Have you heard?
"What?"
"I heard that a fire broke out in Chenxiang Pavilion a while ago, and a palace maid was burned to death."
"Agarwood Pavilion?"
"Hasn't that courtyard been abandoned for many years? How could someone have been burned to death?"
"It seems that a palace maid committed some offense and was personally sent there by the chief eunuch to be imprisoned."
"Was it delivered personally by the Grand Eunuch?"
"The Grand Eunuch is the Emperor's confidant. Could it be that the palace maid offended the Emperor?"
"I don't know about that."
"However, I heard that palace maid used to work in the Imperial Pharmacy, and she was apparently a top-tier pharmacist! What was her name again..."
"Sigh, I can't remember!"
"However, it really is like serving a tiger; it's such a pity that he died so young."
"It seems we'll have to be even more careful serving in the palace from now on. Who knows when we might offend some noble person and die without even knowing how?"
"Who can argue with that?"
...
After listening to the whispers of a few people who seemed to have come out of the palace on official business, Young Master Yi pondered to himself.
"A palace maid?"
"The Imperial Pharmacy?"
"Could what they're talking about be the lilac the girl mentioned...?"
"Dingxiang is dead?"
"If Dingxiang dies, wouldn't that girl..."
Just as he was deep in thought about this, a voice suddenly woke him up.
"The boss? The boss?"
Upon hearing the voice, Young Master Yi snapped out of his daze, looked at the man's face, and said, "Manager Xue, you've arrived!"
As Manager Xue sat down, he asked in puzzlement, "What are you thinking about so intently, sir?"
Just as Yi Shangyun feared, he was equally worried that Xuan Yuanhan had probably already sent people to keep an eye on Baicaogu and Baicaotang.
Left with no other choice, Young Master Yi had to ask someone to arrange a meeting with Manager Xue at this teahouse.
Originally, he wasn't in such a hurry, but after listening to their conversation, Young Master Yi suddenly felt uneasy and changed his mind.
So he asked, "Manager Xue, do you have any medicinal herbs to be sent to the palace in the next few days?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Xue immediately beamed and told him, "Our master has just returned to Western Qin and is probably unaware of the matter yet. There is a joyous occasion coming up in the palace. In the past few months, he has ordered a lot of precious medicinal herbs from us! Such as Tian Shan snow lotus, cordyceps, he shou wu, bird's nest, ambergris... we have everything."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered: "Oh right, that's perfect, a batch of goods just arrived today, and we were just about to prepare to send them to the palace!"
Young Master Yi was indeed completely unaware of this, so he asked, "Is there good news in the palace? What good news?"
Seeing that he was actually asking questions in detail, Manager Xue's face suddenly darkened.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but still lowered her voice slightly.
"This is the Prince of Qin's residence. The Prince of Qin is about to welcome the beloved daughter of the Dean of the Western Qin Academy into the family. The new princess was personally selected by the Empress Dowager, and she will be taught by palace maids. She will come to the Prince's residence from the palace."
As if struck by lightning, Young Master Yi's eyes widened in shock.
Even though I heard it so clearly, I still had to confirm it again.
"What?"
"Say it again?"
"Who do you think King Xuanyuan Han of Qin will marry?"
Manager Xue then slowly recounted to him the details of the upcoming arrival of the new princess at the Prince of Qin's residence.
Upon hearing Manager Xue's words, Young Master Yi was so shocked that he seemed speechless.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke again: "When did this happen?"
After a moment's thought, Manager Xue said, "It's probably around the time when the Prince of Qin's mansion holds the funeral for the Princess of Qin."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! The girl was so devoted to him, suffered so much for him, and was so attentive to him. How could he be so impatient as to arrange a marriage for her during the mourning period!"
He paused, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Xuanyuan Han, you really are a scoundrel! I never realized you were so good at feigning deep affection, and you've let that girl down!"
As he spoke, he suddenly slammed a loud slap on the tea table in front of him.
In an instant, the tea in the teacup splashed out and landed on the table. Upon closer inspection, even the porcelain on the table was cracked by the impact.
The commotion immediately alerted the people nearby.
But upon seeing Young Master Yi's fierce and furious face, they got up and quietly went downstairs together to leave.
Once his emotions had calmed down a bit, Young Master Yi said, "Manager Xue, today, I will go to the palace with you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Young Master Yi hurriedly got up and went downstairs.
Manager Xue shook his head and quickly followed.
Even late into the night, Young Master Yi still hadn't returned.
Today, I went out with Pearl, but we clearly didn't get anything out of it.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun sat alone in the room, staring blankly at the candlelight on the table.
"It seems the Third Young Master is truly angry!"
Suddenly, I turned my gaze to the window and saw a bright, clear moon hanging high in the sky.
Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.
