Chapter 240: "How About... I Do It?

Xiao Yang was sheltered in the center of the group, a bow and arrow in her hands and a spear at her side. But the tiger had locked onto Li Wei. Man and beast tumbled into the bushes, wrestling out of sight.

Just as everyone was about to rush over to help, another roar suddenly echoed as a second giant, yellow-and-black beast leaped out.

"Gods, there’s another one!"

"Protect Her Majesty! Protect Her Majesty!"

The group of men fought the tiger, all while forming a protective circle around the Emperor.

Fortunately, the Black Dragon Guards surrounding Xiao Yang were elites. With Xiao Ziling and Xiao Lan joining the fray, the group quickly slew the tiger.

The massive tiger carcass lay on the ground. Even in death, it retained a fearsome aura that was chilling to behold.

"Why were there two of them?"

"They’re both males. They were likely fighting over territory, and we just stumbled upon them."

Xiao Yang had no time to inspect the tiger’s corpse. The instant it died, she immediately ran to check on Li Wei.

Others had gone to help him, but they couldn’t get involved.

By the time Xiao Yang got there, all was quiet. The soldiers who had gone to help were standing perfectly still, all staring in the same direction.

The solemn atmosphere was unnerving. Her heart lurched, but she didn’t dare slow down, quickening her pace as she approached.

When she saw the scene before her, even she was stunned into silence.

Before them was a patch of trampled earth. In the middle of the clearing, a massive tiger lay motionless, its life completely extinguished.

And there was Li Wei, sitting on a rock beside the tiger, wrapping a strip of cloth around a wound on his hand.

His robes were slightly torn, but that did nothing to conceal his powerful aura.

Everyone here was an expert in martial arts and unafraid of a tiger, but that was with the advantage of numbers, attacking as a group.

But Li Wei had faced it alone, without a weapon, and beaten the tiger to death with his bare fists.

The sight of the felled tiger next to the imposing man created a powerful visual shock.

Every time she witnessed Li Wei’s strength, it left her utterly dumbfounded.

Li Wei wasn’t deliberately striking a pose. The moment he saw Xiao Yang, he immediately rose and walked over.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

He stopped three paces away from Xiao Yang, his eyes filled with concern as they scanned her from head to toe, terrified she might have been even slightly injured.

"I’m fine," Xiao Yang assured him immediately.

She glanced from Li Wei’s strong, powerful arms to the massive tiger on the ground, which looked to be at least two meters long, and was still filled with amazement.

"Killing a tiger with your bare hands. Now I’ve truly seen it all."

When the tiger had appeared behind her, her martial arts were only good enough for escape. But to protect her, Li Wei had met the beast head-on.

Such strength and courage—in all the world, only Li Wei possessed it.

The Emperor’s gaze finally rested entirely on him, but her eyes held only admiration and praise for his power, without a single shred of the affection he yearned for.

’We are sovereign and subject... just sovereign and subject.’

"As long as Your Majesty is fine..." Li Wei struggled to suppress the strain in his voice, continuing smoothly, "It’s getting late. The presence of tigers means other beasts will be drawn here. We should eat and then head back soon."

Xiao Yang nodded. "Alright."

Li Wei went to change his clothes and have his wound properly bandaged. Though he tried to be discreet, he was forced to endure a baptism of admiring gazes.

In the center of the crowd, the Emperor held a bowl of soup and beckoned to him with a smile. "Come, eat something and regain your strength."

Li Wei walked over and sat down. Before him was a roasted leg of venison.

Xiao Yang cut off a small piece for herself and bestowed the rest upon him.

As Li Wei took out a knife and began slicing the meat, Xiao Yang laughed. "And here I thought you’d just grab the leg and start gnawing on it. You’re being far too civilized."

Li Wei asked, "Am I just a savage brute in Your Majesty’s eyes?"

Xiao Yang replied, "Not a brute. Uninhibited."

Just then, someone handed them wine, served not in cups, but directly in bowls.

Hearty bites of meat and great bowls of wine.

Seeing Li Wei reach for a bowl of wine, Xiao Yang frowned slightly. "You’re injured. Should you be drinking?"

"It’s nothing."

Li Wei raised the bowl and drained it in one gulp. Then he resumed cutting the meat, arranging the most beautifully thin slices one by one on a large leaf, which he then offered to Xiao Yang.

"This cut is the most tender and pairs perfectly with the wine. Your Majesty, please try some."

Xiao Yang, with a piece of meat in one hand and her bowl in the other, had no free hand to take it, and there was no table.

