The next morning, in Xuan Yuanhan's room.
The first rays of dawn gradually shone through the window, finally dispelling the darkness of the room.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Yi Shangyun sleeping right in front of him, and somehow she had put one of her legs over him.
Xuanyuan Han was stunned and thought to himself, "This woman is so lovely, she is truly a rare find in this world!"
After a moment, he held his breath, slowly got up, and carefully stepped outside.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Yi Shangyun slowly woke up. Her eyes rolled around several times, and when she realized that she was sleeping on the couch in Xuan Yuanhan's room, she remembered that the two of them had almost lost control last night. A blush immediately rose on her face, and she was so shy that she covered her face with the quilt.
Suddenly, a creaking sound was heard.
As if someone pushed the door open, Yi Shangyun peeked out from under the covers again. Through the screen, she saw a little girl slowly emerge. Yi Shangyun was immediately taken aback: "This courtyard is full of guards, except for an old nanny. When did a little girl come?"
The maidservant came in carrying a basin of warm water for washing, and greeted Yi Shangyun softly, "Miss is awake!"
Everyone in the courtyard had always called her "Miss," so why was this little maid calling her "Young Lady"? Confused, she repeated, "Young Lady?"
So, as she sat up from the couch, she asked curiously, "Who are you...?"
Before she could finish speaking, the little maid walked around the screen and came in, reaching Yi Shangyun's bedside. Yi Shangyun was stunned when she saw the person, and for a moment, all the words she was about to say were choked back.
She stared wide-eyed at him, her beautiful phoenix eyes wide with astonishment, and exclaimed, "You...you are...you are Yan'er?"
Yan'er could hardly remember how long it had been since she had seen her young master.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she ran towards her, hugged her tightly, and cried, "Miss, you're alive! You're really alive! Yan'er thought she would never see you again in this lifetime!"
After saying that, she started crying, "Waaah..."
In that instant, Yi Shangyun was also holding her, his eyes brimming with tears, deeply moved, softly calling her name again and again: "Yan'er, my good Yan'er..."
A moment later, the master and servant, who had been embracing, finally separated with great reluctance. Yi Shangyun asked, "By the way, Yan'er, how did you end up in Dongning Kingdom?"
Yan'er, still choking back tears, wiped them from her face and said with deep gratitude, "It was His Highness Prince Qin who was afraid that Miss would not be used to other people and would have no one to take care of her, so he took Yan'er out of the mansion and brought her to Dongning."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly realized what was happening, and deeply moved, she murmured softly, "It's Your Highness..."
Seeing this, Yan'er took out clothes to help her get up and change, and suddenly smiled and said, "Miss, His Highness Prince Qin has really gone to great lengths for you!"
Yi Shangyun smiled, naturally not denying it at all. Unexpectedly, Yan'er suddenly turned and stared mysteriously into Yi Shangyun's eyes, asking, "Miss, to be honest, do you and His Highness Prince Qin have anything going on...?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun instantly looked at the little girl's face, suddenly realizing her thoughts. She quickly pushed her hand away, her face flushed with a mixture of shyness and anger, and said, "Yan'er, what nonsense are you talking about? His Highness Prince Qin and I have feelings for each other, but we've kept our relationship within the bounds of propriety. We, we certainly didn't..."
She spoke with great conviction, but the blush on her face had already spread to her neck, completely betraying her.
Yan'er, seemingly having already seen through her thoughts and understood everything, reluctantly echoed her, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Yes, yes, yes, my young lady is pure and virtuous, chaste as jade. Her relationship with His Highness Prince Qin is based on affection but remains within the bounds of propriety. There has never been the slightest transgression, no, no..."
Yi Shangyun glanced at her sideways and glared at her fiercely.
With Yan'er by his side, Yi Shangyun's appetite seemed to have improved considerably.
Just as the master and servant finished their sumptuous meal and were chatting over tea, a group of guards carried several mysterious black boxes into Yi Shangyun's room.
Yi Shangyun hurriedly put down her teacup, stood up abruptly, and stood with Yan'er in astonishment before them, looking at a row of eight large boxes. Each box seemed large enough to hold the two of them, mistress and servant. They couldn't help but look at each other in disbelief.
A moment later, Yan'er pointed to one of the boxes and asked a guard in a daze, "Brother guard, what is the purpose of this?"
The guard, dressed in his official robes, politely clasped his hands and replied, "Your Highness said, 'The New Year should bring a fresh start!'"
Upon hearing this, the master and servant looked into each other's eyes and asked in unison, puzzled, "The New Year should bring a fresh start?"
As soon as the guard raised one hand, several guards stepped forward and yanked open the lids of the boxes in front of them.
At the same time, the guard continued to explain, "These are all clothes and jewelry that His Highness personally selected for the young lady when he went to the market, as well as rouge, face powder, and other household items. We hope the young lady will accept them!"
"Heavens! Is this a surprise or a shock? Your Highness, why don't you move the entire city of Dongning to my young lady's place?" Yan'er stepped forward to investigate, muttering to herself in surprise.
