After I Faked My Death, the Dog Emperor Completely Lost His Mind - Chapter 8

In the original book, the assassination of the Sixteenth Prince shouldn’t have happened for another two months. Furthermore, the assassin caught during the palace search back then was merely a killer who had infiltrated disguised as a palace maid.

However, seeing Xiao Jin before him right now, drenched in blood the words “I am the killer” might as well have been written across his face.

Shen Yuheng froze for a moment. His first instinct was to strip off Xiao Jin’s blood-stained clothes.

Xiao Jin was startled and retreated with a low growl, “What do you think you’re doing!”

“If you want to live, shut up!”

In a crisis like this, why is this stubborn kid still being difficult?!

Xiao Jin was stunned by his shout, and his blood-soaked clothes were promptly ripped away. The clothes Shen Yuheng had gifted him were indeed made of top-tier fabric; even the blood-stained remnants looked ornate and beautiful.

As Shen Yuheng hid the bloody garments in a hidden compartment of the wardrobe, he realized Xiao Jin was left only in a tattered, faded undershirt. The youth gritted his teeth in humiliation, glaring at Shen Yuheng like a trapped beast pushed to the brink.

Xiao Jin had likely never experienced such a shameful moment, stripped bare and having his life-or-death secret held by his great enemy, Shen Yuheng.

And now, he technically had to call this great enemy “Mother.”

Despite the tension of the situation, Shen Yuheng actually let out a snicker. Ignoring Xiao Jin’s deathly dark expression, he dressed him in a thin white inner robe. It was somewhat meager, but at least it covered him.

Feeling Shen Yuheng’s hands moving over his body, Xiao Jin nearly went mad. What kind of parent-child roleplay was Shen Yuheng playing? Did he truly believe Imperial Father favored him because he took care of Xiao Jin?

Actually, the fact that his Imperial Father would be interested in a male consort but then again, that old Emperor always liked fools who were nothing but a pretty face.

Last night, when Xiao Jin was contacting his subordinates to receive intelligence, he had seen the lights of the Hall of Mental Cultivation still burning from afar. For some reason, as if possessed, he had gone there. Perhaps he wanted to see the ugly sight of Shen Yuheng’s ridiculously fake, gentle face sinking into the mire of desire.

But standing by the window, Xiao Jin didn’t see the scene he expected. Through a small hole in the window paper, he glimpsed Shen Yuheng tucking the man on the bed into the quilts. Such an arrogant person was actually leaving with such caution and extreme care.

At the thought of what had just happened. Xiao Jin’s hands couldn’t stop trembling as he tried to extinguish his own wild, vivid imagination.

Shen Yuheng had no idea that Xiao Jin’s mind was flashing with unspeakable images. He finished dressing Xiao Jin and hurriedly wiped away the pool of blood on the floor. The commotion outside was drawing closer.

Although Shen Yuheng had instructed Zhou Yuan not to let anyone barge into the Hall of Pure Clarity, the sound of footsteps soon reached the entrance. They were likely tracking the bloodstains. Zhou Yuan and the others were trying to block them, but judging by the sound, they wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.

Shen Yuheng stopped Xiao Jin, who was about to escape through the window. “Did you kill the person?”

“No.” Xiao Jin let out a self-deprecating smirk. “Would you believe me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

He knew that although Xiao Jin was brutal, he only killed those he had a grudge against. The Sixteenth Prince was gentle and had never had any dealings with Xiao Jin. In the original book, he was still alive and well after Xiao Jin took the throne. Xiao Jin couldn’t be the one who killed him.

Outside, the door was hammered several times. A fist pounded the wood as a harsh voice demanded, “Is Consort Shen present?”

Zhou Yuan frowned and stepped forward to advice, “Gentlemen, it is late. Please lower your voices.”

The man pounding the door turned around, his eyes mocking as he looked at Zhou Yuan. “We are here on Imperial orders. Do a few eunuchs think they can stop us?”

They were the guards raised by the Sixteenth Prince. Now that the pack had lost its leader and carried the heavy burden of finding the assassin, every one of them was fearless.

Just as the standoff peaked, the door opened from within. Shen Yuheng let out a yawn and walked out nonchalantly. He folded his arms and looked at the aggressive crowd. “What is the meaning of this?”

The man who had been pounding the door softened his attitude significantly upon seeing Shen Yuheng. “The Sixteenth Prince has been assassinated in the palace, and the killer’s whereabouts are unknown. Has Consort Shen seen anyone suspicious tonight?”

Shen Yuheng replied bluntly, “No.”

“Is that so?” The man’s gaze was searching as he looked at Xiao Jin, who was hidden behind Shen Yuheng’s back. “We followed the bloodstains here, and the people in your hall say the Ninth Prince has been out late tonight.”

Shen Yuheng shielded Xiao Jin even more closely. “Who’s talking nonsense? The Ninth Prince has been with me the entire time. If he killed someone, wouldn’t I know?”

As he said this, Shen Yuheng felt a secret shiver. In truth, his courage wasn’t that great, he didn’t dare to bungee jump or do parkour, and he feared for his life more than anyone. But he had no choice; who told him he had to babysit a kid after transmigrating?

For the mother is strong, ay, for the mother is strong.

Wait, was that how you used that phrase?

Fortunately, the guards didn’t dare to overstep. After searching the perimeter of the Hall of Pure Clarity to no avail, they had no choice but to leave. Shen Yuheng let out a long sigh of relief. One crisis averted.

