Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Thump-thump… thump-thump…

Gao Zhen could hear his own heartbeat.

In an unnoticed corner of his mind, a red light flashed wildly. The moment Gao Zhen closed his eyes and pulled up the data panel, he was genuinely startled—

Favorability: 520 + 1

Favorability: 521

It had actually stopped at this number.

Gao Zhen strongly suspected the Little System had done it on purpose.

Still, up to now, the Ninth Prince had contributed another 521 points of “Little Electric.” How to put it—

Alright, I love you, Little Electric.

Gao Zhen immediately spent them:

Spend 500 favorability points to increase Karma Points.

Spend 40 Karma Points to increase Life Charge.

After these actions, his data updated again:

Name: Gao Zhen

Life Charge: 30%

Karma Points: 35

Favorability: 21

Note 1: Low battery level detected. Please consume Karma Points as soon as possible to increase the battery level and prevent fatal system shutdown.

Note 2: “Complete Plot [First Encounter Night] Progress 99.9%,” “Expand Plot [Warm His Heart] Progress 11%”

His Life Charge had finally reached 30%. Gao Zhen clearly felt a warm current emanating from his heart, spreading through his limbs and bones. His muscles and joints subtly stretched, as if gently pulled. Though the improvement was slight, the previous weakness and lethargy had noticeably lessened.

He began moving firewood, load after load, until all of it was gone. He no longer sweated as easily as before, and could clearly feel strength returning to his hands.

Gao Zhen was pleased—not only by the physical changes, but also because the progress of the expanded plot [Warm His Heart] had finally reached double digits. It proved his efforts hadn’t been in vain—the Ninth Prince’s mental state was slowly improving.

But it was still only 11%. He needed to keep going.

After stepping out of the West Chamber, Gao Zhen observed the Ninth Prince assembling ten trapezoidal wooden frames—narrow at the top and broad at the base, resembling the character "井"—into two ladders. Each ladder matched the height of the wall precisely. Gao Zhen marveled inwardly at such extraordinary precision. The Ninth Prince's vision was uncanny—without even measuring the wall, he had crafted ladders that fit flawlessly.

Still, he asked, “Your Highness, earlier I noticed the wood was at least half a *zhang* (approximately 1.5 meters) long. Wouldn’t it be better to make the ladders directly? Why cut them into such short pieces?”

“Ling Bing visits occasionally. Large ones are hard to hide. These smaller ones can be tucked under the bed and used as supports.” At that moment, the Ninth Prince’s gaze was like a receding tide—the deep, turbulent waves from before had faded, leaving only a candle-like warmth enveloping Gao Zhen. He added, “What we’re doing shouldn’t be known by outsiders.”

Gao Zhen nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

If the eunuchs found out they were living comfortably in the cold palace, they would surely devise some underhanded tactics. In short, they simply didn’t want the Ninth Prince to live an easy life.

The two assembled ladders were temporarily placed in the West Room.

Curious, Gao Zhen asked the Ninth Prince, “Your Highness, didn’t you use a ladder when gathering firewood before?”

“No. I didn’t need one when I was alone.” After saying this, the Ninth Prince beckoned to Gao Zhen, “Come with me.”

Gao Zhen followed him into the North Room. Seeing the Ninth Prince open the wardrobe, he guessed he was looking for clothes that would fit him. Yet he was more curious about the row of books on the top shelf. He asked, “What kind of books does Your Highness usually read?”

“I want to study medicine.” The Ninth Prince said candidly, “Surviving in the palace is difficult without knowledge of medicine.”

Gao Zhen couldn’t imagine what the Ninth Prince had endured to reach such a conclusion—but he smiled and said, “Your Highness, my father was the former Chief Imperial Physician, Gao Zhengqi. I’ve been learning medical theory and identifying medicinal herbs since I was six. Though my skills aren’t exceptional, I remember the fundamentals.”

“Is that so?” The Ninth Prince was quite surprised. He smiled and said, “Then, from now on, will A Zhen teach me?”

“Your Highness, you jest. How could I—”

Gao Zhen’s lips were pressed gently by a finger. Startled, he looked up—and met a pair of smiling eyes.

“Master A Zhen? That sounds odd,” the Ninth Prince interrupted Gao Zhen’s modesty, his finger still resting lightly on Gao Zhen’s lips. “How about ‘Little Master A Zhen’?”

Alright—as long as it makes you happy.

Gao Zhen quickly nodded. The finger withdrew, and the Ninth Prince continued searching through the wardrobe.

Gao Zhen raised his hand to touch his lips, feeling them slightly warm and tingling.

The Ninth Prince leaned forward slightly, rummaging through the wardrobe. He remembered a set of clothes from when he was fifteen that should fit Gao Zhen. He didn’t have many clothes, so he found it quickly—a water-blue robe.

