Across the river from the entrance of Wanjiao Pavilion, an elegantly built restaurant called "Xiangmanlou" wafts out a tempting aroma of food and wine.
On the walls of the restaurant, the vigorous inscriptions record the restaurant's glorious past.
Inside the restaurant, the waiters carried dishes and drinks swiftly between the tables, busy as spinning tops.
The restaurant has three floors. At this moment, in a quiet private room on the top floor, Xuan Yuanhan had just finished his dinner alone. The hot tea being brewed in front of him was bubbling happily. He watched it intently for a while, then took a sip of the fragrant tea in his hand, and then turned his head to look out the window at the entrance of Wanjiao Pavilion across the street.
Outside the window, the distant night was still a deep, quiet darkness in the cold winter, while it seemed that only the street in front of me was filled with bright lights, extravagance, debauchery, and decadence.
Looking at the extremely extravagant scene before him, a look of extreme displeasure seemed to appear on Xuan Yuanhan's face, but because he was naturally cold-looking, it was not easy for others to notice.
Suddenly, Cheng Liang quietly lifted the curtain and entered. He paused briefly to observe his master's expression before cautiously reporting, "Your Highness, I have searched the entire Wanjiao Pavilion but have not found Miss Yi... Could it be that she is still on her way and has not yet arrived at Wanjiao Pavilion?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's deep eyes remained fixed on the entrance of Wanjiao Pavilion, as if he were still immersed in the sorrow he had just experienced.
After a moment of silence, he finally let out a sigh of relief, as if a heart that had been hanging in suspense had finally found a place to rest.
After regaining his composure, he coldly asked, "Is everything in place?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of a man and a woman walking out of Wanjiao Pavilion, who seemed rather unusual.
So he looked out the window again. He saw a thin, frail man with a veil being dragged along by a woman in front of him, but his figure and the way he walked looked exactly like a delicate woman.
"Your Highness, rest assured, once they enter or leave Wanjiao Pavilion, I guarantee they will have no chance of escaping," Cheng Liang replied confidently.
However, Xuan Yuanhan's gaze remained fixed on the man downstairs who resembled a woman. Upon hearing Cheng Liang's words, he pondered for a moment and said, "What if they don't take the open route but instead use a covert strategy?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was immediately startled and asked, "Your Highness means they have a secret passage?"
Finally, seeing the man and woman gradually disappear into the night, Xuan Yuanhan withdrew his gaze, exhaled a breath of stale air, put down his teacup, but said nothing.
Cheng Liang suddenly had a bad feeling, as if he had really underestimated his enemy and was afraid that he had already made a big mistake. So he quickly bowed and apologized, saying, "This subordinate deserves to die. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Xuanyuan Han ignored him and said worriedly, "There must be some hidden secret in Wanjiao Pavilion. We must find out. Moreover, with Yu Niang's sudden disappearance, I'm afraid she has already exposed her relationship with the Prince of Qin's mansion. I'm afraid they are about to take action."
"I will go back to Wanjiao Pavilion now and thoroughly investigate every nook and cranny." Upon hearing his master's instructions, Cheng Liang turned around and hurriedly left.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he stopped and turned back, seemingly hesitant to speak. But finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, there is something I don't know whether I should say... Just now, when I was looking for Miss Yi in Wanjiao Pavilion, I encountered Young Master Yi. Your Highness would never have imagined that he was caught red-handed having an affair with a girl from Wanjiao Pavilion in his room. Even the girl was still hiding on the bed and hadn't had time to leave."
Cheng Liang's last words were filled with surprise and smugness.
Upon hearing the name "Young Master Yi," Xuan Yuanhan's eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately recalled the veiled man who appeared to be a woman downstairs, and instantly stood up abruptly, raising his previously lowered eyes. He sternly rebuked him, "What? Young Master Yi is also at Wanjiao Pavilion? Why didn't you say so earlier? How could he possibly go to a place like that? It must be..."
Xuanyuan Han spoke angrily, then hesitated, as if he already had doubts. Suddenly, he felt uneasy and became even more worried.
Cheng Liang was taken aback by his master's sudden outburst, wondering why Xuan Yuanhan was so angry. He frowned and asked in a low voice, "I thought this was just a little-known hobby of that Third Young Master Yi. If it weren't for his persistent pursuit of Miss Yi, I'm afraid I wouldn't have told Your Highness such a thing."
"Did you see the woman in his room with your own eyes?" Xuan Yuanhan asked anxiously, ignoring his explanation.
Cheng Liang shook his head. "At the time, I was too surprised by what Young Master Yi did, so I neglected the woman on the bed in the inner room. I only saw her hiding in the light gauze curtain, wrapped up tightly, but I did not go in to check her in detail."
Xuanyuan Han frowned immediately and glared at him fiercely. Cheng Liang, unaware of his meaning, immediately became flustered and timidly asked, "Does Your Highness think there is something wrong with that woman?"
