In duplicate

In the gradually darkening night, Lin Huai'en returned to his own temple, poured medicine on his bloody scrapes, and bandaged them. The medicine seeped into his flesh, bringing a sharp pain, but Lin Huai'en didn't even utter a sound of pain.

After treating the wound, Lin Huai'en couldn't help but be a little absent-minded. His eyes were fixed on a certain place, but his gaze was scattered without focus. His lips were tightly pursed, and he refused to say out loud the depression and discomfort in his heart.

The next day.

Lin Huai'en, who had not slept all night, crawled out from the shadow of the bed. After getting out of bed, he went to the familiar Golden Palace in the hazy morning light and waited silently on the phoenix chair.

At five o'clock in the morning, Emperor Shaoze arrived on time, stepped onto the long golden steps, and sat on the dragon throne in the center.

Lin Huai'en secretly glanced at Di Shaoze and checked his clothes, searching for any suspicious traces bit by bit, not even missing the details of the corners of his clothes.

After several rounds of scrutiny, it was confirmed that Di Shaoze did not have any of the little goblin's personal belongings on him.

Lin Huai'en was still not reassured, so he asked again, "Did Your Majesty sleep in Chaoyang Palace last night?"

Di Shaoze's eyes were drowsy, and he rubbed his brows with his fingertips before answering, "No. Fox Ji was frightened by a wild beast last night and was too scared to sleep. I coaxed her all night in Zhenghe Palace."

Hearing this, Lin Huai'en pursed his lower lip tightly, restraining his trembling lips. He found it difficult to speak another word, afraid that he would ask Di Shaoze more ambiguous and affectionate questions, so he only replied with a nasal "hmm".

Di Shaoze turned his handsome face away, suddenly stretched out his hand, and forcibly pinched Lin Huai'en's small chin with his palm. Naturally, he saw the dark circles under Lin Huai'en's eyes, which were quite conspicuous under the pair of clear almond eyes.

Di Shaoze sneered, "I didn't expect Lord Lin to be afraid of wild beasts? He was so scared that he couldn't sleep all night?"

Lin Huai'en turned away his twinkling eyes, "It's... it's okay..."

In the five years before he met Di Shaoze, he had experienced storms of all sizes and endured countless hardships, which had forged a heart that was unshakable despite the wind and rain. Aside from his natural fear of thunder, Lin Huai'en was not afraid of anything else.

But no matter how tough his temper was, he was still just an ordinary person when it came to love. The reason he couldn't sleep last night was, frankly, just the sadness and loss a wife felt for her husband.

Thinking back to when they first fell in love, Di Shaoze had said he would teach him about love. This sleepless night was the first wound that love had inflicted...

Thinking of this, Lin Huai'en's face became paler and weaker, and the tip of his chin trembled slightly. He was like a fragile cat, shivering in Di Shaoze's palm.

Di Shaoze's phoenix eyes flickered twice, and he retracted his hand, no longer doing anything to embarrass him.

After the court session, Lin Huai'en helped review memorials in the imperial study. After processing the memorials, Lin Huai'en suppressed his sleepiness and worked tirelessly to go to the inner palace to check the roster and distribute the monthly wages to the maids and attendants in each palace.

Lin Huai'en was busy with government affairs all year round and had no knowledge of the ways of husband and wife. She could only follow her mother's teachings, handle all the affairs in the backyard, and fulfill her duties as a wife.

By the time he finished all his work, it was already approaching dusk. Lin Huai'en finally had some free time and returned to his palace. At the reminder of the palace servants, he discovered that Fox Lady was waiting at a table under the long corridor, having been waiting for a long time.

Fox Princess put down the warm tea and said with a sweet smile, "I think Fox Princess was favored last night and angered the Queen, so she made Fox Princess wait for so long today. I want to teach Fox Princess a lesson."

Lin Huai'en had been so busy that he'd accidentally forgotten to pay his respects every day. But in Fox Ji's eyes, it seemed like Lin Huai'en was jealous and had done it on purpose. Fox Ji wasn't upset, but rather rather smug, as if she'd tasted a sliver of victory.

Today, Fox Lady was no longer wearing her enchanting red dress, but a narrow crescent-white robe. The robe was plain and old, with slightly yellowed edges, and exuded a strong camphorwood scent.

The owner who preserved it obviously put some thought into preserving the clothes from ten years ago in almost perfect condition.

When he saw the crescent-shaped robe, Lin Huai'en's pupils shrank deeply. Due to excessive shock, he couldn't take his eyes off the robe for a while.

Fox Princess stood up from her seat, met Lin Huai'en's particularly solemn expression, turned around, and showed off her robe. "Since Fox Princess has entered the palace to serve His Majesty, it is natural for her to wear Han Chinese clothing. This crescent-shaped robe was given to me by His Majesty. What do you think, Queen? It suits Fox Princess very well, doesn't it?"

This familiar robe, coupled with this childish face.

Lin Huai'en was filled with fear, as if he had looked into a moving and talking mirror, as if a fake version of himself from ten years ago was standing before him in a strange way.

Emperor Shaoze is teaching Fox Lady how to imitate herself from ten years ago... Why is she doing this...

Just because this canary made mistakes, it gradually lost the favor of Emperor Shaoze. So, Emperor Shaoze trained another canary, taught it the same skills, and indulged it to replace him?

"I've seen it all today, and I'm tired too. Please leave."

After saying that, Lin Huai'en turned around first, and like a defeated rooster, he walked back to his own palace with panic and helplessness.

Behind him, Fox Princess twisted her lithe waist, playing with the embroidery of her robe with a look of pride and satisfaction. He had originally thought the robe was too old, but seeing the empress's frustrated expression, he thought it must have a great history, so he decided to wear it.

The night gradually fades...

He Qing, the first-rank maid of the Moon Worshiping Palace, stood guard near the wind-swept palace gate, waiting for the Queen to retire before she could blow out the candles. The Queen had been awake all night, so she should have gone to bed early tonight. But she waited until midnight before the Queen finally closed her sleepy eyes.

Seeing that the Queen was not covered with a blanket, she thought for a while and could not help but walk over and cover the Queen with a sheet gently. Halfway through, He Qing found that the Queen was holding a painting tightly in her hand, and the scroll was half unfolded.

The painting shows a young boy wearing a black and gold python robe...

She had heard the palace maids talk about the relationship between His Majesty and Lord Lin. When His Majesty was still a young prince, he was the least likely to inherit the throne. He even encountered a great chaos during the process of enthroning a king. At that time, only Lord Lin was willing to follow him...

But apart from the general outline of this relationship, even the nanny did not know the complete details.

Apart from His Majesty and Lord Lin, no one else knows how Lord Lin mustered courage and perseverance to follow His Majesty, who was penniless, and build the current empire during that period that could be buried in history books at any time.

Ta... Lin Huai'en's hand loosened, and the painting fell to the ground. The scroll slid open, revealing the full picture - the young man in the python robe was accompanied by a young man in the moon-white robe.

The boy's eyes were bent, and he smiled very cutely and innocently, showing boundless simplicity and innocence. There was a fat piglet huddled at his feet.

He Qing was suddenly startled, remembering the crescent-shaped robe that the fox lady had worn when she came to pay her respects. By looking at the robe in the painting, He Qing finally understood why the master couldn't fall asleep.

No woman or Shuang'er would want such an untouchable memory to be duplicated by her husband...