CHAPTER 146: CHAPTER 146; LEAVE US

Her heart lurched, not with tenderness, but with a raw, consuming intensity. Her fingers twitched, reaching for him instinctively.

"Master Jin... no... no..." Her hoarse voice trembled as she gently slapped her mouth; her voice echoed, but with possession rather than fear. "My dear husband... Honey..."

The words made the doctors and guards exchange uneasy glances, and at the same time, shocked. The head physician shot his assistant a warning look, silencing him before he could speak some nonsense.

A maid stepped forward, hands trembling as she balanced a basin of warm water for her to clean up her face. Bowing low, she whispered, "Young Miss, allow me to..."

"Out." Yueyao’s gaze snapped toward her, cold and commanding, a sharp break from her former gentleness, timid and kind being.

The maid froze, eyes darting helplessly to Jin Shuren who was sleeping on the chair.

One of the guards shifted uneasily. "Madam, perhaps...."

"Did I stutter?" Yueyao’s voice cut like glass. Her eyes blazed as her grip tightened on Jin Shuren’s sleeve, nails digging into the fabric. "No one touches him. No one approaches him. He is mine, mine alone."

The room stilled, tension thick as storm clouds. The maid lowered her head quickly and retreated to the corner, while the guards exchanged wary glances. This was no longer the weak, trembling woman they had once pitied.

At the sound of her voice, Jin Shuren stirred awake weakly, lifting his head. His eyes, dark with exhaustion, softened as they met hers, relief breaking through, raw and almost unbearable. "Yueyao... you’re awake."

"Have some warm water to patch your dry throat, but before he could reach for the cup on the tray, she sat up and flung her arms around his neck, holding him with surprising strength.

"You didn’t leave me," she whispered, her voice feverish and trembling. "I knew you wouldn’t. You’re mine. Only mine."

The maid froze again, wide-eyed. They have just known Yueyao as timid, hesitant, and gentle. This woman in front of them, clinging to Jin Shuren like a storm given form, was unrecognizable.

Jin Shuren stiffened at her words, his hand hovering between prying her off and pulling her closer, and giving her a tight hug! "Yueyao," he said carefully, low enough only for her, "you have been unwell. You should get some more rest."

But she shook her head violently, pressing her face into his chest purring like a naughty kitten. Her fists knotted his robe in a desperate grip. "No. I don’t need rest. I just need you. You will stay with me, won’t you? You won’t let anyone take you from me?"

The maid lowered her gaze, trying to vanish into the corner. Guards shifted uncomfortably, unaccustomed to seeing their cold master held so fiercely, and so openly by this woman.

Jin Shuren’s jaw slightly tightened, squinting His eyes, his gaze snapped toward the doctors, "Explain to me what’s happening here right now...."

Could someone suddenly change like this? What could be the problem?

The elder physician cleared his throat, voice low with unease, "Lord Jin... her collapse stems from severe trauma. She has endured far too much, and when confronted with certain... triggers, the mind protects itself. It is likely her memory has splintered, and what remains may have... realigned. This dependence, this intensity...." he hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "....could be her mind’s desperate grasp at stability."

"Or an obsession," the younger interjected under his breath, only to receive a sharp, warning glare from the elder physician.

Yueyao seemed deaf to them all. She only clutched Jin Shuren tighter, her voice breaking into a desperate murmur. "Don’t listen to them, they don’t know what they are saying. Don’t let them separate us. You are my husband. You belong to me."

The maid’s grip faltered on the tray. A chill crawled down her spine.

Jin Shuren exhaled slowly, his hand finally rising to cradle the back of Yueyao’s head. His voice was steady, but his eyes held a storm. "Very well. If that is what you believe... then no one will touch you. No one will take me away."

At once, her trembling eased, she clung tighter, but her breath evened, her storm settling into something frighteningly calm, as though she had anchored herself completely to him.

The chamber itself, however, grew heavier. Guards stiffened in unease, the maid dared not lift her gaze, and the doctors exchanged worried looks.

For the first time, Yueyao’s presence no longer felt fragile or pitiable. It was sharp, fierce, and unsettling.

And Jin Shuren knew it.

The elder physician bowed his head, murmuring low to his assistants, "This is no longer the frailty of illness... it is rebirth through madness. Don’t you think she would go crazy?"

One of the younger guards shifted uneasily, his hand brushing the hilt of his blade as though instinct warned him of danger.

Yueyao slowly lifted her head from Jin Shuren’s chest. Her eyes, once soft with tears, now gleamed with an eerie clarity. "Why do you all look so frightened?" she asked, her tone almost sweet. "Were you expecting me to be dead?" She suddenly glared at them infuriated.

The maid closest to her nearly stumbled backward, bumping into the wall. The girl’s face paled, but Yueyao’s gaze slid past her as if she were nothing more than air.

Jin Shuren’s hand, still resting against Yueyao’s head, flexed slightly. He felt her pulse, quick but steady, and the warmth of her body pressed against him with a possessive desperation that should have unsettled him. Yet, beneath those uneasy feelings, a dangerous thought rooted itself; perhaps this strength, this fire, was what he had wanted all along.

He tilted his chin, his dark eyes sweeping over the trembling attendants, "Leave us."

The command was quiet, but it carried the weight of steel.

Hesitant, the physicians bowed and withdrew. The maids, heads lowered, scurried after them. The guards hesitated only a breath longer before filing out, leaving the chamber heavy with silence.