The dream suddenly shifted.

Ruan An found herself back on the day of the palace coup in her previous life. She exerted all her strength, running on the palace road, escaping with the Empress and other palace residents.

After Crown Prince Xiao Chong ascended the throne, he became debauched and ignored political affairs.

Although Li Shuying held a stable position as the Empress, her relationship with the Emperor had long been strained. Therefore, when the rebels breached the gates of Chang’an, the Emperor left her behind in the harem without taking her along in the escape.

The leader of the rebels shouted, “The venomous Empress Li Shuying is over there! Hurry, capture Empress Li Shuying alive!!!”

Li Shuying’s face panicked, losing the dignified demeanor of a queen. Her own life was in jeopardy, yet she had to escape with the palace maids from the Phoenix Palace and Ruan An.

The fate of her son, Ruan Xi, was still held in this woman’s hands, forcing Ruan An to flee with her.

The inner palace guards continued to resist stubbornly, and the royal guards loyal to the Great Li were accompanying the queen for her safety.

However, the rebel forces were approaching fiercely, and archers had already quietly positioned themselves along the palace ridges.

At a command, tens of thousands of arrows were unleashed.

In an instant, the vast palace was enveloped as if by countless locusts. The once clear sky at the corners turned pitch-black, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.

“Swoosh, swoosh…” 

Sharp arrow feathers flew towards Li Shuying. The nearby guards, quick-witted and agile, shouted, “Protect the Queen!” and forcefully pushed Ruan An outward.

Ruan An’s pupils contracted suddenly. That sharp arrow pierced her slender back, stopping just inches away from her heart.

Li Shuying and the other palace maids had already run far away. Ruan An, on the other hand, was bleeding profusely, lying in agony on the cold palace floor.

She still had a faint and weak breath, but judging by her estimation, within half an hour, she would succumb to excessive blood loss.

However, even after the blood dried up and she departed to the afterlife, she couldn’t find release because she didn’t know the whereabouts of her son, Ruan Xi.

The rebels passed by her, sparing the innocent palace maids. As long as they chose to surrender to the new emperor, these rebels would spare their lives.

If it weren’t for Li Shuying using the child as leverage to force her to run with them, she might not have died so quickly.

A strong gust of wind, heavy with the smell of blood, suddenly rose from the flat ground. Ruan An’s consciousness grew dim, in a state between life and death.

Suddenly, she heard the voices of tens of thousands of soldiers shouting in unison, “Long live the Emperor!”

Huo Pingxiao had successfully seized the throne, overthrowing the dynasty and becoming the new emperor.

Ruan An coughed painfully, and fresh blood spilled from the corners of her lips.

After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly felt someone lifting her from the ground. His arms were strong and powerful, but she couldn’t see his face.

She felt the person exuding a faint and warm amber-like aura mixed with a strong smell of blood. This aura was exceptionally familiar to her, and she also heard the crisp sound of a crown colliding.

“Miss Ruan…”

Years had passed, and the man’s voice had become mature and deep.

It was Huo Pingxiao.

Ruan An recognized the person’s identity and struggled to open her eyes, looking at him.

However, at this moment, her eyes were already blinded, and before her eyes flashed vast shadows of gray.

She desperately wanted to raise her hand to shield her own ugly face, but she couldn’t even lift a finger.

“Hurry, find the imperial physician!”

The newly ascended emperor’s voice carried urgency, commanding with a stern tone.

Ruan An endured intense pain, wanting to speak to him, but only managed to cough up a mouthful of blood.

“Save your strength for now. The imperial physician will be here soon. After you recover, you can talk to me. You are my benefactor, and I will not let you die.”

Speaking again, Emperor Huo Pingxiao’s voice trembled slightly.

However, Ruan An knew that her injuries were beyond the reach of medicine.

She wouldn’t live much longer.

Before her death, besides the matter of her son Ruan Xi, she wanted to tell him one more thing.

Something she had never dared to mention to anyone. As death approached, she finally found the courage.

She wanted to tell him that she had admired him for a long time and had even borne a son for him.

But with her rationality still intact, she knew that perhaps she could only manage to say one thing.

Ruan An tried to speak, attempting to form the shape of the word “son” with her lips.

