Chapter 49 I Want to Escape from Prison? No, It's a Real-Life Escape from the Imperial Palace!

In the early morning, a very faint ray of light barely managed to squeeze through the gap in the window paper, casting a small, pale patch of light on the luxurious carpet.

Yun Zhan woke up.

More accurately, he was woken up by anger, and also by something on his neck that was still throbbing and looked like a tooth mark.

He stared at the intricate, dizzying golden dragon embroidery on the tent ceiling for a full three minutes before accepting the cruel reality that he had truly been imprisoned by Yan Linye, that madman, liar, and paranoid, and that he had endured such an unspeakable "punishment" last night.

The icy touch on his ankle served as a constant reminder of his predicament. He shifted his foot, and the black iron chain rattled softly, its sound particularly jarring in the excessively quiet palace.

"A complete disgrace! Absolutely a complete disgrace!" Yun Zhan sat up abruptly, pulling at a certain unspeakable part of his body, causing him to hiss in pain. His face turned pale and then red. "Me, Yun Zhan, an outstanding 21st-century office worker, highly educated, well-versed in five thousand years of history, and I've actually been reduced to being locked in a dark room by an 'ancient person' and... and doing this and that! If this were written into a history book, future readers would definitely label me the 'most aggrieved time traveler'!"

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and punched the soft bedding, but unfortunately it had no effect.

[Host, according to ergonomics, hitting soft objects when angry is not an effective way to vent emotions and may even cause soft tissue damage to the wrist joint.] System Xiaoqi's calm electronic voice sounded at the right time.

"Shut up! You hindsight system!" Yun Zhan retorted irritably. "Why didn't you say a word when I was in deep trouble last night? Were you secretly watching paid content?"

[This system strictly adheres to the "System Behavior Guidelines for Minors," automatically blocking all potentially inappropriate images and sounds that could infringe on the host's privacy. Last night, only drastic fluctuations in the host's vital signs were detected, with heart rate and adrenaline levels spiked at one point, consistent with a major stress response.] The system explained methodically.

Yun Zhan: "..." Thank you for such a scientific description!

He scratched his head in frustration and began to examine the gilded cage. The interior was indeed luxurious, with every item of food, clothing, and daily necessities being exquisite. There were even a few small glass ornaments that he had previously "invented" displayed in a corner. But all of this seemed like a mockery to Yun Zhan, who had lost his freedom.

"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die!" Yun Zhan's eyes gradually hardened. "In history, Chu Yin is dead, but I, Yun Zhan, haven't lived enough yet! Yan Linye doesn't play by the rules. He said he'd turn my bones to ashes into a golden cage to keep me as a mistress, but who knows if he'll go crazy one day and turn me into a figurine? I have to run!"

[Host's Will Confirmed: 'Royal Palace Survival Adventure' Plan Initiated. Feasibility Analysis Begins...] The system interface lit up in Yun Zhan's mind. [Environmental Assessment: The host is currently in a highly enclosed space, guard level SSS, physical isolation measures are comprehensive. Host Status: Physical Strength C, Mental Strength B (Sufficient Energy for Complaining), Special Skills: Modern Knowledge (Theoretical), Basic Chemistry (Half-baked). Overall Assessment: Plan success rate is less than 5%.]

"Five percent?!" Yun Zhan retorted, "Who do you think you are! I'm a modern person who has been thoroughly influenced by 'The Shawshank Redemption' and 'Prison Break'! My theoretical knowledge is perfect!"

[Theory cannot be directly translated into effective action. Furthermore, the host is reminded that the target, Yan Linye, possesses both the aura of a 'chosen one' and the mindset of an emperor, exhibiting extremely high vigilance and control.]

"Luck? Hmph! I'll defy fate!" Yun Zhan's chuunibyou spirit ignited briefly, then he stroked his chin and began to seriously plan his first prison break. "First, I need to get rid of this damn chain!"

He crouched down and carefully examined the black iron chain on his ankle. The chain was thin but exceptionally strong, and the lock was intricately designed, clearly the work of a master craftsman; it was virtually impossible to break through by force.

"System, scan this lock and see if there are any structural weaknesses? Or recommend a lock-picking tool? I'll owe you points for now!"

