"Alas...this King Qin," the Queen sighed with worry, her voice trembling with helplessness. That was all she could do; the rest was up to fate.
"Stop wandering around outside the palace like a madman. Prepare to return to the palace with me early today. As a princess of the Western Qin Kingdom, how can you be so disrespectful as to wander around and cause trouble all day long?" The Empress suddenly reprimanded Xuan Yuan Yue.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey," Xuan Yuan Yue said reluctantly, her lips pursed. She still harbored doubts and worries: "There's still no news of Yun'er. I wonder if Uncle Qin has caught the assassin or rescued her. Yun'er is innocent; what would the assassin want with her?"
As night deepened, the guests who had come to the Qin King's mansion to attend the wedding and offer their congratulations gradually dispersed, but the Qin King himself did not appear at the banquet from beginning to end.
At this moment, the bridal chamber, Mingyue Pavilion, was ablaze with red, exuding an atmosphere of great joy.
On the table, a pair of bright red dragon and phoenix candles flickered and danced in the wind.
"Wild geese carry letters, and fish convey messages," and the palace specially commissioned several sets of exquisitely crafted goose and fish lanterns for this grand wedding, creating a romantic atmosphere in the hall.
Inside the bedchamber, Mei Xiyuan sat alone by the couch, her head covered by a large red bridal veil embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. She waited with great joy for her long-awaited husband to lift the veil so they could drink from the same cup together and grow old together.
As the saying goes, "Customs vary every ten miles, and traditions differ every hundred miles," Mei Xiyuan was not particularly familiar with the marriage customs of the Western Qin Kingdom. At this moment, all she knew was that, filled with longing and anticipation, she had entered the gates of the Qin King's mansion and the bedchamber of Qin King Xuanyuan Han, becoming the Qin King's consort, a dream of every woman in the world.
And this was the wedding night she had been looking forward to for so long.
Tonight, the red candles burn only for her.
......
That night, in a secluded and quiet house in the city, under the dim candlelight, Yi Shangyun was lying quietly asleep on the bed.
A man dressed in purple with his black hair half-tied up sat in front of the couch and took out a mysterious jade-colored medicine bottle, placing it in front of the thin, pale face on his clothes.
As soon as the man opened the cap of the jade medicine bottle in his hand, a purple gas that looked like smoke and mist was immediately drawn into Yi Shangyun's seven acupoints.
Then they heard the man call out softly in an extremely gentle voice, "Little girl, little girl."
At this moment, Yi Shangyun slowly opened her tightly closed eyes. As soon as her eyes were fully open, she immediately saw a face that she could no longer recognize.
The "Third Young Master" is actually Yi Junhao, the Third Young Master.
"Why is it you?"
Where is this place?
How did I get here?
Yi Shangyun had just woken up and was still a little groggy. She slowly sat up and looked around; this wasn't a place she was familiar with. Pale and weak, she hurriedly asked...
"Don't worry, girl, this place is very secluded, no one will find out."
"Third Young Master, how did I end up here? Wasn't I accompanying Princess Yue to the Qin Prince's residence to witness the wedding of the Prince of Qin?" Yi Shangyun asked weakly and anxiously.
"Girl, do you know that if it weren't for me today, you would probably have fallen into a coma again, just like that year back in the Yi family," Yi Junhao said with some complaint and anger. He always had a feeling that nothing good could come of this girl being with that Prince Qin.
Seeing that Yi Junhao was angry, Yi Shangyun said with great sincerity, "Third Young Master, I know you have always been good to me, Yun'er thanks you."
"What's the use of just saying thank you? I, Yi Junhao, don't need those words." Yi Junhao's fiery temper flared up again. He quickly got up with a displeased look on his face, flicked his sleeve, and blurted out this sentence that sounded more like a complaint.
Yi Shangyun asked herself, Yi Junhao had always given her endless help, and she felt that she had nothing else to say except to express her gratitude. Seeing that Yi Junhao was even more annoyed with her, she could only lower her head and remain silent with a look of disappointment and shame on her face.
Yi Junhao seemed to realize that his unintentional words had hurt Yi Shangyun, so he immediately changed his expression and said, "Alright, alright, I think I must have owed you something in my past life, and this life is my punishment to pay off my debt. Never mind, as long as you are awake now, that's better than anything else."
When Yi Shangyun heard Yi Junhao's improved tone of voice, she raised her head again and smiled gently at him.
"A beautiful woman's smile is worth a thousand pieces of gold," Yi Junhao replied, exchanging a knowing smile with her.
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan was chasing the assassin alone, Cheng Liang hurriedly led several of the Prince's Palace guards to follow.
They had already joined forces with Xuanyuan Han to chase after nearly half of the imperial city, but suddenly the assassin who had kidnapped Yi Shangyun disappeared.
"Search every house for me, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find Yi Yao Nu unharmed!" Xuan Yuan Han ordered, seemingly enraged.
Seeing the situation, Cheng Liang quickly took orders and deployed his men to act separately.
Xuanyuan Han glanced around and discovered a woman's silver hairpin lying under a magnolia tree in front of a very secluded house on the street corner.
He walked over and gently picked it up; it was a long tassel hairpin inlaid with two peach blossoms. He felt as if he'd seen it somewhere before, so he reached out and pushed open the door of the house, stepping over the threshold and going inside.
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun heard a creaking sound in the courtyard and said to Yi Junhao, "It sounds like someone has come in."
Soon after, the sound of what sounded like a man's footsteps could be heard. Yi Junhao immediately rushed to the window and peered out. Upon seeing the person, he muttered angrily, "As expected, it's that ice-cold face again. I can't shake him off. He's like a stubborn leech. He even managed to find me in such a secluded place. It seems I really underestimated him."
