"Your Highness, please wait."
Xuanyuan Han had just returned to his residence and was about to step onto the stone steps to enter when he suddenly heard a familiar female voice behind him.
He turned his head and followed the sound, then exclaimed in surprise, "Yan'er? What brings you here?"
Before Yan'er could step forward to answer, Xuan Yuanhan, after a moment's thought, exclaimed in shock, "But your young lady has already..."
Yan'er saw a look of extreme panic flash in his eyes that she had never seen before, and asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Xuanyuan Han realized his lapse in composure, so he put his hands behind his back, suppressed his unease, and said in his usual calm manner, "Oh, I'm fine."
Then he asked, "Is your young lady... alright?"
Yan'er then took two steps forward, bowed to him, and said, "Yan'er greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin!"
She then stood up and answered him, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My young lady is doing well since returning to the manor, but..."
Seeing Yan'er hesitate as she spoke, Xuan Yuanhan couldn't help but become anxious again and hurriedly asked, "But what?"
Yan'er is still somewhat fearful of the incident where Yi Shangyun fell ill again due to emotional distress after returning to the Yi residence and being forced into marriage by the Empress Dowager.
Fortunately, everything was in the past, so we changed the subject.
So Yan'er smiled and said, "It's... nothing."
While Xuanyuan Han was still half-believing and half-doubting, Yan'er suddenly interrupted his thoughts: "By the way, Your Highness, Yan'er came to see you today because my young lady... she wants to see you."
“Yun’er…she wants…to see me…” Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan said in disbelief.
But he felt inexplicably excited, because this was the first time Yi Shangyun had taken the initiative to say she wanted to see him.
Even though it was just Yan'er to deliver the message, he was already very satisfied, feeling that everything he had done had finally earned her genuine affection.
As if afraid that this hard-won happiness might slip away unnoticed, she asked with a hopeful look, "Now?"
Yan'er nodded firmly: "That's why I came here early this morning to wait for Your Highness."
"Oh, right..." As she spoke, Yan'er hurriedly pulled out a handwritten letter from Yi Shangyun.
He raised his hands and presented them to Xuanyuan Han.
The letter was written in a beautiful and fluent hand, with sincerity and earnestness.
"Your Highness: In this vast world, how fortunate I am to have met you. Through thick and thin, I know that in the face of this extraordinary love, it has always been Your Highness who has silently given and persevered, while I have always been hesitant and submissive. Perhaps, as my father said, I should try to be a little braver. I know that we will inevitably face countless hardships and thorns together. But this time, I want... simply from the bottom of my heart, purely to face them with Your Highness, and never run away from my heart again. I gaze at the sky at dawn and the clouds at dusk, thinking of you whether I am walking or sitting."
The character "云" (cloud).
This short letter is full of Yi Shangyun's courage and determination.
This truly delighted Xuan Yuanhan, and his face immediately broke into an unprecedented smile of happiness.
Ever since Yi Shangyun left the Qin Prince's mansion, Xuan Yuanhan has been genuinely worried.
If it weren't for the fact that Yi Shangyun had to return to the manor to await her wedding, Xuan Yuanhan would never want to let her go for even a moment in his life.
At this moment, the two of them were finally willing to go their separate ways and decided to be honest with each other.
Xuanyuan Han only wanted to rush to her immediately and hold her tightly in his arms.
After a moment's thought, he became quite interested and asked impatiently, "Where is she? Take me to see her quickly... I need to see her immediately..."
Yan'er was also happy for the two of them, and quickly said, "Your Highness, please come with me."
Just as Yan'er turned around, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly stopped her, saying, "Wait..."
He then ordered the guards, "Someone, prepare the horses!"
So, Xuanyuan Han carried Yan'er and rode away at full speed.
Not far from the Yi Mansion in the west of the city.
A winding, emerald-green lake nestled among the mountains is as tranquil as a bright mirror.
The twilight clouds on the horizon, along with the falling flowers, the lush greenery, the clear waters and lush mountains, the pine forests and bamboo groves, the birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, and the picturesque scenery of pavilions and terraces are all clearly reflected.
On this late spring evening, the lake waters flowed gently, and the twilight deepened. Only the weary birds waiting to return to their nests still flitted about in and out of the woods along the lake shore.
There is an exquisite octagonal pavilion by the lake. Yishangyun arrived here as soon as it was light in the morning. Standing on the top floor, she watched the clouds in the sky, from their splendor to their gradual dimming.
Gazing at the calm lake before her, she silently recalled every moment she had shared with Xuan Yuanhan since they first met, and what she planned to say to him when they met later.
"Yun'er..."
Finally, the voice she had been longing for rang out.
"Your Highness..."
However, in the blink of an eye, Xuan Yuanhan met his kiss with a passion that surpassed all previous moments.
