Tuoba Ze thought to himself, "It seems this woman is truly an extremely mysterious expert in detoxification. She was able to cure the almost incurable poison of beauty's blood without anyone noticing. I've really struck gold this time."
Bringing her back to Beilie would be the right thing to do, even if she wasn't willing to serve him yet. He believed that with time, she would eventually come to her senses. At that point, he would be even more powerful and would surely conquer the world.
With this thought in mind, Tuoba Ze slowly rose, put one hand behind his back, and leisurely walked to the side. He took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at Yu Niang, saying, "Very well, since I promised to help you find your husband Zhao Ping'an to make up for the harm caused by the beauty blood you were given, even though I later found out that Zhao Ping'an was indeed dead, I still broke my promise to you. For this, I truly feel somewhat guilty. But now that the beauty blood poison in your body has been cured, I can say that I have returned you intact and have a clear conscience."
Upon hearing this, Yu Niang frowned and suddenly realized, "What? You are...you are that tea merchant from the Northern Lie Kingdom?"
When she saw Tuoba Ze's nonchalant and arrogant demeanor in response to her question, Yu Niang became furious. She shouted, "Shut up! You are not allowed to mention 'Zhao Ping'an' in front of me! You are unworthy! I once thought you were a good person. My husband is loyal to the emperor and loves his country; he is full of passion. How could I allow such a despicable person like you to tarnish his reputation? Besides, regarding Ping'an, Yu Niang will never believe a single word from anyone again. Yu Niang believes in Ping'an… he will not die. Even if he really is dead, I will personally exhume his remains and examine them before I will believe it."
After Yu Niang finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Yi Shangyun's face beside her. Yi Shangyun smiled and nodded at her with great satisfaction.
"You...the dead cannot be brought back to life, so why are you so stubborn?" Tuoba Ze was shocked to see Yu Niang's resolute face and unwavering will.
However, Yu Niang remained resolute, giving him a disdainful smile before saying with utter disgust, "Why bother? What does Yu Niang's business have to do with you? From now on, I don't want to say another word to you. You've done so many heinous and inhuman things on my Western Qin territory. Talking to you makes Yu Niang feel utterly disgusted. Yu Niang wishes... she had never met you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tuoba Ze seemed to want to say something to defend himself, but he quickly closed his thin, slightly parted lips.
Finally, he exhaled a breath of stale air, turned his back to Yu Niang, and looked to the other side, saying, "Whether I am a prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, the head of the Wanjiao Pavilion in Western Qin, or that tea merchant from the Northern Lie Kingdom, I have never... Never mind, now that things have come to this, you won't believe anything I say. Some things are better left unsaid..."
In the end, he kept swallowing the words he wanted to say: their meeting was destined to be a mistake from the very beginning. Today's ending was simply something he had anticipated. However, he didn't know why this anticipated outcome had affected him so much.
At this moment, the scene of their first meeting suddenly flashed into his mind: despite being a commoner, she was naturally beautiful, possessing an elegant and refined air. In her search for the man named Zhao Ping'an, she braved setbacks and endured countless cold stares and bullying. She even risked entering the Wanjiao Pavilion, disguising herself as a courtesan to try and get close to the officials and gather information related to Bei Lie. If it weren't for him, she would have been nearly humiliated by those she called her own compatriots.
Those who wanted to insult her were none other than her fellow citizens of Western Qin, whom she claimed to be protecting. Were they without fault?
As for him, he was simply born into an imperial family against his will, doing what he was supposed to do for his country and bearing the responsibilities he was supposed to bear. What was wrong with that?
In this world today, who isn't racking their brains and eyeing the world with covetous intent?
If he weren't a prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, if he weren't burdened with the destiny of protecting his country, would she not be so resistant to him?
But so what? It was just an ill-timed, belated encounter. She already had her own world, her own destiny, and she was utterly devoted to it. What was he to her? This was destined to be a tragedy.
Poisoning her and using her blood to nourish her was the worst decision he ever made, but thankfully, the poison has now been cured.
It was time to leave without any lingering attachments, to leave this place where he could neither be the ruthless prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, nor be his true self.
Leaving this place, at least he could devote himself wholeheartedly and without restraint to fighting for this world. From then on, nothing could stop his determined steps, nothing.
Since she is so persistent, let her fend for herself. If her so-called flesh and blood can find her and save her before she dies of thirst or starvation, then she will be lucky; if not, then it is her fate. Let God decide everything.
Having thought through all that had happened, Tuoba Ze suddenly turned around and stared blankly at the two women in front of him. The women were immediately frightened and stood close together, holding each other tightly, looking terrified, wondering what he was up to and what he wanted to do to them.
A moment later, he looked at Yi Shangyun with a serious expression and said, "I have come here to keep my promise and release them as agreed, and to take you back to Beilie. If you have had enough of catching up, let's set off now, as it is almost dawn."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was suddenly startled. It turned out that everything he had said before entering the secret chamber was true; he really wanted to take her back to the Northern Lie Kingdom. Now, if she didn't agree, what about Yu Niang, Lan Xiang, Yan Hong...? But she hadn't fully thought it through at the time. She only wanted to keep her calm and wait for her to come up with a foolproof plan to escape.
