As the first rays of the New Year's dawn shone upon the world, illuminating the snow-covered land, they gradually began to melt the world that seemed to have been frozen for so long, finally sneaking through the window and warmly streaming into the house.
On a warm couch in a corner near the window, as a ray of light swept across his face, which looked as if it had been sculpted by the heavens, Xuan Yuanhan, who was sleeping fully clothed with his head on his arm, slowly opened his eyes.
But then, without anyone noticing, Yi Shangyun quietly got up from the large couch behind the screen and snuggled up to him, sleeping on his chest all night.
What comes into view is her long, black hair, which is casually scattered and emits a faint fragrance. Her fair and beautiful face, straight nose, and ears that are translucent in the light, and her pink and tender lips make people want to touch her to see for themselves whether she is a woman who grew up in the mortal world or a fairy in the heavenly palace who is untouched by the mortal world.
As if afraid of disturbing her beautiful dream, Xuan Yuanhan carefully pulled out one of his arms that was resting on his head, and then quietly reached out to touch her delicate features, when suddenly a voice came from the doorway: "Your Highness."
Like a child who was about to do something naughty but was caught, he quickly withdrew his restless hand.
The person outside the door seemed to suddenly realize their mistake and actually stopped making any further noise.
So he continued to greedily gaze at the beautiful woman before him, who was still fast asleep.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly got up and gently carried her to the large, comfortable couch so that she could sleep more soundly and comfortably.
Just as he settled down with that soft body and was about to pull away, the beauty wrapped her arms around his neck. Before he could react, she whispered in his ear as if in a dream, "Your Highness, you're finally back. You have no idea how much I've missed you."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's eyes widened in astonishment.
At that moment, he felt as if his heartbeat had slowed down. At that moment, he couldn't wait to take her and become one with her completely, because his longing for her was no less than hers.
However, he ultimately refrained from doing so.
He loved her and cherished her. He wanted to preserve all her beauty and preciousness intact until the day he would welcome her into the world in a grand procession, with a sedan chair carried by eight bearers, a letter carried by a wild goose, and a lavish wedding procession. He wanted her to be the happiest woman in the world.
With this thought in mind, he took a deep breath and silently swallowed, seemingly relieved that his self-control was still quite good. After calming down a bit, he tucked the blanket around her, stared at her face with lingering reluctance for a while, and then turned and walked out, gently closing the door behind him.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to order the guards at the door: "Let her sleep a little longer, and don't let anyone go in and disturb her."
"Yes, sir!" The two guards, who stood like door gods, bowed respectfully and replied.
However, under the same beautiful scenery, Mei Zhixuan's situation was quite different in a secluded villa on the outskirts of the city.
With a loud "crack," a ruyi-shaped purple clay cup with embossed decorations was slammed onto the floor and shattered instantly.
Mei Zhixuan roared at the group of guards almost frantically, "Useless! You're all useless! We still haven't found a trace of her. She's such a big person, could she have sprouted wings and flown away, or perhaps she's vanished into thin air!"
"Your subordinates have failed in their duties and deserve to die. Please forgive us, Your Highness!" One of the black-clad guards, who seemed to be the leader, held his sword, clasped his hands, and bowed his head in a timid apology.
Mei Zhixuan gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, damn it! I'll give you three more days. If you still can't find any trace of her, you'll all come back with your heads."
"Your subordinate obeys!" the crowd said in unison.
However, Mei Zhixuan was still furious and shouted at him, "Get out!"
No wonder his usual composure and restraint were completely overturned at this moment. For many years, he had devoted himself to preparing for his great cause. Now it seemed that "everything was ready except for the east wind". But at this critical moment, the trump card that he had painstakingly hidden by the side of the King of Dongning suddenly disappeared out of thin air.
He certainly couldn't believe that Yi Shangyun would fall into the lake and drown that night, because there were many guards along the shore of that lake, and no one had ever drowned there. Even if someone had drowned, there were many of his men who were good swimmers, so it was impossible that so many days had passed and they still couldn't find the body.
At this moment, his eyes were blazing with fury. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying hatefully, "Who is it? If I find out who kidnapped her, I will tear them to pieces!"
However, as the saying goes, "misfortunes never come singly," and this saying is absolutely true.
The group had just been severely reprimanded and were cautiously retreating when a guard rushed in, panting, and reported, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan stared at him with wide eyes, suppressing his anger, and asked, "What has happened now?"
