A five-year-old goddess, raised to become an emperor for all time through a bronze mirror.

???

Tired?

rest?

Pei Yunjing stared at the palace gate with a suspicious look on his face, half believing and half doubting what Yunshang had said.

With a furrowed brow, he strode towards the tightly closed door with lightning speed, shouting loudly as he went:

"Mother, Mother, your son is back!" His voice was so loud it seemed to pierce the clouds.

However, just as he was about to reach out and touch the cold, heavy door, a slender yet strong hand suddenly gripped the corner of his robe tightly.

Yunshang looked anxious and said urgently:

"Sixth Prince, please forgive my rudeness. Her Majesty specifically instructed me that she does not want to be disturbed by anyone at this moment, not even you!"

Meanwhile, inside the Shanghe Palace, Consort De was enduring extreme physical discomfort.

With great difficulty, she propped herself up and slowly climbed up from the large bed.

Frequent vomiting and diarrhea over the past few days had left her severely dehydrated and weak, but her concern for her son still drove her to use her remaining strength to slowly move towards the door.

Having finally reached the door, she took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound calm, and said in a deliberately composed manner:

"Jing'er, don't worry, your mother is fine. She just caught a cold from overwork these past two days."

"Go back quickly. Your mother will come to find you tomorrow when she is feeling better."

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to have all her strength drained away, panting heavily, as if the string of words she had just spoken had exhausted the last bit of energy in her body.

Upon hearing his mother's words, Pei Yunjing's initial excitement instantly turned to dismay.

Despite still having many doubts, he couldn't argue further in the face of his mother's insistence.

So he nodded slightly and said, "Since Mother Consort says so, then your son will return to the Eastern Six Palaces now..."

But before he could finish speaking, he heard Consort De urgently add, "No...you stay outside the city!"

"Get out of the city...you must get out of the city, you have to stay outside the city!" Consort De emphasized again with a look of terror on her face, her voice trembling with fear and anxiety.

Because at this moment, only by leaving the city and getting away from this city shrouded in plague can one have a glimmer of hope to escape this terrible disaster.

"Yes! Mother, rest assured, your son will obey your command!" Pei Yunjing slowly knelt down and replied.

He knew that his mother's worries were not unfounded. The sudden plague had already caused panic in the city, and the shadow of death was gradually spreading.

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yunjing quickly stood up and turned to leave without hesitation.

He hurried along, mounted his steed, cracked the whip, and galloped away, the sound of his hooves echoing throughout the palace…

Just then, Yunshang, after confirming that Pei Yunjing had indeed left, carefully and slowly opened the tightly closed door.

However, when she saw the scene before her, she was instantly terrified – Consort De's face was as pale as paper, her eyes were closed, and her body lay limply on the cold ground, unconscious and unresponsive.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! You mustn't fall asleep! The medicine is ready, I'll bring it to you right away!"

Yunshang called out anxiously, frantically trying to drag Consort De's heavy body toward the bed.

Since the plague began to spread, the situation in the palace has become extremely chaotic.

The physicians who were originally responsible for taking care of the health of the royal family members were all transferred to serve the emperor, empress and other favored concubines, and had no time to take care of Consort De.

The medicinal soup that Yunshang is currently brewing is thanks to Shen Guxue outside the palace, who went to great lengths to have it delivered to the palace.

Not only that, even the eunuchs and guards who usually served him abandoned their masters and fled for their lives out of fear of the plague.

Who would want to stay in this dangerous and unknown palace?

After a long and arduous effort, Yunshang used all her strength to finally drag Consort De to the bed.

She gently covered Consort De with a soft quilt, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

Then, Yunshang hurriedly brought over the freshly brewed, still steaming hot medicinal soup.

She sat on the edge of the bed and gently blew on the medicine in the spoon, trying to cool it down quickly.

Each breath was blown with such care, for fear of accidentally burning Consort De's delicate mouth.

When she felt the temperature was about right, Yunshang slowly brought a spoonful of medicine to Consort De's lips and carefully fed it into her mouth.

However, not long after the medicine entered Consort De's mouth, there was a loud "vomiting" sound, and all the medicine was vomited up like water bursting a dam.

Seeing this, Yunshang's heart clenched instantly, and tears welled up in her eyes with anxiety: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please, please don't vomit anymore... you really can't vomit anymore!"

She shouted in a panic, while hurriedly reaching out to catch the bitter medicine flowing from Consort De's lips, so as not to stain the bed and Consort De's clothes.

At this moment, Yunshang was filled with fear and unease. She was really afraid that Consort De would leave her like this.

At this thought, tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't help but murmur to herself:

"Why am I, your servant, the one suffering, afflicted, and ill? If I could, I would gladly bear all this pain for Your Majesty!"

His words were filled with deep regret.

Just then, Consort De, who had kept her eyes closed, slowly opened them.

Her eyes were incredibly weak, her breathing was rapid, and she looked extremely haggard.

Her once neat and clean hair has now lost its luster and become messy and disordered.

Consort De raised her hand with difficulty and said weakly:

"Don't say that! Yunshang, you should leave quickly and stop worrying about me. I don't want to drag you down with me... cough cough cough..."

She coughed as she spoke, trying to push Yunshang away, but found that she didn't even have that much strength left.

Upon hearing this, Yunshang shook her head vigorously and replied resolutely, "No, no! I will absolutely not leave! Your Majesty's kindness to this servant is as heavy as a mountain, and this lowly life of mine was given to me by Your Majesty."

Even if it means death, I swear to follow Your Majesty to the death! Your Majesty, please don't send me away!

After saying these words, Yunshang, without bothering to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, hurriedly picked up the spoon again, preparing to continue feeding Consort De her medicine.