May, the second year of Huining.
　　Concubine Xu went to Kunning Palace to recuperate and pray for the country. After that, the Xu family became more humble in the court and no longer regarded themselves as royal relatives. However, the emperor still treated the Xu family with great kindness and loyalty, which must have touched Minister Xu.
　　At the end of May, it was drizzling.
　　It happened to be the time when all officials were on vacation, the turn of spring and summer. Ruixue spread a mat under the window, set up the chessboard, and played chess with the Empress Dowager.
　　Amid the light clash of chess pieces, Xuan Duzhi, who came from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, came in the rain, his clothes slightly wet, and handed over the greeting letter from Concubine Xu, smiling: "I know that the queen is thinking about you. Our queen has the most compassionate heart, and she has asked me to take care of it. There is no one who is not attentive at the palace."
　　Dong Lingjiu took Ruixue's letter cutter, opened it with her own hands, pulled out the letter inside and flattened it, and saw Xu Qi's exquisite hairpin flower small regular script.
　　She read it for a while, her expression remained unchanged. Ruixue was worried that Xu Zhuer would offend the queen mother because of leaving the palace, so she leaned in and asked in a low voice: "What did you say? Is it worth you reading it for so long?"
　　Dong Lingjiu stroked the end of the letter: "This child has always been transparent, and I also expected that she is a smart person. It's because the emperor's practice is not enough, and people have long known that his heart is not there." Ruixue
　　carefully glanced at the letter and saw that Xu Zhuer's meaning was: Thank you for the queen mother's kindness, the caged bird has escaped from the lonely city, and now there is another world.
　　She then understood what Dong Lingjiu said, and continued: "It turns out that this master has such a high spirit."
　　"This is a good thing." Dong Lingjiu said, "lest she resents and lives a bad life, which will be another sin for me." Xuan Duzhi, who
　　was standing by, heard this and hurriedly said: "Madam, don't doubt yourself. What sin can you have? You are like a living Bodhisattva."
　　Xuan Duzhi kept a close eye on the affairs of the palace, and also figured out a little of the master's intention from Dong Lingjiu's words, so he allowed her to leave. Before leaving, he thought that the rain was getting heavier, and the imperial doctor Zheng might be late. Ruixue
　　lowered her head and read the chess manual to Dong Lingjiu, and the maid served tea beside her. After playing a chess manual, the sky was dim and it was unclear what time it was. On
　　the day of rest, there were only a few imperial doctors on duty in the Imperial Hospital, most of whom were dispensing medicine, talking, and chatting about trivial matters in life. Zheng Yuheng had no way to talk, so he simply brought his medicine box to the Cining
　　Palace. However, he was indeed late today. When the maids saw him coming, they all stepped forward to take the medicine box and led him to the stove to dry the corners of his clothes. It took Zheng Yuheng a long time before he came out of the compartment and entered the palace to serve the empress dowager.
　　He took her pulse and sat opposite Aunt Ruixue. It was rare to see Dong Lingjiu paying attention to things other than the country and the world.
　　After playing this score, Dong Lingjiu tilted his head to discuss a few moves with Ruixue. Ruixue lowered her head to answer. As soon as she put away the chess pieces, she heard Dong Lingjiu say to Doctor Zheng: "Play a game with me." Zheng Yuheng
　　stood up and stepped forward, sat opposite Dong Lingjiu, and said humbly: "I am not very talented and learned, and I am afraid I can't win in chess. I'd better accompany the empress to look at these ancient scores."
　　Dong Lingjiu had no objection, so he followed his words and re-arranged the pieces. She didn't wear armor on her hands, and her nails were only half an inch long, crystal clear, and unstained with nail polish. These precious hands pressed on the chess pieces, making the white even whiter, the black even blacker, and vivid as a painting.
　　Zheng Yuheng read the score while watching her make the moves. He was still on the score in the first half, but he was a little distracted in the second half.
　　The wound on his face had long since healed, leaving no trace, but the sudden pain and heat that day still remained in his heart. But at this moment, Zheng Yuheng's mood spread, and he actually felt that Aunt Ruixue's worries were not unreasonable. If these hands were injured because of beating someone with his own hands, it would be his undeniable fault.
　　But Dong Lingjiu's hands were not all white and delicate. The inner side of her fingertips was rubbed with thin calluses by the pen holder of the imperial pen. The skin there was rubbed and scabbed, healed and ruptured again. This repeated process would produce a layer of calluses, and it would be like this all year round and would not fade for a long time.
　　Dong Lingjiu didn't see his sight, casually rolled up his sleeves, and when the chess book reached the middle of the game, he looked at the black piece and raised his eyebrows, and asked him: "Is it really five out of thirteen?"
　　Zheng Yuheng was slightly startled, and hurriedly lowered his head to look through the chess book, wondering: "Is it... wrong?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "This page is heavy, you read it twice."
　　Zheng Yuheng was startled, and silently lowered his hand.
　　Once the young doctor felt guilty, from his posture to his expression, he showed a look of "asking for someone to pick him up", as if he was willing to accept the harsh criticism that followed. He was really too familiar with making mistakes and being punished, and he didn't know that such a performance would not only not help him seek forgiveness, but would make people want to double the embarrassment.
　　But how could Dong Lingjiu do this? She just smiled at him for a moment, raised her hand to hold down his fingers holding the book, and took the book out from Zheng Yuheng's hand.
　　Zheng Yuheng's hand froze, and he couldn't help but cover the place that had just been touched with his other hand, as if it could relieve the burning sensation.
　　Dong Lingjiu turned it over for him and put it in front of the young doctor. He pointed to the place where he made the mistake and said, "Let's start from here."
　　Zheng Yuheng nodded.
