"Your Highness, my heart is not big, but just right, it can only hold Your Highness alone. In this life, Yun'er only asks to be with Your Highness for a lifetime, for one lifetime, for one couple."
"Your Highness, Happy New Year! New Year, new beginnings!"
"When Yun'er saw that the sachet she had made for His Highness had lost its effectiveness, she went out with Yan'er to find another one for him. However, compared to the treasure chest His Highness had given Yun'er, Yun'er's was nothing. This sachet could prevent and treat epidemics. The medicine packet contained Atractylodes lancea, Patchouli, Artemisia argyi, Evodia rutaecarpa, Realgar, Borneol, Camphor, and other ingredients. This type of sachet has a warm, fragrant, penetrating, deep, and long-lasting scent, which can ward off poisonous gases."
"When I learned that my father's will, before his death, bequeathed the entire Dongning Kingdom to me, I understood why he had bestowed upon me the title of... Yongning... Therefore, even though I am not the ruler of a nation, even if I am just a humble commoner, I have a responsibility to protect this city with my entire life, until death do us part. I will never leave this place in my life. Therefore, this will be an insurmountable chasm between us..."
"It belongs to the Third Young Master. What, does it mean that even though this princess is pregnant with another man's child, the Prince of Qin can completely disregard it and still insist on keeping me?"
"Between you and me, from beginning to end, it was all just a charade. I never gave you even a shred of my true feelings!"
...
Inside Chenghua Hall, Xuanyuan Han, dressed in a brocade white robe with his black hair tied up, stood by the window with his hands behind his back, lost in thought as he gazed at the unique garden scenery under the twilight, recalling every bit of the past, whether joyful or sorrowful.
He seemed to have pondered for a long time, but still couldn't understand. So he asked in a low voice, "You are gentle and kind, passionate and fiery; you are also ruthless and decisive, unmatched by anyone. Which one is the real you? Why do you treat me like this? Am I really not as good as that extremely alluring Crown Prince of Nan'an? Or perhaps, is it just because he is the future king of the Southern Kingdom? But how do you know that one day in the future, I will not rule the world?"
His tone gradually turned cold, and finally, as if he had made a decision in secret, he took a deep breath and said with a sigh of relief, "Since that's the case, then I will grant your wish. May you and the Crown Prince of Nan'an grow old together. I swear, I will forget you completely. In this life, I will pretend that I have never met you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and slowly moved to the desk, where he placed two sachets on it. These were gifts from the person he thought about day and night.
He walked over and gently picked it up, took one last look, and finally mustered up his courage, preparing to throw it away. Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps echoed through the vast, silent palace.
Looking around, he saw that it was his deputy general Cheng Liang who had entered, so he put the two sachets back on the table.
Cheng Liang noticed his actions from afar and paused for a moment.
Xuan Yuanhan then sat down at the tea table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a small sip, and asked casually, "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"
Cheng Liang lowered his head, not daring to look him in the eye, and hesitantly reported, "Your Highness, the secret guards we arranged to monitor Princess Dongning have sent word that... Princess Dongning... she... she has disappeared."
He had just made up his mind that he would never care about her again in this lifetime, but when he heard news about her, he still couldn't control his emotions.
He slammed his teacup heavily on the coffee table in front of him, glared at Cheng Liang, and demanded, "What kind of work is this?"
Seeing this, Cheng Liang dared not utter another word, seemingly unsure of what else he could say or do.
Back then, this master was repeatedly humiliated by Yi Shangyun in Dongning Kingdom, almost losing his life. Even though Yi Shangyun was pregnant with Young Master Yi's child, when this master left in anger, he did not remove his trusted confidants who had been secretly protecting Yi Shangyun.
Although his master claimed it was to monitor Dongning Kingdom's every move, he could fool anyone but Cheng Liang.
Cheng Liang knew perfectly well how much his master was suffering after what had happened. For someone as cold as an iceberg to finally fall in love with someone, the feeling of falling from the clouds was something that only someone who had experienced it firsthand could truly understand.
Ever since being rejected in Dongning and returning to the Prince of Qin's residence, the master has declined all invitations to tea gatherings from court officials, spending his days locked in his residence, sullen and unhappy, and sometimes even getting completely drunk.
In all those years, his master had never been so fond of drinking! Although he didn't say it, Cheng Liang understood everything; it was a sign of his utter despair.
Although it pained him, he knew there was nothing he could do. Because some wounds are beyond cure.
He could only stay quietly by his side, waiting for him to gradually heal and slowly find his lost armor.
His thoughts wandered aimlessly, and his master's voice rang in his ears again: "What on earth happened? How could a living person, under so much surveillance, just disappear for no reason? How long ago was this?"
