The head eunuch smiled and said, "For the safety of the young prince, this servant thinks it would be best to let the guards go in and check for themselves. If it is that thief..."
Before Qi Liao could finish speaking, a stern, authoritative voice suddenly came from behind him, shouting, "How dare you!"
Upon hearing the voice, the servants in the courtyard were so shocked that they knelt down and said in unison, "Your servants pay their respects to the Third Prince!"
In an instant, the guards who had returned with Mei Zhixuan stepped forward to Xuan Yuan Yue, turned to the servants in the courtyard, and each drew their gleaming swords, which they held tightly in front of them.
Mei Zhixuan slowly walked to Xuan Yuan Yue's side and looked at her deeply, but Xuan Yuan Yue didn't even look at him and didn't respond to him at all.
Helpless, he could only turn around and glance at the group of servants who were kneeling timidly in the courtyard, who had come to search the palace. He said to them angrily, "What are you doing? I'm not here. Who gave you the audacity to be so disrespectful and come here to harass the people in my courtyard? Do you all think I don't exist?"
Even though Mei Zhixuan was no longer valued, he was still the master of this palace. Hearing his master's anger, the eunuch bowed his head and knelt down, not daring to raise his head even slightly, and kept apologizing to him, saying, "This servant dares not, this servant dares not."
Mei Zhixuan immediately turned his gaze to the person who had responded to him, his eyes flashing with cold light as he shouted at him, "I dare not! How dare you! Tell me quickly, what exactly happened in the palace?"
At a shout, the eunuch hurriedly began to report, trembling with fear: "We are completely unaware of the truth behind this. It is all because Her Majesty the Empress ordered that a female spy has recently infiltrated the palace, and that we must find this woman and kill her without mercy, even if it means turning the entire palace upside down."
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan frowned, seemingly having some vague suspicions in his mind. He then pretended to be calm and asked, "What female spy? Are there any clues to find?"
The eunuch stammered for a long time before finally managing to say something: "This servant... doesn't have it yet..."
Mei Zhixuan chuckled lightly, then said sternly in a low voice, "Absurd, utterly absurd. How can you possibly find this female spy like this? Are you suggesting we rely solely on the intuition and suspicion of you bunch of stupid, pig-like lackeys?"
The eunuch, accompanied by his men, was doing exactly that. Now, facing Mei Zhixuan's questioning, he still wanted to say something: "This..."
However, Mei Zhixuan immediately ordered them to get out of here: "Get out of here now! If you dare to come to this courtyard again to harass my people, I'll make sure your heads roll off the ground one by one!"
"Your Highness, please calm down! Your Highness, please calm down! We'll get out of here right now!"
Seeing the guards standing before them, each wielding a sword and protecting their master like an impregnable fortress, the servants who had come to search the palace were terrified and fled in panic.
Only then did Mei Zhixuan breathe a sigh of relief, and then he ordered the servants in his courtyard, "Alright, you may all disperse now!"
The crowd dispersed.
Mei Zhixuan looked again at Xuan Yuan Yue's fair face, which remained completely calm, and said with concern, "I'm sorry, Yue'er was frightened!"
Qi Liao Xuanyuan Yue only glanced at him deeply, but did not say anything, and then turned around and went into the house by herself.
Seeing that she was clearly still angry, Mei Zhixuan had no choice but to follow her inside.
As soon as Qi Liao entered, he saw Yi Shangyun, dressed as a man in a long white brocade robe, slowly walking out of his beloved son's inner room, accompanied by Qiao Lan.
Upon seeing him, Mei Zhixuan was immediately surprised and about to say something: "It's you, what are you doing here..."
While secretly speculating about something, he wondered if these two women had already...
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun clasped his hands in thanks to Xuan Yuan Yue, who was sitting at the table in the hall, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness the Third Prince's Consort, for sheltering me here and saving me from disaster!"
Xuan Yuan Yue remained expressionless, but now that things had come to this, she understood the palace search incident as clearly as a mirror.
The once peaceful Dongning Palace was thrown into turmoil by the arrival of Yi Shangyun. Although the reason for this was unknown, it was clear that the Empress was still unaware of Yi Shangyun's whereabouts.
In this vast Dongning Imperial Palace, who else but her would help her?
Finally, she didn't look at her face, but calmly looked in Mei Zhixuan's direction and said, "You don't need to thank me. If your identity is exposed, I'm afraid dozens of people in this entire palace will be in big trouble!"
