Xuanyuan Han thought for a moment, then suddenly blurted out, "Or, you can continue living in the Qin Prince's residence and stay by my side."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun stopped abruptly, staring at him in astonishment.
But seeing the intense seriousness in his eyes, he hesitated and stammered, "Your Highness, Prince Qin... I..."
Seeing the troubled look on his face, Xuan Yuanhan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
But in the end, he didn't tease her anymore. He just looked into her eyes meaningfully and said, "I was just kidding. You can go back to the Yi residence in peace. I have my own plans."
Now, Yi Shangyun feels like a drifting duckweed, having lost her roots and can never return to her simple life.
Everything now is under the manipulation and arrangement of others.
She was powerless to resist anything that came her way and could only accept it. She never knew what would happen to her tomorrow.
After spending so much time together these past few days, my feelings for Xuan Yuanhan have only become clearer.
She was truly unable to resist his love, which was both domineering and tender. She wanted to hold on to it tightly, but she was also afraid that her genuine feelings and greed would hurt him.
Whether she is a princess of an enemy state or a guardian of Western Qin, her identity is always a ticking time bomb, which could implicate him and cause him great disaster at any time.
Thinking of this, Yi Shangyun frowned and stared intently into Xuan Yuanhan's eyes.
Finally, all his worries were reduced to a murmured voice: "Your Highness, I'm sorry..."
Seeing her looking so pitiful, Xuan Yuanhan felt a pang of heartache and suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, saying, "Don't say sorry, never say it. I want you to spend your whole life making amends to me."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun could no longer hold back. She slowly closed her eyes in his broad and warm embrace, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Just then, Yan'er had already retrieved the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine she wanted to bring back for Yi Shangyun from Xinglin Pavilion.
From afar, upon seeing Yi Shangyun's figure, he was about to go up and greet her: "Little..."
Upon seeing the two people embracing tightly, reluctant to part, Yan'er couldn't help but feel a surge of tears, unsure whether to be happy or sad.
Then, she hastily wiped away her tears and quietly retreated.
Clouds drift and time flies.
The day after Yi Shangyun returned to the Yi residence, she was greeted by an eunuch from the palace who had come specifically to deliver an imperial decree.
Inside the Yi family compound, everyone bowed their heads and knelt to receive the imperial decree:
"By the Empress Dowager's benevolent decree: Yi Shangyun, the eldest daughter of the Yi family, is gentle and virtuous, upright and cautious in her conduct, and possesses a kind and intelligent heart. The Empress Dowager is greatly pleased upon hearing this and hereby bestows her in marriage upon the Prince of Qin. An auspicious day shall be chosen for the wedding. This is the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing the imperial decree bestowing the marriage upon them, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck from a clear sky. Yi Shangyun lay on the ground, completely stunned.
Yi Shangkun had already received some advance warning from the Prince of Qin's residence, but when the dust finally settled, he was still deeply shocked and surprised.
Suddenly noticing something amiss with the cloud-like figure beside him, he quietly tugged at her sleeve, bringing her back to her senses.
Yi Shangkun reached out to receive the imperial decree.
The crowd then kowtowed along with her, shouting in unison, "Thank you for your grace, Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager!"
"Congratulations, Pharmacist Yi! To be able to establish a kinship with the Prince of Qin's mansion, Pharmacist Yi's future is immeasurable!"
Faced with his father-in-law's words, Yi Shangkun was filled with mixed feelings and could only offer a bitter smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yi Shangkun, the eunuch on duty hurriedly returned to the palace.
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but it seemed that no one in the Yi family could truly be happy.
In the courtyard, everyone stared at Yi Shangyun's extremely melancholy face.
"Big sister..." Yi Shangjun really wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how to start.
Finally, he could only sigh heavily and leave.
Even Yi Shangxue, who usually argued with Lan Yiniang whenever they spoke, couldn't help but tightly grasp Lan Yiniang's arm and softly call out, "Mother..."
He frowned, staring at the melancholy profile of the woman on his clothes, unsure of what to say.
Aunt Lan gently patted the snow off her clothes and the hand that had clung to her arm.
Finally, it was Madam Nian who went over, took her hand, and spoke first, asking with concern, "Yun'er, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Yi Shangyun knew, of course, that everyone in the courtyard was watching her.
He forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. I'm just a little tired and want to go inside and rest for a while. Mother, don't worry."
Before he could finish speaking, he pushed Nian away, his eyes glazed over, and he walked blankly back to Mingyue Pavilion.
Seeing that she looked utterly distraught, Madam Nian quickly instructed Yan'er, "Yan'er, quickly help Miss back to her room."
"Yes," Yan'er replied, and hurriedly ran after him.
Upon arriving at Mingyue Pavilion, Yi Shangyun finally let down her guard, but felt utterly drained. She slumped weakly at her desk, muttering to herself, "How could this be? How could this be?"
