As soon as the guard entered, he saw the two pieces of writing that had been blown to the ground. He hurried forward to pick them up and approached Mei Zhixuan, saying, "Your Highness still hasn't figured out these words?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan finally came to his senses, slowly walked to the desk and sat down. He stared silently at the two pieces of calligraphy on the desk for a while, then asked in a cold voice, "Has Father sent any letter yet?"
The guard hurriedly took out a secret letter he had been carrying and respectfully presented it with both hands, saying, "This is a message we just received, Your Highness, please take a look!"
Mei Zhixuan took the letter, unfolded it, and quickly glanced through it. Just as he put it down, the guard bowed to him with a joyful expression and congratulated him, saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness! Your Highness is finally getting married!"
Unexpectedly, Mei Zhixuan showed no joy or emotion upon hearing this, and the guard immediately fell silent, looking embarrassed.
The two remained silent for a while. Mei Zhixuan picked up the letter and placed it over the candle flame, whereupon it instantly turned to ashes.
Upon seeing this, the guard seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly said, "By the way, Your Highness asked me to investigate the matter, and I have already..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan raised a hand to signal him to shut up, and then said inexplicably, "Come out! Stop hiding!"
Immediately, a figure in a purple-red robe seemed to descend from the sky, standing tall with one hand behind his back and his long black hair half-tied up with an exquisite white jade hairpin.
When he slowly turned around, two slightly curled strands of black hair hung down from his temples, and his handsome face had a pair of slender peach blossom eyes. His whole body exuded a bewitching and unrestrained demeanor.
Upon seeing this, the guard hurriedly drew his gleaming sword from his waist, held it horizontally in front of him, and prepared to fight back to protect his master behind him.
However, Mei Zhixuan casually smiled behind him and said, "You can step back now. If he wants to make a move, even dozens of you can't stop him."
“But, Your Highness…” the guard seemed to want to argue something.
Mei Zhixuan insisted earnestly, "Step down!"
The guard finally had no choice but to sheathe his sword and strode out.
After the guards left, Mei Zhixuan got up and strolled over to a tea table. As he sat down, he said disdainfully without looking up, "Prince of Nan'an, since you're here, come in and sit down for a cup of tea and rest. It must have been quite an ordeal to be on someone's roof for several nights in a row!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao raised an eyebrow and stepped across the threshold with an extremely composed gait.
Stepping inside, she paused, surveying her surroundings. The room was quiet and deserted, save for the flickering candlelight and the rising smoke from the incense burner. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the ever-changing butterfly dancing in the glass vase. Then, she casually lifted the hem of her robe and sat down in the guest seat of the tea table, opposite Mei Zhixuan, saying, "Did the Third Prince discover this long ago?"
Mei Zhixuan smiled slightly, boiling water to make tea as he said, "What, Your Highness the Crown Prince, have you also come to congratulate me on my upcoming wedding?"
Yi Junhao twitched his lips, revealing a disdainful smile. Being an honest man, he didn't need to mince words and went straight to the point: "So you are Mei Zhixuan, the third prince of Dongning Kingdom. Why did you abduct the girl from the Yi Mansion in the west of the city to Wanjiao Pavilion? What are your intentions towards her?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan did not directly answer his question. Instead, he casually continued what he was doing and brought up another question he had asked him before: "Isn't Your Highness curious about why I came to Western Qin?"
Yi Junhao stared into his eyes, recalling the guard's flattering words and the current situation between the various countries. After a moment's thought, he revealed a malicious and contemptuous smile, provoking him: "Is it because of the Princess of Western Qin? I didn't expect that even the gentle and refined, yet brave and skilled Third Prince, could not escape a political marriage! However, it seems that Dongning is quite interested in the mysterious power that exists in Western Qin! For it, both the noble princess and the prince have sacrificed themselves one after another. Truly admirable, truly admirable!"
Unexpectedly, Mei Zhixuan was not moved by his provocative words at all. He just chuckled and handed the freshly brewed tea to Yi Junhao while saying in a low voice, "That's right, I did stay in Xiqin because of the princess, but not for the princess of Xiqin. It was for my Dongning princess who was lost in Xiqin 17 years ago."
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao immediately widened his captivating peach blossom eyes, which were as enchanting as a spring breeze, and exclaimed in surprise, "The legitimate princess of Dongning, isn't she the legendary Princess Yongle, who is said to be especially favored by the King of Dongning and is now the Princess Consort of the King of Xiqin?"
Mei Zhixuan smiled faintly, but said nothing more, only taking small sips of tea in his hand.
As Yi Junhao sipped his tea, he gazed intently at the ever-bubbling pot of water in front of them, lost in thought for a while. It turned out that Princess Yongle wasn't born to the legitimate empress of Dongning Kingdom. This meant that the current empress of Dongning Kingdom was a successor. Seventeen years old, seventeen years old—how could that be?
