As soon as Cheng Liang stepped out of Wanjiao Pavilion, the guard beside him asked, "General, it seems we still haven't found anything this time?"
"Didn't you find anything? You really didn't notice anything?" Cheng Liang asked rhetorically.
"Your subordinate is dull-witted, and wishes to hear your detailed explanation, General?" the guard earnestly asked.
"Hmph, have you ever seen a family that uses a whole pavilion for its tea storage room, and such a luxurious one at that? Can't you really see that this backyard of Wanjiao Pavilion is the true master of Wanjiao Pavilion, no... it must be the hiding place of that Northern Prince Tuoba Ze?" Cheng Liang said as if he had suddenly realized something.
Then, he analyzed to his guards, "That rose tea comes from the south, yet it's stored in tea jars printed with northern pasture grass and sheep grass. Moreover, almost all the tea jars on the ebony tea shelves in the tea room are in a similar northern style, showing how much its owner loves the north. Your Highness's guess was absolutely right; the true master of Wanjiao Pavilion is indeed him. You... are truly foolish. How did you arrange things before? You were so careless, almost causing a disaster." The guards were still pondering the first half of Cheng Liang's words, not yet understanding its meaning, when they were instantly stunned by the extremely stern rebuke that followed.
Before he could even speak, Cheng Liang hurriedly said, "Let's go back and report to our master first."
As soon as they finished speaking, the three of them hurriedly headed back towards Ruyi Residence.
Just after Cheng Liang and the others left, Tuoba Ze's personal guard and two subordinates were escorting Yi Shangyun, Yan Hong, and Lanxiang's grandmother back to Wanjiao Pavilion in the opposite direction.
To avoid suspicion, he deliberately covered the three women with long black veils, and then followed closely behind them with a short sword, quietly pressing it against their backs to ensure they dared not resist or make a sound.
He rushed back to report without stopping for a moment, and the old man seemed to be getting weak, and his pace suddenly slowed down.
One of his men saw this and pressed the short sword he had been hiding against the old man's waist, shouting at him, "You old codger, get out of here! Behave yourself!"
Upon hearing the commotion, Yi Shangyun and Yan Hong quickly helped the old woman up. Yan Hong hurriedly said, "Grandma, just hold on a little longer. We'll be at Wanjiao Pavilion soon."
The old man sighed, "Alas, I never imagined that at my age, I would end up in a place like this. I might as well just die now; at least I'd be done with it..."
At this moment, Yi Shangyun spoke up to persuade her, "How can you say such discouraging things, Mother-in-law? Erlang is already dead. You are Lanxiang's only family in this world. If even you are gone, how lonely and sad she will be. So for her sake, you must live well."
"Erlang? Is that the scoundrel who tricked our Xiang'er back then by saying he would marry her?" The old man gritted his teeth as soon as he heard the name 'Erlang'.
Yi Shangyun looked into the old man's eyes and nodded slightly. The old man asked in confusion, "Is he dead?"
After a moment's hesitation, the old man suddenly became joyful again. "Good riddance, good riddance. Such a treacherous person deserves to die, should have died long ago... but I wonder how he died?"
Yi Shangyun then whispered to her, "Today, when Lanxiang and I were admiring the dream flowers in the Dream Garden, we happened to run into Erlang. Erlang said that he did indeed go home and tell his family that he wanted to propose marriage, but the steward interfered, which ruined their lives. For the past two years, Erlang has been waiting for Lanxiang in the Dream Garden. But just as Erlang was explaining to Lanxiang, an assassin appeared, presumably one of the people here. They wanted to kill Lanxiang to silence her, but Erlang saw it and blocked the fatal poisoned sword for her, dying on the spot from the poison."
Upon hearing this, the old man was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Then, as if he couldn't believe his ears, he asked again to confirm, "Is what Erlang said true? Did he really die to save our Xiang'er? So, we wronged him. He wasn't a man of his word?"
Yi Shangyun nodded heavily. The old man then turned his head away, his face lowered and his expression somber. He couldn't help but sigh and murmur, "Alas, it's fate, it's all fate. Fate is cruel."
After regaining his senses, the old man said to Yi Shangyun, "Girl, I know you are a good girl from a respectable family. If you find someone who loves you back and is willing to die for you, you must cherish him. Life is short. Don't wait until you are separated by death to start remembering him."
After listening to the old man's advice, Yi Shangyun suddenly stood there in a daze, repeating to herself, "Two hearts in love, willing to die for each other... Life is short... Separated by death... Unforgettable. This person, there can only be Wei Mingxuan from the 21st century, right? Who else could it be but him?"
Just as Yi Shangyun was deep in thought, Yan Hong, who was supporting the old man's other arm, spoke up quietly, "Miss, Yan Hong just wants to know, where is Sister Xiang'er now, and is she safe?"
Yi Shangyun finally came to her senses and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Lanxiang, she's safe. She won't be in any danger."
"Shut up, what are you whispering about? I'll beat you to death if you don't!" Seeing the three of them whispering, the henchman behind them shouted menacingly at them again.
