Chapter 50 – The Mad Emperor and His Fairy in the Painting

The Mad Emperor and His Fairy in the Painting (16)

Xie Chenyuan held her in his arms the entire way back. Xu Xinghe didn’t struggle. Having someone carry her meant she didn’t have to walk, which was nice.

He set her down on the edge of the bed and reached out to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen on her cheek. His eyes were dark and unreadable.

Xu Xinghe was about to speak when she suddenly sensed something wrong.

She looked down at her hand in confusion. Why did her hand seem to be turning transparent?

Xie Chenyuan saw it too. His pupils trembled. The image from his nightmares was appearing before his eyes.

His eyes immediately turned red. He reached out and pulled her tightly into his arms, so tightly that Xu Xinghe could barely breathe.

“Xing’er… you promised you wouldn’t leave me.” Xie Chenyuan held her tightly, his voice trembling.

“Don’t lie to me… please, Xing’er.” He could only repeat his words over and over. The last string of sanity in his mind was on the verge of snapping.

No matter how tightly Xie Chenyuan held her, he couldn’t stop the speed at which Xu Xinghe was turning transparent. There was nothing he could do. He had never felt so helpless.

“Take me with you… please, Xing’er!”

At this moment, he didn’t care about the dignity of an emperor or any rules. He didn’t want anything anymore. He just wanted Xing’er to stay, even if it meant no longer being the king of Great Yuan.

Xu Xinghe didn’t want to see Xie Chenyuan so sad. While she could still speak, she quickly turned his head to face her directly.

“Ah Yuan, look at me! Don’t be afraid. I will definitely come back, I promise!”

Xu Xinghe tried her best to calm Xie Chenyuan’s emotions, but her physical condition wouldn’t allow it.

“It should be the painting…” Before Xu Xinghe could finish her sentence, she vanished from the spot in an instant.

She wanted to say that the problem was likely with the painting. Her body couldn’t stay too far away from it. If she went too far, she would be directly pulled back into the painting.

Xie Chenyuan just sat there, frozen in his hugging position. No one knew how much time passed. Then suddenly, he curled his lips into a bitter and desolate smile. His face was deathly pale.

There was not a trace of light in his eyes, only emptiness.

She was gone.

Then his mind flashed back to the words Xing’er had just said. When he looked up again, his gaze was left with only fierce, bloodshot ruthlessness.

The painting?

Xie Chenyuan kicked open the wooden door. The scene before him made his anger surge.

When Xie Chenyuan opened the secret room where he kept the painting, the area behind the wall was empty. The room was a mess. Everything was still there, except for the painting.

It was clear that the thief came specifically for Xing’er. None of the other treasures were missing.

Xie Chenyuan stood there for a long time. His head felt like it was splitting open from the pain. He forced himself to calm down and think. Who? Who stole the painting?

Suddenly, a figure flashed through his mind. He let out a sinister smile. So it was that sneaky rat. That pest…

Xie Chenyuan kicked and shattered a blue-and-white porcelain vase beside him. The sound of the vase breaking seemed to mock his incompetence. He couldn’t even protect the person he loved. He was useless.

Eunuch Li followed behind Xie Chenyuan in fear. He had never seen His Majesty so enraged. It wasn’t like before when he would kill people with bloodshot eyes. Now, there was only silence and emptiness.

That was what made it most terrifying. Eunuch Li could only silently mourn for himself. It was true that being by His Majesty’s side was troublesome and life-threatening at any moment, but the monthly salary and His Majesty’s casual rewards were enough to last him several lifetimes.

“Mobilize all the shadow guards. Find out for me who stole the painting.”

Hearing this, Eunuch Li was greatly shocked. His Majesty had never mobilized that mysterious shadow guard force since ascending the throne. And now, he was calling all of them out for a single painting.

“Yes!”