"'At least she's still alive,' what do you mean by that? What...what happened to her?"
Upon hearing Xuan Yuanhan's question, Mei Xiyuan suddenly knelt heavily before him with a "thump," tears streaming down her face as she choked out, "That barbarian Tuoba Ze from that desolate land, he's heartless and insane, he... defiled Yun'er at the Sihai Tea House."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan felt his mind go blank.
The tension that had been building up overnight from all sorts of wild thoughts snapped instantly, and he could no longer stand. He took two steps back, stumbled, and quickly reached out to hold onto the window frame next to him.
"When I arrived, it was too late. Yun'er, unable to bear the humiliation, had already plunged this short sword into her heart. With her last breath, she told me all this. And then, and then..."
Mei Xiyuan's mouth opened and closed, and the very clear sounds she made continued to ring in my ears.
"It's all my fault for being incompetent. It's all my fault. I should have informed Your Highness about this as soon as I discovered that person, so that Your Highness could handle it properly. But I was afraid that I might have misjudged the situation, found the wrong person, and delayed Your Highness's important business. I only confirmed today that the person was indeed Tuoba Ze himself."
"I failed to save Yun'er, I truly deserve to die..."
Upon hearing Mei Xiyuan's words, Xuan Yuanhan was struck dumb. He stared intently into Mei Xiyuan's eyes, remaining silent for a long time, his body trembling slightly.
After a long while, Mei Xiyuan suddenly saw him get up and pick up the hot tea on the table and hand it to him, saying, "Your Highness, please have some tea first."
But then, Xuanyuan Han suddenly awoke, muttering to himself, "Impossible, this is impossible, I don't believe it, she can't be dead, she absolutely can't be dead, Tuoba Ze..."
As he spoke, he saw the dragon and phoenix short sword that Mei Xiyuan was holding in her hand, a sword he could never recognize again. Suddenly, everything went black, his body swayed, and his vision became blurry.
Mei Xiyuan hurriedly tried to reach out and help him up, but he stopped abruptly and pushed her away.
Xuanyuan Han's hands, hanging at his sides, were clenched into fists, veins bulging, and streaks of bright red blood seeping from between his fingers.
Finally, he shakily pulled the short sword from Mei Xiyuan's hand, and then instantly revealed a back view that had never felt so lonely and powerless before, silently walking out of the gate of Shaohua Pavilion.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Mei Xiyuan's disappointed and heartbroken calls came from behind, but Xuan Yuanhan seemed to have been isolated from everything here, and could no longer hear anything.
After chasing after him and watching his figure gradually disappear in near despair, Mei Xiyuan finally broke down due to the pain she had been suppressing.
Leaning against a pillar, he slowly slid down and collapsed to the ground, still filled with sorrow, murmuring, "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
From beginning to end, Xuan Yuanhan never asked her how she got injured. Not even a single word.
It turns out that he had been waiting all night so that he could tell her what he cared about as soon as she woke up.
However, having received this answer, he must be completely relieved this time.
Thinking of this, Mei Xiyuan suddenly smiled foolishly again: "If I can't have it, no one else can either."
I don't know how I finally got back to Chenghua Palace, nor do I know when a torrential rain started falling from the sky.
Xuanyuan Han stood under the eaves, watching the torrential rain pouring down from the sky, motionless. The rain, carried by the wind, fell on him, soaking most of his body.
Cheng Liang tried to persuade Xuan Yuanhan in a low voice several times, but Xuan Yuanhan remained silent.
Cheng Liang dared not offer any further advice, but he was genuinely worried, so he could only hold up his umbrella and silently accompany him, his heart heavy with sorrow.
For many years, whenever this master was sad or upset, he would always stay quietly like this.
But he knew better than anyone that this time was different from every previous one.
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan had returned from Shaohua Pavilion in such an astonishing state, as if he were possessed, Cheng Liang hurriedly went to Shaohua Pavilion to ask Granny Zhao for all the details.
Undoubtedly, Cheng Liang was also quite shocked by this result. He wished he could go and fight Tuoba Ze to the death right now, tearing him to shreds. But now he couldn't even find a trace of him, as if that living person had vanished from the face of the earth.
At this moment, Cheng Liang was truly helpless. The more he thought about it, the more his brows furrowed. After a moment of distraction, he said to Xuan Yuanhan, "Now it seems that it is very likely that Shaohua Pavilion inadvertently exposed His Highness's whereabouts to Sihai Tea House, which gave Tuoba Ze the opportunity to kidnap Miss Yi, and that's why she suffered such a terrible fate."
However, Xuan Yuanhan stood silently the whole time, his mind seemingly churning with a thousand thoughts, but in reality, only one sentence kept repeating in his head: "When I return, I will take you back to my manor and make you my true woman. I can't wait any longer."
