The King of Dongning continued to persuade him, "This King of Qin is truly not a good match for you! I will certainly not let him off easily this time. The only way to counter him now is to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Nan'an. Moreover, I have heard that the Crown Prince of Nan'an is an old acquaintance of yours in Western Qin, and he once risked everything to obtain a miraculous herb from the Cold Wasteland Mountain to cure your cold ailment. It is clear that he is sincere towards you, so why not..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun had already clenched his fists tightly. Suddenly, he looked like he was being forced into a corner and didn't want to listen anymore. In a moment of panic, he interrupted the rest of the conversation, saying, "Father, please don't say any more. Your son agrees!"
Upon hearing this, the King of Dongning looked over and asked in surprise and delight, "My son, are you really... willing to form a marriage alliance with Nan'an for the sake of Dongning?"
Yi Shangyun's face was expressionless at this moment. She had thought this through carefully. So she nodded solemnly again and looked at him steadily, saying, "Your subject agrees to Father Emperor's request to form a marriage alliance with Nan'an Kingdom. I only ask that Father Emperor spare the lives of Prince Qin and the others and let them return to Xi Qin."
Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Yi Shangyun, the King of Dongning once again fell into deep thought and hesitated.
Who is the King of Western Qin? He's not so easy to capture. Releasing him would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains; he'd surely be devoured by it one day.
However, given Yi Shangyun's seemingly resolute face, it was clear that there was no room for negotiation.
The King of Dongning suddenly felt so powerless and insignificant that he had fallen so low as to have to use the person he loved most to consolidate his rule.
For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, lost in thought, for a long time. Finally, the King of Dongning solemnly agreed, saying, "Alright, I promise you I will release him. But I fear that even if he manages to return to Western Qin, the suspicious and incompetent Emperor Jing of Western Qin will not let him go!"
Yi Shangyun seemed unconcerned about the concerns of the King of Dongning. At the moment, she truly couldn't afford to worry about such things and could only take things one step at a time.
She stared at him intently the whole time, and after a long while, she suddenly curtsied to him with unusual seriousness and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor!"
After saying that, he turned to leave, but before he had taken two steps, he suddenly felt as if a tightly taut string in his head had been snapped.
Suddenly, her petite body staggered and almost fell over.
Upon seeing this, the King of Dongning hurriedly reached out his two large hands to support him with concern: "My son, are you alright?"
Without turning her head, she merely touched her forehead and then extended a slender hand to stop him, saying, "It's alright, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave!"
Watching Yi Shangyun's resolute departure, the King of Dongning felt his heart clench tightly, feeling extremely distressed.
Suddenly, he felt a dull pain in his chest, followed by a sudden weakness in his legs. He placed a hand on his chest and slowly sat down, muttering to himself, "My son, how could I not know that you are already devoted to that Prince Qin? But your father is old, and neither of your two elder brothers is worthy of you. In the end, your father is sorry..."
The moment she stepped out of the Qingxin Hall, Yi Shangyun's tears finally flowed uncontrollably, and her heart collapsed instantly.
At that moment, she felt an intense pain in her heart, as if she could not breathe for a moment. She had to reach up and tightly clutch the clothes around her heart with one hand, and cover her mouth with the other, afraid that her cries would startle those around her.
At that moment, she finally understood why her mother had gone to such lengths to make her an ugly woman, preferring to entrust her to an ordinary couple in the mountains rather than reveal her noble identity.
If only she were still that ordinary woman from the Western Qin Pharmacist's Mansion, always wearing a veil, how wonderful that would be! At least she wouldn't be facing so much helplessness and despair now.
She asked herself again and again, trying to recall how she had gotten to where she was today.
Stumbling and staggering, after an unknown amount of time, he finally made his way back to the palace gate with great difficulty.
Under the cover of night, by the dim light of the candlelight, I looked up and suddenly saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth alone in a corner of the doorway.
Yi Shangyun stopped and looked him up and down carefully for a while. Seeing that he looked somewhat familiar, she continued to walk forward and approached him, asking his back, "Who is he?"
Hearing the voice, the person seemed startled and suddenly turned around. Yun Fang stared at him with wide eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Yue..."
He had barely opened his mouth when he seemed to remember something, and instantly raised his head again, feigning disdain, even revealing a hint of contempt and hatred in his eyes as he said, "It's you. What are you doing here?"
The visitor was none other than Xuan Yuan Yue, who had heard the news of Xuan Yuan Han's capture in Dongning Kingdom and, unable to enter the imperial prison herself, had no choice but to come here to inquire about the details.
Upon hearing this, she was suddenly faced with her and was somewhat at a loss. Clearly, she never dreamed that Yi Shangyun would be the incomparably noble legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom.
Surprised, she still asked with concern, "Yun... no, has Princess Yongning really decided to form a marriage alliance with the Nan'an Kingdom?"
