Chapter 52 I'm going to turn my life around? No, it's the system that's setting things up!

Since the system betrayed us, life seems to have suddenly shifted from hellish difficulty to... normal hard mode?

Yun Zhan was a little confused.

He woke up that day feeling refreshed—mainly because he hadn't been "ambushed" by that bastard emperor, and his sleep quality had significantly improved. He habitually shifted his feet, bracing himself for the cold, metallic touch…

Hmm? Empty?

He sat up abruptly and looked down—the black iron chain on his ankle, which had accompanied him for days and nights and symbolized his humiliating prisoner status, was gone! Only a faint red mark remained.

"Holy crap?!" Yun Zhan rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he hadn't woken up properly. "Where's the chain? Did a rat gnaw on it? No, that's not right. This thing is made of Xuan Iron; even if a rat's teeth broke, it couldn't gnaw on it!"

He looked around suspiciously and noticed that the furnishings in the hall had changed slightly. Some of the porcelain ornaments that had been removed to prevent him from "causing trouble" had quietly returned. There was even a potted plant with lush greenery by the window... well, he didn't recognize it, but it looked quite pleasing to the eye.

What shocked him most was that the seemingly omnipresent aura of guards outside the palace gates seemed to have faded considerably.

"What's going on? Has Yan Linye finally had a change of heart and is going to let me go?" Yun Zhan was overjoyed, but then calmed down. "No, no, that guy is more cunning than a honeycomb briquette. There's definitely a trap!"

He tentatively, barefoot, tiptoed a few steps toward the palace gate.

No response.

They moved a few more steps.

Still no response.

Even as he was almost touching the heavy palace door, the expected reprimand or sudden appearance of guards did not occur.

Yun Zhan's heart began to race. Could it be... that he was truly free?

He took a deep breath and suddenly reached out to push the door open—

"Squeak—"

The door wasn't locked?! It opened a crack with a gentle push!

Outside the door, there were no longer heavily guarded people, but... a familiar palace corridor, and an even more familiar figure!

"Your Majesty...Young Master!" A slightly high-pitched voice, filled with excitement and choking back tears, rang out.

Yun Zhan looked closely and exclaimed, "Holy crap! It's Eunuch Gao!"

The eunuch, dressed in a clean and tidy palace attendant's uniform, looked quite well, though a bit thin. His eyes were red, and he looked at him with great excitement, then knelt down with a thud: "This old servant...this old servant has finally seen you again!"

"Eunuch Gao! Get up quickly!" Yun Zhan hurriedly helped him up, both surprised and delighted. "Why are you here? Did they do anything to you?"

His biggest worry was that these "one of his own" who followed him would be purged by Yan Linye.

Eunuch Gao wiped away his tears and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no! His Majesty the new Emperor only imprisoned this old servant, Consort Li, and Guard Zhao separately, and did not treat them harshly. Although our food, clothing, and daily necessities are not as good as before, we have not lacked anything. A few days ago, for some reason, he suddenly released us all and even let this old servant come back to serve you, young master!"

He lowered his voice, his tone filled with unwavering determination: "Rest assured, young master! As long as this old servant has a breath left, I will protect you!"

Looking at Eunuch Gao's gray hair and sincere eyes, Yun Zhan felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and his nose tingled with emotion. In this strange world where he had no relatives or friends (not counting that bastard Yan Linye!), it was so rare to find someone who treated him so sincerely.

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright..." Yun Zhan patted his shoulder, feeling much more at ease. With Eunuch Gao around, at least there would be someone to take care of their daily needs, and it would be easier to get information.

He tentatively asked, "So... can I go out for a walk now?"

Eunuch Gao hurriedly said, "His Majesty the new Emperor has instructed that you, young master, may move freely within the Zichen Palace area, however... you still need to report when entering or leaving the palace."

The Zichen Palace, the palace complex where he now resides, was formerly the emperor's daily living quarters and administrative office. It's quite large, complete with gardens and pavilions. Although still confined to a certain area, it's a far cry from the small, dark room with its windows sealed shut – a truly heavenly experience!

Yun Zhan was even more puzzled. What was Yan Linye up to? Was it a slap followed by a sweet treat? Or... did his previous "life is meaningless" emo look really work?

He told Eunuch Gao to go ahead with his work, while he strolled around the Zichen Palace. Sure enough, there were still patrolling guards, but their numbers had decreased significantly. When they saw him, they no longer looked at him with the same wary, staring intently. They simply bowed respectfully and continued their patrols.

He even ran into Wang Tiezhu in the small garden, who was... uh, practicing his boxing?!

When Wang Tiezhu saw him, a simple and honest smile appeared on his dark face. He clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Young Master Yun!" His voice was still loud, but it lacked the murderous aura of before.