[Scanning... This is a nine-turn concentric lock with a complex structure and a self-destruct mechanism. Forcibly breaking it will trigger an alarm. Recommended tools: 'Master Key' (requires 8000 points), 'Molecular-level cutting ray' (requires 25000 points)...]

"Stop, stop, stop!" Yun Zhan's eyelids twitched. "What's the difference between this and recommending I use an atomic bomb to kill mosquitoes? Don't you have anything cheaper? Something that fits the current level of productivity?"

Based on the current era and the host's debt situation, the following options are suggested: Option 1: Attempt to technically pick the lock using items such as wire or hairpins (success rate approximately 0.1%). Option 2: Find the key (difficulty SSS). Option 3: Persuade the target to open the lock voluntarily (success rate less than -100%). Additionally, this system can only provide the host with one last loan opportunity.

Yun Zhan: "...I feel like you're insulting my intelligence."

It seems that a direct confrontation with the lock won't work. Yun Zhan turned his gaze to... the floor.

"The last loan will definitely solve the lock issue. Now I need to figure out how to escape." His eyes lit up. "Dig a tunnel! That's a classic prison break tactic!"

Without further ado, while the palace servants were delivering lunch, Yun Zhan secretly hid a rather thick silver spoon. That evening, when Yan Linye hadn't come (thank goodness, that guy was probably busy with state affairs today), and he was the only one left in the palace, he began the great project of digging a tunnel.

He chose a secluded corner behind the canopy bed and began to pry open the gaps in the ornate floor tiles with a silver spoon.

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" Yun Zhan bent over, sweating profusely as he worked. The floor tiles were top-quality gold bricks, perfectly fitted together. After prying for a long time, his arms ached, and he only managed to loosen them a little bit.

[Host, according to materials mechanics analysis, your use of a silver spoon to combat high-density gold bricks is inefficient, and the silver spoon's durability is rapidly decreasing. Estimated time required to dig through to the outside of the palace: approximately 47 years and 8 months.]

"47 years?!" Yun Zhan slumped to the ground, looking at the slightly deformed silver spoon in his hand, on the verge of tears. "By then, I'll probably be a fossil! Yan Linye will probably be holding his great-grandson by then!"

The first prison break plan ended in failure, with the perpetrator dying before it could even begin.

Yun Zhan was not discouraged; he was an unkillable cockroach! If force didn't work, he would try a softer approach!

He remembered his half-baked knowledge of chemistry. "System, check for me, can I concoct some kind of sleeping potion using the materials available in the palace? If I can knock out the guards, I can just swagger out, right?"

[Searching... Possible solution: Using some ingredients and flowers provided by the imperial kitchen, trace amounts of sedative bioalkaloids can be extracted. However, please note that the purification process is complex, the required dosage is difficult to control precisely, and it is easily detected.]

Yun Zhan perked up. Over the next few days, he behaved unusually "docile," even showing a kind and friendly smile to the palace maids who brought him food, which startled the young girl so much that she almost threw the food box away.

Under the pretext of "researching new pastries," he requested some dogwood, bitter almonds, and several kinds of flower petals that were said to have calming effects from the imperial kitchen. Behind closed doors, using teacups, candlesticks, and other tools, he began his journey as the "court's deadly poison master."

The process was arduous, and the result was... hilarious.

He painstakingly followed the vague steps provided by the system and managed to concoct a small bowl of a paste with a suspicious color and pungent smell. Just as he was about to find an opportunity to test its effectiveness, Yan Linye arrived.

As soon as Yan Linye entered the hall, he smelled that strange odor and frowned slightly: "What are you doing?"

Yun Zhan panicked and instinctively tried to hide the bowl of "sleeping potion," but his hand trembled—

"Clang!"

The bowl fell to the ground, splattering the paste all over the floor, with a few drops landing on Yan Linye's shiny dragon-patterned boots.

The air froze instantly.

Yun Zhan: "!!!" Oh no! I'm doomed! My mission failed before I even got started, and now I'm being caught red-handed!

Yan Linye looked down at the stains on his boots, then glanced up at Yun Zhan, who was trying to remain calm, his eyes deep and unreadable. He squatted down, dipped his finger in the paste-like substance, and smelled it.

