The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet ended hastily in a strange and suffocating atmosphere.
That grand banquet, which was supposed to showcase her supreme authority, ultimately became the stage where she "tearfully executed Ma Su," forced to cut her own arm to protect herself.
Empress Lin Wanwan, on the other hand, became famous overnight.
With thunderous force, in front of all the civil and military officials, she not only exposed the shocking case of Liu Fu, the former head of the imperial kitchen, embezzling and accepting bribes, but also nailed his crime of "harming the emperor's health" firmly to the pillar of shame.
After this battle, no one in the entire palace dared to underestimate this seemingly weak but actually ruthless empress who was brought in to bring good fortune.
Everyone understood: the heavens above Kunning Palace had changed.
This young queen has announced her rise to power to everyone with an undeniable and resounding victory.
...
That night, the night was as dark as water.
Inside Kunning Palace, however, there was a tranquility and warmth that was completely different from the daytime atmosphere.
All the noise and commotion were kept outside those high palace walls.
Xiao Che arrived as promised.
He did not stay in the Qianqing Palace, nor did he go to any of the concubines' palaces. Instead, as usual, he came to this place that had become his second "home".
He changed out of his heavy dragon robe and into a simple black casual outfit, which made him look much more relaxed.
He didn't speak, but sat quietly in the study, looking at the cold, bright moon outside the window, lost in thought.
Lin Wanwan knew that today's drama would have a far greater impact on him than on anyone else.
To be schemed against for so many years by the mother you trust and love most, in the most insidious way...
The pain of being betrayed by one's closest loved ones is enough to destroy anyone's will.
She didn't disturb him, but simply instructed the kitchen to prepare some light and warm late-night snacks for him.
Then, she went into her own little kitchen.
After Zhang Gui took over the Imperial Kitchen, the status of the Kunning Palace Kitchen also rose accordingly. Today, it stores only the freshest and finest medicinal herbs.
Lin Wanwan personally supervised the preparation of Xiao Che's first truly non-toxic herbal soup since his "rebirth," according to a prescription she had carefully crafted from ancient books and modern knowledge, which was genuinely gentle and nourishing.
The aroma of medicine quickly filled the air.
It was a pure, slightly sweet, and comforting taste.
Lin Wanwan personally ladled the clear-colored medicinal soup into a white jade bowl, then steadily carried it on a tray into the study.
Xiao Che heard footsteps and turned around.
His gaze fell on the bowl of medicine in Lin Wanwan's hand, and his expression became somewhat complicated.
There was disgust, there was resistance, but more than anything, there was an indescribable weariness, a feeling of surviving a catastrophe.
This bowl of medicine was his "nightmare" that he had been drinking for over a decade.
Now, although a corner of the nightmare has been revealed, the shadow that runs deep in his bones still looms over him.
Lin Wanwan walked up to him and slowly stopped.
She did not place the medicine bowl directly on the table as usual.
Instead, she held the tray, faced him, slightly bent her knees, and curtsied.
A faint, gentle smile graced her face.
She mimicked the manner of the eunuch beside him on the night they first met, speaking softly in an extremely gentle, soothing voice:
"Your Majesty, it's time to take your medicine."
The same sentence.
The same scene.
But it was already a completely different state of mind and a completely different relationship.
At their first meeting, that bowl of medicine was a death warrant, the beginning of a conspiracy.
At this moment, this bowl of medicine represents the hope of new life and the vow to fight side by side.
Xiao Che looked at her quietly.
Looking into her eyes, which shone like stars in the candlelight.
Those eyes no longer held the fear and probing of their first meeting, nor the cunning and scheming of their usual selves.
Yes, it was a pure, warm, and reassuring concern.
He knew.
He knew perfectly well.
From this day forward, from this moment forward, every sip of medicine he drinks will be safe.
This hard-won safety, this turning point that could change his life...
It was this woman before him who, with her wisdom, her courage, and even at the risk of her own life, painstakingly snatched him back from that cannibalistic abyss, bit by bit.
He slowly extended his hand.
He picked up the bowl of still-warm herbal soup from the tray.
He did not hesitate any longer.
He tilted his head back and drank the bowl of medicine in one gulp.
The medicinal juice had a slightly bitter taste, but also a sweet aftertaste.
The warm medicinal power flowed slowly down his throat into his stomach, and then transformed into a warm current that flowed to his limbs and bones.
It was as if the chilling aura that had accumulated in his body for more than a decade and seeped into his bones had been dispelled.
After finishing his medicine, he put the empty bowl back on the tray.
He didn't say "thank you".
Emperors do not easily express their gratitude.
But the moment he put down the bowl, he reached out and grabbed Lin Wanwan's slightly cold hand, which was still holding the tray.
Lin Wanwan's body suddenly stiffened.
His hands were dry and warm, with a thin layer of calluses on his palms.
It was a powerful, tactile sensation belonging to someone who practices martial arts.
He held her tightly, not allowing her to break free.
He said nothing, just looked at her quietly, his deep phoenix eyes seeming to hold a thousand stars.
Lin Wanwan saw it at that very moment.
She saw it above his still cold, expressionless face...
The meme that used to express complaints, grumbles, arrogance, or irritability has completely disappeared.
Instead, she received a completely new expression, one she had never seen before, warm enough to melt away all the ice and snow in the world.
It was a small guardian angel radiating a soft golden light.
Behind it, a pair of pure white wings spread out, and its hands are placed in front of its chest in a protective posture.
【Guardian.gif】
Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat the moment she saw that expression.
Immediately, an indescribable, immense warm current swept over her entire body.
She knew.
She knew perfectly well.
The "temporary alliance" between her and Xiao Che, a relationship filled with mutual testing, exploitation, calculation, and pretense, came to a complete end at this moment.
Instead, a new, more stable, and deeper connection has emerged.
From this day forward, they will be each other's only one, someone to whom they can entrust their backs and their lives...
True "comrades-in-arms".
Lin Wanwan slowly, very slowly, returned his hand.
A genuine, bright smile, like the warmth of spring, blossomed on her lips.
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