Blame the Villain – Chapter 67

Villainous Crown Prince (9)

Wang Mian felt a bit suspicious.

The destinies of these several handsome youths are closely related to the Wang family, and Wang Mian didn’t think they had the courage to betray the Wang family.

Sure enough, news came shortly after—

Several handsome youths inexplicably overslept the day before, and upon waking up, found that they had developed rashes on their faces. The sudden appearance of these rashes was quite mysterious. The youths were afraid of spreading the rash to others and decided to seek treatment at the academy before going down the mountain.

Wang Mian did not doubt Nie Qianyu’s ability to use any means. After all, among these handsome youths were skilled martial artists, and Nie Qianyu did not have the power to deceive them and drug them unnoticed.

Could it really be that heaven had decreed this pretty boy to be a destined person for his granddaughter?

As Wang Mian watched Nie Qianyu standing behind Song Xuyi, staring straight at Song Xuyi, he couldn’t help but have some doubts in his heart.

People of this era, more or less, believed in destiny. Even though he had some doubts in his heart, Wang Mian still couldn’t help but feel uneasy about Nie Qianyu: the more beautiful a person was, the more dangerous they could be.

Especially the way this kid looked at Xuyi when no one was around, the emotions in his eyes couldn’t be completely disguised, as if Xuyi was his possession. Wang Mian had previously thought that Nie Qianyu looked too fake, but now he felt like he was a living person. However, once Xuyi looked at him, he would return to his cold and indifferent appearance.

Therefore, under the guise of testing his knowledge, Wang Mian called Nie Qianyu into the study to give him a hard time. Wang Mian tried his best to challenge Nie Qianyu not only on academic knowledge but also on political theories and governance. He thought Nie Qianyu would be unable to withstand it, but to his surprise, this young boy had some real talent and knowledge. The more Wang Mian tested him, the more impressed he became, and after exerting a tremendous amount of effort, he finally managed to outwit Nie Qianyu.

Wang Mian finally realized at this moment: this kid was even more outstanding than he had imagined. If this kid became the Emperor of Wu Country, he would definitely be a great enemy of Lishui Country in the future!

While others might not know, Wang Mian was clearer than anyone else about the Emperor’s thoughts. Over the years, the Emperor had devoutly believed in “stabilizing the domestic situation before dealing with external threats,” focusing his efforts on dealing with the aristocratic families. Fortunately, the surrounding small countries were not prosperous, and the ruler of Wu Country was ignorant. Otherwise, the Emperor would not be able to maintain his position as a ruler, and Lishui Country would not necessarily be able to maintain its current peaceful facade.

As a hostage of a vassal state, based on Nie Qianyu’s demonstrated intelligence and ability, he could not possibly be unaware that concealing his strength was the best way for him to survive. However, he still exposed his abilities in front of Wang Mian…

After much thought, Wang Mian reluctantly admitted that there was only one reason why Nie Qianyu acted this way: he wanted to prove himself to Wang Mian.

As for proving what…

Wang Mian sighed, feeling a bit complicated. This young man probably pinpointed that Wang Mian was unwilling to harm Xuyi’s feelings, so he acted recklessly like this.

If he didn’t know about Nie Qianyu’s talents, it would be fine. But now that he had discovered Nie Qianyu’s intelligence, it was indeed difficult to find someone in this world who could match both appearance and talent like Nie Qianyu could, which was probably why Xuyi was so fond of him.

Even though Nie Qianyu had intelligence and talent, as a discarded prince of Wu Country what waves could he really stir up in Lishui?

Compared to the potential risks posed by Nie Qianyu in the future, Wang Mian cared more about his granddaughter’s happiness.

In the end, children and grandchildren would have their own fortunes. This kid didn’t seem to have ill intentions towards Xuyi. It was only at this moment that Wang Mian truly let go of his concerns and no longer thought about meddling in Song Xuyi’s marriage matters.

Song Xuyi was unaware of the private disputes between her grandfather and Wang Mian. Although she noticed that her grandfather didn’t seem to be very fond of Nie Qianyu, Song Xuyi simply didn’t have the time to care too much.

Her identity as a princess imposed too many constraints on Song Xuyi. As a princess born from the marriage alliance between a noble family and the royal family, Song Xuyi represented the peace between the two factions. Staying too long in the Wang family could easily arouse speculation among the common people, leading to unrest.

However, if she stayed in the palace, she would definitely not have the freedom to go to the fields and do things for the common people…

Therefore, Song Xuyi could only use and delay this period of time, wracking her brains to plan and seek welfare for the common people.

She had already come up with almost all the methods she could think of, so Song Xuyi temporarily set aside her worries and began to have time to improve her own life.

Watching Nie Qianyu go down the mountain, Song Xuyi remembered the promise she made to him when she sent him up the mountain—to cook delicious food for him.

Although Nie Qianyu never mentioned this after coming down the mountain, Song Xuyi considered herself a person of her word. Shortly after seeing Nie Qianyu, she went into the kitchen to start preparing.

The chef who had been with Song Xuyi on the journey by boat had already gained her trust and admiration.

Having traveled and learned various culinary styles, the chef understood the hardships of the common people and realized that what Song Xuyi did before was a matter of livelihood for the people. The chef didn’t dare to disturb Song Xuyi and waited for her to find time…

That day, when the chef saw Song Xuyi enter the kitchen, he was overjoyed and followed her, showing utmost diligence: “Princess, whatever you need, just instruct me and I’ll do it—”

Song Xuyi was not one to beat around the bush. She instructed the chef to slice beef, lamb, and fish, along with radishes, mushrooms, potato slices, and sweet potato, placing them on plates. Song Xuyi then took out two pots.

