Chapter 83 Dozens of Lamps Lighted
This time, Zhang Fuan finally understood His Majesty's thoughts.
He bowed forward, his voice lowered to a whisper, cautiously probing, "Your Majesty, Concubine Yun has been busy all day and must have retired. How about... I go in and wake her up?"
Xiao Jin paused and looked at the tightly closed palace door, which was dark and silent inside.
He could almost imagine her exhausted and sleeping.
After struggling for a moment, he finally turned around and said in a hard voice, "No need. Return to Zichen Palace. Send an order to adjourn the court tomorrow morning..."
Zhang Fuan just responded with a "yes" when Xiao Jin suddenly stopped, rubbed his forehead irritably, and changed his tone: "Forget it! State affairs are more important. I will attend the morning court as usual tomorrow!"
Zhang Fuan secretly groaned in his heart and looked up at the sky - there were only two hours left before the morning court.
After rushing back to Zichen Palace from Yanying Palace and washing and getting ready, how long can Your Majesty rest?
He steeled his resolve and boldly suggested, "Your Majesty, the dragon's health is paramount! Why don't you rest in the main hall of Yanying Palace? I'll have someone bring the dragon robe and crown. The Purple Palace is a long way to go, so you can catch some sleep on the way there and back."
Xiao Jin was silent for a moment, and finally said "hmm" tiredly, "Alright, as you say."
Back in the main hall of Yanying Palace, the eunuchs bustled about silently. Xiao Jin, however, ordered all the candles that had been lit to be extinguished, leaving only a single candle by the bed in the inner hall.
The dim candlelight flickered, stretching his figure into a slender shape, casting it against the cold palace walls. This scene suddenly pierced the darkest corners of his memory - back then in the cold palace, he and his mother depended on each other for survival, with only this tiny lamp at night.
He would also use this little light to secretly read those obscure books of sages...
A sharp panic seized him without warning!
The candlelight in front of my eyes began to distort and blur, as if it would be swallowed by the endless darkness in the next moment.
He clenched his hands tightly and shouted, "Come here! Light the lamps! Light up all the lamps for me! Quick! Not a single one can be left out!"
The eunuch on night watch was frightened by the sudden order, and responded hastily, frantically relighting dozens of palace lanterns and candlesticks in the hall one by one.
In an instant, the hall was as bright as day, and the dazzling light made it almost impossible to hide.
Xiao Jin hurried back to the desk in the front hall, trying to numb himself with the mountain of government affairs and dispel the panic. He grabbed a memorial and brought it close to his eyes.
It's all blurry!
The writing on it seemed to be soaked in water, twisted and completely unrecognizable!
He rubbed his eyes hard and opened them again - still blurry!
Panic instantly turned to rage! He slammed his palm down on the hard rosewood table, making a terrifying noise. "Add more lights! Add ten more lights! Now! Immediately!"
Just at this moment, Zhang Fuan came in holding the dragon robe and crown that he would wear at the court tomorrow morning. He was startled by the almost crazy brightness in the hall and the memorials scattered on the floor.
I saw His Majesty flipping through the memorials quickly and almost paranoidly, but then throwing them away angrily one after another.
He hurried forward, his voice soft and gentle, fearing to anger the emperor again: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, which blind minister submitted this stupid memorial? Tell me, I will burn it immediately. Please don't get yourself hurt by anger..."
"Get out! All of you get out! Don't bother me here!" Xiao Jin didn't even raise his head, his voice filled with extremely suppressed rage.
Zhang Fuan was so scared that he stepped back repeatedly, feeling extremely anxious.
This situation is so wrong! His thoughts raced—right now, I'm afraid there's only one person who can solve this situation.
He retreated quietly and almost ran to the side hall.
Yun Zhao had already fallen asleep.
Zhang Fuan didn't care about anything else. He went to the bedside and called out in a low and urgent voice: "Mrs. Yun? Mrs. Yun? Wake up! Something terrible has happened!"
Yun Zhao struggled to open her heavy eyelids, and when she saw that it was Zhang Fuan, her sleepiness was instantly scared away: "Eunuch Zhang? What's wrong? But the military intelligence at the front line..." As she spoke, she struggled to sit up.
"It's not military intelligence, it's His Majesty!" Zhang Fuan spoke rapidly, his voice filled with unprecedented panic. "I don't know what's wrong with His Majesty. His mood is extremely abnormal! He lit dozens of lamps in the hall, making them frighteningly bright. He was reviewing memorials, but he kept on being furious and wouldn't answer any questions... From what I saw, it seemed... it seemed like he was recalling the past in the cold palace again. He was holding back a rage that was driving him crazy!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Zhao suppressed his extreme fatigue and the dryness and soreness of his eyelids, and immediately threw off the quilt and stood up: "Please wait a moment, eunuch. I'll put on some clothes and come right away."
Zhang Fuan retreated first.
Yun Zhao endured the stabbing pain from his ankle, hurriedly put on an outer robe, and quickly walked to the small tea room. He deftly brewed a cup of strong tea, and then limped towards the main hall.
As soon as she stepped into the palace, she was shocked by the almost dizzying brightness and the wolves all over the ground.
Memorials, books, and even a few scrolls of calligraphy and paintings were thrown on the ground.
She calmed herself down, held the teacup, carefully avoided the debris on the ground, and approached the desk surrounded by countless candles.
The candlelight was too bright, and she could hardly see Xiao Jin's expression hidden behind the halo.
"Your Majesty," she said, placing the teacup gently next to him, her voice soft and gentle. "What's wrong with you? Has something difficult happened? Or is it... your dragon feeling unwell?"
[Something's wrong... Usually, even when I lose my temper, there's always a reason. But tonight, my mood is so strange. It's like I'm possessed by something...]
Xiao Jin was dazzled by the dazzling light and could only barely make out the vague outline of Yun Zhao approaching. When he heard her voice, the nameless anger and inexplicable panic in his heart intertwined, making his tone even colder and stiffer: "Who told you to come? Go back!"
Yun Zhao sighed inwardly, but maintained a calm expression, even a hint of resignation. "Your Majesty, how dare I lie down alone when you haven't even taken a rest yet? Please have some tea and calm your mind. Whatever you want to do, whether it's reviewing memorials or losing your temper, I will stay here with you, okay?"
[Could it be… that just because I said I wanted to leave that evening, he’s been mad until now?] Xiao Jin seemed not to hear her words. He just fumbled anxiously on the table, trying to find the cup of tea.
But everything in front of him was blurry, and the white jade teacup was almost integrated with the table. He fumbled for it a few times but couldn't touch it.
Yun Zhao observed his unusual behavior, his mind abuzz with suspicion. [Strange... Normally, at this time of day, he would have picked up his teacup. What happened today? He can't even find his cup? The light is strangely bright. He...]
An astonishing idea flashed through her mind like lightning!
Her heart suddenly tightened, and she subconsciously stretched out her hand, waving it very lightly and slowly in front of Xiao Jin's eyes.
His pupils seemed to have no focus at all and no reaction at all!
Is there something wrong with my eyes?
Yun Zhao's whole body froze!
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