Chapter 68

Xiao Changyuan held the warm, soft bundle in his arms, his heart filled with helplessness.
Although his Pianpian was both infuriating and troublesome, and she didn't even like him, he was hopelessly in love with her, so much so that it consumed him.
He wanted to hold her tightly in his embrace, to never let her leave him.
But his overly forceful embrace would only push her further away.
That was why he had resorted to this shameful method.
He would pretend to be the version of himself who had lost his memory, abandoning dignity, pride, and everything else.
All he wanted was to reconcile with his Pianpian.
Xiao Changyuan had never considered awakening his amnesiac self, because he clearly knew that the person he was during his amnesia and the person he was now were one and the same. He retained all the memories from that period, every moment vivid in his mind, and he knew exactly how to play the part of himself.
The physician in the county town had never mentioned that dissociative amnesia could recur; this was a lie Xiao Changyuan fabricated to make Yun Pianpian believe him. To avoid arousing her suspicion, he deliberately struck his own head with the phoenix seal in front of her. To make the situation appear more convincing, Xiao Changyuan truly inflicted a harsh blow upon himself.
He was ruthless to others, but even more so to himself.
To achieve his goals, he would stop at nothing, even if it meant injuring himself.
Xiao Changyuan acted with cruelty and decisiveness.
In this world, only one person could receive his mercy, and that person was Yun Pianpian.
But Xiao Changyuan couldn't understand, even though he had already made such a great concession, why was this woman still crying so bitterly?
He wanted to command her coldly, as he had in the past, to stop crying. Yet he feared that doing so would reveal he hadn’t lost his memory. If she found out the truth, she might flee from his side again. So Xiao Changyuan had no choice but to retract all his icy thorns and clumsily try to comfort Yun Pianpian.
His voice was hoarse, his tone uncharacteristically humble.
“Wife, please don’t cry, alright?”
His heart was breaking with every sob from Yun Pianpian.
Xiao Changyuan frowned, thinking that if she wanted the moon from the sky right now, he would risk his life to pluck it down for her.
As long as the moon could stop her tears, he would do anything.
Xiao Changyuan held Yun Pianpian in his arms.
He bowed his head to her, carefully coaxing her.
Fresh blood dripped from his pale, refined jaw, dampening Yun Pianpian’s dark hair.
As he stroked her hair, his dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Suddenly, an idea came to him, a way to stop Yun Pianpian’s tears. Shamelessly, he feigned weakness and said, “Wife, my head hurts so much.”
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian immediately stopped crying. She hurriedly straightened up from his embrace, wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and with reddened eyes, holding back her sobs, said, “I’ll go find the imperial physician for you…”
With that, Yun Pianpian stood up and ran toward the palace doors. She pushed them open, gave a few instructions to the attendants outside, and when she returned, though her eyes were still red and swollen, she had stopped crying. She helped Xiao Changyuan up from the floor and seated him on the dragon bed. As she turned to leave, Xiao Changyuan suddenly grasped her slender, pale wrist.
“Wife, where are you going?”
Yun Pianpian’s eyes were still wet and red as she replied, “I want to tidy up this place.”
She didn’t want anyone to know she and Xiao Changyuan had argued.
She didn’t even dare let others know that Xiao Changyuan had lost his memory.
The palace was full of dangers, and she feared someone might take advantage of the situation to harm him.
Xiao Changyuan frowned. “Don’t go too far.”
Yun Pianpian nodded delicately.
She wiped the blood, stained phoenix seal clean with a silk handkerchief, placed it in an ornate box, and returned the box to the rosewood bookshelf behind the imperial desk.
There were imperial physicians on duty in the outer court, which was some distance from the inner court. Before the physicians arrived, the attendants brought the water and towels Yun Pianpian had requested in a gold, cloud patterned basin. Yun Pianpian dismissed them, and the attendants, showing her great respect, closed the palace doors as they left.
Only the two of them remained in the hall.
Yun Pianpian picked up the towel draped over the gold, cloud patterned basin, dampened it, wrung it out, and carefully wiped Xiao Changyuan’s face, cleaning his wounds. Sensing Xiao Changyuan’s unwavering gaze, she thought he was confused by the situation. Holding back tears, she explained, “Husband, this is the imperial palace. You are the emperor.”
Xiao Changyuan pretended to be stunned.
“I am the emperor?”
Yun Pianpian’s eyelashes trembled, and she tightened her grip on the damp towel. “I’ve actually been deceiving you all along…”
The imperial physician would arrive soon, and Yun Pianpian needed to explain everything to Xiao Changyuan before he got there.
Xiao Changyuan’s handsome, jade, like face appropriately showed a puzzled expression.
Feigning ignorance, he asked, “Wife, what have you been hiding from me?”
Yun Pianpian, seeing Xiao Changyuan's pure and innocent demeanor, found herself even more unable to muster the courage to speak the truth. Her face pale, her lashes trembling slightly, she shut her eyes tightly and said, “I'm actually not your wife. When I woke up by the stream and saw you lying beside me, I was momentarily captivated by your looks and impulsively told a huge lie.”
This was the second time Xiao Changyuan had heard these words.
But his state of mind had undergone a dramatic change.
When he first heard these words in Jiangjia Village, his heart was filled with nothing but cold indifference and anger at being deceived by a fool.
But now, Xiao Changyuan began to see things from Yun Pianpian's perspective. He could sense her fear, her pale face, colorless lips, and the slight trembling of her body. She must be terrified now, just as she had been back in Jiangjia Village, perhaps even more so then.
