When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 64

Volume Three: Those Years I Was a Wangye

A storm is coming

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Fang Shangwei looked at the already repaired dam, and the worry that had been weighing on her heart finally eased. Originally, she hadn’t wanted to repair this breached dam, planning to use it as an opportunity to cry and complain a bit when Xian Wang came for inspection, hoping to gain some sympathy.

But for some reason, a trace of anxiety she couldn’t shake lingered in her heart. She always felt that Xian Wang’s inspection this time wasn’t as relaxed and casual as it seemed on the surface.

Better safe than sorry.

Fang Shangwei’s mind was uneasy. Startled awake in the night, she immediately sent people to work through the night to finish repairing the Weng River dam. Regardless of the actual quality of the repairs or whether it could truly withstand a flood surge, the superficial effort had to be perfect, so no one could see anything amiss.

She already had complete control over Wangfu City. With that good-for-nothing Xian Wang trying to investigate the hidden truth behind the flood disaster, she feared he might have the life to inspect but not to return to Jiajing.

“I hear there’s another heavy rain coming tomorrow. Will this dam hold?” Lai Yi asked, watching the workers add sand and wood chips to the dam.

Recently, the sky above Wangfu City remained heavily overcast, with not a sliver of light penetrating through, as if Heaven was holding back a massive downpour that could turn the world upside down in an instant.

Fang Shangwei’s eyes were dark. She said softly, “We’ll deal with tomorrow’s matters tomorrow. Xian Wang will inspect the dam repairs and the Weng River’s water level regulation tomorrow. Let’s first do what’s in front of us well, so Xian Wang can give a good report to Her Majesty the Emperor.”

Lai Yi was still a little worried. “What if Xian Wang sees something is wrong?”

It wasn’t that she was being overly anxious, but this dam looked very unreliable. From a distance, it might pass, but if one looked closely, they could definitely see the problems.

Fang Shangwei glanced sideways at Lai Yi. “There will be an extremely heavy rainstorm tomorrow. Countless people will die in the floods then. Natural disasters and man-made calamities are unavoidable. We do our best, and the rest can only be left to Heaven to decide, don’t you think?”

Lai Yi’s eyes widened, and she was dumbstruck. “Prefect Fang, you truly are resourceful!”

“We can’t control Heaven’s moods, can we?” A sinister glint flashed in Fang Shangwei’s eyes.

Lai Yi thought for a moment, still somewhat worried. “What if it doesn’t rain tomorrow after all? And Xian Wang is supposed to return to Jiajing today after the inspection. If Xian Wang sees the problem then, and Heaven doesn’t send rain, we can’t openly…”

She made a throat-slitting gesture, her eyes vicious.

Fang Shangwei patted her, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. “Recently, because the disaster situation in Wangfu City has been hard to control, haven’t there been quite a few cases of refugees fleeing the city, becoming bandits, blocking official roads, and robbing and killing people for money?”

“But those are all refugees who lack the strength to even tie up a chicken. How could they possibly attack Xian Wang, who has over a dozen guards?”

She had carefully observed the dozen or so guards accompanying Xian Wang; they all had some martial arts skills. If they attacked rashly, both sides would suffer heavy losses, and it would easily expose them.

“When I say Wangfu City refugees, do they necessarily have to be Wangfu City refugees?” Fang Shangwei looked up, gazing towards the outskirts of the North Gate.

Lai Yi followed her gaze to the outskirts of the North Gate and instantly understood. “Prefect Fang, brilliant!”

“We are friends who share glory and disgrace together. We share wealth and honor, and when there’s trouble…” Fang Shangwei’s eyes gradually darkened, “…of course, we bear it together.”

The guards Xu Wenlu had given her were strictly guarding all around the residence. The people Lai Yi wanted to plant inside had all been stopped outside, unable to infiltrate. Currently, the only people inside the residence sent by Lai Yi were two young men, but Wen Nuan had tossed them aside and had them watched.

Although it was already the hour of the Dragon¹, not a trace of daylight could be seen. Dense clouds hung over Wangfu City without rain, dark clouds piled layer upon layer, imposing and eerie, truly presenting a scene of “the wind sweeping through the tower heralding a coming storm².”

There was a knock on the door. Wen Nuan got up, sat on the edge of the bed, and called out, “Come in.”

A person dressed in black stealthily pushed open the door and walked in. Arriving in front of Wen Nuan, they removed their mask, revealing none other than Ji Chenwei.

