Chapter 16: Improve Physical Abilities
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He found himself staring blankly at King Yan’s naked body, drooling almost embarrassingly.
Back when they were entwined in bed, the pain had kept him from opening his eyes to look at him. But now, as the clothes gradually slipped away, his exquisite form was fully revealed.
Seeing the admiration in his eyes, King Yan felt even more pleased. Having a beauty nearby yet unable to embrace her was truly tormenting for him. He whispered in Yu Zhen’s ear, “Ahem… Liu Yu Zhen, if you keep looking like that, I won’t be able to resist devouring you.”
Liu Yu Zhen was instantly snapped back to reality, trembling all over. How could he admire this jerk? King Yan was nothing but a lunatic who should be taken away by the men in white coats! “Go away. I’m not looking at you,” Liu Yu Zhen muttered under his breath.
He quickly stripped King Yan naked, then dashed out of the room along with the palace maids, not even bothering to close the door. He ran along the corridor as if fleeing for his life.
King Yan chuckled as he watched Liu Yu Zhen’s retreating figure. Wasn’t this exactly what he wanted? Why did Liu Yu Zhen’s gaze make him feel so joyful and excited? He truly wished this scene had unfolded in his own chambers, then he wouldn’t be able to escape.
Outside the Peace Pavilion, Zipei was waiting in the carriage.
Seeing Yu Zhen dash out like he’d seen a ghost, Zipei hurriedly approached and asked, “What’s wrong?!”
Liu Yu Zhen exclaimed, “Ah! Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet. Why did you come to pick me up?”
“Yue Lan told me about your situation, Prime Minister Liu. You’re causing trouble for yourself unnecessarily. I don’t need you to rescue me.”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Liu Yu Zhen forgot he was dressed as a woman, completely disregarding any sense of elegance. He pointed at the wounds hidden beneath Zipei’s new clothes. “Xiao Zipei, you belong to me. No matter how many times, I will always come to your aid! If I ever do something wrong again, just push me out there. Damn it, I did it on purpose. I can’t stand it. So what?!”
Xiao Zipei shook his head, feeling speechless towards him, but his words warmed his heart. He reached up to rub his forehead, using his hand to conceal the smile that was forming. “Prime Minister, mind your appearance…”
“Who cares about appearance? Let’s go back,” Liu Yu Zhen said, actually trying to reassure himself. He wouldn’t tell anyone that he had just been peeking at King Yan’s naked body and ended up feeling shy beyond control.
When they returned to the King’s chamber, the night had completely fallen, and the candlelight flickered gently.
In this vast palace, he was the only one given the status of an honored guest. The maidservants were kept at a distance, with only Yue Lan allowed close, and Zipei stationed outside, making the atmosphere unusually stifling.
Yu Zhen tossed and turned on the bed, unable to shake off thoughts of the injuries that body had endured.
Unable to sleep, Yu Zhen gave up counting sheep, got out of bed, and dropped to the floor, suddenly starting to do push-ups.
In the past, every night before bedtime, their A2203 unit would do three hundred single-handed push-ups as a group. Because he was the youngest and had the weakest physical strength among them, he would do two hundred with both hands.
Only managing to do thirty, he started wheezing heavily, and his mind went blank. He rolled onto his side and lay down. Outside the door, Xiao Zipei heard the noise and hurriedly led Yue Lan, who was carrying refreshments, inside, thinking that the chamber was under attack.
“Prime Minister, who hurt you?!” Xiao Zipei was more agitated than usual, and Liu Yu Zhen couldn’t fathom why. Besides King Yan, he couldn’t think of anyone who would harm him.
“Xiao Pei, come and help me up.”
“What happened? Are you alright?”
Helped up by Xiao Zipei, Liu Yu Zhen brushed off the imaginary dust from his body and frowned at the sight of the white porridge Yue Lan was carrying. “It’s nothing, I just want to restore my original physical strength. By the way, Yue Lan, can you secretly instruct someone to brew some tonic for me? Meat, I want meat. I’ll go crazy if I have to drink porridge again.”
“You’re finally willing to take care of your body?!” Yue Lan was excited as if she had discovered a new continent.
It seemed that Prime Minister Liu wasn’t always weak and sickly, but deliberately starving himself. Taking care of one’s health was filial piety, didn’t he understand that!
