Zhuo Jin blinked his feverish eyes and immediately brewed another cup. After drinking four cups in succession, the Emperor gradually regained his senses and called out, “Your Majesty.”

Emperor Yongming touched his face and his forehead, and asked anxiously, “Is the abdominal pain still there?” The Empress felt silent for a moment and shook his head. “The pain is gone. I just feel a bit hungry.”

Zhuo Jin hurriedly said, “I’ll have someone bring in the meal for Your Highness right away!” Zhuo Jin rushed out urgently. Emperor Yongming, still concerned, asked again, “Try feeling again. Are you sure the pain is gone?”

The Empress carefully assessed, even pressing his abdomen, then shook his head, “Truly, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” At that moment, he remembered the excruciating pain he had experienced, which he couldn’t bear at all. He said, “I thought I wouldn’t make it through this time. Did the imperial physician find a way to treat my abdominal pain?”

He had been in such agony that he had no memory of the chaos that followed.

Emperor Yongming sat on the bed, having the Empress lean against him, gently stroking the Empress hair, and said, “Start having your meal. This is the residence of the Grand General; you can rest here for now.”

The Empress head still felt a bit dizzy, but his hunger was stronger. Not questioning why he was at home, and since Emperor Yongming told him to start eating, he didn’t inquire further.

Zhuo Jin brought in the meal, accompanied by maids sent by the Grand General’s residence to attend to the Emperor. Dozens of people set up a variety of dishes silently and then quietly left, leaving only Zhuo Jin to take care of the room. After assessing the situation, the Empress lifted the blanket and prepared to get out of bed, however, Emperor Yongming quickly stopped him. “Don’t get out of bed. You’re still weak.”

The Empress said, “I feel much better. My body feels much lighter. It’s inconvenient to eat in bed. I’d rather get up.”

Zhuo Jin brought over an outer robe and said, “Your Majesty, the Grand General’s residence has prepared quite a few dishes for the Empress. The physician said the Empress can get up to eat, as long as he stays warm.”

Hearing this, Emperor Yongming looked at the table full of dishes, relented, and said, “Then you should get dressed first.”

The Empress got dressed and at Emperor Yongming’s request, even put on a thick pair of cloth socks before being allowed to get out of bed. The room had a charcoal brazier burning and the Empress said, “I don’t feel cold. Let’s remove this charcoal stove.” Emperor Yongming’s forehead was sweating.

“Be warm. Come, I happen to be hungry as well. I will eat with you.” Emperor Yongming helped his Empress to sit down. The Empress sat down, as Zhou Jin brought the basin for washing hands.

Picking up his chopsticks and looking at the table of dishes, the Empress smiled slightly and said, “I haven’t felt this hungry in a long time.”

“Then eat quickly.” Emperor Yongming placed a bowl of chicken soup in front of the Empress. “Drink this bowl of chicken soup first.”

“Yes.” The Empress happily picked up the spoon and drank the soup. Not only had Empress not felt this hungry in a long time, but it had been a long time since he had eaten this much in one meal. As he ate his meal one bite at a time, he didn’t realize that Emperor Yongming, who was by his side, was hesitant to drop his chopsticks with his hand held up and was even trembling with a slight tremor.

At this moment, watching his beloved eating and drinking soup with such an excellent appetite, only Emperor Yongming himself knew clearly how grateful he was to Shao Yunan. How glad he was, that person had chosen to stand on their side.

Only when the Empress had eaten for about seven minutes, did he realize that the person beside him hadn’t picked his chopsticks the entire time. Turning his head, he saw that Emperor Yongming had been looking at him, and the Empress finally put down his chopsticks.

 “Your Majesty.”

Emperor Yongming smiled faintly at him, chucked a piece of meat into his bowl, and said with relief, “I don’t even remember the last time you had such an appetite, Qiyou.”

This exclamation of “Qiyou” moved the Empress deeply. He spoke up. “Your Majesty, in the future, can I continue to dine with Your Majesty like this?” Emperor Yongming nodded without hesitation. “Of course. My Empress can dine with me like this every day in the future.” The Empress suppressed his curiosity and smiled. “I haven’t finished eating yet.”

