Time seemed to have been paused at that moment.
The air was still, and the candlelight was silent.
Lin Wanwan sat blankly on the wedding bed, staring unblinkingly ahead. In her vision, the whole world seemed to have become a backdrop, with only two things standing out clearly.
First, there was the man in front of him, handsome as a god, yet exuding a murderous aura like a demon.
Secondly, there's that tiny pixelated ball on his head... shaking like it's electrified.
[Shivering.gif]
[Shivering.gif]
[Shivering.gif]
...
It was like a cheap website pop-up ad, stubbornly playing on a loop, and no matter how hard Lin Wanwan tried to close it with her mind, it persisted.
Hallucination?
No.
Lin Wanwan has lived for over twenty years and has never heard of any kind of illusion that is pixelated and has dynamic effects.
She tried closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and then suddenly opening them.
It's still there.
The little dumpling was not only still there, but because of her sudden movement, the frequency of her trembling seemed to increase slightly.
Lin Wanwan's feelings at this moment could no longer be described as shock; it was a sense of absurdity and confusion resulting from the forced demolition and haphazard reconstruction of her worldview. As a staunch materialist, transmigrating was already outrageous enough, but now she was even given this kind of cheat code comparable to AR effects?
Can you see... the emojis above other people's heads?
And the target was this capricious emperor, who was said to be ruthless in killing?
Is this cheat code... designed to make her die even faster and add some entertainment value?
Just as a storm was raging in Lin Wanwan's mind, Xiao Che made a move.
He strode towards her.
One step, then another.
He walked slowly, his dragon-patterned boots making no sound on the polished gold brick floor, yet it felt like a heavy hammer, striking Lin Wanwan's heart again and again with precision.
The invisible, suffocating sense of oppression increased exponentially with his approach. The air seemed to be sucked out, and every inch of space was filled with the cool, bitter, medicinal scent of ambergris emanating from him.
Lin Wanwan felt her breathing become difficult, as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest.
She saw his deep phoenix eyes narrow slightly, the coldness in them growing even more chilling, as if capable of freezing one's soul. His thin lips were tightly pressed together, forming a cold and cruel curve.
That's a... truly murderous look.
Lin Wanwan had no doubt about this. The descriptions of imperial majesty in books and movies seemed utterly pale at this moment. Only by facing it firsthand could one truly appreciate the terrifying aura of absolute power that could easily control the life and death of others.
"Thump—"
Several muffled thuds came from behind. The palace maids and eunuchs who were already kneeling on the ground could no longer withstand the pressure and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Lin Wanwan, as the one bearing the brunt of this pressure, felt her heart leap into her throat, pounding wildly in her chest, almost bursting out of her body.
She forced herself to calm down, but her trembling body betrayed her inner fear.
Xiao Che finally stopped three steps away from her.
He looked down at her, his gaze as if scrutinizing an insignificant ant. There was no curiosity, no inquiry in his eyes, only an unyielding coldness and... disgust.
Yes, I'm annoyed.
It was as if her very existence was something that annoyed him immensely.
Lin Wanwan's heart sank to the bottom.
She knew that this man truly wanted her dead.
Just then, she saw Xiao Che slowly raise his hand and grasp the hilt of a sword hanging at his waist.
"Clang—"
A faint yet incredibly clear metallic scraping sound rang out.
He slowly drew out the ancient and elegant longsword, inch by inch. The blade was long and narrow, reflecting a chilling, flowing light in the flickering candlelight of the hall. The light flashed in Lin Wanwan's eyes, causing her pupils to contract sharply.
She saw her own face, pale as paper and filled with terror, reflected in the blade.
It's over.
This time it's really over.
This madman! This tyrant! He actually intends to kill his empress with his own hands on their wedding night, in the Kunning Palace!
Lin Wanwan's mind went blank for a moment, as if a giant, invisible hand had gripped her heart, preventing her from even screaming.
She watched helplessly as he held the gleaming sword tip horizontally, slowly and without hesitation, bringing it towards her throat.
A chilling killing intent swept over me.
The shadow of death had never loomed over her so clearly.
However, just as the sharp tip of the sword was about to touch her delicate skin, the trembling emoji above Lin Wanwan's vision suddenly changed!
The little dumpling, which was trembling, seemed to have been fast-forwarded, its shaking frequency instantly soaring to the extreme, almost turning into a yellow afterimage.
Immediately following, next to the emoji, like a system notification in a game, a line of small, pixelated black text appeared out of nowhere:
[What should I do? What should I do? Why isn't she afraid of me? Where is my dignity?!]
Lin Wanwan: "...?"
If it weren't for the sharp sword tip being so close, bringing a chilling sensation, she would almost have thought she was watching an extremely absurd silent play.
Isn't she afraid of him?
What a joke! She's so scared she's about to pee herself! Every cell in her body is screaming for her to run away; she can clearly hear her heart pounding like a drum and her breathing so rapid it's almost stopping!
But……
But what about the small print above his head?
"Where is my dignity?!"
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Lin Wanwan's chaotic mind.
She looked at the emperor before her, his face as cold as ice, his eyes capable of killing, and then at the inner monologue above his head, which seemed to be burning with anxiety...
An absurd, unbelievable, yet hopeful thought suddenly surged up from the deepest part of her heart.
He...he didn't really want to kill her?
He drew his sword, he pointed it at her, he made that murderous look on his face... Was it all just... a bluff?
Is he... afraid?
No, it wasn't that he was afraid of her as a person, but rather afraid of the "marriage to ward off bad luck," afraid of her, the "bride" forcibly placed in his hands? So he used the most vicious methods, trying to scare her away, or even scare her to death?
Once this thought arose, it spread like wildfire, instantly engulfing her entire body.
The instinct for survival overwhelmed the overwhelming fear at that moment.
Let's take a gamble!
Life is a gamble; losing is just a small scar... oh no, losing means instant death. But not gambling also leads to certain death!
Since death is inevitable either way, why not choose the only path that might offer a chance of survival?!
In a flash, Lin Wanwan made a decision that even she herself found crazy.
The cold tip of the sword was already pressed against her neck, the sharp touch sending shivers down her spine. She could even feel the chill emanating from the blade, a chill that could cut through her skin.
If he pushes it forward just a little further, he can easily pierce her throat.
But at this critical moment, Lin Wanwan not only did not dodge, but also did not scream and beg for mercy as he had expected.
Instead, she... went to meet her.
Slowly, using all her strength, she controlled the trembling in her body and forced her back, which was slightly hunched due to fear, to straighten.
Then, she raised her head.
Facing the menacing sword tip and the icy gaze, she raised her chin and, with an unprecedented, feigned composure, looked directly into Xiao Che's unfathomable eyes.
In her eyes, there was no fear, no pleading, only a stagnant calm.
It was as if what was pressed against her throat was not a sharp sword that could instantly take her life, but a boring, withered twig.
Come on!
If you've got the guts, then go ahead and do it!
Anyway, I'm just a worthless old woman; I'll be a hero again in twenty years!
She used all her strength to adopt this posture of being ready to die.
Out of the corner of her eye, she was intently and nervously focused on the area above the emperor's head.
She saw it, in that instant when she raised her head and looked directly into his eyes—
The wildly shaking emoji above Xiao Che's head suddenly stopped, as if the internet had been cut off...
It's stuck.
【(·_·)】
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