In a mere instant, countless thoughts flashed through Yi Shangyun's mind: What did the battle of the Spirit Realm have to do with her? What did protecting a city and its people have to do with her, a weak woman? In this life, she only wanted to follow her heart and live the simple life she desired hand in hand with him. But all of that, now, was no longer possible…
Lost in thought, she suddenly turned around, raised her head, and said to Xuan Yuanhan with a resolute and ruthless expression, "King Xuan Yuanhan of Qin, who do you think you are?"
Upon hearing this, not only Xuan Yuanhan, who was looking directly at him, but also Yi Sanshao and Mei Zhixuan, who were standing on either side of him, were stunned by this sudden and drastic change.
Yi Shangyun remained silent for a moment, then raised a slight, contemptuous smile and said, "Originally, considering that I had received some protection from Western Qin in the past, I decided to let you go today. But if you still don't know how to be grateful and continue to cause trouble, I will have to change my mind!"
Seeing how nonchalant she was in her words, as if the hardships they had gone through together were now of no concern to her, Xuan Yuanhan found it utterly unbelievable.
He couldn't believe she could be so heartless to him. He slowly stepped forward, reached out and tugged at her sleeve, looking at her profile and asking, "Yun'er, what's wrong with you?"
Yi Shangyun turned to face him, her face still expressionless: "What's wrong? Has King Qin forgotten that I once told you that whatever I want to do is none of your business?"
"Since Your Highness is determined not to accept Yun'er, then whatever Yun'er does from now on is none of Your Highness's business." Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly remembered this sentence.
So, as soon as he realized why Yi Shangyun had said those nonsensical words last night, he hurriedly explained to her, "No, Yun'er, it's not that I'm determined not to leave you. There was a misunderstanding between us back then! But things are different now. You and I are already together..."
Before he could finish speaking, Young Master Yi opened his mouth, about to interject, when Qi Liaoyi suddenly interrupted him: "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Where is there a misunderstanding?"
Looking at Yi Shangyun, whose face was now resolute and cold-blooded, a stark contrast to the gentle and warm one he had shown to him in the prison the night before, Xuan Yuanhan was truly astonished.
He shook his head, still unwilling to believe it, and then took two steps forward and domineeringly turned Yi Shangyun's body to face him.
A pair of large, well-defined hands gripped her shoulders tightly. Looking into her eyes, he said with a face full of affection, "You little liar who loves to deceive people, what you just said wasn't true. You were lying to me again, weren't you? Just like back in Western Qin, you always knew in your heart how I felt about you, but you just wouldn't admit it. But in the end, didn't you admit it anyway? Didn't you?"
Yi Shangyun tried to break free from his grasp, but he held her too tightly and she couldn't budge him at all. Seeing that she didn't speak, Xuan Yuanhan continued to press her, saying, "Yun'er, look into my eyes and tell me, you've always had me in your heart, haven't you?"
Yi Shangyun slightly raised her eyes, her gaze still cold, and deliberately displayed a hint of impatience in her words and actions. She said, "As everyone knows, I was once a tiger fallen into the plains, bullied by dogs, and unfortunately became a useless and ugly woman in the Western Qin Kingdom. In order to survive in this world, and unwilling to be looked down upon by others any longer, I thought of getting close to you, hoping to gain some respect from others by relying on you."
Yi Shangyun didn't even blink. She paused, glanced around at the high palace walls, and inadvertently caught sight of Young Master Yi. She smiled and continued, "But now, I am the most honored woman in Dongning Kingdom. Under heaven, there is nothing I cannot obtain if I want it! Moreover, I am already engaged to the Crown Prince of Nan'an Kingdom. I will be the future Crown Princess of Nan'an Kingdom and will surely hold immense power."
Having said that, she raised an eyebrow, steeled her resolve, and said ruthlessly, "And you are nothing but a groveling dog by the side of Emperor Jing of Western Qin! Tell me, why should I, this princess, continue to fawn over you? I advise the King of Qin to stop his incessant chatter, lest he humiliate himself and become disliked!"
These words shocked everyone present. For a moment, the surroundings fell into complete silence.
No one could have imagined that a man revered as a god, a valiant and mighty figure known as a war god, would be so humiliated by a woman in front of everyone.
Clearly, if it weren't for her, Xuanyuan Han would have left the palace long ago, and perhaps the four kingdoms of Lingkong would still be living peacefully together as they did at the very beginning.
But today, in order to bring her back to Western Qin, he chose to risk entering the palace and take a gamble. He never expected such an outcome.
