Chapter 979: I've imprisoned the empress—how do I fix this!? 32

Jin Chen arrived outside Qixin Hall, gave a light cough, withdrew his smile, hands behind his back, put on a feigned angry expression, and walked in.

As it turned out, there was no one in the outer hall rooms; Jin Chen gazed into the distance, yet saw candlelight burning in the inner chamber, a flicker of smile crossing his eyes, and he approached soundlessly.

"How come you suddenly feel unwell when you were fine?"

Wen Zhiheng covered his face with the blanket, his fingers helplessly clutching the hem of his clothes, not knowing how to answer.

He had never done such a thing before; now should he continue feigning illness…?

Before he could finish thinking, a low voice sounded again.

"Since Huai Feng is asleep, I won't disturb him."

Wen Zhiheng's heart tightened; he hastily flung open the blanket covering his face, only to find himself directly meeting Jin Chen's eyes as the latter leaned down to look.

Although his face was expressionless, …

Wen Zhiheng's fingers trembled slightly as he slowly grabbed Jin Chen's cuff, his tone a soft hum, "I'm not asleep."

"Hmm, pretending to sleep?"

Jin Chen straightened up, lowered his gaze to look at him, seemingly dissatisfied, "It seems Huai Feng's body isn't uncomfortable either."

Wen Zhiheng feared he would leave again, never expecting to be exposed so quickly; inwardly annoyed at why he'd thought of this method, the more anxious he became, the more he lost his composure.

He propped himself up to sit, redness involuntarily rising at the corners of his eyes, uncontainable sorrow welling up in his heart, "I shouldn't have deceived you, I…"

Wen Zhiheng sniffled, his face showing distress, "I don't want you to go to Fanghua Hall, and you promised me you wouldn't… favor anyone else."

Jin Chen pressed his lips slightly, utterly charmed by his appearance, suppressing a laugh, "Then Huai Feng also promised not to keep anything from me."

As he spoke, he single-handedly cradled Wen Zhiheng's chin, the motion appearing forceful yet extremely gentle, his thumb rubbing the soft flesh, his tone low and rich, "In that case, I and Huai Feng are actually evenly matched."

"No."

Wen Zhiheng pouted in denial, the redness at his eye corners deepening, he kept the posture of having his chin lifted by a grip, both hands clutching Jin Chen's arm, a posture of absolute reliance and trust.

"I previously didn't know how to say it, and I feared you would… so I kept it hidden, but whenever A Chen brought it up he'd get angry, making me dare not speak of it."

Jin Chen's brow twitched slightly, his tone already hinting at a smile, "Then saying that is actually my fault."

"No… I didn't mean it that way."

Wen Zhiheng bit his lip, pulled away Jin Chen's hand, looked up at him with an aggrieved tone, "You did it on purpose."

"I will tell you, but… you can't do that."

"What can't I do?" Jin Chen teased him deliberately, "Deliberately going to Fanghua Hall to visit Jingliang Jun?"

Wen Zhiheng lowered his dense eyelids slightly, gave a small nod, his voice tinged with moisture, "Then don't be angry, I'll tell you everything."

As he spoke, he again grabbed Jin Chen's cuff, using a bit of force, seeming insecure, "A Chen, hug me."

He was truly afraid.

Jin Chen, feeling pity, could no longer keep up the act; he sat at the bedside and pulled both person and blanket into his embrace.

He pinched Wen Zhiheng's face without good humor, "All right, why are you really upset? It was just teasing you; I wouldn't really go to anyone else."

Wen Zhiheng's downcast expression eased considerably; he didn't dare complain that Jin Chen had deceived him, obediently staying in the embrace, his cheek lightly rubbing against the neck, his clear cold voice unusually soft and obedient.

"Then… may I first ask A Chen a question?"

Wen Zhiheng lifted his gaze to him, eyes brimming with expectation, then soon his face was lightly pinched and played with.

"Of course."

Wen Zhiheng organized his thoughts, his voice lowering, "Will you leave this place?"

