Seeing the questioning look his master gave him after hearing his words, Cheng Liang lowered his head and dared not look at him again. He said, "I heard that when the civil and military officials in front of the Dongning Kingdom were struggling with whether Princess Yongning should go to marry into the Kingdom to ease the relationship between Dongning and Nan'an or become the ruler of Dongning, Yi San Shao declared in the hall that he was willing to marry into the Dongning Kingdom to help Princess Yongning become the ruler and marry the crown prince of Nan'an. However, Princess Yongning refused on the spot."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan narrowed his eyes, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowing tightly. He was filled with doubt: "What is this woman doing? She gave me what is most precious to a woman, yet she rejected me so heartlessly. She claims to be so vain, but now that the King of Dongning has passed away, she could rightfully become the new King of Dongning, and even the most noble woman on this continent, getting whatever she wants. How could she so easily hand it over to someone else?"
At this thought, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and looked up at Cheng Liang anxiously, asking, "Is it that the Third Prince, Mei Zhixuan, forced her to abdicate?"
Cheng Liang shook his head and said, "According to the news, Mei Zhixuan did not force her. It seems that even Mei Zhixuan himself was quite surprised by this! It is said that on that day in the court, when Princess Yongning faced the Empress's strong coercion, she remained extremely calm and composed from beginning to end, neither humble nor arrogant, which was particularly admirable! Because of this, the ministers praised her highly, saying that she was indeed no different from the late King of Dongning in terms of temperament and majesty, and was truly the best candidate for the new king."
Just as the two were each lost in their own thoughts, Consort Chun, who had been silently listening to their conversation, finally spoke up, pretending to know nothing and asking, "What are you talking about, Princess Yongning? And who is this Princess Yongning?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang then turned to the direction of the Dowager Consort Chun and explained, "Your Highness, Princess Yongning is the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom who was lost in our Western Qin when she was young. She is also the one who caused His Highness to become the person he is today..."
Consort Chun had known about Yi Shangyun's background and existence as soon as she returned to the manor. She just wanted to see how Xuan Yuanhan would react to her. Suddenly, she noticed Consort Chun secretly giving her a wink. Cheng Liang was pondering this when Xuan Yuanhan suddenly shouted to stop him, "Cheng Liang, stop talking nonsense!"
Cheng Liang quickly shut up.
As a mother, she knows her son's character better than anyone. Although she missed many years of his growth, the composure and calmness he possessed even as a child are still clearly visible in Xuan Yuanhan today.
At this moment, seeing that he was unusually agitated and lost his composure, Consort Chun was taken aback and realized that he was probably just as she had guessed.
So she pretended to be surprised and looked at his profile, asking, "The Princess Yongning you just mentioned, is it the Princess Yongning of Dongning Kingdom that's being talked about everywhere, the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom who is about to become the first female ruler of Lingkong Continent, Princess Yongning, right?"
After being reprimanded, Cheng Liang dared not speak casually again. Left with no choice, Xuan Yuanhan could only nod in agreement.
Unexpectedly, Consort Chun then blurted out, "What? My son, have you really taken a fancy to that princess from the enemy country?"
She knew she should hate someone who had used her so skillfully, but upon hearing the news from Cheng Liang, she suddenly couldn't bring herself to hate her at all.
Then he thought about everything he had done for her in the past, all the bitter and sweet memories, but in the end, they were all defeated by her final, resolute and ruthless words to him.
Perhaps he was truly tired. Xuan Yuanhan seemed unwilling to speculate on her true intentions, nor did he want to bring it up again or say anything more. He simply said in a low voice, "Mother, the past is the past."
Seeing his tired face, Consort Chun felt truly sorry for him and did not want to ask any more questions. So she stood up and said, "Now that I have returned, I will definitely choose a virtuous, beautiful, and intelligent woman for you to be the Princess Consort of Qin! With me here, I want to see what that woman in the palace can do to us."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly came to his senses, turned around to look into Consort Chun's eyes, raised a faint smile, and comforted her, saying, "Everything is up to Mother Consort to decide!"
At this moment, Cheng Liang finally felt relieved. Seeing the affection between the mother and son, he was about to quietly slip away.
As soon as he turned around, Xuan Yuanhan called out to him, "What are you going to do?"
Cheng Liangdun suddenly turned back, lowered his eyes and reported: "The plague is raging, and I will immediately arrange for epidemic prevention measures in our cities near Longhu City."
Xuanyuan Han thought for a moment, then turned his head and suddenly ordered, "No need. Give the order, and I will set off immediately to personally inspect the eastern border!"
Cheng Liangdun raised his eyes and said to him in astonishment, "But our country has not yet discovered any cases of the epidemic, so there is no need for Your Highness to personally supervise the epidemic prevention!"
