Yi Shangyun gazed intently at the sleeping Xuan Yuanhao on the couch, completely absorbed. Finally, she slowly sat down, propping her chin up with one hand and resting her elbow on the edge of the couch, her eyes tenderly continuing to scrutinize the sleeping boy before her. Then, she reached out her other hand and gently touched the seven-colored jade bracelet with gold threads on Xuan Yuanhao's wrist, earnestly murmuring a plea, "Jade bracelet, oh jade bracelet, when will your powerful functions be unlocked and made available to me? In this time and space, only you possess this energy... Please help this poor child."
Before she knew it, Yi Shangyun finally dozed off, exhausted. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep by Xuan Yuanhao's bedside.
A cold wind blows, the night is long, but with someone by your side, the days always fly by.
As dawn breaks, Yi Shangyun always wakes up precisely according to her good biological clock, and at this moment she is still groggy.
Clearly, sleeping on her stomach made her very uncomfortable. She rubbed her beautiful phoenix eyes half-asleep and yawned listlessly as she slowly sat up and stretched her body. Suddenly, she felt her neck was a little stiff, and an extremely displeased expression appeared on her face. She then clenched a delicate fist and gently tapped the back of her neck.
Before she knew it, her phoenix eyes fell on the face of the boy who was still asleep on the bed, and she was so excited that she couldn't speak for a moment.
"Your...Your...Your Highness...Your face...your face..." She was so surprised and taken aback that she couldn't help but stammer.
"My face... my face... what's wrong with my face?" Xuan Yuanhao hadn't actually been asleep; he'd only pretended to be asleep because he couldn't bear to wake Yi Shangyun up so early and make her busy. However, he was startled awake by her urgent cry and taken aback by her exaggerated expression of surprise.
Yi Shangyun was speechless. She hurriedly got up and ran wildly out of the hall, leaving Xuan Yuanhao alone sitting on the couch in a panic, completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened to his face.
"Zi Yan, Zi Yan!" Yi Shangyun shouted excitedly as soon as she stepped out of the palace gate.
"Yi Yao Nu, what happened? Why are you in such a panic?" Zi Yan heard Huan's voice and hurriedly strode over to Yi Shang Yun.
"Quick, quick, get the bronze mirror! The Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince... His face has healed completely, and... and there isn't a single scar left!" Yi Shangyun was so surprised that she was still stammering.
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan was also shocked and incredulous. She quickly turned around, went back to retrieve the bronze mirror, and handed it to Yi Shangyun. Everyone nearby heard this miraculous and exciting news and rushed towards the bedchamber to witness this historic moment.
Smallpox has always been considered a terminal illness, and surviving it is already a miracle. Yet this morning, we learned from Yi Shangyun that not only did His Highness the Crown Prince survive, but even the pockmarks that usually follow smallpox have completely disappeared! How could this not be exciting? How could it not be a miracle?!
"Could it be that Yi Yao Nu was dreaming or sleepwalking early in the morning?" someone in the crowd whispered in suspicion.
However, Yi Shangyun only cared about grabbing the bronze mirror before rushing into the bedchamber. She came to Xuan Yuanhao's side, smiling, and held the mirror up to him with both hands, saying, "Your Highness, look quickly!"
Xuan Yuanhao had been worried, wondering what had happened to Yi Shangyun's face. Now, all he saw was Yi Shangyun's joyful expression and the sudden influx of palace maids and eunuchs into the hall. He then looked slowly into the bronze mirror in her hand, a hint of fear in his eyes.
"My face... my face really is..." Xuan Yuanhao couldn't believe his eyes at this moment. He saw Yi Shangyun standing in front of him, holding a bronze mirror, her lips pursed, her eyes filled with tears of joy, and her eyes were unfocused as she nodded to Xuan Yuanhao to confirm what he had seen.
Everyone in the hall was dumbfounded, weeping with joy as they looked at Xuan Yuanhao. Even the servant who had just secretly suspected Yi Shangyun was sleepwalking was now frantically rubbing his eyes...
The people who were quarantined in Donghua Palace endured more than half a month of suffering, fear, and anxiety, but finally achieved this miraculous result today.
Xuan Yuanhao disregarded his status and hurriedly lifted his nightgown, sleeves, and trouser legs... He saw that the dense, shocking smallpox spots left behind after the scabs fell off yesterday had all disappeared overnight, without a trace, as if the smallpox had never visited him at all.
Immediately, Xuanyuan Hao's eyes filled with tears, threatening to spill over. Seeing this, Yi Shangyun quickly handed the bronze mirror to Ziyan, then took a silk handkerchief bearing the character "Yun" from her sleeve and rushed forward to wipe away Xuanyuan Hao's tears, gently advising, "Your Highness, a man does not easily shed tears."
After hearing this, Xuan Yuanhao stared into Yi Shangyun's eyes and pursed his lips tightly to suppress his emotions.
At this moment, Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly stepped forward and solemnly took Xuanyuan Hao's pulse. After a moment, he was immediately astonished and exclaimed with a smile, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Your pulse is stable and gentle; you have indeed recovered!"
With this final announcement from Imperial Physician Zhang, all the servants and physicians of Donghua Palace, including Yi Shangyun, knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Congratulations to His Highness the Crown Prince on his recovery from his serious illness!"
"Oh right, hurry up and inform the Emperor and the Empress, quick..." As soon as she stood up, Zi Yan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and ordered the servant beside her to hurry up and deliver the message.