Yi Shangyun, with an air of nonchalance, turned to her and said, "The Third Prince's wife is certainly well-informed. This matter has nothing to do with you!"
Xuanyuan Yue knew her character well. As soon as he saw her red eyes from crying, he knew how much bitterness was in her heart.
He didn't mind her arrogant attitude at all, but thinking of his own experience of being married for only two years, he still said earnestly, "Are you really willing to sacrifice so much to save Uncle Qin?"
Thinking of Xuan Yuanhan's predicament, Yi Shangyun could no longer suppress her worry. In her anxiety, she said angrily, "What can we do if he doesn't want to? Are we just going to watch him die?"
Seeing her anxiety, Xuanyuan Yue said, "But perhaps, perhaps we have other ways? We don't necessarily have to sacrifice your happiness with Uncle Qin to choose someone you don't love at all. In that case, I believe Uncle Qin would definitely not agree..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun suddenly glared at her and interrupted her sharply: "Other ways? It looks like His Highness will be publicly beheaded after tomorrow. What other options do we have? Tell me, tell me!"
"I..." Clearly, Xuan Yuan Yue was also helpless in this matter. She was already isolated and helpless in the Dongning Imperial Palace, and it was a blessing that she had been able to protect herself until now.
Looking at Xuan Yuan Yue's helpless face for a long time, Yi Shang Yun gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "Xuan Yuan Yue, I hate you. All of this today is thanks to your father. If it weren't for his scheme, how could Your Highness be in this situation? And how could we have ended up like this?"
“No, Yun’er…” Hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue wanted to say something, but she found that, deep down, she couldn’t explain anything.
Looking at her speechless face, Yi Shangyun said with heartbreaking pain, "Between us, all ties are severed. I never want to see you again in this lifetime!"
After saying that, he left Xuan Yuan Yue alone and went into the palace gate, which was then tightly closed.
Xuanyuan Yue collapsed to the ground, sobbing and apologizing profusely, "Yun'er, I'm so sorry, so sorry..."
Until dusk the next day, Yi Shangyun hadn't gone anywhere all day. He just stayed in his palace, neither sleeping nor drinking, just sitting there in a daze.
Young Master Yi, who is still in the Dongning Imperial Palace, was overjoyed to learn that Yi Shangyun had personally agreed to the marriage. He went to her palace.
To satisfy his own selfish desires, he did not hesitate to push Xuan Yuanhan to his death. He originally thought he would be happy, but when he actually faced Yi Shangyun again, he saw her hesitant face from afar, with a deep sorrow between her brows that seemed impossible to dispel. He suddenly realized that he might have made a mistake.
Only when she saw Yi Shangyun's gaze gradually lift and look at her did she suddenly realize what was happening. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, so she subconsciously said, "Girl, I'm sorry, I..."
Yi Shangyun looked at him with utmost seriousness. For some reason, perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps because he was shocked by the look in his eyes, he suddenly found himself speechless.
At this moment, Yi Shangyun objected, asking slowly and deliberately, "Excuse me? Prince of Nan'an? May I ask why the Prince says such a thing?"
Young Master Yi, who had been concealing his true identity, was instantly thrown into disarray by the question and was about to explain and apologize when asked, "Girl? Listen to me..."
Qi Liaoyi, without giving him a chance to think, interrupted him, saying, "Now that things have come to this, I wonder what else the Crown Prince wants to say? That you are not actually the Crown Prince of Nan'an? Or that you deliberately approached me not to use me to spy on His Highness's whereabouts so that you could report to the Third Prince? Or perhaps, that you conspired with the Third Prince, not with me as a condition?"
"I..." Facing Yi Shangyun, who already knew everything and was now pressing him relentlessly, Young Master Yi was completely speechless.
Seeing that he had already tacitly agreed, Yi Shangyun slowly got up, walked over to him, circled around him, and said, "Young Master Yi, I just want to know, on the night of the Lantern Festival, were the gunpowder that His Highness had found and hidden, which was to be transported back to Western Qin the next morning, stolen by the people who followed His Highness?"
As soon as Yi Shangyun finished speaking, she suddenly turned around and stared intently at Young Master Yi's face.
Young Master Yi was stunned by the sudden question, his eyes widening in shock. He hurriedly tried to change the subject: "Girl, let me explain. Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, is definitely not the right man for you, you..."
Yi Shangyun had no intention of listening to him and continued, "I have already investigated thoroughly. The red dots marked on the city defense map that Yan'er mentioned that night were merely the explosion points originally arranged by the Emperor, which His Highness had secretly verified. That night, you first sneaked into the courtyard and had someone deliberately expose the city defense map to Yan'er, causing her to panic and pass on the wrong information to me. This was to lure me out, draw His Highness out, and then have someone bring out the intercepted real gunpowder to frame His Highness, right?"
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