The days passed as quickly as the wind on the grassland, and in the blink of an eye, three months had already gone by.
The battles between the western and northern kingdoms are raging fiercely.
Since Xuanyuan Han arrived at the Northern Lie battlefield, he not only did not kill the prisoners of the Northern Lie Kingdom, but also rewarded them, either releasing them or taking them under his command, thus winning over many people.
In particular, he boldly and unabashedly made good use of the surrendered generals of Beilie, and in a short time, a large number of brave and fearless generals gathered under his command.
This fierce and powerful army roamed freely throughout the territory of the Northern Lie Kingdom, attempting to encircle it from all sides. Wherever it went, all bowed down and submitted to it.
Taking advantage of their extensive knowledge of the terrain and climate of the Northern Lie Kingdom, they penetrated deep into enemy territory and adopted a strategy of foraging for food and resupplying on the spot. The army they led was more flexible, swift, and brave than the Northern Lie army, repeatedly forcing Tuoba Ze to retreat and defeating him decisively each time.
As the day of striking deep into the heart of Beilie drew ever closer, the morale of the Western Qin army was high, and everyone eagerly awaited the day of victory.
Despite the efforts of the brothers Tuoba Ze and Tuoba Hong to conceal the dire military situation from the elderly and ailing king, Tuoba Ze and Tuoba Hong remained silent.
However, the person the old king sent to investigate was loyal only to him. Therefore, he easily uncovered all the news from the battlefield.
The Western Qin has mobilized 160,000 troops, personally led by King Xuanyuan Han, and has already surrounded the Northern Lie. They are now preparing to strike deep into the heart of the territory, and a large number of Northern Lie soldiers will be captured and defect...
All this news quickly reached the ears of the old king. Since that night, the old king, in a fit of rage, coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted. He then fell into a deep bedridden illness and was never able to get out of bed again.
With the nation in peril and the war in full swing, for nearly a hundred days and nights, the old king had strictly forbidden anyone from spreading news of his critical illness to the battlefield, lest it distract his two brothers.
Yi Shangyun originally planned to take advantage of the brothers' absence to find an opportunity to escape Beilie completely and find a place of his own where he could truly breathe freely.
However, on the very night she packed her bags and was about to leave quietly, as soon as she stepped out of the tent, she heard a maid's urgent cry for help coming from the old king's tent.
Since Tuoba Hong, who had been personally in charge of caring for his condition, was not around, the other newly appointed doctors were all dumbfounded, at a loss, and trembling when faced with the old king's critical condition.
Seeing this, Yi Shangyun was ultimately held back by the old king's sudden illness and was unable to make the trip.
So, in the countless days and nights that followed, she completely took over all of Tuoba Hong's original responsibilities and personally took care of the safety of the old king of Beilie, who was bedridden.
On the grasslands in the heart of Beilie.
In the deep darkness of night, in complete silence, inside the old king's tent.
After serving him the medicine and letting him lie down, Yi Shangyun hesitated for many days before finally taking out a clean white silk handkerchief from her sleeve, opening it, and presenting the contents inside to the old king.
He said earnestly, “Your Majesty, this is something that His Highness the Second Prince accidentally left with me before he left. I thought he would find time to come back and return it to him. But judging from the situation reported from the front, I think I should return it to Your Majesty for disposal.”
"Cough cough..."
On the bed, the old king coughed lightly twice upon hearing the sound, and moved his body slightly with some difficulty. He turned his head and glanced at the military tally that she was holding in her hand, which he recognized very well. He was stunned for a moment.
Soon, however, he turned back to lie down, slightly out of breath, and weakly said in a deep voice, "This is the military tally of my Northern Lie Kingdom that I personally handed to Hong'er before he left. The one who possesses this military tally is the king of the Northern Lie Kingdom, and it has always been held only by the king of the Northern Lie Kingdom and his heir. Hong'er would not be so careless as to just throw away such an important item. Since he left it with you, he must have his reasons. If you insist on returning it, why don't you go and give it to Hong'er yourself?"
Yi Shangyun let out a deep breath, then pursed her lips, revealing a troubled expression. She thought to herself, "Why did Tuoba Hong throw such a hot potato at me? If he doesn't want to succeed to the throne, why is he giving it to me? It's obvious the old king's words implied he was passing the throne to him."
After much deliberation, Yi Shangyun finally frowned and said with difficulty, "The key to the king's illness is to keep his mind at ease. As long as he takes his medicine on time and rests well, I believe he will be able to get out of bed soon. So... actually, I... I... I want to leave here."
"You're leaving?" The old king paused for a moment, then quickly asked, "Is it because of Hong'er?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was at a loss for words to express her complex feelings to him.
The old king pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Wule, you are indeed an extraordinary woman, and I truly wish to keep you on this grassland. However, it seems our fate is truly too shallow. Perhaps, this was destined from our past life, just like the fate between her and me 17 years ago..."
