陛下近日来精神十分不济。传御医来看过好几次，依旧神思疲倦、彻夜难眠。

Of late, Her Majesty had been in poor spirits. The imperial physicians had been summoned several times, yet still she remained weary in mind and body, unable to sleep through the long watches of the night.

治不好陛下，御医们都胆战心惊地伏在地上，陛下却只是自嘲：“也许是朕年纪大了吧。”说完便出乎意料地挥手让他们退下了。

Having failed to help their sovereign, the physicians prostrated themselves upon the floor, trembling with fear. Yet Her Majesty only smiled ruefully. “Perhaps I am simply growing old.” And, to their surprise, she waved them away.

陛下把没批完的奏折放到一旁，揉着太阳穴闭上眼睛休息。一旁的侍女颇有眼力见地上前给她按摩肩颈，想让她拥有片刻的宁静与放松。

She set aside the memorials she had yet to finish, closed her eyes, and pressed her fingers to her temples. An attentive maid stepped forward to massage her shoulders and neck, hoping to grant her mistress a brief moment of peace.

武元照前天夜里做梦了，被惊醒后，就一直心悸。心口钝钝地疼。

Two nights ago, Wu Yuanzhao had dreamed. She had woken with a start, her heart pounding ever since, a dull ache lingering deep within her chest.

她又想到梦里出现的人，愣怔片刻，让女官把侍女们遣散，一个人走到寝殿坐下。

The person from her dream drifted into her thoughts again. In a daze for a moment, she bade the court lady dismiss the attendants, then went alone to her chamber and sat down.

她从妆奁中取出一个有些陈旧的锦盒，陷入沉思。

From her dressing case, she took out an old brocade box and sank into a reverie.

她年轻时总以为除了权势以外，任何东西在她心里都不重要。

She had always believed, when she was young, that nothing but power could hold a place in her heart.

如今途穷日暮，她看着铜镜里的自己，皱纹和银丝也无可避免地开始爬上她的脸庞与额角。

Now, with the journey far behind her and evening drawing near, she looked at herself in the bronze mirror, with wrinkles inevitably creasing her face and threads of silver creeping into her hair.

武元照想，她也许不是完全对的。李治走了，高阳走了，子女同她离心，生命中的仇敌或是她曾付诸感情的那些人，都在逐渐离她远去。她俯视着自己的江山和子民，忽觉天地混沌、无处依托，爱恨皆同水东流。

Perhaps, Wu Yuanzhao thought, she had not always been right. Li Zhi was gone. Gao Yang was gone. Her children had turned from her. Her enemies, and those she had once held dear, were all slipping beyond her reach. She looked down upon her empire and her people, and suddenly felt adrift in the vastness, with nothing left to hold on to. Love and hatred alike had flowed away with the years.

还有那个人。

And then— there was him.