[Oh, right!]
Lian Yi said embarrassedly as she tapped her little head and gestured,
[I almost forgot the important thing. Master is not seriously injured. But now, His Majesty won't allow him to leave the Zhaogan Palace. He told Master to focus on his cultivation.]
[I'm here because Master can't come out. He has something important and asked me to bring it to you.]
"Oh?"
Yun Xi asked curiously,
"What is it?"
Lian Yi opened her small cloth bag, took out a silk handkerchief wrapped in a ball, and placed it in Yun Xi's hand. She then gestured,
[The thing inside is for Sister Jiang Ning. Master said to congratulate her on her wedding.]
Then she reached back into the cloth bag, rummaged around, and took out a ring that looked like it was made of jade or bone, but its material was uncertain. She handed it to Yun Xi again and continued to gesture,
[Master suddenly noticed that his things had been rummaged through. He calculated and found that it was the Saint Teacher who sneaked into the palace on the day he accepted his disciple when no one was looking.]
[The palace guards were the most lax that day. His Majesty, the Queen, and other officials were all at the Wuliang Platform. It was the perfect opportunity for them to act.]
[However, Master isn't sure what they were looking for. He divined a hexagram and could only tell that the thing the Saint Teacher was looking for was probably in the northeast direction of the Zhaogan Palace. And the most suspicious thing in the southeast direction is this ring. Because it was left by Master's master.]
[Master speculated that it might be related to the gu worm on you, but he hasn't found out the connection yet. But he was afraid it would fall into the hands of the Saint Teacher, so he asked me to bring it to you quickly.]
After thinking for a while, Lian Yi gestured again,
[Master said, Sister Xi, don't wear it on your hand. Thread a rope through it and hang it around your neck. Don't let outsiders see it.]
Yun Xi carefully examined the ring several times but didn't notice anything special.
She then told Saixing to get a rope as instructed, strung the ring on it, hung it around her neck, and hid it inside her clothes.
Yun Xi thanked Lian Yi with a big smile. Thinking that it was rare for Lian Yi to leave the palace, she asked for Lian Yi's opinion and decided to take her to play with Yi Yaofeng.
She originally wanted to invite Jiang Ning too, but she was accompanying her parents and busy with her wedding preparations, so she didn't have time.
Yun Xi gave up the idea and took Lian Yi to the prince's mansion to find Yi Yaofeng by herself.
They had just gotten on the carriage and hadn't traveled far when they saw Yi Yuan and Xie Huaiyue walking side by side in front of them.
Before Yun Xi could greet them, Lian Yi grabbed her arm,
[Sister Xi, who is that beside Prince Yu'an?]
"Oh,"
Yun Xi turned to look at Lian Yi, who seemed to be tensing up for some reason, and asked curiously,
"That's Xie Huaiyue, the Minister of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and A Yuan's good friend. What's wrong?"
A hesitant look appeared on Lian Yi's small face. She took another careful look at the two people who were walking farther and farther away, and then carefully gestured,
[Is he... very close to the prince? As close as Master?]
Seeing that Lian Yi obviously had something to say, Yun Xi slightly composed herself and said,
"Well... I haven't really asked about that. Xie Huaiyue seems to have known A Yuan later than Senior Brother, but their friendship should be about the same."
"Lian Yi, have you noticed something? Just speak your mind. Don't hold back."
Encouraged by Yun Xi, Lian Yi nodded and seriously gestured,
[Lord Xie has the color of the Saint Teacher on him.]
Yun Xi's heart tightened suddenly. She looked up to find the two people again, but they had already disappeared.
A feeling of restlessness spread through her body. Yun Xi ordered,
"Lingyan, turn the carriage around immediately. First, catch up with A Yuan."
She then turned to look at Lian Yi and confirmed again,
"Good Lian Yi, are you sure you saw it clearly? It's really the color of the Saint Teacher?"
