Dragging along a sudden, unprecedented, extreme pain that swept through her entire body, Yi Shangyun couldn't help but instinctively curl up her body.
He then reached down and pressed his hand tightly against his abdomen, glanced around, and locked onto a corner of the wall that was slightly brighter in the moonlight.
Taking a deep breath and gathering some strength, I stumbled over and pressed myself tightly against the wall to support myself for the time being.
Taking another deep breath, I finally mustered the courage to timidly peer down at myself in the moonlight.
When she saw the bloodstains seeping through her skirt, she was instantly horrified.
Once he came to his senses, he muttered to himself in disbelief, "How could this be?"
In just a short while, her forehead was covered in cold sweat.
There was no time to think it over; she knew her situation was very bad, even extremely critical.
So, he could only laboriously and slowly try to use his other hand to hold onto the wall again, trying to continue moving towards the gate of the Yi Mansion, which was now almost in front of him.
But after taking only a couple of steps, she felt her body shaking more and more violently.
At the same time, due to the increasingly intense pain in her body, she was almost out of strength, and even her cries for help were barely audible, intermittent, as if she was about to be unable to utter them.
"Father……"
"Mother……"
"Yan'er..."
"Help……"
"Help...help me...my child...my child..."
In the pitch-black night, at the deserted alleyway, her home was right in front of her, but pitifully, she cried out to heaven and earth in vain.
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt his legs completely lose strength, and then everything went black before his eyes, and he completely fainted.
Just then, there was a "creak".
Not far away, the gates of the Yi residence were finally opened from the inside.
It turned out that Yan'er had stepped over the threshold and walked down the steps.
She looked carefully towards the alley entrance and said in a puzzled tone, "Strange, it's already so late, why hasn't Miss returned yet?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the head of the family, Yi Shangkun, followed him out and asked, "What? Hasn't Miss returned yet?"
In fact, he had been restless ever since he learned that Yi Shangyun had met with Xuan Yuanhan today.
I have a vague feeling that something is about to happen, and I'm still feeling uneasy and anxious.
Yan'er glanced at him, then shook her head dejectedly.
But then a thought struck her, and she suddenly smiled excitedly, looking at Yi Shangkun's face and saying, "Could it be that His Highness Prince Qin and Miss have finally become a couple? People always say... a day apart feels like three autumns. So, he brought Miss back to Prince Qin's mansion?"
Unexpectedly, Yi Shangkun glared at Yan'er and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
After being scolded, Yan'er immediately calmed down.
Yi Shangkun said softly, "His Highness Qin had no choice but to leave Yun'er in the Qin Prince's residence before, as he only wanted to protect her. But His Highness is not an impolite person. With the wedding imminent, the bride and groom should not meet. If it weren't for..."
Thinking of the trouble Yi Shangyun had caused by the Empress Dowager's arranged marriage, and considering her health condition, Yi Shangkun hesitated again, finally saying only, "In short, His Highness Prince Qin would never do such a thing."
Yan'er seemed to understand but not quite, so she could only lower her head and silently remain silent: "Oh..."
Yi Shangkun was clearly getting more and more anxious, and then he looked around and saw that everything was pitch black and silent.
The darkness before him was so heavy, so oppressive that it seemed to suffocate him, and so overwhelming that it threatened to devour everything in the world. He was suddenly filled with a fear he had never felt before.
So he said to Yan'er, "Go and get a lamp, let's go to the alley entrance and wait for a while."
"oh"
Yan'er agreed, and soon went inside to choose a "Moonlight Over the Sea" gauze lantern before stepping out the door again.
Yi Shangkun turned around and looked.
On the gauze lantern was painted a deep blue sea, with a bright full moon reflected on the shimmering water, its light as delicate as pearls, carrying a light that brought tears to one's eyes.
The distant mountains displayed a rare blue-green hue, as if shrouded in a wisp of misty smoke.
The inscription reads: "The moon shines brightly over the vast sea, pearls seem to weep; the sun warms the fields of Lantian, jade seems to emit smoke."
The lanterns were quite exquisite, which once again shocked Yi Shangkun. He had no idea that Yi Shangyun's painting skills had improved to such a high level.
Yet, in this scene, the painting seems to plunge one into a bottomless abyss, leaving one feeling melancholic and breathless.
Immediately, Yi Shangkun, enraged, scolded Yan'er, "I told you to light the lamp, what are you doing taking this out?"
Yan'er, however, was unconvinced and said with amusement, "Master, you don't know this, but the picture of the bright moon over the sea on this gauze lantern was painted by Miss herself, and the lantern itself was also made by Miss. Miss said that the bright moon over the sea is taken from the story of... 'The bright moon over the sea, pearls with tears'..."
At this point, Yan'er had a sudden thought and asked Yi Shangkun, "By the way, Master, do you know this story? It's from the 'Bo' game... There are some mermaids in the South China Sea... They live in the water... Their tears can form pearls..."
Yi Shangkun looked utterly helpless at the little girl's inexplicable behavior.
