SGT CH141: I was served by a Shadow Guard

◎ Shadow One just buried his head in service, like a wild dog that had been starved for a long time, desperately protecting a meaty bone and refusing to let go ◎

Mousse forcibly tore open Shadow One’s clothes.

But when that body, covered in bandages and soaked in the bitter smell of medicinal herbs, was revealed before him.

His anger was doused as if by a basin of cold water.

Mousse froze in place, making no further move.

Shadow One sensed the change in the Emperor’s gaze and the halt in his movements.

Master had lost interest in him.

He stiffly moved his arms, gathering his lapels to cover his overly ugly body.

Shadow One pursed his bloodless lips, lowered his eyes, not daring to meet the Emperor’s gaze, his eyelashes trembling violently.

If this were reality, he should have rolled off the bed long ago to plead for forgiveness.

This was just his illusion, so he dared to be bold and continue to stay by His Majesty’s side.

“Have you changed the medicine?”

Mousse softened his tone slightly, though still a bit stiff.

“Changed.”

Shadow One answered in a low voice, his heart still aching terribly.

Yet he still answered the Emperor’s inquiry seriously.

“The imperial physician came once before nightfall and changed the wound medicine for this slave. Eunuch Li also came and brought many sets of newly tailored clothes.”

Mousse noticed that Shadow One had changed his self-address.

Only when he still called him “Master” back then would Shadow One call himself “this slave.”

After that, he never referred to himself that way again.

Mousse didn’t ask further, only nodded and said:

“I have instructed Imperial Physician Zhang to come and change your medicine once a day.”

As for the clothes…

Mousse looked at the black inner garment on Shadow One.

It fit quite well.

Black suited Shadow One better.

Just like that sharp and silent shadow in his memory, always guarding by his side.

Only Shadow One was in poor health right now, and the black color made his complexion look even paler.

It looked good, but it made one’s heart ache.

Still needed to recuperate properly.

As Mousse was thinking, he suddenly glimpsed a touch of white out of the corner of his eye.

Beside the soft pillow at the head of the bed lay a familiar inner garment.

Mousse reached out and took the inner garment.

At the hem, he saw a missing corner.

It was indeed his inner garment.

Why didn’t the palace servants take it to wash?

Too negligent.

Mousse frowned slightly, dissatisfied in his heart.

Shadow One saw the Emperor discover the clothes he had hidden and frown with a look of disgust. His hands and feet instantly turned cold, as if falling into an ice cave.

Mousse was about to throw the dirty clothes off the bed, but Shadow One grabbed his arm.

Turning back, he saw Shadow One looking at him with eyes full of pleading, almost panic.

“Master, I beg you, I beg you, don’t…”

Mousse: “?”

Mousse looked at the clothes in his hand, then at Shadow One who was humbly begging him, not understanding what the other meant.

Seeing His Majesty pause, Shadow One emboldened himself to reach out and lightly grasp a corner of the inner garment.

He was not scolded by His Majesty.

Mustering his courage, he “snatched” the inner garment back from His Majesty’s hand and hugged it tightly in his arms.

Feeling the soft fabric in his arms, Shadow One’s suspended heart finally settled. He finally recovered his ability to breathe, gasping for air like a survivor.

Mousse was even more baffled.

“What are you doing?”

Didn’t he already have several sets of clothes sent to him?

Hearing the Emperor’s question, Shadow One trembled all over, buried his head, and knelt on the bed.

Even so, he hunched his body, desperately protecting the clothes in his arms.

“I beg Master for forgiveness, this slave won’t dare again, just this once, I beg Master…”

Mousse couldn’t stand it and reached out to pull him.

“Get up first. If you have something to say, get up and say it.”

Shadow One knelt prostrate on the bed, daring not move.

Afraid of losing the clothes in his arms, he curled himself up even more and buried his head lower.

If this were reality, he would never dare to resist Master like this.

Only in an illusion did he dare to offend Master’s phantom once for the clothes bestowed by Master.

Mousse didn’t know what stubbornness Shadow One had caught, just refusing to get up. He could only grab his arm, trying to pull him up.

A faint resistance came from under his hand.

Shadow One’s body trembled, curling up tighter, as if trying to shrink himself into his ribs.

