Chapter 398 A Frightened Bird
Time flies, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.
With careful nursing care, Yan Shixu's external injuries have completely healed and his complexion has also recovered a lot.
However, there seemed to be an lingering shadow between his brows, and he became much quieter, with his own little secrets.
His attention to Tiantian was almost abnormal.
On several occasions, he even ignored the astonished looks of the court officials and directly carried the sleeping Tiantian to the Golden Palace to attend government affairs, letting the little guy continue to sleep soundly on the cushion next to his dragon throne.
Sometimes I would feed Tiantian myself. As I was feeding, my eyes would become fixed on that little face and I would fall into a long period of daze, not even noticing that the spoon stopped in mid-air.
Wen Li'er saw it and was worried.
That day, he was seen staring at the handkerchief he used to wipe his mouth every day.
She finally couldn't help it, dismissed the people around her, held his hand and asked softly:
"Your Majesty, what's happened to you these days? Is your wound still hurting? Or... is there something on your mind? Tell Li'er not to be alone."
Yan Shixu came back to his senses and saw the worry in her eyes, and his heart ached.
He stretched out his hands and took her into his arms, rubbing his chin against the top of her head, his voice low and gentle:
"Nothing. I'm just... happy to see the kids are all fine. Don't worry."
He tried to comfort her with a hug, but the strength of the embrace betrayed his inner uneasiness.
How could Wen Lier believe that this was “nothing”?
She pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Your Majesty has just recovered from a serious illness and is preoccupied with state affairs, so he might be feeling a bit bored. The Ghost Festival is coming up in a few days, and there's a lantern festival in the capital, which will be quite lively. How about... we take the children out of the palace to see the lanterns? It'll be a bit of a break, okay?"
She thought that perhaps the fresh air outside the palace could dispel the gloom in his heart.
Yan Shixu's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, he squeezed her hand, nodded, his voice still gentle.
"Okay, whatever you say."
However, a flash of nervousness flashed through his mind.
The eve of the Ghost Festival.
The entire palace was shrouded in a strangely tense atmosphere.
Yan Shixu summoned Zhang Sicheng again and again.
"Tomorrow night's Lantern Festival will be a mixed bag. We must maintain law and order throughout the capital, especially around Imperial Street, Suzaku Gate, and Jinming Lake! Triple... no, quintuple the manpower!"
"All accompanying guards, disguise yourselves! Blend into the crowd and keep a close eye on the Queen and the princes and princesses! No mistakes can be made!"
"Check all suspicious individuals! Lighthouses, bridges, high places... any place where they might be hiding or causing chaos, check every inch!"
"Dispatch another elite team in civilian clothes to guard the several pre-set routes back to the palace in advance to prevent any accidents!"
"besides……"
Zhang Sicheng stood respectfully with his head bowed, beads of sweat already oozing from his forehead.
His Majesty's instructions were shockingly detailed, even repeatedly emphasizing some details that he had already arranged.
He scratched his head, really confused. He had been in charge of the imperial guards for many years and had always acted prudently. When did he make His Majesty so worried?
This almost paranoid anxiety made him feel extremely stressed and his nerves were stretched to the extreme.
After coming out of the Purple Palace, he immediately summoned all the lieutenants and captains, and almost roared to pass on the emperor's will and the heavy pressure intact, or even intensified it.
"Everyone, be extremely alert! If you make any mistakes tomorrow, you'll be beheaded!"
The entire Imperial Guard system became unprecedentedly alert and panic-stricken due to the emperor's abnormal anxiety.
Wen Li'er watched all this silently, watching Yan Shixu wake up from a light sleep in the middle of the night again and pace around the hall in annoyance.
Finally, he couldn't help but open the door and go out, and emphasized again to Zhang Sicheng who was on duty: "We must send more people to the child..."
She finally understood it completely.
The Emperor's various abnormalities——
The excessive attention, the panic hidden in the eyes, the repeated, almost morbid instructions -
All stem from the same root:
Something that had planted a deep-seated fear in him of losing her and the children.
He became extremely nervous and only by keeping them within his sight and power could he get a moment of respite.
She walked to the door of the palace and looked at his anxious back in the night, feeling a mixture of bitterness and pity in her heart.
Wen Li'er walked up slowly and put her arms around him.
When he turned around, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.
Yan Shixu was stunned for a moment, then immediately hugged her tightly and kissed her back eagerly.
…
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