"Her? Who is she?" Yi Shangyun stared blankly at the old king's face and asked in surprise.
The old king gazed at the canopy above him, took a deep breath, and said with a lingering look, "She was a woman who looked almost exactly like you, and also a kind healer..."
He paused before finishing his sentence, then turned and looked deeply at Yi Shangyun by the bed, before continuing, "Actually, at first glance, I noticed that your appearance and temperament were very similar to hers. I just didn't expect that now that you've woken up again and regained your appearance, you really do look exactly like her."
Yi Shangyun was startled. Recalling the dream before waking up that had been lingering in her mind for days, she couldn't help but wonder, could there really have been a woman in this world who looked exactly like me?
Upon realizing this, she hurriedly asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, where have you seen a woman who looks exactly like me?"
The old king relaxed and said, "I met her in the wealthy Dongning Kingdom."
"Dongning Kingdom?" Yi Shangyun asked in surprise, then quickly came to her senses and asked, "Is she still alive?"
The old king's face immediately turned solemn, and he said coldly, "She's dead! She was the most esteemed empress of Dongning Kingdom. Seventeen years ago, during the malaria plague that nearly wiped out the entire kingdom, she risked her own life to save everyone. But in the end, to save the still-childish Prince Xuanyuan Han of Qin, she went to Western Qin on the verge of giving birth and was forced to fall off a cliff..."
"A woman about to give birth? Xi Qin, to...save...His Highness?" Yi Shangyun murmured softly, frowning and lowering his head, anxiously trying to recall this familiar scene.
Suddenly remembering, she abruptly raised her head, staring wide-eyed at the old king's face, hardly believing what she was thinking.
Then, a series of fragmented and bizarre dreamlike fragments from the past suddenly surfaced in my mind...
In the dream, the woman who had fallen off the cliff and was about to give birth, whose face was obscured, desperately crawled forward, her eyes blurred with tears as she silently cried out, "Heaven help me! I have obeyed the orders of the Emperor of Western Qin, fulfilling my duty as a guardian. I have ensured the safe escape of the young master of Western Qin. My mission is accomplished, and Ruoxi can die without regret. But the child in Ruoxi's womb... she is the next guardian of Western Qin! Please, you must open your eyes! This child cannot die, she cannot..."
...
It turns out that the face that appeared in my dream, exactly like mine, really did exist.
Moreover, she was the person Xuan Yuanhan had personally mentioned, the one who fell off a cliff to save her, resulting in the death of both her and her unborn child, a fact that still troubled him to this day.
No, the woman did not die immediately after falling off the cliff; rather, she held on to her last breath and gave her life.
She really was her mother. That's why she was disliked and ignored in the Yi family mansion in the west of the city.
Her mother died because of Xuanyuan Han.
Her mother was none other than the Empress of Dongning Kingdom.
Her mother, and she, were indeed the guardians of Western Qin.
In an instant, tears streamed down Yun's face.
Suddenly, she felt as if the old king's voice was coming from a very, very far place: "Wule, I know you are a smart child. You should understand everything I have said. The reason why Hong'er deliberately left the military tally with you is that he still can't make up his mind to become the next king of this grassland."
He paused, his gaze fixed on Yi Shangyun's eyes as she regained consciousness, and said hopefully, "Go find Hong'er and give him the military tally. I know only you can persuade him. This war has dragged on for too long; if it continues like this, I fear Beilie will..."
As he spoke, a look of worry appeared on his face.
Yi Shangyun had just come to her senses and accepted her identity as a guardian of Western Qin. At such a critical juncture, how could she possibly help Western Qin's enemy, the Northern Lie Kingdom, who had delivered the message? She immediately looked troubled and said, "But I am a citizen of Western Qin, I..."
The old king seemed to be losing his temper, and interrupted her sharply: "But the Western Qin Kingdom cannot tolerate you. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't have followed Ze'er all the way to my Northern Lie. The Western Qin even considers you a demon, don't they? Fortunately, that King Xuanyuan Han of Qin announced to the world that you were dead, ending it all. Otherwise, who knows how many people would hate you and want to kill you now?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was stunned, seemingly unable to defend himself or utter a word.
Seeing the old king's stunned expression, and realizing that perhaps his words had been too harsh, he softened his tone, almost pleadingly saying, "I've never begged anyone in my life. This time, I'm begging you. Hong'er is my greatest pride and the source of all my hope. Whether he agrees or not, he has to agree! If this grassland falls into Ze'er's hands, the consequences will be unimaginable! For the sake of this grassland, for the sake of every vibrant and free life on it, I, an old man on the verge of death, beg you to go find Hong'er and persuade him, okay?"
Yi Shangyun looked down at her feet in silence for a long, long time, before finally slowly raising her head...
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