Yi Junhao didn't care what he said at all; he was only anxious to leave and find his girl's whereabouts. "What exactly are you trying to say? If it's just nonsense, then forget it. This Crown Prince is very busy and doesn't have time to spend here with you..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was stunned by a sentence from Xuan Yuanhan. Xuan Yuanhan said, "The true master of Wanjiao Pavilion is the eldest prince of Beilie, Tuoba Ze. If you think about it carefully, he has been hiding in my Western Qin for at least two years."
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao was stunned and exclaimed in surprise, "What?"
But then he burst into laughter, “Hahahaha... So this King of Qin of Western Qin is nothing special after all, managing to lead his country into such a perilous situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.”
Just then, Yi Junhao seemed to suddenly understand something, and then said to him, "By the way, I might as well tell you something else. That day in Wanjiao Pavilion, I also encountered a man wearing a butterfly mask. His words seemed to suggest he was also a spy. Now that I think about it, since he's on Wanjiao Pavilion's own territory, he can't be a spy for Bei Lie, nor for Nan'an. So he can only be... a spy from the wealthy and powerful Dongning Kingdom. Oh dear... I suddenly remembered that His Highness Prince Qin's Princess Consort is also the beloved Princess Yongle of Dongning Kingdom. Could it be that Dongning is really planning to coordinate an attack from within...? If so, Prince Qin should be extra careful, keeping such a dangerous beauty by his side every day... Hahahaha..."
As soon as Yi Junhao finished speaking, another burst of mocking laughter followed. Xuan Yuanhan, however, chose to remain silent and disdainfully ignore this sarcasm and provocation, which was like rubbing salt into a wound and adding fuel to the fire.
However, Yi Junhao's words, and the man he mentioned wearing a butterfly mask who seemed to be a spy, made Xuan Yuanhan even more certain that the person who deliberately approached Yi Shangyun and brought her to Wanjiao Pavilion must be Mei Zhixuan, the third prince of Dongning Kingdom, who was hiding in Xiqin Kingdom. However, he still couldn't figure out why Mei Zhixuan wanted to approach Yun'er.
When Yi Junhao realized that his sarcastic remarks had failed to provoke this icy man, he finally became serious and said, "It seems that the Western Qin Kingdom has indeed become the target of everyone's rumors!"
Xuanyuan Han raised his eyes slightly, puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yi Junhao sighed, stood up, put one hand behind his back, and walked behind Xuan Yuanhan. He said quietly, "The Northern Lie Prince, this Crown Prince, and that spy from Dongning must all be of extraordinary status. Does the King of Qin still not understand why everyone is gathering in your Western Qin territory? ... Currently, the four kingdoms are evenly matched in strength. Yet they are all holding back. Why is that? It's simply because they are all wary of the mysterious power of your Western Qin."
After a brief pause, Yi Junhao continued, "Since the founding of your Western Qin Kingdom by your ancestors, the entire Lingkong Continent has been abuzz with the rumor that within your Western Qin royal family lies an extremely mysterious and powerful force. It is precisely because of the protection of this force that your ancestors were able to successfully establish their kingdom in this backward and barren northwest land. Since then, some have said that whoever obtains this force will rule the world, but what this force actually is remains unknown, and opinions vary widely. I believe that the King of Qin has also heard of this rumor, hasn't he?"
Seeing that Xuanyuan Han remained silent and unmoved, Yi Junhao could only say helplessly, "Alright, if the King of Qin is unwilling to speak, then so be it. However, I, the Crown Prince, believe that this power will one day reappear in the world. Otherwise, I fear that... a war between the four kingdoms will be inevitable..."
Yi Junhao's probing attempts ultimately yielded no results, but his voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.
In truth, even Xuanyuan Han, a member of the Western Qin royal family, had never understood the true nature of this power. This was the biggest challenge he had entrusted to Lu Xian to explore over the years. How he longed to find and possess this power as soon as possible, to avert a future catastrophe on the Lingkong Continent, a time of widespread war and untold suffering for its people…
After a brief silence between the two, Yi Junhao said, "Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said, and everything that needed to be revealed about the King of Qin has been exposed. This Crown Prince still needs to go find the maid, so I won't keep Your Highness from worrying here any longer. Farewell."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Wait! Tuoba Ze must have a poison master from your Nan'an Kingdom assisting him. Yun'er once discovered both Nan'an Kingdom's poison and Bei Lie Kingdom's poisonous herbs on an old woman and her daughter-in-law. Moreover, for some reason, they hid the old woman's daughter-in-law in Wan Jiao Pavilion. There must be some hidden secrets in the tea room in the backyard of Wan Jiao Pavilion. Cheng Liang knows the situation inside better than anyone else. I will send Cheng Liang to accompany you to uncover all the conspiracies in Wan Jiao Pavilion."
Xuan Yuanhan's words reminded him that he hadn't yet met the madam of Wanjiao Pavilion. So, he readily agreed, "Oh? So all this talk is to get me to help you deal with the poison master in Wanjiao Pavilion. Alright, I'll help you this time. In return, you must promise me one thing: give me Yun'er..."
