"Young master's music is far too mournful!" As the music ended, the maid Qiaolan, who was standing to the side, seemed to feel her mood suddenly become heavy, and she said in a low voice.
However, Yi Shangyun just stared blankly at what was in front of her, looking pitiful, as if she hadn't heard what she was saying at all, as if she was still deeply immersed in her own thoughts.
Qiaolan looked at her with a mixture of sadness and pity, but in the end, she could only shake her head helplessly and let out a long sigh.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells..."
Just then, a familiar and melodious bell sound rang out, gradually approaching and reaching their ears.
Qiaolan and Qiaohui looked up in surprise in the direction from which the sound came.
Qiaohui, quick-witted and agile, immediately raised her face with joy and exclaimed, "Oh, it's you! Why are you back again!"
Upon seeing the same adorable, fluffy white kitten return, perhaps unable to contain her love and excitement, she rushed over, bent down, and scooped it up in her arms, kissing and stroking it with great joy!
Just as Qiaohui was completely carried away with her triumph and was only focused on teasing Xiaomi, Qiaolan looked up and caught sight of a distinguished figure stepping through the door. She was so surprised that she knelt down and kowtowed to him, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing the voice, Qiaohui was startled and exclaimed, "Your Majesty..." She abruptly stopped what she was doing, quickly wiped the smile off her face, and hurriedly turned around to look at the person who had come in.
Then she knelt down heavily with a thud, and said in a flustered manner, "This servant, this servant greets Your Majesty!"
"Get up, all of you!" Qi Liao Xuan Yuan Yue's face had been beaming with smiles ever since she entered the door, without the slightest hint of blame or displeasure.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Qiaolan and Qiaohui said as they got up.
Xuanyuan Yue immediately spotted the elegant young man in a blue and white brocade robe, with his black hair tied up, standing behind Qiaolan in the pavilion.
He glanced at the guqin placed in front of him and knew that the man was still immersed in his own inner world and could not extricate himself.
Looking at his thin profile, Xuan Yuan Yue felt a surge of joy and said, "This young master must be my benefactor!"
Upon hearing this, Qiaolan and Qiaohui exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise. They paused for a moment, then exclaimed in unison, "Our benefactor?"
Xuan Yuan Yue smiled at them and said, "Isn't that right? If this young master hadn't intervened in time to save Xiaomi and detoxify it that day, Xiaomi would probably already be..."
Qiaolan and Qiaohui suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right, our benefactor is indeed our benefactor!"
After saying that, Xuan Yuan Yue looked at Yi Shang Yun again, but seeing that he still did not react, she continued to sincerely say in his direction: "I should have come to thank you in person a long time ago for your great kindness, but I was delayed by some things. I hope you can forgive me."
At this point, everyone's gaze fell upon Yi Shangyun in the pavilion, but Yi Shangyun remained sitting steadily to the side, motionless, as if she had not heard anything about what was happening around her.
A moment later, Xuan Yuan Yue was puzzled and was about to speak again when she saw her suddenly lift the hem of her robe and slowly stand up, then slowly turn her face and whole body towards her.
Xuanyuan Yue stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the familiar face, as if her heart had stopped beating for a moment.
She thought to herself, "This young master? His face, how could his face be so familiar, so similar, so similar to... How could this be? This is impossible, absolutely impossible! Impossible..."
Just as she was struggling with this dilemma, her equally astonished maid, Jinlan, whispered in her ear, her voice trailing off, "Your Highness, he isn't..."
But Yi Shangyun, who was also staring at her at that moment, was equally astonished: "How could it be her? Your Highness, the Third Prince..."
He quickly sorted through his thoughts and suddenly realized: "Indeed, she really got what she wanted and married Mei Zhixuan, the third prince of Dongning Kingdom, whom she had always longed for?"
In an instant, all the little things that had happened between them in the past surged up in their hearts.
Two close friends who were once as close as sisters and shared such a sincere and beautiful friendship met again in a foreign land thousands of miles away.
For a moment, it seemed as if even the surrounding air had come to a standstill.
Inside and outside the pavilion, the two stood silently facing each other, neither of them speaking.
Perhaps this unexpected encounter came too suddenly, and I don't know where to begin.
Perhaps it was because there was so much they wanted to say at that moment, and the thousands of words that existed in their hearts seemed to be reflected in each other's eyes.
"Long time no see, are you doing well and worry-free?" Both of them silently asked each other the same question in their hearts, and it seemed that a few crystal tears were glistening in the corners of their eyes, not easily noticed by others.
They stared at each other silently for what seemed like an eternity before Yi Shangyun finally gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and suppressed the overwhelming helplessness, love and hate, impulse and reason within her heart.
He stepped out of the pavilion and approached Xuan Yuan Yue. Mimicking the man's movements, he slowly clasped his hands, lowered his eyes, and bowed, speaking first as he greeted her, "This humble subject greets Your Majesty!"
