Shen Qing suddenly felt like crying.
Si Bao was truly the best gift the heavens had bestowed upon them.
Hearing the noise, Si Bao turned around. Seeing it was Shen Qing, she put down the book in her hand, got up, and ran in front of Shen Qing. She hugged Shen Qing's leg, her voice muffled.
"Mother, I heard them say that Father might never wake up again. Is Father going to die?"
Si Bao had never experienced the passing away of a loved one. But once she had a little rabbit. That rabbit only lived for two months before it died. She was so sad that she cried for several days. Father had told her that not only rabbits but also people would die.
It was the natural law, just like there were white clouds in the sky, rivers flowed from high places to low places, and people grew up. It was just the way it was.
She didn't understand what Father had said, but she knew that if someone died, they would be buried in the dark and cold ground, just like that little rabbit. She would never see Father again.
Shen Qing squatted down and stroked Si Bao's head. Her voice was gentle and patient. "Si Bao, Mother believes that Father will surely wake up. He's just tired now. Mother will be very busy these days. Will Si Bao stay here and accompany Father more, okay?"
Si Bao nodded, her eyes red.
"Si Bao likes to listen to Father's stories when going to sleep. Now that Father is asleep, Si Bao will tell stories to Father too."
She remembered that once Father had also lain in bed like this and couldn't wake up. Sister Zhuxing and Aunt Sheng had told her to talk to Father. They said that if Father heard her, he would be reluctant to leave. She was extremely scared and kept crying. In the end, Father really woke up.
Now she wasn't a three - year - old child anymore and couldn't cry. So she thought of coming here to read the stories Father had told her before to him.
"Okay." Shen Qing hugged her daughter tightly, trying not to let her see her loss of composure.
At this moment, Yingxiu knocked on the door frame outside.
Shen Qing composed her expression. "What's the matter?"
Yingxiu said, "Your Majesty, the servants in the Cold Palace said that the Empress Dowager has gone mad."
Since the King of Jin's rebellion had failed, the Empress Dowager had also been deposed of her title and thrown into the Cold Palace.
Shen Qing's expression turned colder. She hadn't forgotten that the chief culprit who had harmed Ji Junye like this was precisely this current Empress Dowager.
Abusing such a young child and poisoning him with the bone - eating poison. She was simply unworthy of being human!
Gone mad?
She'd better be really mad.
Shen Qing gently stroked Si Bao's head. "Si Bao, stay here and accompany Father first. Mother has something to do and will come back soon."
After saying that, she let go of Si Bao and walked to Yingxiu's side.
"Lead the way."
The door of the Cold Palace was being pounded loudly.
"Let me out!"
"I'm the Empress Dowager. Let me out!"
"You useless slaves. How dare you let me live in such a place! I'll chop off your heads!"
When Shen Qing arrived, the Empress Dowager was frantically pounding on the courtyard door. Ji Junye would "take special care" of the Empress Dowager, so he had arranged a separate courtyard for her. Everything inside was the simplest, only the walls and the door were stronger than those on the periphery of the Cold Palace.
He had also sent two Jinwu Guards to guard it.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen."
Shen Qing motioned for them to rise. "How long has she been mad?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, the Commoner Sun has been mad for some days. It's just that she's been making a lot of noise today. His Majesty previously said to just let her make noise, so we didn't intervene. Who would have known that it would alarm the people outside and also disturb Your Majesty the Queen."
The Empress Dowager's original surname was Sun, and now that she was a commoner without a title, she could only be called the Commoner Sun.
Shen Qing didn't really care about this. "Is she really mad or faking it?"
The Jinwu Guard was a bit unsure. "We've been 'taking care' of her as usual these days, and the Commoner Sun hasn't shown any abnormalities. She should be really mad."
"Open the door."
"This... Yes." The Jinwu Guard hesitated for a moment and then opened the door.
Seeing the door open, the Commoner Sun was happy and tried to run outside. But before she could get out of the door, she was thrown back inside.
Shen Qing had already changed out of her wedding dress as the Queen and put on a regular dress. But from the patterns and workmanship, it was obvious that only the Queen could wear it.
