Chapter 220.2

As for their further speculations, it was considered taboo to even discuss them. They attempted it once more, but the feeling of their souls shattering was terrifying. It seemed forbidden, something they couldn’t violate, so they had to abandon it. They noticed the chaos outside and the only one who could come out, Emperor Jin’an with the graying hair, woke up.

Although the original owner hadn’t emerged, he continued to chatter incessantly in Emperor Jin’an’s mind, from staying away from her to not touching her, and so on. Young Emperor Jin’an seemed to realize that this situation was incredibly strange, and he didn’t have much confidence that he would be able to come out in the near future, so he abandoned his previous veiled approach and openly warned against his affection for Yaoniang.

Although he felt an unusual closeness to the other self, he still refrained from getting close to him.

After some comforting, Yaoniang finally stopped crying and noticed her children standing nearby. She felt embarrassed and hastily asked the children to talk to Emperor Jin’an, then retreated to the bathhouse.

“Father Emperor, it’s good that you’re okay,” Xiaobao said. After the initial panic, the reassurance that everything was fine, and seeing Yaoniang crying like that, he didn’t feel like expressing his worries anymore.

On the other hand, Sibao’s eyes welled up with tears. While Xiaobao spoke, she threw herself onto the bed, saying, “Father Emperor, you scared Xiao Si’er…”

So Emperor Jin’an, following the guidance of the voice in his head, awkwardly consoled his youngest daughter.

After comforting them all, Emperor Jin’an finally focused his attention on Xiaobao.

His gaze was complex, as his biggest hope in his previous life was for the Crown Prince to be healthy. Now, with this healthy child standing before him, just as outstanding as he had imagined, he felt somewhat at a loss.

Xiaobao looked at Emperor Jin’an with some confusion, sensing something strange in his eyes, but he couldn’t quite put it into words.

Later, Yaoniang came out of the bathhouse, still a little red-eyed, but she had regained her usual composure.

“Everything is alright now, your Father Emperor is fine. You can all go and rest. It’s my fault for being overly worried and scaring you all.”

Once the children left, Yaoniang returned to the bed.

“Rest now. From what I can see, your headache must be because you didn’t get enough sleep.”

They both lay down, but this time, Yaoniang didn’t dare to sleep close to Emperor Jin’an as she used to. She even used a blanket that had never been used before. The previous situation had frightened her, making her think that her actions had triggered Emperor Jin’an’s headache. She didn’t dare to try anything risky, especially since she had no idea if Emperor Jin’an was truly fine.

A quiet night followed.

In the days that followed, Yaoniang became particularly attentive to Emperor Jin’an. She personally took care of everything, from meals and rest to his administrative duties, always keeping a close eye on him. She often visited Yangxin Hall, fearing that Emperor Jin’an might neglect to take care of himself due to his political responsibilities.

Every day, she prepared delicious and nourishing meals herself, not just for the children but also for the Emperor Emeritus in Qianqing Palace.

On this day, Yaoniang brought a bowl of tonic soup to Yangxin Hall.

Emperor Jin’an had been writing with his brush when he heard the eunuchs announce her arrival. He put down his brush, and Yaoniang walked in.

Yaoniang was dressed in a red and blue embroidered peony-patterned double-breasted robe with golden woven vines, clouds, auspicious mountains, and seasonal flowers. She wore a sapphire blue skirt with cloud and dragon patterns. Her head was adorned with a black veil pointed palm hat, with a golden phoenix centrepiece and two golden hairpins with phoenixes and plum blossoms on the sides. Below the palm hat, she wore a yellow forehead cover with pearl-encrusted hairpins, and her ears were adorned with red gemstone flowers and butterfly earrings.

Strands of hair draped lightly over her eyebrows, making them appear even more crescent-shaped, accentuating her charming face, and her red lips looked especially soft and inviting.

Emperor Jin’an looked at her busying herself around him until she brought the bowl of soup to his eyes.

“Your Majesty, please try this,” she said with a smile.

He felt a bit dazed as if his mind was spinning and his vision blurred.

