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Master Chu went up to check the empress dowager’s pulse, and the look on his face changed abruptly.

Everyone looked at him in bewilderment.

“What…” Master Chu looked confused. “How can this be?”

The others were so intrigued!

What happened? Just tell them!

“Is it good news or bad news?” Lady Northern Feng was the most direct one.

Master Chu smacked his thigh. “Of course it’s good news! It’s the best news! Have none of you realized that Her Majesty has a little bit of spiritual essence in her now?”

“What —”

Everyone, the emperor included, was surprised.

They only noticed the change after Master Chu pointed it out.

“The empress dowager has spiritual essence now?”

“Her Majesty was once badly injured. Because of that, and with her old age, a lot of her energy channels were blocked. If spiritual essence can really start to flow in Her Majesty’s body again, her health will improve greatly!” Master Chu couldn’t control the excitement in his voice.

“And! What’s more important is that —” Master Chu turned to Emperor Wu. “Your Majesty, do you still remember what I mentioned before? That Her Majesty’s days are numbered.”

Emperor Wu clearly didn’t like the mention of that at all.

Master Chu went on in his agitated tone, “But, with spiritual essence flowing now, Her Majesty’s energy channels are unclogged, which will prolong her life! This is great news!”

Emperor Wu was finally moved. “Are you sure?”

“Yes! Absolutely!” Master Chu turned to Feng Wu for confirmation. “Miss Feng, am I right?”

Feng Wu nodded. “Yes.”

Emperor Wu was overjoyed!

Being emperor, he couldn’t have asked for more “career wise”. However, as a filial son, he would give anything in exchange for a few more years of his mother’s life!

“Good. That’s good.” Emperor Wu took a deep breath. “Glad to hear it!”

Empress Dugu felt like she had blacked out.

She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why everything seemed to act against her. Nothing she wanted ever worked out, and what was worse, everything had played into Feng Wu’s hands.

1It was as if Feng Wu was the beloved daughter of God himself!

“But… Her Majesty hasn’t woken up yet… Are we sure everything’s fine?” Since none of the emperor’s concubines were here, Empress Dugu could only ask the question herself. She tried her best to make Feng Wu look suspicious.

It definitely wasn’t Empress Dugu’s lucky day. As soon as she asked that question, the fingers of the empress dowager, who still lay there with her eyes closed, moved slightly.

Lady Northern Feng cried out in excitement. “Her Majesty’s fingers moved! I saw it!”

Then, as everyone watched, the most respected woman in the empire opened her eyes.

For a moment, they were all bemused.

The empress dowager’s eyes had gone cloudy as she aged, and she had also developed cataracts. As a result, the old lady had been suffering from poor eyesight for a while.

However, when she opened her eyes now, they saw that her eyes were as clear and bright as those of a baby, as if they had been washed clean with some miracle water!

That was why everyone was so surprised.

“What…” Empress Dugu’s face turned livid.

The empress dowager then sat up without anyone’s help.

Everyone was speechless.

The empress dowager had had a ruptured blood vessel in her brain only six hours ago, but now, she could sit up on her own! That was so unbelievable!

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Rubbing her forehead, the empress dowager turned around to see all the astonished faces, which made her jump. “What are all these people doing here?”

“Mother —”

Emperor Wu went up to her and held her hands. “Mother, how do you feel? Any pain?”

The empress dowager considered for a moment. “Pain? No, I feel fine.”

“Mother, do you remember what happened before you fainted?” Emperor Wu asked tentatively.

“Before I fainted…” Everything then came back to the empress dowager. She smacked herself on the forehead and cried out softly in pain.

Lady Northern Feng stopped her in a hurry. “Your Majesty, you just narrowly escaped death. Please don’t do that to your head.”

The lady had almost had a heart attack when she heard that the empress dowager had an aneurysm.

Before the empress dowager could process Lady Northern Feng’s words, she grabbed the latter by the arm. “Yaya! That Feng Wu is too young to be a good doctor! She must have tricked you! I’ve been thinking. You can give her something nice, but don’t have her as your goddaughter!”

For a moment, the others all looked at the empress dowager strangely.

Lady Northern Feng wanted to say something, but words failed her.

The empress dowager patted Lady Northern Feng on the head with a stern look on her face. “Are you listening to me? That girl is tricking you! She’s not becoming your goddaughter!”

Emperor Wu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Mother…”

The empress dowager glared at Emperor Wu. “You, too! I know you dote on your sister, but you have to listen to me on this!”

