That night, at Donghua Palace.
During this time, Xuan Yuanhao was restless and had no appetite. He was constantly worried about someone, but he couldn't do anything about it, so he was extremely upset.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of that palace maid again, but the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
"That woman's eyes, her voice, and even her figure... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before?"
Even after racking my brains, I still couldn't remember: "Where have I seen this before?"
Just as I was pondering this, a voice suddenly rang out: "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Hao snapped out of his daze and hurriedly rose to greet the Empress who had entered the hall: "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
The Empress smiled and helped him up: "My son, please rise!"
After Xuanyuan Hao stood up, he helped the Empress to her seat and asked, "It's freezing outside, why did you come here, Mother?"
As the Empress sat down, her brows furrowed, her already melancholy expression deepening.
He slowly began to speak: "Your Majesty, I just heard that a few days ago, my son flew into a rage because a palace maid hadn't properly stored the oranges from Dongning Kingdom, and said he would severely punish her. Your Majesty, my son has always been kind-hearted. Although those oranges were a token of your sister's kindness, I would never be so angry with a palace maid!"
Xuanyuan Hao seemed to have something difficult to say, and hesitated before saying, "Mother, actually, I wasn't angry because of those oranges, but because of that day...that day..."
"Not because of the oranges?!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress thought for a moment, then immediately pressed on, "Does my son have something else on his mind?"
The news that Dongning Kingdom has dispatched its first batch of 200,000 elite troops to attack Xiqin is now spreading like wildfire throughout the palace.
The Empress was already deeply worried about Xuan Yuan Yue's situation. Xuan Yuan Hao really didn't want the Empress to worry about another matter, but this matter was of great importance, and he really didn't know how much longer he could keep it from her.
Hesitantly, he finally uttered a murmur that seemed to be heard only by himself: "That day, when I went to pay my respects to Your Majesty, I overheard someone reporting to Your Majesty that Qin Huangshu and his men had just crossed the border when..."
Just then, a maid rushed in and reported, "Your Highness, the two palace maids request an audience!"
Xuanyuan Hao's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and he muttered to himself, "It seems they really are two trustworthy servants!"
He then ordered his maids, "Let them into the palace."
Soon, Yi Shangyun and Xiao Shuang stepped in together, knelt down and bowed: "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress and Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Upon seeing the two, the Empress immediately turned to Xuanyuan Hao and asked, "These two are...?"
Xuanyuan Hao nodded.
He was really annoyed at the moment, and when he saw the two of them, he said angrily, "It seems that you two are really not afraid of death. You actually dare to deliver yourselves to our door. Are you so eager to die?"
However, Yi Shangyun took out two bottles of medicine that were exactly the same as the ones she had given to Lanxiang, held them high above her head, and said, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. Please take a look at this first?"
The palace eunuchs went over, retrieved it, and handed it to Xuanyuan Hao.
Xuanyuan Hao opened the bottle cap, sniffed it, and asked with a puzzled look, "Is this the priceless treasure you mentioned before, made from those moldy oranges?"
Yi Shangyun nodded affirmatively and explained, "This medicine is called 'Penicillin,' and it's made from Penicillium mold cultivated from moldy oranges. It can kill bacteria and disinfect, and enhance people's ability to resist bacterial infections. It's especially effective in treating some deadly diseases, such as pneumonia, syphilis, peritonitis, and tetanus. It plays a very important role in both people's daily lives and in military campaigns."
Xuanyuan Hao found what he said unbelievable and hard to believe.
He had never heard of this before and couldn't help but wonder, "Who exactly is she? How does she know so many things that even I, the Crown Prince, don't know?"
So he asked, "Penicillin? I have traveled with the Grand Tutor for many years, how come I have never heard of this? And how do I know its medicinal effects?"
Yi Shangyun said confidently, "The world is full of wonders, and Your Highness should know the saying 'there are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people.' As for its efficacy, if you don't believe me, Your Highness can personally find someone to test the medicine!"
Without a second thought, Xuanyuan Hao immediately ordered, "Someone, give this medicine to Zhang Zhiyuan!"
Time passed by, second by second.
Finally, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Zhang Zhiyuan rushed in, overjoyed, to report: "Your Highness, this medicine has an excellent effect on the patient! It is truly a miraculous medicine that benefits the country and its people!"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Hao finally stopped doubting. He was extremely excited and began to praise repeatedly.
"good!"
"Excellent!"
"A generous reward!"
"Reward these two palace maids...with a thousand taels of gold!"
In the blink of an eye, plate after plate of glittering gold appeared before me.
Xiao Shuang's eyes widened in disbelief, and she even pinched the back of her hand hard.
It wasn't until I heard myself hiss that I realized everything in front of me was real.
"It's all true!"
Seeing Xiaoshuang's overjoyed expression, Yi Shangyun secretly glanced at Zhang Zhiyuan, who was also looking at her.
As they locked eyes, Yi Shangyun feared that if she stayed any longer, she might expose herself in even a second.
He then hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you for the gift, Your Highness. I will now present this prescription to the Chief Physician. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave!"
Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Hao's smile gradually faded, and he said, "Everyone else, step back, but you stay..."
Yi Shangyun naturally dared not refuse.