“Well?” Wen Nuan tapped her fingers, a little unaccustomed to not having a fan in her hand.

The folding fan Lin Tinghan had given her had fallen into Mingxin Lake and was soaked through and ruined, which was truly a pity.

She had thought of asking Lin Tinghan for another one, but with so many things happening recently, she hadn’t had a chance to ask. She figured that once this matter was over, she would definitely have Lin Tinghan make her another one.

Ji Chenwei said indignantly, “This subordinate has been hiding and observing the construction work on the Weng River dam. I discovered that the workers are mixing wood chips and sand into the mud slurry used for repairing the dam, filling in the damaged stone slabs and wooden stakes. With such repair work, if it experiences another heavy rain, it will still collapse and breach. They are simply deceiving you right under your nose, Wangye, cutting corners³, being sly, and passing off shoddy work as quality!”

“It’s fine. After we deal with them today, you can take people to properly repair the Weng River dam. The rain today will gradually get heavier, and Wangfu City will face another downpour.”

Ji Chenwei nodded. “Yes, Wangye.”

Wen Nuan saw she was still in her stealth attire and waved her hand. “Go change your clothes. In a little while, Fang Shangwei will be inviting This King for the inspection.”

Ji Chenwei stood up. “Alright, Wangye.”

“Ruilin will stay at the residence and look after Qi Hanrong. I’ll leave a few guards to protect them. You and Tinghan will come with me. Remember not to wear light-colored clothes, or they won’t look good if they get stained with blood.”

A corner of Ji Chenwei’s mouth curled up. “Alright.”

There was a knock on the main gate of the residence. Fang Shangwei and Lai Yi had personally come to invite Xian Wang to inspect Wangfu City’s post-disaster reconstruction and the Weng River dam repairs.

Ji Chenwei glanced at the two of them. “Your Excellencies, please wait a moment. Her Highness is not yet awake. As you know, Her Highness is extremely worried about the city’s disaster situation, so much so that she cannot sleep at night and can only fall asleep around the hour of the Rat⁴ every day. These past few days have truly exhausted our King.”

Fang Shangwei smiled faintly. “This humble official understands. Xian Wang’s concern for the suffering of the common people is a sign of her immense benevolence.”

Seeing Ji Chenwei turn to knock on the door, Lai Yi rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, right. I heard Xian Wang spends every night holding beauties, singing and dancing in revelry. Worried about the disaster and unable to sleep? This Xian Wang is truly a good-for-nothing.”

Fang Shangwei scoffed. “Isn’t that just fine?”

The two exchanged a subtle look.

Beauty in her arms, singing and dancing in revelry – these were rumors Wen Nuan had deliberately spread to make the two of them lower their guard against her.

Ji Chenwei knocked on the door. “Wangye, Prefect Fang and Commander Lai request an audience.”

After a moment of silence, those outside the room heard a sleepy voice complain.

“Alright, alright! If you wake This King’s beauty, This King will kill you.”

Ji Chenwei immediately said humbly, “This lowly one was wrong, this lowly one was wrong.”

She glanced at Fang Shangwei and Lai Yi. “Wangye, then Prefect Fang and Commander Lai…”

“Let them wait! This King is getting dressed! What’s the rush?!” an angry shout came from inside the room.

Fang Shangwei immediately responded, “Wangye, please take your time. This humble official wouldn’t dare rush you, wouldn’t dare.”

Lai Yi quickly added, “Yes, yes, Wangye, take your time. This humble official is willing to wait.”

Inside the room.

Wen Nuan and Lin Tinghan were sitting at the table, observing the situation outside.

“We should go out now.” Wen Nuan looked at Lin Tinghan’s clothes and smiled. “Your clothes today suit you very well.”

Lin Tinghan stood up. The clothes she wore today were given to her by Wen Nuan. Although she didn’t know why Wen Nuan had given her clothes, she presumed it was to help her better disguise herself as a young man.

It was a jade-green ’emerald mist’ long gown with a water-green skirt, draped with a light gauze shawl.

Her shoulders looked as if carved, her waist slender. Paired with her expressive auspicious phoenix eyes and the bewitching tear mole at the corner of her eye, she was stunningly beautiful, with a captivating charm.

Lin Tinghan smiled faintly. Just as she was about to go out with Wen Nuan, she saw Wen Nuan stop at the doorway, unmoving. Puzzled, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Nuan turned around and said seriously, “Something’s missing.”

Lin Tinghan was confused. “What’s missing?”

