I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 504 is not obvious enough.
Once the imperial physicians left, the bedchamber fell silent.

Seeing the bloodshot eyes in the emperor's eyes, Chu Liuzheng moved to the inside of the bed. "You should lie down and get some sleep. I'll wake you up in a bit."

[That tyrant is too honest! With so many people in the palace, why not just have people take turns guarding me? Why exhaust himself like this? Does he think he's made of iron?]

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

His Majesty the Emperor felt as if his sincere feelings had been wasted, and he couldn't even muster the anger to do so.

He raised a hand to pinch his brow, his face revealing his exhaustion. "No time to sleep. There are still three urgent memorials on my desk that I haven't approved. The Grand Tutor and the Minister of Works submitted their memorials this morning, and I haven't summoned them yet. And..."

"Just one hour of sleep." Chu Liuzheng felt exhausted just listening to him and interrupted, forcefully dragging him onto the bed. "One hour won't delay anything."

"Sleep after you finish approving the documents." Xiao Jingfan remembered, but Chu Liuzheng immediately rolled over and pressed down on him, not allowing him to move. "Approving the documents after you finish sleeping, I'll keep you company."

Xiao Jingfan raised his hand to embrace the waist of the person on top of him, his gaze falling directly into those almond-shaped eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Are you worried about me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Chu Liuzheng blinked. Her heart wasn't made of stone; of course she knew how to cherish those who were good to her.

"You can be more obvious next time." Turning over and placing the person aside, Xiao Jingfan got up, but Chu Liuzheng immediately stretched out his leg to pull the person back, determined to keep the person on the bed, pressing down on his hands and legs, like a blanket that actively clings to him.

Xiao Jingfan sighed helplessly, "I'm still wearing my outer robe."

Upon hearing this, Chu Liuzheng decisively took action and peeled it off for him.

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

"Alright, go to sleep." Chu Liuzheng reached out and covered the emperor's eyes, his long eyelashes brushing against his palm, the touch slightly tickling.

She waited a while, then slowly released her hand and found that the person beneath her had closed their eyes and was asleep.

[Tsk, men, they're always so stubborn.]

She pinched the emperor's cheek, leaned over and kissed his thin lips, carefully propped herself up, slowly got out of bed, gently lowered the bed curtains, and lit a calming incense stick by the bedside.

The calming and soothing fragrance gradually spread, and the person on the bed slept even more soundly. Chu Liuzheng stayed by the side for a while, and seeing that the person had not woken up, he took a set of clothes from the wardrobe, changed, and quietly went out.

She's going to starve to death if she doesn't eat soon.

Zhou Yuande and the others were guarding the door. When they saw her come out, they couldn't help but glance at the closed palace door.

Chu Liuzheng immediately made a shushing gesture and whispered, "His Majesty is asleep."

Everyone covered their mouths in unison.

Chu Liuzheng said to Zhou Yuande, "Eunuch Zhou, you take men and stand guard here. If any ministers submit memorials requesting an audience, save them for later, unless it is a matter of life and death, and discuss it with His Majesty when he wakes up."

Zhou Yuande nodded in agreement, but seeing that Chu Liuzheng was about to leave, he quickly called out to her, "Where are you going, young lady? If His Majesty wakes up and doesn't see you, he might blame you."

"I won't go far," Chu Liuzheng said. "I'll just grab something to eat in the side hall and come right back."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuande finally agreed to release the man.

In the side hall, the eunuch who delivered the meal had just left.

Chu Liuzheng quickly washed up and sat down at the table.

Siyue ladled out a bowl of millet porridge and placed it in front of her, saying, "Sister has just woken up, so eat something soft to warm your stomach first."

"Okay, thank you." Chu Liuzheng picked up the bowl and drank the porridge.

Chenxing served her food, saying as she did so, "We were terrified of our sister's coma these past few days. Sister Moxiang and Sister Yuzhui have been praying to the Bodhisattva every day. Xiazi and Xiaoyunzi have been coming three times a day to ask about the situation. Shaoliyi also came and cried until her eyes were swollen when she saw our sister. Even the Empress Dowager sent Granny Zhao to visit her."

