I Don't Want to Be a Charmboy【Quick Wear】

The flickering candlelight inside the hall reflected the mess and bewilderment that filled the room.

The imperial physician's silver needles seemed to temporarily suppress the excruciating pain, and Lin Shen stopped struggling violently. However, his body still occasionally twitched slightly, and broken groans escaped from between his teeth, showing that he was still lingering in the aftermath of the pain.

Cheng Song maintained the embracing posture, not daring to move, as if the treasure he held in his arms was the most fragile treasure in the world.

He used his body heat to soothe the cold, trembling body soaked in cold sweat, his chin pressed against Lin Shen's burning forehead. The blood from the wound on the side of his neck had half congealed, and the dark red scabs almost blended into his black clothes. Only the deep teeth marks grotesquely revealed the horror of what had just happened.

Just then, a series of more hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the outer hall, accompanied by the panicked kneeling cries of palace servants: "Your Majesty!"

The beaded curtain was suddenly flung open, and Emperor Qi, Lin Sheng, strode in, bringing with him the chill and oppressive aura of the cold night.

He had clearly rushed over from his palace; his dragon robe was casually draped over his shoulders, his hair ornament slightly askew, and his usually dignified and composed face was now filled with undisguised shock, anger, and anxiety.

His gaze was like lightning, sweeping across the inner room in an instant. It first landed on the Crown Prince, who was lying on the bed, his consciousness blurred and covered in blood. His eyes narrowed in pain, and then, like an ice blade, they sliced ​​through Cheng Song's arms, which were tightly holding the Crown Prince, and the ambiguous and tragic entanglement between the two. Finally, his gaze settled on the clear bite mark on Cheng Song's neck and the bloodstains all over his body.

"Insolence!" Emperor Qi's voice was deep, yet contained a thunderous rage. "Get out of my way!"

He stepped forward and, without saying a word, shoved Cheng Song away violently.

Caught off guard, Cheng Song staggered back several steps by the enormous force, aggravating the wound on the side of his neck. A sharp pain made him groan, and his face turned even paler.

But he immediately steadied himself, bowed his head and knelt on the ground, daring not to offer any explanation: "This servant... disturbed Your Majesty's presence, and deserves to die ten thousand times over."

Emperor Qi didn't even glance at him, his entire attention focused on Lin Shen on the couch.

He bent down, his movements almost clumsy and cautious, a stark contrast to his earlier rage, and gently lifted Lin Shen from the messy, blood-stained bedding, pulling him into his arms.

"My darling...my precious darling..."

He whispered Lin Shen's childhood nickname, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly. With the wide sleeve of his dragon robe, he gently wiped away the grime mixed with sweat and blood from Lin Shen's face, carefully avoiding the scratches on his scalp and examining the wounds on his fingertips.

The heartache and lingering fear in his eyes were almost overflowing.

Lin Shen shifted uncomfortably in his arms, seemingly resisting the unfamiliar embrace. His brows furrowed, and he uttered mumbled incoherently.

"It's alright, Father is here, it's alright..."

Emperor Qi hugged him tighter, gently patting his back as he had soothed him to sleep as a child, but his sharp gaze swept over the imperial physician kneeling beside him, "How is the Crown Prince?"

The Imperial Physician immediately kowtowed: "Your Majesty, His Highness suffered a sudden and severe headache. Fortunately... fortunately, Cheng Song protected him in time, preventing any vital organs from being injured. This old minister has administered acupuncture to temporarily stabilize the condition, but he still needs immediate medication and rest for observation."

"An old ailment?" Emperor Qi's eyes darkened, clearly aware of it, but each flare-up still caused him immense heartache.

His gaze shifted to Cheng Song, who was kneeling motionless on the ground. The bite marks on his neck and the bloodstains of the Crown Prince all over his body were extremely glaring.

A lowly eunuch dared to be so close to and imprison the crown prince, even causing the prince to lose control...

"Cheng Song," Emperor Qi's voice was as cold as ice, "you failed to protect the emperor, causing the crown prince to suffer this pain, and further, you overstepped your bounds and offended the emperor. Get out of the palace and kneel on the stone steps! You are not to rise without my order!"

"This servant... obeys the decree."

Cheng Song kowtowed, his voice calm and even.

He didn't even look up at Lin Shen on the bed again before getting up as instructed and silently leaving the inner room.

His back was straight and his steps were steady, but his hands, hanging at his sides and clenched into fists, with knuckles turned bluish-white from excessive force, betrayed the turbulent emotions within him.

