It seems that the villain is targeting me.

Xiao Niao misjudged her position in Gwyneth's heart. She wanted to leave this world by using death escape as she had originally planned, and sever the connection between the two in the most decisive way.

But for those who stay, this will be a cruel thing.

Gwyneth will recall every word she said to Birdie during that time countless times for the rest of her life. She will continue to analyze the reasons over and over again, and she will assume countless times that she might be able to make amends.

Gwyneth didn't know why the bird did this, but she instinctively built an invisible cage and tried her best to keep the bird.

Nothing has changed, yet it seems like everything has changed.

"...What are you thinking about?" Warm fingers gently stroked the temples, and the fingertips seemed to pass across the corners of the eyes.

She was feeling uneasy and repeatedly used physical touch to confirm that the person was still by her side.

Xiao Niao slowly came back to his senses and shook his head with a gloomy expression.

As if still very tired, Xiao Niao closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against Gwyneth's trembling palm.

------

-

If we look back on what happened that day, it’s not that complicated.

Two days later, Xiao Niao discovered that her things had been rummaged through and the letter she wrote to Bi'er was missing. She sat in the study for several hours, realizing that her plan might have been known to Gwyneth.

With such a premise in mind, things become easy to explain.

She was almost certain that something must have happened to her that night - otherwise she would not have slept so deeply, nor would she have been so weak for a long time after waking up, almost allowing Gwyneth to manipulate her.

When was it? She hadn't felt any abnormalities before entering the study, so the problem could only have occurred after she entered.

Incense? Or the glass of water that was offered?

The nature of this matter is actually very serious. No matter how Gwyneth made her lose consciousness, Xiao Niao should have noticed it afterwards.

This is not because Xiao Niao has any great detective talent, but because she has a system.

Losing consciousness is an absolute threat to the host's survival

Even if she had no ability to act independently and could not send a distress signal to the system at that time, Tongzi would definitely wake up from her dormant state directly after that.

After deciding to stay, Xiao Niao and Tongzi discussed what to do in case of an accident. After all, in the worst case scenario, her life would most likely be in danger again.

Xiao Niao reached an agreement with the system without much argument: when she fell into a near-death state, no matter where she was or what she was doing, the system would immediately execute a return operation and send her back to her body in the real world.

However, when the bird regained consciousness from the effects of the drug, the system, contrary to its usual practice, did not respond.

There was no movement, not even the slightest bit.

At that time, Xiao Niao was still trapped in the quagmire of emotions. He had no time and no mind to think about other things. He could only helplessly endure everything Gwyneth gave him.

When she finally found some time to be alone, she tried to call the system in her mind, but all she got in response was dead silence.

Xiao Niao tried again: "System?"

No sound.

It was very quiet around and there was no one else around. She was in the library. Whenever Xiao Niao encountered something upsetting or a problem that was difficult to deal with, she would hide in a place like this.

"Tongzi?"

This time, Xiao Niao read it out loud.

The sound echoed lonely in the room, hitting wood and stone, and finally disappeared into nothingness.

She never received any response.

Chapter 119: An Unexpected Visitor [Please refresh within the chapter]

When Gwyneth woke up, her mind was still a little confused, and it took her a while to wake up in the true sense.

The curtains were drawn slightly, and the bed was not illuminated, but the light coming in was very bright, so it must be a bright and sunny day.

The soft big bed was filled with the scent of Xiaoniao, which made people feel at ease. Gwyneth was still sleepy, but her hand habitually groped towards her side.

After that nightmare, Gwen found it difficult to sleep peacefully alone. Waking up to find the other half of the bed empty would also make her feel inexplicably frightened.

Xiao Niao noticed that his wife did not sleep well at night, so he took the initiative to ask her the reason. Gwyneth skipped the part about the nightmare and told Xiao Niao vaguely.

The two people's biological clocks are actually not close: influenced by half of the human physiological habits, Xiaoniao always wakes up earlier. If the workload is heavy, it is common for him to leave the bedroom early to deal with work.

But knowing that Gwyneth would feel uneasy about this, Xiaoniao would always wait in bed for a while longer, and after Gwyneth woke up, the two of them would get up together.

Gwyneth recalled that when she first met Xiao Niao, she knew that she was a considerate and careful person who would pay attention to and remember even the smallest things. It was always very comfortable to be with her.

Even now, this has not changed.

Her hand soon touched someone's warm waist and abdomen. Her Majesty the Queen opened her eyes in a daze. She saw Xiao Niao leaning against the head of the bed, with the quilt only covering a little above the waist.

