Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Wen Yu curled his lips into a smile, saying nonchalantly, "He's been dreaming about me for a while now. I wish him a speedy death."

Shen Yu: "..."

"Your Majesty, what if His Majesty suddenly comes to Kunning Palace?" Shen Yu voiced his concerns.

Wen Yu is currently in a crucial stage of repairing his meridians. If the Yue Emperor were to suddenly summon Wen Yu, and this were discovered, the two of them would likely be doomed.

"Don't worry, he won't dare to come see me." Wen Yu touched the golden mask on his face meaningfully, smiled, and said, "He's afraid I'll stab him to death."

Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, his gaze lingering on Wen Yu's face for a moment before he slowly spoke, "Your Majesty, would you like to consider changing your mask? This one is quite heavy."

Wen Yu remained silent. This mask was heavy and easily chafed his skin, yet he wore it year after year as if torturing himself.

"I won't change." Wen Yu turned his head away, then looked at Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was still wearing that mask. Wen Yu had seen his face under the mask before. It was the same face as his, intact and flawless, with little mockery on his face. It was the face that he had lost at some point.

Wen Yu gripped the small ceramic cup in his hand, paused for a moment, and then asked, "You can make masks?"

Shen Yu: "No."

Wen Yu didn't speak again. Seeing that he was sitting still, Shen Yu asked suspiciously, "Your Majesty, you wouldn't... want me to make a mask for you?"

“I am your master. What’s wrong with me asking you to make a mask for me?” Wen Yu was not bothered at all by being exposed. He continued, “I will give you a gold ingot once it is made.”

Shen Yu chuckled: "Just one ingot?"

Wen Yu himself didn't have much money on him. He was trapped in Kunning Palace and was in dire straits.

He met Shen Yu's somewhat teasing gaze and immediately said unhappily, "Ten ingots at most, no more."

Shen Yu didn't raise the price any further. The money was of no use to him; he just wanted to see how much Wen Yu had hidden in Kunning Palace.

Shen Yu spread his hands toward Wen Yu and said, "Then we'll do a cash-on-delivery transaction."

Wen Yu looked up: "Okay."

He never asked Shen Yu about the quality of the mask from beginning to end, nor did he know if Shen Yu would just give him any mask to fool him.

Shen Yu didn't want to take advantage of Wen Yu in this matter. He set a time to exchange masks with Wen Yu and secretly pondered how to make them.

Just then, a palace maid brought in lunch. Shen Yu heard the sound, stood up, and went to the outer hall to bring everything in.

Wen Yu instructed the palace maids to prepare three dishes and a soup, almost all of which were the styles Shen Yu usually ordered. Shen Yu placed them all on the table and then stood aside.

Wen Yu picked up his chopsticks and saw Shen Yu step back behind him. He said, "There's no one here. Come and eat with me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Yu seemed to have been waiting for Wen Yu to say this. Upon hearing this, he stepped forward and sat down opposite Wen Yu with practiced ease.

Wen Yu simply picked up his chopsticks and tasted the food on the plate. He didn't find anything wrong, so he placed another pair of chopsticks in front of Shen Yu.

Shen Yu was already used to this. He waited for Wen Yu to check before picking up the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

Wen Yu didn't eat much. He rested his chin on his hand and watched Shen Yu finish eating before going to bed to rest. As usual, Shen Yu went out for a stroll in the afternoon. Wen Yu told him some things to pay attention to, and then closed his eyes to pretend to sleep.

The sounds inside the room quickly subsided. Shen Yu packed his things and walked out through the inner hall's door.

Wen Yu took in Shen Yu's every move through the beaded curtain. Only after Shen Yu left did a glimmer of clarity appear in his slightly closed eyes.

Ten ingots of gold...

Wen Yu threw off the covers, stood up against the wall next to him, and bent down to reach under his bed.

Under the bed, in the corner closest to the wall, was a locked wooden box containing all of Wen Yu's wealth.

Wen Yu couldn't remember how much money was left inside. He reached out and dragged the wooden box out, and with a loud bang, another thing under the bed suddenly fell to the ground.

Wen Yu paused for a moment, then reached out in the direction of the sound and touched a package that was tied in a tight knot.

Wen Yu opened the package, inside which lay a pile of instruments. There was the dagger and knives used in the surgery that day, as well as a mixture of various medicinal herbs and liquids…

They were all hidden under his bed.

Wen Yu: "..."

He stared at the pile of things for a while, then retied the package and put it back in its original place under the bed.

*

Wen Yu's right foot tendon rupture is healing well, and he will be able to walk a few steps with Shen Yu's help three days later.

Shen Yu examined his wound. Although the healing was slow, the severed tendons inside had already been reconnected. It would probably take some more time to achieve full recovery.

Wen Yu calculated the remaining time and, without much hesitation, handed over the tendons in her left foot to Shen Yu.

The shortest timeframe for his initial repair is half a month, and after that... will be the date when Eunuch Li comes to collect blood as usual.

Shen Yu seemed to sense Wen Yu's agitation. He grasped the muscle in Wen Yu's calf and said to her, "Your Highness, don't worry. Even if Eunuch Li arrives early, it won't be a big deal. I'm still here."

Wen Yu looked at him: "You?"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? My face is exactly the same as yours." Shen Yu's mask remained on, and when he smiled, his eyes curved, making him look like a little palace maid. "When the time comes, let me go."

Wen Yu's gaze swept over Shen Yu's face. He paused for a moment and then said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't do anything rash."

"He won't notice my feet. You can help me cover them up with fake skin so that the bleeding won't be noticed."

Shen Yu listened to Wen Yu's words in silence. After Wen Yu finished speaking, he said slowly, "Your Majesty, I've said it before, we're in the same boat. Do you think he could cut my wrist?"

Wen Yu looked at him, and Shen Yu released his grip on Wen Yu's calf, saying, "Do you dare to make a bet with me?"

Seeing this, Wen Yu's eyes curved slightly: "What are we betting on?"

“Let’s bet on us…” Shen Yu looked at Wen Yu’s half-undamaged face. Wen Yu lifted her eyelids and met Shen Yu’s round, dark eyes.

Shen Yu continued, "They all managed to escape unscathed."

Wen Yu's leg muscles had long since relaxed. He leaned against the wall and looked at Shen Yu, a person who looked almost exactly like him, but who always had some characteristics that were completely different from his own.

Bold and unrestrained. Unlike him, who was imprisoned in the deep palace, hesitant and timid all day long.

Wen Yu pulled his leg back. The muscles in his leg were sore and painful. Wen Yu covered that spot with his hand and suddenly said in a low voice, "Okay, Shen Yu, I'll gamble with you this time."