Chapter 7: Provocation Without Restraint
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
“Let you go?” King Yan raised an eyebrow as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. “Until Zhi Jun returns, don’t even think about leaving anywhere. If you dare to leave, the first person Ben Wang will kill is the one beside you, Xiao Zipei.”
It was just a test, but he didn’t expect to see a hint of difficulty on Yu Zhen’s beautiful face, not because he mentioned killing Xiao Zipei, but because he brought up Zhi Jun, which seemed to trouble him.
Yu Zhen angrily withdrew his hand. With so many people watching, the dignified King Yan wasn’t even embarrassed? Looking at his handsome appearance, it was astonishing how heavy-handed he was, and he even had a fondness for kissing him?
Yu Zhen felt irritated inwardly. He glanced at Xiao Zipei standing obediently aside and smiled, “Didn’t you ask Xiao Pei to follow me? Then he’s mine now. If I escape, of course, I’ll take him with me!”
King Yan paused, then suddenly turned his head to glare angrily at Xiao Zipei. “Dare you?!” It wasn’t clear whom he was addressing.
“Why wouldn’t I dare,” Yu Zhen retorted defiantly, hands on hips.
Seeing the two in a heated dispute, with one being the imprisoned prime minister of the Liu Country, and yet daring to be so brazen in front of King Yan, Xiao Zipei hurriedly intervened. “Your Majesty, let me deal with this person. If anything goes wrong, I’ll offer up my head on a platter.”
King Yan knew that Yu Zhen was intentionally provoking him, and seeing the blood-red hands, he realized that if this person truly wanted to leave, he would do so with a determination to die. Since Yu Zhen hadn’t left yet, King Yan figured he would likely encounter him again when he returned to his palace, piquing his curiosity about Yu Zhen’s intentions. Someone who could leave but didn’t had to be guarded against.
“What I want is Princess Zhi Jun, not your head.”
“As you command,” Xiao Zipei responded, seemingly devoid of any emotion. Despite King Yan’s harsh tone, he remained composed, bowing respectfully to him.
Yu Zhen couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He detested bowing and scraping before authority. “Hey, are you done yet? Your Crown Prince Liang is waiting for you. If you don’t want to go, I can go in your place.”
“You dare to be disrespectful to the king,” Xiao Zipei said sternly, his sword flashing to Yu Zhen’s neck.
“I was just trying to help you, you know. Consider it repayment for knocking you down earlier.”
“You…!” Xiao Zipei, who had been expressionless until now, finally showed a hint of anger.
King Yan smirked subtly, then reached out and casually pulled Yu Zhen into his embrace, knowing that Yu Zhen would resist. With his strength, he suppressed Yu Zhen and clasped his hands behind his back. “Alright, Yu Zhen, be a good boy and come with me to my chambers. We can discuss Princess Zhi Jun’s matter later. I assume you’re not one to joke about taking someone’s life, right?”
The smirk on this sleazy man’s face was enough to make him sick. He was a man, for heaven’s sake, a fully grown man!
What were people in ancient times thinking? How did he end up in such a chaotic era where kissing between men was as casual as saying hello?
And why did this guy always have a glint in his eye like he was looking at women?
He had initially thought to resist, but considering his futile strength against this man, Yu Zhen decided to swallow his pride and accept it.
After all, pride couldn’t put food on the table. Since he had promised to help find the man’s sister, he couldn’t go back on his word. Wanting to escape was simply because he detested being imprisoned so intensely.
The scorching gazes from all around mercilessly bore into him, but Liu Yu Zhen, completely unfazed by the disregard for decency, shot a meaningful glance at King Yan: “You can’t blame us for today. It’s because you decided to confine me. You could have changed the terms earlier and avoided all this.”
What he didn’t know was that this glance almost stole King Yan’s senses. A man with looks that could captivate cities and nations alike, this glance was enough to enchant anyone.
King Yan’s grip involuntarily tightened. Despite knowing that Crown Prince Liu was waiting, he was unwilling to release the person in his arms at this moment.
Once considered weak and humble, the person with pleading tear-filled eyes had now become spirited and radiant.
Though Liu Yu Zhen was stubborn and obnoxious, being stared at by King Yan, a man of high status and remarkable appearance, made his heart race. “Could this jerk stop looking at me?”
“….Let’s go, Yue Lan. I have something to tell you.” Yu Zhen broke away from King Yan’s embrace, lowered his head, and rubbed his injured hand, hastening his steps as if he wanted to leave King Yan’s sight immediately.
Yue Lan nodded obediently. She knew that today, the only reason they could survive under King Yan was because of her and Zipei. Everyone who witnessed this scene knew that they would die otherwise. Otherwise, why would King Yan openly embrace and kiss a foreign prime minister?
Yu Zhen followed beside Zipei, his heart in turmoil. Seeing that Zipei was easy to talk to, he asked, “Xiao Pei, is it possible that you, as the Commander of the Imperial Guards, will become my personal bodyguard in the future?”
Xiao Zipei, cold and serious, looked at him earnestly, “Please behave yourself.”
“How am I misbehaving? I haven’t treated you like the way King Yan treated me.” Yu Zhen couldn’t make sense of it. He felt like he was going crazy, took a deep breath, and exhaled a sigh of resentment.
Yue Lan came forward with a reminder, “Prime Minister, General Zi means that your way of addressing him is disrespectful.”
“Ah?” Yu Zhen paused in his tracks, his stance steady, a characteristic posture of a member of the Criminal Investigation Special Operations. This moment of stillness exuded a solemn military aura, even causing Xiao Zipei to momentarily hesitate. “To me, someone worthy of being called a general is a hero of true valor on the battlefield. He can’t even defend against me, so forgive me for not addressing him as such.”
When did Prime Minister Liu become so impulsive? Not to mention challenging a member of the Imperial Guards, in the past, even the maids who served him feared him, often driving everyone away as if he were going mad. Could it be that the extreme situation had caused the Prime Minister’s character to become distorted? Yue Lan looked at him curiously, feeling as though a new hope was growing within him.
“General Xiao, please don’t take offense. Our Prime Minister has just recovered from a serious illness, and his mind is still not clear. Otherwise, today’s incident wouldn’t have happened.”
Yu Zhen glanced awkwardly at Yue Lan. Clearly, it was this annoying girl who led them down the wrong path, causing them to bump into each other. How did the blame end up on him? Was Prime Minister Liu often deceived by this girl in the past?
With a chilling gaze, Xiao Zipei swept over the two of them. As he turned away, he muttered, “Call me whatever you want.”
“Oh? This guy is really easygoing.” Yu Zhen exclaimed excitedly, almost throwing himself onto Xiao Zipei’s side, narrowly avoiding his sword from once again being pointed at his neck. “Xiao Pei, if I’m staying in King Yan’s Palace, then what about the Queen? Should I sleep on the floor and watch them overnight?”
“His Majesty has not yet named a queen, and with the ongoing conflicts, the harem has long been neglected. Since His Majesty has allowed you to stay, then stay,” Xiao Zipei replied casually.
“Conflicts?” Yu Zhen’s eyes lit up. “With which country?”
“With the Yunshuang Kingdom,” Xiao Zipei answered nonchalantly.
Yu Zhen broke into a cold sweat at the mention of Yunshuang. What in the world was Yunshuang? Was it from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, or Qing Dynasty? Or perhaps from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period? He had never heard of a country with that name before. Could it be some sort of obscure tribe from the southern wilderness?
What in the world was this era?!
Huge shoutout to @denkoumaru on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
