Duan Changchuan only read a few lines of the letter that were full of explicit “literary love” before he put it away with a red face.

He thought to himself, “Indecent, rogue!”

But he couldn’t help but want to read more …

Yet, according to the letter’s instructions, he would have to wait until nighttime. If he read it now when nighttime came… Cough, he wouldn’t have that feeling anymore.

But did he really have to do that? It felt so …

From dinner onwards, Duan Changchuan was distracted, and absent-minded while eating his food. Even while reviewing memorials at night, his thoughts wandered, unable to focus on the words before him. He tried hard to concentrate and finally finished his work well into the late hours.

By the time he was done, it was already Hai hour (9 pm to 11 pm). He sat by the bath, floating idly.

Should I read the letter tonight?

If I do, perhaps I should clean up thoroughly first…

[No, I’m an emperor, a gentleman! How can I indulge myself like that!]

[Duan Changchuan, you’re a modern Omega. You can’t be so conservative. Isn’t it normal for Omegas to please themselves?]

[But isn’t this too … Um, it’s too much …]

[Don’t you want to?]

An internal struggle ensued. Yet, it always came back to that one question left: Don’t you want to?

Don’t you want to? Don’t you want to be hugged and comforted by your own Alpha?

How could he not want to?

[I … miss her so much that I’m going crazy.]

–

After what felt like an eternity, Duan Changchuan, draped in a yellow robe, finally emerged from the bathhouse.

Under the candlelight, his face was red.

“Is Your Majesty tired today? You spent longer in the bath than usual. The imperial physician advised against soaking too long; it can cause dizziness. Look, your face is all red,” Chang Le whispered as he led the way with a lantern.

The young man was startled and gently rubbed his face, “Cough… I’m just a bit tired today, so I soaked a little longer.”

“Ah, it has been a busy day today. Imperial Physician Huang said you should sleep by Hai hours … Fortunately, there’s no morning court tomorrow, so Your Majesty can sleep a little longer.”

“Hmm, no morning court tomorrow. As they spoke, they returned to the bedroom in the hall.

Chang Le pushed open the door and turned around to ask, “Is there anything else Your Majesty needs to do?”

Duan Changchuan shook his head, “No, you and Yi Man may retire. No need to serve me. I’ll rest after reading for a while.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, take care with your eyes.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

The door closed with a creak. The young man hesitated for a long time before finally retrieving the letter in the study room. He held it tightly in his hand as he returned to the bedroom.

The room was warmly lit by candlelight.

The young man sat on the bed and was about to open the letter but paused to glance around the empty room. After some thought, he drew the bed curtains.

A moment later, he lifted one side of the curtain halfway.

[It’s too dark. I can’t see the words clearly…]

So, he could only endure the shame in his heart and read that special letter in the big room.

[Baby, did you not listen to me and read the letter early? It’s okay, let’s start over. Have you laid down this time, hmm?

Did you bathe, baby? Let your husband smell you …

Be good, now untie your belt.

I told you to untie it, so you really just untie it? You still need me to take it off for you, right?]

The entire letter only had two pages, but it took Duan Changchuan a full two hours to read it.

The young man held the sweaty letter as he got off the bed. No one was in the room, but he was still very embarrassed.

The handkerchief Bai Su sent was already crumpled beyond recognition. It was wet and … cough, indescribable.

He reluctantly discarded the handkerchief, then fetched Bai Su’s garment from the study, wrapping himself in it before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The air was filled with the strong and hot scent of gardenias.

–

Duan Changchuan was awakened in the middle of the night by the commotion outside.

“Assassins! Your Majesty!” Chang Le’s voice rang out, followed by the sounds of a fierce struggle.

Duan Changchuan immediately woke up and grabbed the firearm Bai Su had given him from under his pillow, he quickly moved to a hidden corner.

A month ago, Duan Changchuan had transferred the shadow guards to Huainan to help suppress and search for evidence of corrupt officials. A few had followed Bai Su to the temporary imperial residence. Now, only Xiao Yi and Xiao Qi were left on duty in the entire Ming Sheng Hall, including Xiao Ba, who had just returned from delivering the letter, these three.

But there were more assassins than defenders.

As soon as Duan Changchuan hid, four assassins burst through the roof and windows. Xiao Yi shouted, “Protect the emperor!” while Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba rushed in, engaging the intruders in the central hall.

The shadow guards moved quickly and immediately began to fight the assassins. But two against four was uneven. One assassin broke free and leaped toward the bed.

Without even checking, the assassin lifted the covers and plunged his sword down.