In one pot, Song Xuyi first soaked several pounds of bones in hot water, then simmered the bones for a long time, instructing the chef to constantly skim off the foam that rose to the surface. Once the bone broth had developed a rich aroma, Song Xuyi washed several stems of ginseng, added a few red dates and wolfberries, and sliced green onions, all of which were placed in the pot of broth.

In the other pot, Song Xuyi sautéed ginger slices, garlic shoots, and garlic slices, adding the chili peppers she had collected earlier, along with some peppercorns, star anise, and ginger slices. She stir-fried them together and finally poured in the bone broth.

Once both pots were cooked, a rich aroma wafted from them, tantalizing the senses.

After demonstrating once, Song Xuyi had the chef prepare several sets of pots in the same manner.

At the same time, Song Xuyi arranged several long tables in the flower-viewing pavilion next to the Wang family’s plum garden, with each table set with a pot. She invited the Wang family’s relatives to gather together…

The Wang family had become accustomed to the delicious food brought by Song Xuyi, eagerly accepting the invitation. Song Xuyi specifically seated her grandfather and Nie Qianyu at the same table to observe their reactions. However, during the banquet, both behaved normally, appearing neither particularly enthusiastic nor disdainful towards each other.

Song Xuyi realized that she had overthought things and felt relieved that Wang Mian didn’t seem to have any issues with Nie Qianyu. She then immersed herself in the feast.

People in this era were not used to eating spicy food. Initially, besides Song Xuyi, the other members of the Wang family hesitated to pick up their chopsticks and only ate the non-spicy food from the pot. On the other hand, Nie Qianyu, watching Song Xuyi enjoying her food, boldly picked up a piece of beef from the spicy pot without hesitation. However, he overestimated his tolerance for chili peppers. As soon as he tasted the beef, Nie Qianyu’s fair face noticeably turned red.

“Didn’t you see how much chili was on the beef?” Song Xuyi quickly handed Nie Qianyu some water. He drank several cups before recovering. His breathing was slightly erratic, his cheeks were flushed due to the chili, and there was even a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. The ambiguous feeling between masculinity and femininity became even more intense for a moment…

Seeing Nie Qianyu’s red-faced appearance, everyone looked at each other, even more hesitant to pick up their chopsticks.

Nie Qianyu’s eyes darkened slightly. Before long, his chopsticks once again reached for the spicy pot…

This time, after eating pork, Nie Qianyu appeared unfazed, seemingly unaffected.

The Wang family members were especially satisfied with the meal. After trying the spicy pot, Wang Mian called for the servants to bring over the rice wine from the cellar. Song Xuyi was curious and couldn’t help but try a cup. Afterwards, she behaved completely normally, continuing to eat, instructing the chef to bring more dishes, and joining the others in viewing the flowers. Only Song Xuyi knew that her head seemed to be getting dizzier…

After the meal, the guests left first, and Song Xuyi stayed a while to wait until the servants finished cleaning up.

Her body became heavier and heavier, her mind a jumble…

After everything was tidied up, Song Xuyi finally stumbled back to her separate courtyard.

Song Xuyi didn’t want to live a pampered life where everything had to be done by maidservants, so she set rules in her courtyard stating that after nightfall, the maidservants couldn’t enter. Nie Qianyu seemed to dislike being attended to even more than Song Xuyi, and he almost always refused any kind of service. As a result, Song Xuyi had never changed this rule.

Only one room in the separate courtyard was lit up.

Subconsciously, Song Xuyi pushed open the door of the room and walked in…

In the room, there was a bathtub, and before her eyes appeared a woman with loose hair, as if she had just finished bathing. The woman’s face was as beautiful as a celestial being, with a pair of beautiful eyes looking at her, filled with complex emotions flashing through them…

“Beautiful sister!” The tipsy girl felt incredibly amazed, smiling foolishly at the woman. She reached out her hand and stumbled towards where the woman was standing, but unexpectedly stepped into a puddle and tumbled to the ground—

She fell into a cool, fragrant embrace.

The beautiful sister was close by, looking at her with restrained eyes.

“Sister, you smell so good!”

Emboldened by alcohol, Song Xuyi didn’t know where she found the courage. She impulsively hugged the beautiful sister, rubbing against her until her arm accidentally touched the two soft balls. Feeling the stiffness in the beautiful sister’s body, the tipsy girl blushed belatedly and stammered apologetically, “I’m sorry, sister.”

In that instant, the beautiful sister’s gaze became extremely strange, sometimes icy and fierce, as if she was about to strike down, and other times conflicted and struggling…

Song Xuyi realized she was a bit afraid of the beautiful sister’s eyes at that moment.

Her sluggish brain struggled to function, and she finally concluded: the beautiful sister was angry because she touched her.

“Then… I’ll let you touch back?”

Facing the beautiful sister’s widened eyes, the tipsy girl unbuttoned her own clothes, taking the beautiful sister’s hand to her chest, bravely bearing her chest as if facing death—

“You touch!”

……

The author has something to say:

At this moment, Nie Qianyu: No touching! Why would I want to touch small bean sprouts!

I only see you as a friend, as a benefactor. My heart is set on revenge and I don’t like women!

Years later, Nie Qianyu: Don’t ask!

Asking will lead to extreme regret. T_T

LP Re-translated on April 11, 2024