The pair of light brown eyes looked at her with a dazed expression on her face. After a moment of silence, Xiaoniao's right hand hanging by his side gently grasped her wrist.

Gwyneth's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.

The other person's palm was cold, as if he had been awake for a long time.

"...You're awake," Xiao Niao smiled at her slowly, "Are you going to get up?"

She nodded subconsciously.

Xiao Niao then lifted the quilt, stepped barefoot on the carpet, and took off his nightgown with his back to her. Gwen was sharp enough to notice the ambiguous dark red color on Xiao Niao's shoulders and neck. She dodged her gaze for a moment and felt a little embarrassed.

Because there were things to deal with during the day, the maid prepared the clothes and placed them in the house a day in advance, so there was no need to ask someone to pick them up.

Xiao Niao threw his nightgown at the foot of the bed and began to change his clothes.

As if to cover up, Gwyneth also imitated the bird, picked up her clothes and changed hurriedly, even faster than the maid usually did for her.

Her movements were much faster, and when Gwen was fully dressed and turned around, Xiaoniao had just stretched out its wings from the opening of her vest.

Because the bird only has one hand to use, its movements seem very clumsy.

A smile spread across Gwyneth's lips. She walked forward naturally, took out the feather stuck in her clothes, and buttoned her shirt one by one - she did it quite skillfully because she had unbuttoned the clothes before.

Gwen was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice the hint of hurt that flashed across Xiao Niao's eyes.

Although it rarely shows it, the bird is actually very resistant to receiving special care from others.

Perhaps deep down in her heart, she still cared about the fact that her left hand was half disabled, and she was very stubborn in doing small things like dressing and bathing by herself.

The clothes were put on quickly. Gwen finally adjusted her collar and took her hand away. Xiao Niao looked at her and said thank you in a low voice.

Gwyneth lowered her head and carefully looked at the bird in the bright morning light. Its soft ears, light-colored eyes, and eyelashes trembling slightly with the rhythm of its breathing were all details that she liked and cared about.

The person in front of me is still

It was the same as usual, except that it was a little depressed, there seemed to be no change.

But, it feels a little different from usual.

Just at this moment, the sound of the chief chamberlain knocking on the door was heard outside the living room, respectfully asking whether Her Majesty had woken up - Her Majesty's schedule was quite tight today, so as soon as it was time to get up, the chief chamberlain came running and knocked on the door.

Her Majesty the Queen felt that this person came at a very bad time.

Xiao Niao responded to the outside, then turned around and said to Gwen, "It's getting late. Your Majesty, please set off as soon as you are ready."

Gwyneth's lips parted slightly as if she were about to say something, then she put an arm around Birdie's neck and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Levi, don't call me Your Majesty," Gwen said softly, "Just call me by my name. There's no need for us to be so distant."

Xiao Niao's neck was a little stiff, his wife's breathing was so close to him. Xiao Niao looked away and nodded slowly, her voice a little hoarse.

"...I'm still in the study in the bedroom." she said.

In fact, even if Birdie didn't report to Gwyneth, Gwen would always know her movements clearly.

Her Majesty the Queen did not particularly restrict Xiao Niao's freedom. She could move around freely in the palace. When Gwyneth encountered difficulties in government affairs, she would still come to her for advice as before.

At this point, Xiao Niao was actually deeply tired of everything, but she knew that she had to be busy with something and could not be idle - once she was idle, all kinds of repressed and negative emotions would crush her.

Thinking of this, Xiaoniao felt a little pathetic: even at this point, all she thought about was work.

Gwyneth finally left, and before leaving she turned back several times and looked at the living room behind her.

Compared with the clear blue sky outside, the room suddenly looked a little dark, and even the furniture inside seemed to be covered with a layer of black gauze.

Her steps paused, as if she had left the bird behind in a world shrouded in darkness.

Gwen suppressed the sadness that was sweeping over her, calmed herself down, and walked towards the meeting room.

Judging from the sophistication with which she handles things, Gwyneth's progress during this period has been nothing short of rapid - intrigue, conquest and domination, she seems to be naturally adapted to such things.

In fact, it is not far from the time when she can stand on her own two feet. What Gwen lacks now is just a little time to get used to it.

The decision-making level of the empire has now regained stability. No matter whether it is the Imperial Conference or other officials and ministers, no one dares to disobey Her Majesty and sing against her Majesty. Basically, they are more obedient.

Gwyneth then devoted some of her attention to searching nationwide for a cure for heart disease.

During this period, she had asked all the imperial doctors in the palace to examine Xiaoniao. The doctors generally said that the situation was not optimistic. They said, "We don't know how to treat it." Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty.

