Xuanyuan Yue seemed to have already gotten the answer from that look, and murmured softly, "Your Highness... will you be leaving again soon?"
Upon hearing this, even the surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment, yet Mei Zhixuan remained silent.
"Your Highness, Yue'er..."
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly stood up, but the words she wanted to say fiercely were swallowed back down.
He seemed to have never dared to look up into her eyes until this moment, yet he could clearly feel that Xuan Yuan Yue was staring intently at him, her eyes filled with disappointment despite her silence.
Only after that lonely and helpless figure gradually disappeared from sight did Mei Zhixuan slowly stand up, let out a sigh of relief, turn around and gaze at her back for a moment, then solemnly ordered the guard beside him, "Let's go!"
The guard asked in astonishment, "Leave? Where is Your Highness headed?"
Mei Zhixuan slowly withdrew his gaze, then turned and looked steadily into the guard's eyes, saying, "Let's set off again for the cabin on Youlan Island."
"What? Didn't we just come back from Azure Island? Why is Your Highness going back again? Weren't you still on your way back, planning to spend more time with the young prince this time you returned to the palace? Why... why are you leaving again so soon?"
Seeing that Mei Zhixuan had finished speaking and left, the guard jogged up and followed closely behind, asking with great confusion.
Mei Zhixuan stepped onto the corridor stairs, walking quickly towards the exit of the palace. He pondered for a moment, then said worriedly, "I originally planned to stay a few more days to spend with them, but I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. Even my eyelids keep twitching. Right now, I should prioritize important matters. Everything I've done today is for them. I believe she will understand someday."
"Yes." The guard pursed his lips slightly, instantly understanding Mei Zhixuan's good intentions.
After a pause, Mei Zhixuan recalled for a moment, then frowned and said, "Just now, while practicing swordsmanship, I suddenly felt a sharp, unbearable pain in my chest, as if my heart were being ripped apart. I am worried that... something big might happen at the wooden house on Youlan Island?"
After listening attentively to Mei Zhixuan's words, the guard completely dismissed them, saying, "Really? Is Your Highness overthinking things because you're too tired? Isn't the princess still unconscious? What serious thing could happen to someone who doesn't even know if she'll ever wake up again? Besides, there's also..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan's face grew increasingly grim. He suddenly stopped, turned back abruptly, and warned the guard, "Shut up! I forbid you to speak of her like that. She will wake up, she will!"
The guard was stunned at the sight, and just as he came to his senses, he knelt down on one knee with a thud, clasped his hands and bowed his head, repeatedly apologizing: "Yes, yes, Your Highness is absolutely right. The princess will definitely wake up, she will definitely wake up. I misspoke just now, Your Highness, please forgive me."
"snort……"
Mei Zhixuan glared at him fiercely, seemingly through gritted teeth, then flicked his sleeves and let out a cold snort.
As he turned back and walked away, he said, "At this crucial moment, we can't afford any more mistakes!"
The guard swallowed hard, got up and followed, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Mei Zhixuan was silent for a moment, then asked again, "By the way, how is the matter I entrusted to you going? Have you found out any news about Father Emperor? Where exactly did he go?"
The guard thought for a moment, then said with a troubled expression, "Your Highness, the Emperor and Empress are always very tight-lipped. I only managed to bribe one of the Emperor's servants, who works in a rather inconspicuous corner, after going through a lot of trouble. That's how I found out that the Emperor left the palace overnight, right after our little prince's full moon celebration."
"Oh? Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is something extremely urgent?" Mei Zhixuan frowned and looked around, his gaze quickly sweeping over the beautiful scenery, but he seemed to have no interest in appreciating it at all. His sharp eyes seemed to be checking if anyone was listening in.
The guard, also finding it hard to believe, recalled the dream and said, "I heard that His Majesty had a dream last night about the Empress Dowager, and upon waking, he couldn't forget the place from the dream. He vaguely remembered that it was by a vast sea, so he went there to look for it, but he doesn't know the exact location!"
Mei Zhixuan paused for a moment, then said, "Throughout his life, Father has always felt deeply guilty towards his stepmother, blaming himself for never agreeing to her mission to Western Qin. But for a monarch, indulging too much in these sentimental matters of love and affection to diminish one's fighting spirit is not a good thing."
The guard said with admiration, "But in fact, the Empress Dowager, even today, has a very good reputation and word of mouth among the people of Dongning Kingdom, in the streets and alleys."