Xuanyuan Han remained silent and did not answer him. Cheng Liang was unaware, but Consort Chun instantly understood. Clearly, her words just a moment ago about personally selecting the best candidate for Princess Qin had been in vain.
This son, on the surface, seemed to hate Yi Shangyun to the core, but in reality, he never gave up on her for even a moment; he could never let her go.
Saying he was personally supervising the epidemic prevention efforts was just a pretext to worry about the woman's safety.
Well then, one can't force their children to do what they want. As for the rumored princess of Dongning Kingdom, her character is indeed noble. Such an amazing woman, who dares to act and take responsibility, who dares to love and hate, and what she has done, has impressed her and she wants to see her for herself.
Although she was just a princess of an enemy country, what could she do if her son liked her? She should trust that Xuanyuan Han could handle everything; he was fully capable of it.
But the thought of going to the epidemic area made him quite worried, even though protecting the people of the city was his responsibility. So he frowned and asked hesitantly, "Does my son really have to go?"
Xuanyuan Han slowly reached out and took Consort Chun's two hands, holding them tightly. He smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry. Your son promises that I will return to your side safely."
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Cheng Liang had no choice but to quietly retreat and quickly make arrangements according to his instructions.
Dongning Kingdom, Dragon Tiger City.
The city gates were locked, and the gates of all the shops and houses were tightly shut.
There wasn't a single dog or cat to be seen on the streets, in the city's suburbs, or even on country roads.
It was springtime, a time when everything was reviving, the sun was shining brightly, and everywhere was full of vitality, but here, the wind was cold and the scene was desolate and lifeless.
For the past few days, ever since they stepped into the gates of Longhu City, Mei Zhixuan and Yi Shangyun have been working tirelessly, leading their people to investigate the epidemic situation throughout the city.
The epidemic spread much faster than they had originally imagined, and Yi Shangyun immediately ordered all infected people to be concentrated in a temple in the mountains, where they would be cared for by the monks of the temple and medical staff who volunteered from nearby cities.
After many days, the spread of the epidemic was finally brought under control, but the number of deaths per day continued to rise.
Just then, the two of them, along with their guards, had inspected the city's natural environment and seemed to have discovered something. Yi Shangyun returned to the house, gulped down a glass of water, and said to Mei Zhixuan, who was sitting to the side and was equally exhausted, "It seems that the epidemic that occurred in Longhu City is actually because winter came much later here this year than in other places, which is why it broke out at this time."
“That must be it!” Mei Zhixuan agreed with her opinion.
Seeing that he looked exhausted, Yi Shangyun wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth, picked up the kettle, poured another cup of water, and handed it to him.
Mei Zhixuan took it in one gulp, as if drinking from a sweet spring.
Yi Shangyun sat down and asked hesitantly, "Are you... alright?"
"Why do you ask that?" Mei Zhixuan looked at her in confusion and asked.
Yi Shangyun thought for a moment and said, "You must have never encountered so many scenes of life and death since you were a child, right?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan silently looked back thoughtfully, without answering her.
The two sat in silence for a while. Yi Shangyun took a deep breath and then spoke again: "Alright, for many days now, you have witnessed firsthand the dire straits your people are in. With such a profound experience and understanding, you will surely be more compassionate and less bloodthirsty in handling state affairs in the future. You must understand that you are the ruler of a nation; with a stroke of your vermilion pen, countless lives are at stake. This is why I asked you to accompany me this time. Now that the purpose has been achieved, the court awaits you. You should immediately set off back to Dongning!"
Mei Zhixuan suddenly realized why Yi Shangyun had changed his mind before leaving and insisted that he accompany him. Hearing this, he suddenly felt a deep respect for him, but also said with concern, "But the epidemic here is still very serious. It is not appropriate for you to stay here alone."
Yi Shangyun said with righteous indignation: "The fate of the nation rests on the people. When the people are at peace, the nation is at peace; when the people are strong, the nation is strong. If sacrificing myself can bring eternal peace to countless people of Dongning, I am willing!"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan was filled with shame: "Royal sister, I, your brother, am truly inferior to you..."
Yi Shangyun thought to himself, "Father, when you bestowed the title of Yongning upon your son, you must have thought the same thing, right?!"
Mei Zhixuan slowly rose and addressed the open space outside the door, saying, "Royal sister, this place is extremely close to the border of Western Qin. You publicly humiliated the King of Qin so severely earlier; he is known for his vengeful nature and will surely hold a grudge against you. If he knew you were here, I fear..."
You really need to be extra careful!
Yi Shangyun exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "What is meant to be will be. What is destined to come will come sooner or later. Your Majesty, you must always remember your responsibilities and be a wise ruler."
Mei Zhixuan stood there for a moment, about to leave, when Yi Shangyun added, "Also, treat Yue'er well!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com