Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Excessive stagnant energy in the meridians dims the eyes. Imperial Concubine Hong's perpetual dazed state was likely a direct consequence of this very issue. The first step in treatment, therefore, had to be clearing this stagnation.

Gao Zhen unfurled his acupuncture kit and retrieved a fire starter from his sleeve, preparing to begin the needling.

For someone like Imperial Concubine Hong, acupuncture to clear the meridians would be intensely painful. Worried she might not endure it, Gao Zhen decided to prepare her. Recalling her earlier use of dirt as makeup, which suggested a deep-seated desire for beauty, he asked, "Do you want 'no pain' or 'beauty'?"

"Beauty." Imperial Concubine Hong answered without a flicker of an eyelid, revealing the profound depth of her obsession with becoming beautiful.

"Alright."

Gao Zhen nodded. Truly a survivor of the imperial harem, her dedication to beauty was fiercely competitive.

But that very fierceness was precisely what was needed now.

So, he added a reminder: "If it hurts when I insert the needles later, you must bear it, okay?"

"I can bear it."

Imperial Concubine Hong gazed intently at him, as if still uncertain, and even urged Gao Zhen, "Remember, it absolutely, positively, must make me beautiful."

Gao Zhen was torn between amusement and exasperation. Nodding, he reiterated, "Don't worry, it will definitely make you beautiful. But you must also remember what you just said—you have to endure it and not move around. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Then let's begin."

However, after just three needles, Imperial Concubine Hong gasped sharply and complained softly, "Why does it hurt so much?"

"Endure it. Think of your beauty." As he spoke, distracting her, Gao Zhen swiftly inserted the needles with practiced ease. His skill in locating acupuncture points was exceptional; having trained as a massage therapist before transmigrating, and with the original host hailing from a family of acupuncture experts, the fusion of these two memories doubled his effectiveness, allowing him to find points with astonishing speed and precision.

Even the Ninth Prince, observing quietly, was secretly impressed by his clean and efficient technique.

Before long, Imperial Concubine Hong's body was covered in needles.

Sweat soon beaded on her forehead. She cried out in pain but gritted her teeth, holding perfectly still.

Gao Zhen kept a close watch on her. The moment she showed any sign of faltering, he would immediately speak to her—

He poured out encouragements as if they cost nothing: "If you can persevere, you'll be beautiful even without makeup"; "Transformation is always painful, but the result is beautiful"; and "In the future, none of the three thousand beauties in the harem will compare to you." He spoon-fed these words to Imperial Concubine Hong like a potent elixir, intoxicating her into a state of blissful rapture where she forgot to complain about the pain.

Imperial Concubine Hong sat quietly in the chair, though sweat had silently soaked through her clothes.

By the time Gao Zhen withdrew the needles, Imperial Concubine Hong looked as if she had just been pulled from water. She leaned weakly against the chair, recovering, and complained to Gao Zhen, "Why can't I even lift my arms?"

Gao Zhen quickly wrapped the fur blanket around her and instructed, "Don't catch a cold. Change out of your wet clothes as soon as you can move. I can't assist you with that, so I'll take my leave now."

The Ninth Prince was already waiting outside the door. As soon as Gao Zhen finished speaking, he exited. Though now a young man, before transmigrating he had been a proper man, and some things he simply couldn't bring himself to do, refusing to cross that psychological boundary.

The Ninth Prince, seeing him emerge, reached out and took his hand, leading him toward the door.

Gao Zhen was still worried. Glancing back as they walked, he discussed with the Ninth Prince, "Should we ask Beauty Feng to come and help her change?"

"Her leg injury hasn't healed yet."

"Then what should we do?" Gao Zhen stopped walking, pulling the Ninth Prince to a halt. He turned in place, but concern ultimately won out. "Your Highness, wait a moment. I'll go back and check on her."

The Ninth Prince was silent but seemed reluctant to let go. He held onto Gao Zhen's hand without releasing it. Gao Zhen tried to pull away but couldn't. Surprised, he looked up at him. "Your Highness?"

"Hmm."

Zhou Yunning lowered his eyelashes, and after a moment, let go.

Gao Zhen quickly turned and ran toward the door, though he curled his fingers into his palm, hiding them. The stinging warmth still spread to his chest, making his heart skip a beat, and the tips of his ears grew hot. Gao Zhen thought with annoyance, how could the Ninth Prince act like this? What did he mean just now? Was he unwilling to let me take care of Imperial Concubine Hong? Or—Gao Zhen thought of two words, and his heart skipped another beat—

"Was it 'jealousy'..."?

Before he could figure it out, he had already stopped in front of the door.

His mind was a jumble, all because of the Ninth Prince~

He took three deep breaths to calm himself, then asked through the door, "Imperial Concubine Hong, can you move now?"

"I can."

The chair was right by the door, but the voice came from further inside, meaning she could already move.

Gao Zhen asked again, "Have you changed your clothes?"

"I'm changing now."

"Oh, good, good. You change. I'll head back first and return in three days."

Gao Zhen's heart finally settled, and he ran off, a relaxed smile finally appearing on his face.

The Ninth Prince stood at the main entrance, watching everything from afar. His eyes flickered with emotion, until they settled on a figure—Gao Zhen's silhouette. He looked down, turned to leave, but after just two steps, he paused again. Looking back at the person approaching, he extended his hand.

Gao Zhen stared at the outstretched hand, feeling another sudden pang in his chest. He could hear his own pounding heartbeat and, amidst its deafening rhythm, watched himself raise his left hand and place it into the other's palm.