Jin Chen showed no hesitation, "No, so… is your insistence that I not kill him related to this?"

"Hmm…"

Wen Zhiheng felt reassured by his promise, also feeling more at ease.

Jin Chen, gazing into the eyes of the one in his arms, answered earnestly again, "As long as you remain here, I will not leave."

As long as you won't use that soul to love someone else…

A tear slipped unnoticed from the corner of his eye, Wen Zhiheng pressed his lips together, then leaned further into Jin Chen's embrace, clutching tightly, burying his face in the neck and speaking muffled.

"That night, I sensed you leaving, worried something might happen, so I followed and ran into him outside the hall."

"He said… he couldn't die, otherwise you would die too, and claimed you were a demonic entity surviving by borrowing his body, and that if I revealed this, you would also come to harm…"

Jin Chen: "……"

He pulled his lips, yet ended up laughing from anger.

What a nefarious scheme.

Assuming Huai Feng knew nothing of the soul-switch, he spouted nonsense, wishing to blab it to the heavens.

No wonder Huai Feng dares not say anything.

Shameless dog emperor!

Thinking this way he wouldn't have to die, and could remain safe in the palace, always ready to kill him and reclaim the throne.

Jin Chen's thoughts suddenly flowed.

【Could I return the throne to that dog emperor and flee with Huai Feng!】

0731 heard his expectation, regrettably saying: 【No, you are Jin Chen, the emperor of Jin State.】

【Host, don't deviate from the setting~】

Jin Chen lightly patted the blanket, meanwhile regretting that the plan was unfeasible, while coaxing the person.

"Don't worry, I won't die so easily."

Having said that, he teased further, "I'm not a clay doll; being killed over a word would be far too fragile."

Wen Zhiheng was amused by him, then finally pursed his lips wanting to cry, rubbing dry tears on Jin Chen's shoulder, embracing his neck and affectionately kissing the corner of his mouth,

"A Chen, don't be angry, I didn't intentionally intend to hide it from you, and I no longer care about him at all."

"Now that this has happened, I also want to kill him."

Jin Chen loved hearing that.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, lightly rubbing Wen Zhi Heng's nose tip, and said, "Well then, although just recently I really almost got angry to death, but who made me like you?"

After saying that, he again, as if sighing, pinched Wen Zhi Heng's face and lightly kissed him, saying, "Who made me like you?"

Wen Zhi Heng was overjoyed and wept, shedding a few tears; the mist in his phoenix eyes was gloomy, he embraced the neck and returned the kiss, sticky and sweet.

"Then who exactly are you? I don't even know."

Jin Chen thought for a moment, teasingly replied, "Actually I really am a monster."

After saying that, he made a move to bite him, saying, "A man-eating monster."

Wen Zhi Heng wasn't afraid at all, smiling and hugging him tighter, "I'm not afraid you're a monster, as long as you won't suddenly leave."

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +20, total 80!】

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -20, total 55!】

【Warning: Protagonist's happy ending progress -30, total -30!】

Jin Chen wiped away the tears at the corner of Wen Zhi Heng's eyes; the tear‑streaked skin was sensitive and fragile, a light rub of the fingertip that had brushed away the thin cocoon could leave a red mark.

Wen Zhi Heng felt an itch, turned his head to lightly rub against his palm, blinked and then buried himself in his embrace; just being quietly held like this could make the two hearts, tormented during this period, become closely connected, steady and firm.

Jin Chen gently patted him, and felt that his recent unsettled, floating thoughts finally became weighty again.

"In a few days, your older brother will arrive at the capital; General Ning De has contributed greatly to the realm of Jin; I intend to personally go outside the city gate to welcome him, at that time, will Huai Feng come along?"

The emperor personally welcoming him is already the highest honor; Wen Zhi Heng's eyes lit up slightly, secretly thinking his elder brother would surely be very happy.

"I want to go," Wen Zhi Heng replied, "I haven't seen my elder brother in a long time; I even thought he would never return..."

After saying that, he sighed softly, "Fortunately it's you, fortunately you've come."