"Oh no, someone's coming!"
Hearing that the little girl's parents had already come looking for her, Yi Shangyun became even more anxious.
So, taking advantage of the little girl's momentary lapse in attention and turning around, he nimbly slipped away, found a familiar yet secluded path from his memory, and fled.
"Ling'er, this is the Prince's residence. You must not be so unruly and barge in like this!"
Just as the little girl's parents found their child, Xuan Yuanhan also heard the noise and came running over.
The man and woman, upon seeing Xuan Yuanhan's figure from afar, hurriedly stepped forward to respectfully bow and greet him.
"Zhao Ping'an pays his respects to Your Highness, the King of Qin."
"Moon Lady greets Your Highness, Prince Qin."
Xuanyuan Han hadn't seen these two people for a long time, so he was genuinely stunned and somewhat surprised, saying, "You've come too!"
Zhao Ping'an said with deep gratitude, "Your Highness has been very kind to our family. If it weren't for you, our family would have collapsed long ago. It is only right that we come to see you off on your final journey."
Yue Niang also comforted Xuan Yuanhan, saying, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. I hope Your Highness will not be too sad!"
"So what? Even though she was so kind, so good to everyone in this world, and helped so many people who had nothing to do with her, God was still so unfair. Good people don't get good rewards in the end."
Just as Xuanyuan Han was pondering this in silence, the little girl sandwiched between Zhao Ping'an and Yue Niang suddenly spoke up.
The little girl looked up at Zhao Ping'an, then at Yue Niang.
Finally, looking into Xuan Yuanhan's eyes, he said, "Your Highness, my father and mother are lying. Lady Yun is not dead at all. I've said it before, Lady Yun is a fairy. When have you ever heard of a fairy dying?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Niang quickly covered Ling'er's mouth, saying, "Ling'er, you mustn't talk nonsense in front of His Highness Prince Qin!"
But Ling'er struggled and pried Yue Niang's hand open, pointing to the feet where Xuan Yuanhan was standing.
She spoke again, somewhat angrily, "Ling'er wasn't lying. I just saw Lady Yun right here! She was standing right where His Highness Prince Qin is standing now. If Father and Mother hadn't called out to Ling'er so loudly, Lady Yun wouldn't have been scared away by you."
Upon hearing this, Yue Niang was astonished and stared wide-eyed at the little girl, saying, "Ling'er, don't talk nonsense. Besides us and His Highness Prince Qin, who else is here?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan couldn't help but pause in surprise.
Since Yi Shangyun left the palace, her laughter and bustling figure, everything that was once so full of life and warmth in Yunshui Pavilion, is now just a cold memory.
Especially after tonight's heavy rain, in this quiet and dark night, only fallen petals left by the wind and rain remain on the ground, and everything around is deathly still.
Seeing that Ling'er's words were becoming increasingly frivolous, Zhao Ping'an quickly bent down and picked her up in his arms.
He then apologized to Xuanyuan Han: "Children speak without thinking. The Princess Consort treated Ling'er very well when she was alive, and Ling'er also liked her very much. Naturally, I did not want to accept the fact that the Princess Consort had passed away, so I said such things. I hope Your Highness will not take it to heart."
Xuanyuan Han said in a deep voice, "No!"
Zhao Pingan quickly added, "Then we'll go down and help first."
Xuan Yuanhan nodded, and the family of three in front of him turned and left.
"No...no"
"Quickly put Ling'er down."
"Ling'er is going to find Lady Yun."
"Lady Yun is not dead, she is not dead."
Only the little girl remained bound in Zhao Ping'an's arms, shouting and kicking her little feet wildly.
Clearly, in Xuan Yuanhan's eyes, all of this was just a child's joke, so he didn't take the little girl's words to heart.
Suddenly snapping back to reality, he remembered the messenger who had delivered the letter, so he quickly quickened his pace and headed towards the front yard.
Just then, Cheng Liangyi hurriedly walked towards him.
Upon seeing his master from afar, Cheng Liang raised his eyebrows and said happily, "Your Highness, Heaven has blessed Western Qin! The torrential rain has stopped, and the capital has been saved. Unexpectedly, it all happened without losing a single soldier. Tonight's operation has already been cancelled!"
Xuanyuan Han stopped, seemingly relieved, and looked up at the night sky.
Before I knew it, the sky above was filled with twinkling stars, which were quite beautiful.
Cheng Liang stood silently beside him, also looking up at the clear night sky, and sighed, "Tomorrow will definitely be a good day!"
After a while, Xuanyuan Han came to his senses and asked Cheng Liang in a rather serious voice, "Who delivered the secret letter from Dongning Kingdom today? Tell him to come see me immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang hurriedly searched his memory: "Today..."
Finally, he stated with absolute certainty, "No secret letters were sent back to the manor today!"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Handun withdrew his gaze, stared intently into Cheng Liang's eyes, and asked with great suspicion, "What did you say? No one sent the secret letter back to the manor?"