The willful empress dowager was acting exactly like a child now. Lady Northern Feng shook her head helplessly.

At the thought of the grave danger the old lady had been in and how lively she was now, Lady Northern Feng felt that she couldn’t thank Feng Wu enough. Turning around, she took Feng Wu’s hands. “Kid, thank you so much.”

“What —”

Only then did the empress dowager notice Feng Wu and her eyes lit up.

At her age, the empress dowager adored good-looking teenagers like all grandmothers did. Her face lit up when she saw Feng Wu. “What a nice-looking girl. She’s as eye-catching as that girl of the Zuo family, if you ask me.”

By “the girl of the Zuo family,” she meant Zuo Qingluan.

Lady Northern Feng had no idea of the enmity between Feng Wu and Zuo Qingluan. She said with a smile, “Your Majesty, you’re spot on. This girl is even prettier than the Zuo girl.”

“That’s right.” The empress dowager was delighted to see a pretty girl. She patted the seat next to her and said, “Kiddo, come sit with me.”

Feng Wu was at a loss over what to say.

However, she still did as told and sat down next to the empress dowager.

“What’s your name? How old are you? Which family are you from?” At her age and with her status, the empress dowager had seen her fair share of good-looking people, not to mention that the imperial palace was filled with beautiful women.

However, this girl was different. She still had yet to reach her potential, but she was already a beauty. What was more, there was something non-aggressive about her look, making those around her feel very comfortable and relaxed.

With a smile, Feng Wu said calmly, “Your Majesty, my name is Feng Wu.”

“Feng Wu?” The empress dowager didn’t recognize that name at first. But when she saw Lady Northern Feng, who was trying to fight back her grin…

“Feng Wu!” The empress dowager cried out and glared at the girl. “You’re Feng Wu? The girl who tried to trick Yaya? You little liar! How dare you!”

Feng Wu was confused. “Yaya?”

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Lady Northern Feng pointed at herself and Feng Wu took the hint right away.

“Your Majesty, that was a misunderstanding.” Lady Northern Feng sat down next to the empress dowager, held the old lady’s hand, and explained to her, “You were in grave danger just then… you could have died!”

The empress dowager frowned and glanced at Emperor Wu, who nodded at her.

“Was it that bad…”

“Yes, it was very serious. Everything happened so suddenly and Master Chu wasn’t around. Xiao Wu was the one who saved you,” Lady Northern Feng explained. “Your Majesty, Xiao Wu is a wonderful doctor. Even Master Chu agrees with that. Right, Master Chu?”

The empress dowager turned to Master Chu, looking a little confused.

Master Chu smiled bitterly, but Lady Northern Feng was telling the truth. He had said it himself earlier.

He could only nod. “Miss Feng Wu is unparalleled in her medical skills. I admit my defeat and I admire her from the bottom of my heart.”

The empress dowager was dumbfounded. She glanced at Feng Wu in suspicion. “That girl?”

Lady Northern Feng nodded. “Your Majesty, it really was her. She practically saved you from death. We wouldn’t be sitting here talking if it wasn’t for her. Xiao Wu is as great a doctor as she’s claimed to be.”

The empress dowager looked at Emperor Wu again.

Emperor Wu nodded affirmatively.

The stubborn empress dowager still wouldn’t be convinced. She didn’t want to believe it!

Seeing how obstinate the empress dowager was, Lady Northern Feng smiled bitterly. “Your Majesty, saving you wasn’t the only thing Xiao Wu did. She also cleared up your clogged energy channels. You can check for yourself. Spiritual essence has begun to gather inside you again. Am I right?”

What?!

The empress dowager examined her own body, and there was indeed a trace of spiritual essence in her dantian…

“Yes!” The empress dowager was exhilarated and she tugged at Lady Northern Feng. “Yaya, I have spiritual essence! I have it!”

“Right?” The lady smiled and began to cajole the empress dowager. “Xiao Wu is really amazing. Don’t you think so?”

Recalling all the things she had been saying about Feng Wu in front of her, the empress dowager was embarrassed.

She said proudly, “Even if that’s the case… she’s a commoner of the Junwu Empire, which makes her my subject. Isn’t it her duty to help me? What other option did she have?”

Lady Northern Feng didn’t like the sound of that at all.

What did she mean by “having no other options”? All Feng Wu had to do was twist her wrist the wrong way and the old lady would be silenced forever.

Of course, Lady Northern Feng knew better than to speak her mind. She only frowned.

