Upon hearing this, the Empress immediately turned around.
It turned out that Zhang Zhiyuan had just heard the news that Yi Shangyun had woken up. He had just entered the palace and stepped into the Imperial Hospital early in the morning when he hurriedly picked up his medicine box and came to check on Yi Shangyun.
The Empress asked, somewhat puzzled, "Zhang Zhiyuan?"
Zhang Zhiyuan was walking along, lost in thought, when he was clearly startled by the identity of the person who suddenly turned around.
"It's Her Majesty the Empress..." He hurriedly knelt down before her and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant Zhang Zhiyuan greets Her Majesty the Empress!"
The Empress stared at him for a moment, then asked, "Zhang Zhiyuan, you've come at the right time. I want to ask you, who exactly is the person living in Changning Palace? Why is she so mysterious? Is it possible that even I am not allowed to go in and see her? Is she... really a woman, as the rumors in the palace say?"
"This..." Zhang Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, but continued to pretend, "Your Majesty, as a physician, my duty is only to treat the sick and save lives as ordered. As for who lives in Changning Palace, I do not know, and please forgive me for not being able to tell you, so I cannot resolve Your Majesty's doubts."
Seeing his attitude, and already somewhat anxious upon hearing the news that a woman had moved into Changning Palace, the Empress angrily said, "Zhang Zhiyuan...you..."
Despite his best efforts to persuade his master, he was constantly obstructed and harassed by the servants in the courtyard.
Having been in the palace for decades, I have never suffered such humiliation.
The maidservant, unable to bear it any longer, pointed at them and raised her voice to reprimand them: "You bunch of dog servants, have you all lost your minds? How dare you not even put the Empress, the mistress of this palace, in your eyes!"
She paused, then continued to remind everyone, "Do you all know what Changning Palace is? Women are never allowed to stay here. What are you all doing now? Today I want to see who dares to stop Her Majesty the Empress from going where she wants to go?"
Meanwhile, the Empress was thinking to herself, "It seems that the people living in Changning Palace must have received the Emperor's decree, otherwise they would not dare to do this."
The maidservant had clearly decided to force her way in, so she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Get out of the way..."
Just then, a soft, scolding voice suddenly came from the palace gate: "How dare you! Who is making such a racket in Changning Palace so early in the morning?"
Upon hearing the sound, the two guards facing the main gate and Zhang Zhiyuan were startled and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty!"
The Empress then snapped out of her daze, grabbed the maidservant beside her who was still frozen in fear, and knelt down as well: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
Emperor Jing stood at the palace gate with his hands behind his back, scrutinizing the crowd before him with a serious expression.
In an instant, no one spoke in the entire courtyard; it fell into complete silence.
After pausing for a moment, Emperor Jing stepped forward again, walked to the crowd, and reached out to help the Empress to her feet.
He asked in a deep voice, "What brings the Empress to Changning Palace so early in the morning?"
"Your Majesty..." The Empress belatedly realized that in her panic, her maid had disturbed the Emperor and caused trouble. She was truly frightened.
However, Changning Palace was right next to the emperor's bedroom, and concubines were never allowed to stay there.
There was even a rumor that if a woman moved into Changning Palace, something big would definitely happen.
Indeed, for the first time in many years, Emperor Jing brought back a woman without saying a word.
After much thought, she felt that as Empress, she had an obligation to remind the Emperor what she was doing.
So he took a deep breath and mustered his courage to say seriously, "Your Majesty should know that concubines are not allowed to stay in Changning Palace."
At this moment, her feelings were indeed somewhat complicated. After a pause, the Empress continued, "If Your Majesty truly takes a fancy to any woman, then bestow upon her a title, and I will arrange a palace for her in the inner palace..."
But before the Empress could finish speaking, Emperor Jing suddenly interrupted her: "She is not!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress froze once more, staring intently at Emperor Jing's face, wanting to confirm again: "What? No?"
Emperor Jing looked intently into the Empress's eyes again and said, "She is not what the Empress thinks."
The Empress, even more puzzled, asked, "Then why did Your Majesty arrange it this way?"
But Emperor Jing did not want to explain anything further, and only said: "The Empress does not need to concern herself with this matter. The Empress only needs to know that the person living in Changning Palace is not a woman."
The Empress could tell that he didn't want to say anything more about the matter. Over the years, the way the two of them had always gotten along had been like this: respecting each other like guests, while maintaining the appropriate distance between them.
You don't need to ask any more questions, and he won't offer any further explanations.
So the Empress once again chose to habitually agree with him: "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."
After saying that, he turned and left.
The two stood back to back when Emperor Jing suddenly spoke again: "What about the Empress Dowager..."
The Empress looked towards the palace gate ahead, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will explain this matter to the Empress Dowager. There are only men in Changning Palace."
At this point, the Empress finally left with her entourage.
