Just as the room in Chenghua Hall was quiet and everyone was lost in thought, Deputy General Cheng Liang hurriedly entered and reported, "Your Highness, the Third Prince Mei Zhixuan, the envoy from Dongning Kingdom, requests an audience."
"Please come in." Xuan Yuanhan seemed somewhat surprised. Tomorrow was the auspicious day for his wedding, so what was he doing here at this time?
After receiving his orders, Cheng Liang hurriedly left the main hall. Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue immediately turned around and said to Xuan Yuan Han, who was sitting upright in the main hall, "Uncle Qin, the Dongning Kingdom has actually sent a prince as an envoy for this marriage alliance with our Western Qin. It seems that the King of Dongning Kingdom truly dotes on Princess Yongle as rumored, which is why he values her so much. Uncle Qin, you mustn't mistreat her in the future."
Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Yue's words, Xuan Yuan Han's eyes flashed with a chilling light. Xuan Yuan Yue realized she had misspoke and quickly lowered her head, sitting quietly and refusing to utter any more nonsense. Seeing this, Lu Tian Jiao secretly covered his mouth and chuckled.
Who is Xuanyuan Han? He would never be threatened by anyone or anything.
While everyone was still immersed in the cold and chilling atmosphere, a dashing young man walked in.
The newcomer was tall and imposing, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes, his features as smooth as jade and as verdant as pine trees. He wore a long black robe, his dark hair was tied up and topped with a crown, a long sword was at his waist, and his brows exuded an air of nobility.
The two bodyguards following closely behind also had swords at their waists and each held a gift tray, both covered with red cloth, giving them a mysterious appearance.
When the three approached Xuanyuan Han, they bowed respectfully.
Then Mei Zhixuan said in his magnetic yet humble voice, "Mei Zhixuan, the envoy from Dongning Kingdom, greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings."
"Third Prince, there's no need for such formalities, please sit down," Xuan Yuanhan said politely, gesturing for a seat, though his face remained as icy as ever.
As soon as Mei Zhixuan took his seat, he gestured to one of the guards to present the gifts on the wooden tray. Dongning Kingdom truly lived up to its reputation as the richest country on the Lingkong Continent. The gifts that followed shocked everyone present.
One of the guards stepped forward and slowly lifted the red cloth covering the gift tray he was carrying, revealing nine identical, finely carved black wooden boxes on the tray.
As the guards continued to open the wooden boxes one by one, nine rare natural luminous pearls appeared before everyone's eyes. The nine luminous pearls were different shades of yellow-green, light blue, and orange-red.
Everyone was stunned and looked at each other in disbelief.
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan introduced, "Your Highness, this is a gift presented to you by the Kingdom of Dongning—named the Nine-Colored Hanging Pearl, all of which are naturally formed."
These nine luminous pearls, each displaying a different shade of color, shimmered and glowed even in the daytime. Such wondrous and rare objects would be priceless to most people, yet here there were a full nine.
Before everyone could recover, Mei Zhixuan stood up and walked over to another guard, gently lifting the red cloth covering the wooden tray in his hand. Even the usually composed Xuan Yuanhan was taken aback.
What was hidden under the red cloth were several living creatures—the Goddess of Light butterflies.
"Third Prince, what is this?" Xuan Yuanhan asked, pointing at the divine butterfly, but Xuan Yuanyue interrupted him.
She had already recognized the man before her as the elegant gentleman she had been longing to see. She never expected that they would actually meet again. Unable to contain her excitement, she said, "Uncle Qin, let Yue'er inform you. Yue'er knows what this is."
As she spoke, Xuan Yuan Yue stepped forward with light steps to the divine butterfly and continued, "This is the incredibly rare and precious Goddess of Light Butterfly. It is hailed as the most beautiful butterfly in the world. Uncle, look, the white veins and bands on its wings are like natural, luxurious, and beautiful ornaments. The butterfly flutters its wings gracefully, spreading them like a peacock's tail. Uncle, it can also change color. At night, the divine butterfly flutters its wings, its colors constantly changing from sky blue to purplish-blue, like a dream, truly radiant and dazzling."
As Xuan Yuan Yue spoke with great enthusiasm and excitement, she looked at Mei Zhi Xuan's handsome face with overwhelming joy, like a favored yet shy child, her eyes radiating a satisfied and proud light.
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to Mei Zhixuan beside her and asked, "Third Prince of Dongning, am I right or wrong?"
Mei Zhixuan then realized that the woman standing in front of him was the princess of Western Qin, and hurriedly bowed to her, saying, "I did not know that you were Your Highness. Please forgive me. Your Highness is very intelligent and your words are absolutely correct."
Xuan Yuan Yue stared blankly at Mei Zhi Xuan, not uttering a single word, her face filled with undisguised admiration. Everyone could clearly see her obvious girlish feelings.
"Yue'er, where did you learn all this from?" Hearing Xuan Yuanhan's question, she finally came to her senses and slowly returned to her original seat.
"Uncle, you may not know this, but some time ago, Yun'er accompanied me to Butterfly Valley of Xiqin Academy, where we saw this kind of divine butterfly." As she spoke, Xuan Yuan Yue turned to look at the Lu siblings.
