If Shen Xiaoyan had known that her casual remark would move the confused old man so much, she wouldn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
Zheng Wei also noticed the expression on the confused old man's face and continued, "I wronged you before."
The old man quickly waved his hand, "How could it be a wrongful accusation? It still concerns me."
Hearing this, Zheng Wei did not argue with him further; it was a meaningless matter anyway.
Who to blame or not to blame, it didn't matter now.
What mattered was that his Mi Mi would finally wake up.
All the things he had experienced during this time made him feel like a walking corpse every day.
Now that he knew Mi Mi was going to get better, he finally regained his vitality.
"No one needs to stand around anymore. Everyone go back. When Mi Mi truly wakes up, we'll have plenty of opportunities to talk."
Although Zheng Wei's words were meant to be comforting, they were also the truth.
Everyone knew that waiting would be of no use, so they slowly walked out together.
After everyone had left, Zheng Wei looked at Shen Xiaoyan again.
Shen Xiaoyan's face was still pale, but compared to before, she seemed to have a little more color.
His fingers lingered on Shen Xiaoyan's face for a long time before Zheng Wei reluctantly withdrew his hand.
"Mi Mi, please wake up soon."
As his voice faded, only silence remained in the room.
After a while, Zheng Wei stood up and walked out.
As he left, he closed the door behind him.
Little did he know that at the moment the door was closed, the corner of Shen Xiaoyan's lips curved into a small arc.
Entering the living room, Zheng Wei was first startled to see Sima Han and Yi Zhiye sitting by the table, then he slowly walked over.
"What was the matter with going into the palace today?"
Seeing Zheng Wei's inquiry, Sima Han and Yi Zhiye exchanged a glance, and then Yi Zhiye slowly recounted what had happened in the Forbidden City that day.
"Prince Duan is still waiting for you in front. Do you want to see him?"
After explaining the events, Yi Zhiye asked this question.
Zheng Wei raised his eyebrows, "See him? Why wouldn't I?"
Zheng Xiang had run over eagerly, simply wanting to see if his mother was here so he could leave.
How could he let him come all this way for nothing, only to try and sneak in again later?
He might as well let him know that Kong Huangwei was not here at all, so he wouldn't be restless in the future.
Seeing that Zheng Wei had his own plans, Yi Zhiye nodded, "This is up to you. What did Shen Xiaoyan say when she woke up just now?"
Zheng Wei gave a wry smile, "She only woke up for a moment and only said two sentences."
"What did she say?"
Zheng Wei glanced at Yi Zhiye, his gaze conveying only one meaning: are you stupid!
Yi Zhiye looked at Zheng Wei in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Zheng Wei pressed his forehead. He thought he was pretending to be confused, but he didn't expect him to be genuinely confused. He said helplessly, "The two sentences I just said inside."
He sighed and continued, "Mi Mi's waking time was extremely short, and speaking was very difficult. She tried her best but could only say two sentences before she couldn't say anything more."
Yi Zhiye was surprised, "And you can still feel at ease with that?"
Zheng Wei said helplessly, "I can't feel at ease, but what else can I do? It's obvious that Mi Mi still needs to sleep. I can't make her worry."
Yi Zhiye fell silent.
He had to admit that Zheng Wei's words were very true.
Even though they knew it would cause mutual worry, they had to pretend to be nonchalant, as if only in this way could they truly reassure the other party and themselves.
"Alright, don't think too much about it. Now we can only wait for Mi Mi to wake up on her own. We can't help her. The only thing I'm thinking about now is preparing a stable home for her before she wakes up. No more chaos and miscellaneous matters."
Yi Zhiye patted Zheng Wei's shoulder, "Your determination is great. I believe you can do it. Now, you should go and deal with Prince Duan."
After speaking, Yi Zhiye walked out.
The whole morning had been exhausting.
If it weren't for the group of court officials waiting for him to have a meal, he really wanted to go back and lie down right now.
He regretted inviting those court officials for a meal.
Could he send them away now?
Yi Zhiye's thoughts were in a mess, but his pace quickened.
In the room, Sima Han saw that Yi Zhiye had already left, then looked at Zheng Wei, "You say, why did imperial brother become like this? He can implicate innocent people for some illusory and useless holy water."
Sima Han's voice held a hint of restraint and a bit of pain.
Zheng Wei looked at Sima Han and, seeing his expression, suddenly smiled.
"In this world, what remains unchanged? Even you are constantly changing. You can't say you don't know this. What you can't accept is simply that others haven't changed according to your wishes."
As Zheng Wei spoke, Sima Han looked at him in surprise.
After a long pause, Sima Han smiled, "You're right. I think this way, and others will too."
After speaking, Sima Han stood up, "Let's go. We should head to the front."
The two looked at each other and smiled, heading towards the front courtyard together.
In the main hall of the front courtyard, a group of court officials were sitting and chatting while drinking tea. Zheng Xiang sat alone, not joining them.
"Prince Duan, didn't you leave with the Grand Tutor just now? Why are you back alone?"