Emperor Jing then coldly ordered Zhang Zhiyuan, who was still kneeling on the ground with his head bowed and dared not utter a sound, "What are you still kneeling here for? Hurry up and go in to check on him?"
Zhang Zhiyuan seemed to snap out of his daze at that moment, and as he stood up, he repeatedly said, "Oh, yes, yes, Your Majesty, I'll go right away!"
But just as she arrived at the entrance of the bedchamber, she saw Yi Shangyun forcefully pushing the maid out, shouting, "Get out, get out quickly..."
Accompanied by a loud "bang".
The maid was pushed out like that, while the door was blocked from the inside by Yi Shangyun's body.
The maidservant, panting, said to Zhang Zhiyuan, "Judge Zhang, you've finally arrived!"
Zhang Zhiyuan stared in disbelief at all this and asked, "What happened?"
The maid said innocently, "I don't know either. After the young lady woke up, she kept talking nonsense and making a fuss, saying things that we couldn't understand at all. I really had no choice and no strength left, so she pushed me out."
Before the person arrives, their voice is heard.
Emperor Jing, who was following closely behind, heard their conversation from afar and asked sternly, "What on earth is she doing?"
Upon seeing that it was Emperor Jing himself, the maidservant quickly knelt down on both knees and reported to him, "Your Majesty, ever since the young lady woke up, she has been talking nonsense and has even chased me out."
Emperor Jing glanced at the maid's disheveled appearance and immediately raised his voice to order, "Someone, break down the door for me."
"Your Majesty, you mustn't..." Seeing the situation, Zhang Zhiyuan, fearing that it might frighten the pregnant Yi Shangyun, hurriedly tried to dissuade her.
Soon, a guard came forward.
Just as the guard mustered all his strength and was about to throw himself out to break open the door, the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside by Yi Shangyun.
The guard immediately missed his target and nearly fell flat on his face.
Yi Shangyun quickly and nimbly moved to the side of the door.
Finally, everyone looked at each other.
A moment later, Emperor Jing finally stepped into the hall and took his seat.
With a wave of his hand, all the bystanders withdrew one by one.
At this moment, only Emperor Jing, the eunuch, and Zhang Zhiyuan remained in the hall.
Emperor Jing stared at Yi Shangyun's face for a long time before finally speaking, "What are you doing? Do you know who I am? Where is this place?"
Looking at the unfamiliar faces before him, Yi Shangyun remained expressionless, neither humble nor arrogant, and said without the slightest fear, "I don't know! Nor do I want to know!"
Seeing that Yi Shangyun had awakened, despite his bad attitude, Emperor Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He then hurriedly instructed Zhang Zhiyuan, who was standing to the side, "Zhang Zhiyuan, examine her carefully again to see if she has fully recovered."
"Yes!" Zhang Zhiyuan was also very concerned about his recovery and quickly agreed.
Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun suddenly stretched out a hand to block Zhang Zhiyuan, who was about to approach her, and refused, saying, "No need!"
Seeing her refusal to communicate at all, Emperor Jing seemed to have no other choice but to endure it.
Then he changed the subject and asked, "What's your name?"
Yi Shangyun replied, "Why should I tell you my name?"
Finally, the eunuch standing beside Emperor Jing could no longer hold back and reprimanded Yi Shangyun, saying, "How dare you! The Emperor has been so tolerant of you, how can you speak to him like that?"
However, the eunuch's actions were met with a cold look and a reprimand from Emperor Jing: "Step back!"
The eunuch could only silently swallow his anger and retreat.
As expected, after Yi Shangyun woke up, their first conversation was not smooth.
But there's plenty of time ahead, and he knows he can't rush things if he wants the guardians to completely submit to him.
He knew, of course, that in this world, the human heart is the most precious thing, let alone the true heart of a guardian.
But once he obtains it, he will be omnipotent.
With this thought in mind, Emperor Jing knew he had to be patient first.
Then, looking cheerful, he stood up and said to Yi Shangyun, "Alright, it's good that you're awake! You've just recovered from a serious illness and have been up all morning, so you must be a little tired now. Why don't you rest for a while longer?"
Yi Shangyun still didn't even glance at him, standing alone by the window in the hall, gazing out the window.
Emperor Jing finally said to everyone, "Alright, all of you, come out with me. Don't let anyone disturb her!"
"yes!"
So everyone followed suit and left, leaving only Yi Shangyun alone in the huge hall.
Until she heard someone slam the door shut for her.
Yi Shangyun finally came to her senses and looked around the hall.
Finally, he collapsed weakly onto the soft couch by the window with a thud.
He pondered for a long time, but still couldn't understand it, and couldn't remember it. He just muttered to himself, "What exactly is going on?"
After leaving Changning Palace, Zhang Zhiyuan followed Emperor Jing at a distance, also deep in thought and extremely puzzled...
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