The Cannon Fodder Was Pampered By The Tyrant - Chapter 5

Sit Up Yourself

Lin Yutian never expected to be caught red-handed. She quickly pushed Si Yan away, her eyes darting around frantically as her face flushed crimson. “How… how did you know I was here?”

“That line sounds remarkably familiar to My ears.”

Si Yan approached her step by step. Forced to retreat, Lin Yutian eventually backed into a corner until Si Yan leaned down slightly to meet her gaze at eye level. “Is the next line going to be questioning whether I am deliberately stalking you?”

Lin Yutian’s eyes widened.

How did she know?

Otherwise, why would Si Yan be able to find her so precisely in such a secluded spot she had picked? This place was clearly very hidden.

Si Yan’s lips curved into a slight smile. She said softly, “Has no one ever told you that this script is far too cliché?”

Furious, Lin Yutian opened her mouth to retort, but her voice instinctively weakened. “Since you think I’m acting, why did you bother saving me?”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to just let me sink into the river and drown?”

Si Yan replied with perfect composure, “If you died, who would pay for the porcelain you smashed?”

Lin Yutian felt a sudden sense of dread; she had completely forgotten about that.

“The price of a single piece of that porcelain… I’m afraid even several hundred years of your salary combined wouldn’t be enough to cover it.”

Si Yan acted the part of a refined gentleman, even addressing her formally as “Miss Lin” in a sophisticated tone.

Clutching the hem of her clothes, Lin Yutian forced herself to stay calm. “Then there’s nothing I can do. I have no money. If you want a life… you can take mine.”

“Your life?”

Si Yan’s lips curled into a smirk. “How much do you think your life is worth to Me?”

Lin Yutian knew all too well that her life was worthless. She wasn’t the protagonist, she was just an NPC. No matter which world she died in, no one would care.

“Since you know your life is worthless, you should also know that the world won’t change one bit whether you are in it or not,” Si Yan said. “If you truly want to live, the one you should be begging is not ‘others,’ but Me.”

“Whatever you want, I can give it to you.”

Lin Yutian’s mind was on high alert. Her intuition told her that Si Yan was definitely feeding her empty promises. Heaven only knew what she intended to do with her after taking her back.

She replied, “I don’t need anything.”

Si Yan stared at her for several seconds. Though her expression didn’t change, Lin Yutian felt a sudden chill run down her spine.

Si Yan didn’t get angry instead, she said cheerfully, “I don’t care whether you need it or not.”

“Do you dare refuse Imperial Grace?”

What kind of ‘Imperial Grace’ is this? Lin Yutian thought to herself. She grumbled, “I’ve never seen an Emperor like you.”

Short-tempered, petty, and arrogant.

Sure enough, Si Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly. She tightened her arm around Lin Yutian, pulling the girl’s waist flush against her own. “You’ve seen other Emperors?”

Oops. How did her inner thoughts slip out?

Lin Yutian’s brain worked at high speed. When she spoke again, she had regained a sense of composure. “Does Your Majesty still not understand?”

She looked into Si Yan’s eyes, trying to make herself appear cold. “I am an assassin sent specifically to kill you.”

She forced a smirk. “Sleeping with you was just a side task to indulge in your beauty. Who knew it would turn out to be…”

Thinking about how she had almost tripped earlier that day, she added spitefully, “Who knew it would be so mediocre!”

“Very ordinary.”

Si Yan’s expression instantly became more terrifying than before, as if she might reach out and strangle Lin Yutian at any second.

Lin Yutian thought, As expected. Si Yan couldn’t tolerate the idea of an assassin.

“Have you slept with those from other kingdoms too?” Si Yan asked with a light laugh, though she was clearly suppressing a flare of jealousy.

“?”

Is that really the point here?

Lin Yutian couldn’t let herself show weakness. She cleared her throat. “Of course.”

Si Yan’s gaze darkened. “Who?”

Lin Yutian: “……”

How was she supposed to know? Her history wasn’t that great; she couldn’t remember names like that.

“You don’t need to know,” Lin Yutian said, looking up at her with a brave face. “I’ve fallen into your hands today, and I accept defeat. But if you don’t kill me now, then for every extra day I live, I will find a way to kill you.”