Knowing that this matter was of great importance, Lian Yi gestured seriously again to confirm that she wasn't mistaken.
Yun Xi didn't say anything else.
Only the creaking sound of the carriage wheels could be heard, which seemed to be crushing people's hearts.
Fortunately, they finally caught up with Yi Yuan.
But Xie Huaiyue was nowhere to be seen.
"Xiaoxi?"
Yi Yuan was surprised and delighted,
"Why are you here? In such a hurry. Is something wrong?"
Yun Xi didn't have time to explain. She looked around and anxiously asked,
"Where's Xie Huaiyue?"
"He's gone to mobilize people."
Not understanding why Yun Xi was so anxious to know Xie Huaiyue's whereabouts, Yi Yuan held her shoulders with both hands and led her to a less crowded place by the roadside before asking,
"What's wrong with Xie Huaiyue? Do you need to see him?"
Yun Xi told him what Lian Yi had seen, that Xie Huaiyue had the color of the Saint Teacher on him, and then said anxiously,
"Did you tell him everything about Shuozhou and Qirizhuang? We have to change our plan for this operation."
However, there was no look of surprise on Yi Yuan's face. Instead, he leaned closer to Yun Xi and whispered in her ear,
"I know. Xie Huaiyue just told me about it."
"The Saint Teacher secretly approached him just now and tried to bribe him to work for them. Xie Huaiyue has already agreed. Do you understand what I mean?"
Yun Xi stared at Yi Yuan in disbelief.
Xie Huaiyue agreed on one hand and then came to tell Yi Yuan on the other. That meant he was only pretending to be bribed.
Yun Xi felt a little embarrassed that she had rushed here in a hurry, only to find that Xie Huaiyue had already told Yi Yuan everything. But finally, she felt relieved.
"Well, okay then,"
Yun Xi said embarrassedly as she scratched her head,
"As long as you know what you're doing. You go ahead with your work. I'll take Lian Yi to play with Yaofeng for a while."
This shy little look was really adorable. Yi Yuan couldn't help but hug the person in front of him and let out a soft laugh,
"Okay, go ahead."
"Be more careful. I've already issued an order to recall Yan Xuan and Yan Gui from Shuozhou. When they come back and follow you, I'll feel more at ease."
Blushing, Yun Xi broke free from Yi Yuan's embrace. She agreed with him and gave him a few instructions about Shuozhou. Then they separated again.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Yi Yuan, Xie Huaiyue, and others were busy preparing to arrest the Shen family. Almost no one could see Hun Yuan in the Zhaogan Palace. After Lian Yi's visit, no other news came out.
While Yun Xi spent her days pondering over the ring, the day of Jiang Ning's wedding finally arrived.
Normally, the wedding of an ordinary commoner wouldn't attract much attention.
But with what had happened at the Wuliang Platform before and the Emperor's personal visit to congratulate later, although he only stayed for a short while and then returned to the palace, it didn't stop the onlookers from crowding three - layers deep to watch.
The chattering voices of the people were drowned out by the festive firecrackers.
Jiang Ning walked out of the room slowly in a bright red wedding dress. The red veil covered her exquisitely dressed face and the surging tears in her eyes.
Yun Xi wore a water - red dress to accompany Jiang Ning to her wedding.
When she held Jiang Ning's hand, she could only hear the lingering whisper in her heart:
【I'm getting married, A Yuan...】
It was so bitter that it made her want to cry.
Following the announcements of the master of ceremonies, Jiang Ning bowed three times in turn.
The wedding ceremony was completed.
From then on, she would bid farewell to her beloved...
In the Zhaogan Palace, where outsiders were not allowed to enter, Hun Yuan was dressed in his Taoist robe. He stood upright with a straight back and bowed three times towards Qing Yi's portrait.
In the silent and empty hall, his voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible:
I once held your hand, vowing to grow old with you. Congratulations on marrying a good man. May you live a peaceful life from now on.
A Ning...