Chu Liuzheng was somewhat surprised. It was one thing for Moxiang and the others, but the Empress Dowager actually sent someone to see her. Had she changed her mind?
“Besides Consort Shaoli, Consort Shu and Consort Chun also came, but His Majesty did not allow them to enter the palace,” Siyue said, sitting down. “His Majesty is also very worried about you, sister. You saw His Majesty’s eyes, didn’t you? Since you fell into a coma, His Majesty has hardly closed them.” “Except for attending court and summoning ministers, he stays by your bedside, even bringing memorials to your bedside to review. Eunuch Zhou said that in all the time he has served His Majesty, he has never seen His Majesty so anxious for anyone.”

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

[Doesn't this sound a lot like what that butler said: "Young Master hasn't laughed like that in a long time?"]

The sudden association gave Chu Liuzheng goosebumps, and he shuddered inwardly before focusing on his meal.

The emperor woke up before he had finished his meal.

Looking at the sleepy-eyed person, Chu Liuzheng suddenly felt a little guilty.

Although she hadn't promised the emperor she would stay with him until he woke up, she felt inexplicably guilty when she met his slightly accusing gaze.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat and warmly invited, holding up her bowl, "Would you like a bowl?"

Xiao Jingfan glanced at the congee and side dishes on the table, sat down, took the millet congee handed to him by Siyue, and ate it quietly with the pickled vegetables.

Chu Liuzheng had almost finished eating. He waved to Chenxing and Siyue and served the emperor some food himself, saying, "What would you like to eat tonight? I'll cook it for you myself."

"You don't need to do it." Xiao Jingfan swallowed what was in his mouth and said, "You just woke up, so you should rest well."

Chu Liuzheng smiled, her eyes crinkling, intentionally trying to coax him, "Then I'll rest next to you?"

Xiao Jingfan paused, raised his eyelids to look at her, and gave a serious "hmm".

Chu Liuzheng raised his hand and rubbed his chest.

Damn it, she actually found the cold-faced emperor kind of cute; her eyes must be malfunctioning.

*
The heavy rains of July finally came.

The Minjiang River surged forward, and although the dikes had been reinforced, two sections were still breached, ravaging the fertile fields downstream.

Fortunately, the government saw that the situation was not good and organized the evacuation of the people in advance.

Heavy rains lasted for a month, causing widespread flooding in the Qingzhou area. Despite the court's extensive preparations, casualties were still unavoidable, but the situation was much better than what Yi Zhen had described in the scroll.

At the same time, a fire fell from the sky in the southwest. Fortunately, the guards on patrol discovered it in time, and only a small patch of forest was burned, leaving behind a charred mess.

A month later, the rain in Qingzhou finally stopped. Before the people could even rejoice, they discovered that some of their fellow villagers or relatives had suddenly collapsed and developed high fevers.

An experienced itinerant doctor took his pulse and was immediately horrified, turning pale as he uttered two words in a trembling voice: plague.

The plague spread extremely quickly, and even though the government reacted swiftly and isolated the infected, nearly a thousand people had already contracted the plague.

The imperial court immediately sent the recruited doctors, along with various medicinal materials commonly used to treat epidemics, to Qingzhou.

The lights in Wenhua Hall stayed on night after night, and news from Qingzhou kept coming in, causing great anxiety.

Chu Liuzheng also became anxious and frustrated, chugging down bowls of cold tea as he braved the scorching sun to go to Chongshan Hall.

Inside the Chongshan Hall, a breeze blew through the ice basin, bringing a gentle coolness. A young man in white sat cross-legged on a rattan chair, holding half a watermelon chilled in well water in his arms. He scooped out some watermelon with a spoon while watching two turtles fight in a glass jar.

"Lord Yi certainly knows how to enjoy life." Chu Liuzheng ordered someone to bring over a stool and place it next to the rattan chair.

"Life in the palace is boring, so I have to find some fun myself." Yi Zhen stuck the spoon into the watermelon, glanced at her, and asked, "What do you want?"

(End of this chapter)