After I Faked My Death, the Dog Emperor Completely Lost His Mind - Chapter 10

The Emperor’s mind was unpredictable. Shen Yuheng had no idea what Xiao Huai was thinking; he only knew that staying alive was his top priority. Of course, protecting his virtue was a close second.

Shen Yuheng had a sudden spark of inspiration. “Your Majesty has been so diligent with state and family affairs; allow this servant to massage your shoulders.”

Xiao Huai nodded and sat on the bed. Shen Yuheng immediately drifted behind him and began kneading the Emperor’s shoulders. Xiao Huai’s body was different from what he had imagined; though he looked thin enough to be blown away by a breeze, his muscles were surprisingly firm and resistant to pressure.

After a few minutes of massaging, Shen Yuheng’s hands began to ache. Are you a mummified corpse?!

Fortunately, Xiao Huai half-closed his eyes, appearing to relax. Shen Yuheng served him with extreme caution, even matching his breathing to Xiao Huai’s. He had heard that synchronizing breaths could relax both parties and make it easier to fall asleep.

But tonight, Xiao Huai simply had no desire to sleep.

“Enough.” He suddenly raised a hand and gently pushed Shen Yuheng away. “Consort Shen has been so diligent today; I am quite gratified.” He pointed to the bedside. “Bring that bowl of medicine over.”

Shen Yuheng was delighted and hurried to comply. Last time, Xiao Huai had fallen into a deep sleep immediately after drinking the medicine; it seemed he could bluff his way through again tonight. Shen Yuheng hoped Xiao Huai would be like a certain “Sleeping Kogoro” periodically losing his memory but never questioning it.

He carried the medicine bowl to Xiao Huai, only to realize that the liquid inside wasn’t the dark, viscous brew from last time, but a golden-yellow herbal soup.

Why isn’t it the same medicine?!!

Shen Yuheng panicked. He looked up, but through the dense mist of incense filling the room, he couldn’t clearly see Xiao Huai’s expression. This tall, thin man was so much older than him that Shen Yuheng always felt a sense of caution and defensiveness toward him, as if dealing with an elder, even if this “elder” was technically his man.

Shen Yuheng cautiously offered the medicine. Xiao Huai didn’t take it. He sat on the bed, his long hair cascading over his shoulders like an unruly living thing. He reached out a slender finger and brushed aside a soft lock of hair from Shen Yuheng’s forehead.

“Your brother returned to the capital recently and gifted me some nourishing herbs. I am now bestowing them upon you.” Xiao Huai tapped the porcelain bowl, his fingernail making a crisp sound against the rim. “Consort Shen, kneel and accept.”

Shen Yuheng froze. Who’s drinking it? Me?

He said tactfully, “Your Majesty, this servant’s health is fine; drinking such nourishing medicine would be a waste.”

Xiao Huai interrupted him hollowly: “What? Does Consort Shen not wish to drink?”

Shen Yuheng shook his head frantically. This was a bestowed tonic; he didn’t dare refuse. Moreover, what he feared most was Xiao Huai’s tone completely devoid of inflection, making it impossible to guess his next move. Under Xiao Huai’s gaze, Shen Yuheng picked up the soup and took a small sip.

It indeed tasted of herbs, not poison. He relaxed slightly, closed his eyes, and drank it all in one go. Seeing him finish, Xiao Huai’s lips curled into a smile, and he patted his lap. “Good child, come up.”

Shen Yuheng tried to stand, but his legs had gone numb from kneeling, and he suddenly twisted his ankle.

Ow, ow, ow!

Shen Yuheng’s eyes narrowed in pain. Xiao Huai caught his hands and helped him onto the bed. Feeling Xiao Huai’s face close to his, Shen Yuheng’s breath hitched. “Your Majesty, I.”

Xiao Huai stopped and looked at him for a while. Seeing Shen Yuheng trembling so violently, he gently patted the small of the man’s back, making a cooing sound as if soothing a child.

Shen Yuheng was stunned. He hadn’t expected this “debauched and senile” Emperor to perform such a fatherly gesture. Inexplicably, a strange feeling welled up, a feeling like being with a father.

Embarrassed at being treated like a child at his age, Shen Yuheng avoided looking at Xiao Huai’s face and let the man pat him for a while. Surprisingly, he really did stop trembling. Xiao Huai didn’t approach him further, helping him lie down and saying he would return after bathing.

Shen Yuheng nodded, but after being soothed, he was suddenly overcome with drowsiness. He couldn’t remember if Xiao Huai ever returned; he only had a hazy memory of hearing a commotion outside the window.

The next day.

When Shen Yuheng woke up, the room was pitch black. The bright sunlight was halved by the window paper, casting only a thin mist of light. He sat up in a daze and realized that his clothes had been changed at some point, causing him to panic.

