Chapter 13: A Gentle Person
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A touch of powder, a dab of rouge, lightly drawn brows—the mirror reflected a stunningly beautiful visage.
Bearing scars on the exposed skin, which only added to the allure, Yue Lan lightly covered them with powder, though the faint red marks could still be glimpsed.
The shoulder-length bangs were combed delicately over the cheeks, the jet-black, silky hair formed into a single bun, with long locks cascading down the left shoulder. Gold hairpins and jade tassels adorned the hair, but these accessories paled in comparison to the innate beauty of the person.
With his eyes tightly closed, Yu Zhen let Yue Lan work on his appearance, urging impatiently, “Are we done yet? I want to disguise myself as a palace maid, not be transformed into a queen. Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?”
“Done!” Yue Lan’s voice carried a mischievous smile. “Prime Minister, please change your clothes.”
Yu Zhen slowly opened his eyes, only to see a woman’s face reflected in the mirror. He couldn’t help but gasp, thinking the mirror was enchanted. Upon closer inspection, he realized the contours were his own, but enhanced with a fair and delicate complexion, rosy cheeks, phoenix-like eyes, and willowy brows, resembling a celestial being.
Seeing himself transformed into a goddess-like figure, Yu Zhen felt shy and averted his gaze. “This is too extravagant.”
He quickly shook his head and, embracing his cold body, put on the clothes prepared by Yue Lan.
Clad in a plain servant’s attire, it felt as if he was wearing grass to cover pearls, or gold smeared with mud.
The guards stationed at the palace had never seen such a beautiful maid before and hurriedly intercepted the two of them. “Which palace are you from? I’ve never seen you before.”
Yue Lan responded swiftly, “This is Lady Mingge’s personal handmaiden, who has been left in the West Palace by King Yan for some time now. You are new guards assigned to protect our Prime Minister, so naturally you haven’t seen her.”
These men all cast lecherous glances at Yu Zhen, even though he kept his head lowered, he could still feel their gaze clearly. He was so repulsed by their stares that he worried if he lifted his head, he might angrily knock them all down.
Yue Lan, aware of the Prime Minister’s recent bad temper, hurried to leave. “Alright, time is running out. If His Majesty blames us, how will you bear the responsibility?”
The guard, still clueless, continued to block their path. “Lady Mingge is looking for her maid. Why are you following her?” As he spoke, he reached out to grab Yu Zhen’s arm.
Yu Zhen swiftly evaded, moving behind Yue Lan in the blink of an eye, covering his face in silence, emanating a hidden aura of menace.
“You are quite bold, aren’t you? Don’t you know why His Majesty left a maid in the west chamber of the palace? Aren’t you afraid of touching her? Do you want to lose your hands?” They visibly shrank back in fear.
“His Majesty’s intentions need not be speculated by you. Step aside!”
Hearing Yue Lan’s confident tone, the guards, who had just been assigned to guard the palace, naturally became cautious. They recognized the extraordinary beauty of the woman before them, realizing that only His Majesty could possess such a woman in the palace. Therefore, they retreated to their original positions and lowered their guard.
Fortunately, Yue Lan had warned beforehand. Yu Zhen’s walking posture was too awkward and too formal. To impersonate a woman, he needed to take small steps, place his hands on his waist, and walk with his head bowed. Yu Zhen found it quite difficult to imitate, but managing to do so was already commendable.
As soon as they exited the outer gate of the palace, Liu Yu Zhen immediately dashed towards the Peace Pavilion as indicated by Yue Lan.
“Prime Minister, don’t walk too fast, or you’ll give yourself away,” Yue Lan called out from behind.
Because of his impatience, Yu Zhen took large strides, causing the already relatively small dress to “rip” open, revealing a large portion of his beautiful legs.
He walked while trying to cover his legs, but he accidentally bumped into someone at the corner: “Bang!” The sound echoed as he collided into the person’s arms. Yu Zhen reacted quickly, springing away, but even so, the person was startled.
Yu Zhen quickly lowered his head beside Yue Lan, bowing and stepping aside obediently. Yue Lan was even more frightened, “This servant has bumped into you, deserving of death. Please punish me, my lord!”
Yu Zhen’s voice was distinctly male, so he refrained from speaking. Of course, he had no intention of uttering such flattering words, “Um… Yes.”
“The one who bumped into me isn’t you, it’s her,” the voice was magnetic, incredibly gentle. Its owner stepped forward, extending a finger to lift Yu Zhen’s chin.
Yu Zhen turned his head away, avoiding his finger.
He didn’t think just because King Yan could treat him like this, he would allow others to play around so freely. Yu Zhen made it clear that anyone daring to tease him would become his debtor, waiting to beg for mercy with bloodshed!
Seeing that Yu Zhen ignored him, the man who was bumped into withdrew his hand with a chuckle and leisurely walked away from the alley.
Yu Zhen stole a glance at him from the corner of his eye. Under the golden rays of the setting sun, with cotton-like wisps floating around, a tall figure in white walked away with hands behind his back. He appeared refined like a scholar, yet emitted a subtle aura of dominance. His waterfall-like long hair was tied with a simple red string at the end, adding to his charm.
After walking a few steps, the man suddenly stopped and glanced back. Before Yu Zhen could avert his gaze, their eyes met. For a moment, he shook his head with a tinge of regret and disappointment spreading quickly across his handsome face. Then, he turned away and disappeared from Yu Zhen’s sight.
Yue Lan felt the voice was familiar, but when she looked up, the person was already far away, making it difficult to see clearly. She asked Yu Zhen, “Who was that just now?”
“I don’t know him,” Yu Zhen replied without much thought. “Let’s focus on the task at hand and move on.”
Peaceful Pavilion.
The sound of harsh whipping filled the courtyard.
Even outside the pavilion’s walls, they could clearly hear the sound, along with the annoyingly coquettish laughter of a man.
Yu Zhen couldn’t help but make a disgusted expression, ruining all the beautiful makeup he had on. His true rough nature was revealed.
“Tsk.” Yu Zhen spat and then accelerated on the spot. With skillful agility, he pushed off the wall, somersaulted, twisted, and landed smoothly. For Yu Zhen, who had practiced parkour since childhood, skill was paramount. As long as he wasn’t disabled, he could perform this feat regardless of the condition of his body.
Upon landing, he found himself in the woodshed of the Peaceful Pavilion, not far from the courtyard.
He quickly tidied up his appearance and casually knocked out a palace maid who had just come out of the woodshed with a fruit tray. He carried her behind a large earthen jar and took the tray for himself. With a sway of his hips and small, delicate steps, he made his way slowly towards the courtyard.
His anger was so intense that he forgot all about his exposed thighs in front of everyone.
“Your Majesty, it’s this person who harmed Ningxiang. Look, Ningxiang’s injuries, they hurt so much. Hmph, just a few casual hits, it’s not enough to satisfy my hatred,” the man speaking in a coquettish tone pointed at the man tied to the iron pillar in front of him.
“…And what do you want to do?” After a long silence, a deep voice sounded.
“I want him to endure the cruelest torture, only then can my hatred be satisfied!”
Upon hearing these words, Yu Zhen couldn’t help but tremble, his grip on the fruit tray loosening. If not for him, the fruits in the bowl would have fallen to the ground long ago.
Huge shoutout to @denkoumaru on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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