But they didn't say that death was completely untreatable - if they said it was dead, it might really be dead - so Gwyneth did have a glimmer of hope in her heart.

Gwen felt that in such a vast empire, there would be someone who could cure Levi. Even if there was no way to cure him completely, she would seek out famous doctors and treat him carefully, and he would eventually get better.

Because of this incident, government affairs were slightly delayed, but within two days, a lot of things piled up on the desk.

Gwyneth was busy reviewing official documents and summoning ministers to discuss matters all day. When it was almost lunchtime, she took a break and sent a message to the kitchen, asking them to prepare some meals that the emperor would like and send them to the study.

In fact, the people of the Empire generally do not attach much importance to the lunch. Common people do not eat it much, and the nobles often just eat some cold snacks to fill their stomachs. It’s just because Xiao Niao is used to eating hot food, so Gwen gradually started to eat the same thing as her.

The morning's work came to an end, and there was some progress in finding a doctor. Gwyneth's mood became cheerful again, and she got up and rushed towards the bedroom.

It was like a process of gradually developing separation anxiety. She became more and more addicted to spending time with the bird, unwilling to miss any opportunity, and would even miss it if she didn't see it for just one day.

When she reached the door, the maid brought lunch over. Gwen took the basket of food from the maid, dismissed several servants who were following her, and then pushed open the door of the study and walked in alone.

Gwyneth looked up, her expression froze.

Xiao Niao sat on the chair, seemingly in a daze, with a pile of processed documents at hand, but she did not do anything. She just stared at a non-existent point in the void, with a blank look on her face.

During this period of time, the most common expression on the bird's face was a look of confusion, as if it was at a loss as to what to do.

Whether he was with Gwen or occasionally alone, Xiao Niao would always find himself distracted like this during some intervals, staring blankly with his eyes wide open, as if he didn't know where he was.

Gwyneth suddenly remembered that Xiao Niao seemed to have not been able to leave the palace for almost half a year.

Levi's complexion seemed to have become even paler. Gwen thought to herself, after a while

Take her to the outskirts of the city to get some fresh air...

That incident happened a long time ago, and Gwen has been reluctant to bring it up again. She just wants to let it go and keep everything as it was. She doesn't want to continue to ask Xiaoniao why she did that.

Perhaps deep down, Gwen was afraid of knowing the real answer.

------

-

Her Majesty the Queen set a generous reward for curing the bird's heart disease. The notice was delivered to all parts of the country by carrier pigeons, and most of the doctors in the empire began to gather in the capital.

However, the situation was not very optimistic. After a large group of people learned about Xiao Niao's situation, their hearts suddenly sank, realizing that such immense wealth was not so easy to obtain.

Those quacks who suggested treating patients through bloodletting and chanting incantations were screened out early on, and those who remained were doctors who actually had some real skills and were also very reputable.

One of them, a bit bolder, told the empress the truth: "The emperor was poisoned with a deadly poison, designed to kill. It's extremely damaging to the organs. He would have died within three to five minutes... It's remarkable that he's survived until now."

Gwyneth listened patiently for a long time and found that every word the other person said was what she liked to hear.

Of course she refused to give up: "If the deadly poison couldn't kill me, how could the heart disease be cured? I can always find a way."

"This, this, this is indeed difficult to treat," the man said, looking very embarrassed, fearful and terrified. "Heart damage is difficult to fully recover from. Since it's been injured, it's inevitable that life will be shortened, and the emperor is half human..."

The heart of a half-human being beats faster than that of an ordinary person. When the heart is damaged, it is easier to expand the damage and aggravate the strain.

Gwyneth felt her blood run cold.

Xiao Niao turned his head to look at her, then said to the group of doctors below, "Thank you for your hard work. There's no rush for treatment. There's always a way. You can all leave first."

These doctors didn't expect that the emperor would be so easy to talk to. After they realized what was happening, they quickly saluted, turned around and left.

No one wanted to stay and bear the wrath of Her Majesty the Queen, so they all slipped away.

Gwyneth glanced at the bird silently. The anger she had been suppressing in her chest suddenly deflated like air. Her shoulders slumped and she spoke in a low voice, "...none of them are reliable."

"Those people have done their best," Xiao Niao shook his head. "It's not good to deliberately make things difficult for them."

There is no way to cure herself in this world. Xiao Niao knows this very well. The system told her personally that this disease cannot be cured. Even in the real world, this is a very difficult disease to cure, and even surgery will not be low-risk.

Xiao Niao never thought about treating her heart from the beginning, nor did she want anyone to be implicated because of her.