The night was desolate.

A faint scent of incense filled the air. The room was empty except for a white figure lying on the large bed.

Shen Yunjiao silently walked to the bedside, and after lifting the bed curtains, she finally saw the person she had been longing for day and night.

Xiao Huaijin's long hair was half-down and half-tied up, and he was only wearing a white undergarment. His fair and jade-like face was full of weariness, and his brows were slightly furrowed.

His breathing was sometimes calm and sometimes rapid, and very irregular.

Just as Shen Yunjiao was about to reach out to check Xiao Huaijin's pulse, his long, slender, pale hand reached out towards her neck.

"Who is it?!"

Xiao Huaijin suddenly opened his cold eyes, his five fingers gripping the newcomer's neck tightly, exuding murderous intent.

"Xiao Huaijin, I am Shen Yunjiao!" Before he could exert force subconsciously, Shen Yunjiao hurriedly blurted out her name.

Shen Yunjiao?

Xiao Huaijin immediately let go of her hand and sat up, his expression slightly stunned.

By the dim candlelight, he struggled to make out the person in front of him.

Unfortunately, his vision had deteriorated by at least half since he fainted yesterday.

Now, everything he sees is blurry.

A graceful figure sat in front of the bed.

"Shen Yunjiao, is it really you?" Xiao Huaijin asked in a deep voice.

He wasn't too sure.

The person who came was very likely an assassin sent by Emperor Zhaowu or Consort Shu to kill him.

Only when he smelled the familiar, delicate fragrance—the unique scent of Shen Yunjiao—did Xiao Huaijin finally feel completely at ease.

Xiao Huaijin's headache was relieved in an instant.

Seeing Xiao Huaijin's weak appearance, Shen Yunjiao felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart.

“It’s me, Xiao Huaijin. If you don’t believe me, feel it.”

Shen Yunjiao lowered her eyes and pulled Xiao Huaijin's cold fingers to touch her face.

His fingers traced Shen Yunjiao's eyebrows and eyes, grazed the beauty mark under her eye, and passed over her high and delicate nose and soft lips.

Xiao Huaijin's fingers traced the curves of her face, completely outlining her appearance.

It is Shen Yunjiao.

It really is her.

Xiao Huaijin's heart started pounding instantly. He asked softly, "Shen Yunjiao, why did you sneak in?"

“Nanfeng said your headache had flared up again, and the imperial physicians wouldn’t treat you. So he went to the Shen residence and brought me here,” Shen Yunjiao replied truthfully, her eyes lowered.

Hearing this, Xiao Huaijin frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction, "Nanfeng loves to meddle in other people's business."

"How can you call it worrying unnecessarily?" Shen Yunjiao looked at his face, which was as exquisite as finely sculpted white jade, and questioned him in a low voice, "Do you expect me to come to you only when you are really unconscious and terminally ill?"

Xiao Huaijin paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "Yun Jiao, don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I don't believe it. Every time I see you, you're injured," Shen Yunjiao said in a low voice.

She turned around to get the medicine and silver needles from the bundle, and then carefully took Xiao Huaijin's pulse.

"The Emperor has locked you up in the Eastern Palace. Why won't he even give you a chance to call a royal physician? Is he really your biological father?" Shen Yunjiao complained as she administered acupuncture.

Xiao Huaijin's expression remained calm, a hint of indifference flashing in his dark, bright eyes. "He is indeed my biological father, but he has changed."

In the past, Emperor Zhaowu was a wise and capable ruler.

But at some point, he became obsessed with cultivating immortality, consuming elixirs, and fantasizing about achieving immortality.

They also listened to slander and harmed their own flesh and blood.

The current Emperor Zhaowu is no longer worthy of being his father, much less the ruler of a country.

“Yun Jiao, he wants me dead.” Xiao Huaijin sneered coldly and said sarcastically, “He knows what suffering I have endured, what poison I have been poisoned, he even knows who harmed me, but he is indifferent and does not want to come and help me at all.”

Shen Yunjiao was speechless.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs; Emperor Zhaowu was worse than a beast.

"This kind of person is not fit to be emperor."

As Shen Yunjiao spoke, she inserted the silver needle in her hand into an acupoint on her forehead, and then withdrew it after a short while.

Xiao Huaijin's vision gradually cleared, and he met Shen Yunjiao's clear black and white eyes. Their eyes met.

Shen Yunjiao's fair and aloof face flushed slightly, her eyes reflecting her concern and heartache for him.

He also understood what Shen Yunjiao meant.

Emperor Zhaowu was indeed unworthy of being an emperor.

Xiao Huaijin leaned against the bed and watched as Shen Yunjiao carefully put away the silver needles and reapplied medicine to him. Her movements were meticulous and gentle, as if she were treating her own beloved treasure. A strange warmth flowed through his heart.

"Shen Yunjiao, I lost to Yelü Qi. Are you disappointed in me?" Xiao Huaijin suddenly asked, his beautiful, deep eyes filled with a cautious probing.

Shen Yunjiao was about to get up and put the things back in the bundle when she heard Xiao Huaijin's question, so she sat back down on the couch.

"Xiao Huaijin." Shen Yunjiao stared at him intently, and asked softly, "You deliberately lost to Yelü Qi, didn't you?"

Xiao Huaijin's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal. He just stared at Shen Yunjiao with his dark eyes, neither admitting nor denying it.

Shen Yunjiao slowly approached that handsome face, their noses touching, their breaths mingling instantly.

The lamplight flickered around Shen Yunjiao, and Xiao Huaijin, seeing her fair, snow-white face so close to his own, suddenly felt his mouth go dry.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his lower lip. It turned out that Shen Yunjiao had bitten his lip hard as punishment, and then quickly pulled away.

Normally, Xiao Huaijin would definitely press down hard on the back of her neck with his hand and suck in her fragrance.

But now he felt a little guilty and could only sit on the bed staring blankly at Shen Yunjiao.

Shen Yunjiao looked at that cold, pale, handsome face, raised an eyebrow with a half-smile, and said, "I guessed right. You really did lose to him on purpose."

“You were clearly wounded in the left chest, yet you still wielded the sword with your left hand so that no one could tell you were deliberately holding back. Yelü Ming was able to stop in time when he parried your weapon, but he still chose to stab you, just to make your defeat even more humiliating.”

Shen Yunjiao placed her fingertips on Xiao Huaijin's brow and pressed gently. "You successfully escaped from the assassination attempt by dozens of assassins. I've known for a long time that you are skilled in martial arts, otherwise you wouldn't have been injured that night while protecting them."

Xiao Huaijin was surprised by Shen Yunjiao's keen observation of him and was delighted.

He eagerly leaned in to kiss her, but Shen Yunjiao turned her head away.

She felt a bit annoyed, which naturally made her expression somewhat cold.

"I won't let you kiss me."