Outside the palace, the night wind was biting, and the cold stone steps exuded a chilling aura.

Cheng Song knelt down straight down, and a dull pain shot through him the moment his knees touched the cold stone surface.

But he seemed oblivious, merely tilting his head slightly upwards to gaze at the waning moon, obscured by thin clouds and appearing exceptionally cold, against the inky sky.

Four years ago, on a similarly cold night, he awoke from a high fever and was overwhelmed by memories of his past life, which flooded back like a burst dam.

He remembered.

He remembered himself as General Cheng, a powerful figure in the court and deeply trusted by the emperor; he remembered the little prince Lin Shen, who reached out his hand to him in the snow, his eyes crinkling with laughter; and he remembered even more…

How she was blinded by power and hypocrisy, how she betrayed that unwavering trust step by step, colluding with that two-faced woman and the powerful relatives of the empress, and in the end...

He personally led his troops and forced his way into the Eastern Palace.

He remembered the towering flames of the palace coup that night, and the incredulous, ultimately lifeless look in the eyes of the man before him, dressed in imperial robes, standing before the palace.

That look was a thousand times colder than the stone steps beneath my knees.

At the last moment, seeing the arrows raining down on the man, he regretted it.

That belated, heart-wrenching regret drove him mad, and he rushed forward recklessly, using his body to block most of the arrows.

The sensation of a sharp blade piercing flesh was so clear, a thousand times more painful than the wound Lin Shen had inflicted tonight.

As he fell, his vision began to blur. He struggled to lift his head, wanting to see that person's face one last time, to know if he still hated him...

But in the end, he saw nothing and sank into eternal darkness.

He thought that was the end.

Unexpectedly, fate gave him a second chance, allowing him to return to this person's side once again, carrying all the memories and sins of his past life.

four years ago.

For the past four years, he has been by the side of the Crown Prince, watching him navigate the treacherous court with utmost care.

Every time His Highness suffered a headache, it felt as if he were experiencing the pain of being pierced by a thousand arrows all over again.

He did everything he could to protect, to make amends, and to do everything he had never done in his previous life, like the most loyal shadow, guarding everything within his sight or beyond.

He dared not hope for forgiveness, nor even let His Highness remember him in the slightest.

He only asked to stay by his side and protect him, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

But tonight, His Highness's momentary lapse in grip, those fleeting fragments of memory...

Does this mean that the deliberately forgotten past is trying to break free from its constraints?

If Your Highness remembers everything... would you still allow him to stay by your side?

The cold night wind blew against Cheng Song's neck wound, bringing a sharp, stinging pain.

He closed his eyes, and the lifeless, cold gaze of the person from his past life intertwined with the painful, trembling appearance of the person in his arms tonight, like the sharpest blade, slowly torturing his already riddled soul.

Inside the hall, the faint sounds of Emperor Qi's soothing voice and the busy movements of the imperial physicians could be heard.

Outside the palace, a guard in black robes knelt on the cold stone steps, like a silent atoning man, using the pain of his body to commemorate the sins and punishments of his past and present lives.

He knew his sins were grave and could not be redeemed even by death.

But as long as he could still stand guard outside the palace and sense even a trace of the person inside, it would be the greatest... and also the cruelest blessing from heaven.

The lights inside the palace cast the silhouette of Emperor Qi carefully holding the crown prince onto the window lattice; the silhouette was warm yet distant.

Cheng Song knelt on the cold stone steps. The night wind pierced through his thin black robe, bringing a biting chill, but it was nothing compared to the coldness in his heart.

The wound on the side of his neck was still throbbing, carrying with it the resolute force between Lin Shen's teeth.

The pain was strangely clear, as if it had briefly awakened him from a bloody nightmare of his past life.

He remembered how similar the dull thud of an arrow tearing through flesh was to this moment when he shielded himself from an arrow in his previous life.

But at that moment, he was no longer able to see the prince's expression clearly—was it hatred, pain, or... a trace of pity?

Now, he returns with indelible sins, willingly hiding in the shadows, serving as his humblest shield.

But what if His Highness truly recalls the past, recalls his past betrayal...?

Cheng Song closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. The tightly closed palace door seemed like an insurmountable chasm between them.

He may even lose the right to kneel here.

A suppressed cough came from inside the hall, and Cheng Song's back straightened instantly, all his thoughts coming to an abrupt halt.

He listened intently until the sound subsided, then slowly loosened his clenched knuckles, which had turned white, and lowered his head again.

No matter what lies ahead, he can still stay here at this moment.

This is enough.