WWC | Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Lord Lu, you are an utterly hopeless romantic!…

In the middle of the night, the study in the Su residence was still lit bright with lamps and candles.

Su Tingyan kept turning over the original work *Wan Shi Quanchen*, which had been transmitted into his mind by the system, reading it again and again, but the more he read, the tighter his brows drew together.

He had wanted to find some trace of Zhao Shuyan’s incident in it, but he soon discovered that this fan-game and the original novel differed quite a lot.

The original focused on Su Zhao’s magnificent life and his grand struggle against his main political enemies. It did not describe in detail officials of Zhao Shuyan’s level, much less the subtle threads that might have been hidden behind the scenes.

Besides, what he was going through now might have been an undercurrent the original never stated clearly, or it might have been a plot the game developers had added or twisted for the sake of gameplay.

“Useless…” Su Tingyan spat under his breath, then shut the book in his mind.

It was better to rely on himself than to rely on others, and better to rely on clues than to rely on the original text.

He shifted his gaze back to the desk.

Spread there was a summary Cui Hong had compiled of the matters Zhao Shuyan had handled over the past half year. Beside it lay the iron component they had picked up from the ruins of the fire.

His fingertips traced the lines of records one by one. Most of them were impeachments against local officials or small-scale project funds, and at first glance there was nothing unusual about them.

The fever had not fully gone down, and after a tiring day, his brain was also reacting much more slowly.

He closed his eyes and rested while he thought.

Qingbao and Qinghai watched and worried, taking turns coming in to persuade him a few times. “My lord, even an investigation cannot be rushed this moment. Besides, General Xie and the Directorate of Justice are already looking into it. Your fever still hasn’t broken, so you should rest more!”

It was not that Su Tingyan did not want to sleep, but he had slept the whole day and was practically stupefied from sleeping.

He asked, “No movement from the Jinyiwei side?”

The fire in the west of the city had apparently already alarmed the one in the palace. If the emperor had heard about it, then logically the Jinyiwei should have made some move too.

Qingbao thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Oh right!! There is!”

Su Tingyan’s eyes sharpened. “What movement? Have the Jinyiwei also started assisting with the investigation?”

Qingbao shook his head. “No, my lord. This afternoon, Lord Li, the commander of the Jinyiwei, sent someone to bring you two big baskets of eggs and ten jin of brown sugar. I just thought the gift wasn’t that important, so I forgot to report it to you!”

Su Tingyan: “………………..”

Li! Xun!

Do you fucking have a problem?!!

Ever since he had transmigrated into this game, there was no one who could make him fall in love, but there were plenty who could make him want to kill.

“Send it back, send everything back!” Su Tingyan suddenly stood up, nearly fainted, and almost toppled to the floor. Luckily, Qingbao caught him in time.

At that, Qingbao looked a little troubled. “My lord, the egg custard made for your dinner already used ten of the eggs Lord Li sent. It doesn’t seem possible to return them…”

Su Tingyan felt even more dizzy, though not because of the eggs Li Xun had sent, but because of this.

“…You put ten eggs in one meal?”

Was life not being lived anymore?

Qingbao said, “I thought you liked them… Didn’t you even tell me to boil that many for the late-night snack last time, and keep saying they were nutritious…?”

That was only to mess with Li Xun at the time!

Su Tingyan squeezed his eyes shut. After a long while, he finally struggled to open them again. “From now on, we have to arrange things strictly. I can only eat at most five eggs within seven days…”

He was truly drunk. In the future, if he argued with someone, he even felt like he had a special talent and could curse at them, “I dare to eat ten eggs in one go, do you dare?”

No, that wouldn’t do. Seen this way, Li Xun, who could knock back twenty eggs in one breath, was even less human than he was.

After this commotion, he no longer had any extra energy to think about Zhao Shuyan. In the end, he could only crawl back into bed helplessly and sleep until broad daylight.

He did not wake until nearly noon. As soon as he got up, Qingbao forced down a bowl of medicinal juice bitter enough to outdo his whole life. He was still holding a candied fruit and trying to recover when Qinghai ran in again, looking strangely unsettled.

“My lord!” Qinghai’s voice carried disbelief. “…Someone from the palace has come!”

Su Tingyan waved a weak hand. “Didn’t I already ask for leave?”

“They’re not here to urge you to attend court…” Qinghai continued. “It’s His Majesty. His Majesty has personally left the palace. Hearing that you were ill, he specially sent a close attendant to inquire after you, and even bestowed an old ginseng root!”

“Hm?” Su Tingyan finally opened his eyes.

“The emperor came?!”

He struggled up from the bedside and was just about to have Qinghai help him dress and receive the imperial visit when he heard the smiling voice of an eunuch outside the door. “Lord Su need not panic. His Majesty is currently together with Lord Lu in Yunshan Luan.”

