Chapter 165

Xiao Jingheng stood silently in front of Song Zhao's bed for a moment,

Without any movement, even his breath was slow,

Just quietly watching her.

Song Zhao had stopped crying,

She sniffled and then relaxed her brows, holding the pillow in her arms tighter.

Xiao Jingheng was curious about what she was doing,

"Boom!"

Suddenly, thunder roared outside the window, startling Song Zhao from her dream,

"Your Majesty!"

These two words almost slipped out of Song Zhao's mouth,

At that moment, she hadn't seen Xiao Jingheng yet; it was as if she had uttered something in her sleep.

Until she regained her senses and saw Xiao Jingheng standing right in front of her bed, his warm gaze fixed on her,

She still thought it was an illusion,

Surprised, she rubbed her eyes forcefully.

"Boom!"

Another thunderclap resounded, bringing down the rain that had been gathering in the clouds.

Raindrops pattered heavily on the eaves and windowpanes,

Swift and urgent.

Just like Song Zhao at this moment, tears streamed down her face.

Xiao Jingheng sat on the edge of the bed, tenderly embracing Song Zhao,

He could feel the woman in his arms trembling uncontrollably,

Just like when they first met on a stormy night. Xiao Jingheng held Song Zhao even tighter. "Zhao'er, don't be afraid, I'm here."

"Your Majesty... is it really you?"

After feeling Xiao Jingheng's warm body temperature and steady heartbeat,

Song Zhao finally woke up from her daze, sobbing in grievance,

"I thought I was dreaming... In my dream, I was holding you like this and even smelled the fragrance of lunar musk on you. I was so afraid that if I opened my eyes, Your Majesty would no longer care about me."

Only then did Xiao Jingheng understand why Song Zhao had been sleeping with a pillow,

She had mistaken the pillow for him.

Xiao Jingheng's heart stirred, and he gently stroked Song Zhao's smooth, black hair, his voice filled with regret and reluctance,

"I doubted you, and I was wrong. To make you so sad and ignore you for several days... I was truly confused. Zhao'er, are you still angry with me?"

Although Song Zhao felt wronged, she didn't want to be overly dramatic,

She understood that Xiao Jingheng, like a lion king, preferred obedient women,

So she decided to seize the opportunity and timidly said, "I've never been angry with Your Majesty. I just feel that I haven't done well enough, so I don't have the face to face you..."

Xiao Jingheng had expected Song Zhao to hold onto the injustice and throw a tantrum at him before he arrived.

Therefore, when he heard her words, he was somewhat surprised.

"Why do you say that?"

"If I had done well enough, Your Majesty wouldn't have doubted me in the first place," Song Zhao said, burying her head deep in Xiao Jingheng's embrace, so he wouldn't see her tearful embarrassment,

"For the past few days, I didn't go to you, not to vent my anger, but to ponder over what I did wrong that made you upset. But I'm truly foolish; no matter how much I think, I can't figure it out. I'm so afraid that Your Majesty will no longer love me in the future."

Song Zhao, who was originally frail and delicate, was now trembling in Xiao Jingheng's arms, crying so hard that her shoulders and neck were shaking. This intensified her sense of grievance to the extreme.

Finally, in a feeble voice, she uttered a sentence,

"After all, the emperor has so many choices, but I... only have the emperor left."

With no support in the palace and her maternal family annihilated,

the person closest to Song Zhao in this world was none other than Xiao Jingheng, who could be called her husband.

Her words, her tears, her grievances,

Xiao Jingheng took them all in.

His chest felt as if it were blocked by a stubborn stone, and he felt uneasy all over.

This wasn't the first time he had unjustly suspected the imperial concubines due to his own suspicions,

but it was the only time he had felt regret afterwards. "Zhao'er, you've done well. It's my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you and made you sad."

Xiao Jingheng lifted her chin, forcing her to raise her head.

On the perfect face of the young girl were two lines of teardrops,

broken yet beautiful.

Unconsciously, Xiao Jingheng's heart skipped a beat,

and he gently wiped away Song Zhao's tears,

"You said you only have me, but haven't I only had you? In the harem, no one has ever been able to replace the difference you hold in my heart."

It's not about status, but about being different.

But this difference, spoken by Xiao Jingheng, was indeed rare.

Song Zhao's sobbing gradually subsided, and a hint of joy suddenly appeared in her previously hazy eyes,

"Is what the emperor said true?"

"Of course. The reason why I doubted you this time was because the facts about Zhao made me shudder. The harem is already murky, and yet there's someone like you, who is so pure and virtuous, which made me misjudge."

Xiao Jingheng held her hand and said with great solemnity,

"I promise you that if we have conflicts in the future, we will openly and honestly communicate with each other, and neither of us will ignore or hold grudges against the other, alright?"

Song Zhao nodded vigorously, "Will the emperor listen to my explanation?"

"As long as it's what you say, I will believe you from now on. I am the emperor, and a ruler never makes empty promises."

Xiao Jingheng responded, extending his little finger in front of her and playfully saying,

"Don't young girls like these kinds of things?"

Song Zhao was momentarily taken aback, but after a short pause, she shyly reached out her hand and hooked her little finger with Xiao Jingheng's, sealing their promise.

Later, Xiao Jingheng said, "It's a stormy night tonight, and you're most afraid of thunderstorms. I'll stay here with you."

When the two of them lay down together, Song Zhao turned her back to Xiao Jingheng, and he gently embraced her from behind.

Xiao Jingheng and Song Zhao were very close to each other, resting their heads on the same pillow.

Without realizing it, he took a deep breath against the pillow,

catching a faint scent of jasmine and a slight hint of the saltiness of tears.

This kind of breath, mixed with the dampness of grass that seeped in through the window crack,

made Xiao Jingheng feel even more heartbroken for Song Zhao.

He held her even tighter.

[Three updates today]