She seemed to have vanished from his world once again.
"Yun'er, what's wrong with you?"
His heart was truly shattered into pieces, and it was feared that it would never be healed in this lifetime.
Just then, Cheng Liang, like everyone else in the mansion, walked in slowly with somewhat heavy steps.
Still clinging to a sliver of hope, Xuanyuan Han looked up at his face and asked, "How is it?"
Cheng Liang shook his head.
Xuanyuan Han then withdrew his gaze and turned it back to the silk handkerchief in his hand.
With a sense of helplessness, or perhaps out of necessity, Cheng Liang urged Xuan Yuanhan, "Your Highness, the Consort has entered the manor and has been settled in the Xingyue Pavilion. She is waiting for you to come over!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan finally came to his senses, took a deep breath, and asked in a deep voice, "Where are Lu Xian and his son?"
Cheng Liang reported, "Lu Xian knew he had no face to face His Highness, so he returned to Xi Qin Academy early on! Lu Tianlin is now acting more and more like Lu Xian. He said that there were important matters waiting to be dealt with at the academy, so he went back with him!"
After understanding everything, Xuanyuan Han said, "I understand! You should go and rest early!"
At this point, how did things come to this? What could Cheng Liang do but obediently accept the order: "Yes!"
The room was silent.
Looking around the bedchamber, red candles flickered everywhere, and dazzling wedding curtains hung inside.
Xuanyuan Han seemed to suddenly see Yi Shangyun sitting upright beside his bed, holding a peacock fan and waiting for him.
Last year on this day, in this very doorway, faces and peach blossoms reflected each other's rosy hue.
The face is gone, I know not where; but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.
My thoughts stretched out for thousands of miles.
Until a gust of wind blew by, and he suddenly realized that it was all just his own imagination, Xuan Yuanhan finally revealed a helpless smile.
Then she got up and walked out of Lin Yuexuan.
However, the scene was quite different in the house in the western suburbs.
Upon his return, Tuoba Ze was furious and unleashed a torrent of thunderous rage.
Upon entering, he swiftly drew his sword from his waist, leaped into the air, and unleashed a flurry of powerful, yet controlled, sweeping blows, as fluid as a swimming dragon.
In an instant, as the snow on the treetops fell, a thick layer of white snow was instantly buried by red plum blossoms.
The maid Zhu'er picked up the sword sheath that he had carelessly thrown on the ground, and looked at his angry but helpless figure with heartache, her brows furrowed tightly.
He stood by and observed for a long time before slowly speaking.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's all my fault. I should have stayed by your side every step of the way. If I had kept a close eye on her, she wouldn't have been lost!"
The more she looked, the more heartbroken she became, yet she felt even more helpless. So she spoke up again to persuade him: "Your Highness, please don't do this. It's all my fault. You can scold me, or even... punish me, but please don't do this to yourself. I'm really worried..."
Just then, unexpectedly, Tuoba Ze suddenly turned his sword.
With a "whoosh," the sword tip was pointed at Pearl's nose.
Instantly, Pearl froze on the spot.
The two locked eyes, and Tuoba Ze suddenly questioned her: "I never imagined you would be so useless!"
Zhu'er suddenly snapped out of her daze. Faced with his utter disappointment in her, Zhu'er wanted to speak up and explain, "Your Highness, I..."
However, Tuoba Ze did not seem to intend to give her a chance to explain. He immediately sheathed his sword, dragged his tired body, and slowly walked into his room.
Watching his departing figure, Pearl shed tears of sorrow, and silently murmured, "I'm so sorry!"
He knew perfectly well that Yi Shangyun was trapped in some corner of Meiyuan by Mei Xiyuan, but he was still so helpless.
No one could possibly understand the bitterness in Tuoba Ze's heart.
Now, it seems that all he can do is tell her about Yi Shangyun's special identity. Perhaps Mei Xiyuan will not make her too sad because of this identity.
So he shut himself in, drinking one cup after another, pot after pot, and before he knew it, he was already starting to feel dizzy.
In the quiet of the night.
Suddenly, a loud "bang" was heard.
It turned out to be Young Master Yi, who returned in the middle of the night and barged in.
Upon entering, following a strong smell of alcohol, they quickly found Tuoba Ze's figure on the floor in a corner of the room.
She took two steps at a time, walked over, grabbed his collar, and fiercely questioned him: "Tuoba Ze, do you already know who took the girl away?"
Despite being drunk and seeing things clearly, Tuoba Ze still swayed in his hand and said, "What are you talking about? You're the one who took her out and got her lost. I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and now you're asking me?"
Young Master Yi roared at the drunken-looking face before him, "Wake up! Do you think I don't know what you're plotting by secretly meeting with Princess Yongle of Dongning Kingdom?"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze was finally taken aback.
