The old woman and her granddaughter inside the house heard the noise in the yard and assumed that their son had finally brought the doctor back, so they hurriedly went out to check.
As soon as she stepped outside, she was stunned by the man in front of her!
Standing there dumbfounded, seemingly unable to react for a long time, the old woman quickly took Ling'er's hand and knelt down, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin, may you live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."
When Xuanyuan Han saw the two familiar people in front of him, he blinked twice, seemingly unable to utter a word.
He stared blankly at the old woman's face. The old woman said excitedly, "Your Highness, you've finally arrived! From the moment Miss Yi entered, she kept calling Your Highness's name in a daze."
As if he couldn't believe his ears, Xuan Yuanhan even mistakenly thought that everything that was happening was as unreal as a dream.
He then slowly walked to the old woman's side, helped her up, and asked her again, "Yun'er, has she really returned? She really... has been thinking of me all along."
As the old woman got up, she nodded very seriously at her and said, "Miss Yi, she has indeed really returned. But her condition is very bad, really bad. Your Highness, please go in and see her quickly."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan felt a sudden jolt in his heart, never imagining that his steps would be so heavy.
Since their last parting, he had been thinking of her day and night, waiting and hoping for so long.
Finally, the person he had been waiting for and longing for was right in front of him, the one he both loved and hated, separated only by a wall. But why did he hesitate at this moment?
Undeniably, his heart was conflicted. Now, how should he continue to face her? Face their relationship? Face the fact that she was pregnant with another man's child?
Although he had decided that even if they grew to hate each other for the rest of their lives, he would keep her by his side forever. But life is long, and the future is vast. Could he truly face and accept all of this with equanimity?
Seeing Xuan Yuanhan's thoughtful and hesitant steps, the old woman urged anxiously from the side, "Your Highness, Miss Yi's health really can't be delayed any longer, otherwise, she may lose the child in her womb."
"child?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly felt an extremely wicked thought arise in his mind: "Perhaps this child should never have come into this world. Maybe without this child, he could pretend that all the unpleasant things that happened before never happened, that she never betrayed him, and that he could be with her again..."
Just then, a familiar voice he had been longing for suddenly came from inside the room, interrupting his thoughts: "Your Highness..."
At that moment, upon truly hearing her call, Xuan Yuanhan immediately stopped all his thoughts, let go of all reason and defenses, hurriedly took two steps forward, reached out and lifted the curtain, and finally stepped inside.
Reaching the bedside, he saw a cloth covering her forehead, but her face was still flushed, and she was unconscious, mumbling incoherently, "Your Highness, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! My child, my child..."
Upon hearing this, he suddenly spoke up, bitterly blaming, "That day in Dongning, you so resolutely rejected me, saying you wanted to be the most noble woman in the world. So, I finally decided to give you up and grant your wish. But why did you secretly run back? Weren't you going to be the Crown Princess of Nan'an? Why have things turned out like this? Why? Tell me, answer me!"
But obviously he couldn't get any answers at the moment. Xuan Yuanhan stared at the face for a while, and finally reached out with difficulty to remove the cloth from her forehead. However, he accidentally touched her smooth forehead and realized that she was in a very bad condition. Her forehead was burning hot, as if it were on fire.
Seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan felt extremely distressed.
Despite his anger, seeing the dire situation before him, he had no time to think of anything else. With a determined heart, Xuan Yuanhan finally reached out and scooped him up from the bed.
He turned and went out, mounted his horse, and all his movements were almost seamless.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang, who happened to arrive, was instantly stunned and asked his master, "Your Highness, what happened to Miss Yi?"
Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Han ignored him completely, focusing only on mounting his horse, giving it a hard lash with the whip, and then riding away with the person in his arms.
The old woman, holding her granddaughter's hand, stood in the alleyway by the door, watching her receding figure, and said excitedly, "There's hope! There's hope! Miss Yi is finally saved!"
The night was deep, the flowers were in quiet shadow, and the water shimmered gently.
The night in the imperial city was so quiet it was almost suffocating.
On the east side of the city street, a black nanmu plaque with the words "Qin Prince's Mansion" hangs above a bright red lacquered gate, appearing magnificent under the candlelight at night.
The Lin Yue Pavilion in the Qin Prince's Mansion was brightly lit at this moment.
With his hands behind his back, Xuan Yuanhan, who had been quietly waiting outside the screen without leaving his side, heard the approaching footsteps and asked in a deep voice with his back to the person, "How is it?"
