After a while, the guard seemed to have calmed down a lot, and then asked in a low voice, "By the way, now that Miss Yi knows the true background of our Wanjiao Pavilion, let's not beat around the bush. May I ask, Miss Yi, what brings you to Wanjiao Pavilion disguised as a man?"
Yi Shangyun had been waiting for this question, and blurted out, "Where did you hide Yu Niang?"
Just as his master had predicted, Yi Shangyun had indeed come for Yu Niang. The guard pondered to himself, hesitated for a moment, then looked again at the mistress behind the beaded curtain in the darkness, and slowly said, "If we hand over Yu Niang, will Miss Yi consider accepting our Northern Lie Kingdom's invitation?"
"Hmph, is this your way of threatening me?" Yi Shangyun scoffed at the guard.
“Miss Yi, you are mistaken. Our Northern Lie Kingdom would be more than willing to hire a genius like you, so how could we threaten you? We simply feel that it would be a waste of your talent to be a subservient royal physician with such rare expertise in detoxification. As the saying goes, ‘A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on.’ If you were to follow our prince in the future, you could enjoy endless prosperity and honor in this world. Why not?”
Hearing the guard's words, Yi Shangyun disdained to say anything more to such people, finally saying only, "Do you really think everyone in this world is a shameless traitor? What's wrong with being servile? What's wrong with being a female physician in the royal palace? Whether they are female physicians or servants, they all earn their living honestly and with a clear conscience. But if they betray Western Qin and go against their conscience, even if they live a life of luxury and extravagance, they will still be branded as traitors who will be despised for eternity. I don't need to tell you which is more important; even a fool like you can tell the difference!"
"You... Yi Shangyun, don't be so ungrateful. If you continue to provoke me, don't blame me for being impolite." Clearly, the guard was once again so angry at Yi Shangyun that he jumped up and down.
However, Yi Shangyun only glared at him, showing no fear whatsoever. Then, remaining calm, she glanced indifferently at the beaded curtain in the dark corner of the room and said calmly, "Alright, stop trying to intimidate me. Keep mentioning the Northern Lie Kingdom as if it's your personal fiefdom as a mere guard. I don't think the matters we're discussing today are something you, in your position, can decide. Stop wasting your time with your nonsense. Why don't... let your master come out from behind that curtain and discuss things personally? Hiding in the dark for too long will only make him stifled."
Upon hearing this, the guard looked in surprise into the darkness.
Then, Tuoba Ze slowly got up, lifted the thick curtain, and walked out from the dark corner. He clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, good, good, good. You are indeed an extraordinary woman. I have long heard of Miss Yi's remarkable medical skills. Today, I have seen that she is also a loyal and patriotic woman. I admire you, I admire you."
Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun ignored his pretentious act and didn't even glance at him. She remained seated at the table, staring straight ahead, and gave him a slight, disdainful snort.
Tuoba Ze abruptly stopped, bored, and then waved his hand. The guard beside him hurriedly bowed and left, leaving only him and Yi Shangyun in the room.
Immediately afterwards, he walked to the extinguished oil lamps and personally lit two of them, adjusting the wicks, instantly brightening the room. Then, he slowly walked to the table where Yi Shangyun was sitting and sat down, saying, "Miss Yi, let's be frank."
At this moment, Yi Shangyun blinked, as if he was ready to listen and fight.
Tuoba Ze then asked, "I wonder if Miss Yi and Yu Niang are friends or relatives?"
Yi Shangyun coldly replied, "I have no relation to Yu Niang."
Tuoba Ze was taken aback. "Not related to you at all? Why would Miss Yi risk her life to save someone who is not related to you at all?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly turned to look at him, pondered for a moment, then looked away and replied with a serious expression, "If that's what you're asking... Yu Niang and I were originally unrelated, but today, because of you and your words, we've become like sisters, bound by fate. How can I stand idly by and not help my own sister who is trapped?"
Tuoba Ze seemed somewhat puzzled upon hearing this, and asked, "Because of me and my words, you and Yu Niang have become siblings bound by fate? I wonder how you interpret Miss Yi's words?"
Yi Shangyun chuckled, then suddenly raised his head and looked at him coldly. He said, word by word, with a firm and powerful tone, "Faced with foreign invasion, the country is on the verge of collapse. Every citizen of Xiqin is a brother or sister from the same mother."
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze was immediately filled with awe and shock, and was momentarily stunned.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses. Her eyes suddenly fell on the cup of rose tea that was placed on the table in front of Yishangyun, which she had not touched at all.
He elegantly raised his left hand, lifted the right sleeve of his robe, and reached out to take the cup of tea in front of Yi Shangyun, which had long since gone cold, and poured it out. He then brewed a new pot of tea and personally poured it for her. "You are indeed no ordinary woman. Your words just now were truly astonishing and deeply moved this prince."
