Volume Five: Those Years When I Was the Prime Minister
Little Black Room1
Huining Palace.
Wen Nuan looked at the imperial guard by the door whose cover was blown and sighed, “Their professional competence is really lacking.”
System: 【Never mind their professional competence, how do you plan to deal with the rising blackening value right now?】
Wen Nuan said flatly, “Provoke her a little.”
【Provoke her a little?】 the System said, astonished. 【How?】
Wen Nuan stood up, walked out of Huining Palace, and headed toward Qianyang Palace. “I plan to go wander the world.”
The System was shocked: 【What are you going to do? Are you not going to bother with the blackening value anymore?】
It truly couldn’t understand Wen Nuan’s operations in this world. “Of course I’m going to bother with it.”
Wen Nuan walked slowly along the palace path. “Aren’t I on my way to bother with it right now?”
【Give me a straight answer. Is there any hope of eliminating Sheng Tingwan’s blackening value?】 The System’s heart felt empty.
Wen Nuan looked at the main gates of Qianyang Palace before her and chuckled. “Of course there’s hope.”
Sheng Tingwan hadn’t slept the entire night.
She sat dazedly on the edge of the bed, her eyes vacant and lost. Even though the sky was already bright, the scattered sunlight still couldn’t find its way into her ink-black pupils.
Last night, Wen Nuan must have discovered I was pretending to be drunk. She’s so intelligent, how could she not have seen through my little tricks?
Her approach, her touch, her intimacy—none of it received even a sliver of a response from Wen Nuan.
Wen Nuan had watched her wanton behavior with cold indifference, as if watching a joke.
Sheng Tingwan had thought that as long as she didn’t say it outright, as long as she didn’t speak the truth, she could continue to play dumb, treating it all as a drunken dream. Once she was sober, she could continue to laugh and talk in front of Wen Nuan.
That would be fine. As long as I pretend not to know anything, it’ll be fine. Sheng Tingwan repeated this over and over, trying to convince herself to believe this extremely fragile and hypocritical lie.
Sheng Tingwan lay on the bed and closed her eyes. There wasn’t a trace of sleepiness in her. Her head was splitting, yet her mind was exceptionally clear.
Her mind was filled with Wen Nuan’s beautiful smile, and also her cold and calm expression from last night. The moonlight couldn’t compare to the coldness in her eyes.
The fact that Wen Nuan wanted to wander the world left a knot in Sheng Tingwan’s heart.
If Wen Nuan left again, Sheng Tingwan truly didn’t know where she would go to find her.
She was immensely capable and full of stratagems. If she wanted to hide, no one would be able to find a trace of her. Back then, she had searched for her for a full three years. If she hadn’t appeared of her own accord, she might still not have found her even now.
So, if Wen Nuan wanted to leave and continue to roam the four seas, what about her?
What was she supposed to do?
The sound of footsteps came from outside Qianyang Palace.
At this hour, the palace attendants and maids of Qianyang Palace had not yet returned. Sheng Tingwan’s original thoughts had been wonderful: if she and Wen Nuan could be moved by passion for a moment and journey to Wu Mountain together2, she was worried someone might disturb them, so she had dismissed everyone from Qianyang Palace.
And the footsteps at this moment were very clear, walking step by step into the hall.
Sheng Tingwan thought it was Lu Yan returning. Still in no mood to sleep, she got up and walked out of the hall. She lifted her gaze to the empty courtyard. The person who had come was, unexpectedly, Wen Nuan.
A trace of surprise and confusion flashed in Sheng Tingwan’s eyes. She quickly put on a dazed look of someone just waking up from a drunken stupor, looked at Wen Nuan with a muddled expression, and said in a hoarse voice, “Why are you here?”
Seeing her looking like she had just woken from a hangover, Wen Nuan said, “I came to bid you farewell.”
Sheng Tingwan was utterly shocked, her pupils dilating slightly. “What… what do you mean?”
What does she mean, bid farewell?
Is Wen Nuan planning to leave?
Thinking about it now, Wen Nuan was currently just a commoner with no official position. She was no longer her Lord Prime Minister and had no way to remain in the imperial palace to keep her company.
If she was determined to leave, who could keep her here?
Wen Nuan repeated herself. “Today, I came specifically to bid you farewell. My body has now fully recovered, so I plan to continue wandering the four seas.”
Sheng Tingwan’s eyelashes lowered as she said faintly, “Is there a date of return?”
The corners of Wen Nuan’s lips lifted slightly as she feigned confusion. “…The date of return is not yet set.”
The date of return is not yet set.
In other words, it was possible she might never return.
Didn’t that mean that Sheng Tingwan would never be able to see Wen Nuan again?
Three years. A full three years. How many three-year periods does a person have in their life?
Was she going to leave for another three years?
Or perhaps thirty years, or a lifetime?!
