Wen Mingyu lowered his head and nibbled in small bites. His legs slightly trembled. He was like a tiny prey being targeted by a ferocious beast.
Halfway through the meal, Wen Mingyu choked on the overly quiet atmosphere and couldn’t help but secretly raise his eyes. As a result, he locked eyes with the tyrant again, who had obviously been staring at him since earlier.
Wen Mingyu impulsively wanted to shrink his head, but the other party saw him peeking. Immediately avoiding the look would be too deliberate. He could only smile sweetly and say: “Your Majesty, these are very delicious, do you want to try?”
Mu Zhan, on the contrary, frowned. He viewed the table with some disgust, and impatiently said: ”Eat yours.”
Wen Mingyu knew when to shut up, he didn’t care whether the tyrant ate or not. He just didn’t want to be on the receiving end of those stares. He smiled and continued to eat with a stiff face, and trying to hypnotize himself to ignore the gaze.
The spell is not that effective, but it was still useful. Nevertheless, before he knew it, he had swept clean most of the dishes.
On the other hand, Mu Zhan, the owner of the palace, did not move his chopsticks much. After two bites, he stopped in disinterest and stared at Wen Mingyu all the way, as if observing something.
Mu Zhan raised his hand, twitched his fingertips, and leaned it in front of his nose. He could smell a light fruity scent, it was sweet and did not disgust him. This is the smell he got when he touched Wen Mingyu’s face just now. It was strange and familiar.
Mu Zhan lowered his eyes, covering up the emotion hidden within. This made people unable to know what’s on his mind and what his mood was.
When people’s stomachs are full, their guards loosen and their IQ decreases. This statement is not entirely false.
Wen Mingyu’s stomach had a slight bump, and he had a contented look plastered on his face. His posture relaxed considerably compared to when he first entered the hall, until he looked up and saw Mu Zhan. His relaxed state immediately became tense again.
“He said he didn’t want to eat, but in reality, he ate very well. The whole table of food was almost gone.”
Mu Zhan glanced at him with eyes a faint look of ridicule.
The first thing that Wen Mingyu wanted to do after hearing this is to stand up and flip the table upside down. Didn’t this guy ask him to eat just now? He asked me to eat, told me to shut up, and motioned for me to continue eating again. Now he says I eat too much?!
Although his heart blew off in fury, on the surface, Wen Mingyu, as if he was deaf, tilted his head and smiled sweetly. His face, pure and harmless.
Mu Zhan’s face was emotionless.
With a horsetail whisk in his hand, the head eunuch respectfully went forward to ask for instructions. After gaining the consent of Mu Zhan, he instructed the servants to withdraw the rest of the food.
The palace eunuchs took turns to carry away the plates one by one. In the hall, a group of people shuttled in front of the table yet there was no noise, like a spirit drifting around, so quiet that it was hair-raising.
The corners of Wen Mingyu’s mouth stiffened, and he felt more indigestion.
Soon, the palace servants all retired, with the head eunuch walking at the end.
Wen Mingyu peered towards the door, also wanting to tag along with them.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you had enough yet?” Mu Zhan’s voice was flat.
Wen Mingyu looked back for a second, raised a smile, and shook his head. He said, “No, I’m full. I ate a lot and tasted dishes I haven’t eaten before, I’m very happy. Your Majesty, thank you for the honor.”
Mu Zhan leisurely hummed.
No one spoke in the room; it was far too quiet to be considered bizarre.
Hanging his head, Wen Mingyu was pondering what he should say, not just to only evade the tyrant’s land mine, but also not let the tyrant feel bored enough to murder him.
His back was frigidly cold. Brain turning quickly, he typed a manuscript in his heart, lifted his head, and was about to say, “Your Majesty…”
As soon as he uttered something, the words suddenly turned into a soft whisper, and he swallowed the rest of the words that should have followed.
Because he saw the tyrant leaning on his chin with his eyes closed. He had fallen asleep.
Why are you sleeping all of a sudden?
Wen Mingyu was a bit shocked, but his heart was also extremely relieved. Sleeping is good, you don’t have to face that dreadful sight, and crack your brain on how to cope with it.
He put his hand on his chest and breath twice in relief. No wonder there is a saying that to be in the king's company is tantamount to living with a tiger. Facing the emperor, the psychological impact is not normal. Even if he is not killed, he is afraid to experience an early death.