Having worked tirelessly for most of the night, Physician Yue wiped the sweat from his brow, his face showing exhaustion, and said, “Your Highness, rest assured, this young lady was fortunate to have been carefully cared for beforehand. In addition, I have administered acupuncture and given her medicinal soup, and her fever has now subsided, and the fetus in her womb is also safe. However, early pregnancy is inherently difficult, and the young lady was caught in a heavy rain last night, so she is currently extremely weak. In the coming days, she must take good care of herself.”
The worries in his heart finally subsided. Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then, still with his back to him, coldly said, "I understand. Go and tell Zhang Mama to come here personally and serve you carefully later."
"Yes," Physician Yue replied.
After packing up his medicine box, Physician Le was preparing to leave.
In the vast, silent palace, that authoritative voice suddenly rang out again: "By the way, don't forget to personally and carefully explain everything that needs to be told to Zhang Mama, and make sure there are no more mistakes. Also... tell Zhang Mama that when she wakes up, she should say that... Zhang Mama met her on the street and brought her back to the palace."
"Yes," Physician Yue replied after a moment's thought.
After Physician Yue left, Xuan Yuanhan finally let out a deep breath, turned around, slowly moved over the screen, walked to the couch, and sat down, lifting the corner of his robe.
Yi Shangyun looks much better now than before. Her complexion has returned to normal, her breathing is steady, and she is sleeping peacefully.
Xuanyuan Han gazed at her for a long time, his tender yet greedy eyes falling on every corner of her face.
After a while, I couldn't help but raise my hand to touch that long-lost face.
However, his hand paused halfway up the air, hesitated for a long time, and finally withdrew it.
Memories of the past, a mix of joy and sorrow, flood my mind once more, my thoughts wandering endlessly.
...
Finally, unable to express his feelings, he could only carefully tuck the blanket around her and silently say, "No matter what, I am grateful to Heaven that you are still here."
As soon as Physician Yue came out of Lin Yuexuan, he hurriedly searched everywhere for Granny Zhang, and finally found her in Consort Chun's Zihexuan.
After learning the whole story of what happened today, Consort Chun asked Imperial Physician Yue in surprise, "His Highness...did he really say that? He asked you to personally instruct Granny Zhang, and specifically asked Granny Zhang to serve that girl?"
"Your Highness, that is indeed what His Highness instructed me to do," Physician Yue reported truthfully.
Upon hearing this, Consort Chun and Granny Zhang looked at each other in surprise.
After a moment, Granny Zhang tentatively asked, "Does Physician Yue recognize the girl's face?"
"It seems..." Physician Yue thought for a moment, but finally shook his head.
Consort Chun thought for a moment and said, "Thank you for your help today, Physician Le. You can go and rest now. Zhang Mama will come to serve you in a little while."
Physician Yue clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and withdrew.
Granny Zhang pondered for a moment. There weren't many people who could make Xuan Yuanhan take such a big deal of attention, but Yi Shangyun was clearly one of them.
So she asked in bewilderment, "Could it really be her who appeared in front of the Prince's mansion this morning? Your Highness found her so quickly?"
With this thought in mind, she looked at Consort Chun's face and guessed, "Your Highness, do you think the girl His Highness brought back... could she be..."
After careful consideration, Consort Chun instructed, "This matter is of great importance. Do not make a fuss about it for now. Pack your things and go to Lin Yuexuan first."
Zhang Mama replied, "Yes, this old servant understands. This old servant will first serve Your Highness to rest, and will come over shortly."
The moon sinks and the sun rises.
At daybreak, Xuan Yuanhan appeared uninvited in Consort Chun's Zihe Pavilion.
At that moment, Consort Chun was diligently working on a painting in her study when Xuan Yuanhan stepped forward and respectfully bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
Consort Chun did not look up, remaining focused on her elegant brushstrokes. As she finished writing, she simply said, "Why did my son come to pay his respects to his mother so early today?"
If Consort Chun does not return to the residence, Xuan Yuanhan will not need to report to anyone what he does or what decisions he makes.
But now that Consort Chun has returned, there are some things he should know about her. He still didn't want to exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point: "I'm sure Mother Consort already knows that I brought a woman back last night."
Unexpectedly, without even thinking, Consort Chun blurted out, "Is my son referring to Princess Yongning?"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han stared at her with wide eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "How did Mother Consort know?"
Consort Chun continued painting intently: "My son, you are a piece of flesh that fell from your mother's body after ten months of hardship. As the saying goes, a mother and child are of one heart. Although I have not been by your side these years and have indeed missed many things, you are still my son. How could I not understand my own son?"
"Mother...I..." For a moment, Xuanyuan Han didn't know how to answer.
Just then, Consort Chun seemed to have finished her painting. She gently put down her brush, blew on the ink to dry it, and called Xuan Yuanhan over...
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