Sheng Tingwan looked at Wen Nuan and said, “Is the world outside really that wonderful?”
Are you that eager to leave the capital city, to leave her?
Why don’t you want to stay in the capital?
Power, money, even men—as long as she wanted it, she was willing to give it to her, just hoping she would stay by her side.
Wen Nuan smiled faintly. “The world outside is very exciting. One can encounter many fun things and interesting people. Your Majesty can often conduct private visits in disguise in the future to experience the local customs and traditions of various places.”
Fun things and interesting people.
Interesting people.
Interesting people?
Could it be that during the three years she was away, Wen Nuan met someone she liked?
Is that why she’s so eager to leave the capital?
Fang Minghe had said that Wen Nuan’s injuries would require at least three months of recuperation. Now, only a month had passed. Was she that anxious to leave?
Sheng Tingwan clenched her fists, her eyes deep and dark, her voice faint. “In such a hurry… to leave?”
Wen Nuan lowered her lashes and smiled. “Not in a hurry. I’ll just be setting off in the next few days.”
“Then tonight… let me give you a farewell banquet,” Sheng Tingwan said.
A dark gleam flashed in Wen Nuan’s eyes as her thin lips parted slightly. “Alright.”
As soon as she said it, Wen Nuan turned and left without a shred of sentiment.
Sheng Tingwan watched Wen Nuan’s departing back, her jet-black eyes growing deeper and deeper, like a bottomless, dark pool where no emotions could be seen.
Like a rotting swamp, hiding filth and grime.
Sheng Tingwan walked out of Qianyang Palace and headed toward the Imperial Medical Hall.
Wen Nuan sat quietly in Huining Palace until the sky had grown dark, until she saw Lu Yan walk in through the door.
She chuckled softly and murmured, “It’s here.”
The System was surprised: 【What’s here?】
Wen Nuan said with calm composure, “The retribution is here.”
Lu Yan walked to the entrance and bowed. “Lord Prime Minister, Her Majesty requests your presence. A banquet has been set up in the imperial garden to see you off.”
Wen Nuan stood up and followed Lu Yan to the imperial garden. The garden was completely empty. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single palace maid or attendant, only Sheng Tingwan sitting in the Shangqiu Pavilion. On the table in the pavilion, food and wine were already laid out.
Lu Yan escorted her to the Shangqiu Pavilion and then turned and left.
At sunset, the white snow and the evening glow descended together. The imperial garden was so quiet that one could only hear the sound of falling snow.
Wen Nuan walked into the pavilion. The light gauze curtains around it slid down, completely enclosing the pavilion, making it seem airtight.
Wen Nuan looked at the dishes before her and smiled. “I didn’t expect you to cook for me personally.”
Sheng Tingwan said, “Aren’t you very fond of eating the food I make?”
Indeed.
Wen Nuan loved fine food, so naturally, her tastes were a bit particular. She had eaten all the delicacies in the capital.
Sheng Tingwan had probably discovered her love for fine food, so she had specifically learned to cook, spoiling her palate. Although Wen Nuan ate food made by others and sometimes found it delicious, the food that best suited her heart’s desire was what Sheng Tingwan made. In the past, she didn’t understand. She thought Sheng Tingwan was afraid of her—afraid she would seize power, afraid she would usurp the throne, afraid she would kill her.
That was why she used food to secure a guarantee for herself, to make her feel that she was still of some use to her.
Looking at it now, Sheng Tingwan must have liked her even back then.
Isn’t there a saying?
If you want to conquer a person, you must first conquer their stomach.
Wen Nuan took a bite and smiled. “It’s still the same taste, it hasn’t changed.”
Still delicious.
“If it’s delicious, then eat more. If you like it,” Sheng Tingwan served her some food, “as long as you say you want to eat, I will cook for you.”
Wen Nuan’s hand paused for a moment. She teased, “Your Majesty, that sentence brings great joy to my heart. It’s a good thing I’m a woman. If I were a man, I would want to marry Your Majesty on the spot.”
Sheng Tingwan’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She feigned curiosity and said, “Wen Nuan, what do you think of two men falling in love, or two women falling in love?”
“I believe that love is not divided by gender, but depends only on a true heart.”
A trace of hope flashed in Sheng Tingwan’s eyes. “Then, do you have someone you like?”
Wen Nuan joked, “What? Is Your Majesty planning to find me a marriage match?”
Sheng Tingwan smiled. “I saw you were in a hurry to leave the capital, so I thought the person you like is waiting for you.”
“Your Majesty thinks I have someone I like?”
“Don’t you?” Sheng Tingwan raised her eyes.
Wen Nuan took a sip of wine. “If I have someone I like, will Your Majesty bless me?”
Sheng Tingwan didn’t speak, but poured Wen Nuan another cup of wine. “Try the new clear wine brewed by the palace’s wine master. This wine is named He Chou.”
