How To Hide The Tyrant's Child In The Apocalypse-Chapter 57 A snake sent assasination

AT THE SAME TIME

EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:

The air in the chamber was suffocating. Every sound—the hiss of boiling kettles, the scrape of needles, the shallow breaths Mei Shen still clung to felt like a hammer against my skull. At the bedside, Huan would not release her hand. His small knuckles were white, his jaw clenched though his eyes brimmed with tears. Beside him, Bai He hovered like a sparrow torn from its nest, her face pale and stricken.

"Lady Mei Shen..." She whispered, her voice trembling. "Please wake up. Please don’t leave them." She brushed a damp cloth across Mei Shen’s brow, her movements desperate yet careful, as if any roughness might shatter her.

And then against all odds Mei Shen’s lashes fluttered.

"Mother!" Huan gasped, leaning closer.

Her eyes cracked open, hazy, unfocused. She exhaled a shallow breath, lips parting. I bent over her, my chest tight enough to snap.

"Shen..." My voice cracked.

She looked at us, at Huan’s tear streaked face, at Bella curled up in Bai He’s lap, sobbing, at me and with all her dwindling strength she spoke.

"Don’t cry... I’m still here..."Mei Shen muttered.

Bai He’s eyes flooded with tears. She gripped Mei Shen’s free hand, voice breaking.

"Please, don’t leave us. We need you. Huan Bella they need you."She whispered. "I don’t want to loose my future mom in law."

But the effort cost too much. Mei Shen’s breath hitched, her lips trembled as if to speak again, then her body sagged. Her eyes rolled closed, her chest frighteningly still for one agonizing heartbeat.

"NO!" Huan screamed, shaking her arm. "Mother, stay awake! Don’t, don’t go!"

Bella wailed into Bai He’s shoulder, her tiny cries tearing through the room. Even Bai He, normally so composed, sobbed openly now, clutching Mei Shen’s hand as though she could anchor her spirit with sheer will.

"Physician, do something!" Bai Rong thundered, his voice sharp with panic.

The physician and Henry moved frantically, forcing the antidote deeper into her veins, their hands shaking. Bai Yu murmured urgent instructions, Bai Jun barked for hot water, more herbs anything. I pressed my forehead to Mei Shen’s limp hand, my teeth clenched so hard they ached.

"Don’t you dare leave us now, Shen. Don’t you dare."I begged.

The chamber was a storm of fear and desperate devotion, all of us clinging to the fragile thread of her breath, waiting praying for the faintest sign she would come back again. At last, a flicker. Mei Shen’s chest rose just a little fuller, her pulse thrummed faint beneath my fingers. The bitter stench of the antidote filled the chamber as Henry withdrew the needle, his brow drenched in sweat.

"She’s stabilizing." The physician breathed, voice almost reverent, as if he barely dared say it aloud.

Relief crashed through the room in uneven waves. Bai He sobbed, clutching Bella close while reaching her other hand back to brush Huan’s damp hair. The boy sagged forward onto his mother’s arm.

"See? You’re strong, mother. You’ll be okay..."Huan muttered . 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

For the first time since the venom struck, the air didn’t feel like drowning. Even I though my heart still hammered, I allowed a ragged exhale, my hand trembling as I pressed it to her cheek. But the respite was cruelly brief. Mei Shen’s breaths slowed again, her eyelids drifting closed, not like before, when she fainted, but heavier, deeper, as though some unseen force pulled her away. Her fingers slipped from Huan’s grasp.

"Mother?" His small voice cracked, panic clawing back instantly. He shook her shoulder frantically. "No, no, don’t sleep, please! Wake up!"

Bella’s sobs grew louder, piercing.

"Mama! Mama, don’t go!"Bella sniffed.

"She, she’s slipping into a deep sleep." The physician muttered, checking her pulse with trembling fingers. "The venom... it’s still fighting her body. The antidote slowed it, but she’ll need to battle through the night."

Bai He knelt beside Huan, pulling him into her arms even as her own face was stricken.

"She’s strong," she whispered fiercely, more to herself than anyone. "She’s strong, she’ll come back."Huan whispered.

The Bai brothers stood grim and silent, their hands fists at their sides, helpless against this enemy. Even Zeyrith, who never missed a chance to mock, was silent above, his golden eyes narrowed with something like... worry. I pressed my lips to Mei Shen’s forehead, holding her still hand in both of mine. She felt so cold.

"If she does not wake up." I rasped, not caring if the gods themselves heard. "Then I will burn every mountain, every forest, every heaven that let this happen."