He sat still on the stool, and after a while, took a peak at Mu Zhan. He seemed to be sleeping quite heavily. Then, is he… good to go? After all, you can’t disturb the emperor’s slumber, isn’t it?
After a few seconds of hesitation, Wen Mingyu stood up slowly. The action was meticulously careful; for fear that he might make some noise that would wake the tyrant up.
Sitting on the stool, he didn’t feel much. Yet when he stood, his legs were as soft as cooked noodles, and he almost landed flat on the ground. Fortunately, he was slow to rise up and didn’t make any noise. He steadied his feet and reflexively snapped his head to look at Mu Zhan, to see if he had opened his eyes.
That was a close call.
Wen Mingyu breathed slowly, turned and continued to walk towards the door. He moved sluggishly, step by step, as if he were an eighty-year old grandpa with inconvenient legs and feet.
Seeing the door drew nearer and closer to him, the glimmer of hope awaits him…
Behind him, a low raspy voice suddenly rang.
“Where are you going?”
The sneaky dog-like Wen Mingyu instantly stiffened into a statue. His brain was pounding, scalp exploded, and the hair on his back stood up. The heart ceased throbbing, and he didn’t have the guts to look back.
Mu Zhan is still sitting motionlessly, but his eyes are open. There was no warmth in his sight that fell on Wen Mingyu, nailing the man in place.
“Have I granted you permission to leave? Return here.”
The tyrant’s irresistible commanding voice gave Wen Mingyu a jolt. His whole person shivered, and he immediately sprinted back to the stool at an unprecedented speed beyond the naked eye. He placed down his butt, put his two hands on his knees, and obediently sat.
The expression should be gentle and tender, innocent and pure.
“I didn’t leave without your permission, I just noticed that His Majesty was sleeping. I was worried that you would catch a cold. So, I wanted to request a blanket from the head eunuch.”
The pitch-black, round eyes twinkled twice. It was limpid and clean, as heartfelt as if they had never lied.
Mu Zhan was not swayed. He swept him a glance, then shut his eyes again, as if he wanted to continue his slumber.
Wen Mingyu: ……?
So what’s the point of keeping him here? Is the tyrant a three-year-old child and must be accompanied by someone in his napping time?
As soon as he left, Mu Zhan could sense it and would open his eyes. Wen Mingyu didn’t dare to move around, he could only linger and be a mascot. Idle and bored, he observed the luxurious and elaborate furnishings, then looked at the tyrant for a while. Realizing his actions, he immediately turned his eyes away, lowered his head, and picked up his fingers for his own amusement.
He didn’t know how long it has been. Wen Mingyu’s eyelids were fighting to open; and he almost slept with his head tilted when someone walked in.
Wen Mingyu snapped his head and gazed up, it was the eunuch with a horsetail whisk in his hand.
The other party also seems to be a little surprised. When their line of sight met, his footsteps halted.
The Head eunuch, Zhao Dequan, was concerned and entered to look since he hadn’t been summoned, but he didn’t imagine His Majesty to be asleep. He couldn’t help but reveal his shock.
Then he made eye contact with Wen Mingyu. He bowed his head and saluted, bent his waist and soundlessly withdrew.
Wen Mingyu: …..
Once again, I experienced the feeling of being left behind, so heart-wrenching.
Eventually, Mu Zhan finally woke up. When he opened his eyes and saw Wen Mingyu, he didn’t say anything. He just waved his hand and sent him back.
Therefore, Wen Mingyu returned to his place of residence without any danger.
San Xi was so happy, he couldn’t believe that he saw him return. His emotions fluctuated to the point where the rim of his eyes were red, and he almost shed a tear.
“It’s such a relief that you are well and fine, Young Master! What did His Majesty ask you to do?”
Wen Mingyu was in a trance, as if he was dreaming. He could not believe that he was capable of coming back from the tyrant unscathed. He replied to San Xi dazedly.
“It appears that I… just went to have a meal?”
He finished the whole table, and ate more than the tyrant. He also nonchalantly cleaned all the tyrant’s share without any hint of grace.
San Xi: “……??”
The first two paragraphs were the last bits from CH2 since my updates are one time a week. So you don’t have to reread again. >< I also replaced ‘chief steward’ to ‘Head Eunuch.’ Thank you for understanding! If you have any suggestions with the names, comment below!~
How do emperors usually refer themselves? I can’t remember QAQ Wen Mingyu is really super terrified, I can’t find more words to describe his feelings because I think I put them all. T_T