The night was deep, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds.

Duan Xingzhi was soaking in the bathtub, his forehead hair wet and sticking to his chiseled cheeks.

His brows were furrowed deeply as he gritted his teeth and poured painkillers onto the wound on his shoulder.

There was a deep knife wound there, the bone was visible.

Although I felt temporarily numb.

But the thought that these pains would appear on Shen Zhiyi's body once the effects of the medicine wore off tomorrow made him realize that he would be in pain.

A dull ache shot through my heart.

With such a deep wound, she must be crying from the pain.

He didn't want her to cry.

Even though... she chose someone else.

A wave of intense sadness washed over Duan Xingzhi. He lowered his eyelashes, concealing all the emotions surging in his dark eyes.

Knock knock knock—

A knock came at the door.

"Duan Xingzhi, are you inside?"

It was Shen Zhiyi's voice.

Duan Xingzhi curled his knuckles and replied in a deep voice, "I have retrieved the herbs and handed them over to the Prime Minister."

"You can now prepare the antidote for the Crown Prince."

Shen Zhiyi: "And what about you? The Prime Minister said you were injured too."

"Can I come in and see you?"

Duan Xingzhi stared at the ripples on the water's surface, a wave of soreness and tightness rising in his chest. He muttered, "Men and women should not touch each other."

Shen Zhiyi pushed the door open and went inside!

Squeak—

The door was closed.

Duan Xingzhi's dark pupils suddenly contracted, and he abruptly looked towards the outside of the screen.

Her slender fingers gripped the edge of the bathtub tightly, and she slightly raised her body, splashing water.

The footsteps drew closer.

Shen Zhiyi stepped over the screen and walked up to him, but lowered her head and avoided his gaze with a slightly flushed face, saying, "You are my husband, not someone else."

"What does 'not touching each other' mean?"

They've already done everything that's most intimate.

She took a deep breath and looked up into the bathtub—

One glance was enough to freeze me in place.

"How did you get so badly injured?!" She rushed forward, her fingertips resting on the edge of the bathtub, quickly scanning his wounds that were visible above the water.

Shoulders, arms, back.

Everywhere you look, there are wounds and flesh torn apart.

Tears welled up in my eyes instantly.

Plop, plop, it fell into the water, splashing out a few tiny ripples.

Duan Xingzhi looked at her tears, his eyes filled with surprise and heartache.

Were you scared?

"Don't cry." He couldn't help but reach out and wipe the wetness from her cheeks. "I'll use some anesthetic, or you can take some painkillers tomorrow. It won't hurt you."

"Ayi, don't be afraid."

Shen Zhiyi sniffed, picked up the wound medicine from the side, and said in a choked voice, "I'll apply the medicine for you."

What she was thinking about just now wasn't whether she was in pain or not.

The question is whether he is in pain.

With such a severe wound, even if he's not afraid of pain, it must be very difficult for him to endure.

Duan Xingzhi didn't want to upset her, so he obediently turned around, exposing his back, so she could apply the medicine.

The cool ointment fell onto the areas where he hadn't been able to apply it before.

Duan Xingzhi felt her tenderness, and an uncontrollable longing and pain rose in his heart.

He lowered his eyelashes and said softly, "I have found evidence of the Third Prince's rebellion and have already handed it over to the Prime Minister."

"The Crown Prince... will soon quell the rebellion and reclaim the throne."

“Ayi, I heard everything.”

"If you follow him, you might become empress someday."

The large hand that was gripping the bathtub slowly lowered, clenching into a fist underwater.

His heart felt as if it were being gripped by something.

He thought about how his marriage to her was something he had half-coaxed and half-persuaded into it.

If it weren't for the need to detoxify, she might never have married him.

Not to mention... I like him.

Duan Xingzhi felt a sharp pain coming from his wound.

I feel like I've been blocked out, so why does it still hurt so much?

The pain was so intense that he thought... he should just sink into the water.

Shen Zhiyi paused in applying the medicine.

She put down the wound medicine, turned his face towards her, bent down, and looked at him steadily, saying, "Duan Xingzhi, I don't want to be the empress."

"I only want to be your wife."

Duan Xingzhi was stunned for a moment. "What...did you say?"

His thin, pale lips twitched.

His gaze was fixed on her, and he saw the pool of tears in her peach blossom eyes, which seemed like the best antidote, redeeming his soul.

He couldn't believe it; he held his breath.

Shen Zhiyi repeated it again.

"I said, I only want to be your wife and be with you forever."

"I don't want to enter the Eastern Palace, nor do I want to sit on the Empress's throne. I just want to follow you and wander the world, anywhere is fine with me."

Do you want me?

Duan Xingzhi's eyes reddened, and he reached out to hug her tightly.

"I want you, of course I want you." His face was pressed against her lower abdomen, feeling the continuous heat emanating from her body, rising all the way to his eyes.

Duan Xingzhi closed his eyes and tightened his arms. "Ayi, I'm sorry."

"I hurt myself."

"It will hurt a lot."

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he turned his head away so she wouldn't see them.

Shen Zhiyi hugged his head, her fingertips stroking his wet hair, and smiled, "I'm not afraid."

"You promised me you'd come back alive, and you did."

"Ah Zhi, you did a great job."

Duan Xingzhi had half his body submerged in the water, yet he felt as if he were being drowned by her tenderness.

He released her, his eyes dark as he stared at the damp stains on her fabric.

I got your clothes dirty.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

He slowly raised his head and met her misty eyes.

Shen Zhiyi's gaze seemed to be drawn to him, and she involuntarily bent down, letting him press down on the back of her neck and kiss his lips.

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