The night was as dark as ink, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Having just finished a rare and enjoyable dinner, Yi Shangyun was sitting by the window of Mingyue Pavilion, one hand supporting her chin, gazing intently at the bright moon hanging in the night sky...
For some reason, tonight she was no longer just staring blankly at that wall.
Suddenly, the maid Yan'er came upstairs carrying several branches of red plum blossoms that had just been picked from the courtyard. Wherever she went, a faint, refreshing plum fragrance wafted by.
She gently walked to Yi Shangyun's side and slowly inserted it into the blue and white porcelain vase beside her, without Yi Shangyun noticing at all.
Perhaps because of the miraculous medicine made from the immortal herb in the twelfth lunar month, which had completely cured her leg ailment, she looked to be in very good spirits.
Yan'er deliberately lingered in front of her for a long time, but she just stared blankly at the bright moon outside the window.
Seeing the beautiful blush on her face, Yan'er's eyes darted around, and she smiled mischievously at her before teasing her, "Although the rouge in the Prince of Qin's mansion is all top-quality and expensive, Miss, you can't wear it so thickly, can you?"
"Really?" Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun hurriedly came to her senses and awkwardly touched her face.
"Pfft!" Yan'er covered her mouth and laughed out loud when she saw her busy and flustered look.
Yi Shangyun then realized she had been tricked by Yan'er, and a hint of displeasure immediately appeared on her face. She blurted out, "Well, you little rascal, you're getting better and better at making fun of your master these days. I was just wondering why there was rouge in His Highness Prince Qin's bedchamber..."
As Yi Shangyun was speaking, she seemed to suddenly realize that she had let something slip, so she quickly stopped, lowered her head, and avoided eye contact.
Although Yan'er was small, she was quite sharp. Upon hearing this, her eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "What did you say, Miss? His Highness Prince Qin's bedroom? Yan'er didn't hear wrong, did she? Miss, you... stayed in His Highness Prince Qin's bedroom last night? So you and His Highness..."
Hearing Yan'er's strange thoughts, Yi Shangyun hurriedly looked up to stop her, saying, "It's not what you think. His Highness has moved to Chenghua Palace, and I am the only one living in the bedroom."
"Oh, I see. Our young lady went to the Prince of Qin's mansion and she's a completely different person since?" Yan'er said deliberately, drawing out her words.
"Different? How is it different?" Yi Shangyun asked doubtfully, her gaze darting away as if she were somewhat guilty.
At this moment, Yan'er, with one hand behind her back, said mysteriously, "When Miss went out yesterday evening, Yan'er marked her. But when Miss returned today, Yan'er found that Miss is different from yesterday. What should we do?!"
Upon hearing Yan'er mention the mark on her body, Yi Shangyun immediately thought of the hickey and wondered to himself, "Could it be that the girl discovered it?"
He immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
Seeing that her trick had worked, Yan'er had successfully made Yi Shangyun somewhat uneasy. She then slowly extended the hand that had been hidden behind her back and questioned, "Tell me honestly, was this New Year's red envelope given by His Highness Prince Qin?"
Yi Shangyun then slowly raised her head upon hearing the sound and looked over seriously, only to see that Yan'er was indeed holding a large red envelope, which was being waved in front of her. She quickly stood up and asked, "Where did this come from?"
Yan'er pouted, somewhat puzzled, then handed the red envelope to Yi Shangyun, saying with some surprise, "This red envelope was placed in the red and white plum blossom cloak that Miss wore yesterday when she went out. Could it be... that Miss didn't know?"
Yi Shangyun thought back briefly. When she met Ling'er at the Qin Prince's mansion that morning, she had intended to give her a red envelope, but unfortunately, she couldn't find a single coin on her person.
At this moment, Yan'er easily pulled out such an exquisitely crafted red envelope from her cloak.
She hurriedly opened it and saw that it was a silver note. The silver note was stamped with the vermilion seal of the Prince of Qin's mansion.
Yi Shangyun suddenly realized: it turned out that at some point, Xuan Yuanhan had so thoughtfully and secretly slipped a large red envelope into his person.
Suddenly, she seemed to be moved by his words, and she couldn't help but murmur, "Your Highness..."
"Your Highness? Is it His Highness the Prince of Qin?" Yan'er, with her extremely keen ears, heard this and asked.
Yi Shangyun quickly came to her senses, but no longer pretended to hide it. Perhaps, now, only Yan'er was the only person she could confide in without any reservations in this time and space.
So she nodded seriously and calmly to Yan'er, but her expression seemed somewhat worried.
Yan'er exclaimed with delight, "It seems that His Highness Prince Qin is truly kind to our young lady. Even during the New Year, he didn't forget to give her a red envelope."
As she spoke, Yan'er paused, as if remembering something, and immediately turned annoyed, saying, "Unlike that Aunt Lan, Miss helped the Second Young Master so much, and she didn't even say thank you. If it weren't for Miss's sake, would His Highness Prince Qin have accepted such a dissolute and纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat) like the Second Young Master into his camp?..."
Before Yan'er could finish her rambling, Yi Shangyun interrupted her with a shushing sound: "You little girl, why do you never take my instructions to heart? If you keep going like this, you'll get into trouble sooner or later."