Duan Changchuan instantly realized these were highly skilled death warriors with one mission: to kill him. They would leave no survivors and reveal nothing.

The young man made a prompt decision and aimed the firearm at the assassin’s forehead in the darkness.

Bai Su explained that even if the gun was filled with highly poisonous needles, but the propelling force of the ‘bullet’ still relied on gunpowder to detonate, which would make noise. In other words, firing a single shot would expose his location.

But if the gun was fast enough …

In a flash, a loud explosion echoed through the room. The assassin standing by the bed didn’t even have time to react to the source of this sound before a poisoned needle lodged into his forehead.

“Over there!” He shouted at his companions, but in the next moment, he clutched his head in astonishment.

Duan Changchuan took advantage of their momentary confusion and immediately finished off the remaining two assassins.

In less than a minute, three bodies lay on the ground. Each corpse had a metal cross embedded in their forehead, this was the base of the silver needle.

Duan Changchuan holstered the firearm, emerged from his hiding spot, and dusted off his robe. Coldly, he commanded, “Capture the last one alive.”

Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba immediately subdued the final assassin, first dislocating his jaw and then the joints of his arms and legs.  The sound of bones breaking rang out in the quiet room.

At the same time, having heard the commotion, the patrolling imperial guards broke through the door.

The leading guard knelt before the young emperor, “Your Majesty, we are late in our rescue!”

Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba had already disappeared into the shadows as the guards entered, Thus, only Duan Changchuan was left in the large hall with the three corpses and the unconscious, restrained assassin.

Looking down at the people, Duan Changchuan’s expression was icy, “You are indeed late. As the Imperial Guards, you allowed more than ten assassins to freely enter my Ming Sheng Hall. Not only did you fail to protect me, but you also neglected your duty! Guards! Arrest the Right Commander of the Imperial Guards. All on-duty guards tonight are to be imprisoned. I will personally interrogate them.”

Three Shadow Guards immediately appeared and bowed in unison, saying, “Yes.”

After that, Xiao Qi stepped forward and easily subdued and took the commander away.

At the same time, the Head Commander and the Left Commander of the Imperial Guards rushed over with their soldiers.

“Your Majesty, your subordinate is late. We deserve to die!” The Head Commander knelt immediately upon entering, followed closely by the Left Commander and their soldiers, “Your subordinates are late and deserve to die!”

The young man coldly glanced at him and said, “Enough. Do your job first. Imprison all the guards who were on duty tonight. I will oversee the interrogation personally.”

Afterward, he turned to the eunuch beside him and ordered, “Chang Le, help me dress. Yi Man, go to the Imperial Hospital and call Imperial Physician Huang and Imperial Physician Fang. Tell them that I was ambushed by assassins and captured one alive.”

After giving out orders, he deliberately mystified himself by ordering the empty air, “Notify Lord Yun and Feng Yao of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to come as well.”

The reason why he deliberately mystified himself was because he didn’t want them to find out the number of shadow guards left in Ming Sheng Hall.

Duan Changchuan understood why these death warriors were sent in. Firstly, they really wanted his life, and secondly, to probe his situation.

The Prince Regent and Minister Bai should have already noticed the shadow guards were involved in the Huainan investigation.

Just as anticipated, they were very keen to know how strong his defenses were.

Duan Changchuan had thought he would be probed, but he didn’t expect it to be so blatant. They bribed Ming Sheng Hall’s imperial guards and directly sent assassins into the imperial city. They didn’t put him in their eyes at all!

The Regent, it seemed, remained as audacious as ever.

Duan Changchuan clad in his dragon robe, followed the imprisoned imperial guards to the prison. The Supreme Court Official Jiang and Deputy Supreme Court Xie rushed over when they received the news.

The dungeon was soon filled with officials ready for interrogation.

Yun Xie led the prison guards and monitored the imprisoned Imperial Guards closely, ready to interrogate anyone who dared speak. Feng Yao and Fang Moyan oversaw the interrogation of the imperial guards, while Duan Changchuan, Xiao Qi, Xiao Ba, and Imperial Physician Huang focused on the captured assassin.

The interrogation was led by the Supreme Court Official Jiang and Deputy Supreme Court Xie. With a traitor among the Imperial Guards and assassins breaching the palace, it was akin to a coup. Everyone was on high alert, not daring to slack off.

The assassin had been stripped of his poison capsule while unconscious, his limbs bound tightly, leaving him no room to move.

Official Jiang doused him with a bucket of water, marking the start of a lengthy and brutal interrogation.

The dungeon echoed with screams of agony throughout the night.

