Volume Five: Those Years When I Was the Prime Minister
Long Time No See
【The Blackening Value has decreased. The female lead’s current Blackening Value is 8.9!】 the system reported.
Wen Nuan1, lying on the bed in her campaign tent, heard the system’s notification and arched an eyebrow. “It seems she’s received the victory report.”
The war in Xizhou2 had always been a grave affliction of the heart and stomach3 for Sheng Tingwan4. Now that Wen Nuan had helped her resolve this affliction, it let her breathe a huge sigh of relief.
After the battle at Fenggui Gorge5, Wang Zhao6 and Cheng Nanfang7 led the Tianyang Kingdom’s8 100,000-strong army to storm and break through Menggui City9. At that time, Menggui City had very few troops stationed there, allowing the Tianyang Kingdom’s forces to capture it with ease.
As for the enemy forces ambushed at Fenggui Gorge, the casualties were innumerable. The Minqiu Kingdom10 and Pingzhou Kingdom11 had jointly laid an ambush with nearly 70,000 troops, but fewer than one thousand survived, all of whom were captured.
This battle gravely wounded the primal qi12 of the Minqiu and Pingzhou Kingdoms, causing the morale of the Tianyang Kingdom’s great army to soar. In the following days, they pressed on in the flush of victory, at one fell swoop retaking the previously lost Wulang City13 and Raoshui City14.
Meanwhile, Wen Nuan slept in the main tent of the military camp for a few days to recover her spirits, planning to return to the capital with Li Panxuan15 and the others when they went back to report on their duties.
The distance from Xizhou to the capital city was vast. Even by galloping on horseback without eating, drinking, or sleeping, it would take about six or seven days to reach it.
Although Wen Nuan was anxious to see Sheng Tingwan, she had no desire to die on the road. Especially since winter was approaching in Xizhou; the temperature difference between day and night was so great it could easily kill a person in the desert, leaving behind a mummified corpse.
Hearing the shouts of the soldiers drilling outside the tent, Wen Nuan noted that the Tianyang Kingdom’s army had a very strict system of camp management.
At the roll call, anyone who did not arrive by the third beat of the drum would be beheaded.
Wen Nuan heard the drum, stretched lazily, and got out of bed. The person at the entrance seemed to hear her stirring and immediately asked, “Prime Minister16, are you awake?”
It was Li Panxuan.
Hasn’t she gone to consolidate the captured cities?
“Come in,” Wen Nuan said, taking a handkerchief from the rack. She dipped it in water and wiped her face. The living conditions in a military camp were rather harsh, and Wen Nuan was, one might say, entering a village and following its customs17, making do with a simple wash.
She turned her head and saw Li Panxuan and Chang Ziqing18. “You two didn’t go to Menggui City today?”
Li Panxuan glanced at Wen Nuan, her eyes shifting evasively. “Vice General19 Wang and Vice General Cheng went. I stayed behind in the camp today to drill the soldiers.”
Wen Nuan was wiping her face and didn’t notice Li Panxuan’s odd behavior. “I didn’t realize that Great General20 Li still handles everything herself.”
“….”
Li Panxuan had to endure a few of Wen Nuan’s taunts almost every day. She didn’t dare to retort, terrified that Wen Nuan would toss her into Fenggui Gorge to be burned.
That day at Fenggui Gorge had been like a purgatory, with flames soaring to the heavens, burning for a full day and night before slowly dying down.
From that day on, the image of Ling Wen Nuan21, as if a Rakshasa22 emerging from the eighteenth layer of hell, was deeply engraved in the depths of everyone’s heart—a figure of both reverence and terror.
Chang Ziqing saw that Li Panxuan never received a kind word from Prime Minister Ling and was met daily with cold sarcasm, her words carrying a spear and a stick23. Outside, she was arrogant, wild, and looked down on everyone, but the moment she came before Prime Minister Ling, she was like an eggplant hit by frost24, instantly wilting, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
She pursed her lips slightly, stifling a laugh at Li Panxuan’s aggrieved look. “The three cities have been mostly consolidated over the past few days, so General Li doesn’t need to oversee every detail and stayed behind in the camp to drill the soldiers.”
Wen Nuan put down the handkerchief. “Now that the fighting has subsided and the victory report has reached the capital, when will you set off to return?”
Li Panxuan paused. “Prime Minister, you’re returning to the capital?”
“Am I not allowed to return?” Wen Nuan lifted her eyelids, her gaze filled with deep meaning.
Li Panxuan felt a jolt run through her body under that gaze and immediately replied, “You can, you can, you can…”
A slight smile touched the corners of Chang Ziqing’s mouth. “Prime Minister, when do you plan to depart?”
“The sooner, the better.”
Wen Nuan had no idea what the situation in the capital was like. After all, the foolish things she had done before leaving now made her quite regretful.
Now, the only way she could understand Sheng Tingwan’s actual condition was by checking the fluctuations in her Blackening Value.
The victory report reaching the capital and lowering Sheng Tingwan’s Blackening Value was, at least, a psychological comfort for Wen Nuan.