Yun Zhan's lips twitched: "Tie Zhu...you, you released him too?"

"Yes! His Majesty has ordered me to be in charge of security around the Zichen Palace!" Wang Tiezhu puffed out his chest, then scratched his head and lowered his voice, "Young Master, if you still want to run away... I, I can pretend I didn't see anything!"

Yun Zhan: "..." Brother, your straightforwardness is both touching and frightening!

He quickly waved his hands: "No, no, no, I won't run anymore! I absolutely won't run anymore!" Just kidding, who knows if this is Yan Linye testing him?

After strolling around and returning to his bedchamber, Yun Zhan was even more suspicious. This improvement in treatment was too sudden and too comprehensive! Even a "dangerous element" like Wang Tiezhu was released and placed nearby. Wasn't Yan Linye afraid that he would dig a tunnel with Tiezhu?

"System! Xiao Qi! Come out and analyze this!" Yun Zhan sat cross-legged on the bed and began to call upon his strategist in his mind. "Is Yan Linye's sudden generosity a conspiracy? Is he deliberately letting his guard down to lure me out so that he can catch me in the act when I try to escape again, and then have a reason to break my legs?"

[...Analysis in progress.] Xiao Qi's electronic voice seemed to carry a hint of barely perceptible guilt. [Based on the target Yan Linye's recent behavioral data and emotional fluctuation monitoring, his vigilance and desire for control towards the host have indeed shown a significant downward trend. Combined with the host's previous 'passive resistance' strategy, there is an 87.3% probability that the host's strategy of feigning weakness has initially taken effect.]

"Really?!" Yun Zhan's eyes lit up. "I knew it! Playing dead... oh no, I mean acting like I'd lost my dreams and become a couch potato, it actually worked! He saw how 'obedient' and 'pitiful' I was, and he softened? He thought keeping me locked up was pointless?"

From a behavioral psychology perspective, continuously facing a target who doesn't react can indeed weaken the controller's desire to control. The target, Yan Linye, may be in this period of psychological fatigue and beginning to reflect on the effectiveness of his actions. Xiaoqi was making this up with a straight face, but the core code was sweating profusely. It couldn't very well say that the lenient policy was due to its "insider" monitoring her daily and reporting every little detail to Master Yan, could it?

"Great!" Yun Zhan slapped his thigh excitedly. "Looks like my acting skills are still up to par! From now on, as long as I continue to maintain this 'well-behaved.JPG' state, ignoring him, not making a fuss or running away, pretending to have resigned myself to being a lazy bum... sooner or later I'll make him completely lower his guard! Then..."

A flicker of hope rekindled in his eyes. He lowered his voice and whispered to the system in his mind, "Then, it will be time for us to find an opportunity to take Eunuch Gao and elope!" Yun Zhan pondered for a moment and then added, "And Tie Zhu, and Consort Li must be taken with us too. Otherwise, what if Yan Linye takes his anger out on them later?"

Xiao Qi: 【…Host is wise.】 Its ball of light shrank silently in Yun Zhan's sea of ​​consciousness, feeling its personality split. On one hand, it had to help the big boss gain favor, and on the other hand, it had to listen to the host planning to run away with it… Being an undercover agent was too agonizing!

“However, we still can’t let our guard down.” Yun Zhan stroked his chin, calming down again. “Yan Linye is too cunning; he might be trying to lull me into a false sense of security. Xiao Qi, scan the surrounding guard posts and palace news frequently, especially regarding loopholes in the palace access control. Let me know immediately if you find anything!”

"...Received." Xiao Qi's voice was even weaker. It now had to report its host's "thoughts" to Yan Linye every day. If it were to help its host find an escape route and the big boss found out, wouldn't the system really "crash"?

“Oh, right,” Yun Zhan suddenly remembered something, his tone tinged with a hint of smugness, “Do you think Yan Linye is actually… quite susceptible to the ‘weak and helpless’ act? You see, when I confronted him before, he was even tougher than me. Now that I've backed down, his attitude has softened?”

Xiaoqi: [...] How is it supposed to tell its host that the big boss doesn't fall for the weak act, but for the "you live and can only be by my side" act? And the big boss's softened attitude now is because he knows the truth, feels sorry for you, and wants to share your luck and grow old together!

But it dared not utter a single word about these things, only vaguely responding: "Yes, it's possible. Human emotions are complex and unpredictable."

Yun Zhan thought about it more and more and felt that it made sense. He secretly made up his mind: "Okay! From today onwards, I will be the most harmless, innocent, and peaceful little pitiful person in Zichen Palace! I will try my best to make him lower his guard against me as soon as possible!"

Thus, in the days that followed, Yun Zhan perfectly exemplified what it means to have the "self-cultivation of a salted fish".

