255: Love weighs a thousand pounds, yet remains unspoken.

The Emperor sighed.

He finally pulled up the person kneeling on the ground and drew her to his side so she could lean against his chest.

Supporting her with one hand, he began to gently stroke her long hair with the other, over and over.

"That it could evolve into a Struggle of Two Kings is because that Emperor forgot what his primary identity was. Rest assured, I can maintain the balance."

He promised.

Tu Nan's gaze was dazed. Primary identity: Emperor.

At this moment, Your Majesty seemed to be responding to two questions at once.

One was the silly question she had asked, while the other... seemed to be an answer to the turmoil deep within his own heart.

He seemed determined not to mention the events of the day again.

Although Tu Nan had speculated about this, finding that The Emperor could truly suppress such emotions deep in his heart gave her an even stronger sense of unease.

What could make an Emperor avoid talking about such a matter?

What did that Body Double really mean to him?

Where did that person's confident attitude and the suggestive 'see you tonight' when they parted in the afternoon come from?

This reason must be very important; at least for The Emperor himself, it could only be for the sake of the Empire.

Tu Nan had self-awareness; in his heart, nothing could compare to the Empire.

"I don't want to, Your Majesty. I never thought about it; I don't want to be married by anyone."

She tried to refuse willfully.

"I am not just anyone; I am The Emperor."

Your Majesty corrected her calmly; he had the confidence to say so.

"It's the same, Your Majesty. That still means I belong to you. I might as well continue being a Female Official; you can give me a promotion," Tu Nan argued.

The Emperor stroked her hair.

He was much older than her, and at this moment, his steady and composed aura was particularly prominent.

"The Female Official also belongs to me," he said.

He was neither enraged by her shocking proposal for a political System nor particularly moved by her current refusal.

"It's different; this is clearly a different path, you know that, Your Majesty. A Female Official belongs to the court, while an Empress, in the end, belongs to the inner palace. Besides, if a Chaos of Two Kings wouldn't occur—"

She realized she was rambling and stopped abruptly.

"Blame me for teaching you too well," The Emperor laughed instead. "It's made you too clear-headed."

Tu Nan remained silent. As Your Majesty's attitude softened, a nameless feeling welled up in her heart.

Sour, astringent, and... guilty.

"You..."

The Emperor was about to say more when he suddenly frowned and raised his hand as if to hide something. But immediately, his chest heaved, and he began to cough violently.

Tu Nan looked up sharply and reached out to support his shoulder, but in that instant, she was almost stunned.

His normally steady and broad shoulders were now trembling slightly, as if he were forcibly suppressing something... a frightening weakness.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, where is the medicine?"

She frantically felt around his person to see if he was carrying a small medicine bottle.

But The Emperor pushed Tu Nan away with one hand and covered his mouth with the other, managing to say to her, "James—cough—go."

Tu Nan hurriedly looked up James's communication ID.

A moment later, James came running with a small set of equipment.

By then, Tu Nan had already turned on the lights in the room.

Under the light, The Emperor turned his head to avoid her gaze, coughing up blood mouthful by mouthful.

His hand couldn't cover it all... blood seeped through his fingers, flowed down his wrist into his sleeve, or fell onto his trousers and splattered on the sofa.

Your Majesty! Tu Nan screamed silently; the thick smell of blood made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

What was wrong with The Emperor? He had never appeared so weak before her.

He had always had a bit of a cough, but was it actually this serious?

James quickly connected the equipment, and a mist of medicine was rapidly pumped into Your Majesty's mouth and nose, only to be scattered the next second by a violent fit of coughing.

The blood droplets splattering from his lips were quickly enveloped by the mist, like a cloud of red dust lingering in the air, landing on the back of Tu Nan's fingers—warm and metallic.

"Alright, alright."

Only after James forced him to inhale a whole bottle of medicine did James finally wipe the sweat from his brow, clean the equipment, replace it with new medicine, and place the machine in a corner of the room.

"Where's your portable medicine bottle? Why didn't you bring it?" The doctor was very dissatisfied, but after a glance from Your Majesty, he couldn't stay tough for more than three seconds and backed down, telling Tu Nan, "I'll leave this unit in the room. If he coughs again, use it on him immediately. Don't delay."

Tu Nan nodded repeatedly and asked anxiously, "I've seen Your Majesty coughing all the time. Can't it be cured? What illness is it exactly?"

James looked at her helplessly, and The Emperor's gaze also shifted over.

Fine, Tu Nan sneered.

"Some Empress I am. What's the point of being an Empress who knows nothing, even if you share your authority with me? What authority? I can't even know what illness you have or what medicine you're using. And you still expect anything else?"

She was so angry she spoke without thinking.

Life—how important is life? Doesn't The Emperor know that himself?

He is an Emperor; is he unable to cure his own illness?

A dark thought flashed through her angry mind, but before she could think further, The Emperor had already pulled this furious, bristling kitten back into his arms.

James looked left and right, then quickly slipped out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Standing at the door for a moment, he didn't know how to comment on this. In any case, he hoped Miss Tu Nan could provide Your Majesty with more comfort.

Give him more ties; don't let him always treat himself as a tool called 'Emperor'.

Phew... he let out a long breath.

Inside the room, Tu Nan struggled in his arms for a moment but couldn't break free. In a fit of anger, she transformed directly into a Big Cat and escaped his embrace.

With a leap, she jumped onto a tall cabinet in the corner and crouched there, glaring down furiously.

"Don't keep patronizing me." The Black Cat bared her teeth at him, telling him to think carefully before speaking.

The touch of her fur from the moment she bolted still lingered on The Emperor's hand; he savored it for a moment and broke into a gentle smile.

"Come here, don't be troublesome." He reached out to Tu Nan.

Tu Nan's tail hung down impatiently, thumping against the cabinet top until the doors rattled, making her resentment obvious.

"Come now, don't make me any worse with your anger. Come to my side." The Emperor was very gentle.

He rarely showed weakness; on his pale face from the recent coughing, his lips, which had been wiped hard, showed an unusual flush.

Tu Nan's tail stopped thumping and curled quietly around her. Throwing a tantrum at Your Majesty in this state? She was in a bit of a difficult position.

Fortunately, The Emperor continued to give her a way out.

He stood up, walked to the tall cabinet, and opened his arms, a helpless smile in his eyes.

"Come, it's late. I'm very tired." He motioned for Tu Nan to jump down.

Tu Nan pounced into his arms, her thick paws resting on his shoulders. The Big Cat purred and grumbled, feeling that today had indeed been too exhausting.

The Emperor carried the Big Cat back to the bedroom, and as soon as the door closed, a small cry of surprise came from inside.

"You're still sick! Weren't you tired?"

Tu Nan, who was turned back into human form as soon as she was tossed onto the bed, found that nothing she said mattered; Your Majesty simply remained silent and labored away silently.

And when she was so tired she couldn't even move a finger, the System poked her hesitantly.

[Tu Nan, the Dragon... Gene has been activated.]

It said.

Tu Nan was startled awake; beside her, The Emperor's eyes also snapped open.