“I won’t seek death easily anymore. Get me something delicious, and, oh, some osmanthus cake would be perfect! Hmm, good girl, hurry up… Xiao Pei, you accompany me to practice. I’m not used to being alone.”
:iu Yu Zhen’s words were sincere. It had been a long time since he left his parents, and he might not even know about his sacrifice yet. No matter how cruel the war was or how independent his life became, his teammates would never let him suffer alone. They were always there, accompanying him, eating together, training together, bathing together, sleeping together. He was still just a child who hadn’t grown up yet.
He feared dreaming of his deceased teammates again, and he feared falling into loneliness. The solitary island test was something he never wanted to face again in his life.
So having Zipei by his side at this moment was something he was very grateful for.
Xiao Zipei was very cooperative, doing training exercises he had never done before with Liu Yu Zhen. Doing push-ups with one hand was a great challenge for Prime Minister Liu’s body, and Zipei, doing the same, was also sweating profusely.
“Pr… Prime Minister, where did you… where did you learn this?”
“Don’t… don’t use such a… harsh tone to call me!”
Both of their faces were flushed red. They had agreed that Yu Zhen wouldn’t shout, but neither of them could stop. As a result, the sounds coming from the king’s chambers were very embarrassing.
After doing about seventy or eighty, Xiao Zipei had mastered the exercise, just as Yu Zhen started to feel exhausted.
Xiao Zipei helped him sit down and wiped his sweat with his sleeve. His cold face approached Yu Zhen’s and he said, “You’re not actually Prime Minister Liu, are you?”
“Xiao Pei, I am Prime Minister Liu, you better remember that,” Liu Yu Zhen said sternly, staring into his eyes.
He wanted to joke for a moment, but his body couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned to the side and fell deeply asleep in the arms of Zipei.
Zipei embraced Yu Zhen in his arms, stroking his soft black hair, his smile growing stronger. He nodded gently and said, “Alright, no matter who you are, I’m willing to follow you.”
Liu Yu Zhen was startled awake in the morning, and Xiao Zipei knew he couldn’t let Yu Zhen be frightened in his sleep again. Anything with malicious intent could instantly wake him up. If he had a nightmare, he would have Yue Lan bring the Drunken Anxiao incense from the Imperial Spirit Kingdom. It was a kind of **, but it was also quite effective for insomnia and nightmares, previously used to train new soldiers in their first kill.
Liu Yu Zhen hardly ever talked in his sleep. Since the day he was injured and had a nightmare, he seemed to have never had one again, keeping everything to himself.
For three consecutive days, King Yan hadn’t returned to his bedchamber. The border was in crisis, and according to the servants, King Yan had been staying in the Peace Pavilion during this time.
Liu Yu Zhen indulged in eating and drinking excessively every day, squeezing in rigorous training. Despite his seemingly weak physique, he gradually managed to do over a hundred push-ups, handstand walks, hundred-meter sprints, and various exercises to restore his physical fitness. Of course, this couldn’t make up for the lost decade. The difference between training from childhood and training as an adult was significant.
“Prime Minister, Yue Lan brought you a gift.” Yue Lan emerged from the jujube tree forest, arriving at the small grassy field where he was training, with a snow-white rabbit in her arms.
“A rabbit? Why did you bring me a whole rabbit? Ah! Is it for an extra meal tonight?” Liu Yu Zhen asked in confusion.
Yue Lan’s pretty face froze for a moment. “Prime Minister, please don’t joke. This is Bao’er.”
Liu Yu Zhen was dumbfounded and asked incredulously, “Bao’er… the South Korean singer?”
Yue Lan looked uneasy, noticing Liu Yu Zhen’s impulse to eat the rabbit, she couldn’t help but take a step back. “Although I don’t know who brought it into the palace, this was the Prime Minister’s most beloved pet back in the Liu Country, and you used to call it ‘Bao’er’.”
“Oh, I see,” Liu Yu Zhen sighed. He wasn’t accustomed to having pets. In his past life, animals like this were often carriers of various diseases that tried to breach their defenses, so he didn’t have much fondness for rabbits. But in ancient times, no one would inject rabbits with diseases, right?
Liu Yu Zhen took the rabbit and suddenly heard a commotion in the main hall. Curious about what was happening, he carried the rabbit and went over to see what was going on.
“Prime Minister, remember not to cause trouble,”Yue Lan reminded him. Only after Liu Yu Zhen agreed did she take out a piece of snowy white silk scarf covered with tiny words.
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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