In the attic, a dim candle flame flickered gracefully.
Yi Shangyun stood quietly by the railing, dressed in a simple and elegant white dress, gazing at the full moon and the countless stars shining on the shimmering lake surface.
Recalling the past, he murmured to himself, "The Milky Way is brilliant, the world is vast and ever-changing, and a person's life passes by in a flash. If there is any ulterior motive in this life, it is nothing more than a sincere heart. Yet, it is precisely this sincere heart that is the hardest to come by..."
He then sighed, "If I had known it would be so heart-wrenching, I would have preferred never to have met you."
After saying that, he lowered his head and sighed heavily.
Just then, a knocking sound rang out: "Knock knock knock."
Without even turning around to look, and without a second thought, Yi Shangyun replied to the person outside the door, "Don't worry about me, I don't want to eat anything. It's so late, you should go to sleep! You have to get up early tomorrow!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the same knocking sounded again: "Knock, knock, knock."
Yi Shangyun closed her eyes helplessly, seemingly a little impatient, and said again, "It's really late, you should go to sleep, you don't need to worry about me anymore!"
Thinking that the person outside would surely leave this time after being knocked on repeatedly, the knocking started again: "Knock, knock, knock."
Yi Shangyun finally couldn't hold back any longer. She took a step and walked straight to the door. As soon as she opened the door, her eyes widened in shock at the person who had entered.
Then, he stammered, "Your Highness...you...why are you here?"
Xuanyuan Han maintained his imposing demeanor, walking past Yi Shangyun and entering uninvited.
After entering, I strolled around and glanced at the attic where they lived. I found that although the space inside was really small, it was still quite clean and tidy, and the view outside the window was also quite nice.
So he moved closer to her, staring at her still beautiful eyes and brows for a long time before finally asking, "It's so late at night, why aren't you sleeping?"
Yi Shangyun seemed not to have reacted yet, and casually lied, "I...I'm not sleepy now? I'm going to sleep in a bit."
Xuan Yuanhan used his usual domineering and forceful manner to push her back step by step, and then asked, "Why don't you still know how to cherish yourself?"
"I……"
Before Yi Shangyun could answer, Xuan Yuanhan immediately asked, "Why aren't you eating properly?"
Yi Shangyun was forced to retreat step by step, and it looked like she was about to be pressed against the corner of the wall with nowhere left to go.
He seemed to be muttering something to defend himself, saying, "I...I didn't skip meals!"
Upon hearing her excuse, Xuan Yuanhan slightly tilted his burning gaze, which had been fixed on her, toward the door behind him, indicating the food on the tea tray on the shelf outside the door.
He said, "If the princess is really eating properly, why is the food placed at the door already cold, yet it hasn't been touched at all?"
"I...I..." Finally, Yi Shangyun gave up trying to explain herself, and didn't want to explain anymore, because Xuan Yuanhan wouldn't give her any chance to explain.
Seeing that she had fallen silent and was no longer speaking, Xuan Yuanhan stopped pressuring her, took two steps away from her, and asked, "What are you doing so late?"
Clearly, Yi Shangyun, who had no idea of Xuan Yuanhan's sudden appearance tonight, was still a little caught off guard.
Suiyi snapped out of his daze and stammered, "I..."
Suddenly noticing the desk beside him, he quickly went over, opened his notebook, and said, "I'm organizing the prescriptions related to the epidemic that occurred in Longhu City before, as well as many wonderful prescriptions that I learned from several medical masters at Yanfu Temple this time."
When asked about what she had learned during this period, Yi Shangyun spoke with great familiarity, flipping to a random page and launching into a long explanation: "I don't know which anonymous kind person invited these experts, but they are truly amazing and have really benefited me greatly. For example, the combination of Gastrodia elata with Uncaria rhynchophylla, raw Cassia tora, Gardenia jasminoides, Scutellaria baicalensis, Achyranthes bidentata, Eucommia ulmoides, Leonurus japonicus, Taxillus chinensis, Polygonum multiflorum, and Poria cocos can calm the liver and extinguish wind, clear heat and invigorate blood, and nourish the liver and kidneys."
Turning the page again, it says: "For example... take nux vomica and process it using the sand-scalding method, grind it into a fine powder, dilute it with starch, adjust the proportion, and then grind fourteen other herbs such as ephedra, angelica pubescens, notopterygium incisum, cinnamon twig, licorice, homalomena occulta, achyranthes bidentata, frankincense, papaya, myrrh, saposhnikovia divaricata, eucommia ulmoides, lichen bark, and dipsacus asper into a fine powder. Mix this powder with 80g of nux vomica powder, sift it, and make it into large honey pills, which can treat postpartum wind in women..."
