The rain in July always comes so decisively.
This rare downpour washed away the recent heatwave in the entire imperial city.
Rain washes away the impurities of the ancient stone steps, and every flow and solidification tells a story of the vicissitudes of time.
A rain, a city, an umbrella.
Walking on the rain-splattered cobblestone path, passing through palace gates, and following in Zhang Zhiyuan's footsteps, Yi Shangyun's mind was still filled with memories of the journey she had embarked on that spanned a thousand years.
And at this moment.
Emperor Jing sat at his desk, then suddenly closed his eyes and lowered his head. He then raised one hand and pinched his brow with a slightly weary expression.
He had been pondering in his study for a long time, yet he still muttered to himself, not quite understanding, constantly thinking about the same question.
"Having learned her lesson from her last attempt to escape, she knows perfectly well that Tuoba Hong is in our hands and she can't escape. So why does she try again? Since she has lost her memory, where can she go?"
The eunuch standing nearby overheard this and, after a moment's thought, said, "The guards of Changning Palace had already noticed her suspicious disguise as she left the palace, so they secretly followed her, wanting to see where she was going and what her purpose was. Perhaps this would help us investigate her background, but..."
Emperor Jing suddenly opened his eyes again, glanced in the direction of the eunuch, and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"
The eunuch recalled, "But... I heard that later, because of His Highness the Prince of Qin's appearance, the guards, fearing that the Prince of Qin would discover this, then..."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing clenched his fist in anger and gritted his teeth, saying, "The Prince of Qin... it's him again!"
The eunuch continued, "Fortunately, the King of Qin believed the guardian's lie, saying she was just a new pharmacist in the imperial pharmacy who had gotten lost in the palace at night. But after the King of Qin left, the guards went to look for her again, and the guardian had vanished..."
Emperor Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then asked suspiciously, "Since she left, but then returned, and didn't leave the palace, do you think... she might have gone to see someone in the palace?"
The more Emperor Jing spoke, the more convinced he became of his judgment: "It must be so. Who did she go to see?"
Just as the two inside the hall were both deep in thought, a guard hurriedly entered from outside the door to report.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Zhang has brought that person from Changning Palace to request an audience!"
Everything was going according to Emperor Jing's plan. Coming to his senses, the eunuch instructed the guards, "Let her in!"
Soon, Yi Shangyun arrived at the palace alone.
However, she did not bow to the high and mighty Emperor Jing, but instead suppressed the grief and anger in her heart and questioned him bitterly.
Why did you burn him? What right did you have to do that?
The eunuch beside him widened his eyes and angrily rebuked him: "How dare you! Why don't you bow to the Emperor?"
Emperor Jing stretched out a hand to stop him.
Then, raising his head and straightening his chest, he said in a cold, stern voice, "This is the Western Qin Kingdom. You are currently in the Western Qin Imperial Palace. What right do you have to question me?"
Seeing that he showed no remorse for his actions, Yi Shangyun felt a surge of pent-up frustration and anger. Without a trace of fear, she argued her case forcefully.
“Yes, this is indeed Western Qin. But he is not a citizen of Western Qin, nor has he done anything wrong to violate its laws. So, since he is neither a prisoner nor your slave, you have no right to do this?”
As she spoke, she glared at the eunuch beside her.
He then rebuked them, saying, "I will never forgive you, you indiscriminate killers who treat life like dirt and kill without blinking an eye!"
"How dare you speak so recklessly before His Majesty? You...you...you..."
For a moment, the eunuch was so angry that he became delirious, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, and he pointed with a trembling finger in the direction of the cloud on his clothes.
"Have you eaten the gall of a bear and the gall of a leopard...?"
Emperor Jing remained calm and composed, offering a gentle reminder with a faint smile.
“Wrong. On this Lingkong Continent, Beilie has long since been destroyed and has submitted to my Western Qin. Now it belongs to my Western Qin. Therefore, no matter who it is, if I say he is guilty, he is guilty; if I say he deserves to die, he deserves to die and has no choice but to die.”
He paused, then continued, "Besides, how do you know? He was willing to live like a walking corpse, suffering in agony! I am helping him find relief, and I have ordered people to collect some of his ashes. This is already merciful enough for him."
"You..." Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was speechless for a moment, glaring at the ugly and treacherous face above her with almost insane rage.
But upon closer reflection, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and self-reproach: "Yes, Beilie has long been destroyed. Wasn't all of this caused by me?"
It certainly wasn't the right time, so he silently made up his mind: "But no matter what, Second Prince, I will avenge this sooner or later!"
Finally, she could only silently calm herself down again and plead, "Let me personally escort the Second Prince back to the grasslands!"
"You want to leave the palace? Dream on!" Upon hearing this, the eunuch's pupils dilated again. He spoke first, then looked at Emperor Jing's face.
For a long time afterward, the vast palace remained silent.
