I Don't Want to Be a Charmboy【Quick Wear】

Chapter 364 His Highness the Crown Prince is Outstandingly Talented (2)

When Lin Shen woke up again, it was already broad daylight outside.

Strands of sunlight streamed in through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows on the smooth, mirror-like gold-brick floor, where fine dust particles floated gently in the beams of light.

He blinked, somewhat dazed, as his consciousness gradually returned from the fog.

I tried to move, but my whole body felt drained of strength, limp and powerless.

He slowly propped himself up on his elbows, a movement that carried a sluggishness that seemed out of place in his young body.

His body was so thin and small that his slender arms trembled slightly as they supported his weight, and a sense of weakness that came from the very source of life enveloped him.

"Oh dear, my prince, slow down, slow down..."

Accompanied by a series of hurried but deliberately light footsteps, the personal eunuch Li Mao hurriedly jogged in.

Seeing that Lin Shen had already sat up on his own, his face immediately filled with heartache and anxiety. He rushed to the bedside, wanting to help but not daring to reach out rashly. He could only bend over and repeatedly persuade him.

Lin Shen ignored him, simply rubbing his still sleepy eyes and slowly scanning his surroundings.

The interior of the sleeping quarters was extremely luxurious. The rosewood furniture gleamed with a dark luster, and the various crystal porcelain and jade artifacts displayed in the display cabinets shone brightly in the sunlight. The walls were adorned with countless paintings and calligraphies by famous artists, each one priceless.

The room's opulence silently testifies to the extraordinary favor the original owner enjoyed within this deep palace.

The fragments of memory slowly merged. He steadied himself, his voice still hoarse from just waking up: "Li Mao, where is Father?"

Seeing that Lin Shen's expression was still acceptable, Li Mao breathed a slight sigh of relief. He turned around and took a warm bowl of medicine from the tray held by a young eunuch, carefully handing it to Lin Shen and softly replying, "Your Highness, His Majesty stayed by your side all night. Just as dawn was breaking, he heard that your pulse was stable and that you were out of danger, so he went to the morning court with peace of mind. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed you to drink your medicine as soon as you woke up."

Lin Shen nodded and took the ink-black medicine bowl.

The pungent, bitter smell made his stomach churn, but he held his breath and tilted his head back to drink the medicine in one gulp.

The medicine rolled down his throat, and its extreme bitterness instantly spread, causing his facial features to contort, making him wish he could bite off his tongue immediately.

Li Mao watched intently as his crown prince frowned, yet obediently finished the entire bowl of medicine. In his eyes, which always held a hint of shrewdness and worldliness, a pure tenderness and a smile of relief appeared.

As he took the empty bowl and handed it to the eunuch behind him, he began to mutter to himself as usual, his words filled with emotion.

"Your Highness, you have no idea how sick you have been these past few days. His Majesty has stayed by your bedside almost every step of the way, personally testing medicines and wiping away your sweat. He hasn't had a single good night's sleep. In all my years of serving in the palace, this is the first time I've ever seen His Majesty so haggard, with bloodshot eyes. It's truly heartbreaking to see..." He paused, not finishing his sentence, but the emotion in his unfinished words was evident.

At this moment, the clever little eunuch beside her had already brought over an exquisite glass dish containing a few candied plums.

Lin Shen picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The sweet taste instantly diluted the bitterness on his tongue. He chewed it slowly and gave Li Mao a vague nod in response to his words.

Just then, a clear but slightly hurried voice came from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Before the sound had even faded, a series of heavy, rapid footsteps approached from afar, breaking the tranquility of the palace in the early morning.

Emperor Qi rushed in, still wearing his court robes, which were solemn and dignified. The contrast between the robes and the undisguised anxiety on his face was striking.

He clearly rushed over immediately after the court session ended, perhaps without even returning to the Imperial Study first.

"Abao!"

Before the Emperor Qi even reached his bedside, the voice, filled with worry and urgency, had already arrived.

He walked a few steps to the bedside, sat down naturally, and stared intently at Lin Shen's small face.

He first reached out his broad palm and gently touched Lin Shen's cheek, as if to confirm whether this lost and found treasure was safe and sound.

The fingertips trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly, and the warmth of the body they touched eased his tense nerves a little.

Then, he gently grasped Lin Shen's weak little hand, wrapped it in his palm, and caressed it carefully, feeling the faint pulse and the real touch. The anxiety that had been hanging over him for several days seemed to finally settle down at this moment.

"My dear Abao, your face has gotten thinner..."