However, Xuan Yuanhan didn't care about any of that at the moment. He just watched her every move, every smile, with tenderness.
Then he slowly moved closer to her, interrupting her interest, and asked with concern, "Are you fully recovered now?"
Even though she had already made a terrible decision in her heart, when this person actually appeared in front of her again and said such warm and caring words, she finally lost her composure.
Sui lowered her head and said shyly, "Mmm..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly felt displeased, but he deliberately asked her again, "Do you still plan to continue doing these things here?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun didn't think too much about it. He simply nodded and said firmly, "Yes, since we've already started, we should finish it."
As he spoke, he actually sat down again immediately and picked up his pen.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan immediately snatched the pen she had just picked up and put it back in its place.
Then, he forcefully pulled her up, letting her fall into his broad embrace, and whispered in her ear, "That's enough, let's go!"
As he spoke, he took her hand and led her out the door.
Yi Shangyun felt her heart pounding, but she asked, confused, "Where is Your Highness taking me?"
Xuanyuan Han stopped abruptly upon sensing her resistance and said earnestly, "Now that everything here is over, it's time for the Princess to come home with me and apologize!"
"Your Highness, I..." Yi Shangyun said hesitantly.
Just as she was pondering how to express her disappointment and final decision to him, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly increased his strength and gripped her wrist tightly.
Caught off guard by the sudden pain, Yi Shangyun couldn't help but cry out, "It hurts...it really hurts...Your Highness, please let go!"
Xuanyuan Han said, "Pain? It seems that you have been away from home for too long. Perhaps the Princess has forgotten the way home and needs me to come and fetch her personally. However, fortunately, the Princess still remembers what pain is. In that case, how could the Princess not know that the pain and longing in my heart these days are a thousand times, or even ten thousand times, more than that of the Princess!"
If this weren't a sacred Buddhist site, he would have loved to teach her a lesson right now, to let her know just how much he had longed for her all this time.
Yi Shangyun felt the grip on her hand tightening, and she was terrified. She struggled in his grasp, saying, "Your Highness, what are you doing? Let go, let go! I don't want to go back with you, I don't want to face your cold back anymore, I don't want to continue being the Princess Consort of Qin. I request a divorce from Your Highness, and from now on, we will have no further contact or entanglement. Let go, let go! If you don't let go, I'll call for help!"
Without allowing any further explanation, Xuan Yuanhan forcefully dragged him away, saying, "Tonight I'm taking my queen back to my residence. I'd like to see who dares to stop me."
Despite uttering such heartless and unintentional words that even she herself didn't know how she could have said, Yi Shangyun was ultimately forcibly lifted onto a horse by Xuan Yuanhan in front of everyone at Yanfu Temple. No one dared to step forward to stop her, and naturally, they couldn't stop her either. In the end, she was taken back to the Prince of Qin's mansion.
When Yan'er finally saw Yi Shangyun again that night, her extremely simple attire from head to toe stunned her.
Seeing that Yun Shuangshuang's eyes were red from crying, Yan'er quickly stepped closer and asked with concern, "Miss, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Yi Shangyun turned her back to Xuan Yuanhan, not wanting to speak to him at all.
Xuanyuan Han then coldly ordered Yan'er, "After bathing and changing the princess, bring her to my bedchamber!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun was startled and raised her voice to retort, "Your Highness, why are you doing this? I will stay at Yunshui Pavilion tonight! I have to return to Yanfu Temple early tomorrow morning. The disaster victims in the temple will set off to return to their hometowns early the day after tomorrow. I have already promised to go with them, so as not to disturb Your Highness's rest."
Xuan Yuanhan then said righteously and sternly, "Previously, it was because the Princess Consort was unwell that I had you move from my palace to Yunshui Pavilion. Now that you are fully recovered, it is only natural that you should return to sleep with me."
Yi Shangyun firmly refused, saying, "No, I have already said that I request a divorce from Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will consider our past relationship and allow us to part amicably..."
Upon hearing this, before Xuan Yuanhan could speak, Yan'er hurriedly covered Yi Shangyun's mouth.
"Yes." Yan'er replied, pulling Yi Shangyun away to take a bath.
Midnight.
Inside Mingyue Pavilion, the hall was brightly lit, but many lights were extinguished one by one, leaving only a few soft, scattered lights that swayed gently in the night breeze.
After taking a bath, Yi Shangyun applied a little makeup, let down her long, black hair, and changed into a light pink gauze dress. She sat alone on Xuan Yuanhan's bed, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
She never imagined that Xuan Yuanhan would resort to force against her. What should she do now? She had promised the disaster victims that she would return to their hometowns to rebuild their homes. How could she continue?
Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
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