Chapter 5: Intend to Escape
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The Crown Prince has come to the Yan Kingdom? The Crown Prince is here in the Yan Kingdom?
Although Yu Zhen quickly woke up, his thoughts were still stuck in his own era, and for a moment, he didn’t react. Yue Lan’s words echoed in his mind a few times before he mumbled, “Which Crown Prince, and what Yan Kingdom?”
Yue Lan’s heart sank, and she quickly bent down, brushing aside the disheveled hair on Yu Zhen’s forehead, carefully examining his expression. “Prime Minister, are you feeling unwell? Yue Lan will go and fetch the imperial physician for you.”
“No, there’s no need!” What jolted Yu Zhen awake from his daze wasn’t his sense of alertness, but rather Yue Lan’s youthful and fiery figure. At this moment, her ample bosom was pressed against Yu Zhen’s arm as she leaned over, causing his blood to boil. Yu Zhen stuttered, “W-what did you just say?”
“Are you really okay?” Yue Lan pouted, stomping her foot and cautiously asking, “I just said, Crown Prince Liu Ling has come to the Yan Kingdom. Don’t you want to see him?”
Yu Zhen was harshly brought back to the unfamiliar reality by these words. Accustomed to living in the barracks’ single dormitories, being in this cold and desolate room made him very uncomfortable. “Why should I go see him? Besides, I can’t leave anyway.” Yu Zhen jingled the chain in his hand. “Do you have a way to get me out?”
Yue Lan frowned, her face darkening. “I’ve asked you before, if you were willing, I could risk my life to inform the Crown Prince of your imprisonment. Today, the Crown Prince happens to be in the Yan Kingdom, so the timing is ripe.”
Yu Zhen scratched his head, struggling to embrace his new role. But he still found the situation confusing and hard to grasp. “I don’t understand this. I heard that I was brought here by the Liu Country. Wouldn’t the Crown Prince know? What’s the point of telling him?”
“Prime Minister, the Crown Prince doesn’t know about your imprisonment in the Great Yan. The Liu Country brought you to the Great Yan, ostensibly to invite you to serve as an official here, but they didn’t expect…” Yue Lan grew anxious. She had thought the Prime Minister would be delighted, but she didn’t expect such a cold response. It was a rare opportunity. Was Prime Minister Liu really going to waste it?
Yu Zhen recalled King Yan’s warning. It wouldn’t be wise to arouse suspicion about his identity. “Oh, I just forgot, that’s all.”
Having slept for a while, his strength recovered quickly. A warm flow was circulating slowly within him, making him feel comfortable. If not now, then when should he break free from this cage? Should he wait until that damned King Yan came to him again? Absolutely not!
Yu Zhen grinned widely and patted Yue Lan’s shoulder. “No need to go find the Crown Prince. I don’t want to go back to the Liu Country. As for where to go, I’ll figure it out once I’m out.”
With that, he looked down at the chain on his wrist. The iron chain was tightly fastened around his wrist, leaving no room for escape. There were no lock eyes on the loop; it seemed custom-made for him, fused with a soldering iron. Short of chopping off his hands, there was no other way out.
For the weak and defenseless Prime Minister Liu, this iron chain was the shackle he would never escape from in his lifetime. But for him, Officer Liu, heh heh.
He had practiced bone shrinking for three years, but this body couldn’t manage it. His wrist struggled incessantly within the iron loop, gradually becoming bloody, and his bones ached. “Yue Lan, do we have any soap?”
“What?” Yue Lan looked at the terrifying expression of the Prime Minister before her with horror. His handsome and charming face exuded an arrogance completely opposite to his demeanor.
“Something that can be used as oil.”
Yue Lan nodded and ran out. Yu Zhen touched his wrist while staring at the other end of the iron chain.
The iron chain was fastened to an iron ring embedded in the wall. As for this iron ring, there were probably nails behind it, driven into the wall.
Though he wasn’t highly educated, Yu Zhen understood that it wasn’t necessary to secure the chain so tightly in the cold palace. Whether it was the women of the harem or Prime Minister Liu, none could muster the strength to break free.
He attempted to pull it, confirming that this body’s strength was indeed pitifully weak. Trying to pull out the mere nails was as difficult as reaching the sky.
While lamenting over the inadequacies of this body, Yue Lan returned with osmanthus essential oil.