A moment later, everyone left, and Xuanyuan Hao slowly got up and walked over.
The empress, standing to the side, was quite puzzled by his actions.
Unexpectedly, just as Xuanyuan Hao steadily walked up to Yi Shangyun, he suddenly fell to the ground with a thud, crying out, "Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
"What's wrong with His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Just as Yi Shangyun was bending down to check his injuries, Xuan Yuanhao suddenly ripped off the mask from his face.
As the veil suddenly fell off, Xuan Yuanhao exclaimed in surprise, "You really are... Empress Dowager! You're not dead!"
Yi Shangyun hurriedly picked up her veil, hung it up again, and refused to admit it: "Your Highness, you have mistaken me for someone else. I am not you. This servant will take her leave!"
Just as Yi Shangyun was about to flee the chaos, the Empress suddenly spoke up and shouted at her, "Stop right there!"
With her back to the two people, Yi Shangyun clearly didn't dare to move an inch.
The Empress rose, walked slowly forward, and questioned her as she went, her words ringing with conviction.
"Why?"
"After so much hardship and countless trials, you two have finally become a couple."
"Uncle Qin treated you so well, he valued you even more than his own life."
"For your sake, he went so far as to plan ahead and start the war with Bei Lie even when preparations were far from complete!"
"For your sake, he defied the Emperor's orders and delayed taking action against your motherland, Dongning, preferring to return home alone to receive punishment!"
"for you……"
"Women of all kinds exist in this world, and countless women admire him. Yet I have never seen him so devoted and unforgettable to any woman as you are. How can you bear to treat him like this?"
"His heart, which they could not obtain even with all their might, you obtained so easily."
"Yet they leave just like that, they go whenever they want!"
Why is that?
Do you even have a heart left?
As the Empress recounted their past together, tears welled up in Yi Shangyun's eyes.
After a long silence, she finally mustered up the courage to say, "Okay, I'll tell you why."
After she turned around and recounted her journey to this time and space to the two of them, they were both stunned.
Yi Shangyun sniffed and asked, "So, with someone like me still holding another person in my heart, what right do I have to stay by his side?"
Once things had calmed down a bit, Xuanyuan Hao asked, "Could you give Uncle Qin another chance without any reservations?"
The Empress also said, "Since you said that Taoist priest told you that the two of them are related through past and present lives, that means they are actually the same soul, right? If that's the case, why can't it be?"
Undeniably, Xuan Yuanhan's image had appeared in her mind more than once these past few days, and she had tried to convince herself otherwise.
After much deliberation, Yi Shangyun finally gritted her teeth and said, "I'm sorry, I can't do it!"
Seeing that there was really no other way, the Empress suddenly said nonchalantly, "Forget it, perhaps it doesn't matter at all anymore!"
Yi Shangyun sensed a hidden meaning in her words and asked, "What do you mean?"
The Queen said, "Perhaps you will never see him again, he will never come back!"
Yi Shangyun felt a terrible premonition wash over her, and then asked, "What happened?"
At this moment, Xuanyuan Hao also looked at the Empress's face in surprise and said, "Mother, so you already knew!"
The Queen nodded.
Xuanyuan Hao said, "Actually, my anger that day was not because I missed my elder sister, so I took my anger out on that palace maid because of those oranges. It was because I heard that Uncle Qin had been ambushed by the enemy army as soon as he left the border and disappeared!"
The cloud on the clothes was greatly surprised.
"What did you say?"
"What was he doing in Dongning? When did he go?"
Yi Shangyun was clearly unaware of this news.
Xuanyuan Hao was also extremely surprised.
"Doesn't the Imperial Aunt know that Imperial Uncle Qin personally went to Dongning to investigate the urgent military situation?"
Yi Shangyun couldn't believe her own thoughts: "What urgent military situation? Mei Zhixuan is not the same Mei Zhixuan as before, how could he..."
Xuan Yuanhao said angrily, "He can't? Do you know that Mei Zhixuan sent 200,000 elite troops to crush my Western Qin and dominate the entire Lingkong Continent? His wolfish ambitions are obvious."
Yi Shangyun took several steps back before stopping, saying incredulously, "This is impossible, he wouldn't do that!"
After realizing what was happening, she anxiously asked, "If that's the case, why doesn't His Majesty send troops directly to the front lines, instead of sending Your Highness alone with only a few people to investigate?"
Both the Empress and Xuanyuan Hao remained silent in response.
"So, this was all a conspiracy!" At this point, Yi Shangyun had finally understood.
Yet she still refused to believe it: "He promised me he wouldn't harm the Yi family or the Qin Prince's residence. You must be conspiring to deceive me, right?"
Xuanyuan Hao said, "Whether what we're saying is true or not, why don't you go to the Qin Prince's mansion and find out for yourself, and you'll understand everything?"
Yi Shangyun pondered silently, "Yes, the Qin Prince's Mansion..."
Watching Yi Shangyun leave quickly, the Empress placed her hands on Xuan Yuanhao's shoulders and muttered to herself.
"Royal Uncle, I'm sorry, I can't help you, but thankfully, she's still here! She's a descendant of the Guardians, I believe she will bring you back safely!"
Under the cover of night.
Yi Shangyun secretly slipped out of the palace and sneaked into the Prince of Qin's residence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com