“If you ask me, Miss Feng Wu only saved Her Majesty to save herself. Because if anything happened to Her Majesty, Feng Wu would be the first to get blamed. After all, Her Majesty fell ill because of her!” Empress Dugu jumped out right on time.

The empress dowager nodded repeatedly. “The empress is right. I got sick because I was angry with her. If anything, I should settle accounts with her first. How dare she try to take credit for fulfilling her duty? Hmph!”

1Blue veins popped on Lady Northern Feng’s forehead.

That was so unreasonable of the old lady!

Feng Wu only smiled. “Your Majesty was right. I only did what I did out of self-preservation. Now that both of us are fine, I think we have the ideal outcome.”

After that, Feng Wu turned to leave.

Lady Northern Feng stopped Feng Wu right away. “Xiao Wu, you can’t leave just like that!”

She turned to the empress dowager in exasperation. “Your Majesty, only your symptoms have been treated. With Xiao Wu gone, no one will be able to work out a permanent cure for you. We’ll be so worried.”

The empress dowager pouted at Lady Northern Feng’s words.

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After that, Lady Northern Feng began to browbeat the old lady. “Your Majesty, Master Chu won’t be able to treat you.”

The empress dowager stared at Master Chu in turn.

Master Chu gave her a wry smile. “Miss Feng Wu is indeed a better doctor than I am. There’s no doubt of it.”

The empress dowager was speechless.

The old lady had never felt this defeated in her life. She looked up and threw a dirty look at Feng Wu!

Feng Wu rubbed her nose.

What on earth did she do? It seemed that the capricious empress dowager had made up her mind to dislike her.

However, everything happened for a reason, and the empress dowager’s bias was no exception.

It was just that Feng Wu hadn’t found out what that reason was.

While Lady Northern Feng stayed behind to placate the empress dowager, Emperor Wu glanced at Feng Wu, then walked out of the room.

He stood outside Cining Palace, facing away from the door. Dressed in his thick cape, the emperor looked authoritative and majestic from behind.

“Your Majesty…”

Feng Wu bowed in reverence.

The Emperor Wu now was a different person from the son in Cining Palace a moment ago.

When he was around the empress dowager, Emperor Wu acted like any normal son.

As expected, Emperor Wu turned his head and stared at Feng Wu with his piercing black eyes. His voice was as cold as frost. “You did well.”

He acknowledged her work.

However, Feng Wu felt a chill run down her spine and cold sweat covered her back.

Emperor Wu marched off after that.

Feng Wu was still dazed when Master Bai went up to her and reminded her in a low voice, “Miss Wu, what are you doing standing here?”

“…Right.”

Feng Wu had no idea where Emperor Wu was going and what he had in mind, but she had no choice but to follow.

And here was what the others witnessed in the imperial palace that day.

The tall, strong Emperor Wu strode quickly along the corridors.

The tiny, pretty Feng Wu followed him in a hurry.

Before long, Feng Wu arrived outside a prison.

A prison?

What were they doing here?

However, Emperor Wu seemed to be in a foul mood at the moment. His eyes were brooding and he gave off an intimidating air. Feng Wu didn’t dare to ask and had to keep her silence.

A dark, long passageway led them to a cell.

Feng Wu expected to see a dark, damp, and humid place with a foul air.

To her surprise, the cell was in quite acceptable condition: it was dry, tidy, and didn’t have any particular smell.

The prisoners on this level were all important criminals of the imperial court.

Conflicted looks appeared on many faces when the prisoners saw the emperor, and they dropped to their knees, one after another.

As Emperor Wu walked in, everyone on the way, prisoners and guards alike, knelt and prostrated, awed by the emperor’s majestic presence.

Feng Wu thought to herself: well, that was what it was like to be an emperor. He was so superior that he could have anyone decapitated with a glance.

One sentence and he could have an entire clan wiped off the face of the earth.

Feng Wu took a deep breath and forced herself to focus.

She knew what her problem was.

Because she was essentially a modern woman, she didn’t have the adequate reverence toward the emperor ingrained in her.

But the fact was that she was living in a world with an autocratic monarchy now, and here, martial prowess was valued above all else.

She had only just restarted her cultivation and she was much weaker than the average government official, not to mention the emperor himself. Who was she to feel unintimidated by the emperor?

Once Feng Wu figured that out, she was much more relieved.

When she looked up, she saw that the door to a cell a few steps away had opened.

And Emperor Wu had sat down in a chair.