Inside the Kunning Palace, candlelight flickered.

Yongzheng sat on the edge of the bed, holding Lin Yun's hand.

The Empress has been in a coma for a year.

The imperial physicians were outside preparing nourishing tonics for the Empress to replenish her qi and blood, so that her prolonged coma would not lead to qi and blood deficiency.

With tears in his eyes, Zhang Tingyu urged the Emperor to take care of his health, but the Emperor seemed not to hear him.

"Yun'er, you said you would accompany me to watch Hongyao's wedding and Zhaohua's marriage..."

He stroked the pink diamond ring on her ring finger, the one he had personally put on her finger. "I will not allow you to break your promise."

Suddenly, he noticed his fingers trembling slightly in his palm.

"Yun'er?!" He suddenly stood up and knocked over the medicine bowl on the table.

The woman on the bed trembled slightly with her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the antique-style furniture in the room, she knew she had returned to the Qing Dynasty.

Candlelight shone through the gauze curtains onto her face.

She instinctively raised her hand to cover herself, and the warm, cool sensation on her wrist startled her.

That was the jade bracelet that Zhou Shi'an gave her.

She remembered that she hadn't worn these bracelets in a long time during the Qing Dynasty, and she never expected that they would come with her.

The inner wall of the bracelet is engraved with fine runes, which are now emitting a faint golden light, as if they are slowly flowing with life.

"So that's how it is..." I thought it was just ordinary jewelry, but I never expected it to be a key that allows you to travel between two worlds.

"Yun'er?!" A hoarse voice exploded in my ears.

Lin Yun turned her head and met Yongzheng's bloodshot eyes.

He looked much more haggard, with dark stubble on his chin, and his everyday clothes were wrinkled and tattered, showing no trace of his imperial majesty.

Upon seeing her awake, he suddenly grabbed her hand, so tightly that she almost cried out in pain.

"Your Majesty..." Lin Yun began, but tears streamed down her face.

She threw herself into Yongzheng's arms, clinging tightly to his waist, as if to pour out all the longing she had felt over the past few days.

Emperor Yongzheng trembled all over, his arms like iron hoops locking her in his embrace, his voice choked with sobs: "I thought... I would never see you again."

Outside Kunning Palace, Hongyao was leading his younger siblings to kneel before the Buddha and chant sutras.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the hall, followed by Su Peisheng's shrill, joyful voice: "Your Highness! The Empress has awakened!"

The prayer beads in Hongyao's hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

He staggered into the inner hall, where he saw Lin Yun being helped by Yongzheng to drink ginseng soup on the bed.

The young crown prince knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground heavily: "Empress Mother!"

Zhaohua and her two younger brothers also burst into tears, and Hongsheng even climbed onto the bed, clutching Lin Yun's clothes tightly.

Lin Yun touched the children's faces, tears streaming down her face.

Emperor Yongzheng dismissed the palace servants and personally wiped away her tears: "You've been in a coma for a year, and I..."

His Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately didn't mention those mad days.

He suspended court for three months and led his secret guards to travel all over Mount Wutai and Mount Longhu. He even knelt in the cold pool to ask the Celestial Master to summon his soul.

He smashed all the porcelain in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, simply because the imperial physician said, "The Empress's pulse is like that of a withered tree."

After returning home, he held her and talked to her every night, from trivial matters of the court to anecdotes from her childhood, afraid that she would forget the way home.

"Yao'er did very well." Yongzheng suddenly looked at Hongyao, a hint of pride in his eyes.

"After you fell into a coma, I put him in charge of the country. This kid managed to withstand the foreign invasion and the Yellow River breaching its banks. Even Zhang Tingyu praised him as 'mature beyond his years'."

Lin Yun looked at her son in shock.

Fourteen-year-old Hongyao stood tall with an air of imperial composure: "Your subject is simply acting in accordance with the teachings of Your Majesty."

As night fell, Yongzheng recounted to her the major events that had occurred during the year since she fell into a coma.

"Yinzhi's fleet has sailed to the Western Ocean again, and this time they brought back blueprints for textile machinery from England." He pointed to a stack of documents on the table.

"The steam engine that the Ministry of Works copied has been used in the mines, increasing efficiency tenfold. The soap formula you left behind is now sought after even by Korea and Ryukyu."

Lin Yun looked through the account books and discovered that the national treasury's annual revenue had increased by 50% compared to last year.

Yongzheng chuckled: "It's all thanks to your business partnership with the Ninth Prince back then—that kid sold soap to Russia and the warhorses he got in return could form an iron cavalry."

She then asked about Daiyu.

Yongzheng's expression softened: "That girl is quite capable; she just gave birth to twins for Hongtun, a boy and a girl. The Jia family..."

He paused, "Yuan Chun married a fourth-rank governor as his second wife, and Bao Yu spent his days secluded in his books, becoming much quieter."

Lin Yun suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "Have the foreigners made any unusual moves?"

Yongzheng sneered: "The East India Company colluded with pirates while you were unconscious, but Lan Dingyuan wiped them all out. Now the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou are all our people."

He unfolded a map and traced his finger across Malacca. "Old Ten's navy is already stationed here. Western merchant ships that want to pass through will have to pay a toll first."

Lin Yun chuckled, but as she laughed, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Yongzheng hugged her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head: "Yun'er, don't go anymore."

God knows how he got through that year.

He could never let her leave again in this lifetime...

That would kill him!

Outside the window, a cluster of fireworks suddenly lit up the night sky.

That was ordered by Hongyao; the city lights poured down like stars, illuminating the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City.

………

The news of the Empress's recovery spread throughout the capital the following day.

The gloom that had enveloped the Forbidden City seemed to be suddenly parted by an invisible hand.

Even the autumn sunshine seemed exceptionally bright.

The palace servants spread the news excitedly, their faces beaming with long-lost smiles.

Court officials submitted memorials to congratulate the Empress, and ordinary people spontaneously prayed for her at temples. Amidst the swirling incense smoke, the entire capital was immersed in joy.

Inside Kunning Palace, Lin Yun leaned against a soft couch, gazing at the ginkgo leaves falling outside the window.

The jade bracelet on her wrist gleamed in the sunlight, its inner emerald strands resembling flowing streams.

This bracelet accompanied her across two worlds and has now become her only connection to that other world.

Now she takes the bracelet off and plays with it in her hand, daring not to wear it again if she were to travel back in time.

Between reality and dreams, she chose dreams, and she was willing to sleep forever in this dream.

"What are you thinking about?" Yongzheng approached from behind and draped an outer garment over her shoulders.

The gloom between his brows had long since dissipated, and even the fine lines at the corners of his eyes had smoothed out.

Lin Yun turned and smiled, taking his hand in hers: "I was thinking about how Your Majesty spent the past year."

Yongzheng sat down beside her, his fingertips gently stroking her bracelet: "I've tried every possible method."

His voice was soft, yet it sent a shiver down Lin Yun's spine.

"The high monks of Mount Wutai said your soul had left your body, and the Celestial Master of Mount Longhu drew forty-nine talismans to summon your soul..."

He paused, then suddenly pulled her into his arms. "It's good that you're back."

Lin Yun leaned against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and suddenly felt that everything was so unreal.

Her time in the modern world felt like a long dream.

But the bracelet on her wrist reminded her that both worlds were real.

"Yun'er," Yongzheng suddenly spoke, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Um?"

"I wish to... abdicate in favor of Hongyao."