123 Visiting the Mansion to Pay Respects

The days passed as usual. Feng Xilou came by, but Yun Xueyan refused to see him, leaving a single door to divide them.

Feng Xilou understood that Yun Xueyan had chosen Duan Nanyu. Even so, he could not let her go. When it came to her, he was incapable of being so carefree.

After dressing properly, Yun Xueyan loosely pinned up her hair and walked out of the room. “Ziyu, I’m going out for a while to see my mother.”

“Princess Yan, would you like me to accompany you?” Ziyu hurried over and asked.

“No need. I want to have a private talk with my mother. There are many things I want to say to her.” Yun Xueyan shook her head and smiled gently before leaving the Dawn Pavilion.

It had been a long time since she had stepped outside the Dawn Pavilion. After being ill for so many days, she finally had the chance to take a walk.

After going a few steps, she suddenly stopped. When she turned around, she saw Zihun following behind her and could not help frowning. Duan Nanyu was afraid something might happen to her, so he had ordered Zihun to protect her—but surely she could not have a man following her everywhere.

“Zihun.” She took several steps forward and stopped in front of him. “You don’t have to follow me all the time. I’m fine.”

“Princess Yan, His Highness ordered me to protect you well. No further accidents are to be allowed.” Zihun spoke each word firmly, his face devoid of expression.

Yun Xueyan sighed. If something was truly an accident, then no amount of precaution could prevent it.

“Zihun…” Yun Xueyan was about to say something when she suddenly noticed a young maid running toward them from a distance. Looking more closely, she recognized her as Duan Ruier’s personal maid.

“Xiaoqing, why are you in such a hurry?” Yun Xueyan asked when the girl drew near. Beside her, Zihun also turned around.

“Princess Yan, my mistress has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. I know you are acquainted with Young Master Xiao of the Prime Minister’s residence, and I heard that he is a miracle physician. Please, you must help my mistress!” Xiaoqing spoke rapidly between gasps, staring at Yun Xueyan anxiously.

Yun Xueyan did not answer her directly. Instead, she looked up at Zihun. “Zihun, are you going to protect me, or are you going to check on Ruier?”

Zihun fell silent for a moment. A dark light flickered in his eyes, and the reluctance and pain he could not conceal fell into Yun Xueyan’s gaze. Yet in the next instant, he looked at her and said, “Zihun will protect you. Someone else can be sent to summon Young Master Xiao.”

Yun Xueyan shook her head and no longer looked at the man beside her. He was loyal, yet helpless.

“Zihun, don’t wait until you’ve lost something to regret it, all right? I’m fine now, but what about Ruier? She needs you. None of us can predict what may happen in the future, so don’t leave yourself with regrets.”

Zihun said nothing. He merely stood where he was, a complicated expression filling his eyes.

Kneeling on the ground, Xiaoqing trembled with anxiety. She did not understand what Yun Xueyan meant, but she knew that Duan Ruier could not afford to wait. Without another thought, she repeatedly knocked her head against the ground.

“Princess Yan, if we delay any longer, my mistress may not survive.”

Zihun clenched both hands. Gritting his teeth, he cupped his fists and bowed to Yun Xueyan.

“Princess Yan, please take care of yourself. Once I have finished this matter, I will return to protect you.”

With that, he turned and vanished from the courtyard.

Yun Xueyan smiled lightly. At least Zihun was not a block of dead wood. She walked toward the outside, feeling unusually lighthearted.

“Xiaoqing, go back and look after your mistress first. She’ll be fine in a little while.”

Her voice reached Xiaoqing’s ears, but Yun Xueyan had already left.

The Pavilion of Graceful Words.

Yun Xiyin sat on a cushioned couch, her expression vicious as she looked at Yicui standing beside her.

“Make certain nothing goes wrong this time. I intend to supervise it personally. Yicui, we’ll go and see for ourselves.”

“Yes.”

Supporting Yun Xiyin to her feet, Yicui grew increasingly terrified of the woman beside her.