Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Some of the people who fled from the border towns had been oppressed by the Northern Hu for generations.

Today they finally saw their feared Northern Hu King brought back as a prisoner!

Many people knelt down, and some of the older people, even when helped down, also knelt.

Xiao Fang saw it.

He hurriedly sent people to persuade the people to get up.

"Everyone, stop kneeling and get up."

The old man who was leading the group refused to get up.

"Your Highness! This old man kneels here for no other reason than..."

For the sake of those loved ones who died under the swords of the Northern Barbarians, thank you!

Xiao Fang didn't say anything more.

He nodded solemnly to the old man.

The street fell silent for a moment.

The group didn't stop and continued moving forward.

Following behind was Yun Shuyao's carriage entering the city.

The car was extremely large and extremely stable.

The car body is carved with twin lotus flowers, and copper bells hang from the four corners.

The wind blows, and the bells ring out clearly.

Several children chased after the horse-drawn carriage.

"Your Highness! Please let us see the little princess!"

"The little princess born to the prince and princess must be exceptionally beautiful!"

"I want to see! I want to see!"

The carriage curtain remained completely still.

Only Chunzhi peeked out from the window and smiled.

"The princess is still too young to be exposed to the wind. We'll let you see her when she's older."

The children weren't annoyed and continued chasing after him.

The people also looked out of the car window.

Even though I know I can't see anything, I still want to take another look.

"You know, the eldest daughter of the Yun family is truly a blessed person, aren't you?"

"Yes, I never thought of that before. I thought that since her marriage was such a mess, she would never find a good husband."

"Yes, yes, at that time I felt her life was ruined. After all that trouble, what man would dare to want her?"

"Looking back now, I'm so glad I made a scene back then, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to marry such a good husband."

"Tsk tsk... Now you know how to call someone's husband nice. Before, everyone in Jingzhou called him a playboy."

"How about this? When this spoiled brat gets serious, he's actually more capable than those carefully cultivated scions of noble families."

"That's right, that's right. Take Beihu for example, the General of the North is powerful enough, isn't he?"

We've been fighting them for over thirty years and still haven't been able to subdue them.

As a result, when the son of the Prince of Zhenbei went there, the kingdom was destroyed.

Behind them, Yun Shuwen rode on horseback, following alongside the caravan.

He would occasionally glance back at the carriage and nod to the people on both sides.

Some people recognized him.

"Is that the princess's brother?"

"It's him! I heard he helped transport grain with the Qin family's merchant caravan during this northern expedition and also distinguished himself!"

"It looks different from before."

"Absolutely! He looks much more energetic!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Shuwen straightened her back even more.

He listened intently to the conversations of the people on the roadside.

"These battles, after all, depended entirely on them for transporting supplies!"

"Without food and clothing, even the bravest soldier can't fight!"

"The Qin family is truly remarkable! They've given up everything they own for the imperial court."

Yun Shuwen pursed her lips.

He wanted to laugh, but was too embarrassed to.

I kept thinking to myself: So this is what it feels like to be admired.

In front of the palace gate.

Long Yuanqi sat in a wheelchair.

Today he wore an extremely thick cloak and covered his legs with a gray squirrel blanket.

The empress stood behind him, her hands gently resting on the back of the chair.

The hustle and bustle of the distant streets, as if separated by a layer of water, could be faintly heard.

"Xiao Fang is back."

Long Yuanqi said.

"It's really lively outside."

"Yes, the whole city went to welcome them," the Empress said.

"He did a better job than I expected."

With the Northern Hu destroyed, the Southern Yue and Western Rong tribes surrendered, and the border region could finally achieve complete peace.

Long Yuanqi slowly curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

The smile was faint, yet genuine.

The Empress looked at Long Yuanqi's face, which was so weak it was almost transparent, and her eyes welled up with tears again.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something happy.

"Once Xiao is brought to the palace, I'll have him tell you about the border affairs."

Long Yuanqi did not respond.

He suddenly started coughing.

This time, the cough was worse than ever.

He covered his face with a handkerchief and it took him a while to stop.

When the handkerchief was removed, it was covered in bright red.

The smile on the Empress's face froze.

Long Yuanqi acted as if he hadn't seen it.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the palace gate.

"It's time for him to enter the palace."

outside the palace.

Xiao Fang had only gone halfway when a palace attendant rushed over, stumbling and crawling.

"Prince Zhenbei! The Emperor... the Emperor has fainted!"

