As soon as Xuanyuan Han returned to the city and his horse stepped through the city gate, several guards rushed forward to lead his horse and greet him.
Before Xuanyuan Han could speak, Cheng Liang dismounted and anxiously asked, "How is it? Have you found it?"
The man, who looked like a guard captain, looked into Cheng Liang's eyes, shook his head helplessly, and said, "As soon as I received the general's order, I mobilized everyone to search almost the entire city, but still..."
Cheng Liangzheng listened and pondered at the same time.
Unexpectedly, a questioning voice suddenly came from behind: "Almost?"
Upon hearing the sound, the two of them simultaneously turned to look at the imposing face that commanded respect without anger.
Xuanyuan Han looked up at the red sun overhead; it was already noon. After last night's heavy rain, the sunlight today was unexpectedly dazzling.
He gritted his teeth, withdrew his gaze, and looked ahead, saying, "So that means that, as of now, the entire imperial city has not yet been searched?"
As he spoke, he suddenly glared at the head guard with his cold, sharp eyes and angrily rebuked him, "What kind of work are you doing?"
The head guard immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed his head to apologize: "Your Highness, I have failed in my duty. Please punish me!"
Seeing that his master was already angry, Cheng Liang hurriedly urged, "What places haven't been searched yet? Why don't you personally lead people to search them right away?"
Seeing that the head guard was about to lead a group of men to set off, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly said, "Wait... I will go myself."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he leaped over the horse's back like a gust of wind, then whipped it and galloped away. The crowd was stunned, but when they came to their senses, they all followed closely behind.
In a secluded alley in the southwestern suburbs of the Western Qin Imperial City, there is a small, remote house.
A heavily pregnant woman, her round belly protruding, looked like she was nearing her due date. She was calling out loudly from inside the house, "Mother, Mother, hurry up, hurry up!"
"Coming, coming," an old woman with faltering steps replied, hurriedly drawing a basin of cold water from the well in the corner of the yard, and carrying it with both hands as she rushed into the house.
As soon as he entered, he said, "Yu Niang, the cold water is here, the cold water is here."
Yu Niang immediately instructed the little maid beside her, "Ling'er, quickly go and get the cloth from outside for your mother."
"Um"
A little girl dressed entirely in pink lay by the bed, her big, round eyes wide open. She nodded obediently and in agreement, then brought in a clean cloth from the outer room and handed it to her.
As soon as Yu Niang took the towel, she quickly and carefully wetted it in cold water, wrung it out, folded it in a few quick movements, and then gently placed it on the burning forehead of the woman who was lying on the bed, deep in a daze.
This action has been repeated many times since early morning...
Seeing that the woman had entered her house late at night and had been suffering from a persistent high fever and unconsciousness, Yu Niang was extremely anxious. Even though she had given her ginger soup to dispel the cold, there was still no improvement.
She glanced out the window for a moment, then said with increasing worry, "Ping An went to the city to find a doctor as soon as he brought this girl back last night. But it's almost lunchtime, why hasn't he returned yet? If he doesn't bring a doctor back soon, I'm afraid this girl's baby will be in danger!"
An elderly woman beside her held the woman's hand, wiping and rubbing her palms to make her sweat, hoping to reduce the fever.
Hearing her daughter-in-law's words, the old woman was extremely anxious. Looking at the woman's face, which was flushed red from the fever, she said, "Poor child, what trouble did she encounter? Last night there was thunder and lightning, such a strong wind and rain, how could she be wandering the streets alone? And even fainted on the street corner. Luckily, Ping An was late returning from delivering goods in the city yesterday, and that's how he found her on the way. Otherwise, she probably would have been..."
As the old woman spoke, she clearly could no longer bear to imagine it, and finally sighed deeply: "Alas, what a tragedy, what a tragedy! I don't know which family could be so heartless. This girl is already pregnant, and they shouldn't be taking good care of her."
Just then, the little maidservant, looking left and right with her eyes fixed on the woman's face on the bed, suddenly called out quietly, "Sister Yun..."
"Sister Yun?" Yu Niang repeated after hearing her daughter's murmur.
Could it be that her daughter recognized the girl in front of her? Yu Niang wondered, and hurriedly looked at her daughter's face, asking her earnestly, "Ling'er, what did you just say? What Sister Yun?"
Ling'er pointed at the woman's face and said, "Grandma, Mom, look, look at this sister, doesn't she look just like Sister Yun?!"
"Yun'er?" Yu Niang and her mother-in-law exchanged glances, then turned their gazes back to the woman's face.
However, after examining it for a long time, they still couldn't find the image of this person in their memories.
