Chapter 485 Perception

In the following days, Huo Lin acted as usual.

He would attend court on time, review memorials, return home to dine with her, play with the children, and sleep in each other's arms at night.

On the surface, it looks no different from any other day.

But Jiang Huan gradually noticed something different.

During meals, he would still serve her food, but compared to the relaxed and smiling state he had been in a while ago, he seemed a bit more silent.

That evening, a palace maid brought him a hot towel, which Jiang Huan took, intending to wipe away the ink stains on his face after reviewing memorials.

But when she took Huo Lin's hand, Huo Lin's arm stiffened and he flinched.

Jiang Huan was taken aback and looked up at him: "What's wrong?"

Huo Lin remained calm, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"It's nothing. Maybe I was using the wrong posture when reviewing the memorials, and it got a little sore and numb from pressing down for too long."

Ouch, that hurts...

Listening to his brief, almost stingy, expression of his true feelings, and seeing his nonchalant demeanor, Jiang Huan felt a growing sense of doubt.

You're lying through your teeth. It's just that it hurts when you press it until it's numb.

She didn't say anything, pursed her lips, and grabbed his wrist without saying a word.

Huo Lin seemed to want to pull back, but Jiang Huan had already deftly rolled up his sleeve with her other hand.

In the candlelight, a large, obvious purplish-blue bruise on the outside of his right elbow was particularly glaring.

Jiang Huan gasped, her fingers instinctively reaching for the edge of the bruise, then paused, afraid of hurting him.

"What happened? How did it get like this? When did this happen?"

Seeing that she had already seen it, Huo Lin's eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance, so he stopped dodging and softened his tone, trying to soothe her.

"I got up in a hurry in the Imperial Study this afternoon and accidentally bumped into the corner of the table. It was just a minor bump, but it looked scary."

I should have known better than to wear wide sleeves; there's no way to hide it now.

She's definitely going to worry about me again, and she'll be frowning again.

He thought about it and was about to pull down his sleeve to cover himself.

Jiang Huan, however, refused to listen and grabbed his hand that was pulling at her sleeve, glaring at him.

"This can't be a minor bump and bruise! You've been hurt like this and haven't even made a sound. Do you still consider me your wife? No, I have to get the imperial physician to take a look. What if you've injured your bones? And..."

She touched the area under his eyes with her fingertips. "Have you been sleeping poorly lately? I see dark circles under your eyes. Is something bothering you at court?"

As Jiang Huan spoke, she felt something was amiss. Recalling his unusually calm demeanor recently, a bad premonition welled up in her heart.

Huo Lin took her hand in return, cupped it in his palm, and gently rubbed it. "It's really nothing, just a minor injury. The injuries I suffered when I was practicing martial arts were much more serious than this."

He tried to gloss over the issue with a lighthearted tone, "Besides, look at me, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? I can eat and sleep well, and I can even take walks with you."

However, the more casually he spoke, the more tense Jiang Huan became.

No, we must bring the imperial physician today, no matter what!

Suddenly, she clutched her chest, frowned, and looked as if she was about to collapse.

"Oh dear, I suddenly feel a tightness in my chest and can't breathe properly. It must be because I'm worried about your injury. No, I must summon the imperial physician to take a look at me as well, and to check your pulse properly as well. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight..."

When Huo Lin saw her posture, he knew she was faking it, but the way she clutched her chest made his heart soften, and he felt both amused and exasperated.

[To get the imperial physician to examine my pulse, she even resorted to a self-inflicted injury ruse; there's just no way to deal with her.]

He sighed helplessly, reached out and pulled her hand down from her chest, took it in his own, and conceded, "Alright, alright, I'll summon the imperial physician, whatever you say."

The imperial physician was quickly summoned. He first carefully examined Huo Lin's elbow injury and then took Huo Lin's pulse.

He stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty's elbow injury can be treated with medicine to disperse the bruising. However, has Your Majesty been overthinking lately and having trouble sleeping? Your pulse indicates some liver fire stagnation and slight depletion of heart blood. You need to rest and recuperate, and avoid overexertion."

Huo Lin remained expressionless: "I understand."

Oh dear, don't say so much, she'll start to worry if you say any more!

The imperial physician took Jiang Huan's pulse again, as she was experiencing "chest tightness," and found that everything was fine.

Jiang Huan feigned gratitude to the imperial physician, ordered a generous reward, and then watched him leave.

After the hall fell silent, Jiang Huan walked up to Huo Lin, put her hands on her hips, and glared at him angrily.

"Look, even the imperial physician said that you've been overthinking and your liver fire is stagnant. You still say you're fine!"

Huo Lin reached out to pull her, but she dodged him, so he could only say, "Imperial physicians always like to exaggerate. I am really fine, I just didn't sleep well."

[I wasn't lying. I wonder how the investigation on Shen Yi's side is going. Those parasites are truly ubiquitous, causing me a lot of trouble. They need to be cleaned up as soon as possible...]

Hearing his clearly agitated expression, Jiang Huan felt a sudden alarm bell ring in her mind.

Something definitely happened!

And it's probably related to her, otherwise why would he try so hard to hide it?

She suppressed the urge to press him, knowing that forcing him at this moment would be useless and would only make him more wary.

Jiang Huan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The hard look on her face softened, and she compromised, saying, "Okay, you're alright, I believe you. But you have to promise me that you'll get some rest and won't stay up all night reading memorials anymore."

Huo Lin relaxed his tense shoulders a little when he saw that she was no longer asking questions.

He pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and whispered, "Okay, I promise you, I won't stay up late."

That night, Huo Lin indeed went to bed early.

In the stillness of the night, with the curtains drawn, Huo Lin habitually embraced Jiang Huan from behind, his arms tightening around her, his cheek buried in the warm crook of her neck, his breath warm and long.

Jiang Huan relaxed her body and pretended to be asleep, showing no reaction.

However, the jumbled thoughts that Huo Lin had suppressed all day, becoming less tightly controlled in his drowsy state, intermittently reached her ears.

We can't let her worry. The rumors in Jiangnan must be suppressed as soon as possible. We need to find the source and wipe them out completely...

My Empress is so wonderful, how can she be slandered by others... They must be made to pay the price...

Jiang Huan closed her eyes, her thick eyelashes trembling gently in the darkness, her heart filled with turmoil.

So that's how it is. It sounds like Jiangnan is spreading rumors against her, and they're quite malicious.

That's why he acted so strangely, silently bearing the pressure and dealing with the troubles all by himself, just so she wouldn't know about his worries.

That fool, protecting her so tightly, yet he's holding back his anger...

She quietly clenched her fingers, having already made up her mind.

He didn't want her to know, so she pretended not to know, but she couldn't just sit idly by.

Since someone has set their sights on her, she, as the person directly involved, has no reason to hide behind Huo Lin and let him face the storm alone.

There are some things she needs to figure out herself.