In her dream, Jian Yang returned to the familiar palace. She wandered aimlessly around the palace and then saw Zhou Jingzhi.

Zhou Jingzhi walked past her as if he hadn't seen her. Jian Yang tried to call out to him, but found that she couldn't make a sound. She could only follow Zhou Jingzhi forward.

The scene shifts to the main hall, where Zhou Jingzhi is sitting on the dragon throne when suddenly an arrow is shot out from nowhere and pierces straight into his heart.

Seeing Zhou Jingzhi collapse, Jian Yang rushed over and caught him. Zhou Jingzhi's eyes grew increasingly unfocused, and within moments he stopped breathing.

"Zhou Jingzhi!"

Jian Yang screamed and sat bolt upright in bed, her heart pounding.

She looked out the window; it was just beginning to get light. Jian Yang wiped the sweat from her face, got up, and poured herself a cup of tea. The cold tea helped her clear her head a little.

"Thank goodness it was just a dream." Jian Yang patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Hearing the commotion, Jian Hong rushed over, knocked on the door, and asked, "Ayang, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, I just had a nightmare." Jian Yang opened the door and smiled at Jian Hong.

His younger sister was pale; she seemed genuinely frightened. Jian Hong rubbed Jian Yang's head, somewhat worried: "What dream did you have? Why are you so scared?"

Jian Yang shook her head and said, "It's nothing, just a dream."

After a moment of silence, Jian Yang seemed to have made up her mind: "Brother, I've thought it through. I want to leave here. When can we leave?"

Hearing this, Jian Hong finally felt relieved. Although he would support whatever choice Jian Yang made, leaving the capital was the safest option at the moment.

"You pack your things first, I'll go make the arrangements now, and I'll send you away as soon as it's light." After saying that, Jian Hong hurriedly went to make preparations.

Throughout the journey, Jian Yang felt somewhat uneasy in the carriage. Thinking about the dream she had last night, she felt that something was not quite right.

It's just a dream, don't overthink it. As long as she leaves the capital, she can start a new life right away, Jian Yang thought to herself.

The carriage had barely left the capital when it was stopped. Someone spoke to Jian Hong, and Jian Hong's expression grew increasingly grave, making Jian Yang even more uneasy.

"Is this another case of me not being able to leave?" Jian Yang lamented inwardly.

"Brother, what's wrong? What happened?" Jian Yang asked hurriedly.

Jian Hong was in a dilemma. According to the messenger, the emperor had been assassinated in the palace, and it was suspected that Zhou Jing'an's men were behind it. He was now ordered to return immediately.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to tell Jian Yang, "The Emperor has been assassinated in the palace. I must go back now. A Yang, I will have the guards escort you away. Someone will meet you when you arrive."

When Jian Yang heard the word "assassination," her head buzzed, and she couldn't hear anything after that. She remembered the image of Zhou Jingzhi with an arrow stuck in his chest in her dream, and her heart ached.

"Brother, I'll go back with you!" Jian Yang said hurriedly.

“A-Yang, the palace is incredibly dangerous right now. The assassin won’t let this go. You should leave first, and I promise to have someone relay the Emperor’s situation to you.” Jian Hong didn’t want Jian Yang to go back to the palace and risk her life again. Zhou Jing’an was incredibly audacious to attempt an assassination in the palace.

"No, brother, I must go back!" Jian Yang's mind was filled with the image of Zhou Jingzhi's unfocused eyes in her dream, and she felt extremely panicked.

Seeing this, Jian Hong sighed, turned the carriage around, and hurriedly drove towards the palace.

Jian Yang's heart was pounding in her throat the whole way; her dream had actually come true.

Arriving at the palace at top speed, Jian Yang hurriedly carried her medicine chest and headed towards the emperor's bedroom.

"Zhou Jingzhi, you mustn't die. If you die, all my hard work will have been for nothing," Jian Yang murmured.

Pushing open the door, Jian Yang saw Zhou Jingzhi leaning against the bed with his eyes closed. His pale face overlapped with the image in her dream, so she hurriedly ran over.

"Zhou Jingzhi! Wake up!" Jian Yang gently shook Zhou Jingzhi and called out.

In fact, Zhou Jingzhi had already noticed Jian Yang when she pushed the door open and entered. He closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious, wanting to see how Jian Yang would react.

Jian Yang called out a few more times, and Zhou Jingzhi, hearing her voice choked with emotion, slowly opened his eyes and looked at her, feigning weakness.

"You're finally awake! You scared me to death! Where are you hurt? How serious is it?" Jian Yang asked anxiously.

Seeing the woman's worried expression, Zhou Jingzhi deliberately frowned, feigning pain and remaining silent. This made Jian Yang think he was in too much pain to speak.

"I will definitely cure you, don't worry." After saying that, she hurriedly grabbed Zhou Jingzhi's wrist to take his pulse, but he gently held her hand.

"Ayang, I'm fine, you should leave now." After saying that, Zhou Jingzhi frowned even more, coughed a few times, and curled up on the bed in pain.

Seeing this, Jian Yang became even more anxious, her heart aching terribly. What was this man doing saying these things at a time like this? How was she supposed to go on like this?

"I'm not leaving! I want to stay and heal you. I'm not leaving. Let me see your injuries." Jian Yang was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

She took Zhou Jingzhi's hand and carefully examined his pulse. The more she listened, the worse his complexion became, not because there was anything wrong with his pulse. On the contrary, Zhou Jingzhi's pulse was strong and vigorous, not at all like someone who had suffered a serious injury.

Looking at the man's pained expression and furrowed brows, Jian Yang found it all too exaggerated. He was indeed injured, but the injury was hardly serious.

Jian Yang slammed Zhou Jingzhi's hand down and stared at him coldly. She wanted to see how long Zhou Jingzhi would keep up his act.

"Stop pretending, I see you're doing just fine," Jian Yang said loudly.

Hearing her say that, Zhou Jingzhi sat up in bed and looked at Jian Yang without saying a word, like a child who had done something wrong.

Seeing this, Jian Yang sneered: "Zhou Jingzhi, is this funny? You're playing with your own body, is it fun to make fun of me?"

She picked up her medicine box and made to leave. Zhou Jingzhi hurriedly reached out to grab Jian Yang, but pulled at his wound and groaned.

Jian Yang was taken aback, and then, remembering how Zhou Jingzhi had deceived her earlier, she was unwilling to talk to him for a moment.

"Ayang, I was wrong, please forgive me?" Zhou Jingzhi gently shook Jian Yang's arm.

Seeing that Jian Yang didn't speak, Zhou Jingzhi pulled her into his arms with a force.

"Let go of me! You bastard! You big liar!" Jian Yang struggled to get up, but Zhou Jingzhi held her tighter and tighter. She tried to break free but saw bloodstains on Zhou Jingzhi's inner robe, so she stopped moving.

“I didn’t mean to lie to you. I was just afraid you wouldn’t care about me anymore,” Zhou Jingzhi said softly.