Turning around, he walked towards the alley entrance while correcting her, saying, "It's from the 'Record of Diverse Things'... In the South China Sea there are mermaids who live in the water like fish, yet they do not stop weaving, and their eyes can weep pearls."
"Yes, yes, that's it, that's it!" Yan'er said happily, scratching her head.
Then, continuing to look at the gauze lantern in her hand, she said happily, "When Miss comes back later, she will see it from afar and know that Yan'er is waiting for her. Miss will be even happier."
After saying that, she looked up and realized that Yi Shangkun had already walked away alone.
"Master, wait for me!" Yan'er called out as she chased after him.
The master and servant looked around at the alley entrance for a long time, but in the end they found nothing. They saw nothing and waited for nothing.
At this moment, for some reason, another thing came to Yi Shangkun's mind, making him even more afraid: "Judging from the dosage of that medicine, it should be taking effect by now. Yun'er has no experience. What will happen if there is no one around to help her?"
With this thought in mind, I silently prayed in my heart: "God protect me, please don't let anything happen."
Just as he was lost in thought and worry, Yan'er suddenly called out to him from the other side, "Master, come quickly, come and see what this is?"
Yi Shangkun followed the sound and, under the light of the lamp in Yan'er's hand, saw a pool of blood on the ground.
He quickly squatted down, reached over and dabbed some of the bloodstains on the ground, gently wiping them away with his fingers, saying, "The bloodstains haven't dried yet, they're still fresh."
Yan'er thought for a moment and said, "New bloodstains? How could there be bloodstains here? We've been here for a long time and haven't seen anything happen."
As she spoke, Yan'er continued to look around, trying to find some clues.
Yi Shangkun also stood up and carefully looked around.
A moment later, Yan'er, clutching a white silk handkerchief embroidered with the character "cloud" tightly in her hand, walked up to Yi Shangkun, stared blankly at him, and said, "Master..."
Yi Shangkun took the handkerchief, and upon seeing the familiar texture, handwriting, and embroidery, he looked at Yan'er in surprise and said, "This is..."
Yan'er's eyes filled with tears as she said sadly, "This is a silk handkerchief that only Miss has. I specially chose it for Miss to wear today. It was because of this same silk handkerchief that His Highness Prince Qin was able to find Miss again."
Immediately afterwards, Yan'er looked around nervously and said with absolute certainty, "Miss must have already returned."
At this thought, Yan'er, though reluctant, couldn't help but say with great worry, "Could this bloodstain be...is..."
Yi Shangkun glanced at the silk handkerchief in his hand, then at the bloodstains on the ground, and a terrible premonition rose in his heart: "Oh no, could it really be..."
With this thought in mind, Yi Shangkun hurriedly instructed Yan'er: "Yan'er, hurry to the Prince of Qin's mansion."
"To the Prince of Qin's residence?"
"Now?"
"But……"
Yan'er asked repeatedly, puzzled.
As Yi Shangkun hurried back, he interrupted Yan'er's thoughts: "Stop saying 'but'! Something has happened to Miss."
"What? Miss... Miss is in trouble... What happened to Miss?" In an instant, Yan'er asked, still confused, as she chased after Yi Shangkun.
That night, at the Prince of Qin's residence.
In Lin Yuexuan, Xuan Yuanhan locked himself up after returning to the mansion.
A person sat at a table, holding a cup of tea to his lips, but hesitated to take a sip.
She has been staring blankly into space until now, only occasionally letting out a smile as she revels in her meeting with Yi Shangyun today.
For some reason, a sudden pain shot through his chest, and he couldn't help but groan. At that moment, he finally came to his senses.
Seeing that it was getting late, he got up and prepared to change his clothes and go to bed.
A guard hurried in and reported, "Your Highness, someone from the Yi Mansion in the west of the city has arrived."
Upon seeing Xuan Yuanhan appear, Yi Shangkun, who was waiting outside the hall, quickly clasped his hands in a salute: "Greetings, Your Highness, Prince Qin. I have come to visit you so late at night because of my daughter..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Han's eyes widened and he blurted out, "But she's already..."
Yi Shangkun gritted his teeth and said first, "Your Highness, my daughter... has disappeared."
Xuanyuan Han was immediately shocked and exclaimed, "What? It's gone?"
Then, recalling the events, he hurriedly said, "Didn't I personally send her back?"
After a moment's thought, Yi Shangkun quickly pressed on, "Did Your Highness personally see her enter the house?"
Xuanyuan Han was now filled with remorse, saying, "I originally wanted to see her enter before I felt at ease. But she insisted on going in by herself and wanted to see me leave first, so..."
Yi Shangkun added, "A pool of blood was found in the alley in front of the door; it must have already..."
The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.
"Guards! Search the entire city immediately, tonight, and find the Princess Consort for me! Quickly!"
Suddenly, a command was given, which instantly reverberated throughout the entire hall.
No matter how dark and long the night, it will eventually pass, and the dawn will always arrive as promised, chasing after us all the way.
Where am I?
What's wrong with me?
"My head hurts so much..."
"My body felt completely drained..."
"It seems like I have absolutely no strength left..."
"What exactly happened?"
When Yi Shangyun opened her eyes again, three days had already passed.
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