When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 106

Volume Five: Those Years When I Was the Prime Minister

Osmanthus Cake

How to test it?

First, Sheng Tingwan had to determine the nature of Ling Wen Nuan’s feelings for her. Was it the reverence between a ruler and her subject, the mutual appreciation between good friends, or the affection between lovers?

After all, she had already confirmed what her own feelings for Ling Wen Nuan were.

She liked her. She was deeply in love with her.

This love that could not see the light of day had been hidden in her heart for several years. Once, she had not begged for mutual love with Ling Wen Nuan, thinking only to be able to accompany her for a long, long time—to watch her slender figure, to see her face and her smile, to hear her pretend to be angry and call her “Her Majesty the Empress Regnant”—and she would have been content.

Sheng Tingwan had a small, wicked pleasure in her heart: she liked to provoke Wen Nuan, who would then angrily call her “Her Majesty the Empress Regnant.” That appearance of being cold yet knowingly helpless—every time she saw it, she felt that this version of Wen Nuan was so bewitching.

She thought, if we were entwined in a deathly embrace upon the bed, lost in the throes of passion, and I heard Wen Nuan gasp out ‘Her Majesty the Empress Regnant,’ what a moving sight that would be? It would surely be something one could never get enough of, impossible to break away from.

At sunset, the procession returning to the capital reached Qingchao City¹, only half a day’s journey from the capital.

With only half a day left, Sheng Tingwan wanted to press on, but Wen Nuan requested a stop for one shichen to rest briefly before continuing back to the capital.

“Why?” Sheng Tingwan asked, her brows tightly furrowed.

The procession stopped outside Qingchao City. The road back to the capital did not require entering the city; they could take the Shanjing Official Road² directly to the capital’s southern gate.

Wen Nuan leaned against the carriage. The curtain was pulled up to let in some air. She looked into the distance. “Let’s rest for a bit. We’ve been rushing too much. The soldiers can’t take it.”

From Xizhou to the capital, Sheng Tingwan had constantly demanded they travel as fast as possible. The ten thousand soldiers had spent a full eight or nine days traveling almost without sleep to reach Qingchao City.

If Wen Nuan hadn’t requested the procession to stop and go after she woke up, a pile of soldiers would have likely been exhausted to death on the road back.

Sheng Tingwan also knew she had been acting rashly out of desperation, making the soldiers march frantically with her, consuming a great deal of their physical and mental energy. She had heard from Lu Yan that many soldiers had fainted from exhaustion due to the rushed journey.

Even Fang Minghe and Shen Zhijin had suffered from physical exhaustion several times and fainted. Fang Minghe was in better condition; not like Shen Zhijin, who was sprawled in his carriage every day, looking for all the world like he was about to ascend to the heavens.

The male lead’s frail little body had been thoroughly tormented.

“Alright,” Sheng Tingwan acquiesced.

As everyone rested and reorganized on the spot, Sheng Tingwan went to find Fang Minghe to ask about Wen Nuan’s physical condition.

Wen Nuan looked towards Qingchao City. Seeing the figure of Wang Zhao in the distance, she immediately waved her hand. “Vice General Wang.”

Wang Zhao dismounted and walked to Wen Nuan’s side, handing her an item wrapped in oil-paper. “Prime Minister, this is what you wanted. This subordinate general has bought it for you.”

Wen Nuan sniffed it. The scent was right. She smiled. “Many thanks, Vice General Wang.”

Wang Zhao was overwhelmed by the favor. “It is this subordinate general’s utmost honor to be of service to the Prime Minister.”

“Vice General Wang, you should go rest first. I have made you all too tired these past few days. I truly cannot bear it.” Wen Nuan had seen everyone’s effort and support.

Wang Zhao waved his hand. “The Prime Minister’s words are too kind to this subordinate general. As long as the Prime Minister is safe and sound, this subordinate general would willingly give my life.”

After the battle at Fenggui Gorge, Ling Wen Nuan had become like a deity, the God of War for their Tianyuan Kingdom’s army, the person they respected and admired most in their hearts.

Wen Nuan smiled faintly. “Vice General Wang, you are a man of great loyalty and righteousness. I am deeply impressed.”

Wang Zhao scratched his head, smiled shyly, and turned to sit with the other soldiers to recuperate.

Lu Yan cooked a pot of plain congee, ladled a bowl, and brought it to Wen Nuan’s carriage. “Prime Minister, it is time to eat.”

Wen Nuan’s condition was still very weak. For the past few days, she had only been drinking a bowl of plain congee to sate her hunger, as specifically requested by Fang Minghe.

“Can I not drink it?”

I’ve been drinking plain congee every day for so long, my mouth is about to fade to nothing.

Lu Yan smiled. “No, you cannot, Prime Minister.”

Wen Nuan feigned a fierce look. “You dare disobey my command!”