Seeing this, Ling'er tilted her round little head and asked them in a serious manner, "Don't you really remember Sister Yun?"
Yu Niang and her mother-in-law slowly shook their heads.
Ling'er seemed to doubt the two adults' memories, and sighed helplessly, prompting, "It's Sister Yun, the one we met at the Prince Qin's mansion who knows medicine!"
"The Prince of Qin's Mansion?" Upon hearing this, the old woman and her daughter-in-law were immediately lost in memories of the past.
Ling'er recalled, "Back then, Mother was searching for Father and hadn't returned home for a long time. Grandmother took Ling'er to the Prince of Qin's mansion to complain. But on the way, she was poisoned. Just then, Sister Yun appeared. She not only cured Grandmother's illness without charging a penny, but also gave us enough money for our journey to the Prince of Qin's mansion. Later at the Prince of Qin's mansion, Sister Yun cured Mother's illness again. Have you all forgotten all of this?"
At this point, Yu Niang finally remembered everything. The past events were all so bloody and unforgettable.
As she recalled the past, her brows furrowed, and she stared at the woman's face for a long time before finally murmuring, "So it was her... But... how did the sores on her face change..."
Looking at her now beautiful and smooth face, Ling'er said happily, "Sister Yun's medical skills are so good, it seems that she must have figured out a way to cure the sores on her face. Now it seems that she and His Highness Prince Qin are even more of a match."
Yu Niang thought so too, and looked at the woman's face with deep gratitude, saying, "No, Ling'er, you forgot to mention something."
Ling'er's eyes widened as she looked at her mother's face. After thinking carefully for a moment, she asked, "Ling'er forgot to mention something. What is it?"
Yu Niang gently ruffled Ling'er's bangs and said with a smile, "Miss Yi, she even helped us find your father! She's a great benefactor to our whole family!"
"Yes, yes. I heard you say that Miss Yi had gone missing, and I was afraid that she was in grave danger. So every first and fifteenth of the month, I would go to the City God Temple to sincerely offer incense and pray for her. I knew that good people would be rewarded. She was so kind, God wouldn't be so blind. Miss Yi, she is indeed still alive, alive and well." The old woman also burst into tears of joy and tightly grasped the woman's hand.
Just then, Yi Shangyun's body suddenly began to tremble, and at the same time, she seemed to curl up, shivering and occasionally making intermittent murmurs.
"Your Highness, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"My child, my child, my child..."
Upon hearing this, the old woman and Yu Niang's expressions became serious once again.
Yu Niang pondered for a long time, but still couldn't understand. She then asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened between Miss Yi and His Highness Prince Qin? How did Miss Yi become like this? And whose child is she carrying? Is it His Highness's?"
As she spoke, she slowly turned her head to look at the old woman's face.
Just then, the woman's voice came again: "Cold, cold..."
Upon hearing the sound, Yu Niang immediately came to her senses and hurriedly went over to bring another quilt to cover him up.
But as soon as it was laid out, the woman said, "Hot, hot, so hot..."
At this point, for some reason, Yu Niang suddenly felt extremely panicked. She angrily threw off the blanket in her hand, unable to suppress her fear any longer: "No, this can't go on. If we continue to delay, the child will definitely have problems."
The old woman beside her had already put her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed devoutly: "Amitabha, Amitabha, Bodhisattva, please protect me, please protect Miss Yi, please help her get through this calamity safely, please protect her and her child."
After thinking for a moment, Yu Niang finally made up her mind and said, "Mother, you stay home and take good care of Miss Yi. I must go out and find a doctor right away."
Upon hearing this, the old woman nervously grabbed Yu Niang's hand and said worriedly, "But Yu Niang, you're about to give birth in just a few days. I'm really worried about letting you go out alone with such a big belly."
Yu Niang's hand flipped over and gripped the old woman's hand tightly again, saying, "But Mother, it makes me even more heartbroken to watch Yi-guniang and the child in her womb suffer together while we can't do anything about it."
"Yu Niang!" The old woman cried, tears welling in her eyes, caught in a dilemma.
Yu Niang said sincerely, "Miss Yi has done a great favor for our whole family. Even in her unconscious state, she is still worried about the child in her womb, which shows how much she values that child. If we don't help her, who else can? Mother, don't worry, I know my own body and I will be fine."
After saying that, Yu Niang moved her hand away and instead reached over to scratch the little girl's head. Finally, she told her, "Ling'er, stay home and take care of Sister Yun and Grandma. I'll be right back."
The sensible little girl replied, "Mother, you must take good care of yourself."
At this point, Yu Niang smiled gently at the two of them and then walked out on her own.
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