But later, when they arrived at the secret room, he had her and Yu Niang locked up. She thought she had fallen into a trap and that he actually wanted to control them all for his own use.
Now, before she could even come up with any strategy, she was caught off guard and forced to follow him to the Northern Lie Kingdom.
With this thought in mind, Yi Shangyun could only stammer and delay again, saying, "I... the sage said, 'While parents are alive, one should not travel far,' I... I haven't said goodbye to my parents yet, so I can't go with you. Besides, you haven't released Yu Niang and Lan Xiang yet..."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze glared fiercely, silencing Yi Shangyun before she could finish speaking. He then walked step by step toward Yi Shangyun, whispering in her ear, "Yi Shangyun, to be honest, I am not without capable people around me. I am only giving you a chance because you have some skills and minor uses, a chance that can both save their lives and allow you to keep your own. However, my tolerance is limited. Do not try to test the limits of my patience; it will not do you any good."
After a brief pause, he suddenly moved away from Yi Shangyun's ear, turned to him, and raised his voice, saying, "Do you believe that with a single order from this prince, all life in this Wanjiao Pavilion, along with the entire Wanjiao Pavilion itself, can be instantly wiped out and reduced to ashes?"
"Tuoba Ze...you..." Yi Shangyun exclaimed in surprise.
At this moment, Yu Niang finally realized what had happened and quickly pushed Yi Shangyun behind her to block her, saying, "No, you can't take her away. Western Qin is her country. She has parents and family in Western Qin. She is still so young. She can't just abandon everything and leave her homeland with you in a foreign country without a word. What kind of behavior is that? If you insist on taking her... then take me with you. I'll go to Northern Lie with you."
Tuoba Ze chuckled at Yu Niang and said, "Hmph... So, this prince was planning to take you back to Bei Lie. And perhaps, considering that this prince once had feelings for you... I might even give you a title. But unfortunately, she actually delivered herself to my door in order to find you. Now, for you and those few vile women like Lan Xiang, she's willingly agreed to return to the country with this prince. So, perhaps in the future, this prince can only consider whether or not to give her a title."
"Tuoba Ze, don't even think about it! I'd rather die than follow you..." Yi Shangyun roared at him, unable to speak properly.
However, Tuoba Ze was not angry at all. Instead, he looked extremely relaxed and said, "Don't do things too much or speak too confidently. There is nothing impossible in this world, especially for me, Tuoba Ze."
Before Yi Shangyun could speak, Yu Niang said angrily, "Tuoba Ze, you are shameless! She is just a child."
Tuoba Ze snorted coldly at her, then said with a sly taunt, "Hmph, enough nonsense. Didn't you just tell me that you didn't want to say another word to me? What, have you forgotten so quickly? Are you reluctant to let me leave Western Qin? Why don't you come back to Northern Lie with me and share in the riches and glory?"
"You..." In a fit of anger, Yu Niang raised her hand to slap him hard across the face, but as soon as she raised it, Tuoba Ze easily grabbed her arm with one hand and then threw her down hard.
He then said, "Alright, I've made myself clear enough. Now, leave. Otherwise, I'll take it as you changing your mind."
At this moment, Yi Shangyun's mind was in complete chaos. It was as if he was in a brain teaser competition with a countdown, waiting for the last few seconds to arrive. All his strategies had vanished, and he was completely stunned.
This world never truly belonged to her, so it didn't really matter who she followed or where she went. But for some reason, her mind was completely blank, except for one person—King Xuanyuan Han of Qin.
As she was lost in thought, reminiscing about every moment she had shared with Xuanyuan Han since arriving in the Western Qin Kingdom, Yu Niang suddenly noticed the only ornament she was wearing. It was a pink sachet that matched Lanxiang's, filled with extremely precious southern rose tea given to her by Tuoba Ze from a tea merchant in the Northern Lie Kingdom. The sachet exuded a delicate tea fragrance and was embroidered with butterflies and magnolias.
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly took the sachet off, walked to Yi Shangyun's side, took her hand, placed the sachet in her palm, and said earnestly, "Miss Yi, this sachet was made by Yu Niang herself. Since we are parting, I have nothing else to give you here, so I'm giving you this as a keepsake. Please keep it carefully. Yu Niang will go to your parents' house to explain things to them. Take good care of yourself while you're away."
After saying that, she hugged Yi Shangyun tightly, and the two embraced each other, their eyes immediately filled with tears.
Seeing the two of them reluctant to part, a scene that was extremely touching, Tuoba Ze couldn't help but quietly turn his back.
Just then, Yu Niang whispered something in Yi Shangyun's ear.
A moment later, the two released each other, shook hands, looked at each other with slight smiles, and nodded to one another.
Then, Yi Shangyun followed behind Tuoba Ze, slowly walking out the door, turning back to look at him every step of the way...
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