Yi Shangyun rubbed her eyes, and was about to get up, take off her clothes, turn off the light, and go to sleep.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Knock knock knock"
It was accompanied by a creaking sound.
The door opened, and there was Young Master Yi, looking exhausted, slowly returning.
Seeing him enter, Yi Shangyun asked anxiously, "Third Young Master, where did you go today? Why are you only coming back now? I thought you were angry with me and would never come back."
On the way back, Young Master Yi kept thinking about how to tell her in a way that would minimize the hurt: "Little girl..."
Seeing that he seemed about to speak but hesitated, Yi Shangyun had a vague feeling that something must have happened.
So he quickly asked, "What happened? Third Young Master, what's wrong?"
After much deliberation, Young Master Yi finally spoke, saying only to her, "Today I heard someone in the teahouse say that a fire suddenly broke out in the Agarwood Pavilion in the palace a while ago, burning a palace maid to death?"
After a moment's thought, Yi Shangyun found it hard to believe: "Could it be that Third Young Master means that the palace maid who was burned to death in Chenxiang Pavilion was Dingxiang?"
Young Master Yi stared intently into her eyes: "For this reason, I went to the Imperial Pharmacy with Manager Xue today to inquire about the situation, but everyone said that Dingxiang is indeed gone."
"What did you say?"
As if struck by lightning, Yi Shangyun's eyes blinked, and then she suddenly stumbled and almost fell.
Young Master Yi reacted quickly, stepping forward to support her and reminding her, "Girl, be careful..."
After calming down a bit, Yi Shangyun shook his head repeatedly and said with a wry smile.
I don't believe it.
"I don't believe it."
"That's impossible."
"Absolutely impossible."
"Dingxiang, she'll be alright."
"She won't!"
"He promised me he wouldn't hurt her."
"He promised me himself."
But then I thought, even if he had promised, so what? Didn't he promise to give her six months of freedom?
But now, he still goes back on his word whenever he wants.
The ruler of a nation, so dignified, goes back on his word and has absolutely no credibility.
In her haste, she disregarded the freezing cold outside and even forgot to put on a cloak, wearing only a thin dress, and immediately set off to go out.
Upon seeing this, Young Master Yi grabbed one of his arms tightly: "It's extremely cold tonight, where are you going?"
Yi Shangyun was clearly unable to accept it and was already crying in fear and anxiety: "Because of me, the Second Prince is already dead. If something happens to Dingxiang, what kind of person am I? He promised that he would not hurt Dingxiang. I want to go to the palace. I want to go to the palace now. I want to confront him in person."
As she spoke, she used all her strength to try to pry open the restraints on her arm with her other hand.
Young Master Yi gripped her arm tightly and raised his voice to stop her, saying, "No! You cannot enter the palace now."
At this moment, Yi Shangyun no longer cared about anything, wouldn't listen to anything, and refused to give up no matter what. She even shouted at him, "Let go, let me go!"
It's unclear where such a frail woman found such strength; she almost broke free.
With no other option, Young Master Yi used his other hand to pull her into his arms.
He continued to try to persuade her: "Emperor Jing clearly knows that you are the descendant of the Guardians, which is why he tried every means to keep you by his side. Now, he has also discovered that you are the Princess Consort of Qin. If you enter the palace now, it will be as if you have admitted everything. In that case, not only will the entire Yi family be in danger, but also the Qin family and so many people. Have you thought about all the chain of consequences?"
Finally, Yi Shangyun gradually gave up struggling in his arms and became quiet.
But when she thought about all her experiences in this space, she felt even more wronged and cried even harder, talking as she cried.
"Why?"
"What Princess Consort of Qin?"
"What, the legitimate daughter of the Yi family?"
"What guardian?"
"I am not."
“You know, I’m not.”
Why did I come here and go through all this?
"I haven't found him yet in another world."
"If I really die on the operating table during that upcoming surgery, I will never see him again in this lifetime."
"But I'm still wasting my time here."
"I really don't have much time left to waste in my life."
Do you understand?
"I really want to see him one more time, just one more time, just one more time..."
Her voice choked with emotion, and tears streamed down her face.
Even Young Master Yi was moved by her experience, and tears gradually blurred his vision.
But he was no better off, and felt just as helpless: "I know, of course I know the grievances in your heart. But as long as you are still in this time and space, still occupying this body, these identities, these missions, are yours, and no one can change them."
However, emotions aside, once I regained my senses, it seemed that expressing all my frustrations made me feel better.
After an unknown amount of time, Yi Shangyun finally pushed away from Yi Sanshao's embrace and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
He said, "No matter what, I need to know what Dingxiang has been through. Perhaps there is someone else who knows all of this!"
Young Master Yi asked, "Who is the person you're talking about?"
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