“His Majesty was concerned that you were ill and did not wish to trouble you. However, Lord Lu happened to be nearby welcoming the imperial procession and invited His Majesty to sit for a while at Yunshan Luan. His Majesty then thought that Lord Su was also a pillar of the state and might perhaps be interested in joining him for tea and discussion, so he sent this servant to ask what you think.”

Su Tingyan: “…”

Why would the emperor be touring incognito at a time like this, and why had he gone specifically to Yunshan Luan?

Was he here especially because of the fire in the west of the city? Had he already been to the scene?

Su Tingyan turned the matter over and over in his head. This was no tea-drinking discussion. In his view, it was clearly a Hongmen Banquet with the emperor presiding and Lu Xuan as host![N1]

Not go? A sovereign had personally invited him, and pretending to be dead and refusing would be great disrespect.

Go? His body was already battered and weak, his mind burned to mush. What could he use to fight those two thousand-year-old foxes?

The system rang out at just the right time: [Forced plot event triggered: imperial audience and debate at Yunshan Luan.]

[Option A: Claim illness and refuse (success rate 5%, failure penalty: Emperor favor -100, lower emperor favor increases death rate, charm value -2000)]

[Option B: Go while sick (reward: a large amount of charm value based on performance, and may affect the progress of the subsequent investigation).]

“Qinghai…” He weakly extended his hand. “Help me, get dressed.”

Seeing his own lord looking as if he were going to a noble death, Qinghai felt a little heartache as he helped him change into his clothes.

Once he was properly dressed, Su Tingyan held up a mirror and looked himself over. Seeing that his snow-white jade face had turned even paler from illness, his eyes dark with shadows, his waist slender, his temples neat, and his sickly appearance bleak and desolate, he truly fit the image of someone “working himself to illness for the country.”

“Not bad,” he said with satisfaction. “I look very much like a loyal minister.”

Yunshan Luan seemed to have cleared the place out today, and was much quieter than the last time he had come.

He was led to a broad pavilion by the water. Within it, tea fragrance drifted in wisps, the charcoal fire gave off warmth, and a lone plum tree by the window was blooming in its final, half-fallen glory, paired with the fine mist of light snow. It was a scene of fading beauty at its most extreme.

Emperor Jingwu had changed into an indigo casual robe and sat in the main seat. On his left sat Lu Xuan, and on his right was the Vice Minister of War, along with several other officials of varying rank who were there to accompany them.

Emperor Jingwu liked beauties, but he did not care for male lovers. Lu Xuan knew his tastes, so he had called over the most beautiful female attendants at Yunshan Luan to serve close at hand, each one radiantly lovely.

Yet from the moment Su Tingyan stepped into the pavilion with the eunuch, all eyes still ended up drawn to him.

People said beauty lay in the bones, not the skin, usually because bone structure and appearance were hard to perfect together.

But the rarest thing about Su Tingyan was that both his bones and his skin were top-tier.

His structure was elegant, his frame refined, his waist narrow as plain silk, all lending shape to his form.

He was like the moon hidden behind drifting clouds, or flowing wind turning snow in the air, all lending spirit to his being.

Form and spirit were both complete. He could truly be called peerless.

Even Emperor Jingwu had once jokingly said that with him in court, far fewer officials took leave.

Though the charcoal fire in the pavilion burned continuously, the beauties were still dressed only in gauzy skirts in the dead of winter, and their hands and feet were red with cold, pitiful in their loveliness.

Like wisps of fragrant cloud, they glided lightly through this hall full of power and tea fragrance.

The moment Su Tingyan entered, he saw a female attendant beside his seat pouring tea for him, her fingers slender and white as scallions, her wrist lifted in the air, a delight to the eye.

Yet that jade arm was trembling subtly from the cold, and amber tea spilled from the mouth of the pot.

Today he wore a plain white robe with a black-gold cloak over it. Seeing this, he promptly removed the cloak from his shoulders and draped it directly over the female attendant.

The warmth came so suddenly that even the beauty froze for a moment.

She had served countless men, and the ones who came here were mostly hypocrites in fine clothes, some sanctimonious, some pretending to be elegant, all using the same old tactics.

But this was the first time a guest had taken the cloak protecting himself from the cold and put it over her shoulders, a woman whom thousands had embraced and tens of thousands had tasted.

Su Tingyan gave her the cloak partly because he truly pitied the girl freezing like this, and partly because she had come dressed so lightly to pour tea for him that he could not quite withstand it. Even the tips of his ears had gone a little red.

Seeing the beauty clutching the cloak and looking up at him, he could not help asking softly, “Still cold?”

