As dusk settled, the massive doors of the Hall of Diligent Governance in the Imperial Palace remained firmly shut.

Cai Zhong hurried his steps.

“Grandfather, it’s been a whole day,” the young eunuch at the entrance greeted him like a savior, stepping forward to speak in a low voice.

“Has he eaten?” Cai Zhong asked softly.

The eunuch shook his head.

Cai Zhong sighed and pushed the door open.

The hall was unlit, swallowed by gloom.

“Your Majesty.”

Cai Zhong spoke up loudly, waving for the junior eunuchs to light the lamps.

The lamps flickered to life one by one, clarifying the figure seated upon the Dragon Throne in the main hall.

The memorials were piled so high on the desk that they nearly obscured the man behind them.

“My Emperor, you have looked over so much in one day… This, this simply cannot be borne.”

Cai Zhong stepped forward, his voice trembling.

The seated Emperor finally stirred.

“Even if it cannot be borne, it must be,” he said slowly.

“Your Majesty, they can wait until tomorrow to be read.” Cai Zhong choked out.

“Wait? It cannot wait,” the Emperor continued in the same measured tone. “The affairs of this world will not wait, nor should they be made to wait.”

As he spoke, he reached out and picked up another memorial.

Cai Zhong immediately dropped to his knees with a plop.

“Your Majesty, your old servant knows your heart aches…” he managed, his voice thick with emotion.

The Emperor laughed.

“Why should I ache? The one who should ache is not me!” he said quietly, lifting his hand and tossing a memorial aside.

The memorial landed on the floor, unfurling. By the light of the nearby lamp, Cai Zhong saw it was a petition from Chang Yuncheng.

It was the document requesting marriage to the County Princess, Qi Yueliang.

“Since they did not sleep together in life, why should they share a tomb in death,” the Emperor murmured, rising to his feet.

Cai Zhong bowed low, touching his forehead to the floor.

“Your Majesty, Lady Qi has already been interred,” he said quietly.

A profound silence descended upon the great hall once more.

After an indeterminate stretch of time,

the sound of slow, measured footsteps was finally heard.

The Emperor walked down step by step, heading toward the exit.

“Listen well, all of you. I shall remember, and you shall remember for me: I must treat Chang Yuncheng with the utmost kindness, favor, and affection. Does he not desire merit, glory, and wealth? Does he not crave splendor? Then I shall grant him prosperity and high office, promotions and riches, rising higher and higher, achieving success year after year and rewards season after season. I will let him live well, live gloriously, live to his heart’s complete satisfaction!” The Emperor’s clear, cold voice echoed through the vast hall.

The hall doors were pulled open and then slammed shut with a thunderous crash that made every heart instantly seize up.

The sound of the bang made Qi Yue’s heart jump sharply.

That suffocating sensation returned, washing over her in a great wave.

She instinctively thrashed her limbs, but her head was violently struck by an object… What was that? she tried to think, raising a hand to grasp it.

A first-aid kit! It was you again… A wave of dizziness swept over her, and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

But another bang echoed through the air.

Qi Yue’s eyelids fluttered involuntarily.

This time, the sensation of suffocation was gone.

Faint, muffled voices reached her ears.

“What are you doing, being so clumsy? What if you wake your sister up?” said the woman who was currently scalding a towel in a basin of water.

The young man who had just entered stuck out his tongue.

“Mom, waking my sister up might be just the thing,” he replied.

The door opened again, and a plump nurse walked in.

“Auntie, you’re here so early?” she greeted with a smile.

“Xiao Huang, you’ve arrived.”

Mother Qi nodded, a slight smile on her face.

“Sister Huang.”

The young man also offered a cheerful greeting.

Nurse Huang smiled and patted the young man’s arm.

She walked towards the bedside.

“Come, let me see how Little Qi is doing today?” she said, pulling a small flashlight from her pocket with a smile.

She stood firmly beside the bed.

**Qi Yue slept peacefully, her complexion looking normal.

“She’s gotten fatter just lying here. She’ll be worrying about losing weight again when she wakes up,” Nurse Huang shook her head, her words light and teasing.

But her expression was heavy. After speaking,

she glanced again at the tranquil sleeping face and let out a soft sigh, picking up the flashlight and gently placing a hand on Qi Yue’s eyelid.

