Saving the foolish general, she accidentally becomes his favorite.

Zhu Qing was overjoyed and quickly brought over a chair for Li Siyue to sit on.

Li Siyue said thank you in a light tone: "Thank you for your kindness, Regent. I will keep it in mind."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "When the Crown Prince is born, I will teach him to be respectful and filial, and to respect the Regent."

Mo Chen raised an eyebrow, then composed himself and said nonchalantly:

"No need, it's just my duty."

After saying this, he began the memorial ceremony, offering incense to the retired emperor.

The mourning hall was solemnly and dignified, with the coffin in the center made of the finest willow wood, and countless gold and silver treasures buried around it.

For Xiao Mochen, his parents were just memories of the past. As for the Emperor Emeritus, even if he knew the truth, he was still just an unfamiliar stranger.

He couldn't bring himself to genuinely weep for the passing of the retired emperor.

The mourning hall was silent, save for the echoes of instruments colliding.

The Tian Shu Kingdom has lost its first emperor and then its retired emperor in succession, leading to political turmoil. To prevent those with ulterior motives from taking advantage of the chaos to sneak into the palace, the regent had already ordered that only the direct relatives of the royal family should enter the palace for this mourning ceremony, while everyone else should hold a memorial service outside the palace gates.

This move stirred up controversy once again, with many suspecting that the regent was seizing absolute power. A faction of officials gradually split off from the regent and opposed his rule, but Mo Chen ignored all of this.

It's not that he wants to take this position.

Naturally, they don't care about being impeached.

Moreover, at that time, he wanted to investigate the case thoroughly and bring Ye Li back to the Dali Temple, so he directly issued a military order to stop the ministers who came to remonstrate to the death.

Now, besides the servants, only the Empress, the Regent, and the Regent's wife are in the mourning hall. This is the best way to ensure the Empress's safety; the more people there are, the easier it is for chaos to break out.

Ye Li looked at the baby in Li Siyue's belly. Her belly was already showing, and it looked like the baby was bigger than that of an average pregnant woman. However, the food in the palace was very good, and Li Siyue had been staying at home recently, so she had naturally gained weight.

The baby will be born in three months, and then things might change drastically...

Ye Li withdrew her gaze and knelt quietly.

Ye Li waited patiently after Mo Chen offered incense, but she soon noticed something was wrong with Mo Chen—

Xiao Mochen moved slowly, his eyes were glazed over, and he seemed to have a headache, rubbing his forehead with his hand...

Ye Li didn't dare to make any moves in the mourning hall and could only watch anxiously. Fortunately, Xiao Mochen knew what was important and properly offered incense, forced himself to perform the ritual, and then stood up.

Mo Chen turned around with difficulty, and Ye Li then noticed that his face was deathly pale and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't understand why he had suddenly become like this...

Just a few steps away, Xiao Mochen intended to walk towards Ye Li, but ultimately couldn't make it. He knelt on one knee, struggling to support himself. At this moment, Ye Li no longer cared about etiquette and immediately rushed over to help him up.

"Ah Chen, what's wrong?"

"My wife, I'm so sorry..."

Xiao Mochen finally smiled, a smile that seemed to be both regretful and comforted:

"It's so good to have lived this many more days..."

She then fainted. A sense of unease and fear welled up in Ye Li's heart. She had never felt so panicked before!

She knew Xiao Mochen's health; a mere fever would only reduce his strength for a general who fought on all sides year after year, especially since it had already turned into a low-grade fever when he woke up in the morning...

There shouldn't be any danger, and fainting might just mean that Mo Chen has grown into a general, but she was still filled with fear.

Empress Li Siyue had just received Mo Chen's kindness, and now seeing Mo Chen collapsed in the mourning hall, where, apart from the Regent, she was the most of high status, Li Siyue spoke:

"He must be exhausted from dealing with the Emperor Emeritus these past few days. Someone, escort the Regent to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to rest, and order the chief physician to come and treat him."

