"Your subordinate greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin!"
General Cheng!
The two patrolling soldiers knelt down simultaneously in the direction from which the carriage had come.
The surrounding people also knelt down in unison, shouting, "Greetings, Your Highness, the King of Qin!"
Cheng Liang reined in his horse and immediately dismounted, approaching the group. He asked in a low voice, "What happened? How can you argue with ordinary people in the street like this?"
Just moments ago, the old coachman acted fearlessly in front of others, shouting that he would go to the Prince of Qin's mansion to file a complaint.
At that moment, King Xuanyuan Han's carriage was right in front of him, but he was dumbfounded by the person in front of him.
He muttered to himself, "Why did we have to speak of Cao Cao today? Cao Cao has arrived."
So, the patrolling officers spoke first to answer Cheng Liang.
"Reporting to the General, this coachman shouted 'Stop thief!' a few days ago in the street, and the thief was subsequently apprehended by my men and taken to the yamen for processing. But today he stopped us in the street again, saying he wouldn't press charges and demanding the release of the thief!"
After listening, Cheng Liang roughly understood what had happened, and then asked the old driver, "Is what he said all true?"
The old driver paused for a moment, then said, "Yes...and no..."
Cheng Liang frowned, puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean by 'is...and is not'? A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. Anyone who breaks the law must be punished accordingly. As the saying goes, 'Without rules, there can be no order.' Even if you are the plaintiff, how can you do whatever you want?"
The old driver knew he was in the wrong and had no way to defend himself, so he suddenly knelt down heavily in front of him.
With tears streaming down his face, he pleaded with the general, "General, please, please have them release Shunzi! Shunzi is Da Shun's only remaining blood relative in this world, he absolutely cannot be harmed!"
Seeing this, Cheng Liang was clearly confused again: "What's going on?"
The patrolling officers hurriedly explained, "The Da Shun he mentioned is his neighbor, Shunzi, who is the thief he was shouting to catch that day. He is the child that the neighbor and his wife entrusted to his care before they passed away."
Cheng Liang finally understood: "So that's how it is!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, the old driver was filled with remorse.
“It’s all my fault. I should have kept the money that Miss Yi gave for my wife’s medical treatment safe. If Shunzi hadn’t seen it, he wouldn’t have coveted the money, and I wouldn’t be in jail now.”
Perhaps everyone present was not paying attention to the details of what he said, but Xuan Yuanhan, who was sitting quietly in the carriage with his eyes closed, suddenly heard the words "Miss Yi".
Then he opened his deep eyes and called out in a deep voice, "Cheng Liang!"
Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Liang hurriedly turned around and walked towards the carriage window, saying, "Your Highness!"
Xuanyuan Han lifted a corner of the curtain, and Cheng Liang immediately leaned his ear close to him.
A moment later, Cheng Liang's eyes also paused for a moment, and he looked back at the old coachman's direction again.
When he returned to the crowd, he suddenly raised his voice and issued a command: "Men, take this coachman away!"
"yes!"
Immediately, two guards stepped forward, grabbed the old coachman by the arms, and drove him away.
The old driver felt a chill run down his spine and asked, "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"
Cheng Liang said, "Didn't you want to see Shunzi? This general will take you to see him right now."
Upon hearing this, the old driver suddenly turned to surprise and asked a series of questions.
"Really?"
"Is what the general said true?"
"Will I really be able to see Shunzi soon?"
Arrived at the Prince of Qin's residence?
The old coachman was led tremblingly to Chenghua Hall, before Xuanyuan Han.
Looking at Xuan Yuan Hanmo, his hair was all tied up, and he was wearing a black brocade robe. He exuded an aura of authority and dominance, a natural nobility that commanded respect.
The old driver felt as if he were dreaming, and everything before him seemed so unreal.
Suddenly, his legs went weak, as if he was about to collapse, and even his voice began to tremble.
"you……"
"you……"
"you……"
"You really are His Highness the King of Qin..."
At that time, Cheng Liang introduced him, saying, "That's right, this is the one you wanted to meet, the only master of the Qin Prince's Mansion, His Highness the Qin Prince!"
With a "thump".
Upon hearing this, the old driver finally lost even the last bit of strength he had left and collapsed to his knees on the floor.
Facing the noble figure before him, he hurriedly kowtowed and said, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness, the Prince of Qin! May you live a thousand years!"
Xuanyuan Han said in his usual calm voice, "You don't need to be afraid. The reason I had you brought back to the palace is simply because I have some questions for you."
The old driver was clearly surprised when he heard this.
He then raised his head slightly and said, "Your Highness has something to ask this old man? This old man is just a coachman you can see anywhere on the street. I don't know anything about driving a carriage. I don't know what Your Highness wants to ask this old man?"