He didn't give her any chance to breathe, and his domineering and intense demands quickly and completely overwhelmed Yi Shangyun's rationality.
Gradually becoming engrossed in it, she slowly raised her hands to wrap around his waist, responding to him.
The shadows of the trees were hazy until a crescent moon rose and hung in the sky.
After a long, deep kiss, it seemed to speak louder than a thousand words, and all my preparations beforehand became superfluous.
Finally, Yi Shangyun nestled contentedly in Xuan Yuanhan's warm embrace, their love tender and sweet.
Suddenly, she raised her hand and pointed to a grove of trees in front of a cliff on the opposite shore of the lake, asking, "Does Your Highness remember that place?"
Following the direction the man pointed, Xuanyuan Han glanced at it briefly, raised an eyebrow, and said, "That place... how could I forget?"
Yi Shangyun was somewhat incredulous. She looked up and stared intently into his eyes, pressing him again for an answer: "Then Your Highness, why don't you tell me what kind of place that is?"
Xuanyuan Han's lips curled into a slight smile, and he said with a happy expression, "That is the place where I first met my queen."
"Ah! You guessed it so easily, you really did remember!"
It was already so dark that you could only vaguely see a shadow, yet you were still discovered so easily. Yi Shangyun was clearly quite surprised.
At this moment, Xuanyuan Han looked down at the slightly disappointed face on Yi Shangyun's face and said earnestly in his ear, "As long as it is related to you, I will never forget it, even if it is for all eternity."
Recalling their first meeting, it was also on a night like this. She saved him so fearlessly. An ordinary woman would probably have been scared away long ago.
Xuanyuan Han said with deep emotion, "So it turns out everything was predestined. I owed you from the very beginning. I just don't know... if I can ever repay it in this lifetime..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun smiled quietly, having never felt so happy before.
After a long silence, as if he had pondered the question over and over again in his mind, Xuan Yuanhan finally mustered up the courage to ask.
"Yun'er, if one day I am forced to do something to hurt you, will you forgive me?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun turned to look at Xuan Yuanhan's face, and asked him with a face full of doubt, "I saved Your Highness's life, would Your Highness do anything to harm me?"
“Yes, you have saved me more than once?” Xuan Yuanhan looked at him and paused, thinking to himself.
Coming to his senses, he then said, "I was just saying if..."
"Hmm..." Yi Shangyun thought for a moment, and seeing that he was quite serious, she replied seriously as well, "I don't know, I want to know what it is?"
Xuanyuan Han gasped, silently apologizing in his heart, "Yun'er, I'm sorry, no matter what, I can't live without you. There's not much time left, and for you, I have no other choice."
At this thought, he felt nervous and afraid again.
So he hugged the person in his arms even tighter, afraid that she might sneak away again if he wasn't careful.
It wasn't until late at night that the two of them finally led their horses back to the alleyway in front of the Yi Mansion.
Just as they were about to reach their doorstep, Yi Shangyun suddenly stopped and said, "Alright, Your Highness, you can stop here. I can go back by myself!"
Xuanyuan Han glanced at the remaining path and said with unease, "I'd feel more at ease if I personally watched you enter."
Yi Shangyun insisted on refusing: "I really can, Your Highness, you should go back quickly too. It's late, and the Empress Dowager will worry about Your Highness."
Unfortunately, Xuanyuan Han could not persuade her otherwise.
Yi Shangyun urged repeatedly, "Your Highness, please hurry back. You have to attend the morning court session early tomorrow. I want to see you leave..."
Xuanyuan Han wanted to try and persuade him: "Are you really capable?"
Yi Shangyun pushed his arm and said confidently, "Yes, of course, this is my front door, there won't be any problems. Your Highness, please go back quickly."
Left with no other choice, Xuanyuan Han turned around and mounted his horse.
As soon as the horse turned around, Xuanyuan Han suddenly spoke, "Yun'er..."
"Hmm..." Yi Shangyun looked up into his eyes and softly agreed.
Xuanyuan Han said softly, "The flowers are blooming along the path; you may return slowly now."
Upon hearing this, and thinking about their upcoming wedding, Yi Shangyun's cheeks flushed slightly, and she felt incredibly happy.
Seeing her face flush with embarrassment, Xuan Yuanhan finally whipped his horse and rode away.
Only after watching her figure gradually disappear into the deep night before her eyes did Yi Shangyun slowly turn around.
Just as she was about to take a step back, suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen again. Instinctively, she reached down and pressed her hand against it, letting out a muffled groan of unbearable pain: "Ugh..."
However, she soon realized something was wrong. Unlike before, this time she seemed to vaguely feel something slowly seeping out from her lower body.
A very bad feeling suddenly welled up inside me: "Could it be... could it be..."
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