The darkness receded like the tide, and consciousness seemed to be gently lifted from a bottomless, icy pool by a warm hand, returning to the body.
Lin Wanwan's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her heavy, leaden eyes.
The first thing that caught her eye wasn't the familiar, elegant curtains of her own tent, but a majestic, bright yellow tent top embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon. The air was filled with a rich, calming incense, mixed with the all-too-familiar scent of ambergris unique to Xiao Che.
This is... the emperor's main tent?
She was startled, and her muddled mind instantly cleared a bit. She struggled to sit up, to check her condition, and to figure out what was happening outside.
However, she had barely moved when a large, burning hand immediately covered her shoulder and pressed her back down without any resistance.
"Don't move."
A hoarse, weary voice, yet tinged with a hint of obsessive command, rang out beside her bed.
Lin Wanwan turned her head and met a pair of bloodshot eyes.
Xiao Che sat by her bedside, still wearing the blood-stained black riding outfit, his hair even somewhat disheveled. His handsome face was now filled with haggardness and exhaustion, a layer of bluish stubble on his chin, and heavy dark shadows beneath his deep eyes.
Judging from his appearance, he had clearly stayed up all night, guarding this place.
Beneath his haggard and obsessive exterior, Lin Wanwan keenly sensed a deeper emotion—lingering fear. That unforgettable fear, as if he had lost the whole world and then regained it, still weighed heavily on his brow, making him look like a bowstring stretched to its limit, full of aggression.
"Outside..." Lin Wanwan's throat was a little dry. She licked her lips and asked softly, "What's going on outside? Those assassins..."
“It’s all been taken care of.” Xiao Che interrupted her, his tone devoid of any warmth. “You don’t need to worry about these things.”
His attitude was forceful and autocratic.
Just then, the voice of the imperial physician requesting an audience came from outside the tent.
After receiving permission, the old imperial physician carefully entered, carrying his medicine chest. He first glanced nervously at the emperor's unapproachable face before quickly walking to Lin Wanwan's bedside to examine her again.
He carefully examined her wounds and took her pulse. Finally, a look of relief appeared on his face, which had been tense all along.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" The old imperial physician's voice trembled with excitement as he knelt before Xiao Che. "Her Majesty the Empress is incredibly fortunate. The poison in the arrow has been completely neutralized! Her Majesty... she is no longer in danger!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Che's shoulders, which had been as tense as steel, finally relaxed slightly.
However, the old doctor's next words made his heart, which had just settled down, jump up again.
"However," the old imperial physician added cautiously, "the wound on Her Majesty's shoulder is extremely deep, affecting the tendons and bones. She must not move or exert herself in any way. During this period, she must rest, rest, and rest some more! Otherwise, if the wound is aggravated and leaves a chronic condition, the consequences will be endless!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanwan's heart sank. She knew this meant she would be confined to her bed for the foreseeable future.
After listening to the imperial physician's words, Xiao Che remained silent for a moment. Then, in an authoritative and domineering tone, he issued an order that left everyone present dumbfounded.
“In that case,” he looked at Lin Wanwan, his eyes flashing with a fanatical light, “then until the Empress recovers, she will be ‘imprisoned’ in this tent.”
"Prisoner"?!
Lin Wanwan and the imperial physician were both stunned.
Ignoring their shock, Xiao Che continued in his cold and domineering tone, "I will personally oversee it."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over his trusted eunuch beside him, the chill in his voice almost freezing the air:
"By my decree, from this moment forward, all of the Empress's food and medicine must be personally inspected by me before she can consume it! No one else is permitted to touch them!"
This order goes far beyond the scope of "protection"!
This was an almost insane overprotection born of extreme fear, a possessiveness driven by an intense desire to control! He wanted to place her in an absolutely safe environment completely under his control, leaving no room for any potential danger or even the slightest opportunity to exploit her!
"Your Majesty, this...this is not right!" the old imperial physician said, mustering his courage. "Your health is already compromised; how can you exert yourself like this?"
"I know my own body best," Xiao Che coldly interrupted him. "You just write your prescriptions; it's none of your business to interfere in other matters."
The old physician trembled at the utterly emotionless murderous intent in his eyes and immediately fell silent, daring not to utter another word.
Lin Wanwan looked at the domineering and obsessive man before her, almost to the point of being unreasonable, and felt both anxious and helpless. She knew he was acting this way because of lingering fear, but she couldn't truly be trapped here like a prisoner! The situation outside was unclear and fraught with danger; she needed to understand the situation and know the enemy's movements!
“Xiao Che, I…” she tried to argue, saying that she was fine.
However, she had barely begun to speak when the man in front of her suddenly leaned down.
He braced himself on his hands beside her, completely enveloping her in his tall silhouette. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on her intently, so close to hers, churning with deep, suppressed emotions she couldn't comprehend.
A powerful, bloody masculine aura instantly enveloped her, making it hard for her to breathe.
He spoke to her in an extremely hoarse voice, suppressing endless fear:
"Shut up."
"From now on, all you have to do is stay in my sight."
"You're not allowed to go anywhere."
His expression was as cold as a block of ice that had stood for millennia, and his tone was so domineering that it brooked no argument whatsoever.
However, in that familiar area above his head, Lin Wanwan saw an inner world that was extremely vulnerable, completely opposite to his current strong appearance.
There were no longer any terrifying skulls or warnings there.
There is only one small, all-black, fluffy kitten emoji.
The kitten was clinging tightly and pitifully to her injured arm with her two front paws, her whole body trembling, her big eyes filled with tears, as if she was about to cry at any moment.
And beside the poor little kitten, a line of small, trembling words floated:
【Don't leave me.gif】
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