Unexpectedly, before Yi Junhao could even begin to speak, Xuan Yuanhan roared angrily, "Young Master Yi, don't even think about it! I was being polite to you just now. You have no choice but to agree to this. Why did you, a poison master from Nan'an Kingdom, come to my Western Qin Kingdom to stir up trouble? What are you trying to do? If you refuse to cooperate today, I will immediately expel you from Western Qin Kingdom, launch a punitive expedition against Nan'an, and never allow you to set foot on my Western Qin territory again."
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao silently swallowed, instantly falling silent.
Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
Xuanyuan Han shouted angrily, "Come in!"
"Your Highness, a servant has come up and says he has urgent business with...Young Master Yi." Cheng Liang, who had been standing guard outside the door the whole time, was clearly quite frightened by his master's furious outburst earlier, and timidly came in to report.
The servant, looking terrified, timidly bowed to everyone upon entering. He then approached Yi Junhao, holding the still unopened letter in both hands, and said apologetically, "Young master, I haven't seen the guest in this room, so this letter..."
Yi Junhao said amiably, "I already know. This is not your fault; it was my negligence. You may leave."
Seeing that the guest genuinely didn't blame him for the matter, the servant hesitated for a long time, then finally gritted his teeth and turned back to say, "Young master, there's something else. A young lady came to Ruyi Residence looking for you and has been waiting outside for most of the night."
"Could it be that the girl has returned? Why isn't she coming upstairs? Does she know that Jiang Zhixuan has left and is afraid to come up?" Yi Junhao said softly.
At this moment, his eyes and mind were filled with the image of Yi Shangyun. Without having time to ask any questions, he hurriedly reached out and grabbed the servant, taking big strides downstairs. As he walked, he asked, "Where is that girl? Quickly take me to see her."
However, Cheng Liang, who was standing beside her, heard these soft murmurs clearly, so the two of them quickly followed him downstairs.
"Uncle, what happened?" Just as they were about to go downstairs, Xuan Yuan Yue and Xuan Yuan Hao, who had been unable to sleep for days because of Yi Shang Yun, heard voices outside. As soon as they came out, they bumped into the group of people who were in a hurry, and curiously followed them to find out what was going on.
"Where is everyone?" To everyone's surprise, Yi Junhao and the others who followed closely behind him came out of Ruyi Residence with the servant, only to see a dark, empty space with no one in sight.
The servant was trembling with fear, hesitant and terrified, as if sleepwalking or seeing a ghost. He seemed on the verge of tears, scratching the back of his head as he said, "She was just here a moment ago. She said she was asked by a friend to come and beg you, young master, to save her life. She said it concerned many lives. Oh, she was originally looking for a guest named Jiang Zhixuan, but when I told her that guest had already left, she said she wanted to see you, young master. But then she said she didn't recognize you. I felt sorry for her, so... I repeatedly told her to wait here and not leave. But now, where is she?"
"Then why didn't you take her inside to wait?" Yi Junhao shouted angrily.
The waiter smiled wryly and said, "Please forgive me, sir. That woman was in a terrible state and acting suspiciously. Ruyi Residence has never allowed people like that into the store, for fear that they might have ulterior motives and disturb other customers."
"Something must have happened to the girl, it must be..." Yi Junhao muttered, his brows furrowed, and everyone present looked worried.
Xuanyuan Han hesitated for a moment, then immediately gave the order, "Cheng Liang, prepare the horses and go to Wanjiao Pavilion. Yun'er must be in Wanjiao Pavilion. There's no need to wait any longer. No matter what, tonight, even if we have to tear Wanjiao Pavilion down, we must find Yun'er."
Just then, Yi Junhao's eyes suddenly caught sight of Xuan Yuan Yue standing to the side. She had a white hairband tied around her arm. Yi Junhao asked her in surprise, "Where did you get this white hairband? Take it off and let me see it."
"Hao'er found this in front of a small family's house in an alley not far behind Wanjiao Pavilion. It was dark at the time, and we only saw a woman carrying a drunk man in white robes with a veil covering his face as they entered the house. It accidentally fell off, and Hao'er picked it up out of curiosity. Later, I accidentally scratched my arm on a thorn from a roadside hibiscus, and Hao'er used it to temporarily bandage it. I haven't had time to take it off yet. What happened?" Xuan Yuan Yue said, puzzled, as she quickly took it off and handed it to Yi Junhao.
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze turned to Yi Junhao and the white hair ribbon in his hand.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. I can vouch for it. What my elder sister said is true.” Xuan Yuanhao also quickly affirmed.
Yi Junhao looked at the white hair ribbon in his hand and almost cried with joy. He hurriedly said, "Which family is this? Take me there quickly! This is the hair ribbon that the girl used when she was disguised as a boy. That woman must be Lanxiang, who took her away from Wanjiao Pavilion, and that man must be the girl disguised as a boy. The girl must have discovered something on the way and was knocked unconscious by Lanxiang and forcibly taken home. Take me there quickly!"
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this, and apart from Yi Junhao, all eyes turned to Xuan Yuanhan.
Xuan Yuanhan paused for a moment, then instructed Cheng Liang, "You escort Young Master Yi and the Crown Prince together. If not... return directly to Xiangmanlou and meet me there."
Your Highness
Cheng Liang sensed something big was about to happen tonight, and seemed to have something else to say, but Xuan Yuanhan stopped him, saying only, "It's about time, it's time to wrap this up..."
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