Xuanyuan Han suppressed his anger and coldly asked, "Do you know who the woman in his room was just now?"
Cheng Liang pondered for a moment, then seemed to suddenly realize something and exclaimed, "Does Your Highness suspect that the woman hiding on the bed in Young Master Yi's room just now was Miss Yi?... But that doesn't make sense. Young Master Yi was completely naked just now, only wearing his underwear. How could Miss Yi be such a wanton and frivolous woman?"
"What? Young Master Yi really did that?" Xuan Yuanhan was shocked upon hearing Cheng Liang's words.
Cheng Liang seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing again, so he looked at Xuan Yuanhan with a look of astonishment and nodded to him.
Xuanyuan Han immediately clenched his fists tightly, making a cracking sound, and his angry eyes seemed to unleash a thousand sharp swords.
After a moment's hesitation, he came to his senses and said to Cheng Liang, "Just now, while we were talking, I saw a man and a woman walk out of Wanjiao Pavilion. The man was also wearing a veil, but his figure and the way he walked clearly indicated that he was a woman..."
Before Xuan Yuanhan could finish speaking, Cheng Liang interrupted, "If what Your Highness says is true, and the woman that Young Master Yi was trying so hard to conceal in Wanjiao Pavilion was indeed Miss Yi, then the man Your Highness saw downstairs must have been Miss Yi in disguise. Miss Yi actually arrived at Wanjiao Pavilion long ago, and was taken away right under my nose. Who is the woman who took her away? Where are they going?"
After Cheng Liang finished speaking, he was immediately startled by his own conjecture, as if he had suddenly discovered that the conspiracy hidden in this matter was getting deeper and deeper.
As Xuanyuan Han listened, he also wore a long, thoughtful expression.
No one could have imagined that this missed opportunity with Yi Shangyun would have such dire consequences.
"Lanxiang, let go! Let go! Where are you taking me?" Yi Shangyun struggled and shouted desperately, trying to break free from Lanxiang's strong grip.
But at this moment, Lanxiang dragged her along at breakneck speed, and this amazing strength made her begin to wonder if Lanxiang had ever practiced martial arts.
As Lanxiang dragged Yi Shangyun along, the area grew darker and more desolate. Yi Shangyun felt a chill run down her spine. She struggled and cried out while glancing around in fear.
Ran Lanxiang just held her hand tightly and kept her head down, ignoring her completely and not responding to her at all.
Just now in Wanjiao Pavilion, Lanxiang saw Yi Junhao present and whispered to Yi Shangyun that if she wanted to know the whereabouts of Yu Niang, she had to go with her to a place alone. But where exactly is this place? Why is it that after leaving Wanjiao Pavilion, we have walked through so many streets and still haven't seen Yu Niang at all?
Yi Shangyun has always had a terrible sense of direction. In the 21st century, she never bothers to remember the way when she's with someone.
Moreover, she had absolutely no sense of caution towards a pitiful woman like Lanxiang, who was trapped in a brothel against her will.
But now, she was truly afraid.
This is in a strange time and place a thousand years ago. There are no personal tracking systems, no phones to call the police, no police officers patrolling the streets, and most importantly, no one cares whether she lives or dies...
At this moment, the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. Gathering all her strength, she gritted her teeth, sat down heavily on the ground, and angrily shouted at Lanxiang, "Lanxiang, who exactly are you? You went to great lengths to lure me out of Wanjiao Pavilion alone. What is your intention? You must explain yourself right now, or I will not go with you anymore."
Lanxiang was forced to stop her hurried steps, looking on with disbelief, but she continued to coax, "Do you still want to find Yu Niang?"
Yi Shangyun snorted coldly and continued to ignore her.
Left with no other choice, she carefully took out a pink sachet from her person, which she seemed to treasure very much, and handed it to her. The sachet emitted a faint fragrance of tea.
"What is this?" Yi Shangyun looked at it and asked it impatiently as she slowly reached out and took it.
But in an instant, she was stunned by the sachet.
On the sachet were embroidered the four characters "Yu Niang" and "Lan Xiang," surrounded by two delicate magnolia blossoms in full bloom, attracting a pair of butterflies to flutter around them.
Yi Shangyun exclaimed in surprise, "Did Yu Niang make this for you?"
Lanxiang nodded to her, her brows furrowing slightly. "This sachet was originally a pair, one for me and one for Yuniang."
Holding the sachet, Yi Shangyun was so moved that her eyes suddenly filled with tears, perhaps because she had finally seen a glimmer of hope.
After a moment of silence, she sniffed, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and finally slowly stood up from the cold ground. She questioned Lanxiang, "Where is Yu Niang? Since you two are so close, you must know many things about her. Why are you acting so mysteriously now… Has something happened to her?"
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun guessed...
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