"Hiccup..." Suddenly, he let out a hiccup.
Then he asked, "How did you know?"
He quickly realized he was being followed, and angrily said, "How dare you follow this prince?"
Seeing that he had finally stopped pretending to be drunk, Young Master Yi shoved him away and said angrily, "If it weren't for finding that girl, I wouldn't bother having anything to do with someone like you!"
Tuoba Ze actually laughed upon hearing this, showing the same disdain for Yi Sanshao, and said, "You look down on me?! Then how are you any better than me? Aren't you just after her because she is a descendant of the guardian of Western Qin who possesses that mysterious power, and that's why you've been revolving around her all this time?"
Young Master Yi was about to teach him a lesson: "You..."
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he seemed to suddenly realize something and asked, "You wouldn't... have told that Princess Yongle about this as well, would you?"
Tuoba Ze did not argue.
Young Master Yi was immediately enraged and raised his voice, saying, "Tuoba Ze, do you know what you're doing? I never knew you were so incredibly stupid! Don't you know how deep the hatred between this girl and Princess Yongle runs from Western Qin to Eastern Ning? Aren't you just putting her in the spotlight and roasting her on the fire?"
“I…” How could Tuoba Ze not know this?
Even so, how could he, who had always been unruly, admit his helplessness? At this moment, he questioned Young Master Yi instead: "Then who knows what you're really thinking?"
"It seems that the girl must have fallen into the hands of that treacherous Princess Yongle!"
Young Master Yi muttered to himself, then thought carefully, "To conduct a search in the most heavily guarded eastern part of the city is not something an ordinary person can do. It seems that only one person can accomplish this task!"
With this thought in mind, he quickly took another step and hurriedly left.
Where are you going?
Seeing him leave, Tuoba Ze asked anxiously.
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi stopped in his tracks and said with utmost seriousness, "Tuoba Ze, if anything happens to this girl, I will make sure you die a horrible death, and you will never see the sun and moon of the grasslands again!"
After saying that, he turned and walked out without looking back.
This day.
Mei Xiyuan, accompanied by several maids and guards, pretended to be an old friend of Lu Tianjiao and came to congratulate him. She then disguised herself and sneaked into the Prince of Qin's mansion.
The guard at the palace gate frowned and whispered to another guard, "Hey! Don't you think that guy who claimed to be an old friend of the concubine looked kind of familiar?"
The other guard thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem to be a tiny bit true!"
Just as the two of them were starting to have doubts, Cheng Liang noticed them whispering to each other and came over to ask, "What are you two doing?"
The guard quickly told him about his concerns.
Cheng Liang asked, "You two have been in the Prince's residence for three years and have never left. How do you know Miss Lu... an old friend of the Consort?"
Seeing that the two didn't seem to be talking nonsense, and after thinking about it, he wondered if there really was a problem. So he said, "I'll go and take a look myself. You two keep watch here and report back immediately if you find anyone suspicious!"
"Yes!" The two guards clasped their hands in a respectful gesture and accepted the order.
As Cheng Liang walked inside, he beckoned to his men and said, "All of you come with me. Quickly go inside and thoroughly check all the guests who are still in the mansion. See if there is anything suspicious."
Inside the Star and Moon Pavilion, the flickering red candles illuminated the rosy, shy faces of the people inside, making them appear even more delicate and rosy tonight.
Facing the cold wind in the courtyard, Xuan Yuanhan slowly entered the warm bridal chamber.
Approaching Lu Tianjiao, he spoke in an icy voice, "Now that you have entered the palace and become my queen, I hope you will recognize your place and prioritize the interests of the palace in all things. This is all we have for each other! Beyond this status, you should have known long ago that I cannot give you anything else!"
On their wedding night, upon hearing such chilling words, Lu Tianjiao had already gritted her teeth, but she still tried her best to endure it.
She said, "Now that I am Brother Han's wife, I will be a member of the Qin Prince's Mansion in life and in death. In the future, I will prioritize my husband and the Prince's Mansion in all matters. But tonight, Brother Han and I will still drink the nuptial wine. Only in this way can the ceremony be considered complete and the ceremony finished."
Xuanyuan Han seemed unable to refute.
Lu Tianjiao then removed the peacock fan that was covering his face.
He summoned a maid, who handed one of the two cups of wine from the tea tray to Xuanyuan Han, and picked up the other herself.
He even made a gesture, attempting to exchange cups with her.
Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanhan gave her no chance at all, and tilted his head back, drinking the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Helpless, Lu Tianjiao could only follow along and slowly drink it down.
At this moment, Xuanyuan Han hurriedly prepared to leave: "Alright, you should rest early. I have other matters to attend to and will return to Lin Yuexuan first!"
He had just turned around.
Unexpectedly, Lu Tianjiao pounced on him from behind and wrapped his arms around him from behind.
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