Feeling the stinging pain on my face, I gently explained.
"The Emperor personally approved my medicine brewing so I could recover quickly and bring him joy. I ask the Empress to understand."
I didn't know what nerve this struck, but her eyebrows furrowed sharply.
Suddenly he grabbed my neck.
"Approved? The Emperor only gives you face out of respect for your childhood connection! And you dare to use his words to threaten me?"
"Go kneel outside the palace! You'll only rise when I'm satisfied!"
I had no choice but to stand and kneel in the courtyard. In the bitter cold of winter, the icy white jade stones stabbed painfully into my knees.
The old wound on my neck began bleeding again from her grip.
Gasping for breath, my frail body trembled.
Amy, still filled with rage, kicked me.
"Kneel properly! Stop pretending to be weak!"
My body shook, my heart pounding.
Through the blur of my vision, I saw a figure in yellow robes approaching quickly.
Then, I lost consciousness.
When I awoke, Huston was sitting by my bedside.
"Your Majesty…"
"There's no need for formalities in your condition."
He kindly placed a soft pillow behind me and personally held a bowl of medicine to my lips.
After I finished drinking, he gently stroked my hair and said tenderly.
"I've already punished Amy's servants. It was their gossip that made her recklessly confront you in your palace."
"Don't hold it against her."
"She usually follows the rules well."
I was speechless for a moment. He had seen her beat me without cause. He must have known it had nothing to do with the servants.
Yet he still defended her.
I sat up straight, looking him directly in the eyes. For the first time, I realized that the frail boy I once knew had transformed into a towering figure, every expression imbued with the authority of an emperor.
"Your Majesty, I've known you for 18 years. I know your heart better than anyone."
"Have you fallen in love with Empress Amy? Do you no longer love me?"
"How dare you!"
He abruptly stood, knocking over the bowl of medicine, and angrily pointed at me.
"I am the Emperor! How dare you presume to guess my thoughts!"
"Who gave you the courage?"
I knelt on the bed, bowing my head.
"If Your Majesty has fallen in love with the Empress, then please let me go. I'm willing to pray for Your Majesty from afar."
"If you dare speak such nonsense again, I'll have your head!"