The next morning.

Guan Zhiyue still showed no signs of waking up. Bilian sat by the bed, looking somewhat sobbing.

She hadn't slept all night, which made her look rather haggard. Her originally delicate face now appeared pale and bloodless. It was all her fault for not taking good care of her empress.

Guan Zhiyue was immersed in her own world and didn't want to wake up because she knew that waking up would still mean being in a small, confined space, unable to experience the joy of the outside world. This was like a caged bird, trapped in a tiny cage.

"Yue'er, are you still not awake?" Li Qishang was dressed in a brocade robe today, and his hair was tied up high with a white jade hair crown, making him look much more energetic than a few days ago. He didn't have the same harmonious lines as when he had his hair half down. Today, he looked so resolute.

"May Your Highness be blessed!"

"Hmm! How is Yue'er?"

Bilian got up from the ground, turned to look at Guan Zhiyue lying on the bed, shook her head and said, "She hasn't woken up since yesterday!"

Li Qishang sat down on the edge of the bed, waved his hand, and gestured for Bilian to leave, but Bilian stood there, unwilling to go.

"You should go and rest first! Otherwise, if your mother wakes up and you fall ill, how guilty she will feel?"

Bilian thought for a moment and then left: "Then I'll trouble Your Highness. I'll transfer some maids from the back courtyard. If Your Highness has any orders, just ask them."

"Hmm!" Li Qishang didn't turn his head, and hummed softly. Now all his attention was focused on the person on the bed.

"Yue'er, why are you so foolish?"

"You knew the palace was a cage, so why did you rush towards it without hesitation? Why didn't you wait for me? I could have taken you to the mountains and rivers, I could have taken you to this vast and boundless world, but what do you want from me now?"

Guan Zhiyue's soul drifted through the room in the Cold Palace. She looked at Li Qishang sitting by the bed, at the furnishings in the room, and at his incessant chatter. Guan Zhiyue smiled.

"The original owner of the body you loved, she's already gone, but you don't know it!"

"What exactly happened between you two? Why doesn't she even remember you? And how epic was your story?" Guan Zhiyue sat down next to Li Qishang and reached out to touch his shoulder, but unfortunately, as a soul, she couldn't touch Li Qishang. She shook her head listlessly.

Guan Zhiyue stood up and moved towards the door. She passed through the tightly closed door and walked out of the Cold Palace. She didn't know which way to go and just wandered around aimlessly. In her memory—no! In Guan Zhiyue's memory, there was no impression of the palace. After all, she had never set foot in the palace, but that one step she took would have been the end of her life!

Guan Zhiyue's fragmented soul slowly walked through the palace. Unconsciously, she arrived at the Imperial Garden. Looking at the countless, all kinds of beautiful and vibrant flowers, she couldn't help but smile. This was the first time she had seen so many flowers in the palace, all different colors. Many of them were names she didn't know, and many she had never seen before. She felt a sense of freedom and joy!

She danced gracefully among the flowers, wandering endlessly through the fragrant imperial garden. She was in a particularly pleasant mood, her eyes were smiling, and her lips maintained the best smile. If anyone could see her, she would surely be at her most beautiful and happiest moment.

After cheering in the Imperial Garden for a while, Guan Zhiyue no longer lingered in its beauty. She turned and walked in another direction, arriving at a place with many palace walls and rooms.

Suddenly, from an empty room came soft, panting sounds, along with a man's rough, bold voice. Although she had never eaten pork, she had seen pigs run before, and she knew what the sounds inside the room were!

She knew there must be some dramatic scene unfolding inside, but her intense curiosity still led her there. This was the palace, and she wanted to know who was so audacious as to do such a shameful thing in broad daylight.

She passed through the closed window and saw the blankets on the bed piled high, constantly contorting into various shapes, making her want to rush over and pull back the blankets to see who these people were.

She, weighing eighty pounds, sat on the desk by the window, her legs dangling in the air, her eyes fixed on the person on the bed. After changing positions countless times out of boredom, the person on the bed finally peeked out. She went over to look at the two lying on the bed. She saw that the woman's face was flushed, and she was nestled shyly in the man's arms. The man also had a square face. The two of them were quite well-matched in appearance.

Guan Zhiyue initially thought it was a guard and a palace maid having a secret rendezvous, but when she saw the clothes scattered on the ground, she realized that the woman's clothes seemed to be much more exquisite than those of the palace maids, but slightly inferior to those of the main concubines. She didn't know who this person was. Now that she had finished watching the show, she didn't linger and continued wandering to other places.

"Ah! The air smells of freedom, the birds are in a state of soaring, the wind is the direction of light, and I am the wandering of my soul..." Guan Zhiyue stepped out of the house and stood in the courtyard, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, at the vast and boundless sky and earth. At this moment, she was free, at this moment, she was happy.

She didn't linger there; she continued walking forward. She passed by the imperial kitchen, and was even chased all the way by dogs that appeared out of nowhere. She also passed through the courtyards of some concubines, traversing the entire harem.

She arrived at the front hall and looked at the golden and majestic dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. She got up and walked over. She walked step by step to the dragon throne, sat down, and after a while, she seemed to feel a little tired. She gently curled up on the dragon throne and quietly closed her eyes.

As night deepened, she awoke in the pitch-black palace, her eyes still blurry with sleep, unsure of where to turn.

Suddenly, a melodious sound resounded throughout the entire palace. Guan Zhiyue felt extremely comfortable upon hearing it. She wanted to get closer, she wanted to walk to the place where the sound was coming from, she wanted to see what was so fascinating to her!

She followed the sound, slowly making her way to the source. She finally found the place, but it seemed as if she was blocked by something invisible. She couldn't enter the palace. She kept patting the invisible barrier, and the melodious sound was coming from inside. She felt incredibly comfortable and peaceful listening to it. Her heart was so calm and excited at that moment.

Just as she was feeling frustrated and thinking about leaving, the invisible barrier suddenly opened up in the middle, and Guan Zhiyue walked in from the outside.

She looked at the decorations and furnishings of the entire palace gate, which seemed to be unlike the usual furnishings in the imperial palace, but rather resembled those of a Taoist temple.

She walked forward, passing through pavilions and towers, and through various courtyard gates, until she finally arrived at the source of the sound. She gently pushed open a door and saw orange light and moonlight streaming in from the window. Facing the door, a person with silver hair was sitting with their back to it. Guan Zhiyue walked towards the person with some curiosity.