The Emperor had taken his medicine and was already drowsy with sleep.

When Empress Wei entered wearing her red ceremonial robes, the Emperor’s drowsiness vanished at once. He looked at her in astonishment. “You should be resting in Lingbo Palace — why have you come again?”

Empress Wei leaned forward to tuck the corner of the Emperor’s blanket snugly into place, then gave him a gentle smile. “Today is a joyous occasion for this consort. This consort wished to be with Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s heart softened, and his gaze grew tender. He sighed lightly. “You have truly been wronged. Tonight, I should have gone to Lingbo Palace to accompany you.”

“Since Your Majesty cannot go, this consort coming here is just the same.” Empress Wei’s smile was as warm as ever.

A wave of gratitude and warmth surged in the Emperor’s heart. He made the effort to reach out and clasp Empress Wei’s hand. “Very well, then I shall keep my Empress company here in Zichen Palace.”

Empress Wei, as she always did, sat at the edge of the bed and kept the Emperor company with idle conversation.

The palace maids and attendants nearby were tactfully dismissed by Eunuch Ding with a meaningful glance.

The Emperor’s illness required long-term convalescence, and several imperial physicians took turns keeping watch through the night. Tonight, it happened to be Wei Yan’s turn. Wei Yan quietly withdrew from the bedchamber, and just before stepping out, cast a swift glance at Ling Jingshu.

Ling Jingshu hesitated for a brief moment, then slipped out silently as well.

Since the Emperor had fallen ill this time, he had become especially averse to noise and commotion. Because of this, no one in Zichen Palace dared to make even the slightest sound. By now the sky had grown dark, and all was hushed and still.

Wei Yan stood beneath the eaves of the covered corridor. When he heard the familiar soft, light footsteps behind him, the corners of his lips curved upward. Feigning unawareness, he turned around, and then greeted her with an expression of exaggerated “surprise.” “Why, it is Lady Ling.”

The look of astonishment on his face was genuinely convincing. From a short distance away, it was utterly flawless.

Only she, standing close enough to reach out and touch him, could see the smile hidden in his eyes.

Ling Jingshu could not help but curve her own lips in return. “I was feeling a little stifled sitting inside the hall, so I came out for a stroll on a whim. I did not expect to run into Imperial Physician Wei here.”

The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries with great ceremony and pretense. To avoid arousing suspicion, they dared not stand too close. They maintained a distance of roughly three paces between them.

A eunuch passing nearby glanced over with curiosity. When he recognized it was Wei Yan and Ling Jingshu, he saw nothing to arouse suspicion and moved on quickly.

Wei Yan and Ling Jingshu quietly let out a breath of relief, and shared a smile.

“A’Shu, today I am truly happy.” Wei Yan lowered his voice, joy flickering in his eyes. “Elder Sister has endured so many bitter years in the palace. Now, at last, all that hardship has given way to happiness.”

For a consort confined within the inner palace, one who could never leave the palace for the rest of her life, no better ending could be imagined than this.

Ling Jingshu, too, let the tension ease from her brow. “Indeed! We are all overjoyed for Her Majesty.”

From this day forward, no one in the inner palace would dare utter a single word about Empress Wei’s humble origins. No one would dare look down upon Lingbo Palace again. Even if the Emperor had only a few more years to live, once the Crown Prince ascended the throne as the new Emperor, Empress Wei could enjoy a life of honor and splendor as the Empress Dowager.

The smile in Wei Yan’s eyes deepened a little, his words carrying a gentle implication. “After this, I will be able to leave the capital with peace of mind.”

He had long grown weary of the intrigue and open power struggles of the palace, weary of the scheming within the Imperial Medical Academy. The elder sister he had worried over was now the mistress of the entire inner palace. No one would ever dare to humiliate her again.

From now on, he had nothing left to keep him here.

He could follow the wish he had long held in his heart, and take her far away with him.

Exquisite octagonal palace lanterns hung along the eaves, casting out a warm and gentle radiance.