Wen Nuan was surprised. “Why is it called He Chou3?”
Sheng Tingwan clinked her cup against hers. “Because… where is there a place that does not provoke sorrow?”
Wen Nuan tilted her head back and drained the wine in her cup. Her gaze grew a little unfocused. She laughed loudly, “This wine is sweet and clear upon entry, with a mellow flavor. A good wine.”
Seeing her finish it, Sheng Tingwan smiled faintly. “If you like it, drink more. I will accompany you until we are both drunk.”
Wen Nuan’s lips curved. “Alright.”
One pot of wine was finished in half a shichen4. Sheng Tingwan watched as Wen Nuan finished the last cup, her limpid eyes gradually growing hazy and unclear, before she collapsed onto the table.
Sheng Tingwan threw the wine pot into the lake outside the Shangqiu Pavilion. That wine pot was called a Mandarin Duck Pot5; it could hold two different types of wine. The one she drank was He Chou wine, while the one Wen Nuan drank was the He Chou wine she wanted her to drink.
She looked at the already unconscious Wen Nuan, her eyes gradually becoming sinister and crazed.
They were even somewhat twisted. Her obsession was too deep, making her hysterical, unable to resist, and in the end, it only intensified.
Wen Nuan was her stubborn and bone-deep desire, her unobtainable craving.
The moment Wen Nuan lost consciousness, she heard the System wailing that the female lead’s blackening value had risen again, and it also took the opportunity to curse her eighteen generations of ancestors.
In response to this, Wen Nuan planned to look for the complaint button after she woke up.
Her head was heavy and groggy, as if tied to a massive boulder. She wanted to lift her head but was instantly dragged back down.
Wen Nuan opened her eyes and looked around at the familiar palace decor.
Qianyang Palace.
Wen Nuan strained to lift her eyes and saw that the sky outside was still dark and heavy. She was momentarily confused.
Could it be that I wasn’t unconscious for very long?
The System said calmly: 【You were unconscious for three days and three nights. Are you happy?】
Wen Nuan raised an eyebrow, keenly detecting a trace of excitement in the System’s calm tone. “Tongzi6, you seem a little excited?”
【….】 the System denied it. 【I am not.】
“System, you went silent.”
The System stopped pretending and giggled: 【…Alright, I am indeed a little excited.】
Imprisonment play, it’s just too stimulating.
Wen Nuan naturally knew what it was thinking and rolled her eyes at it in resignation. She wanted to get up, but the moment she lifted her head, it fell back onto the pillow.
“Run a check. What kind of drug did Sheng Tingwan give me?” Wen Nuan felt that apart from her mind having some consciousness, the other parts of her body might as well not exist.
Most importantly, she could open her mouth but couldn’t speak. Right now, she could only converse with the System through her consciousness.
【Alright,】 the System activated. 【Scanning and detecting now.】
【The drug the female lead gave you is called Tendon-Softening Powder.】 The System finished its detection. 【The effect is very obvious: it makes your entire body sore and weak. As for why you can’t speak, the female lead was probably afraid you’d run, so she used a larger dose, causing your tongue to lack strength and making you unable to talk.】
“…Alright.” Wen Nuan accepted it calmly.
During this time, Fang Minghe had not yet returned to Xizhou in order to nurse her body back to health. Wen Nuan figured this Tendon-Softening Powder was probably something Fang Minghe had concocted.
System: 【I can neutralize it. Do you want me to?】
Wen Nuan shook her head. “Why neutralize the poison? Like you said, imprisonment play is so stimulating.”
【….Calling you crooked and unorthodox was really the right call.】 the System sighed.
“You too, you too.”
【By the way, what did you mean three days ago when you said ‘retribution’?】
Wen Nuan tentatively tried to move her fingers and found she couldn’t. She sighed. “Back then, I drugged You Jiayi. Isn’t this considered retribution?”
In fact, she could have guessed it. If Sheng Tingwan wanted to keep her, she would either have to take the initiative to say she liked her, or she would use some special means to forcefully trap her, such as drugging her.
After all, using force or suppressing her with imperial power would be useless against her.
【It’s not,】 the System’s lips curled. 【This is just ordinary Tendon-Softening Powder. It doesn’t have much effect on your body or consciousness. The one you gave You Jiayi was a potent aphrodisiac. A single drop could make a person sink into desire, unable to extricate themselves. How can these two drugs be the same?】
Wen Nuan watched Sheng Tingwan slowly walk toward her, the dim light of the bedchamber hiding the curve of her lips very well.
She gave a wicked smile. “Even if Sheng Tingwan gave me a potent aphrodisiac, are you sure the one who would suffer would be me?”
The System had an epiphany, then berated her: 【You animal!】
Wen Nuan chuckled lightly. “You’re too kind, too kind.”
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