When Xuanyuan Han and his servant Cheng Liang hurried to the gate of Yanfu Temple, the place had already returned to its usual tranquility.
Unlike before, every gate, big or small, of the temple was now guarded by many menacing-looking guards.
People occasionally passed by and whispered a few words about it.
"The person who was just taken away is said to be Consort Chun."
"Thank God, Consort Chun is still alive."
"It seems the Qin Prince's mansion was not destined to perish!"
"If only His Highness the King of Qin were alive!"
"But so much time has passed, His Highness is probably in grave danger."
...
The guards heard this and stepped forward to reprimand him.
"Dare to spout nonsense here, or you'll be dealt with along with them!"
The group of people were so frightened that they hurriedly fled.
Every person coming in and out had to undergo their careful inspection.
Xuanyuan Han gritted his teeth, thinking that there was clearly no chance for the two of them to sneak in and gather information.
Xuanyuan Han was extremely annoyed at this moment, so he slammed his fist heavily on the wall: "Even the most careful plans can have one oversight. In the end, we were still a step too late!"
Cheng Liangchao carefully examined the guards for a long time before suddenly speaking up: "I recognize these guards. They are not the Empress Dowager's men, but rather a newly recruited Imperial Guard unit of the Emperor. It seems that the person who took away the Imperial Concubine this time must be the Emperor himself!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly recalled some things that Cheng Liang had told him after returning to China.
He initially thought that after their final farewell, Yi Shangyun had returned to her own world.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Jing discovered her identity as a guardian, and she fell into his hands, being imprisoned in the palace.
He thought that having a guardian meant he had victory in his grasp.
He thought the whole world was about to become his, but to his utter surprise, she escaped.
Therefore, Emperor Jing's current situation is undoubtedly no different from that of a trapped beast.
He knew that if they relied solely on their own strength, he would be no match for Dong Ning. But if he could find Yi Shangyun's weakness, things might change!
Upon realizing this, his thick, sword-like eyebrows furrowed tightly, and he suddenly became anxious and agitated.
"No, absolutely not!"
"I will not allow his treacherous scheme to succeed!"
"I cannot let him use my mother to threaten Yun'er, nor can I allow my mother to be in any further danger. I must go to the palace now to rescue my mother."
Seeing that he had finished speaking and was about to start walking, Cheng Liang, who was unaware of what was going on, quickly chased after him and stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, you must not. It is precisely at times like these that Your Highness must remain calm."
Looking at the current situation: "Now that His Majesty has discovered that the Empress Dowager has not passed away, perhaps he has also begun to suspect Your Highness! Otherwise, he would not have laid such a trap here."
"This is very likely another scheme he has devised, trying to lure His Highness into a trap by using the Empress. If His Highness really goes, wouldn't he just fall into the trap?"
Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanhan had lost his temper and turned around to shout angrily at Cheng Liang.
How can I remain calm?
"I have nothing left now."
"I have already lost Yun'er, how can I lose my mother as well?"
"But what's even more terrifying is..."
“What’s even more terrifying is…”
"If he were to use Mother Consort to blackmail Yun'er, the consequences would be..."
"In short, I will not allow any of this to happen."
It turns out that during these days, although he seemed to have let go on the surface, he had never forgotten Yi Shangyun in the slightest.
“Your Highness, I know you are reluctant to part with the Princess Consort. But if you act alone and something happens to you, wouldn't that be letting down the Princess Consort’s good intentions…”
In his haste, Cheng Liang almost let something slip, so he quickly shut up.
"Hmph..." Xuan Yuanhan sneered.
"Will she still care about me?"
"I only regret that I could have forgotten her?"
"She is my life, how could I have forgotten her?"
"He even said to her face that he wanted to marry other women."
"I must have broken her heart."
"A heartless man like me probably doesn't deserve to live anymore."
"How can I continue to drag her down with me?"
"All of this..."
"It's all my fault. I failed to protect her, which led her to this point..."
"But this time, I will definitely protect her!"
Even until the very end...
"Let everything perish!"
"Total destruction, what do you mean by 'total destruction'?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang suddenly realized that Xuan Yuanhan seemed to be making a decision in his heart, so he asked, "Your Highness, what do you want to do?"
Xuanyuan Han suddenly stopped talking.
Cheng Liang said anxiously, "No, in fact, it's not what Your Highness thinks..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Han said in a deep voice, "My mind is made up, there's no need to persuade me any further!"
Cheng Liang was so shocked that he didn't know what to do. He could only kneel down with a thud and say, "Your Highness, you mustn't! Now is not the best time. We only have this one last chance. I hope Your Highness will put the well-being of the people first!"
Xuanyuan Han still did not respond to him.
Cheng Liang refused to give up, and could not give up, so he continued to plead with him, saying, "Your Highness..."
This time, however, Xuanyuan Han turned his head and walked away alone without looking back.
Cheng Liang was extremely anxious, muttering to himself.
"what to do?"
"what to do?"
What should we do now?
Seeing that she had no other options and could not dissuade him.
"Given the current situation, it's no surprise that the palace has laid a trap for His Highness. If he enters the palace alone, it would be tantamount to throwing his life away."
"The only one who can stop His Highness now is..."
"only……"
"That's right!"
"Never mind, now's the time!"