There were eight large boxes, and even in just one of them, the master and servant had never seen anything like it before, let alone eight boxes. Each item inside seemed to be priceless…
Yi Shangyun followed behind, taking a step forward. Staring in astonished at the dazzling array of colorful objects before him, he was perhaps choked by the tea he had just tasted, and coughed heavily, covering his mouth: "Cough cough cough..."
"What's wrong, Miss?" Hearing her young mistress coughing more and more violently, Yan'er hurriedly turned around and handed her a silk handkerchief, gently patting her back as she asked with concern.
Upon seeing this, the guards exchanged glances, wondering what was going on with the two women before them.
A moment later, in the main room of the courtyard, Xuan Yuanhan.
As soon as Cheng Liang entered, she rushed forward and asked anxiously, "How did it go? Did Yun'er like everything I sent?"
Cheng Liang seemed unsure how to begin, but seeing his master's expectant face, he finally took a breath and spoke the truth: "Miss Yi saw it, but didn't say whether she liked it or not, it's just..."
Xuanyuan Han hurriedly asked, "But what?"
Cheng Liang said, "According to the guards, Miss Yi, she just keeps coughing."
Xuanyuan Han turned his back, recalling the events with a puzzled look, and then seemed to mutter to himself, "Coughing... Could it be that I caught a chill last night?"
Upon realizing this, Xuan Yuanhan turned around and anxiously instructed Cheng Liang, "Go quickly and have someone add more charcoal to Yun'er's room."
Cheng Liang turned around in surprise, about to go and do it, when he was suddenly called back again:
"return!"
Cheng Liang clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"
Xuanyuan Han paused for a moment, then paced back and forth thoughtfully, saying, "Add more charcoal to my room."
Cheng Liang frowned, recalling the question and asking in confusion, "Didn't His Highness say this morning that he felt a bit hot last night and asked me to remove some of the charcoal fire?"
Thinking back to their passionate embrace last night, which almost made him lose control, he naturally felt incredibly hot. But now that he learned that Yi Shangyun had caught a cold in his room, he was furious.
Upon realizing this, Xuan Yuanhan shouted, "Just do what I tell you to do! Stop with all this nonsense!"
Cheng Liang hurriedly and fearfully replied, "Your subordinate obeys. I will go immediately to add charcoal to the room of Your Highness and Miss Yi."
After saying that, he turned around, scratched the back of his head, and left the house with a puzzled look on his face.
Watching his retreating figure, Xuan Yuanhan's lips curled into a smile, his eyes revealing a playful joy.
Inside the east room.
As if listing their treasures, Yan'er showed and introduced each item in the box to Yi Shangyun. Holding a pair of pearl earrings, her eyes gleamed with excitement, she exclaimed, "Miss, we've really struck gold this time! Back in Xi Qin, I'd only heard of pearls like these, but I'd never even seen one myself. They're said to be from a white-lipped oyster, and only in a place in Dongning Kingdom with pristine waters, suitable temperatures, an open bay, and few typhoons can such high-quality pearls be produced. And the yield is extremely low; only the Dongning royal family is entitled to enjoy them."
After saying that, she put it down and ran to another box. She picked up a white gauze dress that was as light as a cicada's wing and carefully stroked it with her hands to feel its soft texture. Looking at the exquisite butterfly and flower pattern on it, Yan'er opened her mouth wide in amazement, as if she could not express it in words.
Just as Yan'er was filled with surprise, Yi Shangyun, who had been standing silently to the side, seemingly lost in thought, suddenly spoke up: "Yan'er, you know I don't care about these things. But His Highness has gone to such lengths to treat me. Even if it's just a matter of reciprocation, shouldn't I give His Highness a surprise in return?"
Yan'er vaguely heard this, and after regaining her senses, she asked again to confirm, "A surprise for His Highness the Prince of Qin? Could it be that you, Miss, also want to..."
Yi Shangyun raised an eyebrow and said, "Yan'er, why don't we go to the city too?"
Upon hearing Yi Shangyun's idea, Yan'er felt both happy and worried: "But Miss, General Cheng and the young master both said that Dongning City is full of dangers. I'm afraid that the surprise you want to prepare for His Highness Prince Qin will turn into a fright!"
Yi Shangyun said dismissively, "What are you saying, Yan'er? Don't you have any confidence in your young lady? I will be very careful. Besides, we will only sneak out for a short while and then come back. We won't be discovered."
Yan'er was naturally afraid that her young master would cause trouble again, and hesitated before saying, "But..."
Seeing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly sat down, putting on a pitiful look and said, "Yan'er, you don't know, I've been locked up in this courtyard all day long, and I'm almost suffocating. If this continues, I'm afraid I won't live to see the spring of next year."
Yan'er was still a child after all, so she agreed: "Alright, alright, then Yan'er will think of a way to take Miss out for some fresh air."
"Mmm..." Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, suppressing her excitement.
So, after nightfall, under the dim lights, the master and servant, having carefully disguised themselves again, secretly slipped away with the shop owner's wife who had come to deliver goods...
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