The entire cold first half of the night in the Cining Palace was accompanied only by the light of candles.
　　When Dong Lingjiu looked up from the memorial file, in addition to the dim candlelight, he also saw the young doctor Zheng, who was holding a white cat. He was so young that even the fingers pressing circles on the white cat's back looked like a new branch with leaves, and his whole body was bathed in the breath of the breeze.
　　She closed the book, tilted her chin and stared at the young child. From his eyebrows and eyes, she could glimpse her own youth as if catching a shadow, and glimpse the girl of the Dong family who had not yet entered the East Palace, who was cute, innocent, and ignorant of the world.
　　Perhaps the sudden pity that Empress Dowager Dong felt for him was partly a reminiscence of the past. She just used Zheng Yuheng's figure to recall the romantic innocence of more than ten years ago.
　　The young doctor had been up all night and was already tired. He lowered his hands and struggled with the royal cat, his fingers entangled in the white cat's tail. The cat prince also refused to give in, baring his teeth and breathing, and then shaking his long tail.
　　He lowered his eyes, waiting for his thoughts to wander, so he did not notice Dong Lingjiu's gaze. When the gaze was close enough to be ignored, the Queen Mother was already in front of him.
　　Zheng Yuheng suddenly woke up and hurriedly tried to get up, but was pressed down by a hand on his shoulder.
　　Dong Lingjiu's hand was on his shoulder, then lowered, across Zheng Yuheng's chest, and touched the white cat's ears. The white cat made a comfortable meow and a slight snoring sound.
　　"I'll send someone to take you back?" Dong Lingjiu said, "It's so late at night, the palace corridors are complicated, it's a little far, and it's cold. Why don't you go to the warm room to sleep."
　　Before Zheng Yuheng could reply, Aunt Ruixue on the side showed hesitation and stepped forward to say to the Queen Mother, "My queen, there is no precedent for Imperial Physician Liu to serve medicine all night in the palace."
　　After her reminder, Dong Lingjiu still did not reply, but looked at Zheng Yuheng calmly.
　　How could Zheng Yuheng stay in the palace? Not to mention the reminder sent by Queen Wang before, even if Dong Lingjiu was in front of him, he would only have infinite respect and infinite awe.
　　The young man bowed and said, "My queen, have a good rest."
　　Then, Zheng Yuheng thought for a while, raised his eyelashes and looked at her quietly, and added, "Listen to the doctor's advice."
　　He always felt that he was regarded as a child, or maybe his status was similar to that of the bad-tempered cat in his arms. Empress Dowager Dong always nodded to his suggestions in a friendly manner, but she did not follow them. However, in Zheng Yuheng's heart, although he was young, he was also a medical officer. The words of a doctor should be listened to by the Empress even if her status
　　was as high as the sun and the moon. Dong Lingjiu looked at him with a smile. She seemed to be in good spirits. In this long night, her pearls and jades did not move, and her tassels were stable. It can be seen how solemn and correct her demeanor was. This solemnity seemed to be engraved in Dong Lingjiu's body, becoming her symbol, her symbol, and a part of her life.
　　After the death of the previous emperor, in the dark, her life that was filled was also missing a part, cutting out an invisible fault.
　　"When you grow up to be an adult, I will listen to you seriously." She said.
　　Zheng Yuheng was unwilling to say: "I will be a young man in two years, and I can perform the ceremony of the first year of service."
　　Dong Lingjiu still looked at him with warm eyes, with a hint of soft smile in her eyes. He suddenly realized that his argument was not like a steady adult, and felt frustrated.
　　After a while, Zheng Yuheng asked, "What level will it take for the queen to feel that this person is worthy of entrusting? Is it age, experience, or status?"
　　Dong Lingjiu was a little surprised, and instead of answering, he asked, "At such a young age, why do you keep saying such a heavy word as 'entrust'?"
　　Zheng Yuheng was speechless, lowered his head, and said for a while, "I don't know when the queen will listen to my medical advice like she listens to her teacher's advice."
　　Dong Lingjiu raised her hand. She only needed to signal with her eyes, and Ruixue had already taken out the cloak. Before the young doctor could react, she put the cloak on him. The young master
　　of the Zheng family was tall and thin, and his shoulders were not as thick as those of an ordinary adult man, and he still had a bit of the thinness of a teenager. A strand of thin black hair slipped out from under his neat clothes and stopped at the back of his neck. Dong Lingjiu saw it, but did not remind him. He just heard his rumbling and anxious heartbeat when he put on the cloak.
　　She glanced over, and Zheng Yuheng immediately dropped his eyes, but his earlobes were already red, his finger bones were clenched tightly, and a crisp sound burst out. His words, along with his nervous heartbeat, went straight to his throat.