Xuan Yuanhan's face gradually darkened. He suppressed the immense humiliation in his heart, yet he still gripped her shoulders tightly. Finally, almost through gritted teeth, he asked in a deep voice, "Yun'er, is everything you said true?"
Even now, thinking of all the tenderness and care she had shown him in the prison last night, he couldn't help but want to ask, "If that's the case, then why were you in the prison last night..."
Before Qi Liao could finish speaking, Yi Sanshao, who could no longer contain his anger, didn't want to hear anything more and hurriedly interrupted him sharply: "Xuanyuan Han, even now, don't you understand Princess Yongning's words? Get out of here now! If you don't leave now, be careful that you'll be pierced by a thousand arrows!"
With that, Mei Zhixuan raised his voice and immediately gave the order: "Archers, prepare!"
In an instant, one after another, they entered from outside the gate, quickly filling the entire courtyard with concentric circles of city guards.
They were all clad in full armor, and their bows were drawn to their full draw. Yi Shangyun was startled and shouted, "Stop right now, all of you!"
However, Xuan Yuanhan seemed indifferent to all the dangers happening around him, still clinging to the last glimmer of hope, gazing at Yi Shangyun's face as if trying to etch her next words into his heart.
"Yun'er, I will ask you one last time: do you truly believe that you have never loved me, not even for a single moment, not even a little bit?"
After a long silence, Yi Shangyun, feigning composure, stared intently into his eyes and answered him earnestly, word by word, "Never!"
"Hmph..." Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan chuckled coldly for a while. His laughter was full of sarcasm and self-mockery, yet it conveyed a sense of endless loss and heartbreak.
After a long while, he finally slowly released his hand, without saying another word, and turned away with unusually heavy steps...
Watching his figure gradually disappear, a figure that had never appeared so desolate, Yi Shangyun felt a pang of heartache and silently said in her heart, "Your Highness, I'm sorry! In my life, Yun'er will never be able to leave this place again. Perhaps only by being so ruthless to you, hurting you, disappointing you and making you hate me, can Your Highness safely leave this place of trouble and return to your own place."
At this point, Mei Zhixuan seemed to finally breathe a long sigh of relief, then waved his hand and withdrew all the city guards he had deployed, and walked out of Yi Shangyun's palace together.
Seeing that Yi Shangyun looked extremely pale, Young Master Yi quickly stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, asking with concern, "Girl, are you alright?"
Yi Shangyun shook his head and said calmly, "It's nothing!"
Recalling what Yi Shangyun had just said, Young Master Yi smiled slightly and said smugly, "Girl, I knew it. I have a place in your heart."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly snapped out of her daze and looked into his eyes, staring at him in astonishment.
Young Master Yi took a deep breath and said to her with great conviction, "Girl, don't worry. I won't mind what happened in the prison. As long as you can forget the past and are willing to give me a chance, give us this chance, I will treat you well for the rest of my life. I love you no matter how long you make me wait, I won't think it's too late."
Yi Shangyun blinked, paused for a moment, and realized that Young Master Yi had misunderstood her. She then hurriedly tried to explain to him the true intention behind her words.
"No, Third Young Master, is there some misunderstanding? Just now, I... I only said those things to quell an unnecessary conflict in the palace. I think I've made myself clear enough between us. From beginning to end, I've never liked you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Young Master Yi quickly extended two slender fingers and placed them close to Yun Wen's soft red lips, stopping her from saying anything more: "Girl, you will never know that I would do anything for you."
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, knocking a withered plum blossom off the two of them. Young Master Yi gently and carefully brushed the red plum petals off the pinkish-purple trench coat on her body, and slowly said, "Actually, even if your condition for marrying me was to let Qin Wang Xuanyuan Han go, I originally planned to get rid of him behind your back, because only in this way could I have you completely, instead of just having you as a person."
Looking into her sincere, bright eyes as she met his gaze, it was as if he had instantly returned to the moment he first met her—a sincere, kind, and courageous woman.
He paused for a moment, then continued with a smile, "But after so many things have happened, just now, seeing you insult the King of Qin in such a way to save him, I realized that your feelings for him are already deeply ingrained."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly felt as if the former Young Master Yi had returned: "Young Master..."
Feeling truly heartbroken, Young Master Yi said, "Actually, you didn't have to put yourself through that just to reject me..."
Yi Shangyun bit her lip and apologized to him, "Third Young Master, I'm sorry..."
Young Master Yi said sadly, "I really hope that one day you can say something to me besides 'I'm sorry'!"
For a moment, Yi Shangyun didn't know what to say to him, and could only slowly lower her head.
But then, Young Master Yi's expression suddenly became troubled...
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