Mei Zhixuan said, "Since we've searched for so long and still can't find the hiding place of Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, it seems we have no choice but to use him?"
Upon hearing this, the guard's eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Could it be that Your Highness is referring to that Young Master Yi from the tavern earlier?"
Seeing Mei Zhixuan raise an eyebrow, it seemed that he had guessed correctly, but he was even more puzzled: "Not only is that Young Master Yi all about effeminate femininity, but he's also all alone. What kind of ability could he possibly have? We've been searching for so long and we still can't find him, how could he possibly find him?"
Mei Zhixuan gave him a deep look and said confidently, "If I'm not mistaken, then Young Master Yi must have already met with Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, tonight. This man's heart has always been with the legitimate princess, and I never expected that he would travel all the way to Dongning to catch up with her. Tonight's drunkenness is probably caused by the two of them."
The guard suddenly understood: "I see."
Then, recalling the less-than-pleasant scene from their earlier meeting, the guard became worried: "But will that Third Young Master Yi agree to help us? Judging from his demeanor just now, he didn't seem very friendly towards His Highness!"
Mei Zhixuan smiled and said, "Since he agreed to go with me, it proves that things aren't going so smoothly for him. He'll need my help to win the heart of the beauty."
The guard seemed to suddenly understand the reason, and immediately looked at him with admiration, saying, "Your Highness is wise!"
The following morning.
In a private room at a restaurant in the city, Mei Zhixuan and Young Master Yi sat down facing each other.
Young Master Yi raised one eyebrow high, maintaining his carefree and unrestrained demeanor, as he poured himself a drink and began to speak with great interest.
"Tell me, about what happened with Bei Lie and his group, we agreed to find Yun'er together, then bring her back to Dongning Kingdom to acknowledge her ancestors, and then you would persuade your father to bestow Yun'er upon me in marriage. But why did the Third Prince break his promise, ambush me, and then take Yun'er back to Dongning Kingdom alone? Now, after all this, how has Yun'er ended up in the hands of Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan? What explanation does the Third Prince have for all of this?"
Upon hearing Yi Sanshao's words, Mei Zhixuan thought to himself, "As expected, I was right. He really has already met with those two people."
Suddenly snapping out of his daze, Mei Zhixuan hurriedly reached out and pretended to be apologetic as he poured wine for the Third Young Master Yi across from him, saying, "It was indeed my momentary lapse of judgment that offended you, Third Young Master. I hope you will forgive me."
Young Master Yi snorted coldly, seemingly dissatisfied with his extremely far-fetched reason, and said casually, "In a moment of panic, I didn't think things through?"
Mei Zhixuan sighed deeply, his face showing difficulty, and said, "Third Young Master, you may not know this, but for many years, Father has been waiting for my younger sister to return to the palace. His constant longing for her has finally made him ill. Just a few days before we found her, I received a secret report from the palace saying that Father is unwell, and it seems..."
He paused briefly, then continued, "Therefore, upon seeing my younger sister, I was so anxious that I wanted my father to see her as soon as possible to cure his heart ailment, so I rushed her back to Dongning. Unexpectedly, as soon as my younger sister entered the palace, before she could even acknowledge my father, Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, followed her and snatched her away again. It's truly infuriating and hateful!"
After Mei Zhixuan finished speaking, he slammed his palm heavily on the table in front of him.
Young Master Yi was still somewhat skeptical of Mei Zhixuan's words, saying, "Even so, why would the Third Prince need to take Yun'er away alone after ambushing me?"
Mei Zhixuan said earnestly, "This prince knows that the Third Young Master cares deeply for the Princess and is devoted to her. At that time, seeing that the Princess was in a coma, I thought that the Third Young Master would not agree to this prince taking the Princess and subjecting her to the hardships of travel. Therefore, this prince came up with this inferior plan, and I hope that the Third Young Master will understand!"
Of course, Young Master Yi knew that Mei Zhixuan's nonsense was not credible, but he thought to himself that he was now alone in Dongning Kingdom and wanted to fight against Xuanyuan Han. He needed Mei's support, and he also needed Mei's introduction to enter the palace to meet the King of Dongning Kingdom in the future.
So, they made a reluctant reconciliation on the surface: "Since there was a reason for this, and considering that you are acting out of filial piety and for the sake of the old king, we will forgive you this once, and not do it again!"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan raised his glass and smiled, saying, "This is the last time, thank you, Third Young Master!"
The two then drank their respective glasses of wine in one gulp to signify their second alliance.
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan finally spoke up and asked, "By the way, may I ask if the Third Young Master has already met the Imperial Sister and the Prince of Western Qin in Dongning?"
Since it's an alliance, it's only natural that each side would show some sincerity, which is to be expected. Young Master Yi didn't bother to cover for them, so he put down his wine cup and said, "That's right, I've met them all."