Ling Jingshu’s lovely face was bathed in that soft lamplight, imbued with a tenderness and beauty that surpassed even her everyday loveliness. Her smooth, jade-like cheeks were tinged with an intoxicating flush of rose.

The two of them gazed at each other in silence for a moment, their unspoken feelings drifting quietly between their eyes.

If this went on much longer, there was a real danger of it falling under the notice of someone with ill intent, and inviting gossip.

Wei Yan forced himself to shift his gaze away. With a trace of reluctance and resignation, he murmured softly. “A’Shu, we have been out here for some time now. We ought to go back.”

Ling Jingshu gave a quiet sound of agreement.

The two of them — one the Emperor’s dedicated physician, the other the Empress’s trusted personal attendant — had no freedom to spare. This brief moment alone together was already an exceptionally rare gift.

They could not be greedy and wish for more.

Naturally, the two of them could not return together. Ling Jingshu turned around first, lifting her foot to leave — when all at once Wei Yan’s low voice sounded from behind her. “Wait. There is something I wanted to ask you.”

Ling Jingshu paused in mild surprise, and turned back. “What is it?”

Wei Yan cleared his throat. “It is not really anything important. It is just that roughly a month ago, on the day the Emperor had just woken up — the Crown Prince and the Crown Grandson came together to visit His Majesty. When they were leaving, the Crown Grandson paused beside you for a moment, and it seemed as though he said something to you—”

This doubt had been bottled up for a whole month, and he had never had the opportunity to be alone with her and ask.

Ling Jingshu let out a helpless laugh. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding onto such a small thing.”

Men really were all petty at heart. All that talk of magnanimity and not minding — it was all an act.

Wei Yan, having been met with this gentle reproach, found the last trace of guilt in his heart vanish without a trace. He replied without so much as a blush. “I am simply concerned with your every word and every action.”

The nerve of him, to say that with a straight face!

Ling Jingshu could not hold back a smile, the corners of her lips curving upward. “That story is rather long. I cannot tell it properly in a moment like this. When we have more time one day, I will explain it to you in full.”

Here and now was truly not the place for a long conversation.

Wei Yan nodded with a mixture of resignation and regret, the faint trace of aggrievement in his eyes revealed with just the right measure.

Ling Jingshu knew perfectly well that he was putting on a performance of self-pity, yet her heart softened all the same. She said gently, “Do you still not know where my heart lies? Why must you be so anxious and uncertain like this?”

The one I love has always been only you!

No matter how exalted the Crown Grandson’s rank or how fine his qualities, he has nothing to do with me.

All the jealousy Wei Yan had been quietly nursing over these past days dissolved in those brief two sentences, swift as snow in spring. It was sweet as honey, warm all the way through.

After Ling Jingshu turned and walked away, Wei Yan deliberately waited a while longer before making his way back into the bedchamber at an unhurried pace.

Empress Wei continued each day to remain in Zichen Palace, persisting in personally attending to every aspect of the Emperor’s daily needs.

In the blink of an eye, another two months had passed.

The Emperor had previously been able to take nothing more than thin congee and broth. Now his appetite had improved somewhat, and he could manage proper food and dishes. On days when he was in particularly good spirits, he would sometimes have attendants support him as he sat up on the bed for a short while.

The symptoms of the stroke had not lessened, but his spirit had recovered considerably. This was, at least, a source of genuine comfort.

The consorts of the inner palace grew restless as well, and came in a steady stream to Zichen Palace to visit the Emperor, and to pay their respects to Empress Wei at the same time. Unfortunately, every single one of them was turned away by Eunuch Ding without exception.

“His Majesty’s health is delicate and requires quiet recuperation. Noise and commotion are not appropriate. This servant will certainly relay the kind intentions of all the ladies to His Majesty.”

Eunuch Ding wore a face full of courteous smiles, yet his meaning was unmistakable.

The consorts who had dressed themselves up in their finest and most dazzling splendor arrived full of eagerness, and departed utterly crestfallen.

Eunuch Ding watched their graceful, willow-slender figures receding into the distance, let out a quiet sound of contempt through his nose, and a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes…