Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing smiled, but suddenly questioned her, asking, "Now that things have come to this, how can I still trust you?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun let out a snort of laughter.
He also curled a disdainful smile at the corner of his mouth and retorted, "If you don't believe me, why go to such lengths to force me back to the palace? In the end, isn't it just because you're afraid that the mysterious power of the rumored guardian of Western Qin will fall into the hands of others, and you want to trap me forever?"
Seeing that Yi Shangyun was so clear-headed and understanding, Emperor Jing seemed to have nothing more to say, so he directly warned her.
"Since you understand, I hope you understand even more clearly that in this great Qin Dynasty, I am the Son of Heaven. From now on, you can only stay by my side wholeheartedly and protect this empire for me. If you dare to have any disloyal thoughts, I think you should know the consequences better than anyone else!"
Threatened, Yi Shangyun's already furrowed brows tightened even more.
He then asked, "The so-called Son of Heaven is one who receives the Mandate of Heaven to govern the world! Do you know why this world is governed by such a mandate?"
Emperor Jing seemed taken aback by the sudden question, and then said, "The land covered by the yurt is naturally all under heaven."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun smiled helplessly.
Recalling his earlier attitude towards the people, he raised his head slightly and said righteously, "The so-called Heaven is not the vast and boundless sky. A ruler regards the people as Heaven. If the people are with him, he will be safe; if they assist him, he will be strong; if they do not, he will be in danger; if they turn their backs on him, he will perish."
In the end, he spoke slowly and deliberately, each word ringing with conviction.
Emperor Jing was taken aback.
Yi Shangyun paused, then gritted his teeth, clenched his fist hidden in his sleeve, and continued, "Although no one will believe that all of this was not my intention, now that I am a descendant of the Guardians, I should do my best to fulfill my duty! But I also want you to understand that this world does not belong to any one person who holds absolute power, but to the people. It has always belonged to a wise ruler who loves his people like his own children and has won their hearts."
Upon hearing this, even the Great Listener beside him was deeply shocked and silently admired her, saying, "How could a mere weak woman have such courage and magnanimity, and explain the great principles of the world so clearly? She is truly remarkable and worthy of being a descendant of the Guardians."
Just as the Grand Eunuch was still immersed in his deep admiration for him, Emperor Jing suddenly waved his hand and ordered the Grand Eunuch: "Send word to release him!"
The head eunuch snapped out of his daze and acknowledged the order: "Yes, this old servant will go and relay the order immediately."
Emperor Jing then said, "Take her away as well!"
Before leaving the main hall, Yi Shangyun said one last thing: "You are not allowed to harm anyone from the Qin Prince's Mansion or the Yi Mansion. Otherwise, I will make you pay a price you cannot afford, even if it means we both perish!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing felt for the first time in his life that he was overwhelmed by someone's aura.
Yi Shangyun gave him one last deep look, then turned and walked out of the main hall without looking back.
The chief eunuch followed closely behind and went out.
Only Emperor Jing remained, standing there motionless for a long time, lost in thought.
In the imperial prison.
In a dark, damp, and cold corner.
After Yi Shangkun and Yi Shangjun were brought into the palace, they were not summoned by Emperor Jing for even a moment, but were instead secretly imprisoned here.
In fact, over the past few days, no one has come to ask them any questions.
At first, Yi Shangkun didn't understand what mistake he had made that led to his imprisonment again.
Just a few days later, Yi Shangjun was also brought here.
Yi Shangkun already knew in his heart that this matter was undoubtedly related to her.
It must be that Yi Shangyun's faked death was exposed by Emperor Jing.
Looking back on everything, Yi Shangkun is now clearly filled with deep regret.
"I knew long ago that she must not have any connection with the royal family, absolutely no connection with the royal family. But I never thought that the more I tried to escape, the more I couldn't escape; the more I didn't want to be involved, the more I was involved. Is this fate?"
"I am already very old, and I am not afraid of dying a thousand deaths. It is only because I have implicated you, my son. You have risked your life and finally made it to the top as a general. Now you are imprisoned here with me. I'm afraid we will never have a chance to get out!"
"They've been locked up here for days, and I don't even know how your mother and sister are doing at home. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"In the end, I was never able to give you a peaceful and happy life!"
Yi Shangkun, who was already mediocre and timid, was filled with remorse and was extremely worried that he might lose his life this time. So he kept crying to Yi Shangjun.
However, for Yi Shangjun, who had never listened to a word his father said, if he hadn't been summoned to the palace by Emperor Jing and imprisoned here, he would still think that Yi Shangyun was really dead.
At this moment, he was not afraid at all.
Leaning against Yi Shangkun, sitting on the floor against the wall, she was preoccupied with what Yi Shangkun had said to her these past few days.
After much thought, he still couldn't understand: "If the Emperor only wanted to punish my elder sister because he discovered the clues that she had faked her death, then why has he ignored my father and me all this time?"