The eunuchs hurriedly lifted Mo Chen up and carried him out.

Ye Li bowed respectfully to Li Siyue:

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will go ahead and wait until the Regent is safe and sound before I come to join you."

"Yes, my fetus is fine for now. You only need to check its pulse occasionally."

Having received permission, Ye Li hurriedly left.

Xiao Mochen was placed on a bed in the hall, his eyes closed, unconscious.

Ye Li took his hand and checked his pulse, but then gasped in disbelief...

His body...

I've inexplicably become weak!

I checked him this morning, and apart from the fever, everything was normal. But now his pulse is weak and his breath is feeble. Everything shows that his life is slipping away!

What she found even more unbelievable was that Ye Li couldn't detect the poisoning!

This is clearly the pulse of an elderly and frail person, a body on the verge of death!

But Mo Chen is still so young. Such a strange thing made Ye Li shudder. She had been uneasy for a while, thinking it was just her imagination.

Little did they know that she was a time traveler and had a premonition about certain things.

Ye Li pulled up her sleeve and discovered that bruises were inexplicably appearing on Xiao Mochen's body...

Unexplained coma, inexplicable injuries—everything made Ye Li feel that things had gone off track.

Maybe……

Perhaps at the original time, Xiao Mochen had already...

It was my arrival that disrupted the balance...

She forced herself to remain calm and gave the instructions:

"The Regent fainted due to overwork. This is a minor matter and does not require the presence of the imperial physician. I will personally escort the Regent back to his residence. Please inform Her Majesty the Empress that I cannot attend the funeral today."

The servants, knowing their place, complied.

Ye Li hurriedly returned and wrote a letter asking her master to come back. As things stand, it is still unknown whether there is some kind of poison that Ye Li is unaware of but her master knows.

She wrote the letter with hope, hoping that her master would see it.

Xiao Mochen had not woken up for several days after falling into a coma. At first, Ye Li could tell the public that the Regent was unwell and needed a break, but as the affairs of the court increased, Ye Li had to pull herself together to deal with them.

The first priority was the burial ceremony of the retired emperor, which was presided over by the empress, with Ye Li assisting from the side, while also ensuring the empress's pregnancy was safe.

Next came the matter of marriage alliances and sending brides away. Because funerals came first and weddings came later in the palace, most people didn't have the heart to hold a wedding ceremony.

The culture of Tian Shu Kingdom is similar to that of Huaxia. When elders pass away, their descendants are expected to observe mourning. However, the grassland tribes that were the ones being married off to in this marriage alliance disregarded these elaborate rituals.

Their tribe even allowed the king's brother to inherit the throne after the king's death, along with the king's wife and all the women.

Since this marriage alliance was arranged before the Emperor Emeritus's death, it had to be carried out as planned, but all the ceremonies were simplified accordingly, and the lively celebrations with gongs and drums were canceled, for fear of disturbing the peace of the ancestors.

The wedding ceremony was set for the sixth day of the month, twenty days after the Emperor Emeritus's funeral.

Ye Li hadn't expected it to be so quick, but since the Empress had set the timeframe, she acquiesced.

Since Mo Chen fell into a deep sleep, the Empress, citing the fact that the pregnancy was stable, began to rule from behind the curtain, much like Empress Dowager Cixi.

When the Empress made her decision, she sent someone to inform Ye Li, but Ye Li was no longer interested in such matters. She replied that the Empress was the head of the harem and would be the future mother of the Crown Prince.

Let her do whatever she wants; the Regent's Palace will fully support her.

It was probably Ye Li's straightforward attitude that pleased the Empress, who then became much more polite.

Ye Li's thoughts were all on Xiao Mochen. He had been in a coma for days, and she could only feed him rice porridge. Xiao Mochen was getting thinner and thinner.

On this day, news finally arrived from Doctor Mu—

"Your Highness! The Divine Physician Mu has arrived!"

"Please come in quickly!"

Ye Li hurriedly went to greet her master...