The stimulus of the light made Qi Yue uncomfortable, and she instinctively tried to pull away.

Though her consciousness registered a sharp head movement to evade, the physical manifestation was only a slight twitch of the head, almost imperceptible to the human eye.

This minute movement was missed by the people but detected by the machine.

Nurse Huang’s hand paused, a look of surprise crossing her face.

“What is it?” Mother Qi noticed and asked anxiously.

The young man also nervously moved closer, subtly steadying his mother’s arm—just in case something happened… “Qi Yue, Qi Yue,”

Nurse Huang looked at the monitoring equipment, then back at the person on the bed. She raised her voice and called out, “Qi Yue, you can hear me, can’t you? You hear me, don’t you? Move your eyelids! I’m Huang Ying. If you hear me, blink for me!” Mother Qi’s body suddenly felt weak, and the young man quickly supported her.

“Xiao Huang, what—what are you saying?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Hope had been deferred for too long, disappointments too many; she dared not even entertain a sliver of luck. Hearing those words so suddenly—Sister Huang? Huang Ying... the nurse closest to me... Am I dreaming again? Qi Yue blinked.

Nurse Huang sprang up abruptly, opening her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

She spun around to run outside, bumping clumsily into the basin of water Mother Qi had just brought in. The clatter echoed through the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the hallway to look inside.

Nurse Huang didn’t stop, rushing out.

“Doctor Qi! Doctor Qi!” she yelled as she bolted down the hall.

The specialized neurological clinic was on the fourth floor. When Nurse Huang arrived, Qi Yue’s father was just finishing up with a patient and speaking with three other people.

“How many times have I told you, if you come, just come. Don’t bring gifts,” he said, looking at the bundles and bags placed at the feet of the trio, who looked plainly dressed, clearly from the countryside.

“They’re from our own farm, they’re not worth much,” one of the older men mumbled shyly, sitting constrainedly. “It’s because of Little Doctor Qi that we…”

“It’s not because of you,” Father Qi interrupted, shaking his head. “On the contrary, if it weren’t for you carrying her down the mountain through the night to meet the ambulance, you saved her life. I should be thanking you.”

The three grew even more subdued, fidgeting with their knees and repeatedly saying they didn’t deserve thanks.

“Doctor Qi, we came today partly to visit Little Doctor Qi, and secondly, to thank you for securing the cooperative funds for me. This is a huge help for our grassroots hospital,” said a man dressed slightly better, clearly an official, who stood up and extended both hands. “We are truly very grateful.”

Doctor Qi quickly rose and shook his hand.

“You are too kind, too kind,” he replied.

“Oh, right, Doctor Qi, one more thing,” the official continued. “A few days ago, we found something. It belongs to Little Doctor Qi, correct? We brought it along.”

Father Qi seemed slightly surprised.

“Yes, yes. A few days ago, when we were planting trees and digging trenches in our village, we found it,” the young man among the trio said, quickly dragging over a large sack from the wall and opening it. “It’s very strange; it was found not far from where Doctor Qi had her accident. We didn’t see it then. It’s been lying out in the wilderness for so long, it’s almost rotten.”

As he spoke, he opened the sack and pulled out a battered box, on which the red cross symbol was still faintly visible.

“Oh. This,” Father Qi reached out and took the medical box. “Yes, yes, this is Xiao Yue’s.”

He had barely finished speaking when Nurse Huang’s shout echoed from outside the door.

Father Qi was slightly taken aback—was there an emergency? It was rare for someone to shout his name so loudly in the corridor.

The three visitors also understood that experts like Doctor Qi were very busy. They sensibly stood up.

“Doctor Qi, please attend to your business. We will go see Little Doctor Qi in her ward before we leave,” the official said, extending his hand to Father Qi again.

Father Qi shook it briefly. “You will stay for lunch. Don't leave until after you’ve eaten,” he insisted.

Before his words had fully settled, the door was violently shoved open by Huang Ying.

“Doctor Qi, Qi Yue has shown a reaction!” she shouted directly.

A crowd of people rushed past in the corridor. When the elevator doors opened, the few people inside were startled by the sight of so many rushing in.

A young man wearing glasses spotted Father Qi and lowered his head slightly.

“Uncle,” he called out.

Father Qi glanced at him and gave a noncommittal grunt.

Huang Ying, standing nearby, frowned upon seeing him and turned her head away.

