If Gan Lin hadn't been forced to reveal his injury to Gan Qiongying, he would never have told her.
But since things had come to this point, Gan Lin dared not hide anything any longer and slowly nodded.
Gan Qiongying's breathing was trembling; no one but herself could understand this feeling.
It's like he's a precious treasure that you cherish and love, but he's being abused and threatened in ways you can't see. He's even afraid of endangering your safety and doesn't dare tell you about it.
Gan Qiongying reached out and pressed her hand to her chest. The pain, which hadn't returned for a long time, returned as if a dull knife was constantly cutting into her heart, making her feel suffocated.
"How did he do this to you?" Gan Qiongying looked at Gan Lin, her breath coming in short gasps. "Tell me the truth, did he...?"
Before Gan Qiongying could finish speaking, Gan Lin was already shaking his head frantically.
"No, sister, don't think too much. It's really not true. You know the Regent is no good."
"Of course I know he's incompetent, but I also know that his uncle, Kou Ningyu, is completely incompetent, yet he uses all sorts of methods to torture and kill others!"
“I swear,” Gan Lin knelt on the bed, the dignified emperor raising one finger to the sky and saying to Gan Qiongying, “I swear I have not… I have not been abused by the Regent in bed.”
"If not, then where did all these injuries come from?"
Gan Qiongying said to Gan Lin, "Take off your shirt so I can see it."
Even at this point, Gan Lin still wanted to put up a last-ditch effort, after all, his body was really... really too embarrassing to be seen.
But seeing Gan Qiongying's bloodshot eyes, and with tears welling up in his eyes from heartache, Gan Lin dared not upset Gan Qiongying any further.
He slowly unbuttoned his clothes, explaining as he did so, "It doesn't hurt, sister. I'm a grown man, this kind of injury is nothing to me..."
Gan Qiongying ignored his nonsense. When he unbuttoned his shirt and left it half-dangling on his body, she could see the dense red and swollen marks all over his body.
It doesn't look like a whip; it looks more like needle pricks. But if it is a needle prick, where did those tiny wounds come from?
Gan Qiongying moved closer to Gan Lin. Gan Lin tried to pull away, but Gan Qiongying held him down. Gan Qiongying looked closely at the wounds, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a large hand, about to burst.
Because she discovered that these numerous wounds were not all of Gan Lin's injuries, but only a part of them, or rather, just his recent wounds.
The plot touches on this part briefly, subtly hinting that the regent might be abusing the young emperor.
But Gan Qiongying never imagined that this description, which doesn't even occupy a single paragraph in the book, would be so densely covered in her child's body, filled with—abuse.
"When were these all taken..." Gan Qiongying reached out and touched the wounds on Gan Lin's body. The new wounds were densely packed with old ones, and the wounds were all very small and irregular in shape.
"What exactly caused this?" Gan Qiongying looked at Gan Lin, staring into his eyes, forcing him to tell the truth with her gaze.
“We’ll be leaving soon, it’s really okay,” Gan Lin said. “Sister, can you please stop asking?”
Gan Lin's tears fell before Gan Qiongying's. He dared not speak, because he knew how his sister would react, and how shocked and sad she would be if he did.
But this time, no matter how much he begged Gan Qiongying, she refused to let it go easily. She stared intently at Gan Lin, her silent pressure like a raging flood, making Gan Lin feel suffocated.
Finally, he lowered his head, not daring to look Gan Qiongying in the eye, but also no longer daring to hide anything from her, and whispered, "They were just some insects..."
Gan Qiongying felt as if she had been struck hard on the head with a club. She had guessed many possible methods of torture, even a nail board, but she never imagined it would be insects...
Gan Qiongying pressed her chest and took two steps back, her bloodshot eyes completely blurring.
She was so heartbroken she could hardly breathe; Gan Lin was terrified of insects.
Those tiny things with little legs often gave Gan Lin nightmares when he was a child. Even after he became the crown prince, he deliberately trained and controlled this weakness. Gan Qiongying knew that Gan Lin had never been able to get rid of this fear.
He's just able to keep from jumping up immediately when he touches or sees something.
But... but Gan Lin told Gan Qiongying in such a relaxed tone that the wounds on his body came from some insects.
What kind of insect?
How many insects could cause such a wound? How many times, without Gan Qiongying's knowledge, did these insects crawl all over Gan Lin's body, leaving these dense old wounds on him?
Gan Lin... What was Gan Lin's behavior like at that time?
How did he manage to get through it all? Gan Qiongying didn't even dare to approach Gan Lin, and didn't dare to look at those wounds any longer.
She opened her mouth, but could already feel a salty, metallic taste rising in her throat.
She wanted to scold Gan Lin, blame him, and even resent him for not telling her a single word about such an important matter.
She resented him for hiding such things and for allowing others to inflict these wounds on him time and time again.
Gan Qiongying simply couldn't imagine what that scene would be like.
Gan Qiongying closed her eyes, her fingers digging tightly into the fabric of her clothes, her nails sinking deep into the material and even gripping her own flesh.
But this did nothing to alleviate Gan Qiongying's heartache.
Gan Lin had already put on his clothes and wrapped himself up tightly. He walked barefoot towards Gan Qiongying and tried to hug her.
But Gan Qiongying pushed him away. Gan Qiongying kept pushing him, and she didn't even know what she was doing.
She just felt scared, scared deep inside...
This fear began to materialize in her mind, as if she had become Ganlin, as if she were the one suffering all that pain, not Ganlin.
Gan Qiongying gasped painfully, deeply and heavily, one breath after another.
She slowly bent over, and even with Gan Lin supporting her, she eventually knelt on the ground, her hands supporting her as she breathed heavily.
Take every breath in deeply, then exhale it forcefully.
But this did nothing to ease Gan Qiongying's wildly beating heart, and she eventually began to gag.
Seeing Gan Qiongying's reaction, Gan Lin was at a loss for what to do, so he knelt down on the ground, calling out "Sister" and hugging Gan Qiongying tightly.
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