“Eat quickly.” Emperor Yongming immediately picked up another bite of food for him. After the Empress finished his meal, Emperor Yongming called for Eunuch Jin to clear the table, as he himself only took a few symbolic bites. The happiness in his heart far outweighed his hunger.

The Empress wiped his hands and face, rinsed his mouth, and Emperor Yongming let him return to the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, holding one of the Empress’ hands, in the bedroom where only the two of them were present, some matters needed to be explained.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Yongming spoke. “Qiyou, your body is fully healed now, and all the residual toxins have been cleared. You must be curious about what happened.” The Empress nodded.

Emperor Yongming tightened his grip on the Empress’s hand. “In fact, I don’t know what happened either. It’s just that I, the Old Imperial Tutor, and the Old General discovered… we discovered that the food made by Shao Yunan seems to have healing properties.”

“Healing properties?!” The Empress was surprised. Emperor Yongming nodded. “This time, the honey pomelo tea he specially made for you is different from the pomelo tea he made for me and the others. When I drank the pomelo tea he made for me, it just tasted sweet and sour. But the one he made for you not only tasted different but also, after drinking it with Imperial Tutor Weng and General Dai, we all felt our stomachs churn, but afterward, we felt incredibly light, refreshed, and full of energy.”

As Emperor Yongming explained, the astonishment on the Empress’s face grew. Emperor Yongming continued. “Today, when you had that stomachache, General Dai rushed into the palace in a hurry, but his leg didn’t hurt, and he hadn’t experienced pain for a long time. Even in recent days, he’s been eating well and sleeping soundly. The Old Imperial Tutor is the same; he said that now he can sleep through the night once he lies down. All of this only happened after they started eating the Yuan Paste and various foods provided by Shao Yunan. And your stomach ache today came after you drank a whole bottle of honey pomelo tea.”

The Empress stared at Emperor Yongming in disbelief, not knowing how to respond. Emperor Yongming pulled out his other hand and held it tightly. “You’ve been suffering from stomach aches for so long, but it’s not because of residual toxins; it’s because…” Emperor Yongming took a deep breath. “It’s because, at that time, you were actually pregnant with two children.”

“What?!” The Empress exclaimed. Emperor Yongming sat on the bed and embraced him. “That time, we had two children. One of them didn’t want to leave his father like this, so he forcefully stayed, which is why you suffered from such severe stomach aches. Now, that child also understands that he shouldn’t torture his father like this any longer… so, from now on, you won’t experience stomach aches again.”

The Empress, whose face had turned pale despite having some color before, was now red-eyed. “Qiyou…” Emperor Yongming was also in great pain. “In the future, we will have children. The Imperial Physician said that as long as you recover properly this time, we will have children sooner or later. The lost children will return to their father.”

The Empress remained silent, and Emperor Yongming just held him, comforting him. Both hearts were in great pain. Because of love, they wanted the fruit of their love. Originally, they had two, but they lost them forever without even getting a chance to see them. Male pregnancy was already challenging and having two children made it even more difficult.

The Empress suppressed his own grief. He was a man. A man who had once fought on the battlefield, so how could he cry out in pain. After a long, long time, the Empress opened his eyes, which were completely red, but without tears. “Your Majesty.”

“I am here.” Emperor Yongming’s lips touched the Empress’ forehead. The Empress’ voice was extremely hoarse. “Our children were very sensible. They knew that if they both came into this world, their father, the emperor, would be in a difficult position.”

Emperor Yongming’s Adam’s apple moved violently. “In a royal family, having twin sons is considered a calamity, not a blessing. They didn’t want to trouble their father, so they left.”

Emperor Yongming took a deep breath, his voice equally hoarse. “Yes. They didn’t want to trouble their father, so they left. But I believe our children will come back, one by one.” The Empress nodded, but his voice choked. “Yes. They will come back, one by one.”

Edited by: Jaisland

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