When the topic of misfortune came up, she couldn't help but recall the story of the poor lady that Xuan Yuanhan had told her while she was unconscious in the Qin Prince's mansion.
He then bit his lip and sighed deeply, "Sigh..."
"Why did you suddenly sigh so deeply, Miss? Is it because of what Yan'er said just now?" Yan'er, having been warned by her young mistress again, couldn't help but grimace. Seeing the worry on her face, she blamed herself.
Yi Shangyun suddenly became serious, staring intently at the blood-red plum blossoms that Yan'er had just planted. She said softly, "Yan'er, what is it in this world that would make a mother disregard the safety of her unborn child, even willing to sacrifice both her and her child's lives, just to save a stranger she happened to meet?"
After a moment's thought, Yan'er replied, "Then it must be very important for the person being saved to live, otherwise why would they exchange two lives for one?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun seemed to agree with Yan'er's words. However, still puzzled, she asked, "But they're meeting for the first time, so how can you say they're important or unimportant?"
Yan'er's eyes darted around. "Oh, Miss, don't you know what it means to feel like you've known someone forever? There are some people in this world who seem to have met before the first time they meet. There's also love at first sight, and being captivated at first sight, isn't there? Or perhaps... she was born to be his protector, born for him, and will die for him. It's a mission."
Yi Shangyun was suddenly startled and murmured, "Guardian? Mission?"
Yan'er said happily, "Yes, that's right. I once heard someone say that everyone is born with a mission, and this mission will accompany them throughout their lives, regardless of the length of their life or the quantity of life itself. The person that your mission requires you to protect, you must vow to protect to the death, as if it were a contract from a past life."
Yi Shangyun seemed to be engrossed in listening, never expecting that this little girl in front of her had heard such profound and unfathomable theories from somewhere.
But then she asked, "What kind of person is this being protected, that they are so cruel, that people would risk their lives to protect them? Aren't all lives equally precious?"
Yan'er: "Protecting is a form of self-sacrifice without regard to any cost, so how can it be considered cruel?"
Yan'er answered every question fluently and eloquently, while Yi Shangyun was completely bewildered.
So, she asked her with a mixture of doubt and surprise, "Where did Yan'er hear all this from?"
Yan'er pursed her lips, seemingly puzzled. "Actually, Yan'er doesn't remember where she heard these words from, but she vaguely feels like she's heard them before..."
Yi Shangyun looked at Yan'er in surprise, feeling quite amazed.
At this moment, Yan'er also asked Yi Shangyun curiously, "By the way, Miss's leg was really healed by that reclusive master. What kind of miraculous medicine did he give Miss?"
Yi Shangyun is still puzzled to this day. She originally thought that her legs were destined to be useless in this backward time and space without high technology.
From that night on, when the old Taoist priest, who seemed to have descended from the heavens, said that a benefactor had found a good medicine for her, she was still quite skeptical.
But now it seems that the old Taoist priest was indeed prescient, and what he said was not false at all.
Speaking of the old Taoist priest, since he was able to accurately predict that his leg ailment would be cured, would all the other things he predicted also come true?
Thinking of this, Yi Shangyun felt a surge of fear and anxiety, and excitedly said to Yan'er, "Yan'er, I'm so scared. That Taoist priest predicted that my leg ailment would be cured, and now it really has! Could it be... could it be that the other things that the Taoist priest predicted will also come true?!"
After saying this, she even started trembling with fear. Seeing this, Yan'er immediately stepped forward, put her arm around her shoulder, and comforted her, "Miss, don't be afraid. No matter what happens in the future, Yan'er will always be with you."
The room was silent as the master and servant embraced tightly.
After a while, seeing that it was getting late outside the window, Yan'er advised, "It's getting late, Miss, you should rest early."
As Yan'er spoke, she reached out and closed the half-closed window. Then she returned to help Yi Shang Yunlai, who was so terrified that she was slumped over and unable to get up, and slowly walked towards the bed.
Once she came to her senses, Yi Shangyun seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Does Yan'er know of a Wanjiao Pavilion in the south of the city?"
Yan'er pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "Wanjiao Pavilion, what kind of place is that? I've never heard of it before."
Seeing the extremely disappointed expression on Yi Shangyun's face, Yan'er hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered someone. "But Yan'er knows there is a Zhao's Teahouse at the street corner. The Zhao family has lived here for three generations. He always boasts to everyone that he knows everything. I suppose the Zhao family might know something."
"Street corner, Zhao's Teahouse, Manager Zhao?" Yi Shangyun lay down on the couch, repeating Yan'er's words in a muttered voice.
"Alright, Miss, don't think about anything anymore. Get some rest. Staying up late will make you ugly." Yan'er teased her, then tucked the blanket around her and slowly walked out, gently closing the door behind her.
I couldn't sleep well last night at the Prince of Qin's residence;
On the way back to the mansion in the morning, I only had a short rest in the carriage;
Back in my attic, I should have been able to sleep peacefully.
Now, she seems burdened with a thousand knots in her heart, none of which can be untied. It seems another sleepless night is about to begin.
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