However, he had already returned home, but she...
And so, the master and servant stood there silently, each lost in their own thoughts.
The light gradually receded to the west, the setting sun half-hidden behind the clouds, casting red, orange, and golden hues that made the evening clouds look like molten gold, turning half the sky into a sea of fire.
Then, the crimson and vermilion tiles were shaken off, splashing countless dazzling highlights on the undulating roof tiles. The solemn and majestic Qin Prince's Mansion was shrouded in a golden splendor during the day, like a celestial palace, magnificent beyond compare.
The master and servant were still bathed in the soft, warm light when, unbeknownst to them, the guards of the mansion began to light lanterns one after another.
Xuanyuan Han stared blankly at the tree, its branches laden with blossoms, now a mess after the heavy rain, the fallen flowers scattered everywhere, the courtyard a muddy mess.
Suddenly, a pure white, delicate, and vibrant petal, which should not have withered, swayed and fell from the branch, only to be carried by the wind to Xuan Yuanhan.
Upon seeing this, he suddenly came to his senses, slowly reached out and took it, seemingly gazing at it with great interest for a long while.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he blurted out, "Cheng Liang, do you really believe that she would be so weak as to leave me after suffering a little humiliation?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was taken aback. He looked at his unusually calm face in surprise and uttered a sentence that even he himself didn't know how to say later.
"Of course I don't believe it. Miss Yi wouldn't be so weak and easily bullied. This is all just Her Highness the Princess's side of the story. The truth can only be found by finding Miss Yi herself. So, unless we want to see her alive or dead, we will search to the ends of the earth and dig three feet into the ground to find Miss Yi."
However, Xuan Yuanhan stared intently at the pure white petals in his palm, a faint smile suddenly appearing on his lips, as if all the long-standing doubts in his heart had been instantly resolved.
How could the woman that Xuan Yuanhan had his eye on be so fragile and vulnerable?
That woman's fate is his to decide. How could he allow her to act on her own and dispose of it arbitrarily?
Even if she experiences great storms, she will be like this pure white petal, unwilling to fall into the mud even if she withers.
After a moment of silence, he spoke up: "No need. If she is indeed the guardian of my Western Qin with mysterious and powerful strength, then even if she suffers the greatest storms, I believe she will be reborn in some corner of the world, breathe freely, and strive to live."
Cheng Liang listened, seemingly understanding but not quite, and after hesitating for a while, he finally asked, "Your Highness, shall we continue searching for Miss Yi?"
Xuan Yuanhan remained silent for a long time, seemingly hesitant and finding it difficult to make a decision, but finally breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly said, "Withdraw all the missing person notices from the Qin Prince's Mansion in Lingkong, without leaving a single one. Say that it has been confirmed that the Qin Prince's Mansion's female physician has fallen off a cliff and died."
Just as Cheng Liang was wondering why his master didn't believe Yi Shangyun was really dead, but instead claimed that he was dead, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly said, "Prepare for war against Bei Lie with all your might. I can't wait any longer. Since we can't find Tuoba Ze, let him come out and die on his own."
Cheng Liang, still surprised, readily accepted the order: "Yes."
After speaking, Xuanyuan Han composed himself and immediately turned to head back towards the sand table in Chenghua Hall to prepare for battle. But as he turned away with a cold gaze, he thought to himself, "Even if the sky falls, you must live. Live well for me. I will definitely find a way, I will definitely find a way..."
Several days have passed in the blink of an eye, but Yi Sanshao and Mei Zhixuan are still feeling quite surprised and annoyed.
According to the confession of the burly man in red from the Xiaolong Society who was later finally revived, they learned that Yi Shangyun had also been taken to the Sihai Tea House.
However, the Sihai Tea House, which had already been sealed off by Xuanyuan Han's order, was now completely empty, with no trace of her remaining.
At this moment, the two walked dejectedly through the vast crowd and bustling streets, completely lost, like two wandering souls.
Suddenly, Mei Zhixuan noticed that the bustling crowd seemed to be surging in one direction.
So she slowed down and followed in Yi Sanshao's footsteps, frowning and asking in confusion, "Has something happened again?"
"Let's go take a look!" Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi immediately stopped and changed direction, squeezing into the crowd.
People were pointing ahead, chattering amongst themselves, seemingly discussing something indiscriminately.
Out of curiosity, Young Master Yi squeezed through a gap, stood on tiptoe, and peered inside. He was instantly stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Mei Zhixuan, who was following closely behind, was surrounded by a huge crowd. Helpless, he could only pat the shoulder of Yi Sanshao, who was peeking through the gaps, and asked anxiously, "What happened? What happened? Did you see anything? What exactly happened?"
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