Suddenly, she remembered what Xuan Yuanhan had said on the day of their parting, and she immediately understood: "So this is what you meant by 'having your own arrangements'..."
In an instant, Consort Chun's words also surfaced in his mind: "If I were to ask you to never step out of the Prince Qin's residence again for the rest of your life, would you be willing?"
...
"No... perhaps there's much more than that."
Thinking carefully about the people and things around me recently, I feel that something is amiss.
Yan'er always gave vague and unclear answers to many of her questions, such as how she knew she was in the Prince of Qin's mansion.
Yi Shangyun then realized what was happening.
With this thought in mind, she turned her gaze to Yan'er, who was wiping a vase nearby and seemed to be deliberately avoiding her, and said, "Yan'er, did you already know about this all along?"
Yan'er knew she could no longer hide the truth, so she apologized, saying, "Miss, I'm sorry, Yan'er didn't mean to hide it from you..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun gave a bitter laugh and said, "So that's how it all is... So this was all pre-arranged by you all once again. Why did you all keep it from me? Why?"
Finally, Yi Shangyun could no longer control her anger and forcefully overturned a tea set on the table in front of her.
A crisp sound of porcelain shattering on the floor suddenly rang out in the room: "Crack..."
Upon seeing this, Yan'er knelt down on the ground with a thud, terrified.
She cried and begged for forgiveness, "Miss... Physician Yue said you mustn't be angry, you absolutely mustn't be angry... Yan'er knows she was wrong, Yan'er knows she was wrong... Please don't be angry..."
"Get out...get out of here..."
Yi Shangyun felt as if she were caught in a huge net, unable to move at all, and even struggling to breathe.
In a fit of anger, he suddenly got up, grabbed Yan'er, pulled her up, pushed her out, and locked the door tightly from the inside.
"Miss, please open the door! Open the door! Yan'er knows she was wrong, Yan'er really knows she was wrong... Please open the door, open the door..."
No matter how hard Yan'er pounded on the door trying to come in and explain, Yi Shangyun no longer wanted to listen to her.
Just then, another wave of excruciating pain struck her abdomen.
Yi Shangyun pressed hard on her abdomen with one hand, and fainted as soon as she reached the bedside.
Hearing the sudden silence from inside the room, Yan'er ran downstairs, crying and shouting, "Master, Madam, something terrible has happened! Miss has been in trouble..."
Soon, Yi Shangjun heard Yan'er's urgent cries and rushed over, quickly breaking down the door.
Upon seeing Yi Shangyun collapsed beside the bed, her face ashen, she rushed over, picked her up, and gently placed her on the bed, calling out, "Big sister, big sister, what's wrong? Big sister, wake up..."
At this moment, Yi Shangkun, Nian Shi, and Aunt Lan also came upstairs upon hearing the noise.
Everyone was stunned and speechless upon seeing this scene.
Yi Shangjun said anxiously, "Father, come quickly and see what's wrong with my eldest sister?"
"Yun'er..." Seeing that she had fainted and lost all consciousness, Yi Shangkun suddenly came to his senses and quickly stepped forward.
After a rather careful pulse diagnosis, Yi Shangkun was extremely surprised.
Seeing him get up, Madam Nian wiped away her tears and asked anxiously, "Master, what happened to Yun'er...?"
Yi Shangkun reached out to stop her, and first asked Yan'er, "Does Miss herself know about her illness?"
Yan'er choked back tears and said, "Your Highness Prince Qin... Your Highness forbids anyone from telling Miss about her illness."
Yi Shangkun thought for a moment. He understood that Xuan Yuanhan deliberately concealed the truth from Yi Shangyun in order to protect her. He then asked, "What about the fetus in Miss's womb..."
"Physician Yue says that the baby in Miss's womb cannot be kept..."
Before Yan'er could finish speaking, Madam Nian exclaimed in surprise, "What... can't we keep it?"
Even Aunt Lan and Yi Shangjun, who were standing to the side, were stunned.
Yan'er finished speaking: "Imperial Physician Le said that the baby in Miss's womb cannot be kept and must be delivered four months in advance. However, His Highness Prince Qin has not yet made a decision and asked us to wait a little longer."
“That’s right,” Yi Shangkun said, slowly walking up to Nian Shi, placing a hand on her shoulder, and speaking softly, “Yun’er has a kind of abdominal mass…”
"A masseter's disease," Nian said in surprise.
Yi Shangkun continued, "She will never be able to have her own children in this lifetime!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked...
Yan'er cried even harder beside her.
Yi Shangkun left Mingyue Pavilion with a gloomy expression.
As he was leaving, he suddenly stopped and, without turning his head, gave everyone a few words of advice.
"Just as His Highness the King of Qin said, the truth must not be told to Yun'er. This child is already pitiful enough."
The sun is setting.
Even at dinner time, Yi Shangyun still refused to come downstairs. She sat alone in her room, neither eating nor drinking, nor speaking, her eyes staring blankly into space.
"Knock knock knock"
A knock sounded on the door.
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