Just as the young imperial physician had said, not long after Jian Yang consumed the Ganoderma lucidum, her previously pale face miraculously regained its rosy hue.

The emperor was overjoyed and immediately rewarded the imperial physician.

Jian Yang woke up seven days later.

At this time, the emperor was holding court in the front hall.

"Xiqiu..." Jian Yang called out weakly.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiqiu rushed over. Seeing that Jian Yang was awake, she burst into tears of joy, "Your Majesty, you're finally awake!"

Jian Yang struggled to sit up, the movement causing a sharp pain in her wound.

After helping Jian Yang drink a glass of water, Xi Qiu told her all the things that had happened in the past few days.

"Your Majesty, you have no idea how worried His Majesty has been about you these days. He has not only been taking care of you personally without taking off his clothes, but he has also lost a lot of weight."

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Jian Yang didn't react much to these words.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Chen family has been completely destroyed this time, and no one will dare to harm you again."

Jian Yang smiled faintly, remaining silent.

Xiqiu then asked, "Your Majesty, shall I go and invite the Emperor here?"

Jian Yang finally responded.

"No need."

She doesn't want to see the emperor yet.

In fact, she was not completely unaware during the days she was in a coma.

Her eyelids were just too heavy for her to open.

In her occasional moments of lucidity, she would ponder the meaning of continuing to live this way.

If it's just about eating, drinking, and managing the harem, that's fine. She could even accept working 996 or 007.

But she could never accept the risk of dying at any moment.

Come on, who isn't afraid of dying?

Although she had taken the initiative to rush forward and shield the emperor from the knife, this only made Jian Yang more melancholy.

She didn't consider herself a particularly great or selfless person, but the fact that her body chose to sacrifice herself to save the emperor without any thought could only be explained by one thing.

That is, she most likely fell in love with the dog emperor.

She absolutely could not accept this situation.

Not to mention that those who work as emperors are basically the most heartless people in the world, she couldn't even handle his many concubines.

In the past, she was merely playing the role of the empress, without truly investing her emotions.

But if she truly fell in love with the emperor, the situation would be completely different.

At that time, she not only had to join the competition for the emperor's favor, but also had to reluctantly give the emperor's favor to other concubines in order to achieve the goal of sharing the emperor's affections equally.

Otherwise, she would be immoral and jealous.

However, love is inevitably accompanied by possessiveness.

As a modern woman who has been influenced by modern views on love, she absolutely cannot accept the polygamous system, not even if the other party is an emperor.

After much deliberation, Jian Yang decided to stage a fake death.

Since I'm not deeply in love yet, this is the best time to run away.

But she was still a little reluctant to part with Zhou Kun.

But then she thought again, even if Zhou Kun was in a terrible state, he was still a prince surrounded by countless honors and favors, while if she stayed here any longer, she might lose her life.

So Jian Yang finally stopped worrying about it.

She was no longer conflicted, but figuring out how to escape was still a deep concern for her.

She could never escape this deep palace on her own.

But she didn't know who to ask for help.

Just as she was racking her brains, Xiqiu said, "By the way, Lord Xiahou also came to visit you yesterday."

Jian Yang was taken aback and asked, "Didn't Lord Xiahou go to Jiangnan?"

Xiqiu nodded and said, "Indeed, he went to Jiangnan, but recently it's the time for officials to return to the capital to report on their duties."

Jian Yang then remembered that, according to the imperial regulations, local officials were required to return to the capital to report on their duties every six months. Counting the days, it was about time.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Xiqiu, later go outside the palace and buy me some snacks and medicine. I'll also write a letter for you to give to Lord Xiahou."

Xiqiu looked at her in astonishment.

Jian Yang smiled and said, "Don't overthink it. I just asked him to help me with something."

Xiqiu immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will never make assumptions about you, much less tell the Emperor about this matter."

Jian Yang smiled wryly, realizing that Xi Qiu had misunderstood her, but she didn't have time to explain at the moment.

Half an hour later, Xiqiu left the palace as Jian Yang had instructed.

The emperor also learned of Jian Yang's awakening and excitedly came to Weiyang Palace immediately.

"Empress, does your wound still hurt?" The Emperor looked at Jian Yang, his eyes filled with heartache.

Jian Yang deliberately ignored his gaze and said in a light tone, "I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Please go and attend to state affairs. I am still a little tired."

After saying that, she closed her eyes.

The emperor saw this and felt sorry for her. As usual, he wanted Xiqiu to take good care of her, but he found that Xiqiu was not there.

A young palace maid quickly stepped forward and said, "Her Majesty the Empress woke up wanting to eat snacks from outside the palace, so she asked Sister Xiqiu to go out of the palace to buy some."

The emperor was very pleased, as having an appetite meant his health was improving. He gave a few more instructions before leaving the house with light steps.

After he left, Jian Yang opened her eyes and sighed slowly.

An hour later, Xiqiu returned to the palace having successfully completed her mission.

"Have you seen Lord Xiahou?" Jian Yang asked.

Xiqiu nodded: "Your Majesty, I have seen it, and I personally delivered the letter to Lord Xiahou."

Jian Yang was very satisfied and dragged her ailing body to her feet.

Xiqiu quickly went up to help her, "Your Highness, you should rest. I'll do whatever you need."

Jian Yang laughed and said, "I need to prepare the medicine; you can't do that."

She needed to prepare a drug to fake her death, which was the most important part of her escape.

That's why she sent Xiqiu out of the palace to buy medicine. After all, if the emperor realized what was going on, he would definitely investigate the Imperial Hospital, and then her fabricated death would definitely not be able to be kept secret.

In the following days, the emperor found that Jian Yang's attitude towards him was not as good as before she was injured. He could only comfort himself that Jian Yang was still recovering from her serious injuries, and that once she recovered, the two of them could be like before.

But after waiting and waiting, he received news of Jian Yang's death.

The news reached his ears while he was reviewing memorials in the imperial study.

Just moments before, he had instructed Eunuch Zhang to tell the imperial kitchen to prepare extra snacks to send to the Empress.

Just as he was concentrating on red-inking the memorials, Xiqiu rushed in, wailing, "Your Majesty, the Empress has passed away!"

"Thud—"

A drop of vermilion ink fell onto the memorial.

"What did you say?" the emperor asked incredulously.

"Your Majesty, the Empress has passed away!"

The emperor's face was ashen.

He threw down his calligraphy brush and rushed outside like a madman.

Inside Weiyang Palace, everyone was already weeping.

The emperor rushed to Jian Yang's bedside in one breath.

Jian Yang lay quietly on the bed, her hands folded over her chest, as if she had just fallen asleep.

"Empress, wake up, I've come to see you."