How To Survive as a Villain

The next morning, Hong Xiu came to help Xiao YuAn wash and change clothes; only to find him sitting on the bed, stiff as wood, with tired eyes and heavy black circles under them.

“Your Majesty?” Hong Xiu was so scared by the shock that she almost dropped the pot of water in her hands.

Xiao YuAn suddenly came back to reality: “Huh?”

“What happened, Your Majesty? You couldn’t sleep well?” Hong Xiu asked, very worried.

It wasn’t just that Xiao YuAn hadn’t slept well, he hadn’t slept at all!

There was no way Xiao YuAn could fall asleep without the sound of breathing beside him.

Staying up all night was harmful to his body. Xiao YuAn rubbed his temples and got up to let Hong Xiu help him change his clothes.

Xiao YuAn was a person that was good at adjusting his mood. Staying up all night made his heart feel flustered, so he decided to find something to distract himself from anxiety.

For example, going to look at the Male Lead, and then the Female Lead, to feel what it’s like to bathe in the Protagonist’s halo.

Yan HeQing, the Male Lead, was getting his wounds treated by the Imperial Physician. After eating his breakfast, Xiao YuAn happily rushed towards the Imperial Physician.

It was just after dawn, so it was still very early in the morning, and in winter, the wind at this hour was extremely cold. Inside the Imperial Physician Hall, a very pleasant medicinal smell was in the air; and in the middle of the Hall under a row of cabinets filled with all kinds of medicine, was an old Physician wrapped in a thick robe, he was nodding and dozing.

After hearing some noise, the old Imperial Physician raised his head. When he saw it was Xiao YuAn, he knelt down showing respect and shouted “Your Majesty!”

As soon as the old Physician knelt down, his old arms and legs began to creak, scaring Xiao YuAn so much that he quickly helped him up: “Where’s the man that was sent from the prison yesterday?”

“Answering to His Majesty, he’s resting in the inner room. He just took an anesthetic, so he must be sleeping right now.” The old Physician replied.

“Take me to him.”

The old Physician glanced at the group of Imperial Bodyguards and Maidservants following Xiao YuAn, and his face became embarrassed: “Your Majesty, I’m afraid that the inner room is too small for so many people to go in.”

Xiao YuAn picked out Hong Xiu and Yang LiuAn: “I’ll take these two with me.”

The old Physician didn’t dare to neglect anymore, and hurriedly led the three of them towards the inner room.

As expected, the inner room was really small, a single bed occupied almost the entire room. On the bed, there was a man sleeping on it, and Xiao YuAn, who was really hard to suppress his inner excitement, slowly walked over.

That man was the Male Lead himself, Yan HeQing, the one that can take ten girls in one single night. He either already got a new girl, or he was on his way to get her. He’s the kind of man that always gets all the girls he wants, while also conquering the world! The Male! Lead!

However, when he looked at his face, Xiao YuAn froze in place.

The man in front of him was no longer the mess he was when he was in prison. His clothes were also changed into a clean set of clothes, his hands were wrapped with white cloth to stop the bleeding, and his whole body looked fresh and clean. But somehow, his face was covered with black charcoal, so it was completely impossible for him to see his original appearance.

Seeing the puzzled expression on Xiao YuAn’s face, the old Physician hurriedly explained to him: “This thing on his face, it was something that this man said that he would rather die than wipe clean.”

Xiao YuAn thought of something from the original book, and suddenly realized what this was about.

In the original book, the Young Emperor, just like Xiao YuAn did, released Yan HeQing from prison. Because Yan HeQing could guess the real intentions of the Young Emperor, he insisted on covering his face with black charcoal. One day, when the Young Emperor remembered about Yan HeQing, he got curious and went to see him. However, what he saw was a ghost-like face and became disgusted with him. In the end, he stopped asking for Yan HeQing from that point on.

Therefore, Yan HeQing escaped from the possibility of being forced into becoming a male concubine.

Hong Xiu, as clever as she was, after seeing the depressed expression on Xiao YuAn’s face, asked: “Your Majesty, should I go get a basin of water and wash his face?”

“No need, it’s fine like this.” Xiao YuAn waved his hand.

‘Anyway, I’m not in a hurry to see his face. I can always see what Yan HeQing’s face looks like on another occasion.’

Although the man sleeping on the bed was slightly frowning, his breathing was long, steady and calm.

Xiao YuAn was very clear in the fact that perhaps, a year and a half later, this man who was peacefully sleeping in front of him, would certainly torture him to death. He couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with complicated emotions, and after having that thought, a sudden dissatisfaction arose inside his heart.

‘Why is he able to sleep so soundly! When I couldn’t sleep for the whole night!’

Xiao YuAn didn’t care about this unequal treatment1. He didn’t care about it at all, and yet, he still sighs regretfully, thinking that if there’s no breathing sounds around him…

‘Wait a minute, breathing sounds?’

Xiao YuAn took a look at the sleeping Yan HeQing, compared the size of the bed, and after nodding his face with satisfaction, he pushed Yan HeQing to the side of the bed, and then he laid down.

He laid down!!!

The other three people present froze in place for a few seconds. The old Physician was so frightened, that he knelt down to Xiao YuAn: “Your Majesty?”

“Don’t be so surprised, have you never seen anyone who’s so sleepy that they drop to the floor to sleep?” Xiao YuAn was kind enough to appease the old Physician.

The old Physician’s heart was roaring and shouting: ‘I’ve never seen it! I’ve really never seen it!!’

“Your Majesty, this… this… this?” Yang LiuAn was also at a loss for words.

Fortunately, the reasonable Hong Xiu was still present. She helped the old Physician to get up and said to Yang LiuAn: “Bodyguard Yang, His Majesty couldn’t sleep well last night. Right now, he’s feeling very sleepy so he wants to take a nap. You go out first and guard the inner room’s door.”

Xiao YuAn couldn’t help but lament inside his mind: ‘This maidservant is really worthy of being the Young Emperor’s favorite! She understands him so well!’

Yang LiuAn looked at Xiao YuAn, saw him nodding his head, and then went out of the inner room to guard the door.

Hong Xiu and the old Physician remained behind, and while undressing and fixing the bedding for Xiao YuAn, she advised him: “Your Majesty, this bed is small and cramped. If you really want this person, then why don’t you let someone bring him back to the Imperial bedchamber.”

Xiao Yuan: “…”

‘…….. Girl!!! I was wrong about you after all, and I definitely took back what I said about you understanding everything about me! I’m just trying to sleep, please don’t bring up the issue about a male concubine! He’s the Male Lead. I’m afraid that I won’t have enough flesh left behind after being cut into a human stick.’

Xiao YuAn was really tired, and he was tired because he was sleepy, so he simply didn’t bother explaining to her. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. Finally falling asleep.

Hong Xiu probably didn’t expect for Xiao YuAn to actually fall asleep. After feeling a little bit dumbfounded, she quickly wrapped the quilt around the both of them, and quietly left the room.

Footnotes

不患寡而患不均 bù huàn guǎ ér huàn bù jūn; A Chinese idiom from the sixteenth chapter of the Anaclects by Confucious about wealth distribution. The meaning is: Whether someone has a state, they shouldn’t worry about the lack of wealth, but only about the uneven distribution of wealth. Don’t worry about the scarcity of people, but only beware of uneasiness in the territory. If the wealth is evenly distributed, there’s no poverty. If the people live in harmony, they won’t feel the scarcity of people. If there’s peace in the territory, there’s no danger of losing the state.