The servants dispersed, leaving only Zhou Yuan, Yundou, and Jiaobai, who knew the truth. When the assassin was on the loose, the Ninth Prince was indeed missing, and the bloodstains really did lead to their hall. Their faces were full of worry, unsure if they should bring it up.

Seeing Shen Yuheng about to close the door and remain alone with Xiao Jin, Zhou Yuan risked his life to step forward. “Consort Shen, the Ninth Prince…”

“He didn’t do it.”

Shen Yuheng interrupted Zhou Yuan softly, his gaze sweeping over the group. “The Ninth Prince has nothing to do with what happened today. Remember that.”

“Understood.” The servants withdrew in silence.

The Sixteenth Prince’s guards had permission from the Emperor to continue searching other palaces for the assassin. For now, they were safe.

Shen Yuheng closed the doors and windows tight. Only after confirming no one was outside did, he ask in a whisper, “If you didn’t kill the Sixteenth Prince, where did you get all that blood?”

“…” Xiao Jin stared straight ahead, the black fringe on his forehead swaying slightly. The next second, his eyes closed, and his body tilted forward as he collapsed.

Shen Yuheng rushed to support him. The arm beneath his hand was burning hot.

The white robe Xiao Jin was wearing was already stained again. He had several deep blade wounds on his body; because they had been left untreated for too long, the blood flowing out had turned a dark, blackish hue. Xiao Jin’s body had been malnourished for years, so his wounds healed slowly, and his forehead was starting to burn with fever.

Shen Yuheng wrote down all of Xiao Jin’s symptoms and had a maid go to Physician Xu to fetch medicine. He told the maid to relay to Physician Xu that there were reasons for this and that these medicines must absolutely not be recorded in the Imperial Academy of Medicine’s ledgers.

Physician Xu had been a military doctor in his father’s camp and shared a life-and-death bond with his father. Later, after Xu entered the palace, he had met the original owner a few times. Having a familiar physician was a rare and precious resource in the palace, but unfortunately, the original owner hadn’t cared at all; he had been cold to Physician Xu both times, brushing him off.

Shen Yuheng was a bit worried that Physician Xu would refuse his request due to those unpleasant experiences. Fortunately, the man was magnanimous; he not only agreed to the request but also came to the Hall of Pure Clarity in person.

By the bedside, Physician Xu used copper needles to treat Xiao Jin’s external wounds. It was a process that should have been agonizingly painful, yet the youth remained quiet with his eyes closed, sleeping deeply. Only under the candlelight did Xiao Jin finally lose that defensive, guarded expression; his relaxed features smoothed out, though beads of sweat formed from the pain.

Physician Xu felt his pulse, pondered for a moment, and wrote out several prescriptions. “This prescription will reduce the fever, stop the sweating, and nourish his Qi and blood. As for the remaining ones.”

Physician Xu hesitated.

“What’s wrong with the rest?”

“These prescriptions are merely for conditioning the body. However, the Ninth Prince suffers from severe nightmares; these can also calm his nerves and supplement the Yang energy.”

Physician Xu wrote the prescriptions but didn’t dare use them directly on Xiao Jin. He had seen with his own eyes how Shen Yuheng treated the boy, it was worse than the treatment of the lowest servant. The Shen family had been kind to him, so he wouldn’t say much, but if his prescriptions helped Xiao Jin recover, Shen Yuheng would likely blame him.

He hadn’t expected that the moment Shen Yuheng heard “conditioning the body,” his eyes would light up.

Condition him! He must be conditioned!!

Shen Yuheng was delighted. He immediately had Physician Xu leave the prescriptions and arranged for a maid to return to the Shen household tomorrow to have the family prepare the herbs according to the dosages. These prescriptions had blood-stanching and wound-healing properties, so they couldn’t be recorded at the Imperial Academy of Medicine lest Xiao Jin be suspected.

As for the batch of medicine Physician Xu brought today, he had a bowl brewed immediately for Xiao Jin to take. After doing all this, Shen Yuheng felt more at ease. If Physician Xu’s prescriptions worked, then Xiao Jin would at least not be left with chronic illnesses and old injuries like in the original book.

Things were progressing… quite smoothly? He asked the System: “Am I actually a redemption expert?”

【Host…】 The System was thrilled: 【Uwaaaa, you’re so reliable!!! I declare you the master of redemption!!!】

Shen Yuheng was feeling quite proud when suddenly, a small tug pulled at a corner of his robe. He jumped in fright, only to see that Xiao Jin had reached out and grabbed him. The youth’s wrist was thin and pale, his fingers digging firmly into the fabric, his bloodless lips murmuring indistinguishable words.

Shen Yuheng listened for a few seconds before hearing a tiny: “Mother-Consort.”

Shen Yuheng froze. Was Xiao Jin having another nightmare?

He tried to pry the youth’s hand away, but Xiao Jin’s grip was deathly tight, refusing to let go. He didn’t know where the boy got such strength in his dreams. After all, the tyrant who would make the world tremble a year from now hadn’t appeared yet; the current Xiao Jin was just a child with a fever who needed someone to take care of him.

Taking care of kids? He was a professional.

He lightly patted Xiao Jin’s shoulder and said in a soft, rhythmic voice: “Mother is here.”

The System sighed with relief and emotion: 【Host is truly a motherly figure now. 】

Shen Yuheng: “…” Piss off—