At this moment, everyone finally took off the face coverings that had been hanging on their faces for more than half a month, which felt suffocating. They took a deep breath of the free air in the hall, and everyone's face was filled with the most radiant and sincere smiles from the bottom of their hearts, cheering and jumping for joy.
Inside Chaohua Palace.
The Empress, her face filled with despair, said to Xuan Yuan Yue beside her, "The end of the year is fast approaching, and New Year's Eve is just two days away. For the past few years, your mother has longed for your younger brother's return, finally seeing him come back to the palace, only to be met with this calamity. If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred he never returned. At least to outsiders he would be well, unlike now, suffering so much both physically and mentally. He's just a child not even ten years old..."
As she spoke, the Empress felt deeply remorseful and shed tears of sorrow, and could no longer continue. Seeing this, Xuan Yuan Yue felt extremely helpless and heartbroken.
Just then, a strange-looking eunuch rushed in from outside. Perhaps due to panic or fear, he almost tripped over the threshold.
However, he still stumbled and rushed into the main hall, then knelt down with a thud. He stammered, both surprised and delighted, "This servant...this servant is...a eunuch from Donghua Palace...reporting to Her Majesty the Empress...Princess Yue..."
Upon hearing the eunuch announce that he was from Donghua Palace, the Empress and Xuanyuan Yue both hurriedly stood up. Xuanyuan Yue, before the Empress, widened her eyes and asked urgently, "What exactly happened at Donghua Palace? Report it at once!"
The Empress immediately stepped down and walked towards the eunuch. "Is it the Crown Prince... You audacious servant, how have you been attending to him during his illness? Impossible... Impossible... My son!"
The Empress could hardly wait for the eunuch to finish speaking. Based on her worries over the past few days, she concluded that Xuan Yuanhao was beyond saving and was about to die. She immediately burst into tears.
Just then, the eunuch, in his haste, quickly blurted out, "No, Your Majesty. Imperial Physician Zhang just checked His Highness's pulse and confirmed that His Highness has fully recovered from smallpox, and there are no traces of measles left on his body. His Highness is perfectly healthy!"
"What"
"What"
Xuanyuan Yue and the Empress exclaimed in surprise in unison.
"Prepare the carriage for Donghua Palace!" the Empress immediately ordered, and Xuanyuan Yue hurriedly followed.
Inside Donghua Palace, the servants knelt on the ground, shouting in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Emperor Jing, with lowered brows and a solemn expression, addressed the crowd before him, saying, "Rise."
Then, with a cold expression, he looked at Zhang Zhiyuan beside him, sighed helplessly, and said to him with his hands behind his back, "Zhang Zhiyuan, has the Crown Prince truly recovered?"
Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly rose and stepped forward to Emperor Jing, respectfully replying, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. The Crown Prince has fully recovered from smallpox, and there is not a single trace left on his body."
However, Emperor Jing said, "How is that possible? Since ancient times, everyone knows that contracting smallpox is like having an incurable disease. Even if one is lucky enough to survive, one will inevitably be left with a face full of pockmarks and disfigured. How could there be no trace at all? You must have misdiagnosed again, right?"
Zhang Zhiyuan was also at a loss for words to explain the miracle that had unfolded before his eyes, only saying, "This humble subject is also quite puzzled by this. Perhaps the Crown Prince, being a dragon among men, has received divine mercy and protection, which is why he was able to escape this calamity."
"You...you're talking complete nonsense! You, the judge, are truly...you kneel outside the palace and reflect on your actions. I'll punish you properly later."
Emperor Jing was clearly very impatient with Zhang Zhiyuan. He hadn't even had a chance to settle the score with him for the misdiagnosis last time, and he was thinking of arranging for Zhang to treat the Crown Prince and make amends for his mistake. But now Zhang was giving such a evasive answer to his doubts.
Helpless, Emperor Jing could only angrily move into the bedchamber to inspect it himself. At this moment, Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly grabbed his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat that had already seeped into his temples and obediently knelt outside the Donghua Palace as punishment.
Upon seeing Emperor Jing enter, Xuan Yuanhao and Yi Shangyun immediately went over and knelt down to pay their respects.
Your son pays his respects to Your Majesty.
"This servant greets Your Majesty."
Emperor Jing quickly reached out and took Xuan Yuanhao's hand, helping him up and saying with concern, "Get up, my son, you've suffered."
"It is your unfilial son who has caused Father Emperor worry," Xuan Yuanhao said affectionately to Emperor Jing as he stood up.
Once Xuanyuan Hao had fully stood up and raised his head, Emperor Jing carefully examined his face. "My son has indeed fully recovered, and it seems... there are no traces of pockmarks left."
Xuanyuan Hao, equally excited, hurriedly said, "Father, my recovery is entirely thanks to the Medicine Maiden. Father, you may not know, but she kept a close watch on me day and night, tirelessly and meticulously encouraging and caring for me. It was only through her efforts that I recovered so quickly. Father, you must reward her handsomely!"
Upon hearing Xuan Yuanhao's words, Emperor Jing thought to himself: This woman before me is indeed extraordinary. Not only has she befriended my princess, but now even my prince, whom I've just met, is going to great lengths to protect her. It seems... this woman is not to be underestimated.
However, he still had to consider Xuanyuan Hao's feelings, so he said, "Since the Crown Prince has personally requested a reward for you, please tell me what reward you desire."
Xuan Yuanhao hurriedly turned to look at Yi Shangyun, and secretly winked at her, implying that she didn't need to be polite and could speak up.
However, they heard Yi Shangyun say something...
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