mansion in the west of the city was suddenly knocked on from the outside.
"It's not even dawn yet, who's knocking on the door?"
Upon hearing the sound, a servant in the mansion lit a candle in the room, hurriedly got up, and, trembling, went out to open the door with the lamp in hand.
With a creak, the servant raised the lamp high, illuminating the face of the person entering from outside the door.
He immediately opened his mouth wide and screamed in surprise...
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