After returning from the Imperial Study, Lin Wanwan locked herself in her bedchamber and refused to see anyone.
The plate of osmanthus cake that she had personally brought back was still sitting on the table, but it had long since lost its warmth and become cold and hard, just like her mood at that moment.
She sat there listlessly on the soft couch by the window from the afternoon until late at night.
The sky outside the window changed from bright to dark, then from dark to a deep, inky black. The palace servants lit lamps, and the orange candlelight cast her long shadow on the wall, making her appear lonely and forlorn.
Her mind was a complete mess.
Xiao Che's icy gaze and his emotionless "Get out" were like two sharp knives, cutting and tearing her heart apart.
She recalled and analyzed it over and over again.
Reason told her that he was in a fit of anger, dealing with a matter of national importance, and it would be inappropriate for her to barge in. His impatience was directed at the matter, not at the person.
But her emotions were like those of a child who had suffered a great injustice, constantly crying and throwing a tantrum in her heart.
How could he look at her like that?
How could he send her away?
He's never done this before!
Two voices battled fiercely in her mind, almost tearing her apart.
If only... if only the emojis were still around.
This thought popped up uncontrollably once again.
If it were still there, she would only need to glance at it to know whether the image floating above his head was "Politics is so annoying, I don't want to talk to anyone.jpg" or "Why is my wife here? It's so annoying.gif".
The former is about the matter; the latter is about the person.
A single word makes all the difference.
But now, she no longer has that "standard answer," and she can only guess. And suspicion, like a seed, once it takes root in her heart, will uncontrollably and wildly grow into the darkest and most vicious vines.
"Squeak—"
The door to the sleeping quarters was gently pushed open from the outside.
Lin Wanwan's body stiffened abruptly, and she subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.
Xiao Che is back.
He was still wearing that bright yellow dragon robe, his face etched with undisguised exhaustion. It seemed that after dismissing the ministers, he had been alone in the imperial study, busy with that mess until now.
His steps were somewhat unsteady.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
He saw Lin Wanwan still sitting by the window and seemed somewhat surprised, so he casually asked her a question.
His voice was heavy with weariness and sounded somewhat hoarse.
Lin Wanwan's heart jumped into her throat instantly.
The moment of judgment has arrived.
What will he say? Will he apologize for what happened this afternoon? Or will he offer an explanation? Or will he pretend nothing happened?
She stared at him nervously, forgetting even to breathe.
However, Xiao Che simply took off his outer robe, casually tossed it onto a clothes rack, and then walked straight to the dragon bed.
He seems... to have really forgotten.
She had forgotten how he had hurt her with his cold gaze in the Imperial Study that afternoon, and how he had ruthlessly driven her out.
He was too tired.
Dealing with a whole day's mess and outsmarting those old foxes had completely exhausted him. His mind was a complete blank; all he wanted to do was lie down and not think or do anything.
He didn't even notice Lin Wanwan's unusually pale face and tense body.
He walked to the bedside and practically threw himself onto it.
Then, out of habit, I rolled over.
His back was to her.
"..."
Lin Wanwan just stared at that back, that back that was once so familiar to her, but now it was like a cold, insurmountable wall, completely separating her from him.
Her body grew cold, little by little.
If... if the emojis were still around.
She would see a animated emoticon floating above the figure's back, displaying the message "So tired, wife, hug me.gif".
He was just tired, so tired that he didn't even have the strength to speak. He was lying with his back to her, in a subconscious, most comfortable sleeping position.
But now, she can't see anything.
All she could see was a cold, unresponsive back view.
He chased her away.
Now, he has his back to her again.
The grievances she felt in the afternoon and the cold treatment she received now were like two intertwined cold currents converging in her heart, instantly creating a turbulent storm.
The darkest suspicions that she had forcibly suppressed finally broke through the dam of reason at this moment and surged out unrestrainedly.
Is he... tired of me?
This thought struck her like a bolt of black lightning.
Uncontrollably, images of their incognito visit to Jiangnan began to surface in her mind.
The scenery of Jiangnan is beautiful, and I am familiar with it from long ago.
Women from Jiangnan are gentle and graceful, and multi-talented. They can play musical instruments, paint, and recite poetry, unlike her, who only knows how to look at emojis and play petty tricks.
Did he... take a fancy to some talented woman when he was in Jiangnan?
That's why he's become so impatient with himself?
Yes, that must be it!
He saw a wider world and met more outstanding women who understood him better. That's why he felt that his empress, who only knew how to use petty tricks, had become an eyesore.
His anger in the afternoon wasn't about politics at all, but rather because he was upset and she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!
He chased her away because he didn't want to see her!
He's turning his back to her now because he's even tired of just going through the motions with her!
Once this terrifying "chain of suspicion" is formed, it is impossible to break free. Lin Wanwan's mind was completely occupied by the "tragic script" she had constructed.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was indeed the case; the more she thought about it, the colder her heart became, and the more wronged she felt.
So it turns out, all men are the same. Once they get something, they stop appreciating it.
Looking at the figure whose breathing had become steady, she felt as if her heart was being cut away piece by piece with a dull knife, the pain making it hard for her to breathe.
Does he think...?
I, the empress who can only "describe things from pictures," am no longer... worthy of him after he truly grows into an emperor?
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