The moment their fingertips touched skin, his hand was tightly grasped.

The Ninth Prince lowered his eyelashes, turned back, and immediately led him away. It was as if he feared that if he walked too slowly, that small hand might slip away from his grasp. His expression was intensely serious, as though he were holding something priceless, terrified of losing it.

The two walked in silence.

Gao Zhen walked half a step behind, and with a single glance, he could see the half of the Ninth Prince's face that remained unharmed. The sharp lines he remembered now seemed exceptionally gentle.

His Highness must be in a good mood now, right?

Gao Zhen thought to himself.

They had been busy from morning until late afternoon without eating properly, so the moment they stepped inside, Gao Zhen's stomach rumbled. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly glanced at the Ninth Prince. The moment their eyes met, for some reason, they both laughed at the same time.

The tense, ambiguous mood that had built up along the way quietly dissipated.

"You've worked hard today," the Ninth Prince said. "You deserve a proper reward."

"What will you reward me with?" Gao Zhen asked, his smiling eyes curving like crescents.

"What do you want to eat?"

The Ninth Prince led him by the hand to the east room's door. Even while feeling for the key in the brick crevice, he didn't let go, fiddling one-handedly for a while before slowly pulling it out. Opening the door with one hand was tricky, and for some reason today, though usually nimble, he seemed weirdly clumsy, unable even to insert the key into the keyhole.

Gao Zhen felt their clasped hands growing sweaty as the Ninth Prince calmly continued fiddling with the lock. Unable to bear it any longer, he reached out to steady the lock. Finally, it stopped wobbling, and the key went in.

The Ninth Prince pulled Gao Zhen into the room, then turned back to ask, "Did you decide what you want to eat?"

Before Gao Zhen could answer, his foot caught on the threshold, and he stumbled forward.

The Ninth Prince quickly caught him.

Gao Zhen's chin settled comfortably on his shoulder as he said, "I want to eat fish. Will you make it for me, Your Highness?"

"Grilled fish?" The Ninth Prince held him, his eyes filled with laughter.

"Hmm. That'll do."

The Ninth Prince could tell from his tone that he didn’t really want grilled fish, so he said, "Then let’s make a stew."

After that, he led Gao Zhen to the large food box and said, "You choose the fish. I’ll go to the west courtyard to gather some firewood."

Their linked hands parted reluctantly only at that moment.

The Ninth Prince left.

Gao Zhen raised his still-damp hand, stared at it for a while, and only began choosing the fish after the warmth in his hand and the heat on his face had slowly faded.

He picked two well-cleaned sea fish, a bundle of sea vegetables, and a string of cured meat. The fish and vegetables were dried, which helped preserve their nutrients and maintain a decent texture. Though the system was frugal, it was quite reliable in technical aspects.

He had been too busy today to check the system, but now that he finally had time, he quickly opened it. Sure enough, all the values had changed—

Name: Gao Zhen

Life Battery: 70%

Karma Points: 2

Favorability: 8888

Note 1: Battery level low. Please consume Karma Points to increase the battery level and prepare to unlock new functions.

Note 2: "Complete Plot [First Encounter Night] Progress 99.9%," "Expand Plot [Warm His Heart] Progress 25%"

Note 3: "[Hidden... Mission] Progress 4%" Hint: Please collect clue character cards "Character Directory" as soon as possible.

Note 4: "(Saving a Life Is Worth More Than Building a Seven-Story Pagoda) Progress 90%"

Gao Zhen was a little surprised when he saw the favorability value.

Although his favorability gains had finally started increasing by double digits today, this was pretty generous!

Was this the power of a 70% battery charge?!

What if he charged it to 100%? Would it evolve again and double the favorability or something?

Just thinking about it made him excited!

Right away, he immediately used 8880 favorability points to increase his Karma Points, then used 300 Karma Points to charge his Life Battery. The moment the battery reached full charge, a golden light burst in Gao Zhen’s mind, leaving him dizzy. He quickly steadied himself by holding onto the table.

The golden light eventually settled into a golden layer over the system panel, instantly making it look premium. At the same time, all the data on the panel turned gold—

Name: Gao Zhen

Life Battery: 100%

Karma Points: 590

Favorability: 8

Note 1: Current battery level is stable. Conditions met to unlock new functions. "Yes/No • Unlock"

Note 2: "Complete Plot [First Encounter Night] Progress 99.9%," "Expand Plot [Warm His Heart] Progress 25%"

Note 3: "[Hidden... Mission] Progress 4%" Hint: Please collect clue character cards "Character Directory" as soon as possible.

Note 4: "(Saving a Life Is Worth More Than Building a Seven-Story Pagoda) Progress 90%"

Gao Zhen didn’t rush to unlock the new function. After quickly glancing at the progress of the other missions, he heard footsteps outside the door.

The progress of [Warm His Heart] had increased by another 5%, which made Gao Zhen happy. It meant the Ninth Prince was slowly healing.

The progress of (Saving a Life Is Worth More Than Building a Seven-Story Pagoda) had reached 90%, indicating that their efforts over the past two days had paid off—at least one life had been saved. Something to celebrate.

As for why the progress of [Hidden... Mission] was 4% and what the "Character Directory" was, he hadn't figured it out yet before the door was pushed open and the Ninth Prince returned.

Gao Zhen immediately closed the system panel, grabbed the ingredients he'd picked, and went to meet him.