Sure enough, after several rounds of passionate lovemaking, the two finally fell into a deep sleep.
When Yi Shangyun woke up in the middle of the night, she found herself completely naked, nestled tenderly in Xuan Yuanhan's warm embrace. Remembering how gentle he had been to her just now, she immediately felt her face burning, knowing that she must have already blushed with embarrassment.
Afraid of waking her partner and getting into trouble again, she quietly shrank deeper into the quilt.
Then his gaze fell intently on Xuan Yuanhan's peaceful sleeping face beside him, his high nose bridge and thick eyebrows.
Gradually, he became somewhat obsessed.
She couldn't help but slowly reach out and gently stroke his face, eyebrows, nose, and every detail of him, as if she wanted to etch his appearance at this moment into her heart.
Finally, she pressed her hand tightly against his heart, her delicate brows furrowed, and said with reluctance, "I've already started to miss you even before we've parted. Your Highness is so perfect, how fortunate I am to be your woman in this life. With the beautiful memories Your Highness has given me, even if I die on this journey, I will have no regrets!"
With the time for Xuan Yuanhan to rise early for court fast approaching, how could she bear to say goodbye to him in person, as if it were the final farewell of her life?
He had already arranged a departure time with the disaster victims in Yanfu Temple, and it was almost time.
So, suppressing her extreme reluctance, she left a deep kiss on Xuan Yuanhan's forehead, then finally steeled herself and got up.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out of Lin Yuexuan's door, they saw that Yan'er had been waiting at the door for some time, with a bundle in her arms, sitting on the ground against the pillar at the door.
Upon seeing Yi Shangyun emerge, she hurriedly rose to greet her, adopting a pitiful and endearing demeanor, and pleaded, "Miss, wherever you go, please take Yan'er with you this time. Don't leave Yan'er alone in the Prince's mansion, I beg you!"
Yi Shangyun stared at her in shock and said, "Silly Yan'er, what are you saying? I'm not going on a sightseeing trip this time. This journey to the west is long and extremely dangerous. Even I'm not sure about the real situation there, let alone whether I'll come back alive. If I take you with me, and something happens to you, how can I live? I'll be even more heartbroken. You should stay in the palace and Zhang Mama will take care of you."
While crying, Yan'er shook her head and refused, saying, "No, Yan'er doesn't want to stay here. Yan'er will take good care of herself and will never cause Miss any trouble. Yan'er really can't live without Miss. Even if I die this time, Yan'er will stay by Miss's side. If Miss doesn't take Yan'er with her, Yan'er will definitely find Miss by asking for directions on her own."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun said helplessly, "Yan'er...why are you doing this?"
Yan'er could only sob uncontrollably, saying, "Yan'er can't...can't live without Miss, can't...can't live without Miss..."
Footsteps slow and deliberate, a lingering farewell in my heart.
Under the moonlight, the master and servant pushed open the door and walked out of the Qin Prince's mansion together.
Yi Shangyun paused for a moment, gazing at the ever-solemn and solemn "Qin Prince's Mansion" plaque, before saying, "Let's go!" and setting off on his journey with Yan'er.
Inside Yanfu Temple.
As the time for departure approached, the disaster victims, who had been waiting for Yi Shangyun to return as promised, were already discussing the matter with great impatience.
"In the end, the Princess Consort abandoned us."
"The princess's status is so noble, how could she possibly go back with us to suffer like that!"
"But Your Highness, she doesn't seem like someone who breaks her promises. Perhaps she's really delayed by something. Let's wait for her a little longer."
"His Highness Prince Qin cherishes this princess so much. When she was staying here some time ago, every time she went out, His Highness Prince Qin would secretly follow her and escort her back. He must not want her to suffer like this."
"But without the help of the Princess, if we go back like this, can we rebuild our home? Won't it be another repeat of the same mistakes? If things continue like this, I'm afraid our people will soon disappear from this world."
“But if we don’t go back, we will drift outside forever, like rootless duckweed, with no place to call home. How is that any different from the disappearance of our entire clan? Even fallen leaves know to return to their roots, let alone us humans?”
"We don't want to wander far from home, we want to rebuild our homes, we want to go home, we want to go home, we want to go home..."
Immediately, the disaster victims responded one after another, shouting in unison with fervent enthusiasm.
Just then, a creaking sound came from behind me as the door opened.
Everyone immediately fell silent and turned to look at him, only to see that the temple gate was being slowly pushed open from the outside.
Illuminating the scene with their torches, everyone seemed momentarily stunned by the person who had entered through the door.
From the crowd, a woman scrutinized the woman for a while and said weakly, "It's Her Highness the Princess!"
Upon hearing the sound, everyone suddenly surged towards it.
"Your Highness, it really is Your Highness."
"The Princess Consort has not abandoned us, she has not abandoned us."
"I knew it! Her Highness the Princess is a person of her word. Something must have been keeping her from her."