With that technique where you don’t even dare use a hairpin?

Si Yan didn’t argue. She said slowly, “So, your mission was to seduce Me, kill Me, and then move on to the next one once I’m dead?”

She could actually make the story make sense. She was practically a genius.

Lin Yutian became even more self-righteous. “Exactly.”

Si Yan took a deep breath, her eyes dark and shiny like obsidian searching Lin Yutian’s face. She asked in a tone of genuine curiosity, “Since you’ve slept with so many people, why was your performance so terrible?”

Lin Yutian hadn’t expected her to ask that. Is that the priority right now? Before she could even speak, her ears turned red.

Si Yan noticed the change and pressed further. “I hadn’t even done anything yet and you started crying. We only did it once and I couldn’t wake you up no matter what.”

“And you call yourself ‘battle-hardened’?”

“You’re certainly good at flattering yourself.”

By now, even Lin Yutian’s neck was red, and her porcelain white cheeks were flushed pink. She searched her mind frantically and finally found a suitable comeback. “If you thought I was so unskilled, then why did you go through with it?”

She swallowed hard. “You could have easily pushed me away.”

“Push you away?” Si Yan narrowed her eyes.

Lin Yutian gained more confidence. “Yes! I was the one who hugged you, but you were sober. Why didn’t you push me away?”

Si Yan looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

Why was she asking this? Did she not know she had lit aphrodisiac incense?

If that were the case, everything that followed would make sense, why she suddenly broke the porcelain and why she ran out the door.

But what was Lin Yutian’s actual goal? And why, after all these years in the palace, had she never noticed this maid? Why did she seem both afraid of her and yet act as though she wanted to be killed?

Si Yan suppressed her inner doubts and said casually, “You threw yourself into My arms. Why would I refuse?”

“Even if your technique is trash, I wanted to see just how trash it could be.”

How is she still insulting my character? Lin Yutian was fuming, her heart pounding.

“Fine, since we’re being honest, Your Majesty can do whatever you want,” Lin Yutian said in a tone of total resignation. “It’s just my bad luck to have fallen into your hands.”

“You want me to punish you that badly?” Si Yan countered.

“Well, are you actually going to give me a way out?” Lin Yutian asked, her voice tinged with a hint of testing.

Si Yan did not give a straight answer. “That depends on My mood.”

Lin Yutian’s heart suddenly felt restless because of her ambiguous response. If she was going to kill her, then kill her if not, then don’t. What did “depends on mood” even mean?

She put up a front of false bravado and said, “Then Your Majesty had better be quick about it, or else I can’t guarantee Your Majesty’s life will be safe.”

Si Yan said with a smile, “Such determination?”

Lin Yutian nodded. “Of course.”

“I am quite curious. What exactly have I done to make you loathe Me so?” Si Yan tilted her head slightly.

For a moment, Lin Yutian couldn’t quite find the words. She tried hard to recall the plot of the original novel and put on an act of righteous indignation. “Because you are wicked! I am getting rid of an evil for the sake of the people!”

Si Yan deliberately spoke with sarcasm. “What noble ideals and lofty ambitions you have.”

Lin Yutian, failing to catch the sarcasm, replied, “Naturally. I have been lying in wait in this palace all this time just for this moment.”

As she spoke these words, even she felt a bit cringey, as if she were digging a hole with her toes. It was such a standard final speech for an NPC before they met their end.

Si Yan nodded as if she understood. “Then, if I haven’t been ‘gotten rid of’ by you, wouldn’t I be failing you?”

Lin Yutian: “Of cour…” She instantly became wary. “…What do you mean?”

“Don’t you understand yet?” Si Yan’s lips curved into a smile. “I’ll give you a few more chances. Are you happy?”

Lin Yutian was bewildered. Why was the plot developing in a direction she never expected?

Her stunned expression was fully taken in by Si Yan.

“Then… then you will surely regret sparing me today,” Lin Yutian said through gritted teeth, trying to sound tough.

Si Yan remained smiling. “I shall look forward to it.”

Just as Lin Yutian was about to say something more, her stomach suddenly growled. She immediately felt awkward. She had vomited everything up this morning and hadn’t eaten lunch; it would be strange if she wasn’t hungry.

