Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

Chu Ze stared at the unconscious woman, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity came over him. Her thin face, messy hair, and the hand tightly holding the dead baby all touched him deeply. He seemed to see another Xiao Tao, the Xiao Tao he had lost.

The woman woke up slowly and saw the man in dragon robe in front of her. She was startled at first, then she lowered her head and tears silently fell.

"Girl, what's your name?" Chu Ze's voice was surprisingly gentle, even he was surprised.

"My name is Liu Ruyan..." The woman answered weakly, her voice as thin as a mosquito.

Liu Ruyan... Chu Ze silently repeated this name in his heart. He always felt that he had heard it somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.

"Ruyan... nice name." Chu Ze said softly. He ordered people to bring food and water and fed them to Liu Ruyan personally.

Liu Ruyan was somewhat resistant at first, but hunger made her finally accept Chu Ze's help. She ate voraciously, as if to make up for the hunger of the past few days.

Chu Ze looked at her, feeling mixed emotions. He thought of Xiao Tao, the energetic Xiao Tao who had once leaned on him like this. Now, Xiao Tao was no longer alive, but he was here, feeling an inexplicable pity for another woman.

"Ruyan, you will follow me from now on." Chu Ze suddenly said, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Liu Ruyan was stunned. She looked up and looked at Chu Ze in disbelief. She was a poor orphan, but she was favored by the emperor. This made her feel incredible.

"Your Majesty...I am a humble woman...I am of humble status..." Liu Ruyan stammered.
Chu Ze interrupted her: "I don't care about your identity, I only know that I want to protect you."

His words were domineering and gentle, causing ripples in Liu Ruyan's heart. She had never been valued so much by anyone before, and this feeling made her both afraid and eager.

"Thank... Thank you, Your Majesty..." Liu Ruyan lowered her head, not daring to look directly into Chu Ze's eyes.

Chu Ze smiled slightly, he helped Liu Ruyan up and said, "Let's go, follow me back to the palace."

Liu Ruyan obediently followed Chu Ze and left the forest full of sadness.

After returning to the camp, Chu Ze immediately ordered the army to break camp and return to the capital. He couldn't wait to bring Liu Ruyan back to the palace, give her the best life, and make up for the suffering she had endured.

Along the way, Chu Ze showed great concern for Liu Ruyan, asking about her well-being. He dressed her in gorgeous clothes, fed her delicacies from land and sea, and even combed her hair himself.

Liu Ruyan was a little uncomfortable at first, but she was gradually melted by Chu Ze's gentleness. She began to rely on Chu Ze, and even... a little bit of love for him.

Chu Ze also became more and more addicted to Liu Ruyan's gentleness. He found that Liu Ruyan was different from other concubines. She was not competitive or pretentious. She was like an orchid in the valley, exuding a faint fragrance that made people feel relaxed and happy.

He began to neglect the concubines in the harem and favored Liu Ruyan alone. This caused dissatisfaction among the concubines in the harem, and they began to talk about him behind his back, and some even began to secretly frame Liu Ruyan.

One day, Liu Ruyan was walking in the imperial garden when she suddenly stepped on empty air and fell into a deep pit.

"Ah!" Liu Ruyan screamed and fell to the ground.

"Help! Help!" Liu Ruyan shouted for help.

However, there was no one around, only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Liu Ruyan struggled to get up, but found that her ankle was sprained and she could not move.

She closed her eyes in despair, waiting for death to come.

At this moment, a figure descended from the sky and landed steadily in front of her. "Ruyan!" Chu Ze shouted anxiously. He picked up Liu Ruyan and asked with concern, "How are you? Are you injured?"

Liu Ruyan opened her eyes and saw Chu Ze’s anxious expression, and her heart warmed.

"Your Majesty...I...my feet..." Liu Ruyan said with a sob.

Chu Ze checked Liu Ruyan's ankle and found that it was swollen.

"Damn it!" Chu Ze cursed angrily. He picked up Liu Ruyan and flew out of the deep pit.

He brought Liu Ruyan back to his bedroom and ordered the imperial physician to treat her.

After the imperial physician made the diagnosis, he said, "Your Majesty, your Majesty has sprained her ankle and needs to rest for a while."

Chu Ze was even more furious when he heard this. He ordered a thorough investigation to find out who had framed Liu Ruyan.

However, the results of the investigation surprised him... This deep pit was not man-made, but...

Chu Ze picked up Liu Ruyan, anxious. He had never been so flustered before, as if he had lost the whole world. The imperial physician examined her with trepidation, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. "Your Majesty, the queen just sprained her ankle, it's nothing serious, just rest for a few days and she will recover."

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Chu Ze finally felt relieved. He gently placed Liu Ruyan on the bed and stroked her pale face. "Are you scared? I will find out who is so bold as to set a trap in the Imperial Garden!"

Liu Ruyan smiled weakly, "I'm fine, Your Majesty, don't worry."

Chu Ze held her hand, his eyes full of pity and self-blame, "It's all my fault. I didn't protect you well."

The results of the investigation came out quickly, but they shocked Chu Ze. The deep pit was not man-made, but was dug by... a giant pangolin. The underground of the imperial garden was actually connected to the pangolin's nest!

Chu Ze was furious. "My imperial garden has become a den of beasts! Pass on my order to capture this pangolin immediately and skin it and pull out its tendons!"

However, when the guards finally dragged the pangolin out of the hole after great effort, everyone was dumbfounded. The pangolin was huge, shining with golden light, and exuded a strange pressure.

"This... this is... the golden-armored sandalwood beast!" an old eunuch exclaimed, "A legendary beast! It is said that it guards a huge treasure!"

Chu Ze was also stunned. He looked at this majestic pangolin, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided, replaced by an inexplicable excitement. Treasure! This is a good thing!
He immediately changed his mind, "Don't kill it! Lock it up, I want to interrogate it myself, where is the treasure!"

The golden-armored sandbag was locked in a special iron cage. Chu Ze interrogated it personally, but the sandbag refused to speak and just looked at him with contempt.

Chu Ze was furious and said, "If you don't accept my toast, I'll punish you! Come on, punish me!"

All kinds of torture were used, but the golden-armored sandalwood beast remained silent, as if it could not feel any pain at all. Chu Ze had no choice but to give up temporarily.

Liu Ruyan's foot injury gradually improved, and she began to walk around the palace. One day, she accidentally came to the place where the golden-armored sandalwood beast was imprisoned.

Seeing this huge pangolin, Liu Ruyan was filled with curiosity. She walked to the cage and asked softly, "Why don't you tell His Majesty where the treasure is?"

The golden-armored sandalwood beast raised its head and glanced at Liu Ruyan, with a hint of surprise in its eyes. It actually spoke! (End of this chapter)