Ever since he heard the words "Miss Yi" from her on the street, Xuan Yuanhan's heart had been filled with hope on his way back.
If he hadn't been worried that Emperor Jing had planted too many spies around him and that the news might accidentally leak out, he would have rushed over and confronted him in the street.
At this moment, he decided not to waste any more words with him and asked impatiently, "Just now I heard you mention someone on the street. I want to know what your relationship is with that person?"
The old driver recalled for a moment that the person he had talked about the most just now and even in the past few days was Shunzi, as if he had completely forgotten that he had mentioned another person.
So he quickly replied, "Your Highness, are you referring to Shunzi? Shunzi is..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan interrupted him directly: "Do you know a woman surnamed Yi?"
Upon hearing this, the old coachman indeed froze on the spot.
In that instant, it seemed as if they didn't even dare to breathe.
He was clearly quite nervous, thinking to himself, "Oh no, I must have let it slip in the heat of the moment on the street!"
Then, remembering Lu Yuan's words of advice when he left, the old coachman finally made up his mind and said, "No, Miss Yi is such a good person, I absolutely cannot repay kindness with enmity and harm her! I can't say it, I absolutely can't say it."
So he pretended to know nothing about it.
But deep down he was still quite wary of the person in front of him, so he answered Xuan Yuanhan haltingly.
"What?"
"What woman with the surname Yi?"
"The old man doesn't recognize it."
"This old man doesn't understand what His Highness, the King of Qin, is saying?"
Xuanyuan Han listened and stared at him for a while.
Seeing that he avoided eye contact, dared not look up directly, and spoke haltingly, it was obvious that he was lying.
He paused, then looked at her firmly once more and asked, "This is the Prince of Qin's residence. I am personally questioning you. You'd better think carefully before you answer. Do you know a woman surnamed Yi?"
The old coachman knelt before the hall, his shoulders shaking incessantly, his head lowering further and lower, muttering incoherently as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Old man..."
"Old man..."
The hall was vast and silent.
Just as he hesitated and refused to speak, Xuan Yuanhan seemed to have completely lost patience with him.
Suddenly, he raised his voice and ordered, "Cheng Liang, send someone to the government office to convey my message: the city has been rife with thieves lately, and all thieves will be punished more severely. Those who steal large sums of money will be beheaded."
Cheng Liang immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Yes, I will go and inform the government office immediately to carry out the order."
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan was already furious, the old coachman was so frightened that he fell heavily to the ground.
But he was also afraid that if he was even a second too late, Shunzi's life would be in danger.
He quickly rose again and knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing to Xuan Yuanhan and begging for mercy: "You mustn't kill him, you mustn't kill him! Shunzi's crime doesn't deserve death, he can't die, he can't die! Your Highness, please calm your anger, I'll tell you everything..."
At this moment, Cheng Liang scolded him harshly: "Hurry up and speak! You really are refusing to listen to reason and will have to suffer the consequences."
At this point, the old driver finally spoke slowly: "Several months ago, on a rainy night, I did indeed drive a young lady surnamed Yi out of the city!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang anxiously pressed for an answer, asking, "Do you know that girl's full name?"
The old man was terrified and wept uncontrollably as he said, "That girl was the best girl I've ever met in my life. She did me a great favor, and I will never forget her name until I die. Her name was... Yi Shangyun."
Upon hearing this, before Xuan Yuanhan could speak, Cheng Liangxian hurriedly spoke up, looking at Xuan Yuanhan's face with a mixture of surprise and joy, and said, "Your Highness, it really is the Princess Consort! The Princess Consort is really still alive?!"
Xuanyuan Han could hardly believe his ears, so he hurriedly unfolded a portrait of a cloud on a garment that was spread out on the table.
This portrait was completed by him in the last few days, based on his memory.
Unexpectedly, it came in handy so quickly.
Xuanyuan Han asked the old coachman again, "Look carefully for me. Does the girl you saw resemble the woman in this painting?"
Meanwhile, the old coachman seemed to be deep in thought.
But Cheng Liang, who was beside him, quickly interrupted him: "Is this what the woman you're talking about looks like?"
The old coachman then came to his senses and looked at the portrait in Xuan Yuanhan's hand.
After examining her carefully for a while, he finally said with certainty, "Yes, it's her! It's this Miss Yi!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's face lit up with joy, and he asked anxiously, "Where did you say she went?"
Unexpectedly, the old driver didn't rush to answer his question, but instead asked himself, "Wait, who did you say this young lady was?"
Cheng Liang explained, "She is the only princess consort that our prince has ever personally welcomed into the family!"
The old coachman exclaimed in surprise, "You mean she is... the Princess Consort of Qin!"
It was at this moment that he finally understood: "So, the father of the child in Miss Yi's womb is His Highness the Prince of Qin?!"
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