He paused, then added, "However, you really should thank someone. He's the one who's truly cunning and has been planning everything for you. Luckily, you usually dress as a man and have his trusted confidants serving you. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't be so fortunate today!"
Of course, Yi Shangyun knew who Xuan Yuan Yue was talking about. However, her identity as a woman disguised as a man had already been exposed, and her true identity was difficult to reveal. Just think about it, anyone would misunderstand that she and Mei Zhixuan had that kind of relationship.
However, the thought that he was still alive and only needed to avenge King Xuanyuan Han of Qin made everything else seem less important.
So, she glanced at Mei Zhixuan, who had been standing silently to the side in the room, and then bid farewell to Xuan Yuan Yue, saying, "Then this humble subject will take his leave!"
After saying that, he turned and quickly left the courtyard.
Only after watching her figure completely disappear did Mei Zhixuan come to his senses, silently walk over to Xuan Yuan Yue's side, and sit down next to her.
Perhaps it was because all of this was something I hadn't anticipated at all.
Initially, he only wanted to win his father's trust and repay his stepmother's meticulous care and love. So no matter how difficult it was, he never gave up his determination to find his stepmother's bloodline.
Now, he has indeed found her, but he dares not reveal it to the world.
Unexpectedly, she turned out to be the descendant of the legendary guardian of Western Qin, possessing that mysterious and powerful strength. His grand ambitions needed her power to support them, and he absolutely could not allow her to fall into the hands of anyone.
If he wanted to use her, he absolutely couldn't let her know that King Xuanyuan Han of Qin was still alive. He never imagined that the King of Qin, whom he hated so much, was so important to her, that she could even abandon the deep affection between him and Xuanyuan Yue.
As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard Xuan Yuan Yue's voice in his ear: "I wonder what Your Highness plans to do next?"
Mei Zhixuan suddenly snapped out of his daze, seemingly not yet understanding the meaning of his words, and asked, "What to do? What preparations are needed?"
Xuanyuan Yue exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Does Your Highness not realize that your actions just now could have endless consequences?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan pondered for a moment and asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that, Yue'er?"
Xuanyuan Yue said, "Today, His Highness arrived in a very imposing manner, driving away all those who were searching the palace. Such impulsive and reckless actions—didn't he consider that in the future, Mother Empress would become even more suspicious of this place and would certainly not let it go easily? Mother Empress is never a foolish person; once she sets her mind on something, she never gives up until she achieves it, and absolutely no one can stop her!"
Mei Zhixuan suddenly realized, but said without any fear or regret, "No matter what, I can't stand by and watch anyone harass you and Hai'er. Even if it costs me my life, I don't want our child to suffer from cold looks and bullying, to live the life I used to live."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue was startled and looked at Mei Zhi Xuan's profile. A mix of emotions welled up inside her, and she didn't know what to say. Finally, she turned to look at her beloved daughter in the inner room and whispered sadly, "Hai'er..."
The room was silent, and the two sat together in silence for a long time.
Xuanyuan Yue stared blankly at the snowflakes swirling and falling outside the window, recalling all the little things that had happened since the three of them first met on the streets of Xiqin Kingdom. Finally, with tears welling up in her eyes, she said, "What is it that has turned the three of us into such strangers today?"
Mei Zhixuan was clearly speechless. Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes were filled with utter disappointment, but she still clung to the last glimmer of hope and said, "So, even in this situation, Your Highness still intends to keep her in the backyard, making all these dozens of people live in constant fear and trepidation?"
Clearly, aside from remaining silent, Mei Zhixuan still seemed unable to explain anything.
Seeing this, Xuanyuan Yue was utterly desperate.
Everything here suddenly seemed to suffocate her, so she slowly got up and walked outside on her own.
As Mei Zhixuan watched her dejected and dejected figure leave, he suddenly said anxiously, "Yue'er, please believe me. It's not what you think. I really can't explain it to you right now, but one day you will understand."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue was startled and suddenly stopped, gently closing her eyes as two streams of hot tears slid down her cheeks.
As if she had finally made up her mind, she opened her eyes again after a moment and coldly left a sentence, saying, "Your Highness does not need to explain to Yue'er anymore. For the rest of your life, whether it is you or her, none of this matters to Yue'er anymore, and Yue'er no longer needs it. Yue'er only hopes that Your Highness can seek your own good fortune and know what you are doing."
After saying that, he stepped over the threshold and walked out without looking back...
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