Suddenly, a thought that astonished him surfaced in his mind, and he abruptly raised his head and said in disbelief, "You mean to say that you suspect that the girl is the legitimate princess of your Dongning Kingdom who was lost in the Western Qin Kingdom 17 years ago?"
"Back then, my stepmother was pregnant and about to give birth. For some reason, she suddenly insisted on coming to the Western Qin Kingdom one day, and no one could persuade her otherwise. Little did we know that that parting would be our last! If one day I find out who poisoned my stepmother, I will make her wish she were dead!" Mei Zhixuan clenched his fists and placed them on his knees, vowing angrily.
"The Empress Dowager of Dongning Kingdom...she died in Xiqin Kingdom?...But what evidence do you have to say that the girl was born to your Empress Dowager of Dongning Kingdom on her deathbed in Xiqin?" Yi Junhao still found it hard to believe.
Mei Zhixuan was convinced in his heart: "Ever since learning that his stepmother had been murdered in Western Qin, the emperor was furious and sent wave after wave of people to Western Qin to investigate. However, all they found was that his stepmother had given birth to a baby girl before she died and entrusted her to a couple in the mountains who made a living by gathering herbs before she passed away."
Speaking of this horrific past, Mei Zhixuan couldn't help but slowly close his eyes.
He continued after a moment, "Because so many years have passed, this matter was completely unsolved. Until, at the Qin Prince's residence, I encountered a pair of eyes that seemed strangely familiar, eyes that were almost identical to those of my stepmother. Upon investigation, I discovered that not long ago, I had thoroughly investigated the background and history of the Yi family near their residence, which further convinced me that my premonition was absolutely correct. Every woman born into my stepmother's family bears a special mark. That day, seeing that girl alone heading to the Wanjiao Pavilion to search for someone, I originally intended to use this opportunity to verify her identity one last time. However, you ruined everything. Later, Qin Prince Xuanyuan Han's men also found their way to the Wanjiao Pavilion, and that girl..."
"So that day you were thinking... shameless!" Yi Junhao suddenly realized, then glared angrily and roared, slamming his hand hard on the table in front of him, instantly splashing water everywhere.
"Does His Highness the Crown Prince... like that girl?" Mei Zhixuan suddenly blurted out.
"So what?" Yi Junhao still angrily turned his head to look at the divine butterfly on the other side and said contemptuously.
Mei Zhixuan smiled, poured him another cup of tea, and said, "It seems that His Highness the Crown Prince has known that girl for quite some time and must know her very well! Why don't we cooperate?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao turned around abruptly, staring blankly into Mei Zhixuan's eyes, and asked in bewilderment, "Cooperation? How do you want to cooperate?"
"I need not say more; Your Highness the Crown Prince should know the girl's situation in Western Qin better than I do. Although she has been jilted due to her appearance and an accident that caused her to fall into a coma, she is still not officially betrothed. Furthermore, thanks to Your Highness's kindness and magnanimity, if Your Highness could cooperate with me to find her, after I have my maid verify her identity, I will certainly put in a good word for you before the Emperor to facilitate this beautiful marriage. What does Your Highness think?"
Mei Zhixuan slowly handed him a cup of freshly brewed tea, tempting him with a gesture.
Yi Junhao listened attentively, secretly pondering the seemingly reasonable words. If his girl was indeed the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom, it seemed he would no longer be helpless against the unreasonable and domineering Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan.
However, at this moment, he suppressed his elation, took the teacup and sipped the tea to moisten his throat, while still pretending to be calm and said, "How can the Third Prince be so sure that girl is the one you are looking for? But what if her identity is verified later... what will happen to her?"
Mei Zhixuan half-raised his teacup and glanced at him, then smiled faintly and said, "If it turns out she really isn't our lost princess, then consider it my doing a favor to help His Highness the Crown Prince find his beloved. Is that alright? However… I've always been very good at judging people. For example, I think Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, also seems to have feelings for that girl…"
"Okay, it's a deal, it's settled then!" As the saying goes, without comparison, there is no harm. As soon as Mei Zhixuan mentioned that Xuan Yuanhan had special feelings for Yi Shangyun, Yi Junhao immediately couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly interrupted him, agreeing very readily.
“Okay! Then I wish us a pleasant collaboration.” Mei Zhixuan blurted out.
After a while, the two exchanged information about their search for Yi Shangyun over the past few days, but eventually both fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, Mei Zhixuan looked up at the two pieces of writing on the desk and said, "Your Highness, please come over here and take a look at these words. I wonder if you can understand any of their meaning?"
The two of them got up one after the other and walked to the desk.
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