Remembering Shadow One was injured, Mousse dared not pull hard.

Shadow One also didn’t dare to truly resist, even if this was just a “phantom” of Master.

Under the push and pull, Mousse’s strength briefly gained the upper hand. Shadow One lost his balance and suddenly fell forward, landing in the Emperor’s crotch.

Mousse froze instantly feeling the temperature of Shadow One pressing against him.

He had gotten up in the middle of the night unable to sleep and walked out without adding clothes.

In short, he was only wearing a thin inner garment now, not much thicker than a layer of gauze.

Shadow One pressed against him almost without any barrier.

He could even feel Shadow One’s warm lips and the breath he exhaled.

Shadow One was solely focused on protecting the clothes in his arms and hadn’t reacted to the current situation yet.

The warm scent belonging to His Majesty confused his brain for a moment.

Familiar scent, familiar position.

His body reacted faster than his thoughts.

He opened his lips and took it in.

Mousse intended to help Shadow One up, but the moment his hand touched Shadow One’s shoulder, he suddenly lost his voice, his mind in chaos.

After a long while, he found his voice.

“No, wait, get up first.”

Shadow One just buried his head in service.

Like a wild dog that had been starved for a long time, desperately protecting a meaty bone and refusing to let go, swallowing it eagerly.

Mousse’s brain was a mess.

Wanting to pull Shadow One up, but unable to remember which shoulder of Shadow One was injured.

Left shoulder or right shoulder?

Didn’t dare to act rashly at all.

In the end, he surrendered completely to Shadow One.

The wild dog reluctantly licked the meaty bone clean.

While cleaning, he looked up with bright eyes at his master.

Expecting a word of reward, or a touch.

Afraid of doing something to aggravate Shadow One’s injury, Mousse could only cover his eyes and gather his open clothes.

Lying quietly on the side, calming his boiling blood and disordered breathing.

No reward was received.

Shadow One hugged the clothes in his arms and lay prone on the side.

His gaze fell on Master’s hand hanging by his side.

He tentatively moved closer and rubbed his face against it.

Was pushed away.

Shadow One lay prone on the side in loneliness, not moving anymore.

Only a pair of eyes still fixed on Master’s direction, refusing to look away.

It took a while for Mousse to calm down completely.

Removing the hand covering his eyes, he looked down to see Shadow One lying by his leg, looking at him eagerly.

His throat was dry, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

After a long time, he said in a deep voice: “Come up.”

Shadow One’s eyes lit up, he crawled up quickly, came to the Emperor’s shoulder, and stopped at a position slightly half a head lower.

Staring unblinkingly at the Emperor.

“Lie down,” Mousse said helplessly: “Don’t always kneel and crawl, have you forgotten the injuries on your own body?”

Shadow One obediently lay down flat.

Mousse patted the pillow next to him, gesturing him to move up a bit.

Only then did Shadow One slowly move up, shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor.

Mousse pulled the soft quilt beside him, wanting to cover Shadow One.

But saw the other party still hugging that tattered piece of clothing in his arms.

What kind of problem is this?

Mousse was baffled.

Reached out to take it.

Shadow One tightened his grip again, looking at him nervously with a pair of eyes.

“Let go.” Mousse said with a stern face.

The resistance disappeared for a moment, and Mousse took the opportunity to snatch the clothes from his hand.

Shadow One’s eyes full of anxiety and worry immediately followed.

Mousse paused, ultimately not throwing this tattered piece of clothing that Shadow One cared about immensely off the bed, instead tossing it to the inner side of the bed.

Shadow One visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Mousse pulled the soft quilt and covered Shadow One.

Sat by the side for a while, looked down to meet Shadow One’s pitch-black eyes, and still lay down beside him.

“Sleep.”

Mousse faced Shadow One and said in a low voice.

After a moment, added in a low voice:

“In the future, don’t do that kind of thing again.”

Shadow One’s eyes that had just closed suddenly opened, looking at the person beside him blankly and panic-stricken, hands clutching the quilt tightly, trying his best to restrain himself.

“Master, did this slave not do well enough? I beg you to give this slave another chance…”

“No.”

Mousse interrupted him, not letting him debase himself like this again.

“It has nothing to do with whether you did well or not, it’s me…”

Mousse paused and said:

“I won’t treat you like that again in the future. You are a living person, not a dog I keep.”

