Lin Qinghe, who was sound asleep, was kicked off the bed with a yelp. She cried out in pain, rubbing her backside and indignantly yelling at You Rong, "What are you doing in the middle of the night? Are you crazy? It hurts so much, my butt..."
You Rong sat on the bed with a cold expression, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
Who was this woman?
And hadn't he been chased by assassins and fallen off a cliff? Why was he here?
You Rong tried hard to recall, and suddenly a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind.
He had become an idiot, bullied by palace maids and eunuchs, disdained by his father, and even publicly humiliated at his father's birthday banquet... He also remembered being conferred the title of Prince and marrying Lin Qinghe.
Too many memories rushed in, and You Rong felt a splitting headache. He clutched his head and let out a pained groan.
Lin Qinghe, who had fallen to the ground, forgot about her aching backside. She quickly got up and returned to the bed, hugging You Rong and gently patting his back. "Having nightmares again, right? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid... I'm here, Your Highness, don't be afraid..."
Ever since Feng Jing Tian gave You Rong acupuncture, he had been having frequent nightmares at night. However, in the previous nightmares, his body was rigid, and he muttered incomprehensible words, appearing very distressed, but he wasn't awake. He wouldn't remember anything the next day.
Therefore, Lin Qinghe didn't think much of it, assuming he was just having another nightmare, and this time he had just woken up after one.
You Rong buried his face in Lin Qinghe's neck. Listening to her gentle and pleasant voice, the splitting headache gradually subsided, and he felt an indescribable peace.
You Rong slowly raised his hand, which had been hanging down, and hugged Lin Qinghe. He closed his eyes, leaned against her, and relaxed completely.
After coaxing him for a long while, hearing You Rong fall silent, Lin Qinghe thought he had calmed down. She pulled him down to lie down and yawned, "Alright, I won't hold it against you for kicking me off the bed this time. Let's go back to sleep. Don't be afraid, I'll always be here. Sleep now..."
You Rong obediently lay down, allowing Lin Qinghe to pull up the blanket and cover him. She gently patted him and whispered, "Sleep, sleep... Don't be afraid, you don't need to be afraid..."
Before long, Lin Qinghe was too sleepy. Her eyelids were drooping, and finally, she slowly closed her eyes. Her breathing evened out, and she fell into a deep sleep once more.
You Rong, who had been forcing his eyes shut, opened them again. In the dim candlelight of the room, he gazed at Lin Qinghe's delicate face. His eyes were no longer filled with icy coldness, but with a rare tenderness.
Yes, he had just regained his senses. The memories from the past two years, when he was an idiot, felt like someone else's memories to him—very strange. But through these two years of memories, he suddenly saw through many things.
Apart from his Imperial Grandmother, there was no one in this world who truly cared for him, this woman who had married him by mistake and by chance.
Even his father, who had loved him dearly and raised him, now loathed him because he had become an idiot. He had even harbored the murderers, Consort Xiao and You Jing, who had caused him to fall off the cliff!
It seemed he had been too naive before, thinking the position of Crown Prince was a sure thing. He had repeatedly spared You Jing, considering him a blood brother, only to almost lose his life.
This time... he would never show mercy again!
The throne was his!
You Jing and Consort Xiao... he wanted them dead!
You Rong, filled with murderous intent, had eyes that were chillingly cold at that moment. Suddenly, Lin Qinghe, who was asleep, unconsciously patted him again and mumbled indistinctly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid... I'm here, I'm here..."
The malevolence radiating from You Rong vanished in an instant. He lowered his gaze and stared at her intently.
After a long while, You Rong's well-defined fingers gently stroked Lin Qinghe's cheek. He leaned in and lightly kissed her on the forehead, saying in a deep voice, "You don't despise me for being an idiot, and you treat me sincerely. I will do my best to treat you well and offer you the best things in the world..."
Unfortunately, Lin Qinghe, who was fast asleep, did not hear You Rong's words.
You Rong moved to embrace Lin Qinghe, closed his eyes, and rested.
You Rong decided not to reveal to anyone that he had regained his senses for now. This would allow Consort Xiao and You Jing to continue to let down their guard, making it easier for him to act and plan to reclaim everything that belonged to him as soon as possible!
-------------------------------------
The next morning.
Lin Qinghe opened her eyes. Her backside, still sore from falling last night, ached faintly. She cursed You Rong silently in her heart and decided to dock his chicken drumsticks today, no meat for him!
Lin Qinghe unhappily nudged the sleeping You Rong beside her. "Your Highness, wake up, wake up... The sun is shining on your butt! Hurry up and get up!"
Today, You Rong didn't dally as usual when he was called to wake up. He didn't want to open his eyes no matter how many times she called. As soon as she called him, he woke up, then snuggled up to her, wrapping his long arm around Lin Qinghe, and whispered, "Princess Consort... you're awake."
Lin Qinghe was stunned. She felt like something was off, but when she looked closely, she couldn't pinpoint anything wrong. She dismissed it as her own overthinking.
Lin Qinghe pushed against You Rong's chest, indignantly saying, "Hurry up and get up. Stop dawdling. It's so hot hugging you first thing in the morning. Let go of me quickly..."
Lin Qinghe got out of bed, pulled You Rong off the bed, and ordered hot water to be brought. As usual, she helped You Rong wash up. After wringing out the face towel, Lin Qinghe thought that You Rong had nightmares last night and seemed to have broken out in a cold sweat, so his body must be sticky.
Without thinking, she directly untied the strings of You Rong's inner garment. Just as she was about to wipe his body with the towel, You Rong's ears turned slightly red, and he hastily pulled his inner garment closed. "Princess Consort! I... I'll do it myself!"
Although they had slept in the same bed when he was an idiot, and it was the same last night after he regained his senses, he had never exposed himself in front of a woman before.
Lin Qinghe didn't even look up, wanting to finish quickly. She slapped You Rong's hand and untied his inner garment again, saying irritably, "There! Stop fussing. Can you wipe yourself clean by yourself? I'll do it! We need to go to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager today. Don't be late, understand?"
"This King, this King..." You Rong was afraid that refusing again would make Lin Qinghe suspicious, so he forced himself to let Lin Qinghe wipe him, his ears turning completely red.
After helping You Rong wash up, Lin Qinghe was about to change clothes. You Rong felt it was inappropriate for him to stay there any longer, so he dropped a sentence, "Princess Consort, I... I'll go find Steward Fu!"
You Rong then strode out of the room briskly, leaving Lin Qinghe muttering in confusion, "Why is he so strange today..."
Lin Qinghe didn't think much of it. After changing her clothes, she still felt something was odd. So, she casually opened the system to check the progress bar.
She hadn't heard the prompt for the progress bar increasing before, so she didn't have any expectations. But after opening it, she was stunned.
The progress bar had increased by thirty-five percent!
When did it increase? Why did she have no memory of it?
Had You Rong regained his senses?!