He quickly checked himself; fortunately, he was clean, his clothes were tidy, and there were no marks of any kind. Shen Yuheng let out a long, long sigh of relief. He must have fallen asleep so fast that Xiao Huai found him boring!

Shen Yuheng felt as happy as if he’d discovered a new continent, already plotting how to fall asleep even faster in the future to avoid serving the bed.

The System detected he was awake and immediately began wailing: 【Host! Host, you’re finally awake! You wouldn’t wake up; I thought the old Emperor had tormented you to the brink…】

Shen Yuheng: “…” No, I just slept for a long time…

The System asked with concern: 【Are you okay, Host? If it weren’t for the Transmigration Bureau’s rules against invading a host’s privacy, I really would have stayed to keep you company 】

Shen Yuheng said hurriedly, “No, no, absolutely not.” If word got out that he was that afraid of Xiao Huai, where would he hide his face?

He tried to get out of bed, but the moment his feet touched the floor, he winced in pain. Oh right, he’d almost forgotten he twisted his ankle.

Shen Yuheng leaned against the wall, limping slowly. The sight nearly scared the young maids of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to death, and they hurriedly sent people to help him out. Hearing he was awake, Head Eunuch Fang rushed over to see him off.

Perhaps it was a hallucination, but Shen Yuheng felt Fang Qing’s fawning smile was especially brilliant today. As the servants helped him into the palanquin, Fang Qing was busy scolding the bearers: “His Majesty specifically instructed before going to court, Consort Shen has injured his foot; you must be extremely careful!”

Seeing how much importance the eunuchs placed on his care, Shen Yuheng felt a secret pang of guilt. They all thought he was a favored consort but he hadn’t even served the bed!

Shen Yuheng sighed. He turned his head and realized that there were guards everywhere outside the hall; the atmosphere was tense and oppressive. He blinked curiously.

What’s the situation?

Shen Yuheng called over Fang Qing to ask why, but the eunuch only gave a hollow laugh. “It is nothing major; the Consort need not worry.” Clearly, he was being brushed off.

Shen Yuheng huffed. On the way back to the Hall of Pure Clarity, he noticed the servants treating him with much more importance; the palanquin was so steady it barely vibrated. He figured Zhou Yuan and the others would make a big fuss when he got back.

As he was thinking this, the palanquin turned a corner, and he saw someone standing outside the hall entrance. Wearing red-and-black robes that fluttered in the breeze, the youth looked thin and solitary, standing there alone in the chilly autumn wind.

Shen Yuheng was taken aback and urged the bearers to hurry. He was half-worried and half-skeptical was there something wrong with Xiao Jin’s head? His fever hadn’t fully subsided, yet he was standing in the wind; was he hoping to stay sick?

The October wind was already half-chilled, carrying a bite. Standing in it for too long made one’s head ache. As Shen Yuheng was helped off the palanquin, Xiao Jin’s brow knit together.

What’s wrong with his leg? Serving the be resulted in his leg being made like that?

The one who injured Shen Yuheng was likely his father, yet Xiao Jin hated Shen Yuheng even more. Shen Yuheng seemed to notice the deep malice in his eyes and froze for a second, but then pretended not to see it.

“Why are you waiting here? Aren’t you afraid of the wind?” He patted Xiao Jin’s shoulder, signaling the boy to follow him inside.

The servants of the Hall of Pure Clarity tried to step forward to help him, but Shen Yuheng refused. He had only twisted his ankle; the fact that they were making such a huge production out of it made him feel awkward. Once the servants left, he entered the hall first, leaning against the wall and limping forward.

After a few steps, he remembered something and looked back at Xiao Jin. “Have you had breakfast? Did you take your medicine?”

“Where did you hide my knife?”

Xiao Jin’s sudden question nearly made Shen Yuheng stumble. Where is the knife. I threw it out, of course!! If Xiao Jin kept something like that in the bedchamber, it would eventually become a murder weapon!!

Shen Yuheng avoided his gaze. “I haven’t seen any knife. What do you want that for? It didn’t have your name on it; perhaps a servant threw it out.”

Xiao Jin: “…”

Shen Yuheng’s answer was too normal. He was trying to act mean, but he was like a cat imitating a tiger—baring claws and teeth but only catching the shape.

The more Shen Yuheng acted like a normal person, the stronger the eerie sense of disconnect surrounding him became. Why was the Shen Yuheng he knew such a mean and disgusting creature? Why, when his father summoned Shen Yuheng to serve the bed, did Shen Yuheng suddenly become a normal “nice guy”?

And his father, nothing but an incompetent fool manipulated by powerful officials and toyed with by princes. Why?

Xiao Jin watched Shen Yuheng’s limping pace as the man tried to move away from him as quickly as possible.

He thought. He suddenly wanted to break that ankle all over again.

Using his own marks to completely overwrite the marks left by his father.