In the vast northern wilderness, military tents stood tall. Despite the great victory over the northern barbarians and the return to the capital, there was not a hint of joy on the faces of the soldiers and generals in the entire military camp. Almost everyone's gaze was fixed on the central tent, the one where their Empress who had had led them into battle resided. Inside the tent, the empress sat upright at a table, her eyes fixed on the group of generals kneeling before her. It was silent inside the tent. After a moment of coughing into her sleeve, she spoke slowly and firmly, "The edict of abdication has been sent to the capital with haste. From now on, it is your duty to assist the new emperor with all your heart and protect the borders of our great empire. Crush the ambitions of the foreign tribes." "Your Majesty's orders shall be obeyed!" Compared to the slightly hoarse female voice that had spoken earlier, the response from the crowd filled the tent. However, it was clear that some were holding back tears, their voices thick with emotion. After a moment of coughing into her sleeve, she spoke slowly and firmly, "The edict of abdication has been sent to the capital with haste. From now on, it is your duty to assist the new emperor with all your heart and protect the borders of our Great Yin Dynasty and quell any foreign ambitions of invasion." "Your Majesty's orders shall be obeyed!" Compared to the slightly hoarse female voice that had spoken earlier, the response from the crowd filled the tent. However, it was clear that some were holding back tears, their voices thick with emotion. "You may all leave now, I want to rest." "Please take care, Your Majesty." As she watched the last person exit the tent, Jiang Lingxi, the empress, finally relaxed her straight back a little. A cup of water was offered to her, and she took it and drank it all in one go. "Your Majesty, Qing Yuan will help you to your bed to rest." Jiang Lingxi turned to see Qing Yuan, her eyes red from crying, and couldn't help but chuckle, "You're already in your thirties, and you're still crying like a child!" Meeting her eyes, which held both authority and a hint of gentle humor, Qing Yuan quickly blinked away her tears and tried to smile, "Your Majesty, please don't make fun of Qing Yuan." With Qing Yuan's support, Jiang Lingxi slowly rose to her feet and walked to the bed, taking her hand as she did so, "I know my body better than anyone. I'm afraid I won't make it back to the capital." Using her eyes to stop Qing Yuan, who was about to speak with red eyes, she continued, "With this victory, the northern barbarians will not dare to invade our borders for a hundred years. The new emperor is someone I chose personally. He is kind-hearted and has the Prime minister to assist him, so I have no worries. As for you, life in the palace may be comfortable, but it is not free. After I'm gone, if you want to leave the palace, you can do so. The estate and manor I gave you years ago have been well-maintained." "Your Majesty!" Qing Yuan nearly bit her lip, but she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. In just a moment, she was sobbing uncontrollably. "There's also the flood in the south. The prime minister went there personally to govern, and I'm afraid I won't be able to see the report that Shen Qing will send." "The prime minister is a talented and capable man. He will not let Your Majesty worry." Jiang Lingxi thought of that proud and bold figure, the only one who dared to speak up to her in the court, and she couldn't help but smile slightly, "That's true." "Your Majesty, you should rest. You still need to take your medicine later." "Alright." When Qing Yuan carefully returned with a bowl of freshly brewed medicine, she saw the empress sleeping peacefully, her face thin and serene. It was a face that could captivate people even amidst a thousand troops, despite the signs of hardship it now bore. It had been a long time since the empress had slept so deeply. Wait, ever since she had caught a cold, the empress would always furrow her brows slightly, even in her sleep. "Crack!" The medicine bowl fell to the ground, the dark brown liquid splattering everywhere. But the empress on the bed never opened her eyes again, never looked up at her and smiled, chiding her for being clumsy. In the 29th year of Yuan Zhao's reign, the Yuan Zhao empress, who had bravely seized the throne amidst a struggle among her brothers, passed away during her campaign against the northern barbarians. Her death came as a result of an untreated injury and a cold she had caught. Thus, the brilliant era of Yuan Zhao came to an end. From that day on, the mountains and tombs wept. ********************* "I think Xixi's eyelids are twitching. Is she going to wake up?" "You stay here and watch her. I'll go call the doctor to take a look." The sound of voices and footsteps coming and going, along with various other noises, filled Jiang Lingxi's ears, causing her to frown in annoyance. She felt like she had been immersed in a distant and lengthy dream. It had been a rare occasion for her to sleep soundly since ascending the throne, and now someone was disturbing her. It was only when her eyelids were about to be lifted that she was forced to open her eyes. In front of her were two heads, one on the left and one on the right, slowly coming into focus. "She's awake, she's finally awake!" "Jiang Lingxi, how many fingers am I holding up?" As the light flooded in, the dream she had been having while asleep quickly faded, but Jiang Lingxi still managed to capture some key information. It might not have been a dream, but the brief life of a girl who shared her name and surname. The two people in front of her, who had just appeared in her dream, were proof of that. Looking at the short-haired man in a white coat, who was now called a doctor instead of a physician, Jiang Lingxi stared at the two fingers he held up in front of her: "...' She closed her eyes and opened them again, struggling to speak: "Two!" "Vision and cognition are normal." The doctor retracted his hand, "But to be safe, we'll need to observe her for a while longer and complete some tests before discharging her. The patient may still experience some discomfort, such as dizziness or nausea. Let me know if there are any issues." Tong Yue nodded repeatedly as she saw the doctor out, while Lu Zhengzheng, who remained by the bed, looked delighted, "Xixi, how are you feeling now? Is there anything uncomfortable?" Hearing the nickname 'Xixi' again, Jiang Lingxi couldn't help but feel a little dazed. The only person who had ever called her that was her younger sister, Princess Jin'an, who had passed away at a young age. Coming back to her senses, she realized she still didn't like lying down and looking up at people, "I want to sit up." Lu Zhengzheng quickly adjusted the bed to a sitting position, asking as she did so, "Is this height okay?" "It's fine." Lu Zhengzheng stopped her movements, feeling a bit nervous for some reason. Facing Xixi, especially when she looked at her, made her feel a little tense. Even when Xixi used to get angry with her, she had never felt this nervous. Feeling that it was awkward to just stand there, she thought for a moment and asked, "Then, Xixi, do you want some water?" Jiang Lingxi naturally noticed the nervousness and unease of the young girl in front of her, and she understood why. Even though she had been trying her best to restrain herself, the aura of authority that she had cultivated over nearly thirty years of ruling could not be easily suppressed. Feeling a dryness in her throat, she nodded, "Yes." As Lu Zhengzheng heaved a sigh of relief and turned to get some water, Jiang Lingxi looked down at her now soft and smooth palms, free of any calluses. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Even though she still couldn't quite believe it, the fact was that she had been reborn into the body of a twenty-two-year-old girl. What surprised her even more was that the era in which this girl lived was over a thousand years after the Great Yin Dynasty that she was familiar with. However, being able to cross over a thousand years of history and live again, witnessing the prosperity of this era, was a blessing to her. Even the mess that the original owner of this body had left behind before her death didn't seem so difficult to accept when she thought about it this way. _____________ A/N: The new book starts on Cloud Rise, a double-crossing ancient and modern theme. Interested friends remember to click the collection ~