Outside the Phoenix Palace, the emperor stood to the side, watching the empress by the window, who was leaning weakly against the couch, holding needle and thread in her hand.

She was sewing clothes for him, just as in the old days when all his undergarments were made by the Queen.

He couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he said to let the inner court do it, as it was not something the Empress Dowager should do herself.

She scolded him, "The embroiderers in the inner court are all women. This is His Majesty's undergarment. If I let them touch it, I will feel jealous."

"Your Majesty is my man. Regardless of my status, doing these things for my man is simply my duty as a wife."

This practice continued for over twenty years, and the emperor had long since grown accustomed to it.

But now the empress is so weak that she can hardly sit up straight, relying entirely on the soft pillows behind her. Her hands are also not as nimble as before. She has to close her eyes and rest for a while after a few stitches. It is hard for the emperor not to be moved.

"How is the Empress doing now?"

He asked Judge Feng behind him.

The physician replied, "The pulse is very weak, and sometimes it is not palpable, which is a sign of severe depletion of vital energy."

Is it curable?

Judge Feng hesitated and said, "Your Majesty needs to worry less and cooperate. Right now, Your Majesty has difficulty swallowing food, and often vomits up the medicine she drinks, so it takes a long time to take effect."

No matter how good his medical skills are, he still needs the patient's cooperation.

Moreover, he always felt that the Empress's pulse was strangely weak. She had been carefully treated, but after only a few days of fasting, she suddenly seemed to be exhausted and dying, which was not in line with his medical knowledge.

The source of the slow-acting poison that the Empress drank has yet to be identified.

But the empress seemed to have lost all her spirits. She thought about how the emperor and empress had been in love for decades, and how the emperor had suddenly taken another woman as a concubine.

He wondered if the Empress had suffered a great shock as a result, which had damaged her heart meridian.

Seeing that the emperor still cared about the empress, he dared not reveal his suspicions, lest he incur the empress's wrath. If the emperor and empress reconciled, his entire family would be the ones to die.

As he expected, the emperor never suspected the empress of faking illness, nor did he ever imagine that the empress would poison herself.

He waved for Judge Feng to leave, remained silent for a few moments, and then returned to the Imperial Study, but he couldn't concentrate on reading the memorials.

He told Chen Banjun, "When I was seventeen, I gave her a hairpin and thought I would marry her and grow old with her."

Although there were setbacks along the way, we finally achieved our goal. I never imagined that she and I would end up like this.

He paused, then added, "Although I am angry, I never intended to take her life."

But judging from today's situation, if the Empress's condition does not improve, she will truly die.

Just thinking about it made the emperor feel extremely depressed.

“But she made a mistake and hurt the Crown Prince. If I forgive her, how can I face the Crown Prince?”

If he did not show leniency, he feared that the Empress would become resentful and eventually die.

The emperor was torn.

Chen Banjun understood his predicament. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The Crown Prince's medical skills are superb. He is currently on his way back to the capital. Why don't we wait for His Highness to return and have him examine the Empress?"

If the Crown Prince softens upon seeing the Empress's appearance, then Your Majesty need not make things difficult for him.

If the Crown Prince still refuses to forgive the Empress, he will surely find a way to persuade His Majesty.

Chen Banjun's loyalty was always only to the emperor. He did not want to put the emperor in a difficult position. He was more worried that the empress was using her illness to regain the emperor's favor, and that the emperor had obviously softened his heart.

He worried that if the empress really had ulterior motives, the emperor might be manipulated and do something impulsive.

However, he knew even better that if he were to doubt the Empress in front of the Emperor at this time, it would likely backfire.

After all, the Empress was the person the Emperor cherished most for decades, and now she's turned out like that.

Therefore, all he could do was stall until the Crown Prince returned, and try to prevent the Emperor from making a decision before the Crown Prince returned to the capital.

The next day, however, the empress coughed up blood and fell into a coma again.

At the time, she was sewing clothes for the emperor when she spat out a mouthful of blood onto the bright yellow silk, a shocking sight.

The emperor could no longer think about it and personally stayed by the bedside to wait for the empress to wake up.

Under the acupuncture treatment of Physician Feng, the Empress slowly awoke. Upon seeing the Emperor, she burst into tears, saying, "Your Majesty, you shouldn't have saved me."

Yun'er just came to fetch me. I missed him terribly. It was so hard to see him. I promised to stay with him from now on..."

She closed her eyes. "I have broken my promise. Yun'er is suffering alone over there."

The Prince of Yun was also his son. No matter what mistakes he had made before, death absolves all debts. Hearing the Empress's words, the Emperor felt deeply distressed.

"Get well soon. Once you're better, I'll accompany you to the temple to perform a prayer for his soul."

May he be reincarnated soon and be a good person in his next life.

The Empress simply closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing to say anything more, but tears fell drop by drop.

Having no other option, the emperor said, "How about I send Prince Ning back to keep you company?"

He thought that since the Empress doted on Prince Ning, and Prince Ning was good at coaxing people, perhaps his return could help the Empress recover.

The Empress seemed to consider it, but finally shook her head. "That child is kind-hearted. He would be upset to see me like this. I've heard how hard he studies with Prince Dingyuan. Why make him make the trip and get upset?"

That's the child I raised myself. Seeing his tears only makes me more heartbroken.

Now that Prince Ning has returned, it is of no use to Empress Yu's condition, and the Emperor no longer insists on it.

His biological father, the Prince of Dingyuan, sent him a letter saying that the Prince of Ning was studying very diligently and must have already guessed his identity.

The child is not truly stupid; he simply hides his abilities to avoid putting his parents in a difficult position. Such a kind child, if he were to return, would only put the Empress and the Crown Prince in a difficult position.

That's all.

The Empress slowly turned her head to look at the Emperor, her eyes pleading, "If Your Majesty truly wishes to let me see my son, then please have the Prince of Yan's heir come to the capital."

"If I could see him one last time before I die, I would have no regrets. If Your Majesty finds this difficult, then please consider me delirious from illness, babbling incoherently."

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