Jinlan suddenly knelt down before Xuanyuan Yue, tightly hugging her knees, and choked out, "Princess, how could things have turned out like this? Just thinking about the long future ahead, about how we'll be living under someone else's roof in Dongning, being discriminated against, and it seems like it's going to be a long time from now... Jinlan... Jinlan just can't take it anymore..."
In this foreign land, which was far more difficult than they had anticipated, every servant in the seemingly magnificent and vast Dongning Imperial Palace was cautious and timid every day, as if walking on thin ice.
These words, which had been bottled up in the young palace maid's heart for far too long, had lingered in her mind countless times over the past year.
However, after much deliberation, she knew that if she said these words, her master would be even more heartbroken than she was. But if she didn't speak, she felt as if she were suffocating.
For more than a year, this intense homesickness has been like a huge, ever-growing tumor, devouring her heart inch by inch, day and night, minute by minute. She feels that she may be on the verge of collapse at any moment.
Could it be that she steeled her heart, gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and leaped into the air, so that her humble soul would transform into a wisp of smoke, completely free, drifting back to her hometown, to her familiar homeland, to be with her loved ones, to be with them forever, never to be separated again?
But how could she bear to leave her master, especially now that there was another young master? How could she bear to abandon her and her child to face all the open and hidden attacks, the cold ridicule and sarcasm here?
Jinlan's words at this moment were also a long-standing wound in Xuanyuan Yue's heart!
Did she really get all the love and good man she longed for back then?
That person was hot and cold towards her, sometimes close and sometimes distant, making her completely unable to figure him out.
She was extremely frustrated, hating herself for being powerless, unable to truly enter that person's heart no matter how hard she tried.
She suddenly recalled how, in front of her most respected Uncle Qin, she had made such a solemn and unwavering vow.
And that silly girl, in order to help her fulfill her love, was punished by her father and almost lost her life.
But now, has she ever had even the slightest hesitation or regret about her initial obsession?
Is she truly happy?
As Xuanyuan Yue recalled these past events, she silently asked herself questions in her heart, while lowering her head to look with heartache at the little palace maid who was now burying her head in her knees and sobbing sadly.
She frowned, raised a hand and gently stroked Jinlan's head again and again, but all the words she wanted to say seemed to boil down to a profound call and apology: "Jinlan, I'm sorry..."
Upon hearing this, Jinlan suddenly raised her head and grasped Xuanyuan Yue's hand, saying excitedly, "No, Princess, I'm sorry, it's Jinlan who has wronged you, it's Jinlan who is useless. Jinlan knew she shouldn't have said those things and hurt you. Now that you've just given birth to the little prince, you're still weak. Jinlan was so foolish..."
For a moment, Jinlan was extremely flustered.
The two gazed at each other deeply for a long time. While wiping away Jinlan's tears, Xuanyuan Yue said, "Good Jinlan, don't worry, one day, this princess will definitely let you return to the Western Qin Kingdom..."
Upon hearing this, Jinlan immediately wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and said urgently, "No, Princess, Princess, please don't send Jinlan away. Jinlan has been deeply indebted to you since childhood. If it weren't for you standing up for me, finding out the truth for my brother, and clearing his name, my only brother would probably have been wrongly accused of murder and beheaded eight years ago because of that corrupt official. I would be willing to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life, and I will be eternally grateful to you."
In her anxiety, Jinlan let go of her hands and hurriedly knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing to Xuanyuan Yue.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Seeing this, Xuan Yuan Yue quickly got up and tried to help her up while advising, "Jin Lan, what are you doing? Get up quickly, get up for this princess."
Jinlan continued to kowtow, insisting, "Jinlan will not rise. Unless the princess promises Jinlan that she will never send Jinlan away, even in death, Jinlan will stay with the princess. Princess, Jinlan was wrong, Jinlan was truly wrong."
Xuan Yuan Yue was extremely anxious and blurted out, "Jin Lan, get up. Please get up and listen to what I have to say, okay? I don't just want you to return to Xi Qin, I want everyone to go back."
Upon hearing this, Jinlan finally quieted down, looking into her eyes with surprise and confusion, and asked, "What did the princess say? Everyone?"
Xuanyuan Yue nodded seriously to her, finally helping Jinlan up. Then she looked around at the surroundings, which seemed familiar yet strange to her, and said, "Everyone here will return to the Western Qin Kingdom."
Upon hearing this, Jinlan burst into laughter through her tears, but after a moment's thought, she looked bewildered and asked, "Princess, Jinlan doesn't understand what you mean by that?"
Xuanyuan Yue gently pressed him down to sit beside the table, then glanced back at the young child on the bed, relieved that she hadn't woken him.