The guard dared not look at the face of the person seated above. He lowered his head, hurriedly wiping the cold sweat from his brow. He pursed his lips, as if finally mustering a bit of courage, and blurted out as if risking his life, "Your Highness, in the past two days, several Western Qin merchants who came to our country to escort weapons a few days ago have been found in several places in the city. I'm afraid... I'm afraid... I'm afraid that not all of those merchants returned to Western Qin that day..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan was so shocked that he almost jumped up from his seat, slamming his hand heavily on the table in front of him and exclaiming, "What did you say?"
Mei Zhixuan recalled, "Weren't our people the ones who personally escorted them out of the city?"
The guard was completely baffled and dared not utter a word.
Mei Zhixuan was stunned. At the crucial moment, he had personally and secretly inspected each of the exquisitely crafted weapons. To avoid any future trouble, he had personally watched the caravan escorting the weapons leave the city gate. How could this be...?
Mei Zhixuan slowly sat down again, trying to calm himself down. After thinking carefully, he analyzed in a low voice, "In the Western Qin Kingdom, apart from the meticulous and cunning King Xuanyuan Han, who always manages to catch his opponents off guard, everyone else is just mediocre. How could someone have managed to sneak back to my Eastern Ning Kingdom right under my nose? Could it be..."
Suddenly, he recalled the night when Yi Shangyun disappeared from the palace. Later, when he and the King of Dongning went to the Empress's palace to interrogate her, the Empress looked innocent and bewildered. Only then did he realize that it wasn't an act she had put on.
Upon realizing this, he suddenly understood: "Could it be that the people who assassinated Yue'er that night were... No, those people never intended to harm Yue'er at all. On the surface, they were planning an assassination, but in reality, they were trying to... save her!"
At this moment, the guard who had been silently bowing his head finally raised it and asked, seemingly utterly bewildered, "Save someone! Save whom?"
Mei Zhixuan slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back, and stood by the window, saying, "No wonder I felt something was wrong in the Empress's palace that day. The Empress is arrogant and domineering by nature. How could she be so stupid as to be easily outmaneuvered by a lowly servant? If this is the explanation, then everything makes sense."
The guard, still completely bewildered, asked, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
Mei Zhixuan closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them again and said, "The assassin in the palace that night was not the Empress Dowager. She was being used by someone."
Upon hearing this, the guard suddenly raised his voice in alarm: "Who has the audacity to use the Empress's people?"
Mei Zhixuan remained silent for a while, as if listening, yet also as if not listening to what the guard said, and muttered to himself, "Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, it seems that Heaven has truly spared you; you are indeed very lucky!"
"King Qin, isn't it all just rumor that..." The guard could hardly believe his ears.
Since the war between Western Qin and Northern Lie ended, there has been much speculation on the whereabouts of the King of Qin and the two princes of Northern Lie on the Lingkong Continent.
But then, as if a sudden, silent fear had begun to creep into his heart, he gasped and asked in a low, timid voice, "King Qin, is he really still alive?"
As he was speaking, he realized something was amiss, so he added, "Not only is he still alive, but he is currently in the city of my Dongning Kingdom."
Mei Zhixuan clenched his fist silently and said fiercely to himself, "Hmph... King Qin, very well, let's wait and see, the show has only just begun!"
After a long silence, the guard, who was filled with anxiety, asked, "Your Highness, should we continue searching for the young lady? If she has indeed been abducted by the Prince of Qin, it may be difficult for us to get her back from him."
Mei Zhixuan snorted coldly: "Hmph! If they want to snatch something from this prince, they'll have to see if they're worthy, and more importantly, whether this prince is willing to give it to them."
The guards were full of suspicion at Mei Zhixuan's words, wondering what tricks his master had up his sleeve and where he got the courage to make such boastful remarks.
Who is the King of Qin? He is a renowned and feared invincible war god on the Lingkong Continent!
The master before them was merely an unfavored figure, even within the Dongning Imperial Palace.
Immediately, Mei Zhixuan solemnly ordered: "Give the order to immediately impose martial law on the entire city! Find every single Western Qin merchant hiding in the city and bring them out for me. I want to see if this legendary War God King Qin really has a pair of wings that can fly!"
"Yes, sir!" The guard accepted the order and hurriedly left.
Mei Zhixuan stood alone by the window, his hands still behind his back, a wicked smile playing on his lips, which he quickly dismissed, turning to a vicious mutter to himself, "Hmph! Xuan Yuanhan, you've delivered yourself to my doorstep this time. You want to take her back to Western Qin? Not so easy. Since you don't want to leave, this prince will grant your wish and ensure you never return!"
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