The harrowing assassination attempt during the day, like a boulder thrown into a lake, left ripples that lingered long afterward. The entire royal hunting grounds were under a state of martial law, outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense.

The imperial camp, located at the heart of the storm, was completely surrounded by Xiao Che's most elite guards, like an iron barrel.

As night fell, the campfire outside the tent blazed fiercely, casting flickering light on the soldiers' cold armor. Inside, however, all was warm and tranquil.

After a full day of rest, Lin Wanwan felt much better. Although the wound on her shoulder was still painful, with the best medicine from the imperial physician, her life was no longer in danger.

During the day, Xiao Che stayed by her side almost every step of the way, personally feeding her medicine and meals. His clumsy yet stubborn manner made Lin Wanwan feel helpless, but also a sweet feeling that she herself did not realize.

At this moment, in the dead of night, only the Emperor and Empress remained in the tent.

Xiao Che dismissed all the palace servants and eunuchs who were attending to her, and personally tucked the blanket around her, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure. The atmosphere inside the tent gradually shifted from the tense vigilance of the daytime to a tender and tranquil one.

However, Lin Wanwan knew in her heart that this warmth was just the calm before the storm.

Some problems are simply unavoidable.

Sure enough, after tucking her in, Xiao Che didn't go to handle official business or rest as usual. He just sat quietly by the bed, watching her without saying a word.

The candlelight inside the tent flickered gently, illuminating his incomparably handsome profile and highlighting its features.

He was no longer the war god exuding a violent aura, nor the clumsy "caregiver." At this moment, he had transformed back into the deep-thinking, unfathomable emperor.

His gaze, no longer carrying lingering fear and worry, transformed into a penetrating, scrutinizing gaze. That gaze, like the sharpest scalpel, sought to dissect layer by layer her disguise, reaching the deepest secrets of her soul.

The atmosphere inside the tent instantly shifted from warm to somber.

Lin Wanwan's heart rose with each shift in his gaze. She knew the moment for reckoning had arrived.

Xiao Che remained silent for a long time, as if organizing his thoughts, or perhaps giving her a final buffer. Finally, he spoke slowly and clearly, his voice so steady that no emotion could be detected, but every word was like a precisely thrown pebble, stirring up ripples in Lin Wanwan's heart.

“From the sudden appearance of that white deer at the edge of the forest,” he began to recount, his logic terrifyingly clear, “to your uncharacteristic ‘unreasonable’ behavior, insisting on traveling with me.”

"And then, at the very last moment, just before that poisoned arrow was shot, you seemed to have foreseen it all, and pushed me off my horse..."

He paused, his gaze sharp and fixed on her eyes, not missing a single change in her expression.

“Lin Wanwan,” he called her by her full name, his tone carrying an undeniable certainty, “it’s all too coincidental.”

Lin Wanwan's heart suddenly clenched.

They've arrived.

That was the most fatal problem she knew from the beginning, the one that would come sooner or later.

Xiao Che leaned forward slightly, the invisible pressure of his imperial aura enveloping her like a tangible force, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. He asked, word by word, the question she could never answer:

"Tell me, how did you know there was danger?"

This question, like a key, instantly opened Pandora's box.

Lin Wanwan could explain why she shielded him from the arrow—it could be said to be because of their deep affection for each other, or it could be said to be a physical instinct under those circumstances.

But she couldn't explain how she "foresaw" the danger.

How did she accurately determine that it was a trap when the assassin had not yet made a move and everyone was immersed in the joy of "auspiciousness"?

This is a question based on rigorous logic that no suspicious emperor could avoid.

It was also a dilemma that she simply couldn't explain with the absurd reason of "emojis".

Lin Wanwan's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her throat.

She knew that if she answered this question well, the trust they had built through life and death would be as solid as a rock.

If the answer is not good, this trust will collapse instantly and be completely destroyed!

She will once again become the "tool for bringing good luck" in his eyes, of unknown origin and possessing strange abilities, or even... possibly be regarded as a wicked and bewitching monster!

She met his sharp, knife-like gaze, eyes filled with scrutiny and an unyielding intensity.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She knew that at this moment, any lie or fabrication would only appear full of holes in front of this meticulous man.

The only way out is to speak the most irrefutable "truth" with the utmost sincerity.

A layer of moisture slowly welled up in her eyes; it wasn't a pretense, but a genuine vulnerability forced out by the immense pressure and lingering fear. Her voice trembled slightly, as if she had survived a close call, but her tone was utterly sincere.

"It's intuition."

She looked into his eyes and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty doesn't know why."

"From the moment I saw that white deer, my heart was filled with panic. It felt as if... as if I was about to lose something very, very important."

His image was reflected in her eyes, and her sincerity and vulnerability were laid bare before him.