"There's hope! There's hope! Our homeland is saved!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, everyone spontaneously joined forces to lift Yi Shangyun up, tossing her high into the air, and then tossing her even higher.
Faced with such enthusiastic and excited people, Yi Shangyun instinctively felt that her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
"Put it down, put it down quickly, don't frighten my young lady like this!"
Even though Yan'er pleaded repeatedly, her voices were all drowned out by the crowd's cheers.
The journey westward was fraught with danger due to the towering mountains and rugged terrain, making it impossible for horse-drawn carriages to travel. Therefore, Yi Shangyun had no choice but to ride horses with everyone else.
The temple had already prepared enough dry food for the disaster victims to take home. They were just waiting for the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) to officially set off.
With Yi Shangyun's final command: "Set off home!"
Hundreds of people then embarked on their journey home together in a grand procession.
As the group reached the west gate and was about to leave the city, a group of people suddenly appeared in the distance, blocking the road.
A sense of unease crept into everyone's hearts; were they here to block their way home?
Just then, Yan'er, with her sharp eyes, spotted the person riding the tall horse at the very front and exclaimed in surprise, "Miss, that person looks just like His Highness Prince Qin!"
"What?" Yi Shangyun was shocked.
Just then, Xuanyuan Han dismounted and strode towards him.
Yi Shangyun hurriedly dismounted, looking in surprise at that familiar, angular face, and said, "Your Highness, it should be the time for the morning court session. Why are you here?"
In fact, Xuanyuan Han did not sleep a wink all night. How could he possibly sleep?
So he simply reached out and slowly took one of Yi Shangyun's hands, solemnly placing a booklet in her hand, and said, "I have already revised and organized this 'Abstracts on Desertification Control' for you."
Upon seeing the "Summary of Desertification Control" that had been lost and found again, Yi Shangyun hurriedly flipped through it and saw that it was indeed filled with numerous revisions. Somewhat puzzled, she looked into his eyes and asked, "When did Your Highness revise it? Did you not sleep all night?"
Xuanyuan Han said quietly, "The sandstorms and dust storms in the Northwest region have been a source of great concern for me over the years. If it weren't for the constant warfare and numerous other matters that have kept me occupied, I would have long wanted to go and manage it myself. Unfortunately, over the years, I have had to order people to conduct a thorough on-site investigation of all the records in my father's previous book. I found that there were many things that needed to be corrected, and I have already corrected them for you one by one."
"Your Highness..." Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was so moved that she didn't know what to say.
Even with a thousand words from him, he couldn't stop her from heading west. He could only repeatedly urge her: "The journey to the Northwest will surely be fraught with danger, with relentless sandstorms. You must be extremely careful and vigilant at all times, never letting your guard down. Once I've finished my business here, I'll come to fetch you personally. Remember, never be reckless or competitive; always prioritize your own well-being!"
Seeing how much effort Xuan Yuanhan had put into her, Yi Shangyun was instantly filled with guilt and self-reproach. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly around the waist, pressing her face against his chest, tears welling in her eyes, and softly said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan felt as if his heart was about to break.
He also held her shoulders tightly with heartache, pulling her into his embrace, and commanded, "I don't want to hear your apologies. I just want you to remember to take care of yourself at all times and protect yourself. I'll come to get you."
Yi Shangyun was even more reluctant to leave him, snuggling closer into his arms and holding him even tighter, promising, "Mmm...Yun'er will definitely take good care of herself and wait for Your Highness to come and take Yun'er home."
I've accompanied you for a thousand miles, but we must part ways eventually.
The scene of the two being so reluctant to part brought tears to the eyes of all the onlookers.
Xuanyuan Han personally lifted Yi Shangyun onto the horse's back, carefully checked the stirrups again, and secured her feet.
I tried many times to make sure nothing unexpected would happen, but it still seemed to be holding on tightly and wouldn't let go.
Upon seeing this, Yi Shangyun comforted and reminded him, "Your Highness, don't worry, I've already learned to ride a horse!"
Xuanyuan Han said in a deep voice, "I know."
Seeing that he was bowing his head and responding to her, but still unwilling to let go, she spoke again: "Your Highness, the stirrups are already securely fastened and will not come off."
Xuanyuan Han replied as before, "I know."
Seeing that everyone around them had been waiting for them for a long time, she reminded him again, "Your Highness... it's time for us to set off."
After being urged repeatedly, Xuan Yuanhan finally gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and let go.
He then raised his voice and ordered the group of men he had brought with him: "Listen up, all of you! This time, you are not protecting the Princess Consort, but protecting my life! You must protect the Princess Consort to the death!"
The soldiers all answered in unison, "We obey your orders and will protect Her Highness the Princess with our lives."
"Your Highness..." Upon seeing this, tears that had been welling up in Yi Shangyun's eyes instantly spilled out.
Just then, suppressing his immense reluctance to part with her, Xuan Yuanhan took advantage of her unpreparedness and forcefully slapped the horse, which then steadily carried the most important person in its life away.
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