No sooner had Xuanyuan Han left than two men appeared at the entrance of Guanghua Palace in a dimly lit corner.

In the final moments, they carefully checked the progress of each task one last time.

The light was too dim to see their faces clearly, but one could hear them asking and answering questions with great concentration.

"My lord, we have released the King of Qin. What should we do next?"

"No rush, let them fight amongst themselves for a while."

"How's the situation at Yong'an Palace going?"

"Rest assured, sir, everything has been taken care of. By this time, the father and daughter have already been released out of the city by our men."

"That old eunuch Shou..."

"I have already ordered him to be tied up and locked in a very secret place."

"Will the palace be guarded by our people for the next few days?"

“They are all our people.”

"Alright, everything is ready, except for the final push. After hiding in the Western Qin court for so many years, it's finally time for everything to come to an end."

"Finally, we have lived up to the old king's expectations, and the unification of Lingkong is just around the corner."

"However, I've heard that the Empress's condition is very bad due to the poison she's been poisoned with, and I'm afraid she won't make it through..."

"Hmph, what can a woman amount to? How can the future of my Dongning Kingdom be entrusted to a woman?"

"But the Queen was the only heir the old king had chosen and on whom he placed his hopes!"

"Moreover, when the Empress was still the Princess of Qin, she was already very popular and respected by the people."

"The old king doted on his empress too much, which is why he extended that affection to everything related to her. In any case, Dongning Kingdom must never be ruled by a woman; otherwise, wouldn't it be ridiculed by the world?"

"Can……"

"Let's not discuss this matter any further!"

"By the way, has the signal to Young Master Lu been sent out as well?"

"Young Master Lu seems even more anxious than we are. Before we even sent the signal, he had already led a large army on his way to Western Qin. Judging by the numbers, he should arrive at the capital in the next two days..."

"It seems he can't wait any longer."

In the vast sleeping quarters.

The room was silent.

Time passed by, and Yi Shangyun seemed to be asleep, still lying quietly on the couch with her eyes closed and her breath barely a whisper.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and it turned out that Zhang Zhiyuan had entered the hall.

Upon seeing that the bowl of medicine in Physician Le's hand remained untouched, he asked, "Is it still impossible to take the medicine?"

Physician Yue looked grave, shook his head, and said with great concern, "What should we do!"

Zhang Zhiyuan frowned, then reached out and took the bowl of medicine from Physician Le's hand: "Alright, you've worked hard all day, take a rest!"

Imperial Physician Yue sighed deeply and walked out of the main hall.

Zhang Zhiyuan carefully examined Yi Shangyun's face for a while before slowly sitting down beside her on the couch.

Memories flooded my mind.

As Zhang Zhiyuan recalled the events, he spoke intermittently to Yi Shangyun.

"The first time I saw you, I felt that you were somewhat different from others."

“Everyone serving in this palace, including myself, lives in constant fear, terrified that the slightest mistake could cost them their heads. But you…”

"But you always have a courage that is more fearless than that of men, as if there is nothing in this world that you are afraid of."

"Your father is completely different from you."

"In fact, he could have become an excellent imperial physician, but he was a neutral person and did not want to get involved in the power struggles among the nobles in the palace, so he chose to become a pharmacist, just wanting to do his job conscientiously. But in the end, he still..."

"If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's illness that caused your father to be imprisoned, and then you rashly entered the palace to plead for him, you should have been able to live a peaceful life like the other women, just as your father had hoped!"

"But what you shouldn't have done, what you absolutely shouldn't have done, was to provoke a man like the King of Qin!"

"The King of Qin, he..."

"His character is noble, and he is well loved by the people. He is indeed very good."

"But... that kind of person is destined not to give you a peaceful life."

"But thinking about it carefully, perhaps life is just like this. In some mysterious way, the more we want something, the less likely we are to get it, and the more we try to avoid it, the more persistent it becomes!"

"The words you once admonished me still seem to echo in my ears."

"Ever since then, I've often thought, over the years, as a grown man, am I really not as carefree and open-minded as a little girl?!"

"Therefore, I no longer wish to swallow my anger! The time when I argued with Emperor Jing after Xiao Lian was executed was the most principled moment of my life, and it felt wonderful!"

"But seeing you in this state, how can I possibly continue?"

"Do you know that if you don't take your medicine soon, you'll really die!"

"If that's the case, how will you continue to lecture me in the future!"

They talked for a while.

Zhang Zhiyuan then scooped up a spoonful of the medicinal soup and tried to pour it into Yi Shangyun's mouth.

Unexpectedly, none of it entered his mouth; it all flowed out down his chin.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhiyuan was at his wit's end and desperately didn't know what to do, so he pleaded with her: "Your Highness, you can't go on like this. I beg you, just open your mouth and drink a sip..."

