"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"
Cheng Liang was clearly extremely worried and puzzled by Xuan Yuanhan's frequent and unusual pains within a single day.
"I don't know why I feel such unbearable heartache today?"
"Your Highness, please forgive my impertinence, but have you been thinking about Miss Yi? Could it be that something is about to happen to her?"
As soon as Cheng Liang uttered his hesitant words, Xuan Yuanhan shouted, "Shut up! I forbid you to say that. She will be fine."
Suppressing the immense bitterness and the news he feared most, Xuan Yuanhan straightened up and stepped into the gate of Sihai Tea House.
"May I ask if you two gentlemen are looking to purchase tea and teaware, or simply to enjoy tea? We have everything you could possibly need here; we are one of the most famous tea shops in the capital."
As soon as they entered, the shopkeeper bowed and greeted them with a smile.
Cheng Liang quickly stepped forward to block Xuan Yuanhan and said, "Arrange a quiet private room for our master, and have someone bring up some light tea and snacks. Don't disturb him any further!"
Unexpectedly, the old shopkeeper suddenly noticed that the two people's faces looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he had seen them before, so he asked:
"May I ask which lord this young master is from? He looks somewhat familiar."
At this moment, Cheng Liang took out a silver ingot and held it out to the shopkeeper, asking to himself, "Is this enough to pay for the tea?"
The shopkeeper, greedy for money, smiled and nodded repeatedly, but then Cheng Liang suddenly shouted, "Which law in the Western Qin Kingdom stipulates that one must announce their identity when entering a teahouse?"
"This... of course not, of course not." The shopkeeper finally came to his senses and said with an embarrassed smile.
Cheng Liang angrily pushed the silver to the shopkeeper's side and said, "Since you don't have any, hurry up and take the silver down to prepare tea. What are you dawdling here for?"
"Alright, if you'd like some tea, please come up to the second floor." The shopkeeper said, giving a wink to the waiter beside him. Xuan Yuanhan and Cheng Liang were then led upstairs by the waiter.
As soon as they came upstairs, they bumped into Tuoba Ze's guards at the top of the stairs. Upon seeing the two familiar faces, the guards quickly pressed their backs against the wall and dodged away, bowing their heads and standing aside.
As Cheng Liang passed by, he glanced at the man and then hurriedly escorted Xuan Yuanhan into a secluded private room in the far corner.
"Your Highness is not feeling well, so please rest here for a while. I will go out and search around the teahouse to see if there is any trace of the princess!" After settling Xuan Yuanhan in, Cheng Liang left the private room to look for news of Xuan Yuanyue.
Only after taking a sip of hot tea did Xuanyuan Han finally breathe a sigh of relief, as if his tense and chaotic emotions had finally been somewhat relieved.
So he slowly got up, put his pen behind his back, stood by the window, and gazed at the spring colors of the garden that could no longer be contained by the setting sun. He couldn't help but fall into a deep reverie.
Meanwhile, Tuoba Ze, who was in the backyard with the study door tightly closed, carefully studying the portrait of the guardian of Western Qin that he had just obtained, was also deep in thought.
After a long while, he murmured in surprise, "I never expected that the guardian of Western Qin would be such a young and beautiful woman."
Suddenly, a passage that Yi Shangyun had once said echoed in his ears again: "This mysterious power belongs to a woman from a mysterious tribe. She possesses a divine sword that can slay demons and monsters, her blood has magical power, and she also has a sacred relic passed down through generations that can create miracles."
"It seems that this so-called guardian of Western Qin is very likely the source of that mysterious power. In that case, finding and possessing her would mean having the entire world within our grasp. But where is she?" Just as he was pondering this, a guard suddenly rushed in, flustered, and said anxiously, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"
"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?" Tuoba Ze hurriedly looked over and asked.
The guard breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, has brought people to the teahouse for some unknown reason!"
"Xuanyuan Han? What is he doing here? Did he discover that I kidnapped that girl?... Did he discover anything?" Tuoba Ze asked in surprise.
"Not yet. I just saw him and the adjutant go upstairs and into the private room when I came downstairs, so I rushed over to report it."
After listening to the guard's words, Tuoba Ze thought for a while and decided, "No, we're afraid we've been exposed again. That King Qin is really hateful! It seems we can't wait any longer. Let's leave the city and head back home tonight."
"But how can we get out of the city gate at night?" the guard asked with a troubled expression.
Tuoba Ze had a sudden inspiration and instructed, "Go to the Qin Prince's residence in the east of the city and find a way to inform the Qin Princess. Ask her to help you leave the city in the latter half of the night. Tell her... the Qin Prince has come looking for you."
The guard then asked, "What about the two women locked up in the backyard?"
Tuoba Ze's eyes were dark and unfathomable, like ancient wells. He was silent for a moment, then rolled up the portrait on the table and said, "Come with me to see who they really are."
At this moment, the guard seemed to suddenly remember something. He took out a waist tag-like object from his body, stepped forward and handed it to Tuoba Ze, saying, "By the way, Your Highness, please take a look. I just found this in the corner of the backyard."
Upon seeing this, Tuoba Ze's eyes lit up. He snatched it and examined it carefully, turning it over and over. He exclaimed in surprise, "This is...this is the palace token of the Western Qin princess, the Fenghua Palace token! Could she be...?"
"Hahaha...hahaha...hahahaha...what a small world! Come on! Follow me to have a good chat with that proud princess." Tuoba Ze suddenly burst into laughter, then strode out of the study.
In the backyard of Sihai Tea House.
In the same courtyard where Yi Shangyun was imprisoned, in a room at the far east end facing north, Xuan Yuan Yue lay unconscious on the bed.
It turned out that at the same time that Tuoba Ze deliberately arranged for Xuanyuan Yue to slip up and be caught, Jinlan was also captured by his guards and imprisoned with him.
"Princess, Princess, wake up!" With Jinlan's increasingly urgent calls, Xuanyuan Yue finally slowly regained consciousness.
As Jinlan slowly helped him up from the bed, he rubbed his throbbing head and asked, "Where...where am I?"
“Princess, you’re finally awake. We…we’ve been captured and locked up. Waaah…” Jinlan cried again in fear as she spoke.
Xuan Yuan Yue stamped her foot in shock: "What?" Instantly, the scenes that happened before she was knocked unconscious flashed through her mind.
"It was all the work of that despicable tea shop owner. I knew long ago that there was something wrong with this Sihai Tea Shop, and I was right."
"Oh right, Yun'er, Yun'er is here too. No wonder Uncle Qin couldn't find her anywhere in the world. He hid her. Who is this person? And why did he capture Yun'er?"
As Xuanyuan Yue continued talking, her gaze fell upon the eyes of her maid, Jinlan.
Seeing that Jinlan, upon waking, seemed completely unconcerned about her safety, wiped away her tears and choked out:
“Princess, you should worry about yourself. We slipped out of the palace early this morning, and it’s almost dark now. The Empress and the Emperor must have already discovered that we sneaked out. I’m definitely doomed now.”
Just then, with a creak, the door was suddenly opened from the outside.
The master and servant looked toward the door in surprise, only to see that the inhuman, treacherous tea shop owner, with his hands behind his back and a smug look on his face, walked in.
As soon as the man approached and stood in front of Xuan Yuan Yue, Jin Lan saw the malicious smile on his face and mustered up a bit of courage to open her arms and stand alone in front of Xuan Yuan Yue.
She said tremblingly, "You audacious commoner, what...what do you want to do?"
The man's smile vanished instantly. He glanced at her contemptuously, then looked at Xuan Yuan Yue behind her for a moment.
Suddenly, he raised his sword-like eyebrows slightly and smiled, saying, "Your Highness, Princess of Western Qin! So you are the Princess of Western Qin who is about to marry the Third Prince of Eastern Ning!"
Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes widened in surprise as she stared into the other person's eyes and asked, "How did you know my identity as a princess?"
The person slowly raised one hand from behind his back, revealing the palace token that Xuan Yuan Yue recognized so well. She hurriedly rummaged through her clothes, then sighed helplessly, "This princess was truly careless."
After regaining her composure, she fearlessly pulled Jinlan away and stepped forward, glaring angrily at the man, saying, "Then what is your true identity?"
Unexpectedly, the man suddenly burst into laughter: "I, hahahahaha... Since things have come to this, I might as well tell you. I am Tuoba Ze, the Northern Lie Kingdom man you are currently hunting throughout the city."
"What? You are the eldest prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, Tuoba Ze!" Clearly, Xuan Yuan Yue was stunned by this.
Tuoba Ze, however, stroked his mustache and whispered smugly in Xuan Yuan Yue's ear, "Hmph, all I did was put on a charming and imposing mustache, use a little trick, and acquire this considerable fortune. I've fooled all your spies. It seems the Western Qin Kingdom is nothing special after all. It looks like, if things continue like this, the future is truly worrisome!"
Upon hearing Tuoba Ze's words, Xuanyuan Yue was stunned and immediately understood.
Recalling everything that had happened in the south of the city not long ago, and the years of harassment this barbarian state had caused to the many innocent people on the border of Western Qin, Xuan Yuan Yue clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, wishing she could take his dog's life immediately.
However, she knew very well that this man was cunning and ruthless. More importantly, Yi Shangyun was still in his hands, and his trusted men were everywhere outside. If she were to make a move, she would have no chance of winning.
After pondering for a moment, Xuan Yuan Yue came to her senses and asked, "What do you intend to do to this princess?"
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