The person speaking was Yue Zhong, who had just been promoted to one of the assisting court officials that day.
Yue Zhong was just past forty years old and was Yue Qingxin's second uncle.
After Sima Han was demoted, Yue Qingxin resolutely followed Sima Han and left, which also caused the Le family to sever ties with her. This was also why Yue Qingxin and others did not contact the Le family after returning to the capital.
This morning's meeting was the first time Yue Zhong had seen Sima Han in many years.
Seeing Sima Han mature, steady, and favored by the Empress Dowager, Yue Zhong naturally began to scheme in his heart.
Earlier, seeing Zheng Xiang go directly to the backyard with Sima Han and Yi Zhiye, he thought their relationship was close and was secretly jealous.
But who knew that after a short while, Zheng Xiang would return alone.
And after returning, he sat alone, sulking, not knowing what he was thinking.
Having served as an official for many years, Yue Zhong was very good at gauging people's thoughts. Seeing this, he naturally knew that Zheng Xiang must have been offended by something.
Otherwise, even if Zheng Xiang had always been arrogant and disdained talking to others, in such a setting, no one would have come up to flatter him.
The reason he didn't approach earlier was entirely because he saw that his mood was not good.
Yue Zhong felt that this was his opportunity. Although he was an assisting court official, he was not close to the Empress Dowager, and he was naturally not as favored as Zheng Xiang. If he could build a good relationship with Zheng Xiang, it would be a great thing.
Unfortunately, the reality was very harsh.
No matter how Yue Zhong smiled, Zheng Xiang acted as if he didn't see him.
Yue Zhong waited for a long time, and seeing that Zheng Xiang was still in a daze, he felt discouraged.
At the same time, he also resented Zheng Xiang in his heart.
Just then, Yi Zhiye walked in. Not long after he entered, Sima Han and Zheng Wei walked in side-by-side.
Although the court officials did not recognize Zheng Wei, seeing that he had come with the Grand Tutor and the fifth prince, they all greeted him politely.
After some pleasantries, everyone took their seats.
Zheng Xiang was surprised to see Zheng Wei enter, then felt a little happier.
He had felt unhappy earlier in the backyard because he hadn't seen Yi Zhiye. Now that Zheng Wei had come over by himself, was it because he valued his royal father very much?
If Zheng Wei knew what Zheng Xiang was thinking, he would have shaken his head helplessly.
This person was too self-confident, which was actually a problem.
Although Zheng Wei had come, he did not like this kind of occasion.
Helplessly, he could only sit there and listen to Yi Zhiye deal with these people.
It was only then that Zheng Wei realized that Yi Zhiye was indeed very capable when it came to serious matters.
Normally, Yi Zhiye was always jovial and lacked proper demeanor. He could barely move when he saw delicious food, and his behavior was nothing like someone who had lived for hundreds of years.
But looking at him now, socializing with the court officials, Zheng Wei was surprised to find that he was not the way he usually appeared.
Time passed quickly as Zheng Wei pondered, yet it also felt as if there wasn't much time.
Seeing a servant come in to report that it was time for dinner, Zheng Wei saw Yi Zhiye let out a long breath, looking relieved, and couldn't help but chuckle.
However, this kind of Yi Zhiye truly made Zheng Wei feel that he was very good.
There are many things you may not like to do, but you must know how to do them, and you can't be flustered when the time comes.
Yi Zhiye had fully demonstrated the importance of this sentence to him today.
Comparing himself with Yi Zhiye, Zheng Wei instantly felt that his temper still needed tempering.
Sima Han also needed tempering.
From beginning to end, Sima Han sat there with a stern face, not saying a word.
Some court officials tried to get close to him, but were scared away by his cold expression.
The only one who was not scared away was naturally Yue Zhong, Yue Qingxin's second uncle.
Yue Zhong, who had been very angry about Zheng Xiang's indifference earlier, his eyes lit up the moment he saw Sima Han enter.
He had seen Sima Han in the Empress Dowager's palace earlier, but he didn't have a chance to speak.
Now that they were not under the watchful eyes of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, there would be no one constantly watching their every move.
Therefore, Yue Zhong eagerly scurried over to Sima Han's side.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that Sima Han's temper was even worse than Zheng Xiang's.
When Zheng Xiang had nothing on his mind, he would still respond to flattery.
But Sima Han was different.
He would not even bat an eyelid at the flattery of others, especially those who had kicked him when he was down, even if they were kneeling before him now.
Although he knew that this was not very good, Sima Han just didn't want to wrong himself.
No matter what he had to do in the future, he didn't want to wrong himself.
Thus, Yue Zhong fawned over Sima Han for a long time, but Sima Han did not even spare him a glance.
Seeing that everyone in the room had stood up to go for dinner, Yue Zhong's face darkened.
"Fifth Prince, what do you mean by this? Have you become even more arrogant after being away for a few years?"
Sima Han glanced at him indifferently and then looked away again. "That would require someone to be in my eyes first."
"What?" Yue Zhong was a little confused by what Sima Han said and instinctively asked.