Just as the air inside the room was rapidly gathering and heating up, becoming increasingly tense, and everyone's hearts were gripped by the sudden storm outside the window, unsure of what to do, the eyes of Yu Niang and Lan Xiang, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly met and fell together.
After a brief moment of mutual gazing, the two suddenly knelt heavily at Xuan Yuan Yue's feet, bowing respectfully before her. Yu Niang raised her head and earnestly pleaded, "Please, Your Highness, allow us to do this. Even if we have to search every river, lake, and stream in Western Qin, we will find Miss Yi. Even if she has truly met with misfortune, we will find her alive or dead. Besides, we believe that a kind person like Miss Yi will surely be rewarded and blessed by Heaven."
"And who are you?" Upon hearing the voice, Xuan Yuan Yue turned her head to look at the several unfamiliar faces inside the room and asked in confusion.
Yu Niang hurriedly kowtowed again, saying gratefully, "We women have all received great kindness from the princess and Miss Yi. I, Yu Niang, kowtow to thank the princess for saving my life. I will be eternally grateful for the princess's great kindness and virtue, and will never forget it."
Xuan Yuan Yue hurriedly recalled in her mind, but found that she had no recollection whatsoever of the beautiful and elegant woman kneeling before her. She then asked with a puzzled look, "'A life-saving grace'? You are a commoner, while I, the princess, live deep within the palace and rarely leave. How could there be a life-saving grace between us?"
After a moment's thought, Yu Niang spoke earnestly and sincerely, "Your Highness is of noble birth and naturally 'noble people often forget things.' But Yu Niang is as grateful as grass that has been tied to a jade tree, and will never forget Your Highness's kindness until her death. I wonder if Your Highness still remembers that about half a year ago, just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Your Highness and Miss Yi saved the life of a woman who was poisoned and being chased on the street. Later, Your Highness kindly took me to the Prince Qin's mansion in the east of the city to recuperate. Not only that, but Your Highness also specially arranged for Miss Yi to stay and carefully treat me, which allowed me to walk through the gates of hell and be given a new lease on life."
"So it was you. I remember now. It was because of this that I met him that day..." Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly realized, but she couldn't help but recall the scene of her chance encounter with her handsome and charming lover, Mei Zhi Xuan, that day. For a moment, her face turned red, and she became lost in thought.
"Princess, Princess..." A soft female voice suddenly called out in her ear. Xuan Yuan Yue gradually came out of her deep thoughts, looking somewhat embarrassed. She said, "Oh, you two may rise. You wanted to tell me something..."
Before Xuan Yuan Yue could finish speaking, the two helped each other to their feet, and Yu Niang hurriedly said again, "If we can gain the princess's trust and loyalty, we are willing to risk our lives to guarantee that as long as Miss Yi is alive, no matter how slim the chance, we will definitely help the princess find her. This is also helping ourselves find her. Yu Niang can never repay everything Miss Yi has done for her. She not only saved Yu Niang, but also Yu Niang's mother-in-law and daughter, and even saved Yu Niang's heart that was about to die. This time, if it weren't for Yu Niang, Miss Yi wouldn't have come to the south of the city alone and gotten caught up in the conspiracy of Wan Jiao Pavilion. All of this is because of Yu Niang. In this life, the next life, and the life after that, and in all lifetimes, even if Yu Niang were to be a cow or a horse, she could never repay her kindness enough..."
Before Yu Niang could finish speaking, Lan Xiang added sincerely, "And Lan Xiang, in the past, for my own selfish desires, I betrayed my conscience and did many wrong things, betraying my sincere sisters and almost causing a terrible disaster. I even imprisoned Miss Yi, but not only did she not blame me, she also helped me escape from the pursuit of my enemies, and she herself was willing to risk her life to rescue Lan Xiang's grandmother from her home. Lan Xiang, like Yu Niang, is willing to serve as a servant and maid to repay Miss Yi's great kindness forever. Whether Miss Yi is alive or dead, 'I want to see her alive or dead,' if I don't find Miss Yi, I'm willing to be struck by lightning."
At this moment, Yan Hong quickly reached out and took Lan Xiang's arm, saying, "Xiang'er and Grandma's savior is also Yan Hong's savior. In this life, whatever Xiang'er wants to do, Yan Hong will do too. Yan Hong will repay all the debts Xiang'er owes. Besides, although Yan Hong and Miss Yi have only known each other for a short time, I have seen that Miss Yi is indeed a smart and kind woman. I believe that Heaven will not be so heartless as to treat her so unfairly."