Si Yan continued her subtle mockery. “Miss Lin’s determination is truly… resonant.”

Lin Yutian: “……” Her face turned beet red. “It’s all your fault.”

“Can’t handle it already?” Si Yan asked. “Then what will you do about what comes next?”

Lin Yutian looked confused. What did she mean?

She soon found out exactly what she meant. That villainous tyrant Si Yan actually made her stand to the side and watch her eat!

Looking at the dazzling array of dishes on the table, Lin Yutian swallowed her saliva, her pride crumbling. But she had just finished acting tough with Si Yan, if she ate her food now, wouldn’t she lose all face?

So, she could only glare at Si Yan with resentful eyes.

To make matters worse, Si Yan was beautiful, and watching her eat was a feast for the eyes. However, her appetite didn’t seem very large, she basically only took one bite of each dish.

What a waste. All of this was grown bit by bit by hard-working farmers. This person is truly shameful, Lin Yutian thought, launching a personal attack in her mind.

She noticed Si Yan was about to pick up some food and was suddenly struck by a desire for revenge. Just as Si Yan’s chopsticks were about to reach a dish, Lin Yutian reached out and spun the lazy Susan.

Si Yan’s hand paused for a moment. Then, with a neutral expression, she went for another dish.

Lin Yutian spun the table again. She didn’t care anymore, staying here for one more day was mental torture.

Si Yan blinked, then gave a light laugh. She put down her chopsticks and sighed. “I truly can’t do anything with you.”

Lin Yutian: “?”

“Do you want to feed Me that badly?” Si Yan asked in a certain tone.

Lin Yutian instinctively let out an “Ah?”

“Continuously spinning the table… if not to feed Me, then what for?” Si Yan asked confidently.

“I…” Lin Yutian found it impossible to defend herself.

“Come here,” Si Yan said. “I shall grant your wish just this once.”

Lin Yutian looked at her with an expression that said What kind of nonsense are you talking? “I don’t want to do that at all. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“If I say you want to, then you want to.” Si Yan straightened the hem of her clothes and added a veiled threat, “It just so happens that today is my day off, and I have plenty of time to spend with you. But I cannot guarantee how long My patience will last.”

Lin Yutian still didn’t move.

Si Yan added one more thing: “As for how to punish you for everything you did today, I’ve already come up with an idea.”

Speaking of which, Lin Yutian pretended to ask casually, “Then how do you want to punish me?”

“Those with ill intentions must, naturally, transcribe the precepts.”

“?” Transcribe what?

“Since it is your first offense, I shall be merciful. You only need to finish transcribing it ten times within three days.” She pointed toward the thickest book on a nearby shelf. “Why don’t you go and welcome your beloved book?”

Lin Yutian instantly lost her cool. “I won’t do it!” She could accept physical punishment, but she absolutely could not accept mental torture.

“Fine.” Si Yan blew on her tea. “Someone once gifted Me some… ‘instruments.’ You’ll have to hold out tonight. For every time you fail to transcribe the book, I shall use one more of them.”

Even though she didn’t say it explicitly, Lin Yutian understood the underlying meaning.

How perverted! Lin Yutian’s wish since childhood was to be partners with money, she never thought she would have contact with any carbon-based life form. Last night was an accident, and she absolutely could not let it happen again! Doing those things while conscious would be worse than death.

Seeing the situation was grim, Lin Yutian displayed her quality of being able to bend and stretch as needed. She bit her lip and struggled for a long time before saying, “But ten times in three days is impossible to finish.”

Even if she had three heads and six arms, finishing a book that thick once in a month would be a miracle. As the young girl spoke, her tone unconsciously carried a hint of pleading.

“It sounds like you want to offset it?” Si Yan offered an opening.

Lin Yutian was too embarrassed to admit it.

“That’s fine,” Si Yan said. “Sit on My lap and feed Me. If you serve Me well, I naturally won’t make things too difficult for you.”

Lin Yutian took a deep breath.

“Any objections?”

Lin Yutian said timidly, “None.”

“Very well.” Si Yan patted her lap. “Sit up yourself.”