Seeing that Yi Shangyun still looked unwell, Tuoba Ze put on a smile and said, "Miss Yi, why don't you try this cup of the finest rose tea from the South? It's a tea that Yu Niang really likes."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun finally remembered. No wonder she felt a familiar scent when she entered the room. The aroma of this tea was exactly the same as the faint tea fragrance emanating from the sachets that Yu Niang and Lan Xiang each carried. Such precious, top-grade rose tea from the South—could it be... that the tea leaves in the sachet were a gift from Tuoba Ze to Yu Niang, and Yu Niang used them to make the sachets, which she then gave to Lan Xiang? Instantly, Yi Shangyun could no longer contain her excitement and anxiously asked, "Where is Yu Niang? What did you do to her?"
However, Tuoba Ze still smiled and advised, "Miss Yi must be thirsty. Have some tea to soothe your throat, and we can talk slowly. I guarantee that you will be able to see Yu Niang one last time."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun suddenly grabbed the teacup, lifted a corner of her veil, tilted her head back, and drank the tea in one gulp. She then said, "Is that enough? Tell me, what exactly do you want?"
However, Tuoba Ze remained nonchalant, picking up a cup of tea himself and leisurely taking a sip as if quite intoxicated. He said contentedly, "Good tea, truly good tea, but... this good tea is not meant to be drunk like this, young lady... Actually, my request is very simple, not greedy at all. I can only spare one of you and Yu Niang, the other one must come back to Bei Lie with me."
"You...aren't you afraid of me, the King of Western Qin?" Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun secretly clenched his fist and said angrily.
However, Tuoba Ze said with a contemptuous look, "Oh? The War God King Qin, who is famous throughout the four kingdoms of Lingkong Continent, would he really start a war with my Beilie Kingdom without any plan for a mere female physician in his palace or a lowly commoner named Yu Niang?... Or does the King of Xiqin... also want you?"
After whispering these words into Yi Shangyun's ear, Tuoba Ze saw that Yi Shangyun seemed to have lost her composure and was speechless. Tuoba Ze then deliberately increased his bargaining power to force her to give in, saying, "How about this, this prince will agree to spare a few more lives?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun immediately looked up at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Tuoba Ze immediately stood up, walked to the window, leaned against it, and looked out at the dark night. He saw the faint candlelight shining from the window of his attic across the street. "Did you send Lanxiang to Ruyi Residence to get reinforcements for you? Do you really think she can bring you help?"
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun had a very bad feeling. She stood up abruptly, glared at him, and shouted, "What did you do to Lanxiang?"
With one hand behind his back, Tuoba Ze suddenly turned around and slowly leaned close to Yi Shangyun's ear again, softly saying, "If you agree to return to Beilie with me, you will not only enjoy the ultimate wealth and glory in the world, but I can also spare Yu Niang, Lan Xiang, Yan Hong... all of them. How about it? They are all your brothers and sisters. Can you really bear to watch them be humiliated and killed?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun gritted her teeth, still trying her best to suppress the anger in her heart. She thought, "Didn't Yan Hong say that His Highness Prince Qin had already surrounded Wanjiao Pavilion? Then why hasn't he made a move yet? Or is it that His Highness Prince Qin hasn't found Tuoba Ze in Wanjiao Pavilion at all, and doesn't know that they are trapped inside? And Yu Niang, no one knows what happened to Yu Niang, whether she is alive or dead, or where she is hidden." All of this made her make a painful decision.
With that thought in mind, Yi Shangyun didn't have time to think any further. She gritted her teeth and said to him, "Fine, I promise you, I'll go back to Beilie with you. But I have one condition."
"What are the conditions?" Tuoba Ze asked.
"I need to see Yu Niang first to make sure she's still alive. Otherwise... I'd rather perish together with her, and you'll only get a corpse," Yi Shangyun said confidently.
Tuoba Ze readily agreed, "Okay, I promise you."
"Someone come here." Before Yi Shangyun could react, Tuoba Ze hurriedly summoned the bodyguards who were guarding the door.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?" the guard asked, bowing as he entered.
Tuoba Ze simply ordered, "Take Miss Yi to see Yu Niang immediately."
The guard was stunned for a moment, glanced at his master, and Tuoba Ze nodded slightly to him. The guard seemed to understand and then said to Yi Shangyun, "Please ask Miss Yi to close her eyes."
Yi Shangyun was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath, as if she had made all the necessary mental preparations. Afterward, she closed her beautiful phoenix eyes slightly.
The guard took out a black cloth from his person and blindfolded Yi Shangyun completely. Then he slowly led her out of Lanxiang's room, downstairs, towards the pavilion in the backyard...
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