Lu Tianlin and Lu Tianjiao looked surprised. Lu Tianlin hurriedly said, "Princess, are you sure you didn't see it wrong? Butterfly Valley of Xiqin Academy has never had such a rare and precious divine butterfly before." Lu Tianjiao also nodded in agreement with her brother Lu Tianlin.
"Really? Then..." Xuan Yuan Yue was racking her brains trying to figure out where the divine butterflies of Xi Qin Academy came from when Mei Zhi Xuan's voice came again, "Your Highness, the divine butterflies can be controlled. During the day, the butterflies can freely go out to forage for food, and at night they will definitely return to their nests on time. The divine butterflies are rare and precious, so the divine butterflies that Your Highness saw before should be among them."
Upon hearing Mei Zhixuan's words, Xuan Yuan Yue's face instantly filled with extreme surprise. From childhood to adulthood, she had admired countless butterflies, but she had never heard of butterflies being controlled by humans. At this moment, her respect and admiration for Mei Zhixuan deepened even further.
The story begins with the phrase, "I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly, turning around, I found him where the lights were dim."
After searching high and low, it turned out he was the third prince of Dongning Kingdom. When they parted last time, he said that they would meet again if they were destined to, but he never expected that they would really meet again, and so soon. Xuan Yuan Yue was so excited that she couldn't express it.
Yi Shangyun watched Xuan Yuan Yue quietly from the side, feeling happy for her. Xuan Yuan Yue finally knew the name of her beloved. Yi Shangyun blinked as she looked at the couple in front of her, silently wishing them a happy ending.
Their gazes immediately fell on Mei Zhixuan, and Mei Zhixuan seemed to notice out of the corner of his eye. At this moment, he also looked at Yi Shangyun. Their eyes met, but they both immediately looked away.
Even though Yi Shangyun's face was covered by a veil, Mei Zhixuan still seemed to find a long-lost sense of familiarity in the eyes he saw before him. He couldn't help but look up at Yi Shangyun again, but still couldn't remember where he had seen her before. A look of doubt appeared on his face.
After a moment, he stopped thinking about it and slowly said to Xuan Yuanhan, "Your Highness, these small gifts are a token of my Dongning's appreciation. I hope Your Highness will accept them. I have come here today because my younger sister has just arrived in Western Qin and is feeling unwell. She is also wary of the strict separation between men and women by the imperial physicians and does not wish to be treated by them. However, tomorrow is the wedding, and in order not to affect the auspicious time, I wonder if Your Highness has any trustworthy female physicians you can recommend? I would be extremely grateful." Mei Zhixuan said worriedly.
Just as Xuan Yuanhan was about to speak, Xuan Yuanyue hurriedly interrupted him.
"Third Prince, there is no need to worry. I happened to bring a skilled female physician with me when I left the palace today. My uncle's wedding is imminent, and it is inconvenient for him to meet with his future aunt. There are many other inconveniences as well. We should not delay. I will accompany you to visit my future aunt's condition right now. What do you say?"
Mei Zhixuan was overjoyed upon hearing this, and immediately turned his gaze to the high and mighty Xuan Yuanhan for instructions. Xuan Yuanhan looked at Xuan Yuanyue with a helpless expression, wondering what was wrong with this girl today, that she was so concerned about everything concerning the Third Prince of Dongning.
Finally, Xuanyuan Han had no choice but to say, "Go quickly and return quickly."
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan had agreed, Xuan Yuanyue grabbed Yi Shangyun and strode towards the door. Mei Zhixuan also hurriedly bowed to Xuan Yuanhan to say goodbye and then followed closely behind, leading the way to the post station.
With the departure of the three, the hall fell silent. Only Lu Tianlin and Lu Tianjiao, the siblings, and Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, remained.
Lu Tianlin was filled with joy and completely absorbed in admiring the nine-colored hanging pearl and the precious divine butterfly that Mei Zhixuan had sent.
Xuanyuan Han sat quietly, examining the sapphire blue medicine sachet on the table. After a long while, he gently picked it up and carefully hid it in his sleeve. A rare expression of sweetness and enjoyment suddenly appeared on his dignified face.
It was deep winter, and Lu Tianjiao sat in the warm hall, watching the behavior of the two people in front of her. At this moment, her heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.
Of all the wedding gifts presented to Xuan Yuanhan today, only the two rare ancient zithers, Dragon's Roar and Phoenix's Cry, which she sent, seemed to have been completely forgotten, lying quietly to the side, unnoticed and unappreciated, except for Xuan Yuanyue's sarcastic remarks just now.
As she pondered, she suddenly looked at Xuan Yuanhan with a sorrowful yet affectionate expression for a while, and finally asked quietly, "Brother Han, do you really like Princess Yongle?"
Lu Tianlin was startled by these words and couldn't stop her in time. He could only look at Xuan Yuanhan's cold face in a panic. How many times had he told her to stop? Why did his sister still say such things?
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan kept his eyes down, his face cold and indifferent, remaining silent as if he hadn't heard her voice at all.
In Lu Tianjiao's eyes, his face had never shown any different expression towards her since childhood, only coldness. But today, she discovered that Xuan Yuanhan was not as cold and ruthless as he seemed when it came to Yi Shangyun.
Lu Tianjiao's words, "Brother Han," were filled with so many beautiful memories of growing up together, and with so many of her hopes and expectations for him and their future. But at this moment, all those beautiful wishes vanished into thin air.
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