Emperor Qi gently traced the contours of Lin Shen's face with his fingertips, his voice filled with an overwhelming heartache, his sigh heavy as if it carried all the worries of the past few days.

His eyes reddened slightly. Looking at his son's pale face and thinking of how he had suffered during his illness, he felt a lump in his throat and almost burst into tears.

Lin Shen's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Through memory fusion and observation, he clearly knew that the emperor's affection for the original owner, "Abao," was indeed beyond measure.

That was true indulgence in every way, treating them like precious treasures, afraid they might melt in one's mouth or break in one's hands.

Even if the original owner sneezed or coughed twice, Emperor Qi would treat it as a major crisis, often taking off his clothes and personally taking care of him at his bedside, feeding him medicine and coaxing him to sleep, without relying on anyone else.

The root cause is that the original owner's birth mother died early, and this child was raised by Emperor Qi himself from infancy.

Feeding, bathing, soothing to sleep, early education... many things that should have been done by wet nurses and palace maids, Emperor Qi did himself. This meticulousness and patience are probably unmatched even by many ordinary fathers in the world.

But it is precisely this excessive love, which is almost ingrained in one's very being, that gives rise to a suffocating desire for control.

For Emperor Qi, love and control were inseparable twins.

The original owner's life was almost completely transparent—how much he ate for each of his three meals a day, how many times he went to the bathroom, how many words he spoke with which palace servant, how long he spoke, which pavilion in the Imperial Garden he lingered in for a while, and even how many times he turned over or got up at night... No matter how big or small the matter was, it had to be reported to Emperor Qi.

He was like an invisible yet omnipresent net, firmly sheltering "A Bao" under his wings.

Lin Shen sighed silently in his heart.

He felt inexplicably close to this person, which was very strange.

"Father," he raised his eyes, his voice weak from illness, "your son... needs to relieve himself."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Emperor Qi immediately suppressed his earlier sadness and became focused. "Alright, alright, my Abao, be careful."

As he spoke, he bent down and skillfully slipped his arms under Lin Shen's armpits and knees to steadily lift the small, seemingly weightless body, while simultaneously ordering, "Someone, prepare a chamber pot!"

Immediately, a eunuch quietly presented a clean chamber pot.

"Abao is still recovering from his illness and needs to rest in bed more. Don't catch a cold," Emperor Qi said gently, and then went to hold him to relieve himself.

Lin Shen felt a strong sense of embarrassment.

Although he has the appearance of a child, he is an adult with a mature soul inside.

Being watched by so many people, even eunuchs, while using the toilet must have been an incredibly disturbing experience. It wouldn't have been so bad if he were just an innocent, clueless child, but he wasn't.

“Father,” he couldn’t help but speak, his voice carrying a barely perceptible plea, “let them… all go down.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qi looked down at his son's slightly flushed cheeks, assuming it was just shyness from illness, and complied, nodding and waving his sleeve to signal, "All of you, step back."

The palace servants, being well-trained, immediately lowered their heads and silently withdrew from the inner hall, gently closing the door behind them.

Only the father and son remained inside the hall.

Lin Shen had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally have some privacy, when the next scene made him freeze.

Instead of putting him down, Emperor Qi squatted down and pulled him into his arms. One hand naturally reached for his waist, clearly aiming to untie his belt!

Lin Shen was startled and almost blurted out, "Father?!"

Emperor Qi did not hesitate at all, as if it were a matter of course, something he had done a thousand times.

While deftly unbuckling Lin Shen's belt and helping him pull down his underpants, he held him firmly in a completely protective manner, habitually making soft "shush" sounds, as if coaxing a real child.

Lin Shen's cheeks flushed bright red instantly, all the way down to his ears.

His body was being supported by his father in such a completely controlled manner, engaging in the most private physiological activities. The intense sense of shame and helplessness almost overwhelmed him.

At this moment, the adult consciousness deep within his soul was screaming with discomfort and embarrassment.

He finally came to understand where the fear and helplessness he felt towards his father's "controlling desire" in the original owner's memories came from—even something as simple as going to the toilet, his father, who was the supreme ruler, would personally "hold" him. This was not just simple pampering, but an absolute control that permeated every corner of life and could not be refused.

Jiji: "I borrowed a little bit from the historical figure of Emperor Kangxi and his crown prince in this story, but not much, because I don't want to delve into history. I've also read a lot of novels on this subject and thought they were pretty good, so I've been preparing to use this as a prototype for a long time. I think it should be fine."

Jiji: "There was a chapter that mentioned his past. You can find it in chapter 342. If you can't remember it, you can go back and take a look before continuing to read this world. It might be more helpful to everyone."