“Prime Minister, what’s this for?” Yue Lan looked at him perplexedly.
Yu Zhen stretched out his hands. “Pour it onto my hands.”
“But… but your hands are bleeding.”
“Stop fussing. Hurry up, such minor injuries don’t even catch my attention.”
With oil on his wrists, it became easier to escape, though the pain in the wounds intensified. Yu Zhen gritted his teeth and forcefully pulled his hand. With a cracking sound from his wrist, the chain fell off. Without considering the condition of his bones, Yu Zhen went to remove the chain from his other hand.
This scene undoubtedly cast a shadow in Yue Lan’s mind. Was the Prime Minister, who had once sought death daily with tears, possessed by a ghost? Not only did he easily remove the chains, but his wrists were also covered in blood, bones cracking, yet he didn’t even blink?!
The moment his hands were freed, Yu Zhen immediately grabbed Yue Lan and started to leave.
“What are you waiting for? Yue Lan, how do we get out?” He asked with a grin.
Yue Lan gasped and pointed to the window. “The front gate is heavily guarded. We’ll go out through the back.”
Yu Zhen felt elated and pulled Yue Lan, jumping out of the window.
Outside was a desolate backyard, overgrown with weeds, surrounded by dark red low walls that gave off a chilling vibe.
Yu Zhen wanted to complain about how such a dark and musty place could be inhabited, but at this moment, he cautiously moved forward, keeping a low profile. In the afternoon, the land was bathed in golden light, reflecting off his grey-white robe, blending with the earth.
Just as they reached the base of the low wall, preparing to climb over, a stern and serious voice sounded from behind them. “Stop! Who are you people?”
“Uh-oh, we’ve been found out,” Yue Lan muttered softly, her heart pounding rapidly, as if her little heart was in her throat.
Yu Zhen remained calm, his hands stacked together as he crouched down. “Yue Lan, you go first. Wait for me outside.”
Though nervous, Yue Lan saw the unwavering determination in the Prime Minister’s eyes as he stared at the approaching person, unafraid. She stepped onto his outstretched hands and leaped out of the cold palace.
“You ask who I am? Then who are you?” Yu Zhen crossed his arms, looking at the person blocking his way.
The person looked to be about the same age as himself, anger filling his handsome face. Seeing Yu Zhen send Yue Lan away, he immediately drew his sword from his waist and glared coldly, “I am Xiao Zipei, Commander of the Imperial Guards. This is a restricted area, and you dare to trespass. It’s a capital offense.”
Although the so-called harem area was large and heavily guarded, there were always loopholes. Yu Zhen didn’t know why the Commander of the Imperial Guards had nothing better to do than to be in the backyard. But since he encountered him, and he was alone, the situation was much easier to handle.
“I haven’t trespassed into any restricted area. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your King Yan!” Yu Zhen walked towards Xiao Zipei with empty hands, appearing meek. “I, Yu Zhen, have been staying inside. Today, I just wanted to come out and relax.”
“You’re Prime Minister Liu?!” Xiao Zipei’s brows furrowed even tighter, his long sword pressing against Yu Zhen’s throat. “Don’t even think about escaping!”
“Regardless, I am still a prime minister of another country. Isn’t it impolite of you to point a sword at me? I was just taking a walk, and I haven’t even left. Aren’t you afraid I’ll complain to King Yan about your rudeness?”
The young man was quite naive. Seeing Yu Zhen unarmed and slender, he hesitated and sheathed his sword, then politely said, “Forgive my rudeness, Prime Minister. Please return to your room as soon as possible. Otherwise, I have the authority to execute you on the spot.”
“Oh? Execute on the spot? You have quite the authority,” Yu Zhen’s lips curled up into a sinister smile.
In the moment when Xiao Zipei reached out to escort him back to his room, Yu Zhen swiftly turned his body. His hands, already blurred with blood, twisted Xiao Zipei’s hand holding the sword behind his back. Xiao Zipei winced in pain and turned his head, but he met Yu Zhen’s elbow, already prepared, and in an instant, the man collapsed to the ground without even a chance to groan.
Yu Zhen straightened his clothes, swiftly climbed over the wall, demonstrating remarkable agility.
However, as he steadied himself under the wall, what he saw left him speechless – countless swords were already pointed at him and Yue Lan.
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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