Wen Nuan touched her own neck, then looked at Lin Tinghan’s neck. “Don’t you think our necks are lacking something?”

The System chuckled: 【Aiyo, you sure know how to have fun, huh.】

“People have to grow, don’t they?” Wen Nuan said self-righteously. “I’m just doing this so I don’t give the game away⁵ in front of the enemy.”

The System snorted: 【Listen to you talk nonsense.】

Lin Tinghan immediately understood the implication in Wen Nuan’s words. Her face remained calm, but the tips of her ears quietly turned red. “What… do you want to do?”

Wen Nuan feigned distress. “Now that Fang Shangwei and Lai Yi know that you and I have nightly revelries, if we go out now and they find no trace of said ‘nightly revelries’ on either of us, it will definitely make them suspicious, right?”

Lin Tinghan’s fingertips curled. “Th… then what?”

Wen Nuan suggested, “How about you give my neck a couple of kisses, or I give your neck a couple of kisses? Which one can you accept?”

Her original intention was to kiss on the lips, but on second thought, if she was too aggressive and scared Lin Tinghan, it wouldn’t be good. So, she had to settle for second best and go for the neck.

Lin Tinghan clenched her fists, her heart pounding like thunder.

She felt neither option was good.

If Wen Nuan kissed her neck, she definitely wouldn’t be able to restrain herself; she might not even be able to walk out of this room.

If she were to kiss Wen Nuan’s neck, she still wouldn’t be able to control her own desires. If she exposed herself like that in front of Wen Nuan, how would the two of them face each other afterward?

This choice was too difficult for Lin Tinghan.

Wen Nuan was constantly watching Lin Tinghan’s emotional changes. Seeing her clench her fists with an extremely troubled expression, she figured Lin Tinghan must be very unwilling to do such a thing with her.

It made sense, she thought. Two women hugging and kissing each other’s necks – she would gladly enjoy it, but for Lin Tinghan, it might be something that shattered her worldview⁶.

“Forget it, I was just teasing you.” Wen Nuan didn’t want to force Lin Tinghan. Let’s take it slow.

She raised her hand and pinched her own neck until bluish-purple marks appeared. “See, this will do.”

Lin Tinghan breathed a sigh of relief, but deep down, she still felt a little disappointed and regretful.

Seeing how skilled Wen Nuan’s technique was, a trace of annoyance welled up in her heart, and her tone was sharp. “You knew all along this would work, so you were deliberately teasing me just now, weren’t you?”

“…” Wen Nuan was stunned when Lin Tinghan suddenly got angry. Just as she was about to explain, she saw Lin Tinghan push open the door with a cold face and walk out.

Outside the room, everyone heard the door open and looked towards the sound.

They saw a beauty in emerald green walk out looking unhappy, followed by Xian Wang, who was constantly smiling apologetically and trying to coax her.

A flash of amazement crossed Fang Shangwei’s eyes. She had heard Lai Yi say that the beauty Xian Wang brought this time was an unparalleled worldly beauty, and seeing her now, she truly looked like a celestial being.

Ji Chenwei saw Xian Wang and Lin Tinghan come out. Lin Tinghan looked annoyed, while Her Highness kept saying she was wrong.

She noticed that Wen Nuan’s originally fair and flawless neck inexplicably had many bluish-purple marks and exclaimed, “Wangye, what happened to your neck? Was there an assassin?”

Fang Shangwei and Lai Yi knew what those marks were with just one glance and smiled subtly.

Wen Nuan frowned. “…You look like an assassin to This King! These were left by This King’s most favored Attendant Lord.”

She pulled Lin Tinghan’s slender waist towards her with one arm. Seeing Lin Tinghan’s body suddenly stiffen, she felt a little gloomy inside.

Is she this resistant to my touch?

Ji Chenwei was completely confused and looked at Lin Tinghan. “Why did you bite Her Highness? Look what you did to Her Highness’s neck! What a waste of such fair skin.”

Lin Tinghan’s eyes narrowed. “…Aren’t you being a bit nosy, Official Ji?”

Ji Chenwei: “…The Attendant Lord bit well! A great bite!”

Discretion is the better part of valor⁷; she was a little afraid of this woman, Lin Tinghan.

Wen Nuan: “…”

Ji Chenwei’s sycophantic look was freaking comparable to the System’s.

System: 【…】

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The author has something to say:

Wen Nuan (touching her neck): I still feel like something’s missing.

Female Lead: …

System: I think you’re just senseless.

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