It was a birthday gift Consort Ning had painstakingly arranged to have made for him five years ago. He remembered that on the first day of the fourth month that year, the sky had been exceptionally blue—just like the color of this robe, very beautiful. He’d loved it the moment he received it and couldn’t bear to wear it, planning instead to save it for winter or the New Year. But that year he hit a growth spurt, and by winter, the robe no longer fit anywhere.

He’d been upset about it for a long time.

The robe was clean and neatly folded. It looked somewhat old, but had hardly been worn.

“Try it on,” the Ninth Prince handed the robe to Gao Zhen, his gaze gentle.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Gao Zhen accepted the robe. The Ninth Prince gave a soft “Mm,” then opened the door and left.

Faint sounds of chiseling came from the West Room. Curious about what the Ninth Prince was doing now, Gao Zhen quickly changed and hurried out. The robe felt very light. At first, it was cool against his skin—but after a few moments, he felt a warm embrace. He didn’t know what material it was made of, but it was far warmer than those modern high-tech thermal undergarments, which were basically a scam.

“Your Highness!” Gao Zhen pushed open the door to the West Room and saw the Ninth Prince chiseling holes into the legs of the two ladders to attach wooden planks. “What are those for?”

“It rained recently, and the ground is muddy. These planks can be removed and burned later.”

“Destroying the evidence,” Gao Zhen laughed.

“Exactly.” The Ninth Prince finally turned around, looked him over carefully, and nodded. “Very good.”

“This robe is so warm,” Gao Zhen said with a smile. “And so light. I’ve never seen fabric like this.”

The Ninth Prince explained, “It’s woven from fire-washed animal fur and silk—warm and fire-resistant. It doesn’t fit me anymore. If you like it, it’s yours.”

Gao Zhen accepted gladly. He smiled and said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

…

Before full darkness fell, the Ninth Prince took the ladders and some rope and led Gao Zhen to the wall.

He said, “Once it’s fully dark, we’ll move the other ladder over. We should try to avoid making noise when climbing the wall.”

Gao Zhen nodded vigorously and asked, "Aren't there any patrol guards around here?"

"There are. But it's almost time for their dinner break, so no one will come over. We have nearly two hours—plenty of time."

"Alright. I'll do as Your Highness says," Gao Zhen said.

The soil beneath the wall was damp. As Gao Zhen set up the ladder, he marvelled at Ninth Prince’s cleverness. Without the wooden plank underneath, the ladder legs would have sunk into the wet soil, leaving two obvious holes—easily spotted and incriminating. But now, with the plank in place, there was nothing to worry about.

"Come up first."

Ninth Prince signalled for Gao Zhen to climb onto the wall.

They each peeked over with half their faces visible, lying flat on top of the wall as they looked out.

"Huh?" Gao Zhen exclaimed in surprise. "Isn’t this a courtyard? Is no one living here?"

Ninth Prince replied, "This is a staging area." He pointed toward the western wall of the neighbouring courtyard. "Once we cross that wall, we’ll reach the Golden Wheel. Today, let’s gather as much as we can and store it in this empty courtyard first. We can move it over slowly later."

"Okay."

Gao Zhen suddenly felt a thrill of excitement—this is so exciting.

As if suddenly remembering something, Ninth Prince patted Gao Zhen on the shoulder and said, "Go get the gloves."

Gao Zhen smiled and ran back, feeling warmth in his chest. Ninth Prince was so thoughtful—it made one want to draw closer, to be gradually drawn in by him.

Thanks to his improved stamina, Gao Zhen ran back and forth without even getting out of breath. He felt secretly proud of his enhanced physical strength and was determined to prove his capability in front of Ninth Prince tonight, proving that he could handle tough work too.

The early spring night fell quickly.

Ninth Prince timed it right, moving a ladder into the empty courtyard just before the palace lighting ceremony began. He climbed over silently, with Gao Zhen following closely. After helping Gao Zhen land steadily, Ninth Prince climbed back onto the wall to bring over their own ladder from their courtyard. Carrying one ladder in each hand, he headed straight for the western wall.

Once the ladders were set up again, he said to Gao Zhen, "I’ll go select the wood first. You stay here and stand watch."

"Your Highness, I want to go with you," Gao Zhen insisted. Since his strength had improved, he couldn’t just stand by and let Ninth Prince take on all the hardest tasks while leaving the easier ones to him. He wanted to share the burden. Even though he was technically a male consort, he didn’t want to leave Ninth Prince with the impression that he was delicate or fragile.

But afraid that Ninth Prince might see through his intentions and refuse, he added, "I want to see the Golden Wheel."

"Hmm," Ninth Prince didn’t agree immediately but thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, but don’t stray too far from me."

"Okay."

With ladders placed on both sides of the wall, Gao Zhen and Ninth Prince silently scaled over.

The palace lanterns gradually lit up, and the moon broke through the clouds in the eastern sky, revealing a silvery full moon.