The voice in his head said, “She made it for you, so just eat it. What are you looking at?”

“Enough chatter!”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t control himself and inadvertently spoke these words. Yaoniang looked shocked, but Emperor Jin’an quickly took the bowl from her hands and softly said, “Zhen wasn’t scolding you.”

“It’s not like there’s anyone else speaking in this hall, right?” Yaoniang looked back at the several eunuchs standing by, waved her hand, and had them leave.

To make amends, he quickly finished the soup and said, “It’s very delicious.”

Yaoniang finally relaxed, took the bowl and casually placed it on the dragon table, then smoothly sat on the lap of Emperor Jin’an, extending her hand to touch his forehead. “You scared me to death; I thought you were ill again.”

Over these past few days, Emperor Jin’an occasionally made shocking statements, which really made people worried.

“Don’t talk about dying!” He instinctively used his finger to cover her lips. How could she die? It would be best if she could always stay like this.

Yaoniang blushed and smiled, reaching out to grab his finger. “It was just a momentary slip of the tongue, Your Majesty, don’t take it seriously.” As she spoke, she snuggled into Emperor Jin’an’s arms and continued to hold his index finger in her palm, caressing it.

The two of them were in such an intimate position, with her sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest, her alluring lotus-like face and tempting lips seducing him into wanting to indulge himself.

Emperor Jin’an unconsciously leaned closer, ignoring the roaring in his mind.

He still remembered that he used to love kissing her lips the most back then, feeling like they were coated with honey, making her cry and complain about her sore mouth every time, even causing her lips to crack.

He wanted to see if her lips were still as delicious as he remembered. He put his thoughts into action and tasted them again, with their lips and teeth entwined, exploring, lightly sucking, nibbling, and his strong tongue rolling against her tender tongue tip…

“Mmm…”

Suddenly, Emperor Jin’an’s head throbbed, as if needles had pierced it.

He furrowed his brows unconsciously, diverting some of his focus to that dark space.

“Don’t touch her! Hah, this method is indeed effective!”

Emperor Jin’an remained silent, feeling irritated by this person who was trapped in his mind.

“You old man, you’re just like me, you’re already old. She doesn’t belong to you; she belongs to me. Don’t get the wrong person.”

He sneered slightly and cleared his throat. “Zhen was just appeasing her a little. She’s already suspicious, and you know it.”

Emperor Jin’an, sitting cross-legged, felt a mix of emotions. He realized that his actions were somewhat shameless but also understood that some reassurance was necessary to prevent complications.

After a pause, he added, “Zhen can see that you two get along harmoniously, both in daily life and in bed. Zhen is sure you spend a lot of time together during the day. By continuously rejecting her, if Zhen doesn’t offer some reassurance, she’ll likely become more suspicious and think Zhen found someone else.”

The young Emperor Jin’an understood all of this. Lately, Yaoniang had been visiting Yangzin Hall frequently, claiming that she was worried about his health. More likely than not, she was already suspicious

All the complicated emotions and words boiled down to one sentence: “Don’t go too far!”

“Of course.” He agreed, but in his heart, he was no less conflicted than the other.

“You’d better find a way to leave soon. Don’t deceive me; otherwise, Zhen will stop at nothing. Even if you are me, Zhen will let you die without a burial place!” With these words, the young Emperor Jin’an revealed a cruel glint and cold determination in his eyes.

“Of course.” He nodded and then left.

Leaving Emperor Jin’an alone, he would still occasionally chatter, but his eyes concealed a hidden sharpness.

In reality, he knew that the current situation was out of his control, and his delaying tactics were just a pretense. If he had a way, even with his own personality, he wouldn’t hesitate. Unfortunately…

No, he needed to find a way out. The Emperor Jin’an on the outside was well aware of the thoughts of the young Emperor Jin’an. They were of the same kind, never a true gentleman, and never willing to leave their fate in the hands of others.

He was just pretending not to know the other’s thoughts; after all, she was fine now, thanks to him.

As for himself…