Seeing this, Mei Zhixuan was quite straightforward and said angrily, "To be honest, a few days ago, I bought some things from a group of Western Qin merchants. I just didn't expect that the Western Qin people would be so wicked. They are still hiding in my Dongning territory and are unwilling to leave. I wonder what their intentions are?"
Young Master Yi immediately realized, "The Third Prince suspects that the group of Western Qin merchants were acting on the orders of Prince Xuanyuan Han of Qin?"
In an instant, their eyes met, as if a similar spark ignited between them.
After a long pause, Mei Zhixuan spoke first: "Just now, on my way to find the Third Young Master, a scout reported that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, would lead men to blow up my entire Dongning City tonight?"
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi gasped in shock: "So this is what Xuan Yuanhan's hidden mission is all about."
He quickly regained his composure and asked, "What does Your Highness, the Third Prince, wish me to do? Help you find these people and stop their actions?"
Mei Zhixuan smiled and said, "No, quite the opposite. This prince hopes that the Third Young Master can make the Prince of Qin's plan a reality. Because this prince thinks that the Prince of Qin's plan... is excellent!"
Young Master Yi looked bewildered and asked, "What's so good about it?"
Mei Zhixuan smiled but remained silent.
Young Master Yi asked in surprise, "Since you already knew, why didn't you stop it?"
Mei Zhixuan said matter-of-factly, "Prince Qin Xuanyuan Han is plotting something sinister. As the commander of the city guard of Dongning Kingdom, I am naturally obligated to capture him. To catch a thief red-handed, I will surely strike him down tonight."
For a moment, Young Master Yi was stunned as he stared at Mei Zhixuan's face. Blowing up a city was no joke.
Before we knew it, it was already dusk.
Xuanyuan Han slowly walked out of Yi Shangyun's room, dressed in a black brocade robe, his eyes piercing, his black hair all tied up, ready to go out.
Before leaving, he gave the guards at the gate one last instruction: "After dark, make sure to keep a close watch on her. No matter what happens outside tonight, do not allow her to step out of this courtyard."
The guard clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and solemnly accepted the order, saying, "Your subordinate obeys!"
After saying that, he seemed to still be a little uneasy, so he looked back at the warm candlelight burning inside the room, and reluctantly turned and walked towards the door.
inside the house.
For some reason, Yi Shangyun felt uneasy and restless whenever she thought of Xuan Yuanhan's gloomy face under the candlelight, as if something big was bound to happen tonight.
At this moment, she recalled the last words Xuan Yuanhan had said before he left: "After tonight, I will take you home."
Clearly, he must have been hiding something very important from her. Seeing him leave without looking back, she got up anxiously and paced back and forth in the room, muttering to herself, "Yan'er, Yan'er, I asked you to go and find out some information, why haven't you come back yet?"
As it was speaking, there was a "creak".
As the door opened, a familiar voice finally came: "Miss, Miss."
Upon hearing the sound, Yi Shangyun rushed towards her and grabbed her, pulling her inside while lowering her voice to ask, "Yan'er! You're finally back! How did it go? Did you find out anything? What exactly did His Highness go out to do?"
It wasn't until she and Yan'er reached the candlelight that she noticed Yan'er's deathly pale face. Yi Shangyun froze for a moment, then suddenly came to her senses and asked, "Yan'er, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"
Fear filled Yan'er's face and eyes, and she seemed to be sweating profusely. Her small body trembled slightly as she stammered, "Miss, Miss..."
Yi Shangyun had no idea what had happened, so she kept urging, "What happened? Yan'er, tell me quickly!"
Yan'er still seemed unable to believe her eyes. On the map she had just peeked at, there were countless red dots. She muttered incoherently, as if talking nonsense, "Red dots, densely packed red dots, red dots, densely packed..."
Yi Shangyun became increasingly confused and worried as she listened: "What red dot? What red dot?"
Yan'er was still trembling, still seemingly babbling incoherently: "On the map, red dots, densely packed red dots, explosion points..."
“Map, red dot, explosion point…” Yi Shangyun finally understood Yan’er’s words by using a few keywords.
Suddenly, he felt his legs go weak, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud. His hands and feet turned icy cold, his mind went blank, and his ears were ringing. He mumbled incoherently, "Your Highness, are you... are you going to blow up the entire Dongning Imperial City?"
She then realized why Xuan Yuanhan had stayed here in seclusion ever since he brought her out of the palace, refusing to leave.
It turns out he was secretly plotting something else.
In an instant, countless faces flashed through her mind. Yi Shangyun murmured softly, "Your Majesty, Princess Yue, so many innocent citizens of Dongning, so many vibrant lives... No, no, Your Highness, you can't do this, you can't..."
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