Just then, for some reason, Yi Shangyun suddenly stopped and turned around, shouting angrily at the person behind her who was threatening her, "What's the use of just talking? Are you trying to scare me? Why don't I lend you the courage now and you can try me? I'm not easily intimidated."
Who knew that the man was a paper tiger? He was so frightened by Yi Shangyun's words that he dared not utter another sound and stood frozen in place, unable to move at all.
Seeing that he was already so frightened, Yi Shangyun naturally didn't bother to get entangled with such a scoundrel who relied on his master's power. He just glared contemptuously at Tuoba Ze's personal guard, then turned around and helped the old man up by the arm to continue walking forward.
But what she was secretly thinking was, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If I hadn't been determined to risk my life, I would not only have found Yu Niang to give my mother-in-law and Ling'er an explanation, but I would also have wanted to see just how capable that prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom in Wan Jiao Pavilion really was. Do you think you few could control me? I haven't even made a single move yet!"
That night, in the pavilion in the backyard of Wanjiao Pavilion, under the dim candlelight, Tuoba Ze had returned from the dark room to his favorite tea room.
At this moment, he was sitting upright at the tea table, with a pot of water still boiling in front of him and a cup of fragrant rose tea in his hands, but he had no intention of drinking it.
He would only occasionally lift it up to his nose to smell it, then slowly put it down again. He had done this countless times.
When the aroma of the flower tea faded, he poured it out, brewed a fresh cup, and then repeated the same series of actions.
In fact, his hesitant thoughts and actions were simply because of a woman named Yu Niang.
Although reason tells him that he should take the blood of the beautiful woman he had painstakingly cultivated with Yu Niang back to the Northern Lie Kingdom, so that he may have occasional needs for his great cause.
Yet, for some reason, he could never make the same decision as before when faced with such a simple, gentle, kind woman who was unwavering in her loyalty to her husband.
He knew, of course, that she, whom he had manipulated to cultivate the blood of a beauty, would ultimately be doomed to die. But to leave her home and die far from home seemed too cruel to her.
His eyes suddenly darted to the side and caught sight of the tea storage jar printed with sheep grass on the ebony tea shelf. The vast sky, the boundless wilderness, the cattle and sheep everywhere, the galloping horses—that breathtaking, expansive, and free grassland stirred his heart once again, and he couldn't help but stare blankly at the sheep grass, lost in thought.
Just then, his personal guards, having fulfilled their mission, finally returned to Wanjiao Pavilion.
As soon as the guard came upstairs, he respectfully bowed and began to report, "Your Highness, I have found Yi Shangyun, Yan Hong, and Lan Xiang's grandmother, and brought them back to Wan Jiao Pavilion. I wonder what Your Highness intends to do with these people?"
"Why is one person missing? Has he already been killed?" Tuoba Ze asked, frowning in confusion.
Upon hearing this, the guard knelt heavily on the ground with a thud and cautiously replied, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I did not see Lanxiang at all from beginning to end. I don't know where that vile woman escaped to."
"Smack..." Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze slammed his fist heavily on the coffee table in front of him, causing the tea in the teacup to splash out.
The guard kept his head down, feeling uneasy, and dared not raise it even slightly.
After a long pause, Tuoba Ze softened his tone and said to the guard, "Get up... Yi Shangyun and Lanxiang appeared together in Mengyuan, but the people who were following them lost them. Now that Yi Shangyun has been found, they must have been trying to mislead everyone and escaped separately. Now, Lanxiang must have been sent by Yi Shangyun to fetch reinforcements."
The guard asked anxiously, "But where would Lanxiang, a woman of the night, go to get help?"
“Lanxiang has been in Wanjiao Pavilion for two years. We know her inside and out. She must have no other help to ask for. She must have gone to ask Yi Shangyun for help,” Tuoba Ze said quietly.
"Yi Shangyun's reinforcements? That's..." the guard asked, puzzled.
"Didn't someone in Wanjiao Pavilion tell people that they were young masters from the Yi family in the west of the city?"
Upon hearing Tuoba Ze's words, the guard immediately realized something and asked, "Your Highness, are you referring to the other masked young master who came to Wanjiao Pavilion with her?"
Tuoba Ze did not answer, but calmly poured himself another cup of hot tea and took a sip.
But the guard asked, looking bewildered, "But where are we going to find that young master now?"
"Where would guests who come to the Wanjiao Pavilion in Xiqin stay?" Tuoba Ze prompted.
The guard was immediately overjoyed and shouted, "Ruyi Residence!"
Tuoba Ze slowly put down his teacup. The guard hurriedly said, "I understand. I will make the arrangements immediately. I will definitely tear that bitch to pieces."
Just as the guard was about to turn and leave, he asked again, "Should I lock up those three, Yi Shangyun and the others, together?"
After a moment's thought, Tuoba Ze sighed and instructed him, "Yishangyun, lock her up with Yu Niang first. Hand over the other two to the madam for disposal."
Upon hearing this, the guard was taken aback for a moment, then obeyed the order and withdrew.
The room was silent, and the dim candlelight cast long, long shadows of the person at the tea table, much like the endless, lingering thoughts in his mind...
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