Just as Manhuan was about to speak, a palace maid and eunuch's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty..."

However, these people only said half of what they were saying before Jiang Wang's figure entered the main hall.

Seeing this, Man Huan had no choice but to get up and move aside from the head of the bed.

"His Majesty."

Jiang Wang waved her hand, telling her to step back first, and then sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the person on the bed.

The person who had been lying in bed for three years but had recovered very well was looking at him with a pair of clear, spring-like eyes. At that moment, Jiang Wang was overjoyed.

He reached out and grasped those soft, delicate hands. Shen Mingzhuang felt those large hands trembling incessantly, and he felt dazed.

When her gaze fell on Jiang Wang's three thousand silver hairs, a feeling of heartache spread through her. With trembling hands, she gently stroked Jiang Wang's temples. How long had it been? Why was his hair and beard completely white?

Jiang Wang, however, seemed to have rediscovered a treasure. He held her hand in his palm and kissed it gently, his warm breath tickling her fingertips.

She turned her head and saw Tan Yonglin leading a small child into the room. Tan Yonglin didn't seem to have aged much; he didn't have as much white hair as Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang didn't say a word, but pulled her into his arms again. He heard her slightly uneasy voice in her ear: "This time, don't leave me again, okay!"

Shen Mingzhuang withdrew her gaze from the child who looked exactly like her, tugged at Jiang Wang's sleeve, and whispered in his ear, "Who is he...?"

Jiang Wang turned around and saw the little guy that Tan Yonglin was holding, and suddenly laughed.

Hearing Shen Mingzhuang's words, Tan Yonglin looked helpless. The five or six-year-old child tugged at Tan Yonglin's hand and said angrily, "Why doesn't my mother recognize me? Don't you all say that I was born from her?"

Tan Yonglin laughed and said, "Your Highness, you shouldn't say such childish things. Her Majesty the Empress has just woken up and has been sleeping for too long and has rarely seen Your Highness. If you get closer to Her Majesty the Empress, she will naturally remember Your Highness."

Seeing this, Jiang Wang beckoned to her son and said with a smile, "Xuan'er, come here and pay your respects to your mother."

Having just begun to grasp the basics, Shen Mingzhuang was once again confused upon hearing this address.

She had only taken a nap, and when she woke up, her son was already so big, and she herself had gone from Consort Ming to... Empress?!

Jiang Xuan ran over quickly, nestled beside her father, and timidly looked at her beautiful mother who had just woken up.

"Father, she looks just like me!"

Jiang Wang couldn't help but chuckle, flicked her son's forehead, and said with a smile, "So now you believe she's your mother, right?"

Jiang Xuan stared straight at her mother, mustered her courage, took two steps closer, and slowly reached out, wanting to touch her mother's face. But that action made Shen Mingzhuang momentarily dazed, countless images flashing through his mind, finally settling on the moment Shi Jiang left...

She suddenly felt a chill. She looked at her son and felt a sense of familiarity, inexplicably connecting her son with Shi Jiang.

After Shi Jiang left, did he go to another time and space, or was he reincarnated as a human and become a new life, like the child in front of her who bears some resemblance to him...?

"The flowers outside are in full bloom. Have something to eat, and then I'll take you for a walk in the Imperial Garden, okay?"

Seeing that she was lost in thought again, Jiang Wang chuckled and asked.

Shen Mingzhuang snapped out of her reverie and looked out the window. Having not opened her eyes for so long, the dazzling spring light made her squint involuntarily.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked her son, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Jiang Xuan pursed her lips. "Mother has been asleep for five years. Father and I both thought that Mother would never wake up again. How could Mother be so sleepy? Every time I bring something fun, Mother doesn't close her eyes to look at it."

Still young, she started to feel aggrieved after saying just a few words, and her father and mother became her father and mother, which made Shen Mingzhuang's heart melt.

She stroked her son's fluffy head, never expecting that she would fall into a deep sleep for so many years, while Jiang Wang kept his last promise.

"A-Wang." She looked up at Jiang Wang, a faint smile spreading across her lips. Seeing this, Tan Yonglin quickly led the people in the room, along with some of the Crown Prince Jiang Xuan, out of the main hall.

Jiang Xuan was dissatisfied. He had only just seen his mother and exchanged a few words with her, so why did he have to leave already? Tan Yonglin coaxed him, "Your Highness, the Empress has just woken up. His Majesty must have a lot to say to her. You will see the Empress many more times in the future. Why don't you come with this old servant for a walk outside?"

"I still have a lot to say to my mother..."

Jiang Xuan grumbled somewhat discontentedly, but still obediently followed Tan Yonglin out of Jiaofang Palace.

Only the two of them remained in the inner room, and their pent-up emotions finally burst forth.

Jiang Wang cupped that small, palm-sized face in his hands, lowered his head to cover his lips, and couldn't help but stick out his tongue. Wherever it touched, there was the bitter fragrance of herbs. He greedily absorbed it, and longing grew in his bones, yet at this moment it had the power to break through everything and sweep over his entire body...

Jiang Wang felt that his reason had been completely burned away. All he wanted to do at this moment was to possess her and have her back. His long-standing, deep longing for her was now exposed. The repeated "A-Wang" in his ears was like oil being poured on a raging fire, making him even more passionate!

After their passionate encounter, the palace servants brought her a mild meal, which Jiang Wang personally watched her eat. Afterward, he carried her to the bath where the palace servants had placed flower petals. The bath was a natural hot spring with a faint sulfur smell, and the just-right water temperature made her completely relax.

Jiang Wang held her tightly, afraid that she would sink. The water splashed on his shoulders, and she nestled against him like a floating duckweed.

Jiang Wang repeatedly became obsessed with her, and Shen Mingzhuang showed no reaction to his behavior other than tacit approval.

"You miss me too, don't you?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, the intense stimulation almost overwhelming her, while the sounds around her seemed determined to stir up trouble.

Jiang Wang took in her reaction, a smile playing on his lips, as the water splashed out of the bath like beautiful musical notes.

The news of the Empress's awakening spread throughout the palace and beyond in an instant.

Inside the Rongguo Duke's mansion, Shen Mingrong was grinding ink for her husband when she heard the news. She was so excited that she didn't even notice the ink splashing onto the inkstone.

She and Lu Ming witnessed what happened that day. Shen Mingzhuang had been asleep for five years. So much had happened in those five years that everyone gradually lost faith. Jiang Wang gave the child the position of Crown Prince and gave her the position of Empress, but he still couldn't wake her up.

On the day she was crowned empress, she entered the palace and saw Shen Mingzhuang lying on the palace bed. She had recovered exactly as she had when they first met, making it hard to believe that she was still unconscious and would never wake up again.