Lu Yan pretended not to see it and held out the bowl of congee. “Will the Prime Minister drink it yourself? Or shall this servant call Her Majesty over to feed you personally?”

Wen Nuan: “….”

Well now, Lu Yan has gotten bold, actually daring to threaten me!?

However—

Wen Nuan’s eyes shifted, and she lifted her chin. “Then go call Her Majesty over to feed me personally.”

“….” Lu Yan was briefly silent, then set down the bowl. “Prime Minister, please wait a moment. This… servant will go now.”

The Prime Minister has truly reached the peak of perfection. I cannot win against the Prime Minister.

But then again, Her Majesty the Empress Regnant probably can’t win against the Prime Minister either.

---

“What?” Sheng Tingwan listened to Lu Yan’s words in disbelief. “What did you say?”

Lu Yan reported truthfully, “The Prime Minister said she wants Your Majesty to personally feed her congee.”

Sheng Tingwan felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her voice turning dry. “She… she wants me to feed her congee?”

Lu Yan nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sheng Tingwan: “….”

Fang Minghe, who overheard, was inwardly shocked at the Prime Minister’s profound skill, but his expression remained placid as he conspicuously adopted an air of “hear no evil, see no evil.”

Sheng Tingwan walked towards Wen Nuan’s carriage. The closer she got, the more excited and nervous her heart became.

Why did she ask me to feed her congee?

Is she in so much pain that she doesn’t have the strength to hold the bowl?

Or is it that she wants me, specifically, to feed her?

“What are you thinking about?”

A question sounded by her ear. Lost in thought, Sheng Tingwan didn’t pay much attention to who was asking and blurted out, “Why does she want me to feed her congee?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Sheng Tingwan abruptly realized who had just spoken.

She looked up and met a pair of eyes as brilliant as a field of stars. She saw the corner of Wen Nuan’s mouth curl up. “Because I’m too lazy to move. If Your Majesty doesn’t want to feed me,”

Wen Nuan lifted her chin towards Lu Yan. “It’s not out of the question for Lu Yan to feed me.”

Lu Yan: “….”

It is out of the question!

I am not worthy of such a thing!

Sheng Tingwan’s gaze deepened as she looked at Lu Yan. “Do you want to feed Wen Nuan?”

Lu Yan waved her hands in a panic. “This servant, would not dare!”

Wen Nuan raised an eyebrow, feigning disappointment. “So it turns out I’m this unpopular. I can’t even get anyone to feed me a bowl of congee?”

Sheng Tingwan: “….”

Lu Yan: “…..”

She bowed to the two of them to take her leave and decisively turned and fled from this place of trouble.

Sheng Tingwan looked at Lu Yan as if she were a traitor, then finally rolled her eyes helplessly and picked up the bowl of congee before her.

Afraid of scalding Wen Nuan, she even blew on the spoon before saying with resignation, “Eat.”

A trace of triumph flashed in Wen Nuan’s eyes. She lowered her head and drank the spoonful of congee from the slightly trembling spoon. “Delicious.”

Sheng Tingwan watched the way her eyes curved into crescents, saw how her own reflection filled those clear pupils, and couldn’t help but think, how wonderful it would be if her reflection was always the only one there.

With a bit of a guilty conscience, she avoided Wen Nuan’s gaze and continued to feed her.

Finishing that one bowl of congee was an utter torment—mainly for Sheng Tingwan. Wen Nuan, on the other hand, enjoyed it immensely.

Just as Sheng Tingwan was about to take the empty bowl and leave, Wen Nuan grabbed her wrist. “What is it? Do you want more?”

Doesn’t she usually only have one bowl?

Is she not full now?

“Have you eaten dinner?”

Sheng Tingwan gave her a helpless look. “A certain someone had me personally feed her congee. What time did I have to eat?”

Wen Nuan picked up the oil-paper packet from the side and handed it to Sheng Tingwan. “Here, this is for you.”

“What is it?”

“Guess.”

Sheng Tingwan watched her being deliberately mysterious. She took it and, as she unwrapped it, said uncertainly, “Is it… osmanthus cake?”

The osmanthus cake was engraved with the two characters “Su Gui”³. It was from a famous dessert shop in Qingchao City that specialized in osmanthus cakes, called “Su Gui Fang.”⁴

The osmanthus cakes made by this Su Gui Fang were shaped like osmanthus flowers and smelled like them. Its specialty was using osmanthus flower pistils to make the sweet filling, so their cakes were slightly sweeter than those from other shops. They were dense and soft yet springy, and were well-loved by the public.

Sheng Tingwan was no exception; she was very fond of the osmanthus cakes from Su Gui Fang. However, Su Gui Fang’s cakes were supplied in limited quantities daily, selling only three thousand pieces each time. They were typically sold out before the Hour of the Horse⁵, and some people even pre-ordered them.

They were practically priceless and in short supply.