Unfortunately, before she could make a sound, Ruan An felt as if her consciousness were being grasped by invisible hands, and forcibly pulled from her body.

Soon, Ruan An’s spiritual awareness hung in mid-air, able to overlook the entire Forbidden Court from a new perspective—

She saw the imperial physician shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

She also saw the young man she had secretly admired in the past, now a majestic emperor, taking off his blood-stained outer robe to cover her lifeless body.

The dreamlike illusion persisted, consciousness lingering.

Ruan An thought, that if she were given another chance to choose, she would definitely not bring her child to Chang’an City.

If she hadn’t made the wrong decision from the beginning, none of these calamities would have occurred.

The matter of recognizing Ruan Xi as his son was originally just her wishful thinking, and Huo Pingxiao had not died in battle six years ago. 

***

“Xi’er…”

Ruan An murmured Ruan Xi’s name, her heart filled with regret and sorrow.

But suddenly, a child’s voice, full of concern and innocence, cut through her ears: “Mother~ you’ve been asleep for a long time, why haven’t you woken up yet?”

It was Xi’er’s voice!

Her Xi’er was still by her side!

As if awakening from a deep sleep, Ruan An suddenly opened her eyes.

But what she saw in the environment around her was the small house where Li Yifang had arranged for them to stay.

She sat up and saw Ruan Xi standing in front of her, looking perfectly fine. Large teardrops finally escaped her control, flowing uncontrollably like a spring down her cheeks.

In Ruan Xi’s memory, he had never seen his mother cry so bitterly before. He quickly reached out with his soft chubby hands and tiptoed, lifting his small feet to gently wipe away Ruan An’s tears.

The child’s gaze was clear, and his sensible demeanor was heartbreaking. He imitated Ruan An’s usual tone and spoke in a childish voice, comforting her, “Mom, did you dream of little ghosts? Don’t be afraid; Xi’er will help you chase them away.”

With the joy of recovering what was lost, Ruan An embraced the child, sobbing incessantly.

Heaven had unexpectedly given her a second chance at life.

Because of this, she fainted at the pharmacy, not deceived by Li Shuying’s maid.

She did not bring Ruan Xi to the Prime Minister’s mansion, avoiding the irreversible path of endless calamities.

She and Ruan Xi escaped a disaster, and everything could still be remedied.

She wanted to leave Chang’an with her child as soon as possible, not giving others any chance to harm them.

“Thump, thump, thump—”

Suddenly, an urgent knock echoed from outside the courtyard. Ruan An’s thoughts were still immersed in the joy of rebirth, but her eyes immediately became alert.

She signaled Ruan Xi not to speak, and he obediently nodded, looking up at her.

Seeing no one inside, Li Yifang’s voice sounded anxious, “Elder, are you there? My mother suddenly fell critically ill, please come with me.”

At this time, the curfew had already arrived. After Li Yifang’s mother fell ill, he couldn’t find a doctor for a while. Remembering that Ruan An understood medicine, and since her condition had stabilized after he brought her back to this small courtyard from the familiar pharmacy, he hurriedly came here.

He looked through the crack in the door and clearly saw a faint candlelight in the main hall, indicating that there should be someone inside.

Ruan An heard that the person coming was Li Yifang, slightly lowering her guard. She was about to quickly disguise herself as an old person, but he couldn’t wait any longer.

Li Yifang kicked open the door with a “bang,” his handsome features filled with anxiety. Just as he was about to apologize for his abrupt entrance to Ruan An, upon entering the main hall, he found no trace of the figure of the renowned physician Ruan Gu.

Instead, under the hazy moonlight, a beautiful woman with fair skin and black hair was protecting a young child in her arms, standing in front of him with a guarded expression.

The woman had fair skin, rosy lips, delicate eyebrows, and beautiful eyes. Despite her captivating appearance, her eyes, filled with tears, revealed a sense of cold resentment and unwillingness.

Her fragile and gentle temperament, mixed with her resentful and stubborn gaze, gave off a stunning and shattered feeling, making it easy for people to feel a desire to protect her.

In an instant, Li Yifang’s heart seemed to be struck by her gaze, and he also guessed her true identity.

As it turns out, Ruan Gu, the renowned physician from the Jiannan Road, had been disguising herself as an old woman while practicing medicine.

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Translated by: All Things Fluff