Suddenly, a very quiet street appeared faintly in the distance ahead.
At the end of the street, two large red lanterns, their flames glowing warmly, hung high on an inconspicuous doorway, catching Xuan Yuanhao's attention.
This house appeared to be the most modest and humble of all the houses the siblings had seen in the south of the city during their half-day visit.
Because during the Spring Festival, every household does its best to decorate and adorn their homes, which is of utmost importance.
But this family only hung two lanterns in front of their door, nothing more. They didn't even put up any Spring Festival couplets, which made them look quite shabby.
Xuan Yuanhao thought to himself that this family must be living in poverty, and couldn't help but sigh for them.
He slowly strolled in that direction, silently gazing at the quiet yet warm candlelight. After a moment, for some reason, he suddenly felt that the lantern was like a signpost lit by a mother in the courtyard, specially lit for her child who was working hard outside, to light the way home.
Then, a warm feeling appeared in his eyes, and he couldn't help but murmur, "A mother's thread in her hand, a traveler's clothes on his back. She sews them carefully before he departs, fearing his return will be delayed. Truly, the hearts of parents are full of love and worry."
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept by, and Xuan Yuan Yue sneezed as if by instinct. The siblings were in such a hurry to go out and find news of Yi Shang Yun that they had even forgotten to bring their money. Now they were really annoyed, cold, and hungry.
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Hao snapped out of his daze and asked with concern, like a little adult, "Royal sister, are you cold? Why don't you put your cloak on me? I'm a man, and it's my duty to protect and take care of you when we're out and about."
As Xuan Yuanhao spoke, he stopped and quickly reached out to untie his belt, but Xuan Yuanyue hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.
Seeing Xuan Yuanhao's heartwarming gesture, she felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She smiled and patted his head, saying with great satisfaction, "My brother has really grown up. He knows how to care for others now. I'm so happy. I believe that such a kind and outstanding brother will naturally become a diligent and benevolent ruler who protects the people of Western Qin."
However, upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhao suddenly pouted. After a slight hesitation, he lowered his head and said to Xuan Yuanyue with a displeased expression, "Royal sister... actually, I don't want to be emperor at all. Rather than living a cold and boring life like Father and Uncle Qin, it would be better for me to follow the Grand Tutor and travel around the Lingkong Continent. That way, at least I would be free and without any worries."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue's faint smile faded, and after a moment of contemplation, she said to him earnestly, "Who in this world doesn't love freedom? But since you and I were born into an imperial family, becoming children of royalty, we are both destined to have our own sacred and irresistible fates. As the saying goes, fate is hard to defy; from birth, we are both destined to be unable to control our own lives. Besides, people always have to learn to grow up and take responsibility, don't they..."
Xuanyuan Hao wasn't unaware of Xuanyuan Yue's reasoning. Perhaps it was true that he was still just a ten-year-old child, and a sense of resentment lingered in his heart—why couldn't he live this one and only life according to his own wishes? Suddenly, he asked, "What about my elder sister? Has she really decided to marry into the Dongning Kingdom? If so, it will be very difficult for my brother and mother to see her again!"
When Xuan Yuanhao suddenly asked her this question, she thought of Mei Zhixuan, and a sweet smile appeared on Xuan Yuanyue's face.
Her intuition kept telling her that meeting Mei Zhixuan seemed to be her destiny, and perhaps the best choice for her to marry into a foreign land. Since she couldn't escape the fate of a political marriage anyway, rather than waiting to die, she might as well take a gamble on Mei Zhixuan; her life's success or failure depended on this one move.
But when she thought that this might mean she would have to leave this land that gave her birth and raised her forever, Xuan Yuan Yue fell silent and fell into deep thought.
As Xuan Yuanhao waited to see how Xuan Yuanyue would respond, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a woman dressed somewhat flamboyantly, carrying a motionless man who appeared to be drunk, slowly emerging from a dark alleyway beside a doorway adorned with red lanterns.
Xuan Yuanhao's interest was piqued, and pointing in the direction of the two, he urgently said to Xuan Yuanyue, who was still deep in thought beside him, "Royal Sister, look! I think that woman is carrying her husband, who spends all his time indulging in pleasure. He's still out there fooling around during the New Year. Look how pitiful this woman is. All men in the world are heartless and ungrateful. They only see the new bride laughing, but never hear the old one crying... No matter what Royal Sister plans, I only hope that Royal Sister's husband is a peerless good man in the world."
Xuan Yuan Yue had been listless and silent, but upon hearing Xuan Yuan Hao's voice, she quickly looked in the direction he pointed. She only saw the backs of the two people who had turned the corner and were standing in front of the door. The man on the woman's back had a veil covering his face and was lying on his side as if he was fast asleep.
