The programmer immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.
"I'll pay you double. Now, do everything as I say. Got it?" Shen Lingyun said coldly, his eyes full of impatience.
"Okay." The programmer was extremely desperate. He had no other choice but to agree.
"By the way, it'd be best to give the male protagonist some painful illness, the kind that leads to a miserable death." As if remembering something, Shen Lingyun turned around and added.
"Um, okay." Although he didn't know why Shen Lingyun wanted to do this, the programmer still nodded in agreement.
Watching the programmer leave, Shen Lingyun felt somewhat confident. He thought that it wouldn't be long before Su Qingwen came back. By then, he would watch her closely. How could she still be with Hua Yueye? She couldn't be addicted to the game world for the rest of her life. After all, she was still in the palm of his hand.
Letting out a sinister laugh, Shen Lingyun's gaze became even sharper.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The weather, which had been fine just now, suddenly turned windy. It seemed as if a storm was brewing. The maids and eunuchs quickly went to close the doors and windows.
Listening to the wind outside, Su Qingwen's fingers trembled slightly, and her face paled a bit.
Hua Yueye walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "It's getting late. Aren't you going to sleep?"
Su Qingwen lowered her head and tightly grabbed Hua Yueye's hand. It felt as if he was about to leave soon, and she had to hold on to him desperately. "Hua Yueye, don't you think it's a bit strange?"
"What's wrong?" Hua Yueye lowered his head and kissed her neck, asking in confusion.
Lowering her head, Su Qingwen always had a premonition of bad luck in her heart. She felt that Shen Lingyun's revenge was coming. Was their happy life about to end before it even began?
"It's okay. Maybe I'm just overthinking. I'm sleepy. Let's go to sleep." Hiding her worries deep in her heart, Su Qingwen pulled Hua Yueye into the bedroom. She lay a bit further inside and patted the space beside her, signaling Hua Yueye to lie down.
Seeing her so "active", Hua Yueye's face showed a bit more smile. He didn't say much but just quietly lay down beside her. He stretched out his arm to hold her shoulder, lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "It's late. Go to sleep."
"Okay." Su Qingwen hugged his arm and nestled her head in Hua Yueye's arms, then fell into a deep sleep.
No matter what, she had to cherish the time she spent with Hua Yueye.
Thanks to Hua Yueye's company, the storm outside didn't matter to Su Qingwen. She calmly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The next day, the warm sun shone on her body, but for some reason, Su Qingwen felt extremely cold, as if she had been holding an ice cube.
Opening her eyes in surprise, she found that Hua Yueye's face had turned ashen. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he seemed to be muttering something. He looked extremely painful.
Her heart sank heavily. Su Qingwen knew that he was sick. She quickly put the back of her hand on Hua Yueye's forehead to check his temperature.
Just this one touch made her face turn paler than paper. How could this happen? Hua Yueye's body and forehead were extremely cold. It wasn't a fever. In short, his body was very cold, and he was unconscious.
"Hua Yueye, wake up! What's wrong with you?" Su Qingwen's tears couldn't stop flowing. She grabbed Hua Yueye's arm and asked nervously.
However, no matter how much she called out, Hua Yueye didn't show any reaction. Helplessly, Su Qingwen could only shout, "Someone! The emperor is sick. Hurry up and call the imperial physician!"
Gasping for breath, Su Qingwen closed her eyes. She knew in her heart that this time, Hua Yueye's illness might not be that simple.
Sure enough, after the imperial physicians came, they couldn't figure out what was wrong. All they could be sure of was that Hua Yueye's health had become extremely poor. In fact, he only had three months to live.
After hearing this news, Su Qingwen almost fainted. She covered her chest desperately and asked, "How could this be? He was fine yesterday. Are you all incompetent doctors?" With that, she threw the things in her hand at the imperial physicians.
"Concubine Xian, we know you're heartbroken, but this is the truth. We have no way to help. The emperor's illness came so strangely that we can't even find the cause. It's as if he was cursed and suddenly became ill overnight." The leading imperial physician sighed and stroked his beard.
"Alright, you can all leave." Su Qingwen seemed to have lost all her strength. She slumped down on the chair. Maybe, as she had thought, all this was because of the game system. After all, Hua Yueye was fine before.
"Concubine Xian, please accept our condolences." The imperial physicians glanced at each other. After saying this, they left.
Seeing this, Su Qingwen's tears fell again. With a sob in her voice, she asked, "System, tell me what's going on. Is Shen Lingyun up to something?"
[System: Honey, Shen Lingyun has now returned to the modern world. He can indeed change the settings to decide the fate of the characters. That means Shen Lingyun is going to write Hua Yueye to death.]
"What?" Su Qingwen stood up, angrily smashed the table, and sneered disdainfully. "That's all he can do. It's really ridiculous. He's so petty."
[System: Many of my skills have disappeared. Honey, with my remaining abilities, I can only help you end the game early.]
End the game early? Wouldn't that mean leaving Hua Yueye? Su Qingwen bit her lip and felt very conflicted.
[System: Anyway, Hua Yueye is now like a living dead. If you stay here, he will have to suffer a great deal of pain for no reason. So it's better to leave earlier.]
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" At this time, a panicked voice of a maid came from not far away. Immediately afterwards, there seemed to be sobbing sounds.
Su Qingwen was shocked and immediately strode over and asked, "What's going on?"
"The emperor seems to have stopped breathing."
What? Hua Yueye is dead?
Su Qingwen opened her mouth. She felt as if her blood was gradually freezing. She couldn't even take a step forward. She desperately reached out her hand, wanting to touch Hua Yueye, but her body was so weak that she had no strength at all.