Cheng Liang suddenly came to his senses and said, "Ever since His Highness left, Young Master Yi ordered his men to guard the entire Yanfu Temple inside and out, making it completely airtight. Our people couldn't find out anything inside at all. It wasn't until Young Master Yi also left that our people learned that Princess Dongning was no longer in the temple. Everyone inside said that the princess had long since disappeared and her whereabouts were unknown. Our people have been searching for her for almost half a month now, and we still haven't found a single trace of her."
"What did you say? It's been half a month already?" Xuan Yuanhan felt like he was going crazy. He had finally managed to calm down after all this time. He thought he could be indifferent to her, but he didn't expect that he still couldn't let go.
Cheng Liang nodded helplessly.
"You mean Young Master Yi also left Yanfu Temple?" Xuan Yuanhan pressed on.
"They said they also went to look for news of the princess?" Cheng Liang replied.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan clenched his fists, which were hidden in his sleeves, and said in a deep, harsh voice, "Young Master Yi, she has already done so much for you... Why don't you cherish her? Why don't you keep a close eye on her? If anything happens to her, I..."
"Your Highness, what should we do now?" Cheng Liang pressed.
Just then, the light footsteps of a young girl came from outside the hall. As the sound grew closer, a clear, melodious voice rang out from inside the hall: "This servant, Huan'er, greets Your Highness, Prince Qin."
Upon recognizing the visitor, Xuanyuan Han asked first, "How has Mother been these days?"
The young woman replied, "Your Highness, the Dowager Consort is well, please rest assured. However, she has missed you dearly since you have not seen her for many days. Therefore, she specially sent me to inform Your Highness that she would like to invite you to have dinner with her after dark."
"I understand. I will be there shortly," Xuan Yuanhan replied.
After delivering the message, the girl bowed very respectfully to him and then retreated step by step from the hall.
Cheng Liang remained where he was, waiting for orders: "Your Highness..."
For a moment, his thoughts were in complete disarray, and Xuan Yuanhan didn't know what to do now. He decided to calm down and changed the subject, instructing Cheng Liang, "Help me change my clothes and go to my mother's place."
Cheng Liang could only obey, saying, "Yes."
As night fell, the mansion was brightly lit.
The master and servant soon arrived at the residence of Consort Chun, Zihe Pavilion.
As soon as Xuanyuan Han entered, he bowed to the Dowager Consort and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
"It's been many days since I last saw you, my son, you've lost quite a bit of weight. Come quickly, your mother has had some of your favorite foods prepared. Please try them and see if they suit your taste."
Xuanyuan Han stepped forward and sat down next to Consort Chun. Consort Chun personally served a bowl of white fungus and peach blossom soup and handed it to Xuanyuan Han, saying happily, "My son, I have been hearing magpies chirping incessantly on the branches in the courtyard lately. Surely, there must be some good news coming to the Prince of Qin's residence."
Xuanyuan Han took a bite and replied, "Mother is absolutely right. It is the greatest blessing of my life that I have been able to witness Mother's return. Presumably, this is why the magpies have come; this is indeed a great joy for the Prince of Qin's residence!"
Consort Chun carefully picked up a piece of golden, exquisitely prepared crispy pork and placed it on Xuan Yuanhan's plate, saying with a smile, "My son has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood; you know that's not what your mother is talking about."
Seeing that Xuanyuan Han's expression suddenly turned serious, Consort Chun knew that her guess was correct, so she wanted to comfort her son and said, "Ever since you returned from inspecting the epidemic in the Eastern Territory a while ago, I've noticed that you've been sullen. I guess it must be because of that Princess Dongning, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's chopsticks suddenly stopped. Clearly, he couldn't hide anything from Consort Chun, and could only acquiesce.
Consort Chun continued, "Now, with that person in Shaohua Pavilion and Tianjiao, your mother has thoroughly cleaned every corner of the Qin Prince's mansion for you. You're already past twenty; if you truly love them and can't let them go, then bring them in as soon as possible. While your mother is still relatively healthy, try to have a son or daughter in a couple of years. Your mother might even be able to help take care of them for a few more years. Although life is said to be a hundred years, it's really just a blink of an eye. When fate brings you together, you must hold on tight, because it's truly not easy to meet a good person in a lifetime."
Perhaps it was some of the words spoken by Consort Chun that touched a nerve in Xuan Yuanhan, who was already sensitive at the moment. He suddenly spoke up and said, "Mother, I suddenly remembered that I have urgent official business to attend to. Please enjoy your meal, Mother. I will come to pay my respects to Your Majesty another day."
With that, Xuanyuan Han rose to take his leave and quickly departed.
Cheng Liang followed closely behind and went out.
Watching her son's hurried departure, Consort Chun knew that he and her beloved must have encountered some unsolvable problem, so she sighed softly, "Alas..."
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