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly came to her senses, exclaiming in surprise, "This humble subject...you...you don't recognize me...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun hurriedly interrupted him, saying, "This humble subject is meeting Your Majesty for the first time and has failed to greet you properly. If there has been any rudeness, please forgive me!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue stared at him in astonishment.
The person before her was quiet and slender, clearly a woman disguised as a man. She was already tired of this kind of trick back in the Western Qin palace. Therefore, it couldn't fool her sharp eyes at all.
As he was pondering this, his maid Jinlan angrily stepped forward, pointed a finger at Yi Shangyun's face, and tried to expose him, saying, "You are clearly from the Yi Pharmacist's mansion..."
Xuanyuan Yue immediately rebuked her, "Jinlan, step back! Do not be rude!"
Jinlan pouted, extremely unwilling, and said, "Your Majesty, he is clearly..."
Xuan Yuan Yue glared at her again and said, "Shut up now!"
Left with no other choice, Jinlan bowed and withdrew, reluctantly saying, "Yes!"
Xuan Yuan Yue composed herself, which was still somewhat disordered, and tried to put on a faint smile again. She said apologetically, "Please don't be offended, benefactor. It's just that your appearance is very similar to that of a very good friend of mine from my time in the Western Qin Kingdom. That's why I was a little emotional just now. Please forgive me if I offended you!"
Yi Shangyun slowly straightened up, still feigning composure, and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. This humble subject is deeply grateful for the Third Prince's kindness in not abandoning me. My family has fallen on hard times, and it is already a great fortune that I can take refuge here temporarily. I have troubled Your Majesty in the past, and it is this humble subject who should ask for Your Majesty's forgiveness! How could I dare to ask Your Majesty to address me as 'benefactor'? It would be too much of an honor for this humble subject!"
Xuan Yuan Yue replied politely, "My benefactor, there's no need to be so polite. Please feel free to stay here. If you need anything in the future, just let Qiao Lan and Qiao Hui know."
Yi Shangyun thanked her and said, "In that case, I will trouble Your Highness!"
Xuanyuan Yue smiled, then called out loudly, "Someone, bring up all the gifts of gratitude!"
Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so maids filed in before the crowd, each carrying a wooden tray of varying sizes covered with red silk cloth, which looked quite mysterious. The maids stepped forward and stood in a row.
Xuanyuan Yue personally walked over and lifted their veils one by one, saying, "Here are a thousand taels of gold and silver, two sets of the Four Treasures of the Study, ten antique ornaments, ten pieces of fine jade, ten brocade robes, ten folding fans, three famous paintings, two guqin... I hope my benefactor will accept them!"
Yi Shangyun was taken aback for a moment when he saw the generous gift before him, and then said, "Please take all these worldly possessions back to the palace, Your Majesty. This humble subject really has no need for them!"
"In that case, perhaps that's all that's left..." Xuan Yuan Yue seemed to have already suspected this outcome, and suddenly an idea popped into her mind. So she summoned again, "Someone come here!"
Yi Shangyun had no idea what precious treasures she was going to bring out next, so he quickly declined, saying, "Your Majesty, why do you have to do this? This humble subject really doesn't need these precious items. This humble subject is unworthy of them, this humble subject..."
However, when Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly ripped open the red silk cloth, revealing something quite familiar underneath, he stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
It turned out that what was in the wooden tray this time was not some rare treasure, but a stack of Xuan paper.
"This isn't, this isn't..."
Yi Shangyun stared blankly as she slowly walked towards Xuan Yuan Yue. When she reached Xuan Yuan Yue's side, she tremblingly reached out and picked up the thick stack of Xuan paper, whispering, "No matter where you are in the world, my heart will always be with Yue!"
At the same time, Xuanyuan Yue followed her and recited together: "To the ends of the earth, my heart will always be with you, Yue!"
Suddenly, a pang of sadness struck her heart. Recalling all the past events, both happy and unhappy, Xuan Yuan Yue couldn't hold back any longer, and tears silently streamed down her face.
However, after a long while, Yi Shangyun still pretended to be puzzled and asked, "This humble subject does not understand, what does Your Majesty mean?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue wanted to say something more: "Have you forgotten that this is our last..."
However, upon seeing the coldness and indifference in his eyes, she suddenly stopped speaking and remained motionless for a long time before finally managing a bitter smile.
My heart felt utterly chilled at that moment. The laughter abruptly stopped, and then he said with a serious expression, "Jinlan, return to the palace..."
Once outside, Jinlan was completely baffled and couldn't help but ask, "Princess, why won't she acknowledge us? Those are the words you practice so many times every day, the last words she gave you when she left the palace! Has she forgotten them all?"
"Jinlan, come for a walk with me." Xuanyuan Yue didn't want to think about it anymore and was eager to pull her mind out of the chaos.
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