Li Yun didn’t make a sound. He hadn’t yet figured out an excuse, but Ming Lingyi moved quickly, directly undoing the gauze on his chest.

This time, Li Yun didn’t let Ming Lingyi continue her antics. The moment he felt a cool draft on his chest, he raised a hand and covered her eyes, preventing her from seeing anything else.

Ming Lingyi: "Li Yun, let go!"

Li Yun: "I won’t. You’re the one who’s looking, and you think you’re in the right?"

Ming Lingyi: "..."

She felt her ears grow hot—not from embarrassment, but from anger.

The moment she undid the gauze, Ming Lingyi noticed the scent of blood grow much stronger.

She reached up and pried Li Yun’s fingers one by one from her eyes. When she looked down again, she found that he had acted quickly, already managing to cover most of the wound on his chest with one hand.

But even so, Ming Lingyi still saw the bloodstains on the gauze, as well as the surrounding wounds that Li Yun hadn’t managed to hide completely.

Her gaze paused for a moment.

Li Yun’s chest was covered in scars.

Even with a single glance, Ming Lingyi could see numerous old scars overlapping with fresh wounds.

Ming Lingyi knew perfectly well that five years ago, Li Yun hadn’t had this many scars, especially not on his chest.

’Who could have kept him so constantly injured over the past few years?’

Ming Lingyi couldn’t imagine who.

Remembering Li Yun’s earlier excuse—that he had accidentally injured himself—Ming Lingyi fell silent for a long moment.

She averted her gaze, knowing that Li Yun probably wouldn’t open up, no matter how she asked.

When Li Yun was distracted, she slipped her hand out of his grasp.

"I heard from Huazhao that you often forget to eat. If you don’t want to die, then eat properly. And don’t make a five-year-old child worry about you," Ming Lingyi said.

Li Yun felt the emptiness in his palm, but seeing the look on Ming Lingyi’s face, he didn’t probe any further.

’With no one to share his meals with, he’d only just realized how tasteless it was to eat alone.’

’Whether the Imperial Chefs’ cooking was good or bad made no difference to him; it all tasted like wax anyway.’

’Eating was just a means to fill his stomach. If he didn’t feel hungry, he couldn’t be bothered to have a meal served.’

’None of the palace staff dared to urge him to eat, and even if someone had, he wouldn’t have paid them any mind.’

But when Ming Lingyi said it, Li Yun actually took her words to heart.

"I understand," he said.

Ming Lingyi was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Li Yun spoke again.

"But I have no appetite eating alone," Li Yun said.

Ming Lingyi looked up, her gaze fixed on his eyes with clear scrutiny.

Li Yun felt no guilt and had no intention of looking away, quietly letting her scrutinize him.

Ultimately, Li Yun’s shamelessness won out.

Ming Lingyi let out a cold laugh. "If you want someone to dine with you, isn’t that just a matter of saying the word? There’s no shortage of people in this world who would want to dine with the Emperor."

"But I only want to eat with you."

"The Imperial Chefs’ skills are nowhere near as good as yours," Li Yun added quickly.

Ming Lingyi scoffed, a laugh born of anger. "Am I your personal chef?"

If the Imperial Chefs couldn’t satisfy him, she certainly didn’t have such great ability.

Li Yun: "You’re my wife."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

"You make so much for Li Yan. You can’t play favorites like this," Li Yun said.

Having shown weakness once, the words seemed to flow much more easily after that.

’As for shame... what was that compared to the importance of keeping Ming Lingyi here?’

Ming Lingyi let out another exasperated laugh. ’How did I never realize what a rogue he was?’

"Are you the same as Huazhao?" Ming Lingyi snapped.

Li Yun fell silent. He knew, of course, that he couldn’t possibly compare to Li Yan in Ming Lingyi’s heart. At the thought, he couldn’t stop a surge of jealousy—jealousy toward his own son.

’Before, all the pastries and meals Ming Lingyi made by hand were for me. But now, I don’t get any. If I want some, I even have to resort to "bullying" my own son.’

Li Yun clutched his chest, seemingly in great pain.

In truth, Li Yun wasn’t feeling well at all.

The Imperial Physician had warned him to avoid any major emotional swings during this period. Otherwise, he could injure his heart, and a full recovery would be difficult even with extended rest.

’But when faced with Ming Lingyi, how could he possibly remain as calm as still water?’

"COUGH, COUGH—"

The sound of a suppressed cough reached Ming Lingyi’s ears.

Ming Lingyi: "..." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She suspected Li Yun was faking it to get his way, but she had never, in all her memories, seen him look so weak.

Ming Lingyi’s expression darkened. "Just this once," she said.

’She was only willing to compromise for Little Bun’s sake. Otherwise, for every day Li Yun remained unwell, wouldn’t Li Yan have one more day to worry?’

’She couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.’

A smile finally broke across Li Yun’s face. "Alright." After speaking, he called out, "Attendants!" and Liu Ye appeared at the door with several others.

"Take the Empress to the small kitchen," Li Yun said.

He had a small kitchen here prepared especially for Ming Lingyi. In the past, Li Yun hadn’t wanted her to toil away in a hot kitchen, but Ming Lingyi loved making things with her own hands. Not wanting to restrain her, Li Yun had small kitchens built in both Taiji Palace and Kunning Palace for her exclusive use.

However, for the past five years, both of these kitchens had been locked. No one dared to enter.

Today, the doors to the small kitchen were finally opened, welcoming back their former mistress.

Ming Lingyi had just walked to the entrance of the small kitchen when she saw two familiar figures.

Before she could even speak, Yu Yi and Yanxia’s eyes were already red.

"My Lady!"

Yu Yi was slightly more composed; after all, she had already seen Ming Lingyi when she had accompanied the Crown Prince.

But for Yanxia, this was the first time in many years that she was seeing Ming Lingyi’s familiar face.

Although this face looked much younger and more tender than the lady in her memories, those eyes were unmistakably familiar. It would be impossible for Yanxia to be mistaken.

Liu Ye had personally escorted the Empress to the small kitchen. When he heard how the two Ladies-in-charge from the Eastern Palace addressed the Empress, his expression stiffened for a moment.

But given that Yu Yi and Yanxia were the Empress’s own people, it wasn’t his place as the Chief Eunuch to comment. Liu Ye pretended he hadn’t heard a thing and said with a cheerful smile, "Miss Yu Yi and Miss Yanxia used to be in Your Majesty’s service. The Emperor considered that Your Majesty would be more comfortable with your own people, so he specifically instructed this servant to summon the two Chief Maids."

Ming Lingyi: "Thank you for the trouble."

Liu Ye didn’t dare take the credit. "It is all due to the Emperor’s thorough consideration for Your Majesty. This servant was merely carrying out his orders."

After speaking, Liu Ye, likely sensing he was in the way, quickly bowed and withdrew.

The moment Liu Ye departed, there were two soft THUDS as Yanxia and Yu Yi dropped to their knees before Ming Lingyi.