Cheng Liang nodded in confusion: "A few days ago, it was said that there was some latest news about Dongning Kingdom that would be sent back, but due to the current heavy rain, it is estimated that it will arrive two days later."
"Oh no!" Xuan Yuanhan exclaimed in surprise.
He then hurriedly ordered: "Quickly order men to close all the gates of the palace... You must find the person who forged the secret letter for me, and I will tear him to pieces!"
In an instant, Cheng Liang was also shocked and said, "What? Your Highness, are you saying... someone sneaked into the Prince's residence today under the guise of delivering a secret letter?"
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Qin King's Mansion.
A horse-drawn carriage, having traveled through wind and rain, slowly came to a stop.
Two men and a woman got out of the car, and the guards at the gate greeted them politely.
Dean Lu
Young Master Lu
Miss Lu
The visitors were none other than the father and two sons from Xi Qin Academy, who happened to be in the capital city in recent days and rushed over overnight to offer their condolences upon hearing the news.
Upon entering, Lu Xian and his son Lu Tianlin walked ahead, led by a guard, and strode straight towards Xuan Yuanhan's Chenghua Hall.
Lu Tianjiao looked around timidly, following at the very back.
Perhaps because he had been repeatedly driven out of the Prince's mansion before, he still harbored some fear in his heart.
Or perhaps, his infatuation is incurable, his nature unchanging, and who knows what he's up to now.
So he said, "Father, brother, you go ahead first, I will come to Chenghua Hall to find you later."
Lu Xian didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, she was a girl, and he assumed she had something urgent to do. So he nodded and only told her, "Don't wander around. Come over as soon as possible."
"Yes, daughter understands!" Lu Tianjiao replied.
After watching Lu Xian and Lu Tianlin walk away, Lu Tianjiao sneakily headed towards the backyard.
Just as she reached the vicinity of the back gate, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from a dark corner.
She quickly realized it was a human figure, so she cautiously looked around, then raised her voice slightly and asked, "Who's there?"
But when the people in the dark corner heard someone calling, they immediately fell silent again.
Lu Tianjiao was, after all, a woman, and there was still a little bit of fear in her heart.
After all, this was the path leading to Yunshui Pavilion, and someone had just died there.
Despite his immense fear, driven by curiosity, Lu Tianjiao slowly moved closer to the dark corner.
Just as I was about to reach out and push aside the branches blocking my view, a cool breeze after the rain swept by, and the leaves rustled in an instant.
"ah"
With a scream, Lu Tianjiao fell heavily to the ground.
She then shouted angrily at him, "Who are you? Stop playing tricks and get out here right now. If you don't come out, I'll call for help."
Sure enough, a figure slowly emerged and walked out.
The dim candlelight illuminated the tree-lined path.
Lu Tianjiao finally began to see the person in front of him clearly, but was instantly stunned: "You... Yi Shangyun... are you a human or a ghost?"
Because Xuan Yuanhan had ordered all the gates of the Prince's Mansion to be closed, and escape was hopeless, Yi Shangyun, who could only hide here and look for an opportunity, was equally surprised: "You are... Miss Lu from Xi Qin Academy?"
So he greeted her: "It's you, Miss Lu! Long time no see! How have you been?"
Lu Tianjiao gasped, but still seemed somewhat incredulous: "Is it really you? Weren't you already dead?"
Yi Shangyun thought for a moment and said, "How should I answer Miss Lu's question?"
Seeing that Lu Tianjiao was so frightened by his appearance that she didn't dare to stand up and remained curled up on the ground, he slowly walked towards her and said, "It's me, and it's not me."
Seeing that Yi Shangyun was walking towards him, Lu Tianjiao shrank back in fear and asked timidly, "What...what do you mean by that?"
Suddenly, Yi Shangyun bent down and stretched out a hand towards him. Unexpectedly, Lu Tianjiao was so frightened that he immediately closed his eyes and screamed, "Help..."
But just as she opened her mouth, Yi Shangyun quickly covered it with his hand and whispered in her ear, "Don't shout, I won't hurt you!"
Only when Yi Shangyun slowly saw the trust in Lu Tianjiao did she slowly let go of her hand.
He then helped her up and said to her again, "I won't hurt you, I just need you to help me get out of here!"
Lu Tianjiao was momentarily speechless upon hearing this.
After a long while, it seemed that she gradually understood: "So this funeral was a hoax, but why? Who would do such a thing?"
Looking back, Lu Tianjiao felt a mixture of envy and jealousy: "He was the best man in the world, and he cherished you like his own life. He loved you so much, he couldn't live without you. Do you know how many women in the world yearn for this kind of love but cannot have it? Why did you do this? Besides, why should I help you?"
Yi Shangyun simply said, "You don't need to know the reasons behind all this. I just want to ask one question: Does Miss Lu really want the Prince of Qin to know that I'm still alive?"
Lu Tianjiao certainly didn't want that. She even still believed that if Yi Shangyun hadn't appeared, Xuan Yuanhan would have belonged to her alone.
After much deliberation, Lu Tianjiao finally said to him, "Come with me!"
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