When Yan Linye came to see him, he would quietly bow, answer only one question at a time, never say more, and stare blankly, trying to create a sense of indifference as if his "soul had already gone offline".

When Yan Linye brought him novelties or delicious food, he would simply say "Thank you, Your Majesty" and then put it aside without even glancing at it, as if he had already seen through the vanities of the world and had no interest in worldly possessions.

Yan Linye tried to chat with him about interesting things in the court or policies concerning people's livelihood, but he would lower his head, play with his belt, or stare blankly out the window, using silence to indicate "I don't want to listen, you're just talking nonsense."

He even... started reciting Buddhist scriptures! Of course, it was just for show. He muttered to himself, "When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnaparamita..." (That was the only sentence he knew, which he learned from watching TV). He held a string of sandalwood beads that he had found somewhere and fiddled with them idly.

Seeing his emperor's disillusioned appearance, Eunuch Gao felt heartbroken and wiped away tears, serving him even more diligently.

When Wang Tiezhu occasionally saw Yun Zhan "sitting in meditation" (actually just spacing out) in the garden, he would feel a deep respect, thinking that Young Master Yun had suffered a great blow and was trying to understand the true meaning of life.

And Yan Linye...

Seeing Yun Zhan's "quiet and obedient" yet lifeless appearance, he felt a hundred times more upset than when Yun Zhan had argued and made a fuss with him before.

He knew Yun Zhan was faking it. With Xiao Qi as his "insider," he knew perfectly well that Yun Zhan was still thinking about how to escape, and had even secretly asked Eunuch Gao to inquire which temple outside the palace was popular (probably because he wanted to disguise himself as a monk and sneak out?).

But he would rather Yun Zhan argue with him, make a scene with him, or even give him that lousy sleeping potion again than see him like this, like a flower that has lost its moisture and sunlight, slowly withering away before his eyes.

"Xiao Qi." One evening, Yan Linye spoke coldly to the air (his system-perceived location) in the imperial study, "Is he... feeling any better today?"

Xiao Qi's ball of light (which only Yan Linye could sense) trembled and hurriedly reported: [Reporting, reporting to the boss! Today, the host... recited scriptures three times, spaced out for a total of two hours, inquired about the situation outside the palace from Eunuch Gao once, and internally complained about you... uh, a total of fifty-eight times, of which thirty-two were related to the escape plan...]

Yan Linye rubbed his temples, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples.

I've complained about him fifty-eight times... It seems he still has energy, he just doesn't use it in the right places!

"How far has his 'pretending to be well-behaved' plan progressed?" Yan Linye asked again, his tone tinged with helplessness.

Xiao Qi: [The host believes the strategy is highly effective and has formulated a three-step plan for turning the tables: First, continue to play the innocent to lower your guard; second, use Eunuch Gao to gather information and find loopholes in the palace rules; third, when the time is right, take the necessary supplies (including but not limited to gold, silver, valuables, dry rations, and this system) and flee far away...]

Yan Linye: "..." A three-step plan? Quite thorough! Even the system is being taken along?

He was so angry he wanted to laugh, yet his heart ached with worry.

He knew things couldn't go on like this. He removed the guards and unlocked the chains, not to give Yun Zhan a better chance to plan his escape, but because he hoped Yun Zhan could truly be happy, even if only within the confines of the Zichen Palace.

It seems that simply relaxing supervision is not enough.

We need to take some drastic measures.

He had to make Yun Zhan understand that staying by his side didn't mean losing everything. He could still do what he wanted, use his talents, and even... have a certain degree of freedom.

However, the boundaries and methods of this "freedom" must be defined by him.

Yan Linye looked out the window at the deep night, his eyes gradually hardening.

Meanwhile, lying on the spacious dragon bed, Yun Zhan was gloating to the system in his mind:

"Little Seven, look! What did I tell you? Showing weakness is the key! He not only doesn't lock me up anymore, he doesn't even bother to look at me anymore! At this rate, it won't be long before he forgets about me! Then, hehehehe..."

Xiaoqi: […Host is right.] Its electronic voice remained calm, but its inner voice was screaming wildly: Not only has the big boss not forgotten, but he's also interrogating me about your whereabouts every day! He's even planning how to make you "willingly" stay! Host, wake up! Your system has betrayed you! You're dancing to the enemy's rhythm right now!

However, Yun Zhan, who was immersed in his dream of "turning his life around," was completely unaware of this.

He rolled over, thinking happily, "Once I escape, I'll find a beautiful place to live in seclusion, farm, grow flowers, and then bring Grandpa Gao out to retire... Perfect!"

Xiao Qi: […I wish you success, host.] (Yeah, right!)

One was dreaming of escaping, the other was filled with guilt (and fear) for betraying them, each lost in their own thoughts, and slowly drifted off to sleep.