The cloak was already soaked through with his own cold fragrance of lonely mountains and snow. The beauty accidentally caught a breath of it, and at once her cheeks went red. The scent and his lingering warmth clung to her body, and with his jade-like gentle voice added on top of it, how could she still be cold? She was almost so warm she felt dizzy.

She shook her head and did not dare look at Su Tingyan, only stealing a timid glance at Lu Xuan in the seat of honor.

Lu Xuan’s blade-like gaze had long since flayed her a thousand times, but all of it was evaded by Su Tingyan. The other man did not even spare him a sidelong glance, which only made a flash of dark malice flicker in Lu Xuan’s eyes.

But when he saw the first hint of redness at the tip of Su Tingyan’s ear, the corners of his mouth could not help curving. In the end, he said nothing.

Emperor Jingwu laughed out loud. “Lord Su, I never expected you to be so tender toward beauties. Look at yourself, we haven’t even had time to feel sorry for you, and you’re already feeling sorry for someone else?”

Su Tingyan bowed. His voice was extremely hoarse from weakness. “This subject greets Your Majesty.”

“This subject has been impolite. I only thought that this young lady was dressed too lightly, and I feared she might catch a chill, so I acted in haste.”

He coughed twice at the proper moment, his frail condition unmistakable, perfectly embodying the fact that he had come here while ill.

“No need for such formalities. Since I’m out of the palace, I also want to be more casual.” Emperor Jingwu waved a hand.

“You are ill, and you should have been resting well. It was merely a sudden whim on my part that disturbed your peace.”

“Your Majesty speaks too gravely. To receive Your Majesty’s concern is this subject’s honor.” Only then did Su Tingyan sit down.

Lu Xuan personally picked up the pot and refilled Emperor Jingwu’s hot tea, smiling as he said, “Your Majesty may not know this, but Lord Su is not only tender toward beauties, he also cares for those beneath him. The night before last, when the fire broke out in the west of the city, Lord Su personally went to the scene and investigated until deep into the night. Such diligence is truly admirable.”

Here it came, Su Tingyan thought.

The topic had been brought here so quickly.

When Emperor Jingwu heard this, he set down his teacup, his smile fading a little as he looked at Su Tingyan. “I’ve heard a little about this matter as well. It seems an imperial censor was burned to death? Lord Su, did you find anything?”

The pavilion immediately fell quiet, with only the bubbling of boiling water and the trickling sound of the water outside the window remaining.

Su Tingyan’s throat felt a little itchy, but he suppressed the cough and did not let it out again, not wanting to seem too melodramatic. “In reply to Your Majesty, the deceased was indeed Zhao Shuyan, Censor of the Censorate, and his elderly mother, but the true culprit has not yet been found.”

“Since it has not yet been confirmed, does Your Majesty have any speculation?” Emperor Jingwu raised a brow.

Actually, this matter had not originally been within Su Tingyan’s duties, but the dead Zhao Shuyan had been one of the people he had recommended through the mutual recommendation method a few days ago, and it looked as though he could not disentangle himself from it.

Su Tingyan looked naturally at Lu Xuan and said, “Yesterday, when Lord Lu came to visit this subject, he mentioned some of his thoughts, which gave this subject a few ideas.”

Everyone’s eyes instantly moved from Su Tingyan to Lu Xuan.

Even Emperor Jingwu looked at Lu Xuan with interest, finding it quite amusing.

In the entire court, these two ministers were the most gifted and sharp-tongued of the lot. Watching them spar with words was even more entertaining than watching people juggle tricks or put on a play.

Emperor Jingwu said, “Then what does Lord Lu think? Why not tell me as well?”

Lu Xuan had not expected Su Tingyan to toss the blame away so fast. He had wanted to curse him as a little fox, but as his thoughts turned over and over, he suddenly felt that this was clearly more like a little fox spirit.

System: [The攻略 target Lu Xuan has been seduced hard by you again. He thinks you look very much like a fox spirit, favorability +200, charm value +1000!]

Su Tingyan: …?

…What exactly did I seduce him with??

Did I not just screw him over a moment ago??!

Lu Xuan’s face remained unchanged despite wind and rain, but his eyes seemed to have a fishhook hanging from them, persistently drawing toward Su Tingyan. “Your Majesty is wise. Yesterday, I merely went to visit the sick. Seeing that Lord Su, even while ill, still kept the case in mind, I only spoke with him casually for a bit.”

Seeing that Su Tingyan ignored his bold, fiery gaze, the smile at Lu Xuan’s lips deepened.

“At the time, I said that Censor Zhao had a straight and stubborn temperament and had offended quite a few people. But that fire burned too coincidentally, too hastily. It almost seemed as though someone was afraid others wouldn’t know he had been silenced, eager to pin the blame on certain people.”

