Seeing how serious Yun was in her words, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly felt that he couldn't figure her out and was even a little scared. He stared blankly into her eyes and asked, "Yun'er, what do you want to do?"
Yi Shangyun, having made up her mind, said, "Since Your Highness is determined not to accept Yun'er, then whatever Yun'er does from now on is none of Your Highness's business."
For a moment, Xuan Yuanhan stared blankly at her face, stunned.
Just then, Yi Shangyun suddenly began to slowly take off her clothes.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan was startled and could hardly believe his eyes. He asked in bewilderment, "What are you doing?"
A moment later, without hesitation, Yi Shangyun stepped forward and reached out to untie Xuan Yuanhan's belt again. Then she raised her head and bravely looked into his eyes, saying, "I will be Your Highness's true woman."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan grabbed her hand to stop her, exclaiming in astonishment, "No, Yun'er, you..."
But before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his cold lips without saying another word, sealing his lips with a kiss.
In the flickering candlelight, their two burning bodies pressed tightly together in a tender embrace...
The usually quiet Yimei Pavilion was unusually restless tonight, with a sudden storm raging.
Inside the room, Xuan Yuan Yue, her eyes red, was pleading desperately with Mei Zhi Xuan: "Your Highness, Yue'er begs Your Highness, please save Uncle Qin! Uncle Qin cannot die, he cannot die!"
Mei Zhixuan stood with one hand behind his back, facing away from her, and said in a deep voice without hesitation, "Save him? Do you know what heinous crimes he has committed? He dared to try to blow up my Dongning Imperial City. How can I, a prince, save him when his crimes are so heinous?"
As dawn broke and Xuan Yuanhan was about to be executed, his head severed from his body, Xuan Yuan Yue was extremely anxious. She reached out and tightly grabbed Mei Zhixuan's arm, pleading, "No, as long as Your Highness wants it, as long as Your Highness is willing, Yue'er believes that Your Highness will definitely have a way, definitely will."
Although Mei Zhixuan was not highly regarded by the King of Dongning, he was still in charge of the city's defense forces. Xuan Yuan Yue firmly believed that Mei Zhixuan had the ability to shake up the Dongning Kingdom's power structure and could save Xuan Yuan Han's life.
Although she had been utterly disappointed in this person before, now, in order to save Xuan Yuanhan and make up for the harm that her father, Emperor Jing of Western Qin, had caused to Xuan Yuanhan and Yi Shangyun, this pair of star-crossed lovers, she no longer cared about her self-respect and dignity.
Thinking of all this, Xuan Yuan Yue was extremely anxious and felt extremely wronged. She couldn't help but apologize to him with a sob in her voice: "Yue'er knows that I was too willful before and often made Your Highness angry. I apologize to Your Highness. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
As she spoke, with a sudden "thump," Xuan Yuan Yue unexpectedly bent her knees and knelt down in front of him.
Seeing this, Mei Zhixuan instinctively reached out to help her up, but in the end, he watched helplessly as she knelt down, placing a hand on her arm.
Mei Zhixuan looked at her in astonishment, perhaps with a hint of heartache in his eyes, and said, "Why...why are you doing this? It's not that I don't want to save him, but there's simply no one who can save him."
Clearly, he hadn't expected that Xuan Yuan Yue, who had always been proud and noble since childhood, would humble herself to this extent to plead for Xuan Yuan Han. It seemed she truly wanted to save him.
Xuanyuan Yue cried and said, "Does Your Highness not know that if Uncle Qin were to die, Princess Yongning would certainly not be left alone in this world? Therefore, by saving Uncle Qin, Your Highness is also saving Princess Yongning. Besides, Your Highness often says that you received a lot of care from the Empress Dowager when you were a child. In that case, Your Highness should take good care of the ill-fated Princess Yongning on behalf of the Empress Dowager, shouldn't you?"
"I..." Perhaps at that moment, Mei Zhixuan was almost moved by Xuan Yuan Yue's tearful words and the reason she gave.
Xuanyuan Yue clung tightly to Mei Zhixuan's robe, pleading with him, "As long as Your Highness is willing to save Uncle Qin, I will do whatever Your Highness asks me to do from now on. I will listen to Your Highness in everything, okay?"
Mei Zhixuan was almost moved by her tears, but when it came to Xuan Yuanhan, he clearly maintained an extremely clear head. In the end, he simply pulled Xuan Yuanyue up while saying to her perfunctorily, "Get up first, let this prince think about it some more..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue slowly stood up, wiped away her tears, and said, "In that case, Yue'er will go see Hai'er first, and then come to find Your Highness later."
Mei Zhixuan nodded slightly at him.
Just a moment after Xuan Yuan Yue left, an unprecedented commotion erupted in the courtyard: "Mei Zhixuan, Mei Zhixuan, come out here right now!"
Upon hearing the sound, Jinlan, a maid who had just changed into her nightgown and was about to go to sleep in the east room, hurriedly lifted the curtain and came out of the room.