Now, Xiao Changyuan felt only deep regret.
He shouldn’t have been so harsh with Yun Pianpian back then.
She was clearly so frightened, yet he had treated her with such coldness.
No wonder Yun Pianpian had grown to dislike him later.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Changyuan reached out and took Yun Pianpian’s trembling hand, intertwining their fingers.
He lifted his dark, profound eyes to look at her, his voice low and tender.
“Wife, I forgive you.”
As he forgave Yun Pianpian, he also hoped she could forgive his own shortcomings.
Hearing his words, Yun Pianpian’s lashes trembled abruptly.
She opened her eyes in disbelief, her clear, bright almond, shaped eyes gradually misted over with a layer of damp, hazy tears.
“Do you truly forgive me, husband?”
Xiao Changyuan reached out, pulling Yun Pianpian into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her slender waist as he carefully kissed away the tears clinging to her lashes.
“As long as you stay with me, no matter what you do, I will always forgive you.”
Yun Pianpian’s lashes fluttered, and glistening tears rolled from her eyes, dampening her rosy cheeks.
So, if she had told him the truth herself, he would have forgiven her so easily. He didn’t need her to shed blood or tears to forgive her instantly. If she had known he was this forgiving, she shouldn’t have given up halfway, forcing Xiao Changyuan to uncover the truth on his own. She should have told him everything herself.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly. “Wife, why are you crying again?”
Yun Pianpian wiped her tears with her sleeve. “I’m not crying. I’m just too happy.”
Xiao Changyuan asked, “Happy?”
Yun Pianpian reached out and wrapped her arms around Xiao Changyuan's waist, burying her delicate cheek in his chest. Her voice came out muffled as she said, “I thought my husband would be angry with me.”
Xiao Changyuan held Yun Pianpian's delicate form and replied, “How could I ever be angry with my wife?”
He kissed the top of her head, his voice low and husky, “I will never be angry with my wife.”
Hearing his words, Yun Pianpian tightened her small arms around him, nestling in his embrace like a kitten, exuding an indescribable gentleness and obedience.
Xiao Changyuan felt that as long as she stayed quietly in his arms like this, holding him tightly and never leaving him, he could play the fool for her for a lifetime.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Liu Shun's voice came from outside the hall.
“Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress, Imperial Physician Pang has arrived.”
Yun Pianpian immediately rose from Xiao Changyuan's embrace and straightened her palace attire.
Xiao Changyuan felt a sudden emptiness in his arms, a sense of loss washing over him.
His cold, handsome face grew slightly stern.
Why did these annoying ants have to disturb him at such a moment.
Yun Pianpian didn't notice the expression on his face. She cleared her throat and raised her voice to speak to the outside of the hall, “Let him in.”
Liu Shun replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The hall doors opened, and Liu Shun led Imperial Physician Pang into the inner chamber.
Imperial Physician Pang set down the medicine chest he was carrying and first examined Xiao Changyuan's wound. Though the wound looked gruesome with mangled flesh, it was not deep and had not affected the internal organs. He took out a soft cushion, placed it under Xiao Changyuan's wrist, and began to take his pulse. After a moment, Imperial Physician Pang withdrew his hand and bowed respectfully, saying, “Your Majesty's injury is not serious, “
Before he could finish, Xiao Changyuan suddenly seized Imperial Physician Pang's wrist before he could retract it.
“Imperial Physician Pang, there are some things I can't quite remember.”
His sinister, bloodthirsty cold eyes stared icily at Imperial Physician Pang.
“Perhaps you should examine me more thoroughly.”
Imperial Physician Pang stiffly looked up and abruptly met a pair of terrifying, bloodthirsty cold eyes.
He immediately turned pale with fright, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Trembling, Imperial Physician Pang placed his fingers back on Xiao Changyuan's pale wrist.
Though he didn't understand why His Majesty had suddenly developed a murderous intent toward him, his over thirty years of experience in the palace told him that he had to say something completely different from his initial diagnosis. Otherwise, he might not leave this bedchamber alive today.
Imperial Physician Pang withdrew his hand, trembling as he said, “Although Your Majesty's injury is not serious, it has affected your internal organs. If the internal blood stasis does not dissipate, it could potentially be life, threatening in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changyuan narrowed his cold phoenix eyes, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.
“In Imperial Physician Pang's opinion, how should I recuperate?”
The reason Imperial Physician Pang had managed to survive to this day without losing his head was not only due to his exceptional medical skills but also his keen ability to read people. Seeing that Xiao Changyuan was not enraged, he knew he had narrowly escaped disaster today. His Majesty clearly had no illness but insisted he was unwell. Imperial Physician Pang immediately realized that this matter might be related to Her Majesty the Empress.
Not daring to prescribe any random medicine for Xiao Changyuan, he followed His Majesty's lead and said, “Long, term massaging of the temples can help dissipate the blood stasis. It may take as little as three months or as long as three years. During this time, we may have to trouble Her Majesty the Empress.”
Xiao Changyuan slightly narrowed his phoenix eyes and cast an appreciative glance at Imperial Physician Pang.
It seemed this ant wasn't so detestable after all.
After Imperial Physician Pang and Liu Shun left, only Xiao Changyuan and Yun Pianpian remained in the bedchamber.
Xiao Changyuan reached out and took Yun Pianpian’s small hand in his.
His dark, profound eyes, like unfathomable inkstones, gazed meekly at Yun Pianpian.
“Wife, did I act like an emperor just now?”
Yun Pianpian slightly furrowed her delicate brows.
She felt that something had been off earlier but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.