Li Wei noticed, picked up a slice with chopsticks, and brought it directly to Xiao Yang’s lips.

Xiao Yang opened her mouth. She had to admit, it was delicious.

After two bites, Xiao Yang stopped him. "I can feed myself. You eat your own food, and mind your wound."

Li Wei insisted on feeding her two more bites before casually cutting off a piece for himself and popping it into his mouth.

’A hearty bite of meat, a great bowl of wine. Truly satisfying.’

"I am a crude man. I’ve spent my life in the army and am used to a rough existence. But I have also read the classics, and I know how to take care of someone."

"Before, my only focus was avenging my family. Afterward, I was always preoccupied with military affairs. I had little free time and no interest in romance."

"I may seem a bit fierce, but I’ve always conducted myself with integrity. Other than a fondness for wine, I have no vices..."

He stared at his empty wine bowl, having rambled on at length.

As he finished, his voice trailed off into silence.

He seemed unwilling to give up, yet at the same time, he lacked confidence. The man strong enough to kill a tiger with his bare hands now radiated a palpable sense of inadequacy.

Xiao Yang’s hand, holding her wine bowl, froze. In an instant, she understood.

She had promised Li Wei she would seriously consider the relationship between them, but all this time had passed, and she hadn’t given him an answer.

Li Wei wasn’t blaming her. Instead, he was starting to suspect that he himself was the problem—that he simply wasn’t likable enough for her.

’She was the Emperor, and he was her subject. An Emperor could do no wrong. But relationships between people weren’t about power; they were about sincerity.’

’She was a heartbreaker, but she was still a person of flesh and blood.’

’No matter how deeply she buried her own feelings, how could she remain completely untouched when someone offered her their own burning, sincere heart?’

Xiao Yang couldn’t bring herself to tell Li Wei to find a good woman, have children, and live a happy life. It would not only make her sound hypocritical, it would also be trampling on his sincere feelings.

Yet, Xiao Yang remained silent. She didn’t answer, only slowly finished her large bowl of wine.

The journey back went smoothly. With the scent of the two dead tigers lingering in the air, no other wild beasts dared to approach.

「Taking the most direct route, they arrived back at the Palace by evening, before the sky had completely darkened.」

A bonfire was lit in the center of the spacious plaza, and one of the tigers was hung up for display. While everyone was busy preparing the feast, Xiao Yang returned to her quarters to wash up and change her clothes.

It wasn’t until she took off her robes that she saw three gashes across her back.

They were from the tiger’s claws. If Li Wei had been even a split second slower, her back would have been torn to ribbons.

After changing, Xiao Yang went to Li Wei’s room. The door was open, and people were coming and going. The smell of medicine wafted out; he was clearly having his wounds treated.

Xiao Yang walked in and immediately saw Li Wei, sitting there bare-chested. His torso was covered in cuts, large and small, likely from thorns and brambles during his fight with the tiger. New injuries overlapped old scars; there was hardly a patch of unmarred skin.

When he saw Xiao Yang, his expression changed instantly. He paid no mind to the Imperial Physician currently applying ointment and immediately tried to pull on his robes.

"Your Majesty, don’t look! I..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Yang caught his hand. "Don’t move. The physician is treating you."

With that, she pulled his robe back down and ordered the Imperial Physician to continue.

The Imperial Physician certainly wanted to, but Li Wei’s muscles had tensed so much that his wounds began to bleed again. The physician quickly put down the ointment jar to stanch the flow.

Xiao Yang knew her presence was affecting him. "I’ll wait outside," she said quickly.

But just as she turned to leave, he grabbed her hand.

Li Wei hadn’t wanted Her Majesty to see him like this, but now she had. A thousand considerations warred in his mind, but he couldn’t resist the wave of emotion swelling in his heart. He grabbed her, unwilling to let her go.

Yet now that he had stopped her, he didn’t know what to say.

Xiao Yang and the Imperial Physician exchanged a look. She glanced at Li Wei’s wounds; though they were seeping blood, they weren’t deep enough to require stitches. Ointment would suffice.

"How about... I do it?"

The Imperial Physician, who was so uncomfortable he was practically curling his toes and wishing the ground would swallow him whole, hastily arranged the jars and explained to the Emperor what each one was for.

Once he had explained everything, he beat a hasty retreat as if his feet were oiled.

Xiao Yang picked up a cotton swab. "I’m not very skilled at this. If it hurts, you’ll have to bear with it."

A fiery heat instantly blazed in Li Wei’s icy eyes. His throat bobbed as he turned his head away slightly. "Yes. I will trouble Your Majesty, then."