Chapter 34: His Wife’s Tears Shook the Imperial Palace
The surrounding soldiers immediately froze where they stood, especially since the Emperor’s face darkened after hearing Rong Shuyan’s words.
Rong Shuyan showed no intention of stopping. He gently wrapped an arm around Lin Xueyi’s trembling shoulders and pulled her closer before pointing at her with an accusing finger.
"Look at her!" he shouted. "My wife was hurt so badly that she’s shivering and in pain!"
As if on cue, Lin Xueyi let out another loud sob. "Waaah... Husband..."
She buried her face against Rong Shuyan’s chest and cried even harder, her shoulders shaking dramatically.
"My chest hurts..." she whimpered between sobs. "I’m so cold... I thought I was going to die..."
She clung tightly to his robe as though she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. Rong Shuyan immediately tightened his embrace and glared at everyone around him.
"My poor wife!" he exclaimed. "She almost lost her life, yet the guards stood there and watched! Is this how the Imperial Palace protects its people?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense. Even the nobles who had been watching from the sidelines lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
Rong Shuyan slowly turned to face the Emperor. "Your Majesty, Xueyi and I came here today to attend your banquet. We even prepared a precious gift for you. Yet from the moment we arrived, it felt as though everyone wanted to make things difficult for us."
He turned his face to the side before dramatically adding, "I even forced this sickly body of mine to come and see you, Imperial Father."
The words sounded so pitiful that even Lin Xueyi almost believed him.
Under normal circumstances, Rong Shuyan would rather bite his tongue than say something so embarrassing.
But since everyone was looking at him as a husband whose wife had nearly been killed before his eyes. In a situation like this, acting emotional was only natural. Therefore, no one would question his odd behavior.
Of course, if he had truly let his emotions take over, he probably wouldn’t be speaking so politely. He would have chosen to throw a hundred curses at his father instead.
The Emperor’s expression grew even darker because could clearly hear the hidden accusation in Rong Shuyan’s words.
The banquet had barely begun, yet his own son and daughter-in-law had already become the laughingstock of the palace. Now, Lin Xueyi had almost drowned in front of countless nobles.
No matter how he looked at it, this incident had happened under his watch.
His gaze slowly shifted to the soaked Lin Xueyi, who was still trembling in Rong Shuyan’s arms. Her face was pale, her lips had lost their color, and her wet clothes clung to her thin frame. She looked so pitiful that even those who had been gossiping about her earlier could no longer bring themselves to say a word.
The Emperor let out a slow breath before speaking in a cold voice. "Princess Consort Rui was harmed within the Imperial Palace. This matter will be thoroughly investigated."
He looked directly at Lin Chenghao. "Take him away."
Several Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward.
Lin Chenghao’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Your Majesty! I didn’t push her!" he shouted while struggling against the soldiers. "She jumped into the water herself! She framed me!"
Seeing the guards closing in from every direction, Lin Chenghao gritted his teeth.
He shoved one of the guards aside and suddenly turned to run.
"Stop him!" One of the guards shouted.
The Imperial Garden instantly fell into chaos as several guards chased after him.
Just as Lin Chenghao thought he had found an opening, Rong Shuyan calmly lowered his gaze.
When no one was paying attention to him, he silently picked up a small pebble from the ground and, with a subtle flick of his wrist, sent it flying.
The pebble shot forward without making a sound and struck the ground between Lin Chenghao’s feet.
Caught completely off guard, Lin Chenghao stepped directly on it, and his balance disappeared in an instant.
"Ah!" He stumbled forward and crashed face-first onto the stone path with a loud thud.
Before he could push himself back up, the pursuing Imperial Guards caught up to him. They pinned both of his arms behind his back and forced him onto his knees.
"This bastard still dared to run!" one of the guards shouted. Lin Chenghao’s face turned red with humiliation as he struggled helplessly.
From the side, Rong Shuyan calmly withdrew his hand and rested it on his lap, while his other arm remained wrapped around Lin Xueyi’s shoulders.
[Oh! Yanyan just used his Death Flick Technique!] Through her tears, Lin Xueyi’s eyes sparkled with excitement. [In the novel, he could even flick a huge rock and send it flying at his enemies!]
Rong Shuyan frowned and couldn’t help asking himself if he was really capable of doing that.
After all, it had been so long since he had practiced his martial arts. The poison flowing through his body had thrown his qi into chaos, making it nearly impossible for him to train.
But if his body had still been in its prime, he wouldn’t have wasted his time flicking a pebble at Lin Chenghao. He would have flicked the entire stone bridge instead.
"Are you alright?" Rong Shuyan finally asked as he looked down at the woman in his arms.
Although Lin Xueyi had jumped into the water on purpose for the sake of her dramatic act, her body was genuinely trembling. The water was freezing as the season slowly shifted into winter, so it was only natural that her skin felt a bit numb.
"I’m fine. I’m fi—"
"Achoo!" She sneezed before she could finish her sentence.
She quickly covered her nose and mouth with both hands. But for some reason, every time she sneezed, Rong Shuyan would tighten his grip on her arm.
[What’s wrong with him?] Lin Xueyi wondered inwardly. [My sneezes must sound really annoying to him!]
Determined not to sneeze again, she tilted her head back and tried her best to hold it in. But instead, she sneezed three times in a row.
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
Rong Shuyan’s grip on her arm became even tighter.
[What’s wrong with him?!] Lin Xueyi cried inwardly. [Does he hate me that much?!]
The truth, however, was completely different.
Rong Shuyan didn’t find her sneezes annoying, not even a little.
The Sixth Prince, the man everyone believed was cold-blooded and ruthless in the novel, had just discovered something unexpected.
His wife’s sneezes... were unbelievably cute.