The Commoner Sun suddenly pounced on Shen Qing viciously.
"Queen! You damned bitch! You've been dead for so many years and still want to suppress me!"
"Look clearly. I'm the Empress Dowager! I'm the Empress Dowager!"
The Jinwu Guard was worried that she would hurt Shen Qing. Before he could act, Shen Qing had already kicked the Commoner Sun flying.
The Commoner Sun fell to the ground, coughed twice, and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Then she started laughing. But she was old, had suffered a lot, and neglected to maintain herself. Her hair was already gray, her face was full of terrifying wrinkles, her eyeballs were bulging, and her mouth was wide open like a blood - filled basin. She looked extremely creepy.
Shen Qing stepped forward step by step. The Commoner Sun seemed to sense the danger and started to crawl back little by little with her body.
"Ah—"
"Don't come near! Don't hit me!"
"Your Majesty the Queen! Don't hit me! I was wrong. I'll never dare again..."
Shen Qing slowly bent down in front of her. Her voice was very soft, as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind.
"Do you want to die?"
"A Ye is in critical condition. Do you think I'll kill you to vent my anger?"
"But I don't want you to die so easily."
"You haven't suffered all the hardships A Ye has endured over the years. How can you die? Once is not enough. Even a hundred or a thousand times would hardly relieve my hatred!"
The Commoner Sun suddenly shrank a few times and still screamed.
"Don't come to me!"
"I didn't kill your son!"
"Don't come near!"
Shen Qing shook her head and waved her hand. Immediately, the people behind her stepped forward and forced a bowl of black stuff down the Commoner Sun's throat.
The Commoner Sun struggled desperately. A lot of it choked out, but she still swallowed quite a bit.
Shen Qing watched all this indifferently.
"Don't let her die. When A Ye wakes up, then give her a quick death."
"By the way, dig out the corpses of the Princess of Jin and her son and let the family reunite."
A gust of wind blew by. The people watching from a distance couldn't help but shiver.
A strange fragrance soon wafted out from the Commoner Sun's courtyard but didn't manage to get out of the Cold Palace gate.
The Commoner Sun watched Shen Qing's back in horror. She wanted to shout, but the pain made her unable to utter a sound.
No matter how pitiful she seemed, one could only say that she deserved it.
In the following days, the chief of the Imperial Hospital came to feel Ji Junye's pulse every day. After knowing that Shen Qing had given Ji Junye the life - sustaining medicine, his eyes were shining.
If it weren't for His Majesty's critical condition, he really would have wanted some to study.
As days passed by, there was still no good news. Qin Ye was also nowhere to be seen.
There was a reply from the Miao Territory, but Sheng Mei said that she had encountered some problems and lost all her skills. It would probably be useless for her to come.
Shen Qing's heart became numb day by day.
No one knew the anxiety and helplessness in her heart as she watched the number of pills gradually decrease.
These days, she would wipe his body every day. Si Bao would also come to read for half an hour. He seemed to be sleeping, but he just ignored them completely.
In the court, with the King of Rong and the Wenyuan Pavilion, there were no major disruptions.
Someone privately sent gifts to the King of Rong, but the King of Rong made an example of the person.
After that, those who wanted to support the King of Rong to the throne gave up the idea.
On this day, it was again the day for Ji Junye to take the medicine. Shen Qing took out the medicine bottle as usual and poured out the pills. But she found that there was only one left.
This meant that the time left for them was only the last seven - day period.
Shen Qing's hand trembled, and the pill almost rolled to the ground.
Why did God treat them like this?
He was only thirty years old!
They had just gotten married!
What she wanted was him!
Not an imperial edict like a will!
They had gone through so many difficulties and obstacles. It seemed that they were about to see a turn for the better, but reality gave them a heavy blow.
These days, she always woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. She would subconsciously feel for his breath. Only after confirming that he was still alive would she dare to go back to sleep.
The days without him... Shen Qing didn't even dare to think about it.
At this moment, a loud voice, like the deafening sound of a bronze bell in an ancient temple in the deep forest at dawn, broke through the thick fog of the night and rushed out of the mountains.
"Your Majesty the Queen!"
"Master Qin is back!"