After being reborn with my scumbag ex-husband, I became his sister-in-law.

Consort Zhen woke the emperor, and in the blink of an eye, tears streamed down her face.

She rushed to the bedside and knelt beside the emperor: "Your Majesty..."

At this moment, Song Xizhi also rushed forward, grasped Emperor Guangqi's pulse, and reassessed his physical condition.

But as she repeatedly tested the waters, her heart sank lower and lower.

The emperor's sudden awakening was not because he was cured, but because he was experiencing a final burst of energy before death.

The residual poison in his body had not been cleared at all; on the contrary, his breathing and pulse were getting worse. The only reason he was able to wake up now was because that pill was keeping him alive.

Song Xizhi, with his eyes closed, felt the pulse was very strange.

It's a death pulse... but it doesn't quite look like a death pulse.

Upon hearing Consort Zhen's voice, the Emperor struggled to lift his eyes and stare at Song Xizhi's face, forcing out each word as if speaking directly to Song Xizhi:

"I'm fine... I'm just... I'll wake up after I'm unconscious for a while..."

He spoke haltingly, which made the strange feeling in Song Xizhi's heart even clearer: "Your Majesty, what kind of poison have you been poisoned with? Do you know it yourself?"

Emperor Guangqi, panting, nodded with difficulty: "I have a prescription; listen to whether I can drink it or not..."

Song Xizhi gritted his teeth and nodded, then leaned close to the emperor's ear, and heard the emperor's faint voice recite the names of several herbs:

"Heartbreak grass... licorice... reed rhizome, saposhnikovia root... aconite, strychnine..."

Song Xizhi listened intermittently, his brows initially furrowed, but eventually relaxed: "I can drink it. Your prescription is extremely toxic, and the medicinal properties clash, but it can bring the dead back to life."

"If the poison you are currently ingested can cause you to fall into a coma, this medicine has a synergistic effect and can revive you, but the risk is extremely high."

Song Xizhi vaguely felt that she had heard of this prescription when she was learning medicine from her master in her previous life, but at that time she wanted to learn prescriptions that could save lives.

She wasn't actually very interested in such unconventional and potentially fatal prescriptions at the time.

Consort Zhen overheard their conversation. Although she didn't understand pharmacology, she knew exactly what "heartbreak grass" and "aconite" were.

Those are all poisons that kill without drawing blood.

She looked nervously at the emperor's face: "Your Majesty, what if something unexpected happens?"

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. If you remain unawakened for even a day, the world will descend into chaos. Moreover, if even a one in ten thousand risk were to occur, then perhaps..."

Song Xizhi pursed his lips and remained silent.

She didn't know what kind of poison the emperor had been poisoned with, and she was afraid.

As Consort Zhen spoke, she knelt down beside the Emperor with a thud, her voice trembling with tears: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what poison have you been poisoned with? Please tell Lord Song..."

Her eyes were filled with tears: "I will test the medicine on you. If I am unharmed, then you may take it..."

As Emperor Guangqi listened to Consort Zhen's words, his gaze slowly moved upwards, landing on the bed curtains above his head. He seemed to recall some past events, and his eyes gradually filled with tears.

"No need, I don't need... anyone to test the medicine... I will drink it myself."

He turned his gaze towards Song Xizhi, his weak voice still carrying an authoritative command: "Song Xizhi, go and prepare the medicine... If anything happens, I promise you... I promise you will be exonerated..."

Song Xizhi remained standing, and asked, "Your Majesty, what kind of poison have you been poisoned with? Why are you unwilling to tell me?"

"What color is the poison? Please allow me to analyze it as best I can."

The emperor stared straight at her, looking very stubborn.

Song Xizhi endured the pressure of his gaze, but still did not move his feet: "Your life does not belong to you alone, but to the whole world."

"Your Majesty, the Emperor, cannot afford to take any risks. If anything were to happen to you, the world would be thrown into chaos."

When Emperor Guangqi heard Song Xizhi's advice, he seemed to recall something, and even smiled slightly.

His gentle smile held a hint of sarcasm, but he quickly masked it, and suddenly asked Song Xizhi:

"Are you alone?"

Song Xi was taken aback, not understanding the Guangqi Emperor's sudden meaning.

Then Emperor Guangqi asked again, "Where is your husband? Didn't he... come to pick you up?"

A flood of questions suddenly arose in Song Xizhi's mind, but he listened as Emperor Guangqi spoke slowly, word by word:

"He...served by the Crown Prince's side...for many years...If anything were to happen to me...I would like to ask the Crown Prince about this before I die..."

Song Xizhi stood still, his hands hanging at his sides twitching slightly.

Immediately afterwards, she smelled that familiar scent, just like when she fell into that man's familiar embrace before.

He Jingyan appeared out of nowhere, silently, in the palace, right in front of the bed.

He had no expression, but Song Xizhi could sense a strange sadness in his demeanor.

Consort Zhen looked at the man who had suddenly appeared before her, her face stiffening slightly for a moment, as if a thousand questions arose in her heart, but she quickly concealed them.

Song Xizhi paused slightly as he looked at the two men gazing at each other across the bed. He then reached out and took Zhenpin's hand, leading her out of the inner palace.

Song Xizhi suppressed his myriad thoughts, carefully considered the dosage of the prescription given by the emperor, and then ordered his servants to prepare the medicine.

When she returned to the outer palace, she saw Consort Zhen sitting alone on the couch. Although her eyes were still a little red, she was very calm and did not show any sadness in front of the emperor.

She saw Song Xizhi return, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke to him:

"I have actually accompanied His Majesty to Huaqing Palace many times. His Majesty often uses the excuse of visiting my palace, but he always leaves alone."

Song Xizhi was somewhat lost in thought, but then she sensed Consort Zhen's sudden gaze. She finally gathered her thoughts and heard Consort Zhen continue:

"I was about to speak, but His Majesty suddenly woke up and wouldn't let me. But I think you'd like to know, so please do so for your mother's sake."

Consort Zhen's words were full of implications. She first mentioned the various aspects of the emperor's assassination attempt that day, as well as that forbidden area, all of which were related to the late empress. In turn, the late empress's death was related to her mother.

Song Xizhi was also very puzzled. Since the palace was so heavily guarded, and the emperor could even sense that He Jingyan was right next to him, where did these assassins in the palace come from?

This is the second time; it's as if it appeared out of thin air.

But these things can't be figured out in a short time.

Feeling the warmth of Consort Zhen's hand, Song Xizhi was very grateful to her. She earnestly grasped Consort Zhen's hand in return: "I am very grateful to you today. I will remember everything you said."

Consort Zhen simply smiled and said, "It is I who should thank you, Lord Song. It was a pleasure working with you."

Song Xizhi thought she was an extremely intelligent woman, so she finally asked the question that had been on her mind: "Aren't you curious about who His Majesty summoned to speak with at this crucial moment?"