Upon further reflection: "But if it's not for punishment, the Emperor, though incompetent and tyrannical, is not lecherous. What is his purpose in going to such lengths?"
Thinking of Yi Shangyun's true identity as the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom, she muttered to herself, "Could it be that the Emperor also knows that my elder sister is the legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom and wants to take her hostage to blackmail Mei Zhixuan?"
But as soon as the thought arose, she immediately denied it: "Mei Zhixuan is now equivalent to the regent of Dongning Kingdom, second only to the emperor, and also Princess Yue's husband. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so the emperor couldn't possibly treat Princess Yue like that. He couldn't possibly do that! No, no, no, that's not right, it can't be like that!"
After shaking his head, he continued with his next guess: "What could it be?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun thought about it carefully and suddenly realized, "This must be related to her birth mother, it must be!"
Following Yi Shangkun's train of thought, Yi Shangjun suddenly made a bold conjecture: "Father, do you think that besides being the most respected Empress of Dongning Kingdom, my eldest sister's birth mother might have some other hidden identity?"
Yi Shangkun also wanted to follow Yi Shangjun's instructions.
Yi Shangjun continued to immerse himself in his step-by-step conjecture.
"Father, you once said that before her death, my eldest sister's birth mother repeatedly instructed that my eldest sister should not have any contact with members of the royal family. Could it be that my eldest sister's maternal family is of particular importance to the royal family...?"
"Or perhaps, they are the ones that the royal family will fight over."
"Could it be... Big sister, could she... could she be..."
"The Lost Guardian of the Western Qin Kingdom..."
Yi Shangjun was suddenly surprised to find that, just as he was about to get to the point, Yi Shangkun reached out and covered his mouth tightly.
In an instant, Yi Shangjun stared at him in surprise.
Yi Shangkun lowered his voice and scolded him, "Don't talk nonsense..."
Just then, a guard hurried over, took out a key from his waist, unlocked the door, and said to the two men, "You can go back now!"
Upon hearing this, the father and son were nearly speechless with astonishment.
Suddenly they all stood up and looked at the imperial guard to confirm.
"Can we go home now?"
Are you telling the truth?
The imperial guard glanced at the nearly one hundred instruments of torture mounted behind him, then warned them in a stern tone.
"After you get out, do you understand what you should and shouldn't say? Remember, don't say anything carelessly, otherwise, no one can guarantee that you won't be able to leave unscathed next time you come in!"
After a pause, the guard glanced around at the eerie corners of the room, trying to scare the two men: "After all, so far, the only ones who have come out of here alive are the two of you!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangjun pointed two fingers at the imperial guard before him, and said angrily, "You dare to scare us? Do you know what I, the general, have to do..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangkun stepped in front of him to block his way.
He forced a smile and assured him, "Sir, I'm sorry, my son is ignorant. Please don't hold it against him. Don't worry, we will keep our mouths shut and won't say anything after we get out."
As he spoke, he took out a bag of silver from his person, pushed it into the hands of the imperial guard, and thanked him: "Thank you for taking good care of me these past few days. Please accept this silver. It's cold in winter, so please use it to buy some wine to warm yourself up!"
The imperial guard took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and said, "The old man is more savvy! Young man, you should learn from your father, otherwise you won't even know where or how your head will roll one day!"
Looking at the soldier's disgusting face, Yi Shangjun was so agitated that he wanted to step forward and argue with him: "Say that again..."
Seeing that Yi Shangjun had actually made a move, the imperial guard immediately roared, "What, you really don't want to leave here today? Guards..."
As he spoke, the imperial guards began to summon the people outside.
Yi Shangkun grabbed Yi Shangjun's arm and roared, "You unfilial son, are you trying to make me die of anger here today?"
Seeing that Yi Shangkun was really anxious, Yi Shangjun finally withdrew his hand with great reluctance.
Yi Shangkun then changed his expression to that of the imperial guard: "I'm truly sorry, sir!"
"snort!"
After giving the two men a final cold snort, the imperial guard turned and left.
Yi Shangkun and his son followed closely behind, and finally left the palace, rushing towards their home in the west of the city.
It wasn't until late at night, under the bright moon high in the sky, that Xuan Yuanhan and Cheng Liang slowly stepped into the gates of the Qin Prince's Mansion.
Another day has passed.
There was still no news about Yi Shangyun, and for some reason, Xuan Yuanhan felt very uneasy this time.
Cheng Liang sensed Xuan Yuanhan's worries and comforted him, "Your Highness, please don't be too anxious. Few people have heard of the parallel universes that the Princess Consort mentioned. Since her arrival was so mysterious, perhaps she left without leaving any trace?"
Thinking that Cheng Liang's words seemed to make sense, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly stopped, slowly raised his head to look at the twinkling stars in the sky, and muttered to himself, "Is that so? You have returned to your time and space, right?"
Just then, a guard hurried forward...
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