In the past, whenever Sheng Tingwan wanted to eat them, she would deliberately pester Ling Wen Nuan to go to Su Gui Fang’s capital branch to buy them for her, because she had discovered that Wen Nuan could always manage to buy Su Gui Fang’s osmanthus cakes, regardless of the time of day. Even if Su Gui Fang had already closed for the night, as long as she wanted them, Wen Nuan could get them for her.

Sheng Tingwan stared at the familiar osmanthus cake. Ever since Ling Wen Nuan had resigned and left her, she had not eaten an osmanthus cake from Su Gui Fang again.

Lu Yan had also bought her osmanthus cakes from Su Gui Fang, but when she ate them, she found that the taste had changed.

In truth, she knew it wasn’t the taste of the cake that had changed, but that she was eating without tasting the flavor⁶.

Seeing Sheng Tingwan just staring at the osmanthus cake without moving, Wen Nuan asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it anymore?”

She clearly remembered that Sheng Tingwan loved Su Gui Fang’s osmanthus cakes. The sweeter taste had always been the little crybaby’s favorite. In the past, she would always pester her to go to the capital branch of Su Gui Fang to buy them for her.

Now, seeing Sheng Tingwan just looking at it without touching it, Wen Nuan thought: It’s been three years. Has her taste changed that much?

“You don’t like it?” Wen Nuan asked tentatively.

Sheng Tingwan’s fingertips paused. She was at a loss for words. “When did you buy this?”

“We happened to arrive at Qingchao City, so I asked Vice General Wang to help me buy some.”

Sheng Tingwan glanced at the sky outside. “At this hour, Su Gui Fang would have closed long ago. How did Wang Zhao buy it?”

She had tolerated it in the past when Wen Nuan could buy it at any time. After all, Wen Nuan was resourceful; a mere osmanthus cake from Su Gui Fang was no challenge for her.

But now, even Wang Zhao could buy it so easily. Wasn’t that a bit unfair?!

She was the Empress Regnant of the Tianyuan Kingdom! In the past, if she sent anyone else to buy Su Gui Fang’s osmanthus cakes, unless she used her imperial authority, they would never be able to get one. That was why she always pestered Wen Nuan to buy them for her.

Wen Nuan smiled. “Vice General Wang went to buy it on my behalf, so naturally he could get it. Haven’t you always known that I can buy Su Gui Fang’s osmanthus cakes at any time?”

“Then how do you do it?”

Sheng Tingwan had long wanted to ask. This question had puzzled her for a long time.

Wen Nuan didn’t answer her first, but instead lifted her chin towards her. “Try it?”

Sheng Tingwan picked up a piece and took a bite. Her eyes flew open.

She could taste the familiar flavor from the past!

Sheng Tingwan found it laughable. Her previous inability to taste was simply because the person by her side was gone. Now that she was back by her side, the lost flavors had all returned.

“…It’s delicious,” Sheng Tingwan took another bite. “Very delicious.”

Wen Nuan raised her hand and wiped away the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. “If it’s delicious, then eat more.”

“What if… I want to eat it again in the future?”

Wen Nuan smiled. “If you want to eat it again in the future, I will always buy it for you.”

Sheng Tingwan lowered her gaze and finished the piece. “You still haven’t told me why you can always buy Su Gui Fang’s osmanthus cakes.”

Wen Nuan picked up an osmanthus cake and took a bite. “Because I am the owner of Su Gui Fang. If the owner wants to eat an osmanthus cake, is there any reason she couldn’t?”

Sheng Tingwan: “….”

She had imagined many reasons, but she had never expected this one.

“Why would you open a dessert shop that makes osmanthus cakes?” Sheng Tingwan asked, perplexed.

The dignified Prime Minister of the Tianyuan Kingdom secretly opening a dessert shop—no matter how one heard it, it sounded like something out of the Arabian Nights⁷.

Wen Nuan looked at Sheng Tingwan and said helplessly, “Wasn’t it because a certain child was crying and shouting every day for very sweet osmanthus cakes? The ones made in the palace weren’t sweet enough and didn’t have a good texture. To satisfy a certain child’s preference, I had no choice but to open a dessert shop myself. I didn’t expect it to become so popular.”

Su Gui Fang was just a dessert shop she had opened out of boredom to deal with Sheng Tingwan. Since its opening, Su Gui Fang had only ever sold one type of pastry: the osmanthus cake that Sheng Tingwan loved to eat.

Wen Nuan had never expected that Su Gui Fang would become extremely popular because of its unique osmanthus cakes, with branches opening in every city across the Tianyuan Kingdom.

Sheng Tingwan looked at Wen Nuan in disbelief. In that instant, her heart began to beat violently and scorchingly, the sound deafening.

She had fallen in love with a god, a god who could fulfill all her wishes.

It was just that the wish deep in her heart was too vile and lowly.

She did not dare to speak it, for fear of polluting the god.

---

---