He quickly went over and lifted Yi Shangyun from the bed, but Yi Shangyun had not yet recovered her strength after getting up and getting off the bed. She staggered and almost fell to the ground. Yi Junhao instantly pulled her close and hugged her waist.
Just then, Xuan Yuanhan pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Yi Junhao with Yi Shangyun's slender waist pressed against him, his eyes immediately widened and turned cold, filled with a chilling and murderous aura.
He swiftly raised the sword he had prepared when he entered the room and thrust it straight at Yi Junhao. Seeing this, Yi Shangyun stretched out his arms and quickly turned around, using his small body to block Yi Junhao's path.
Seeing that she instinctively shielded Yi Junhao from the sword with her own body, Xuan Yuanhan immediately turned his sword, but it was too late. The sword tip pierced Yi Shangyun's shoulder, and blood instantly seeped out from her thin and old winter coat.
"Girl!" Yi Junhao exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide.
Xuanyuan Han was also shocked and quickly drew his sword, snatched her back, and hugged her tightly in his arms.
"Your Highness, don't kill him, let him go!" The moment Yi Shangyun landed, she was still pleading for Yi Junhao. At this moment, her face was deathly pale as she slumped to the ground, and Xuan Yuanhan held her in his arms, looking at the person in his arms with extreme heartache.
He raised his eyes but didn't look at Yi Junhao, only angrily saying, "Get out of here now, or I'll regret it!"
Yi Shangyun covered the wound from the sword stab with one hand, her brows furrowed, and looked at Yi Junhao with almost pleading eyes, signaling him to leave quickly.
Cheng Liang and the others outside also heard the commotion and rushed over.
Yi Junhao realized that this situation was very unfavorable to him, so he widened his eyes, frowned, and helplessly strode out the door. Yi Shangyun finally couldn't bear the successive injuries and fainted again in Xuan Yuanhan's arms.
"Yun'er, Yun'er," Xuan Yuanhan called out with concern when he saw that she had already fainted.
"Your Highness, I am late," Cheng Liang exclaimed in surprise as he entered the room and saw a large pool of blood on the shoulder of Cheng Liang's clothes.
Xuanyuan Han swept her up in his arms, and as soon as they stepped outside, he grabbed Yi Shangyun and hurriedly mounted his horse, heading towards the Qin Prince's residence. Cheng Liang, looking astonished, followed closely behind.
Before we knew it, it was almost dawn.
In the Mingyue Pavilion, the sleeping quarters of Prince Qin's residence, Mei Xiyuan sat upright by the bed, waiting for her husband.
She had waited all night for him to return so they could drink the nuptial wine together and then consummate their marriage.
Suddenly, she heard the creak of the door opening, and she happily straightened herself up and sat down again.
Then Zhao Mama walked in; she had already come and gone several times that night. Each time Mei Xiyuan heard her, she would straighten up and sit properly, but each time it was just Zhao Mama in the end, and then she would just sigh in disappointment and remain silent.
"Your Highness, please rest for a while," Zhao Mama comforted her with concern.
Seeing that Mei Xiyuan remained silent, Zhao Mama angrily said, "This Prince of Western Qin is really too much. On the night of our wedding, he dares to treat my Dongning Princess so disrespectfully. This old servant must report this matter to His Majesty and the Empress and let them decide what to do."
"Granny Zhao, you absolutely mustn't!" Mei Xiyuan, who had been sitting all night, finally spoke.
“Princess, it’s one thing that the King of Qin of Western Qin didn’t come out to greet you personally on your wedding day, but he didn’t even show his face on your wedding night. How can anyone tolerate this? Isn’t this deliberately embarrassing the princess and the Kingdom of Dongning?” Zhao Mama said angrily.
“Granny Zhao, now that the Prince of Qin of Western Qin has already welcomed me into the Prince of Qin’s residence in a grand sedan chair carried by eight men, how can I easily leave again? Besides, now that we’ve entered the bridal chamber, no matter what, he and I are already husband and wife. How can the principles between husband and wife be clearly defined?” Mei Xiyuan said meaningfully.
“But Princess, you have always been pampered and loved since you were a child. You have never suffered such injustice before,” said Granny Zhao indignantly as she wiped away her tears of heartache.
"There's no need for you to say more, Granny. People have to learn to grow up eventually, and they must grow up. This princess can't be pampered and spoiled by my father and mother forever. Prince Qin and I have a long future ahead of us, or perhaps he really is tied down by something, who knows?" Mei Xiyuan comforted herself, still holding onto a sliver of hope.
Then, all that could be heard from inside the room was a long sigh from Granny Zhao.
The red candle burned out, and finally dawn broke.
Mei Xiyuan lifted the bright red veil embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns from her head and slowly raised her head.
Finally, she saw the bedchamber she had dreamed of for countless days and nights—noble, solemn, yet comfortable and luxurious.
She gently rolled up her sleeves, gazing intently at the red dot on her jade-like arm, that dazzling cinnabar mole.
Accompanied by Zhao Mama, the maidservants who accompanied Mei Xiyuan were carefully helping her remove her extremely luxurious wedding makeup, preparing her to enter the palace later to meet the Empress Dowager of Western Qin and express her gratitude.
Suddenly, she picked up the spotless white handkerchief with fallen petals from the bed, stared at it for a long time, and then handed it to Granny Zhao. Granny Zhao reached out, took it, nodded, and put it away.
This red and white handkerchief will fall later...
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