The Emperor's heart is won, she sits on the Phoenix Throne! The Divine Physician's Eldest

"Why would I hide anything from you? That's absolutely impossible."

The Prince of Zhen looked away, not daring to look directly at the Princess Consort.

Princess Zhen was somewhat disappointed, but she did not expose Prince Zhen. "Your Highness, it's late. You should rest early."

Seeing that his wife was unwilling to budge, the Prince of Zhen could not keep pressing her, fearing that it would arouse her suspicion.

"Okay, let's go."

The Prince of Zhen acted as if nothing had happened, extending his hand to the Princess of Zhen as before.

Princess Zhen placed her hand in Prince Zhen's palm, and the two walked hand in hand toward the bedroom.

It's not just the Prince Zhen's Mansion that's in turmoil tonight, but also the Cining Palace.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager? Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! Wake up!" Aunt Wujing squatted beside the Empress Dowager's bed and called out loudly. The Empress Dowager was covered in sweat and her eyes were tightly closed. No matter how she called, she could not be woken up.

Aunt Turnip instructed Toon, "Toon, quickly, call the imperial physician!"

"Yes!" Xiangchun quickly ran away.

The imperial physician arrived quickly and immediately began acupuncture on the Empress Dowager.

After a while, the Empress Dowager woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw that there were many people standing around her bed, with Emperor Changlong at the head.

When Emperor Changlong saw that the Empress Dowager had woken up, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Mother, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

The Empress Dowager's face was deathly pale, and her eyes were unfocused.

She shook her head and answered weakly, "No."

"Imperial Physician, what's wrong with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?" Emperor Changlong asked.

"Your Majesty, judging from her pulse, the Empress Dowager is simply overwhelmed by shock, but otherwise there is nothing seriously wrong," the imperial physician said.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager looked unwell, Emperor Changlong did not believe the imperial physician's words, so he ordered, "Wang Fu, go and invite Princess Youfeng!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Fu was about to turn and leave when the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke, "Stop!"

"Mother, what's wrong?" Emperor Changlong asked.

"I am not seriously ill, there is no need to invite Princess Youfeng." The Empress Dowager's tone was icy.

"Your Majesty, please have Princess Youfeng come and take a look, so you can rest assured," Emperor Changlong said.

"I know my own body well. I'm fine. You may all leave," the Empress Dowager said, dismissing them.

"Your Majesty, the most important thing for the Empress Dowager right now is to rest. I have already given her acupuncture, and she can now get a good night's sleep."

If the imperial physicians had already said so, and Emperor Changlong still insisted on his own opinion, it would seem that he lacked filial piety.

"Mother, please rest well. I will come to see you again tomorrow." Emperor Changlong instructed Aunt Wujing, "Aunt Wujing, take good care of the Empress Dowager. Report to me immediately if anything happens."

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Aunt Turnip replied.

Emperor Changlong left with his entourage.

The Cining Palace instantly became quiet, with only the Empress Dowager, Aunt Wujing, and Xiangchun remaining in the room.

"Your Majesty, did you have another nightmare?" Aunt Turnip asked.

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly.

Not long after her last birthday celebration, she started having nightmares.

At first, I had some random nightmares, but later I started dreaming about the late emperor.

Every night in her dreams, she would argue with the late emperor, who would always question her about things that were not true.

No matter how she explained, the late emperor did not believe her.

Every time she woke up from her sleep, she felt weak and exhausted.

Later, she became increasingly tired and drowsy day and night.

Until tonight, she had an extremely terrifying nightmare.

The late emperor wanted to strangle her in his dream.

No matter how much she struggled, begged, or explained, the late emperor would not let her go.

Finally, the imperial physician administered acupuncture, and the pain in her body pulled her back to normal.

"Your Majesty, you have been having nightmares every day. Should we invite a high-ranking monk to tell your fortune?" Aunt Turnip asked.

The Empress Dowager was a Buddhist, and she ate vegetarian food on the first and fifteenth of every month, so she naturally believed what Aunt Turnip said.

"Where can I find a virtuous monk?" The Empress Dowager had been suffering greatly lately and was eager to escape this kind of life.

“There is a temple called Wanfo Temple on the outskirts of the capital. The abbot there is very prestigious. He only counts one person a day. Your Majesty, why don’t we ask that abbot to take a look?” Aunt Wujing asked.

"It is inconvenient for me to leave the palace. Could you please invite him to the palace?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"Your Majesty, if we invite the abbot to the palace, people will inevitably suspect that you are having a nightmare."

After hearing Aunt Turnip's words, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Although she had been having nightmares for so long, only her close friends, Turnip and Toon, knew about it.

If outsiders find out about this, they will definitely gossip and think she has done something wrong.

"So you mean you want me to leave the palace and go to Wanfo Temple?"

“This servant believes this is the best solution,” said Aunt Turnip.

"Wouldn't my leaving the palace to go to Wanfo Temple arouse suspicion?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"We can find an excuse, saying that Your Majesty the Empress Dowager dreamed of the late Emperor, and that he appeared to you in the dream, asking you to go to Wanfo Temple to pray for the Great Zhou Dynasty." Aunt Wujing had already thought of an excuse for the Empress Dowager.

"Wujing, you are in charge of arranging this matter. Make sure your safety is guaranteed. The true purpose of my trip must not be revealed to anyone." The Empress Dowager had agreed to Wujing's suggestion.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will make the arrangements immediately. Please rest." Wujing got up and left, and no one saw the gloom in her eyes.

Three days later.

The Empress Dowager departed from the palace to Wanfo Temple to pray for the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Because the Empress Dowager was very old, the carriage traveled very slowly, and it took them two days to reach Wanfo Temple.

After meeting the abbot, the Empress Dowager told him about her nightmare.

The abbot explained it carefully, and the Empress Dowager suddenly understood.

They stayed at Wanfo Temple for another three days, and after completing their prayers, the Empress Dowager set off to return to the capital.

On the first day of their return journey, the carriage broke down halfway through, forcing everyone to stop and rest.

At this time, it was getting dark.

"Your Majesty, please rest for a while and have something to eat to fill your stomach." Aunt Turnip brought over some pastries.

"When will the carriage be repaired?" the Empress Dowager asked.

“They are doing their best to fix it, Your Majesty. If it can’t be fixed, we will have to spend the night here,” Aunt Turnip said.

"No!" The Empress Dowager refused firmly. They had stopped to rest along the way, but they had stayed at an inn. "How can we rest in this desolate wilderness?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and urge them right away." Aunt Wujing turned and left.

"what!"

Suddenly, a scream came from outside.

Aunt Turnip looked up and saw a masked man in black killing a palace servant.

"Assassins! Protect the Empress Dowager!" Aunt Turnip shouted.

At this moment, the sounds of swords clashing filled the air as guards and assassins engaged in a life-or-death struggle.

Aunt Turnip immediately turned around, lifted the curtain, and shouted to the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, please get out of the carriage with me! There are assassins!"

The Empress Dowager panicked upon hearing that there were assassins.

Without a second thought, she got out of the car and hurriedly left with Aunt Turnip.

"Kill them! Don't let them escape! Chase them!" the assassin leader shouted, and the remaining assassins pursued the Empress Dowager and Aunt Turnip.

"drive!"

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from the direction of the capital.