As soon as Zi Xi stood up, her wrist was grabbed.

Yin Jiuxiao woke up with a start, and looked up at her just like last night, his eyes filled with a dark, almost obsessive look.

"...Don't go."

His voice was low and hoarse, and he was even choked up.

He dreamed that Azi left him.

"I didn't eat last night, and I'm starving now. I'm going to go see if the imperial kitchen has been repaired and if there's anything to eat."

With a sigh, Zi Xi touched her belly and looked helplessly at Yin Jiuxiao.

"I will have it delivered. I told you, don't leave."

Yin Jiuxiao suddenly pulled her back, and Zi Xi staggered and fell to the side of the couch. He leaned closer, his shadow looming over her, his head resting on the crook of her neck, his hot breath spraying over her, the dark current in his eyes growing increasingly turbulent.

Zi Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively tried to push him away, but he grabbed her waist with both hands.

Goodness, if just anyone came along, they would definitely misunderstand their relationship!

"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

She asked tentatively.

Yin Jiuxiao stared at her, then suddenly chuckled softly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"What's wrong? Azi, what do you think is wrong with me?"

“I have nightmares every single day, but last night’s nightmare left me terrified.”

Yin Jiuxiao repeated her words, his voice dangerously soft. His thumb rubbed her wrist bone with almost violent force, as if to confirm her presence.

"I have waited so long..."

"Now, everyone who was in the way is dead, and all obstacles are gone..."

Where else do you want to go?

His voice lowered, carrying a hint of morbid obsession. Yin Jiuxiao suddenly leaned down, his thin lips almost touching her earlobe, questioning her word by word.

Zi Xi struggled to break free from Yin Jiuxiao's embrace, and pressed her forehead against his. Sure enough, Yin Jiuxiao had a fever.

While feverish and somewhat delirious, Yin Jiuxiao stroked her cheek with his fingertips, the darkness in his eyes deepening: "I want you to be my empress, how can you run around like this?"

"...The Empress???"

Zi Xi's pupils contracted slightly. Weren't they just in a purely platonic superior-subordinate relationship?!

"right!"

"From this day forward, you shall be my Empress."

His feverish voice was hoarse and low with a laugh, his tone leaving no room for doubt, as if this were a preordained decree rather than a question.

Zi Xi opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Yin Jiuxiao suddenly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look directly at him.

"You don't want to?!"

"Or... do you want to run away from me?"

A shadow of gloom flashed in his eyes. He applied slight pressure with his fingertips, and Zi Xi winced in pain but did not struggle. She just looked at him hesitantly.

The original owner's wish did not stipulate that he had to continue being a suicide soldier; instead, he wished to transform the mad emperor into a wise and benevolent ruler.

Being an empress wouldn't be bad either. She'd be second only to the emperor, and no one would dare disrespect her except the emperor himself.

You can now relax and not have to do any missions.

"Your Majesty, please calm down! Did you have a nightmare and forget everything that happened last night??? Are you... still afraid that I will leave?"

She sighed softly, but what was wrong with the male protagonist, who was suspicious, had family trauma, and lacked a sense of security?

Yin Jiuxiao's consciousness gradually became somewhat scattered, but the next second, with red eyes, he suddenly pressed her down on the couch, bracing his arms on either side of her, completely imprisoning her beneath him.