Ye Jingchen was so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot he was still soaking in the bathtub.

In early spring, the air is still chilly. Soaking the area below the neck in hot water can make the area above the neck feel cold, so one instinctively moves closer to the heat source.

The jade disc was smooth, and without realizing it, Ye Jingchen's neck shifted away from the jade pillow, and suddenly, he slid directly into the water.

The water in the bath wasn't deep, but only when he was standing. When he slid in, the water would definitely cover his mouth and nose.

Caught off guard, Ye Jingchen was immediately forced to swallow a mouthful of bathwater.

He instinctively struggled, but as soon as he moved, a pair of hands grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the bath.

"Cough cough cough—" After choking on water, his throat was extremely uncomfortable. Once he was out of danger, Ye Jingchen immediately burst into a series of earth-shattering coughs.

Although he was dragged out of the water, the person who pulled him out simply tossed him onto the edge of the pool and watched him with their arms crossed.

Even though the other person was wearing a heavy mask and his facial expression was completely hidden, Ye Jingchen could tell from those dark eyes that Chenxi was mocking him.

His words of reprimand to the palace servants were still fresh in my mind—

"The water in this bath is so shallow, it doesn't even reach my chest. How could I possibly drown?"

The slap in the face came so quickly!

Ye Jingchen felt like he was going to cough his lungs out, but at the same time, he thought his face might hurt even more.

Just then, a palace maid's cautious voice came from outside: "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Startled, Ye Jingchen sprang to his feet and said fiercely, "I'm fine! I'm going to continue my bath, don't disturb me!"

It was quiet outside, but Ye Jingchen coughed again, his voice filled with a heart-wrenching pain.

As he coughed, he belatedly realized that he was completely naked, not even wearing underwear, with his buttocks and genitals exposed and feeling chilly.

They've seen everything!

Even though he was still in the body of a child, Ye Jingchen blushed with embarrassment.

"Turn around and don't look at me!" he sternly ordered his guards.

Chenxi was very obedient and immediately turned her back.

"I just wanted to play in the water, I definitely didn't drown, did you hear me? I don't want anyone else to know about this!" Ye Jingchen threatened fiercely.

Although his tone was fierce, he hadn't gone through puberty yet, and his voice still sounded childish. Although he was fierce, it also had a babyish quality, making him seem cute and fierce, but not very intimidating.

"Yes." Chenxi's voice was calm and unwavering, showing no concern for her master's unreasonable behavior.

Although his master seemed more irritable and easily angered since falling into the water, he didn't seem as unpleasant to him as before.

Previously, his master didn't seem to treat them, the bodyguards, as human beings. Now, in his master's eyes, at least he was a human being.

Could it be because he saved his master in the Imperial Garden?

But he had saved his master countless times, and his attitude toward him had never changed before.

After thinking about it for a while, Chenxi subconsciously felt that thinking about these things was too troublesome, so she put those thoughts aside.

He's just a heartless bodyguard; he should just do his job. Why think so much?

Having personally experienced choking on water, and with his throat now feeling like it was on fire, Ye Jingchen neither wanted nor dared to go into the water again for some time.

He took his elaborately styled clothes and struggled for a while before finally managing to put them on properly. He couldn't wait to leave the side hall.

When Ye Jingchen lay back down on the bed, he felt utterly exhausted.

It's not the body that's tired, it's the mind.

Suddenly arriving in a strange world, facing unfamiliar surroundings and strangers, he was on edge, not daring to relax for a moment. Luckily, he was a thirty-year-old soul with some resilience, otherwise he would have definitely collapsed.

Perhaps, only when he falls asleep can he relax a little bit?

Ye Jingchen fell into a deep sleep.

However, he did not find the relaxation he desired in his sleep.

In his dream, he slipped into the bathtub again, but no one saved him. He sank to the bottom, feeling a suffocating pain, his body growing colder and colder...

Is he going to die again right after being reborn?

If that's the case, why did God give him a second chance at life, just to play a trick on him?

The will to survive is strongest when a person is on the verge of death.

I don't want to die!

"I don't want to die..."

Ye Jingchen murmured aloud.

"Chen'er, your father will not let you die!"

"Imperial Physician Zhang, quickly find a way to bring down the Crown Prince's fever. If anything happens to the Crown Prince, I will make sure that everyone in your Imperial Hospital is buried with him!"

The emperor sat before his son's bedside, looking at his beloved son who was delirious with fever, and felt his heart breaking.

All the imperial physicians on duty at the Imperial Medical Academy had arrived, along with the original palace servants of the Eastern Palace and the emperor's attendants, almost filling the sleeping quarters to capacity. Everyone was anxious and fearful.

After all, the Crown Prince's safety was directly related to their lives. If the Crown Prince didn't make it through the night, none of them would see the sun rise tomorrow.

As the primary target of the emperor's wrath, the other imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy remained silent, except for Physician Zhang, who was clearly lost in thought, his face sometimes filled with doubt and sometimes with a furrowed brow.

When His Highness the Crown Prince woke up during the day, he had clearly examined him and everything was fine. How could he have symptoms of internal fluid accumulation at night?

Could it be that His Highness has drowned again?

But is that even possible?

If the high fever was indeed caused by the second drowning and exposure to cold, then given His Majesty's high regard for the Crown Prince, the entire Eastern Palace might not survive.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!