“Understood. This lower official25 will immediately arrange for an army unit to safely escort you, Prime Minister, back to the capital first.”
“Pri-Prime Minister, why don’t you stay a few more days?” When Li Panxuan heard Chang Ziqing was arranging for Ling Wen Nuan to leave first, she thought of Her Majesty the Empress Regnant’s26 order and hurriedly tried to dissuade her.
Wen Nuan’s brows furrowed slightly. “And what would I stay for? To keep fighting your wars for you? Li Panxuan, if you don’t want to be this general, you’d better say so sooner rather than later!”
Li Panxuan: “…Prime Minister, that’s not what this last general27 meant. This last general… this last general just can’t bear for the Prime Minister… to leave Xizhou so soon. This last general was also planning to… to show the Prime Minister the scenery of Xizhou.”
She furtively nudged Chang Ziqing. “Isn’t that right, Military Advisor28 Chang? Since the Prime Minister has come to Xizhou, she must see its unique scenery, right?”
Chang Ziqing looked at Li Panxuan’s expression; she was clearly hiding something. Although she didn’t know why Li Panxuan wanted Prime Minister Ling to stay, she figured it certainly couldn’t be a bad thing. Perhaps Li Panxuan wanted to rely on Prime Minister Ling and have her stay in Xizhou to help with strategy. Her eyes shifted, and she said in a warm voice, “Ah… indeed. The scenery in Xizhou is, after all, different from the sights in the capital. Why don’t you stay a few more days, Prime Minister? Let General Li show you the sights and experience the local customs of Xizhou, and then we can all set off for the capital together.”
Wen Nuan looked at Li Panxuan and raised an eyebrow. “Li Panxuan, you don’t even draft your lies. Do you take me for a fool?”
“….” Li Panxuan was riding a tiger and finding it hard to get off29, so she could only brace herself. “This last general… truly wants to show the Prime Minister the splendor of Xizhou.”
“I’ve been in Xizhou long enough. I’ve already seen the desert scenery. There’s no need for General Li to introduce it to this grass person30 again,” Wen Nuan said, then turned to Chang Ziqing. “Within two days, prepare for the return to the capital.”
When Li Panxuan heard Wen Nuan intended to leave Xizhou within two days, she sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes darting around.
She grit her teeth, suddenly dropped to her knees, and hugged Wen Nuan’s thigh, wailing, “Prime Minister, don’t go! If you go, this last general won’t know how to lead the troops into battle anymore, ahhh….”
Chang Ziqing’s eyelid twitched. “….”
Wen Nuan: “….”
A vein throbbed on her temple. “Let go!”
Li Panxuan shook her head. “I won’t! Prime Minister, please just stay a few more days, won’t you? You know this last general’s mind is slow, possessing only brute force and understanding nothing else. You, Prime Minister, are erudite and multitalented, with grand strategies and great plans. You annihilated an enemy army of fifty thousand without losing a single soldier. Such a deed is simply astounding, as if you were a celestial being! So this last general implores… implores the Prime Minister to stay and teach this last general how to lead troops into battle!”
Wen Nuan: “…..”
Chang Ziqing found Li Panxuan’s fawning display too embarrassing to watch, feeling deeply ashamed.
Wen Nuan squeezed a few words through her teeth. “…Let. Go!”
Seeing Wen Nuan’s dark expression, Li Panxuan immediately let go but remained kneeling, looking at Wen Nuan with a pitiful expression. “Prime Minister…”
That single call of “Prime Minister” was delivered with the twists and turns of nine-bend intestines31, the spitting image of a wanton, high-class courtesan from a brothel32 calling for her patron.
“Don’t call me like that!” Wen Nuan suppressed the rising nausea, unable to look directly at Li Panxuan’s display.
She thought for a moment. The situation in Xizhou had not yet been formally pacified. At worst, she would just stay a few more days; she might as well accompany the Buddha all the way to the West33.
Wen Nuan tilted her head to look at Chang Ziqing. “The fighting in Xizhou is settled. I will stay for five more days at most. If you haven’t consolidated Xizhou within five days, you might as well resign your post and yield your position.”
When Li Panxuan heard that Wen Nuan would stay for another five days, she let out a sigh of relief and replied, “Yes, yes, yes, this last general will definitely get Xizhou consolidated. Please rest assured, Prime Minister.”
“Prime Minister, the army cooks34 have already prepared the meal. This lower official has it ready for you. Would you like to eat now?” Chang Ziqing asked.
Wen Nuan patted her stomach. “Good.”
She looked at Li Panxuan, who was still kneeling. “Does General Li have further business?”
Li Panxuan immediately shook her head and waved her hands. “Nothing, nothing at all.”
“Or perhaps,” Wen Nuan said with a slight smile, “the General intends to stay and share breakfast with this grass person?”
Li Panxuan swallowed hard and immediately got to her feet. “This last general takes her leave.” Then she fled the tent, her retreating figure exuding panic and terror.
Once the two of them were out of the tent, Chang Ziqing saw that Li Panxuan was covered in a cold sweat and passed her a handkerchief. “General, why are you sweating so much?”