Mei Zhixuan would not deny it, of course. Memories flooded back, and after a long silence, he suddenly murmured, "I hope he won't find the wooden house on Youlan Island."
The guard thought for a moment, then followed up, "That wooden house is never allowed to be approached by strangers. I think that even if His Majesty went in that direction, he shouldn't find it so easily."
However, Mei Zhixuan suddenly murmured in a deep voice, "I'm afraid that the princess is no longer safe there."
Upon hearing this, the guard suddenly looked at Mei Zhixuan's profile, which had suddenly become extremely serious and determined, and seemed to be wavering in his heart.
He thought for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "If that's the case, what should we do? Our current preparations are actually insufficient. Without the support of the Western Qin guardians, if we rashly launch an attack now, we have absolutely no chance of winning."
Yes, ever since Mei Zhixuan, who had secretly snatched Yi Shangyun from the hands of the Third Young Master Yi in Beilie Kingdom and brought her back to Dongning, never imagined that what he had brought back would be a sleeping beauty who seemed to be cursed.
On his way back to China, he was overjoyed, calculating all the possibilities. But now, she seemed like a hot potato to him.
Holding on to it, even the most basic act of filling one's stomach cannot be done immediately; giving it up, however, is not something one is willing to do for all the effort one has put in over the years.
Deep down, he knew that he had been deceiving himself all along.
No one really knows how long it will take for her to wake up. Perhaps she really will never wake up...
A myriad of thoughts surged through him in an instant, and this extremely dangerous and negative thought seemed to almost overwhelm him, but just like every time before, he immediately suppressed it.
He took a deep breath, composed himself, and said meaningfully, "No, this prince does not believe that we can give up like this. We cannot sit and wait for death. The most dangerous place is also the safest place."
"The most dangerous place is also the safest place," the guard repeated slowly.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and, as if struck by a sudden realization, exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, you wouldn't be thinking of bringing the princess... bringing the princess back to the palace, would you?! There are so many eyes and ears in the palace... Isn't what you're doing far too risky?"
Qi Liao Mei Zhixuan unconsciously quickened his pace, silently burying his head in his work, as if he had already made up his mind and would not say another word.
The guards were stunned by his resolute and unyielding back. As soon as they came to their senses, they hurriedly chased after him and followed closely.
Inside the wooden house on Azure Island.
"Greenie, Greenie..."
An old man with a white beard, leaning on a cane, slowly walked out of his house, stopped under the eaves, and called out loudly.
"Grandpa, I'm here!"
In an instant, the little maid, Lü'er, came rushing out of the kitchen carrying a food tray in both hands, containing two bowls of steaming barley and red bean porridge and several plates of refreshing and delicious side dishes, responding as she did so.
Upon seeing the two bowls of hot porridge on the plate, the white-bearded old man immediately knew who the porridge belonged to.
His face immediately darkened, and he seemed to deliberately glance in the direction of the two men who had just managed to find lodging in the guest room. Then he coughed heavily twice to clear his throat. "Cough...cough..."
Then, he deliberately raised his voice a little, looked up at the high sun overhead, and loudly scolded Greenie outside the door: "Look what time it is! How come it's almost noon to cook porridge? I say, you little girl, why are you getting more and more unruly lately? Do you want me to kick you out too?"
The little girl looked at him, frowning in confusion, and said, "Grandpa, didn't we just come back from the beach? Have you forgotten? You..."
Before the young girl could finish speaking, the white-bearded old man interrupted her with a stern voice, "Shut up! You little brat, you don't recognize many herbs these days, but your ability to talk back has improved considerably. You're quite the sharp-tongued one! Look at me, look at me, I'm going to teach you a lesson today..."
The white-bearded old man pretended to grit his teeth as he spoke, and actually started looking around for a stick, wanting to teach the little girl a lesson.
"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" The little girl stomped her foot lightly at him, holding the food plate, and asked, puzzled.
"Miss Greenie!"
Just then, the young guard inside must have heard the commotion at the door and came out to call out to Greenie.
Immediately afterwards, he strode out and approached the white-bearded old man, smiling and nodding politely to greet him: "Thank you for taking me in, my benefactor."
Unexpectedly, the white-bearded old man turned away, ignoring him, and snorted at him: "Hmph..."
Helpless, he could only go over to Greenie and say, "Leave this to me! You've been busy all day, take a break."
As the young guard spoke, he took the food tray from the other's hand and went back inside.
"Grandpa, look at you..." The little girl pouted and said angrily when she saw the awkward atmosphere.
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