Yun Zhan's heart was pounding in his throat.

Then, he heard Yan Linye say in an emotionless tone, "It smells pungent, the color is murky, and there are too many impurities. Who are you trying to poison? Your skill is appalling."

Yun Zhan: "..." Hey! Is that the point?!

"It seems I've been too busy lately and neglected you, giving you the leisure to tinker with these things." Yan Linye stood up, took the handkerchief handed to him by a palace maid, and slowly wiped his hands. "Since you have so much energy, why don't you do something else?"

That night, Yun Zhan paid a heavy price for his "chemistry experiment." The second escape plan failed, and it triggered an upgrade in security—all the items in his palace that could potentially be "used" were thoroughly searched.

After a series of setbacks, Yun Zhan was a little dejected. But who is he? He's a modern-day corporate slave who can tenaciously survive the "blessing" of the 996 work schedule! His resilience is off the charts!

He decided to exploit information asymmetry and loopholes in the rules.

He carefully observed the shift changes of the palace servants responsible for guarding and serving him, as well as some details of the allocation of supplies within the palace. He discovered that although he was imprisoned, Yan Linye did not seem to mistreat him in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities; in fact, some non-core palace rules were not strictly enforced in his presence.

A daring plan formed in his mind—to sneak out of the palace in disguise!

He remembered that many "handsome men" had been brought into the palace to deceive Li Gang. Although they were later purged, there might still be loopholes in the relevant palace personnel files and entry/exit permits. He could use his slender build to disguise himself as a junior eunuch who had been dismissed or rotated out of the palace!

He secretly hid a set of old eunuch clothes, and used the little bit of cosmetics he had secretly saved up to make his face look sallow, draw his eyebrows thick, and even put a mole on the corner of his mouth.

She looked at herself in the glass mirror. Hmm, although she was still quite pretty, she was at least quite different from her usual "exquisite concubine" image.

"System, look at my disguise technique! How is it? It's so realistic, right?" Yun Zhan proudly boasted in his mind.

[Facial recognition comparison showed a 78.5% similarity to the original host. Key flaws: overly expressive eyes and facial expressions, lacking the numbness and servility expected of a eunuch. Inconsistent demeanor easily exposes the flaw.]

"Mind your own business! I'll just keep my head down and not say a word!" Yun Zhan retorted.

Choosing a seemingly rainy afternoon, during a chaotic shift change among the palace servants, Yun Zhan changed into his eunuch's clothes, borrowed the master key from the system, unlocked the lock, and secretly slipped out of the palace where he was imprisoned. Thanks to Yan Linye's public declaration that "Chu Yin is dead," although the guards around his palace were strict, the outer patrol guards did not specifically question a seemingly ordinary little eunuch who was walking briskly with his head down.

Yun Zhan's heart pounded, and his palms were sweaty. Following the blurry map he had memorized, he made his way towards the direction he remembered closest to Xihua Gate. Along the way, he tried his best to imitate the way other eunuchs walked, hunching his back and shrinking his neck.

Surprisingly... the road was clear all the way?!

With the tall gate tower of Xihua Gate right in front of him, and even the crowds of people in the market outside the gate faintly visible, Yun Zhan was so excited that he almost burst into tears.

Freedom! Here I come!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his elation, and continued to walk with his head down, following a group of eunuchs who were about to leave the palace to make purchases, towards the palace gate.

The guards at the gate were routinely checking the waist tokens of those leaving the palace. It was almost Yun Zhan's turn; he held his breath nervously, praying frantically in his mind: Pass! Pass! Let me pass!

Just then, a deep, familiar voice, tinged with coldness and disbelief, rang out not far behind him:

"Where are you going?"

Yun Zhan froze, his blood seemingly freezing instantly.

He turned around slowly, extremely slowly.

Yan Linye appeared inside the palace gate at some unknown time, dressed in a dark riding outfit that allowed for easy movement, seemingly about to go out. He stood there, his posture upright, his face so gloomy it could drip water, his deep eyes fixed on him, filled with shock, rage, and a trace of... the stinging pain of being "betrayed" once again.

Beside him was Chen Feng, who looked helpless and worried.