Just as the woman reached the door and was about to open it and step over the threshold, she suddenly turned around and looked around warily for a moment before pushing the door open and going inside.
At that moment, the white ribbon holding the man's hair up on the woman's back suddenly came undone and fell off. The woman, however, was completely unaware, and hurriedly went inside and closed the door tightly.
"Why are you acting so suspiciously when you're already at your own doorstep?" Xuan Yuanhao frowned and muttered to himself.
Seeing the white hair ribbon fall to the ground, Xuan Yuanhao quickly went over and picked it up. He examined it for a long time, seemingly suspicious. While playing with it, he returned to Xuan Yuanyue's side and said, puzzled, "Look at the quality of this hair ribbon, it's extremely fine. How could someone living in such a humble family afford it? And smells of perfume. Sister, see, your brother guessed right. This man must have been spending lavishly on himself all day, frequenting brothels and picking up all that perfume. Such extravagance has squandered the family fortune, and that's why he's living such a miserable life."
Xuan Yuanhao spoke angrily, while Xuan Yuanyue felt a sudden sense of surprise. He was clearly a man, yet he was shyly covering his face like a young girl. What was the reason for this...?
"Royal sister, are you listening?" Seeing that Xuan Yuan Yue was engrossed, Xuan Yuan Hao shook Xuan Yuan Yue's arm.
Suddenly, her arm swung and accidentally bumped into a withered branch of a rose bush by the roadside, where the sharp thorns immediately cut her and drew blood.
"Hiss..." Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly felt a sharp pain and instinctively let out a soft, low sound. Immediately, she covered it with her hand.
Upon seeing this, Xuanyuan Hao panicked and quickly picked up the white hairband he had just been about to throw away, carefully wrapping it up for her...
"Gurgle, gurgle..." Xuan Yuanhao, who had just finished bandaging Xuan Yuanyue's wound, suddenly felt a rumbling sound from his stomach.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue advised Xuan Yuan Hao, "Let's go back. We've been out since evening, and we haven't found any news. Perhaps Uncle Qin has already found them? Right now... I'm quite hungry, Your Highness."
As soon as they finished speaking, the siblings quickly headed back towards Ruyi Residence...
The door creaked open.
An elderly woman, whose eyesight seemed to be failing, came out of the house with a cane, carrying a dim candle in her hands.
She came out specifically to light the way for her granddaughter to enter the house.
As she walked out, she grumbled somewhat displeasedly, "Xiang'er's back! You're a young lady, and you always come home in the middle of the night. What are you busy with all day? You mustn't go astray. Otherwise, how can this old hag go to the underworld to see your poor mother?"
Under the dim candlelight in the old woman's hand, the woman who came out and entered was none other than Lanxiang, the young lady from Wanjiao Pavilion.
However, she ignored the old woman's earnest nagging, because she had heard this sentence almost every day and night in the past, and her ears were practically calloused from hearing it.
Just then, she came in panting and said to herself, "Grandma, come and help."
Upon hearing this, the old woman hurriedly put down the lamp in her hand and stretched out a frail, thin, and calloused hand.
Only then did the old woman realize that there was someone on Lanxiang's back. She was immediately startled and asked in a daze, "Xiang'er, who is this? Why did you bring a stranger home in the middle of the night?"
After saying that, seeing that Lanxiang was having some difficulty moving, he helped her up from his back and put her down.
Lanxiang finally breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat that had already seeped from her forehead, picked up an old ceramic teapot from the table beside her, quickly poured a full cup of water, and drank it down in one gulp.
Perhaps it was due to nervousness and fear, or perhaps it was because he was particularly shocked by what he had done that night, not knowing that he would do such a thing.
Perhaps it was the guilt he still felt about Yu Niang's matter, or perhaps it was the instinctive admiration he felt for the woman's courage and fearlessness.
After a while, once she came to her senses, she instructed her grandmother, "Grandma, this person will stay at our house for now. We absolutely cannot let anyone find her. Otherwise... I'm afraid she will lose her life."
As she spoke, she gazed intently at Yi Shangyun, whom she had just knocked unconscious by the bedside.
Upon hearing this, the mother-in-law's heart skipped a beat. She said with great worry, "Xiang'er, what have you been doing all day? How did you get involved with these dangerous people? Are you trying to kill your grandmother? Your mother didn't listen to me back then, insisting on leaving that man of unknown origin at home to recover from his injuries. Later, she fell in love with him and, even without a formal relationship, was willing to bear him a child out of wedlock. But in the end, wasn't she abandoned by that ungrateful man? When she died, she cruelly made me, an old woman, bury my child, leaving me and you, an old woman and a child. But why are you still so stubborn and unrepentant, never giving me a moment's peace?"
The old woman spoke of her unbearable past with overwhelming grief...
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