Chapter 75 It seemed he was her only support. ...
The moon was hidden behind the clouds.
Imperial Physician Dou was squatting in front of the Empress's chaise longue. Just as his fingers touched the Empress's pulse, he heard a loud "clang" behind him.
Doctor Dou looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the evening breeze had blown open the window, so he got up to close it.
The woman on the chaise longue behind him was breathing steadily, her eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes like butterfly wings, and she trembled slightly.
Yuan Chaolu heard the sound of the wind in her dream.
Her mother led the caravan westward, leaving Yuan Chaolu and her younger brother alone at home. Every day, she would climb the hillside and gaze westward in the biting wind, hoping that her mother would return...
As the Lunar New Year approached, red lanterns were hung on every door and window, but Mother did not return. She sat on the threshold and saw Father come home from work, leading a small yellow dog into the yard.
"Why did you bring it here, Father?" Yuan Chaolu asked, following behind him.
Aye smiled and said, "Aye has seen that you have been feeding it for several days. Since you like it, then bring it back. In the future, when Aye is not around, it can help you and your brother support the family and protect the two of you."
That night, she nestled her clean little yellow dog close, her cheek pressed against its warm fur, and played with the small Thousand-Hand Guanyin shrine around the heater.
Aye was a cave craftsman, especially skilled in building Buddha statues and painting murals. This time, he was in charge of building a Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue. During his break, he specially selected a piece of bluestone and carved one for her as a New Year's gift.
The Thousand-Hand Guanyin shrine is only the size of a palm, and the Guanyin statue inside is lifelike, with its fingers unfolding like lotus petals.
She cherished it so much that she held it above her head and, when she held it up to the light, saw the two characters "Peace" carved with a knife at the bottom of the niche.
"Will this carved by my father really protect my daughter?" She hugged the shrine tightly.
Aye's face was illuminated by the light from the fireplace, his expression incredibly gentle. He turned back to look at her with a smile, "Of course."
A small yellow dog and a small shrine to Guanyin with a thousand hands were the first gifts Yuan Chaolu received during the Spring Festival when she was fourteen years old. She was overjoyed and could never have imagined that such earth-shattering changes would befall her family in just a few months.
She was dragged away by the Helan family and enslaved. The little yellow dog had its spine broken and curled up in the blood by the roadside, whimpering as it watched her leave. The small Thousand-Hand Guanyin shrine also disappeared without a trace...
This was also the last gift she had received so far.
In her sleep, she felt as if someone's withered fingers were sliding along her pulse.
“Father…”
Yuan Chaolu murmured to himself as he opened his eyes from his dream, only to find an elderly imperial physician standing beside the concubine's bed.
She suddenly woke up with a start and sat up abruptly. "Doctor Dou?"
"What is Physician Dou doing here?" She withdrew her hand warily, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, and looked behind Physician Dou, where a figure sat in the shadows.
Imperial Physician Dou hurriedly stood up, looked at the figure, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress has awakened."
The man sat there casually, without any manners. Upon hearing this, he leaned forward, and his face gradually became clear in the light. "The Empress just had a nightmare, so I summoned Physician Dou to take your pulse."
Yuan Chaolu looked like a frightened bird, her face covered in cold sweat. She stared sharply at him, and when she saw his worried expression, her tense expression suddenly relaxed.
She lowered her eyes to hide the panic in them and said, "It's late. Tell Physician Dou to go back first. I'm fine now."
Xiao Zhuo asked, "Are you really alright?"
Seeing Yuan Chaolu smile and shake her head, Xiao Zhuo nodded, signaling Physician Dou to leave, and then said, "If you are not pregnant—"
This seemingly random question struck Yuan Chaolu's forehead like a needle, causing his acupuncture point to throb again until he heard what Yuan Chaolu was saying next: "I can still use Abbot Yinghui's method to help you with acupuncture to relieve your nightmares, but since you are pregnant, I dare not use acupuncture lightly, so I have invited Physician Dou."
Yuan Chaolu left the chaise lounge, went around behind him, wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, and whispered, "Your Majesty summoned someone without even telling me."
He raised his hand and placed it on her arm, patting it gently, "I didn't want to disturb your dream."
The force was so gentle, accompanied by his warm breath, that it was impossible not to want to be immersed in it.
While she was in a daze, he suddenly turned around, put his arm around her shoulder, and pressed his palm against her thin shoulder bone, causing Yuan Chaolu to sink into his embrace.
"What's wrong? What did you dream about? You seem a bit off."
Yuan Chaolu, under his gaze, said softly, "I dreamt about some things from my childhood, I dreamt about..."
She swallowed the rest of her words.
He didn't ask any further questions, but simply reached out an arm and stroked her back, comforting her as if soothing a small animal.
The hall was dimly lit, with only one lamp lit here.
Yuan Chaolu looked up and saw that it was pitch black outside the window, and the only source of light was right next to him.
The chirping of crickets, sometimes short and sometimes long, seeped through the window screen.
Finally, she whispered, "I just had a nightmare. It reminded me of some bad things from my childhood, and I'm very scared."
Upon hearing this, he frowned slightly and called out, "Morning Dew."
"But when I woke up and saw His Majesty beside me, I felt incredibly at ease."
She tilted her head back in his arms, her eyes reflecting only his face. Suddenly, she buried her face in his chest, her fingers gripping his clothes tightly, refusing to let go, as if he were the only one she could rely on at that moment.
Looking at her pale lips, Xiao Zhuo said softly, "You can tell me everything. I'll stay here with you."
Yuan Chaolu agreed: "Okay."
The lanterns under the eaves outside the window had burned down to their last rays, leaving only a faint glow. Moths, however, continued to tirelessly fly towards them, creating crackling sounds as they burned.
The last lantern light went out.
The emperor, adorned with a magnificent jade crown, sat noblely in the darkness. His handsome face was gradually obscured by shadows, and the tender emotions in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold and dim light. Yet, his palms still gently caressed the nape of the neck of the sleeping person in his arms, again and again.
**
The mountains are dark green, and the water reflects the sky.
The weather was exceptionally fine that day, and the emperor and empress went together to the Yi River in the southern suburbs of Luoyang to conduct an on-site inspection of the location of the Buddhist caves.
The carriage rumbled along the road. Yuan Chaolu leaned against the window, her gaze returning from the endless mountain road to the king riding outside the window: "My legs are numb from sitting. May I get off and walk around?"
Xiao Zhuo said, "What did you say before we came? You can only sit in the carriage at most."
“But sitting for too long isn’t good either,” the Empress muttered softly, her forehead resting against the window frame. “Since we’re already here, and besides, I just heard from Zhong Changjun that there’s a path leading up the mountain with waterfalls along the way. Shall we go together?”
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