Jinlan followed his gaze to the baby on the bed and asked in confusion, "What about you, Princess? Will you and the little prince return to the Western Qin Kingdom?"
Xuan Yuan Yue looked back into Jin Lan's eyes, her expression more earnest and resolute than ever before: "Jin Lan, I assure you, I will ensure that nothing happens to any of the citizens of Xi Qin who have come with me. One day, I will ensure that you all return to Xi Qin safely."
Jinlan looked at Xuanyuan Yue, who had never looked so serious before, and suddenly seemed to guess something, saying, "Princess, you don't mean to..."
Xuan Yuan Yue quickly reached out to stop her from saying the rest of her words, and turned around to say only, "Jin Lan, there's no need to ask any more questions. I will definitely keep my promise to you tonight. But right now, the little prince has just turned one month old, so all of you must be on high alert and protect the little prince."
As she spoke, Xuan Yuan Yue slowly walked back to the bed and sat down. She gazed at her young son for a long time before finally placing a gentle kiss on his sleeping forehead and whispering, "He is the only person I can't let go of in my life. He must be well, he absolutely must be well."
As soon as she finished speaking, a few crystal tears quietly slid down her cheeks. Jinlan, who was deep in thought about her words, did not notice. Xuanyuan Yue quickly turned her head away and secretly wiped them away.
That night.
Inside a beautifully crafted two-story wooden house built on an extremely remote island east of Dongning Kingdom.
The sea breeze blew in from outside, causing the lone lamp to flicker, but the room didn't feel dark.
The bright moonlight of the autumn night poured in, shining precisely on the quiet face of a woman on the bed, making her skin appear even more like jade.
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan was silently gazing at the unconscious person on the bed.
The two were so close that they could touch each other with just a reach.
Yet the distance was so vast, so vast that she would never know that they had ever been so close, so vast that it would never be possible in this lifetime.
When we first met, there was a girl whose face was veiled and who remained silent.
When they met again, she was a thoughtful, kind, gentle, brave, and strong woman.
...
Throughout his life, he searched for her and never gave up.
Only he firmly believed that she was still alive in this world.
Thus, countless autumns turned to spring, and springs turned to autumn.
From Dongning to Xiqin, from Xiqin to Beilie, and from Beilie back to Dongning, he finally brought her back.
After many twists and turns, perseverance finally paid off. All of this was no easy feat!
As she gazed and pondered, she uttered a soft, unusually gentle sound: "I've finally found you!"
After saying that, she seemed extremely at ease and gradually closed her eyes, drifting into a sweet dream she hadn't had in a long time.
It was in front of a picturesque mountain cabin, a beautiful little house that seemed to exist in a fairy tale.
He lost his way and was trapped in the forest for a night, feeling cold, hungry, and scared.
Waking up in the early morning, he reached out and pushed open the door of the cabin. He saw herbs and flowers everywhere in the yard, dancing gently in the morning breeze. The air was filled with a gentle breeze and the faint fragrance of herbs and flowers under the sunlight. The loving rays of the rising sun shone on him.
"Come here, come here quickly!"
At this moment, a woman in her early twenties, dressed in purple, with a large belly, and surrounded by rays of light, came out of the house. She was so kind, gentle, beautiful, and generous as she called out to him.
Just as he was beaming with joy and about to step over the threshold, a pair of strong hands suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing him tightly and shouting, "Get out of here! You lowly servant born of a slut! Is this a place for you? Humph..."
Before he could even turn around and see the face of the person who had grabbed him, he had already been thrown far, far away by two burly guards.
Just then, a little girl, a bit younger than him, passed by him, looked him over carefully for a while, and then handed him a small porcelain bottle that she was holding in her little hand.
"Young man, no matter how unhappy you are, as long as you take this medicine, I guarantee you will be free from worries and troubles."
He stared wide-eyed, took the small porcelain bottle from the little girl's hand with some skepticism, and drank it all in one gulp.
Sure enough, his heart suddenly felt less sorrowful. At the same time, a ray of purple light shone upon him, and his body slowly became lighter and lighter. He felt as if his body had left the ground and was slowly rising.
Yes, he actually flew up.
He was overjoyed. He flew higher and higher, gradually, higher than the little girl, higher than the animals, higher than the entire forest, higher than the birds, even higher than the clouds...
"I want to get down, put me down quickly..." After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly looked down and frantically cried out to the little girl on the ground, who was now so small that she could no longer be seen.
"Little brother, isn't this feeling of being high above, the only one in the world, good?" Suddenly, the little girl appeared in the air beside him and asked, tilting her head.
"Knock knock knock..."
Just then, a knock on the door startled him awake.
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