As he said this, Cheng Liang suddenly raised his voice towards his back and said, "Your Highness, look at this!"
Having made up his mind, Xuan Yuanhan did not turn back.
Cheng Liang pleaded once more, "Your Highness, just one look, just one look, just one look..."
After turning his back to him and thinking silently for a while, Xuan Yuanhan finally turned around and glanced at him.
But the dazzling sapphire blue sachet that Cheng Liangzheng was holding up with both hands stunned them instantly.
He then turned around and quickly walked back to him, taking the item from Cheng Liang's hand with trembling hands.
Faced with the fact that the thing he had been longing for day and night for so long had suddenly been regained and appeared before his eyes, he was astonished.
He held it tightly in his hand, so excited that he could hardly speak.
"this……"
"This is……"
"How did this sachet end up with you?"
"That day, she wasn't so heartless as to treat it like that..."
Cheng Liang explained, "In fact, the Princess Consort did not throw this sachet into the pool at Guanyin Temple that day."
Xuanyuan Han was completely baffled.
"so……"
"What exactly is going on?"
Cheng Liang stammered, "This subordinate believes that, in reality, Her Highness the Princess is simply conflicted because she possesses memories of two lifetimes. She's conflicted about that man named Wei Mingxuan, and with His Highness..."
Upon hearing Cheng Liang's words, Xuan Yuanhan clutched the sachet tightly, his eyes blazing with hope: "So, she actually has feelings for me, doesn't she?"
Cheng Liang nodded.
Unexpectedly, for some reason, Xuanyuan Han suddenly strode forward.
Cheng Liang hurriedly chased after him: "Your Highness, where are you going?"
But then Xuanyuan Han finally roused himself and said, "Enter the palace!"
As Cheng Liang followed, he said with a pained expression, "Why does Your Highness still insist on going to the palace?"
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Heading westward without even closing his eyes, Yi Shangyun rushed to the gate of the Qin King's Mansion as soon as he arrived at the Western Qin Imperial City.
Yan'er helped him down from the carriage.
Looking up, the once majestic and imposing gate was now tightly closed, with the imperial seal still affixed to it.
Looking at everything that was once so familiar before her, Yi Shangyun couldn't believe it was real. Her heart clenched tightly: "How could this be?"
Then it occurred to me: "Isn't Lu Tianjiao one of the Empress Dowager's people? She cries and shouts all day long, saying how much she loves His Highness. With her around, how could even the Prince's Mansion be lost? What exactly happened to the Prince's Mansion?"
Just as she was racking her brains trying to figure it out, she saw a passerby walking by and hurriedly went up to ask, "Excuse me, ma'am, where is the concubine of the Prince's mansion now?"
The woman immediately raised her voice in anger, saying, "What concubine? She's clearly a jinx! She killed the Dowager Consort shortly after entering the household. Then, His Highness Prince Qin was also cursed to death, and the court even accused him of treason. No one would believe that! If His Highness Prince Qin had truly wanted to betray the country, the heavens above would have changed long ago!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was deeply moved: "Auntie, you trust the King of Qin so much?"
The woman said, "If Your Highness wishes to betray the country, we, the common people, will be the first to stand up and wholeheartedly support you!"
As expected, the people's eyes are sharp.
All of Xuan Yuanhan's painstaking efforts over the years have finally paid off.
Moved, Yi Shangyun continued to ask, "So, where is that Princess Consort now?"
The woman said, "Ever since learning of the tragic news of His Highness Prince Qin's misfortune, this concubine has been drinking herself into a stupor every day at the mansion. Later, her father and brothers took her back to the academy and locked her up!"
I see!
Yi Shangyun thought for a moment and said, "It seems there is no news from the Prince's residence. Right now, we can only go to Yanfu Temple to see if the Dowager Consort has any news about His Highness!"
Just as he was about to take a step, "cough cough cough..." he suddenly couldn't help but cough again.
Yi Shangyun quickly took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth, but then coughed up a large amount of blood.
"Miss..." Yan'er was terrified when she saw this.
Yi Shangyun smiled at him, shook his head, composed himself, and continued on his journey in the carriage.
In front of Yanfu Temple.
Passersby thronged the streets.
On the same street, Xuan Yuanhan had just left when Yi Shangyun arrived late.
Her eyes also caught sight of the sachet stall where Xuan Yuanhan had stopped earlier, and Yi Shangyun was surprised to spot the same royal blue sachet as hers at first glance.
The stall owner, quick as ever, picked it off and handed it to Yi Shangyun, enthusiastically recommending it to everyone passing by: "Young lady, you really like this sachet! You have excellent taste!"
Yi Shangyun glanced at it, then shook his head, muttering to himself, "It does look very similar, but ultimately it's not the same!"
The stall owner scratched the back of his head, puzzled, and said, "What's going on today? Why are these two people who like this sachet saying the exact same things?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun asked in confusion, "Are you saying that today, someone else took a liking to this sachet and said the same thing?"
The stall owner thought for a moment and said, "Just now, there were two big men who also looked at this sachet for a while, and in the end they said the same thing as the young lady."
Yi Shangyun thought to herself, "Two men? Could it be...?"
With this thought in mind, she quickly asked the stall owner, "Do you know where those two people went?"
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