　　The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier.
　　The other maids all retreated, and only Ruixue served tea. The two gradually chatted about some gossip, from the officials in the capital who calculated the auspicious days for their in-laws, and several good things were about to happen, to the newly published collection of essays by a great scholar, which was all the rage and sold out in Luoyang.
　　Dong Lingjiu gradually realized that his words were not like those of a pure medical officer. They were different from the perspectives of the common people or mediocre officials. Sometimes he spoke with a sharp edge.
　　She noticed this and couldn't help asking, "Have you been studying medicine since you were a child? Have you ever been interested in a career in politics?"
　　When Zheng Yuheng heard this, she realized that she had been too carried away. How could a medical officer talk about politics in front of the empress dowager? He realized that he had a strange mentality because of the other party's favor, but Zheng Yuheng could not yet connect this mentality with "relying on favor".
　　He said, "I have indeed learned medicine since I was a child, and as for my career in government... I have passed the
　　imperial examination before." He said that, which meant that he had not passed the imperial examination. Dong Lingjiu took care of his face and did not ask any further questions. He just said, "Although the imperial examination is difficult, you are still very young. If you are interested in the future, perhaps I will be able to see you in the Shenwu Hall."
　　Zheng Yuheng's hand pinched the cuffs. He grasped the fabric under his fingers and slowly separated them for a long time. His expression was still gentle, and he said very calmly, "I don't have that kind of talent." The
　　wind and rain were still blowing under the eaves.
　　Shallow water marks spread in from outside and splashed on the edge of the mat. Ruixue saw it with sharp eyes, and straightened the corner of Dong Lingjiu's robe from the side. Just as she was about to close the window, she heard her say, "No need, go and prepare some cakes and bring them over."
　　Ruixue agreed, turned around and looked at Zheng Yuheng again, with some obscure instructions and warnings in her eyes, and then went down to prepare.
　　Behind the screen, only Zheng Yuheng was with her. He couldn't help but feel weak in his heart. He stared at the splashing raindrops and couldn't help but gather the sleeves beside Dong Lingjiu's hand, saying softly, "It's wet, it's cold."
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at him and suddenly held his knuckles with his backhand.
　　The cool breeze blew and the rain curtain continued. Compared with Dong Lingjiu's palm, his fingers seemed to be colder than the palm of his hand, almost more than the coldness brought by the environment, but a heavy psychological effect.
　　When Zheng Yuheng was held by her hand, he remembered that he should avoid her. However, he curled his fingers and struggled, but he could not force himself to break free. At this moment, he vaguely smelled the fragrance of the Queen Mother, a light and soft smell mixed in the wind.
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "You seem to have rejected me once."
　　Zheng Yuheng immediately remembered that when he first arrived at the Cining Palace, he had said, "I am willing to serve the Queen with my heart and soul, and I cannot bear the Queen's love." That was indeed a very clear rejection.
　　However, if Dong Lingjiu was willing, his rejection seemed to be only a kind of fun to play with. In the face of absolute power, his self-will would only work if the other party was willing to respect it.
　　Zheng Yuheng was silent for a long while and said, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty is not worthy."
　　"Sometimes, you have the same temper as Aiai." Dong Lingjiu said with a smile, "That cat is always like this, its mind changes all the time, it has no fixed mind. Sometimes it raises its head to act coquettishly and ask for my affection, and sometimes it stays away, as if it can only be at peace when it is away from me."
　　"That's not what I meant..."
　　"Of course," Dong Lingjiu continued, "Comparing you to a cat, I always feel that you will not be willing. You are still young, and it is normal for your mind to be unstable. I am also afraid that you will make a decision that you will regret later, so I help you see clearly again and again...If you are really so 'devoted' and 'loyal', why did you promise me such a wish?"
　　Zheng Yuheng was speechless. It was indeed what he hoped most at the time that the empress dowager would listen to the doctor's advice and always remember to take medicine and rest. He was clearly aware that Dong Lingjiu was giving him a choice, but he still couldn't choose the most prudent one.
　　She said, "Did you get scared? Your hand is too cold."
　　After that, she put down her other hand that was playing chess and raised it to cover his fingers. The heavy psychological effect was stimulated by this, which made Zheng Yuheng's cheeks, ears, and even every corner of his body burn with shame and timidity.
　　He bit his teeth, his eyelashes trembled, and whispered, "I think... anyone who has the slightest offense to the queen should be cut into pieces and his bones should be crushed to ashes. It is a sin to be disrespectful and disrespectful to you, and I dare not."
　　Dong Lingjiu looked at him calmly.
　　"... But if it can help your safety and health, Zheng Yuheng is willing to die for you and the world in your hands. So I don't want to leave your side. If I don't do this, I will regret it."
　　Dong Lingjiu retracted her hand, looked at him gently for a moment, sighed softly, and said, "Good boy."
　　She let go of her hand, turned to the other's temples, and held his cheek and slid over it soothingly. The touch was as light as a feather, like a floating feather brushing past the corner of the eye.
　　The heat on his cheek faded away in her hands, returning to normal, only his heart was still beating violently, like a drum. This action seemed to be more excessive than finger contact, but at this moment, all he could feel was Dong Lingjiu's care, as tall as mountains and as high as the sun and the moon.
　　Until then, he realized that Dong Lingjiu's sleeves were still wet. He rolled them up for her in annoyance, got up and closed the window, and came over to urge her to change clothes.
　　Dong Lingjiu put her finger to her lips, while looking at the chess record, she scolded: "I just said you are hello, don't make a sound, my thoughts are going to be confused."
　　She paused, and said: "There is a palace banquet on the Qianqiu Festival, there is no need to come to take your pulse then, go home and rest for two days."