Unexpectedly, after a while, Emperor Jing surprisingly agreed to her request: "I... agree!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun himself seemed extremely surprised and looked at the person seated in astonishment.
Unable to believe her ears, she asked again to confirm, "You really agreed?"
Emperor Jing smiled and nodded.
Yi Shangyun thought for a moment, then tried to speak again: "Also... I added cloves."
As expected, the cunning and suspicious Emperor Jing resolutely refused her this time: "This... no! You should know that one shouldn't be too greedy, shouldn't you?"
Yi Shangyun wanted to try again: "But Dingxiang, she..."
Emperor Jing interrupted her, saying, "A word from the Emperor is as good as his bond. I will only give you six months. When the six months are up, you must return to my side and never step out of the palace again. Otherwise... everything you care about in this world will vanish..."
Yi Shangyun calmed down, placed one hand on her slightly protruding belly, and thought carefully: "Six months... is enough."
Just as she was lost in thought, Emperor Jing spoke again, reminding and warning her: "This naturally includes the safety of that little medicine girl..."
"clove?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun immediately became anxious and said, "What have you done to Dingxiang? Don't hurt her, let me see her!"
As expected, Emperor Jing, that old fox, had something to offer that made him so readily agree to let her leave the palace.
In response to Yi Shangyun's request, Emperor Jing said, "Don't worry, she's fine. Once you return from the grasslands, I will ensure you can see her every day..."
Yi Shangyun gritted his teeth, quietly clenching his fists, thinking, "Right now, it seems my only option is to bring the Second Prince's ashes back to the grasslands! There's something even more important..."
Given the current situation, he had no choice but to make a decision, so he agreed to Emperor Jing's request: "Alright! It's a deal. However, all of this was done by me alone and has nothing to do with Dingxiang. Don't make things difficult for her. When I return to the palace, if Dingxiang is missing even a single hair, I will make you regret it."
After saying that, he turned around and strode away angrily.
At this moment, the eunuch standing to the side was terrified and said with great concern, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! The Guardian was hard-won, how can Your Majesty let her leave the palace so easily?"
Emperor Jing, however, said with complete confidence, "Don't worry, she will definitely come back! Knowing the Guardian's temperament, if you don't allow it, who knows what she might do!"
He then instructed, "Send people to keep a close watch, but unless absolutely necessary, do not reveal your identity!"
The eunuch was still uneasy, his brow furrowed, and then asked, "What about that little medicine girl..."
Emperor Jing thought for a moment and said, "Order people to keep a close watch on him, and there must be no mistakes."
That's too much eavesdropping, he said, his face showing considerable worry...
Stepping out of the palace gate, the world under the gloomy sky was a seamless blend of water and sky.
On the way back to Changning Palace, Zhang Zhiyuan silently followed Yi Shangyun, who seemed to be deep in thought as they walked.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Zhiyuan, who had been hesitating all the way and was extremely worried, finally mustered up his courage and spoke, taking advantage of the loud wind and rain around him.
"Your Highness, are you... really planning to take the Second Prince's ashes back to the grasslands alone?"
Yi Shangyun knew in her heart that Tuoba Hong was a highly skilled doctor and there was absolutely no way he could not have noticed that he had been poisoned and died.
She only hated Zhang Zhiyuan for not being able to tell her about Tuoba Hong's strange behavior when he had noticed it earlier, which led to his unnecessary death.
She was imprisoned here for so long because of him.
Seeing that his injuries have improved recently, and having made all the necessary arrangements, she can now take him away from this cage that binds the two of them without any worries.
But in the end, he still died.
Just one step away, just one more step, and they could leave, and from then on, the world was their oyster, and they could go wherever they wanted.
She recalled how many times Tuoba Hong had accompanied her through her most difficult and helpless days.
Looking back, Yi Shangyun felt a mix of emotions, so she gritted her teeth and said firmly, "Yes!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiyuan anxiously tried to stop her: "Your Highness, you must not! You are pregnant and will give birth in less than six months. The journey to the grasslands is long and extremely difficult. It would be too dangerous for you to go alone."
Yi Shangyun stopped abruptly, tears streaming down her face, yet she suppressed her grief and said, "The Second Prince's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. In this life, I owe him far too much. If I cannot even send him to the place he wants to go after his death, am I still human?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiyuan had to admit that he did indeed have more respect for the kind and righteous yet frail body before him.
No matter when or where, she always manages to win the willing love and help of everyone around her.
Of course, this included myself. From the initial hostile rejection I felt upon first meeting her, to my current compassion, I felt a surge of concern and wanted to continue persuading her: "But, Your Majesty, you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun cut him off: "My mind is made up, you don't need to persuade me anymore! If Judge Zhang still cares about our past camaraderie, I hope that you can take care of Dingxiang for me before I return to the palace. Then we shall part ways!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiyuan froze on the spot.
He could only watch helplessly as Yi Shangyun's figure grew farther and farther away, becoming increasingly blurry, until it finally disappeared completely from his sight.
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