“I… I was scared!” Li Panxuan’s hand was still trembling as she took the handkerchief. “Do you know what I was thinking just now when I was hugging the Prime Minister’s thigh?”
“…What were you thinking?”
Li Panxuan wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and neck. “I was already planning where I wanted to be buried.”
Chang Ziqing: “…..”
She looked at Li Panxuan’s still-trembling hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Since you… respect the Prime Minister so much, how did you dare to ask her to stay?”
Chang Ziqing had wanted to say “are so afraid of,” but out of consideration for Li Panxuan’s minuscule amount of self-esteem, she considerately switched to a different adjective.
The two walked to the kitchen tent. The army cooks had just finished preparing the food and were plating it, so the two waited outside for a moment.
Li Panxuan sighed in relief. “After the victory report reached the capital, I received another verbal edict from the Empress Regnant. Do you know what it was!?”
“the Empress Regnant sent a verbal edict?” Chang Ziqing knew nothing of this; it was the first time she had heard Li Panxuan speak of it.
“Mhm,” Li Panxuan sighed. “the Empress Regnant is already on her way to Xizhou now.”
Chang Ziqing’s eyes widened. “What? the Empress Regnant is coming to Xizhou?”
“Mhm, she should arrive in no more than three days.” Li Panxuan was constantly sending people to the checkpoints along the road to watch for Her Majesty’s entourage.
Chang Ziqing thought for a moment. “So you kept the Prime Minister here for the Empress Regnant?”
“Exactly. Her Majesty’s verbal edict was that if I couldn’t keep the Prime Minister here, I would have to present my head to Her Majesty.” Li Panxuan’s heart was already like dead ashes. “It’s a blade to the neck if I advance, and a blade to the neck if I retreat. So I could only choose the nearest option and go after the Prime Minister first, trying every possible way to make her stay for a few more days. Once Her Majesty arrives, I can withdraw after my job is done.”
“Did the Empress Regnant state the reason for keeping the Prime Minister here?”
Chang Ziqing was a little worried. It was rumored that Ling Wen Nuan’s power overshadowed the court and the countryside35, and that she had controlled the government for many years. She was clearly at the pinnacle of power, yet she resigned from her post and went into seclusion.
Public opinion was numerous and divided, but the most common speculation was that the Empress Regnant had secretly killed Ling Wen Nuan over a power struggle. But now that Ling Wen Nuan had appeared alive and well in Xizhou, this rumor collapsed without being attacked.
But the relationship between Ling Wen Nuan and the Empress Regnant was too complex. The victory at Fenggui Gorge was entirely thanks to Ling Wen Nuan, who had also reclaimed the lost territory and captured Menggui City within seven days.
Throughout history, when a subordinate’s achievements were so high they startled the master36, it never ended well.
Li Panxuan shook her head. “No. The person who delivered the verbal edict didn’t say anything either, just that I absolutely had to make the Prime Minister stay.”
Chang Ziqing took the food box from the army cook and didn’t ask any more questions. No one could fathom the thoughts of the Empress Regnant and they had no right to interfere. How could the struggles between two such great figures be something that shrimp soldiers and crab generals37 like them could meddle in?
For the next few days, Li Panxuan took Wen Nuan to inspect the borders of Xizhou and also had Wen Nuan teach her some military strategy and tactics.
Wen Nuan was mentally and physically exhausted from teaching, and Li Panxuan was mentally and physically exhausted from learning.
One wanted to leave Xizhou as soon as possible, and the other wanted to give up teaching as soon as possible, with the result that both of them had grown much thinner over the past few days.
The two of them were riding back to the military camp from Jiuwan River38 when Li Panxuan immediately spotted the imperial retinue in the camp. Her eyes lit up, and she instantly spurred her horse to gallop over.
Wen Nuan also saw the canopy of the imperial carriage, carved with dragon patterns and phoenix feathers, and then glanced at Li Panxuan’s frantic urgency. She instantly understood why Li Panxuan had been so listless and dejected these past few days—it was all to keep her here and wait for the Empress Regnant’s arrival in Xizhou.
Li Panxuan leaped off her horse and immediately knelt before the imperial carriage, performing a salute. “This subject, Li Panxuan, respectfully welcomes Your Majesty, the Empress Regnant.”
All the soldiers in the camp knelt, shouting in unison, “Respectfully welcome Your Majesty, the Empress Regnant—”
Lu Yan39 drew back the curtain in front of the imperial carriage and said respectfully, “Your Majesty.”
A pair of white boots with exquisite dark embroidery landed on the ground. A smoky-purple gown outlined Sheng Tingwan’s slender and graceful figure, her skin as white as snow, her bright eyes expressive and captivating.
That pair of ink-black eyes looked over, carrying a faint coldness, as if they could see through everything.
She possessed the domineering air of one who looked down upon the world, and the aura around her was noble and luxurious.
Sheng Tingwan walked to the foot of Wen Nuan’s horse, tilted her head up to look at Wen Nuan, who was still seated on it, and her vermilion lips parted slightly.
“Long time no see, Zhen’s40 Prime Minister.”
The author has something to say:
Wen Nuan: Long time no see.
Author-jun: Double update.
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