He couldn’t treat Shadow One like a dog anymore.

As early as when he let Shadow One out of the palace, he had already made a choice.

Not to mention there was also the reform mission from the light screen now.

He should be more rational and shouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.

Shouldn’t return to that terrible relationship with Shadow One.

Shadow One bit his lip hard to suppress the trembling of his body.

Still rejected.

Abandoned by Master in reality.

Still not accepted in the illusion.

He should have understood long ago.

A dog abandoned by its master, no matter how hard it tries, cannot return to its master’s side.

Even though Shadow One tried his best to restrain himself, his changed breathing and sob-like sounds still attracted Mousse’s attention.

“Shadow One?”

Mousse propped himself up, looking at him with confusion and worry.

“What’s wrong? Do your wounds hurt?”

Shadow One shook his head with difficulty, his blurred eyes looking at the person above him with longing and sadness, finally forcing himself to look away, his empty eyes looking towards the inner side of the bed.

With a slight choke in his voice: “Master… Your Majesty, can you give me that set of clothes?”

Mousse noticed the change in his address, paused, then turned to take the clothes from the inner side of the bed and handed them to Shadow One.

Shadow One immediately hugged it.

Like a suffocating person finally breathing air.

Chest heaving violently, even his body was trembling.

He hugged that set of clothes tightly, buried his face in the clothes, and curled up.

Like a clam shell tightly closed containing a pearl.

Mousse tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder.

His body trembled even more violently.

Mousse hesitated and withdrew his hand.

He could feel that if he wanted to forcibly open this clam shell, he could do it.

But, that would leave the clam bloody.

Even broken and dead.

Mousse pulled up the quilt again to cover Shadow One.

Gently embraced him under the quilt, slowly stroking his back.

Faintly heard a whimper.

The tightly closed clam shell seemed to open a little.

But still vigilant and fearful, not fully revealed.

Mousse just held him quietly to comfort him, whispering an apology.

In the quiet sleeping hall, only Shadow One’s slightly heavy breathing could be heard.

Unknown how long it passed, long enough for Mousse to be enveloped by surging drowsiness and fall into a deep sleep.

Shadow One slowly raised his head, took a deep breath of the warm scent in the Emperor’s embrace, exhaling it with extreme cherishing.

·

The sky gradually brightened.

When the first ray of sunlight spilled into the room through the window lattice, Mousse woke up.

As soon as he was awake, he found someone lying beside him.

A clam shell completely opened to him, even taking him inside.

At this moment, the pearl the other party cherished most was piled up between their bodies.

Mousse reached out and pulled that obstructive clothing out.

Did not encounter any resistance.

Shadow One embraced him, arms protecting him in a protective posture. Breathing long and steady, sleeping soundly.

Unaware of the loss of the “pearl.”

Perhaps, this silly “clam shell” still thought the “pearl” was still in his arms.

But in his arms was only him.

He only contained him.

Mousse tilted his head and leaned against Shadow One’s heart.

The overly familiar embrace made him feel lazy all over, not wanting to move at all.

Clearly before sleep, it was him holding Shadow One to comfort him, but upon waking up, it became him being held in Shadow One’s arms.

Mousse didn’t know if he habitually burrowed into Shadow One’s arms, or if Shadow One habitually protected him.

Should be the former.

Habit is truly a terrifying thing.

Just like he had become accustomed to Shadow One always guarding by his side, always accompanying him, protecting him.

When one day, Shadow One resigned to him and wanted to leave him.

He just couldn’t accept it no matter what, angry almost to the point of madness.

Did many irreparable and unforgivable things to Shadow One.

Thinking about it now, what he did was really excessive.

Shadow One sacrificed a lot for him.

Without Shadow One, he might have died long ago.

Couldn’t have lived to the competition for the crown prince, let alone to ascend the throne.

Even if he wasn’t the master Shadow One truly wanted to follow.

Shadow One also protected him in action and did not let him down.

Shadow One just wanted to leave him after everything was settled, to follow the master he truly recognized in his heart.

He should let go and fulfill his wish…

Fulfill my ass!

Mousse’s expression suddenly distorted, gritting his teeth.

Shadow One can only be his!

Can only stay by his side.

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