But true to their reputation, Imperial Physician Huang used all kinds of torturous poisons in his hands and was beaten to a pulp, but there was not a single protrusion on his body.

However, the imperial guards next door might have been intimidated and confessed early on. There was only one traitor among them, but not the deputy commander.

Duan Changchuan later learned that the assassins had used a diversion tactic to lure the tiger away from the mountain. They had sent people to the Imperial Guards and Ming Sheng Hall at the same time. The patrolling Imperial Guards had been entangled with these people, delaying their arrival.

As for the traitor within the imperial guards, he was threatened and was coerced to hand over the patrol map and schedules for the night.

Following the lead provided by the confession, the Deputy of the Supreme Court went to apprehend the suspect, only to find that the individual had already taken his own life out of fear.

The clues were cut off.

The case was investigated all night long, but apart from identifying the traitor within the Imperial Guards, there were no other significant breakthroughs. This outcome was somewhat expected—knowing the Regent’s cunning nature, he wouldn’t leave any evidence behind.

A group of people came out of the prison, exhausted.

Yun Xie and Feng Yao were conversing, cursing the Regent for being an old fox. Old Imperial Physician Huang yawned and rubbed his back, lamenting his age and fatigue while Fang Moyan comforted him in a low voice.

No one noticed that Duan Changchuan’s complexion had worsened significantly since leaving the dungeon. After an entire night without sleep, the dank and foul air of the dungeon had left him feeling unwell since early on, although he had managed to hide his discomfort in front of others.

Now that they were out of the dungeon, his tension eased, but waves of nausea began to rise from his stomach.

Moreover … this was the first time he had killed someone since regaining his memories.

The image of the needle piercing the assassin’s forehead and the bloody scenes from the interrogation replayed in his mind. His steps grew slower, and his face turned increasingly pale.

Chang Le noticed his condition and hurriedly called out to the others, “Imperial Physician Huang! Imperial Physician Fang! Lords, please wait a moment. His Majesty … His Majesty doesn’t look well!”

At those words, Duan Changchuan could no longer hold it in and started to vomit softly on the spot.

Chang Le was so distressed that he was about to cry, “Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell? This servant will ask someone to bring the carriage over! You’ve been exhausted all night. Let’s not walk and just take the carriage back. This servant will ask the kitchen to prepare red date millet porridge. It was simmered two hours ago. You can have a warm bowl when we return, and have a good rest.”

Imperial Physician Huang quickly came over to help ease his discomfort, “How could I forget, you’re with child! Was it necessary for you to personally attend the interrogation? Don’t you trust me, or Yun Xie and Feng Yao?”

As he spoke, he took Duan Changchuan’s wrist to check his pulse.

“It’s nothing serious. Perhaps I’m just hungry … or tired.” He quietly pulled his arm back.

But he was immediately exposed, “Your pulse is faint and heavy, and it’s slightly faster than before, clearly a sign of shock. Could it be … you were scared?”

Duan Changchuan, “…”

He nonchalantly retracted his arm, “I may have moved too abruptly when the assassins came. I felt some discomfort in my stomach and worried about the baby.”

“Hah, if you’re scared, then so be it. This old man won’t say anything about you. Many soldiers vomited when they killed someone for the first time too, but they still fought bravely on the battlefield. It’s not a big deal.”

Yun Xie fanned himself and approached with a grin, “What’s there to be scared of? This isn’t his first time witnessing an execution. He’s genuinely worried about the baby, right?”

After he finished speaking, he reached out to touch Duan Changchuan’s stomach, “It’s almost four months. Have you felt any movement? I didn’t expect you to be so attentive after becoming a father.”

Duan Changchuan’s face reddened at his words. He wanted to slap his hand away, but somehow he felt … this scene was somewhat heartwarming.

Thus, he awkwardly tilted his head and allowed this person to touch him gently.

“It’s too soon for that … cough, stop staring at my stomach. How would you explain it if someone sees?”

“Hahaha, you’re the emperor. What’s there to explain? Do you know what you look like now?”

“… What?”

“A little husband who was taken home by someone, hahaha! And I looked like your husband just now.”

Duan Changchuan’s face turned dark instantly. He slapped Yun Xie’s hand away and grabbed his fan, hitting him over the head hard.

“Say it again? You say it again!”

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong with it? I’m joking! Besides, aren’t you the same? Little husband.”

Duan Changchuan: !!!

He became even angrier.

So what if he was a little husband?

Wasn’t he, Yun Xie, the same?

Sooner or later, he would be top by his aunt!