Upon seeing that the person who came was Yi Sanshao, whom Mei Zhixuan had brought back to the palace a few days ago, and not knowing why he was so angry at the moment, he hurriedly went down the steps to stop him and said, "Your Highness, please wait. My Third Prince and the Third Prince's Consort are discussing matters in the hall. Your Highness, please allow me to go in and inform them first."
Qi Liaoyi Sanshao showed no sign of slowing down. His extremely gloomy face was terrifying. He continued to barge in while angrily shouting, "Meeting? What meeting? Mei Zhixuan, if you don't come out to me, I'll turn on you!"
When Young Master Yi angrily flung open the curtain and stormed in, Xuan Yuan Yue was nowhere to be seen. He slowly lowered the curtain and questioned her, "Mei Zhixuan, are you hiding something from me?"
Mei Zhixuan seemed to have anticipated this scene, and was somewhat at a loss for words. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. The situation has indeed changed somewhat."
"The situation has changed? What exactly happened?" Young Master Yi was right as he had guessed, and anxiously pressed for an answer.
Mei Zhixuan looked at his face and said, "As everyone knows, Yongning did indeed agree to the marriage between Father and you, but she also made a condition to Father in exchange?"
When Yi Sanshao heard Mei Zhixuan say that Yi Shangyun had personally agreed to the marriage, he was so excited that he couldn't wait to hear anything else and left in a hurry. Now, after a little thought, he seemed to understand instantly and slowly said, "She wants Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, to live?"
Mei Zhixuan nodded to him, seemingly helpless.
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi pondered for a moment, then clenched the few Angelica pubescens herbs in his hand tightly. Finally, he said in a deep voice, "No, now that things have come to this, Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, must not be allowed to live any longer!"
Mei Zhixuan's determination has never wavered: "This prince also believes so!"
At this point, Young Master Yi seemed somewhat relieved. Accompanied by Mei Zhixuan, he sat down and said with a sense of relief, "This time, it was fortunate that your relationship with Princess Dongning was enough to restrain Xuan Yuanhan, leaving him with a bitter pill to swallow. However, Emperor Jing of Western Qin is truly ruthless, actually sending Xuan Yuanhan to escort that batch of gunpowder to trade with you!"
While pouring him tea with a smile, Mei Zhixuan said, "It was thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's help that the real gunpowder was recovered, which solidified the evidence against the Prince of Qin and allowed us to achieve our initial victory!"
...
Late at night, Mei Zhixuan finally let out a heavy sigh after watching Yi Sanshao's figure gradually disappear from sight.
Turning around, he was startled to find Xuan Yuan Yue standing quietly not far behind him. He exclaimed in surprise, "Yue'er, you..."
As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at the doorway, then back at Xuan Yuan Yue, who had a cold expression on her face. As if suddenly realizing something, she said, "Just now... you heard everything?"
Seemingly unable to believe her ears, Xuan Yuan Yue stood there staring blankly at Mei Zhi Xuan's face for a long, long time before finally asking in a daze, "Was everything that the Crown Prince of Nan'an said just now true?"
Even now, Mei Zhixuan still tried to deceive Xuan Yuan Yue: "Yue'er, let me explain..."
Qi Liao Xuanyuan Yue interrupted him seriously, saying, "No, Your Highness, you don't need to explain to me. Instead, you should report the true origins of that batch of gunpowder to Father."
Mei Zhixuan left no room for negotiation, resolutely stating, "It is impossible for me, the prince, to surrender to the emperor."
Seeing that a hard approach wouldn't work, Xuan Yuan Yue tried to soften her tone: "Your Highness, Yue'er knows that Your Highness is planning ahead and wants to spare us, mother and son, from the cold looks and criticisms Your Highness suffered in your childhood. However, if Your Highness continues to act this way, one day, if people find out that Your Highness won in such an unfair manner, wouldn't you be despised by the world?"
Unexpectedly, Mei Zhixuan suddenly flew into a rage and shouted, "Shut up! Those who aspire to great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Once I, the prince, ascend the throne, let's see who dares to criticize these things then!"
After saying that, he glared fiercely at Xuan Yuan Yue's face and said, "You can forget about me letting Xuan Yuan Han go in this lifetime!"
Having said that, Xuan Yuan Yue was not to be outdone. Gritting her teeth, she hardened her heart and said fiercely, "Does Your Highness really intend to go this far? But Your Highness knows perfectly well that the gunpowder was placed in various parts of Dongning City by my father, and it has nothing to do with Uncle Qin. Even if Your Highness wants to settle scores, you should come after me first! Why don't you kill me first to vent your anger!"
Mei Zhixuan ignored her. He firmly believed that one day he would confront Emperor Jing of Western Qin. That day was just around the corner, but it was definitely not now.
Then, he suddenly said contemptuously, "Unfortunately, it's just that the King of Qin was unlucky. When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. He never imagined that his lifelong reputation would be ruined by his own brother, the emperor!"
"Your Highness, you..." Xuan Yuan Yue didn't want to accept this fact and wanted to try to reason with him.
But Mei Zhixuan stopped him: "Alright, stop talking, or don't blame me for turning ruthless."
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