Just when he seemed completely helpless, a familiar voice suddenly entered his ears.

"Let me give it a try."

Upon hearing the sound, Zhang Zhiyuan turned around and saw that Xuan Yuanhan had entered the main hall at some point and was now standing not far behind him.

Then a startled cry rang out: "Your Highness, King Qin, you weren't...?"

Without allowing any further explanation, before he could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan strode forward to Yi Shangyun's bedside.

He then took a deep look at the person who was still unconscious, and quickly reached out to take the medicine from Zhang Zhiyuan's hand. After examining it, he asked, "Is this the antidote to the poison in her body?"

Zhang Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment and said, "This medicine might alleviate some of the Princess's pain, but it's not certain yet."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Handun glared at him and demanded, "What have you been doing? It's been since morning, and it's already late at night. Why is there still no antidote?"

Zhang Zhiyuan was so frightened that he immediately knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness, please forgive us. It is truly because the poison that the Princess Consort has been afflicted with is probably incurable. Now, your humble servant and Physician Yue can only attempt to detoxify her."

Xuanyuan Handun's eyes widened as he asked, "What did you say? What kind of poison did she suffer from? How can there be no cure? Who was so bold as to poison her?"

Zhang Zhiyuan replied, "The one who poisoned her was Princess Yongle of Dongning Kingdom!"

Xuanyuan Han asked, puzzled, "You mean... Princess Yongle?"

...

Upon hearing Zhang Zhiyuan's words, Xuanyuan Han was stunned for a moment.

At this moment, he finally realized: "So, all of this was originally my fault. But in the end, she bore all of this for me."

Zhang Zhiyuan did not speak again.

Xuanyuan Han then turned his deep eyes back to the person on the bed, and in an instant, tears welled up in his eyes.

At this moment, his heart was shattered into countless pieces.

He questioned her repeatedly, also blaming himself for not noticing her unusual behavior earlier.

"Why?"

Why won't you say?

Why didn't you tell me you were poisoned?

"Why are you pretending nothing happened to me?"

"Now, what do you expect me to do?"

"Finally..."

"I've finally managed to make you willingly and completely be my woman, belonging only to me..."

"How could you be so cruel?"

"How could this be..."

She was sobbing uncontrollably and could no longer speak.

After calming down a bit, Xuanyuan Han continued speaking in his ear.

"Can't!"

"I will not allow it!"

"You still owe me a long future."

"I will not allow you to leave like this."

"Don't even think about sleeping like this and ignoring me."

"Listen to me, drink your medicine quickly."

"You'll feel better after taking the medicine!"

"I don't care what kind of poison it is or whether there is an antidote."

"Didn't you say that you didn't want me to leave without saying goodbye? Well, wake up first! How can I talk to you if you keep sleeping like this? If you don't wake up, I'm really leaving and never coming back!"

Even so, how could he bear to part with it?

"You forbid me from leaving without saying goodbye, yet why did you leave without saying goodbye first?"

"That's unfair."

"This is not fair to me."

"Since we've made a promise, we should all keep it."

How could you be so selfish?

"As I have said, I will formally marry you and make you my true wife!"

"But I haven't married you yet, you can't..."

"You little liar, wake up! Wake up! Don't scare me..."

He choked up several times while speaking.

Even Zhang Zhiyuan, who was kneeling to the side, was moved to tears upon seeing this.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "So that's how it is. It seems that there is only one woman in the world who could make the God of War Lingkong, such a noble and extraordinary man, the King of Qin of Western Qin, shed tears for her!"

Clearly, no matter how touching Xuan Yuanhan's heartfelt words were, the medicine he fed to Yi Shangyun still flowed out, not a single drop went into her throat.

Xuanyuan Han was completely at a loss as to what to do with her.

So I thought about it for a moment.

He suddenly picked up the herbal medicine and poured a mouthful into his own mouth.

"Your Highness, you mustn't..."

Zhang Zhiyuan tried to stop him, but it was too late.

And so, he personally fed the medicine to Yi Shangyun mouth-to-mouth.

At the same time, to everyone's relief, Yi Shangyun actually started to slowly swallow.

Feed the next bite, then the second, the third...

After feeding the child all the medicine in the bowl, this time, not a single drop spilled.

Zhang Zhiyuan, standing to the side, was already terrified. He muttered to himself, "Your Highness, you mustn't! You'll die! This is a last resort, a method of fighting poison with poison!"

Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Han remained unfazed and said with unwavering determination, "Even if this is the most potent poison in the world, I will not hesitate to do it to save her."