Xiao Fang's expression changed drastically.

He immediately turned around and gave the order.

"Lu Zhao, Lin Hui, come with me to the palace."

The rest of the people escorted the princess back to her residence.

No one is permitted to enter the Prince's residence without my order.

Lu Zhao and Lin Hui exchanged a glance, both abandoning their usual banter.

The three of them spurred their horses and galloped toward the palace gate.

No one dared to stop them along the way.

Upon entering the bedchamber, Xiao Fang paused in his tracks.

The smell of medicine in the hall was so strong it was pungent.

The doors and windows were tightly shut, with only a few lamps lit.

It was already dusk outside, making the interior of the palace even darker.

Long Yuanqi lay on the bed, his face almost bloodless.

He was much thinner than when Xiao Fang left the capital.

His cheekbones were high and prominent, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken.

He looked as if most of his life force had been drained from him.

The rise and fall of her chest was barely visible.

Several imperial physicians surrounded the bed, their foreheads covered in sweat.

Some people were quietly reporting the pulse diagnosis, while others were carefully inserting needles.

With each needle insertion, someone would wipe the cold sweat from Long Yuanqi's forehead with a handkerchief.

"We can't delay any longer."

His Majesty's breath is extremely weak.

"First, suspend it with ginseng slices."

If he wakes up tonight, there's still a chance.

"Don't add too many silver needles."

"Any more, and His Majesty cannot bear it."

Their voices were hushed, but every word was like a knife, piercing the hearts of everyone in the hall.

The palace maids stood in the corner, heads bowed and holding their breath.

Some of the younger children were biting their lips, tears streaming down their faces.

They dared not utter a sound, but twisted their handkerchiefs until they turned white.

The palace servants all hoped that the emperor would recover.

They sold themselves into slavery, born with a lowly fate, yet they were fortunate enough to encounter such a benevolent master.

I heard that it was very difficult to serve in the palace in the past. If you did something wrong, you could be beaten to death at any time.

However, while serving these two masters, they never mistreated the servants or arbitrarily punished them.

Even though the Emperor was so weak, he simply endured it himself and never took his anger out on his servants.

Therefore, when the palace eunuchs and maids saw that the emperor was critically ill, they all couldn't control the sorrowful expressions on their faces.

The Empress sat not far from Long Yuanqi's bed.

She was over eight months pregnant.

Her belly was bulging, but she was extremely thin.

Chunzhi supported her and tried several times to persuade her to go back.

"Your Majesty, you've been standing for half a day. Your health is important."

The empress simply shook her head.

She neither cried nor said anything.

She held her stomach with one hand and clutched the blanket on the edge of Long Yuanqi's bed with the other.

Those eyes never left Long Yuanqi from the moment he was carried back.

Xiao Fang stepped forward and first glanced at Long Yuanqi by the bedside.

He reached out and touched Long Yuanqi's wrist very lightly.

There, the pulse was weak, and he was so thin he was just skin and bones.

"I am late."

Xiao Fang said in a low voice.

He turned to look at the Empress.

"Your Majesty, I will stay here and guard the place. You should go back and rest for a while."

For the sake of the children, you must also consider your own well-being.

The Empress shook her head again.

She choked up, and it took her a long time to squeeze out a sentence.

"I'm not going anywhere. The moment His Majesty opens his eyes, the first person he'll look for is me."

After she finished speaking, she gently took Long Yuanqi's hand again.

"Xiao Fang, His Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."

Now that you're back, he'll surely wake up.

Xiao Fang choked up.

He turned his head away, not daring to look at the Empress again.

Lin Hui followed behind, not daring to utter a single word.

Lin Huiyin said to the eunuch beside her.

"Bring the Queen a softer chair and a thicker blanket."

"Don't gather too many people around His Majesty, keep the lights dim, and make sure the medicine doesn't run out."

The eunuch repeatedly agreed.

A chair was brought over, and a palace maid stepped forward to help the Empress sit down.

The Empress still held Long Yuanqi's hand, refusing to let go.

Time passed little by little.

It was completely dark outside.

More lamps were added to the hall, but no one felt it was too bright.

The imperial physicians were still discussing the prescription in hushed tones.

A palace maid brought in hot medicine, and seeing that the Empress was still there, her eyes reddened.

Just then, Long Yuanqi's finger suddenly twitched.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty is about to wake up!"

"Quickly! Go and summon the imperial physician!"