　　He was flattered and saw with his own eyes the pair of pampered hands leaving the collar and the front of the tie.
　　Queen Mother Dong said, "Okay, I will order someone to send you back."
　　Zheng Yuheng had not drunk much water all night, and only now did he feel that his mouth was very dry, which almost affected his clear and soft tone, making his voice slightly hoarse: "Your Majesty, will you definitely go to rest?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Of course."
　　The little doctor suddenly felt relieved, clasped his hands and bowed, and then bowed properly, and then he pressed the corner of the cloak and left with the inner court lady.
　　The cat finally escaped the clutches of the bad guy and rubbed the corner of the Queen Mother's luxurious clothes. Dong Lingjiu did not comfort it, but ordered people to put on makeup and change clothes, and then walked into the bedroom.
　　All the heavy jewelry and jewelry were removed. Ruixue helped her to sleep. Just as she was about to blow out the candles, there was a door opening outside the screen. The sound of fine rain in the night drifted in and blew into the picture of mountains and seas on the screen.
　　In the dim moonlight, a young eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who looked familiar knelt on the ground, holding something in his hands outside the screen, and reported: "The suppression of bandits in Ganzhou has been blocked. General Gengzhe of the Shenwu Army asks the Empress of Cining Palace for instructions." The
　　female official at the door of the palace scolded: "The Empress is asleep, how could those bastards outside let you in!"
　　The young eunuch's clothes were wet, and he trembled and said: "Please, the Empress..."
　　Ruixue stepped out from the curtain and raised her hand to silence everyone, but the door was not closed, and the sound of rain was dense and continuous, as if it was slowly getting bigger. From the deepest and deepest gauze curtain, the voice of the empress dowager came.
　　"Show it to me."
　　Sometimes she would not call herself "Ai Jia", but often at this time, she missed the late emperor buried in the earth the most.
　　Ruixue hurried forward, took the letter and handed it into the screen.
　　Dong Lingjiu let go of her plain clothes, and with the help of a small candle temporarily lit by a female official, she removed the seal mixed with feathers, and asked as she looked over, "Has the emperor known about it?"
　　The eunuch who delivered the letter said, "The army only said to ask for the instructions of the empress, and Xu Duzhi of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also said to deliver it to the Cining Palace first."
　　Dong Lingjiu read half of it and said, "Write a copy and send it to the emperor."
　　She stopped reading, closed her eyes and lay back on the couch, covered her eyes with the remaining paper in the letter, and dictated, "Geng Zhe is not allowed to use firearms, and is not allowed to occupy any grain or land of civilians. Let the Hengzhou Tuanlianshi assist the Shenwu Army, and persuade the pirates to surrender. The key is to persuade them to surrender, and they are not allowed to recruit them. Those who refuse to surrender after three persuasions will be killed."
　　Ruixue wrote down all of this, repeated it, and called several capable female officials to jointly draft the edict, asking them to cooperate with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send it to the Zhongshumen. This decree will be returned to Ganzhou after the Empress Dowager's seal is read by the Vice Minister of State Affairs... As for the Emperor's opinion, according to the consensus of all parties, this procedure can be filled in later.
　　The wind and rain suddenly came in the middle of the night, and the originally quiet palace building became busy. The sound of people coming and going continued for a long time. After Dong Lingjiu instructed everyone, he turned sideways and sank into the silk surface of the brocade quilt.
　　Before Meng Zhen died, whenever there was an emergency that required entering the inner court at night, the emperor, with whom she had lived for more than ten years, would get up from his bed, put on his clothes, light the candles, and whisper to everyone that they did not need to wake up the queen.
　　Meng Zhen was not a man she favored, but he was indeed a wise emperor who governed the country.
　　When he went to the Dong family mansion and proposed marriage to the old master, his eyes were full of stars, and he bowed with 100% sincerity to ask for the Dong family girl. After entering the East Palace and ascending the throne for more than ten years, Dong Lingjiu still remembered his pair of bright eyes. She listened through the screen and heard Meng Zhen say, "I will always treat her as the most honorable woman around me."
　　So throughout Emperor Mingde's life, the Dong family girl was the most honorable one around him. She was the crown princess, the queen, and the biological mother of his crown prince. The two of them treated each other with respect, and even discussed state affairs and case files together, and ate and slept together. But when Emperor Mingde was dying, he dared to ask in private, "After 20 years of marriage, has Zitong ever loved me?"
　　Dong Lingjiu just held his hand and said, "I will protect what your majesty values ​​most for you."
　　It's the common people.
　　The vast world.