Yun Zhan's mind went blank for a moment, with only one thought in his mind: I'm doomed! I've been caught again!

The eunuchs and guards around them had already knelt down in a rush, not daring to utter a sound.

Yan Linye walked step by step to Yun Zhan, the powerful pressure making Yun Zhan almost unable to breathe. He reached out, lifted Yun Zhan's chin, and forced him to look at him, his fingertips icy cold.

"I underestimated you." Yan Linye's voice was low, yet carried a terrifying storm. "Playing these underhanded tricks, and now... you think you can get out of the palace? Yun Zhan, do you really want to leave me? Hmm?"

His fingers pinched hard, making Yun Zhan's chin ache.

"I..." Yun Zhan wanted to explain, but found himself speechless. Caught red-handed, what was there to say?

Yan Linye's chest heaved violently as he looked at Chen Feng's "acquiescing" expression, his eyes blazing with fury. He abruptly released his grip and sternly ordered Chen Feng, "Take this man back to me! Keep him under strict guard! Without my order, he is not to step out of the palace gates! Also, all the guards on duty today, give them twenty strokes of the cane! What use are you if you can't even keep an eye on one person!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Feng quickly accepted the order, glancing at Yun Zhan with sympathy.

Yun Zhan was "invited" back by two guards. This time, the black iron chains on his feet seemed to have been reinforced, further restricting his movement. The furnishings in the hall were also made more "simple," with all potentially usable items cleared away, even the master key he had borrowed was taken away. Yun Zhan's heart was bleeding.

That evening, Yan Linye walked in, bringing with him a chill.

Unlike the previous two times, he did not directly get angry or "punish" Yun Zhan. He simply stood by the bed, quietly watching Yun Zhan curled up in the corner of the bed, his eyes filled with complex and unfathomable emotions.

"You...you really don't want to be with me?" After a long silence, Yan Linye finally spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of weariness and...hurt?

Yun Zhan buried his face in his knees and said in a muffled voice, "I just don't want to be locked up here like an object."

"Objects?" Yan Linye seemed stung by the word. He suddenly stepped closer and grabbed Yun Zhan's shoulder. "I've given you the best things in the world! What more do you want?"

"I want freedom!" Yun Zhan raised her head, her eyes red as she glared at him. "Yan Linye, don't you understand? I'm a person! Not your pet!"

"Freedom?" Yan Linye scoffed, his eyes filled with a desolate, obsessive glint. "I'll set you free, and then what? Let you disappear without a trace again? Make me search the world for you like a madman again? Yun Zhan, don't even think about it!"

He leaned down and hugged Yun Zhan tightly in his arms, his strength almost crushing him, his voice filled with a desperate possessiveness: "You're not going anywhere... In this life, you can only stay by my side. Hate me or resent me, I will never let go."

Yun Zhan was in excruciating pain from being squeezed so tightly. He struggled in vain and finally collapsed weakly into his arms.

Feeling the slight trembling and warm body of the person in his arms, Yan Linye's frantic heartbeat finally calmed down. He lowered his head and gently kissed the top of Yun Zhan's head, his tone carrying a hint of pleading that even he himself didn't realize:

"Don't run away... Yun Zhan, don't try to leave me again. I'll go crazy..."

The third attempt to escape ended in failure, just a step away from the palace gates, and seemed to tighten the already tense relationship between the two even further.

Yun Zhan looked at the top of the tent, his heart turning cold.

The "prison warden," who held the power of life and death over him, loved him to the bone yet hated his deception, clearly had no intention of giving him any chance to pass.

[Host, based on the lessons learned from three failed attempts, the success rate of escaping solely through individual effort is approaching zero. We suggest adjusting your strategy, or considering finding a breakthrough from the target's psychological level.] The system calmly offered its advice.

"Psychological level?" Yun Zhan rolled his eyes, rubbing his still aching wrists and back. "Didn't you see how he was just now? Like a gas cylinder about to explode! Me, talk to him psychologically? I'm afraid he'll just take me down with him!"

That being said, Yun Zhan knew the system was right. A direct confrontation wouldn't work, and a clever strategy had failed; perhaps… they really had to find a different approach?