Shang Yunlan was so startled that he almost fainted. He glanced coldly at Qiao Xiuyu and said sarcastically, "Why is Seventh Prince not hiding from the peach blossoms in Suzhou, but coming to this wretched place of mine?"
Shang Yunlan knew, of course, why Qiao Xiuyu had returned to Shengjing—in a few days, envoys from Northern Zhou would be visiting Southern Chen, ostensibly to pay a visit, but in reality, to gather intelligence, and Qiao Xiuyu was bound to return.
Qiao Xiuyu didn't mind Shang Yunlan's sarcastic tone. At this moment, he was preoccupied with Shang Shaoyan's serious illness and asked anxiously, "My lord, what exactly is wrong with the county princess?"
Shang Yunlan thought for a moment and decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Qiao Xiuyu. After all, he couldn't possibly go all the way to Shuzhou to fawn over the sick An'an. With that in mind, he simply told the truth: "My subordinate sent a message saying that An'an is seriously ill, but that was all. I'll only know the details when the letter arrives..."
As he spoke, he began to worry again.
Upon seeing this, Qiao Xiuyu's heart skipped a beat, and she felt somewhat flustered.
An'an is seriously ill. The once bright, beautiful, and lively An'an is now seriously ill.
What illness did she have? How did it get to such a "serious" level? Was she about to...? Qiao Xiuyu dared not think any further.
He suddenly felt an urge to rush to Shuzhou that very night and keep a close eye on An'an.
As for Shang Yunlan, he suffers from a heart condition and is in poor health, so he doesn't need to make the trip; he can go by himself.
Thinking this, Qiao Xiuyu frowned slightly and pursed her lips: "Why don't you wait a little longer, my lord? Maybe the county princess is alright."
Shang Yunlan laughed in anger: "An'an cherishes you so much, and this is how you treat her? It's nothing, huh."
With that, Shang Yunlan flicked her sleeve, glanced at Qiao Xiuyu with disdain, and then went into the study.
Seeing that Shang Yunlan was no longer paying attention to him, Qiao Xiuyu quickly left the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to find Li Langxuan.
At that moment, Li Langxuan was playing the zither when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps, and the music stopped immediately: "Xiuyu?"
Qiao Xiuyu stopped in front of Li Langxuan, then took a deep breath: "Jinyu, I need to go to Shuzhou for a while. As for the envoy from Northern Zhou... I would appreciate it if you could help me deal with him."
Upon hearing this, Li Langxuan frowned slightly: "What are you going to Shu Prefecture for? To find Heyang?"
Qiao Xiuyu sighed, then said, "That's right. The Duke of Zhenguo just told me that Heyang is seriously ill..."
Li Langxuan felt a chill run down his spine—was He Yang seriously ill?
Qiao Xiuyu's unfinished words probably meant that "his days are numbered."
Although Li Langxuan was on good terms with Qiao Xiuyu, he didn't know much about Qiao Xiuyu's love-struck and infatuated nature. So he naturally assumed that the reason Qiao Xiuyu would give up the opportunity to meet with the Northern Zhou envoy must be that He Yang was indeed no longer available.
After a moment's thought, Li Langxuan felt a pang of pity and sighed, "Go ahead, I'll take care of things with the Northern Zhou envoy."
Qiao Xiuyu thanked him hastily and then left the Yongle Marquis's residence.
Li Langxuan pondered for a moment, then wrote a letter to his elder sister: "To my dear elder sister, this letter is as if we were face to face... I fear the Princess of Heyang does not have much time left..."
Not long after, Consort Zhao received a letter from Li Langxuan. After reading it, she was also stunned.
It will probably take another eight or nine days for the letter from Shu Prefecture to reach Shengjing. By the time my brother receives this news, Heyang will likely already be...
Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately picked up her pen to write a letter to Qin Ye: "Lord Qin, I am pleased to receive your letter... I'm afraid Princess Heyang is no longer alive..."
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