Gu Chengrui spent some time playing with the children before sending them off to class. He then retreated to the study, meticulously recording the exquisite prescriptions gleaned from his nine past lives.
News of Gu Chengrui's awakening reached the palace, eliciting a heavy sigh of relief from the Emperor. "Two days off is too little," he declared. "Grant him five days to recover comfortably at home."
"Your Majesty's kindness will be relayed to my lord," Lin Yifan responded gratefully.
"Go. Fetch him some tonics as well," the Emperor instructed Eunuch Qian. He then dispatched another eunuch to inform the Empress, who immediately burst into tears upon receiving the news.
The pressure of the past two days has been immense. While she enjoyed the Emperor's favor, Gu Chengrui's absence threatened her sole source of support at court.
With him gone, whispers of selecting new consorts would surely resurface, jeopardizing her comfortable position.