Emperor Jingwu understood perfectly well, but pretended not to. “Is that so? On whose head were they trying to pin the blame?”

Su Tingyan took the thread of the conversation directly. “Your Majesty, everyone in court knows that Censor Zhao loved submitting memorials against people, which is why he offended countless colleagues.”

“But does Your Majesty know who he impeached the most?”

Who else could it be? The memorials Zhao Shuyan had submitted impeaching Lu Xuan were nearly piling up a whole duty room!

The moment Su Tingyan finished speaking, several accompanying officials were all horrified.

Lord Su really dared to say it. He actually pointed to suspicion against Lord Lu right in front of His Majesty!

Lu Xuan’s hand holding the cup paused slightly, but he did not immediately refute it. Instead, he calmly looked toward Emperor Jingwu, as if waiting for judgment.

“Could it be Lord Lu?” Emperor Jingwu burst out laughing. “Lord Su, you don’t mean to say you suspect Lord Lu set the fire, do you?”

Su Tingyan’s handsome brows and eyes softened, and he lightly curved his lips as well. “This subject did indeed once have that suspicion.”

“But on the night of the fire, wasn’t Lord Lu with me playing chess the entire night?”

Once the emperor said that, he had personally stepped in to testify for Lu Xuan. If Su Tingyan handled this badly now, not only would it make him seem ineffective in his work and wrong in his direction of investigation, it would also look like he was slapping the emperor in the face.

Only then did Lu Xuan stand up unhurriedly and bow deeply to Emperor Jingwu. “Your Majesty is wise. This subject is endlessly grateful.”

Damn it…! That corrupt official had turned the tables on him again!

He had not expected Lu Xuan to have spent the whole night with the emperor that night of the fire?

Then if he had such evidence, why had he not said so yesterday?

Su Tingyan could almost be certain that Lu Xuan had deliberately concealed it, just to watch him make a fool of himself like this.

“However, Your Majesty,” Su Tingyan spoke again, “this subject quickly realized that the matter was absolutely not done by Lord Lu. The item left at the scene was too deliberate and did not resemble the handiwork of the true culprit. Rather, it looked like an attempt to frame someone.”

Emperor Jingwu said, “So Lord Su no longer suspects Lord Lu?”

Su Tingyan finally looked at Lu Xuan directly. In that glance, spring ran wild, alluring and sweeping like a flood, truly like an ignorant fox spirit, or like a seductive ghost that had just escaped with its life, doing its utmost to cast a spell with its eyes, so breathtakingly beguiling it was alarming.

He said leisurely, “Lord Lu spent all day yesterday taking care of this subject without even changing out of his clothes, and he even fed me medicine personally. How could I repay kindness with enmity?”

“I like Lord Lu too much. How could I possibly suspect him?”

He was elusive, impossible to pin down, always tossing out jokes full of springtime mischief, only to withdraw immediately after teasing someone.

Like a sudden wave of wind and surf, it covered Lu Xuan’s heart, tangled his vision, and burned through his organs and viscera.

Lu Xuan only felt as if his mouth had been stuffed full of bait. In that instant, he knew he was finished. Even if all of this was just a malicious, deliberate tease, even if that fishhook was going to rip his mouth apart, even if he were to be disemboweled and have his heart and liver cut out, dying without a burial place, he would still bite the hook of his own accord and could not let go.

He was doomed.

The system notification rang out cheerfully at that moment: [Congratulations, player!!! Lu Xuan’s favorability has been maxed out directly!!]

Su Tingyan: ………………..

This Lu Xuan was always playing with people’s hearts, and as someone in power, he looked exactly like a sentimental libertine who had wandered through a forest of flowers.

Su Tingyan had thought Lu Xuan’s route would be the hardest to攻略, but he had never expected that the simple, straightforward three words, “I like you,” would be enough to max out this man’s favorability directly???

Lu Xuan, do you know that you’re an utterly hopeless romantic?!

Author’s Note:

———————-

Although, well, because this spoils a tiny bit, let me say this, Lord Corrupt-Official Lu is really not the endgame partner, babies. Sorry, sorry, please absolutely do not ship this line [facepalm-laughing][facepalm-laughing][facepalm-laughing], I’m afraid those who ship it wrong will be heartbroken later.

Because Yanyan’s worldview is very, very, very proper, so proper it’s almost eerie. So he absolutely cannot tolerate, and absolutely cannot possibly like, someone with a record like that. At most, his attitude toward Lu Xuan right now is treating him like an NPC to farm points from and tease for fun.

And besides, the aura of the real top is going to be very, very obvious. You’ll lose sight of it as you keep reading [rainbow praise][rainbow praise]. The real top is the sweetest, the most delicious ship there is~