The room was heavy with fear, but beneath it, one truth pulsed stronger every soul here, a child, sibling, friend, was bound to Mei Shen’s fragile breath. And all we could do was wait.

Time had turned into something cruel. Mei Shen lay still, skin pale as porcelain, caught in that cursed sleep the physicians whispered about in hushed voices. A sleep she might never wake from. Her breaths were shallow, fragile, each one so faint it made me lean close, terrified the next wouldn’t come. Her hand was small and cool in mine, too cool, and I kept pressing it to my lips as if my warmth could seep into her and anchor her back to me. Huan was a shadow of himself. He refused to leave her side, his little face blotchy from crying but still whispering in her ear.

"Mother... it’s me. I’ll be good. I’ll train harder. Please wake up. You promised you’d braid Bella’s hair tomorrow. Please don’t forget."Huan whispered.

Bella, poor thing, had cried until her voice cracked. She was only five, and still she kept patting Mei Shen’s arm with her tiny hand, as if sheer touch could summon her awake. Eventually, Bai He coaxed her into her lap, but even there, Bella’s tears stained the princess’s robes as she whimpered for her mother. The Bai brothers didn’t leave either. Their usual composure had hardened into something like grim duty, as if they stood not as guests but as guardians now. Bai Rong’s jaw was locked, Bai Jun kept pacing, while Bai Yu’s sharp eyes tracked every flicker in the room.

Zeyrith sat high above on the beam, tail twitching like a restless predator. Even he looked uneasy, though he masked it with muttered complaints. And me? I sat unmoving at her bedside, my heart in tatters, rage simmering just beneath the grief. I was Emperor, yet all my power meant nothing against poison coursing through her veins.

Suddenly the shouts erupted in the outer courtyard. The clash of steel, the heavy *thud* of bodies striking stone. Every head snapped up.

"What-?" Bai Jun started, hand on his blade.

I was already rising, cold fury washing through my veins. The guards burst through the doors, dragging a struggling figure between them. A man, cloaked in dark garb, mud staining his knees from where they had forced him down. His face was half-covered, but his eyes... they burned with hatred.

"Caught him, Majesty!" One guard spat, jerking the man forward. "This snake, he was the one who released the viper into the gardens!"

The air seemed to collapse around us. Bai He’s arms tightened protectively around Bella. Huan froze, then his young face twisted with fury far beyond his years.

"You-!" He shouted, lunging forward before Bai Rong caught him by the shoulders. "You tried to hurt my mother! I’ll kill you!"

The prisoner sneered, lips curling.

"The snake should have finished the job. She was only the first. All of you-"He grinned.

My sword was at his throat before he could finish. I hadn’t even realized I’d drawn it. The steel kissed his skin, and his words choked off into silence. My voice came low, dangerous.

"Say her name again, and you won’t live long enough to swallow your tongue."I stared at him angrily.

The Bai brothers stepped closer, eyes murderous. Bai Yu’s voice was like ice.

"Who sent you?"He asked.

The man only smirked. Blood trickled where my blade pressed deeper.

"Kill me and you’ll never know."He grinned.

My control trembled on the edge of breaking. Rage demanded I end him.

"Lianwei..."I heard a whisper.

A whisper. So faint I thought I imagined it. I dropped to my knees beside her instantly. Mei Shen’s lips had moved. Her eyes fluttered, barely open, pupils unfocused, but alive. The entire room surged forward. Huan grabbed her hand desperately. Bella squealed through her tears.

"Mother! Mother’s awake!"Huan shouted.

But no... it was a cruel tease. She blinked weakly, looked at me—just for a moment—and whispered something I couldn’t even catch. Then her eyes slid shut again, her body sinking deeper, as if even that spark of strength had drained her soul away.

"NO!" Huan’s voice cracked, sobs tearing out of him as he shook her hand. "Stay awake! Please, please—"

Bella’s crying rose into sharp wails. Bai He held her tight, though her own eyes shimmered with tears. Even the Bai brothers looked stricken—watching someone fight against death and being powerless against it was the greatest cruelty. The physician rushed back in, frantic.

"Her body fights the venom, majesty... but the sleep has deepened. It is not death... but nor is it life. She may not wake for days. Weeks. Perhaps..." His voice faltered. "...perhaps ever."

I felt the world tilt. A hollowness carved itself into my chest. Behind me, the guards forced the prisoner to his knees. His smirk was gone now, but my blade still pressed his throat. He dared. He dared to put her in this bed, dared to make my children cry, dared to steal the light from this household. And I swore to the heavens themselves, I would find whoever sent him. And they would beg for mercy that would never come.