　　When Dong Lingjiu fell asleep with tiredness, she did not dream of the late Emperor Meng Zhen, nor did she dream of the young imperial physician she had found. Instead, she dreamed of the bandit suppression in Ganzhou, thousands of miles away. She dreamed that those bandits who had set up camps and caused trouble were grabbed, cut off, and uprooted under the flags and drums of the Great Yin. The blood and rain washed away the souls of the people who had died here.
　　In my life, I have fulfilled another wish.
　　...
　　The rain in the second half of the night came suddenly.
　　Zheng Yuheng's clothes were wet. He returned to the Imperial Hospital, tidied up his cloak, which was only wet at the corners, and folded it aside. Then he suddenly sat there in a daze, not knowing what to do.
　　But he didn't expect the teacher to come to the Imperial Hospital so early.
　　At this moment, the sky was dark and foggy. The old doctor seemed to have expected it and came to see him specially. So as soon as he entered the room, he threw away the hand warmer and cloak in his hands, pulled out a chair and sat opposite Zheng Yuheng, staring at his disciple.
　　Zheng Yuheng stood up and said, "Teacher..."
　　"You just came back?" Although it was a question, the old doctor stated.
　　"Yes." Zheng Yuheng said with a stiff face, "The Empress Dowager has an old headache, and the student went there as ordered."
　　The old doctor still looked at him, reached out and poured a cup of tea from the side, and handed it to Zheng Yuheng. Zheng Yuheng then found that his lips had been dry and cracked, bursting with blood, and there was an unbearable stinging feeling.
　　Zheng Yuheng drank the tea, and the smoking throat was finally relieved. He heard the old doctor say, "Did the Empress promise you anything?"
　　Zheng Yuheng thought again and again, and shook his head blankly.
　　The old doctor sighed, "I'm afraid that you will rashly try to curry favor with others for the sake of power, but you will end up making things worse and end up as a villain. But I also know that you are not such a person. You serve the empress dowager and others with equal dedication."
　　Zheng Yuheng said, "Yes, I have never been greedy for power."
　　The old doctor raised his voice, "Although you haven't, how can you fully understand what outsiders think? Last night, the Empress of the Cining Palace summoned you for half the night, and I didn't accompany you. In just half a day, the eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the Imperial Hospital to argue. I was chattering when I heard that, but you didn't? Not to mention that Lord Zheng is a pure scholar, and he has been an inspector and censor all his life. When you return to the Zheng Mansion, he will definitely be angry."
　　Zheng Yuheng felt his spine numb and a chill ran up his spine.
　　He was silent for a long while, and said: "The teacher also served all night long, never leaving his side. Why am I..."
　　Zheng Yuheng hadn't finished speaking, and he had the answer in his heart: his teacher had profound qualifications and complied with the rules and regulations, but he was promoted out of the ordinary and given a special favor. Moreover, judging from the Queen Mother's thoughts and behavior, she was not completely unintentional about this matter.
　　So he said: "My father was ashamed to climb up all his life, but..."
　　But he is also a human being, and he will also fear power, like a tiger in the mountains. With the words of Aunt Peichun in the past and the protection of Queen Mother Dong, Zheng Yuheng is not worried that his father will use family rules against him again for the time being.
　　It's just that their already faint father-son friendship will be like drifting catkins, and it will be difficult to find a trace.
　　The old doctor sat opposite, and Zheng Yuheng stood in front of him. The two were silent and quiet for a long time. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hall. Amid the swaying candlelight and the sound of wind and rain, Liu Tong suddenly caught a glimpse of the dark black cloak behind him.
　　The gold thread embroidery on the cloak flickered in the light and shadow. His heart suddenly jumped, and he looked at Zheng Yuheng's face again. As expected, he saw embarrassment and shame on the face of this only and most outstanding disciple.
　　Before Liu Tong asked, Zheng Yuheng spoke: "When we were in the Cining Palace, it rained at night, and the queen... was sympathetic and compassionate."
　　The old doctor raised his head and sat back, closed his eyes, and whispered slowly, almost with pain in his words: "Even if it's not you who wants to cling to you, how can a solitary bamboo root in the ice survive without flattering and keeping warm?"
　　Zheng Yuheng didn't understand what he meant at this moment. He just moved his body closer so that the elderly mentor could put his arm around his shoulders. He listened to the training meekly, but he didn't understand where the ice came from? Where did the warmth come from? He didn't know how the slender bamboo roots could break through the ice like a sharp edge to peek into the sky.
　　The eighteen-year-old Zheng Yuheng only vaguely understood that he would spend the entire spring day covered by the eaves of the Cining Palace, with branches full of pear blossoms.