As Xuan Yuan Yue watched and listened, a warm current suddenly surged through her previously icy and helpless heart. Looking out the window at the rushing wind and torrential rain, she actually laughed and said, "God, open your eyes and take a good look, open your ears and listen carefully! How could you be so heartless as to want to take Yun'er away? If that's the case, then you're truly blind. In this world, who will respect and worship you after this?"
Then, she slowly walked to Xuan Yuanhan's bedside. Looking at the unconscious Xuan Yuanhan, who seemed to be in extreme pain, his forehead covered in cold sweat and he trembled violently. His lips trembled as he murmured, "Yun'er, come back, don't go, don't leave me, I won't, I won't..."
At this moment, she sat silently to the side with a frown, wiping the sweat from his face with a soft white cloth. Looking at the closed eyes of the man in front of her, she seemed to have never imagined that this man, who was regarded by the world as a god-like figure, would have such a lonely and helpless moment today.
From childhood to adulthood, everyone around her believed that this man's life was destined to be filled with sword fights, court intrigues, a selfless sense of protection and responsibility that was born on his shoulders, which he could not shirk in the slightest, and his seemingly divinely ordained coldness and ruthlessness.
What is the love between parents and children, what is the bond of life and death? All of this was just a fleeting, ethereal cloud to him, a man of great stature and nobility, something he had never even considered and never needed to imagine.
Until that night, when he met Yi Shangyun in that deep valley, it seemed that everything had slowly begun to change.
After countless sunrises and sunsets, winter turned to spring, and unknowingly, she seemed to have replaced everything that had been deeply rooted in his heart.
What followed only strengthened their bond. But just as spring, a time of renewal, was about to arrive, he returned, but she… seemed destined never to return.
At this thought, Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes suddenly filled with tears. She looked up at the torrential rain and wind outside the window. In this kind of weather, cliffs, rivers, lakes, seas, blood-red rocks… everything rushed into her mind in an instant… At this moment, she felt she had never been so terrified. Deep down, she longed for someone by his side to comfort his lonely and cold heart. "Uncle Qin, what's wrong with you? Wake up! Do you know that Yun'er is missing, her fate unknown? Uncle Qin, tell Yue'er, what should Yue'er do now? What should she do?"
Xuan Yuan Yue was clearly flustered and at a loss. Everyone present made a valid point. But at this moment, she couldn't trust anyone else to do it, unless she herself personally searched every corner of Western Qin to verify what she saw.
But with the weather so bad and Xuan Yuanhan still unconscious, if she doesn't make a decision soon and misses the best time to find a cure, Yi Shangyun might really die and never recover.
As Xuan Yuan Yue hesitated, Cheng Liang suggested, "Princess, why don't we follow Yu Niang's method first? Once we return to the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city, and Your Highness wakes up and has recovered a little, I will immediately return to the south of the city to find Miss Yi. What do you think?"
"Princess, please return to the palace in peace and leave the search for Miss Yi to us. We will do our utmost to find her." Seeing this, the three women also knelt down and pleaded.
"Royal sister, right now, there are so many matters to attend to, and none of them should be delayed!" Xuan Yuanhao urged from the side.
Xuan Yuan Yue glanced at Xuan Yuan Han one last time, then closed her eyes slightly, took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and opened her eyes, saying, "Alright, let's do as Yu Niang says. Tomorrow morning... no, after the heavy rain subsides a bit tonight, we'll only take a few essential people. As for the rest, have someone immediately relay my order to all the local governments along the river route, to fully assist Yu Niang and the others in finding Yun'er."
Cheng Liang bowed respectfully and accepted the order, saying, "Yes."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Yu Niang, Lan Xiang, and Yan Hong all smiled and bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
"Alright, we've been up all night. You may all leave. Tonight, I, the princess, will personally guard Uncle Qin." Having arranged everything, Xuan Yuan Yue looked at Xuan Yuan Han's sweat-drenched face and said.
"Royal sister, let your brother stay and keep you company," Xuan Yuanhao said hurriedly.
“No need, you should go and rest. Perhaps the rain will subside soon. On a night like this, I, Your Highness, will not be able to sleep either. I want to have a good talk with Uncle Qin,” said Xuan Yuan Yue.
Xuanyuan Hao was puzzled. "Speak? But how can Uncle Qin hear what my sister is saying in this state?"
Xuan Yuan Yue pursed her lips at Xuan Yuan Hao, her lips twitching slightly, before turning to look at Xuan Yuan Han, who seemed to be asleep on the bed, and said, "Hao'er, there's no need to ask any more questions. There are some things that I've kept to myself, and I just wanted to talk to you, Uncle. It's not necessary for him to know. But I believe that he can hear me now."
After everyone left, the room fell silent, with only the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning in the night sky outside the window continuing their relentless raging and destructive roar.
This night seemed to stretch on longer than ever before...
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