As they stepped out, the first group rushed in, and the elevator doors slowly closed.

“…When did Xiao Yue react? Just now? Only a reaction?” Before the elevator doors fully sealed, this question reached the young man’s ears. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning back.

“Jianfeng?” his companion called out, confused.

The young man mumbled an acknowledgment, watching the illuminated numbers on the elevator panel.

5, 6, 7. It finally stopped at 8.

That was the neurological ward.

It was normal for doctors from neurology to go to the neurology ward, but… “Jianfeng, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

The person ahead called out impatiently.

“Um, I won’t be coming with you first,” the young man said. “I just remembered a case file the director needs to see. I’ll go fetch it and bring it to him at the meeting later.”

The others waved dismissively and walked on.

The young man pressed the ‘Open Door’ button for the elevator.

Qi Yue felt as if she were floating on water now; she could breathe freely, and the heavy, damp feeling of being weighed down was gone.

What was happening? What had happened to her? “Qi Yue, Qi Yue…” The calls in her ears grew louder and closer.

“Qi Yue, can you hear me? Blink…” “Xiao Yue, Xiao Yue, it’s Mom, can you hear me? Move a finger…” “Sis, Sis! Your Brazilian turtle died because of me…” Qi Yue couldn’t help but feel a laugh bubble up.

That brat!

“She smiled!” Qi Yue’s younger brother shouted loudly.

His booming voice managed to drown out the others in the room.

“Dad, did you see? She smiled!” he pointed toward the ** bed.

Father Qi had certainly seen. His hand was trembling slightly, and he took a deep, steadying breath.

“Please send for Doctor Kang and the others,” he instructed.

Huang Ying acknowledged him and turned to run out.

The young man standing by the door quickly stepped aside and turned around, listening to Huang Ying’s footsteps as she ran toward another section.

He turned back again and looked through the open ward door at the scene inside.

“Wonderful, truly wonderful…” “I knew it, our Little Doctor Qi will surely be fine…” “That’s right, it’s been almost a year, and finally, some good news… We must rush back and tell the people in town…” “…The incense at the Grandma Temple truly works; we must slaughter a pig to fulfill our vow when we return,” the three villagers who followed them said excitedly.

The young man outside the door let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding; the expression on his face was also one of relief.

Someone slapped him hard on the shoulder from behind.

The young man jumped in surprise.

“Wu Jianfeng, what are you doing?” a woman’s voice called out.

Wu Jianfeng looked at the woman before him and let out a sigh of relief.

“Cui Xiu, you startled me.”

“You startled me too,” Cui Xiu retorted with a huff, stepping past him to peer into the ward. “Why are you hovering here? Did you come to deliver the case file to your ex-girlfriend?” Footsteps approaching in the hallway interrupted their conversation.

“She really reacted,” they heard someone murmur.

“That’s excellent news.”

Huang Ying led three or four doctors in quickly. They paused briefly when they saw the two people standing by the door.

Wu Jianfeng lowered his head slightly to acknowledge them—these were his seniors.

“Old Kang!” Father Qi’s voice called from inside the room.

They paused no longer and hurried inside.

Soon, sounds of joyful cheers, applause, and congratulations began to emerge from within the room.

“Oh my god, is she actually awake?” Cui Xiu exclaimed in surprise, moving to step inside to see.

Wu Jianfeng reached out and stopped her.

“Let’s go. There are too many people; don't cause a scene,” he advised, turning to leave.

“Hey, who asked you to come here?” Cui Xiu shot back, glaring at him. She glanced back at the ward, then flung her arm out and caught up with the man striding away. “But, is that woman really awake? She has a real knack for surviving…”

Thank you to Jin Qin, Kuang Ben De Yang Cong, Xia Xi, Shuai Mao Tou Ying, LUCK Yue, Kai En Ka Te, Lan Yang Yang Hao, Hong Cha Na Tie, Ying Zi An Ran, Ga Gu Bao Bei for the safety talisman rewards on September 14th. Thank you to Yuan Mu, Hua Cao Ji Jie, 11 for the sachet rewards. Thank you to tai wan Xian Pa Yuan for the floating red banner. Thank you to Xiao Xiao 66 for the spirit beast egg floating red banner. I know you are all very sad, and I am sad too.

Thank you.

We mourn together.

RT