The Cannon Fodder Was Pampered By The Tyrant - Chapter 6

Sitting astride Si Yan’s lap with a flushed face, Lin Yutian’s expression stiffened. She tried to bargain: “Do I really have to sit like this?”

Si Yan propped her head on one hand, a playful, mocking smile on her face. “What do you think?”

Lin Yutian’s gaze fell upon Si Yan’s lap. She knew deep down that if she didn’t sit there today, Si Yan likely wouldn’t let her go.

Caught between three choices copying the precepts ten times, being treated with humiliation by Si Yan tonight, or sitting on her lap to feed her now, she gritted her teeth and chose the last one.

With her head lowered, Lin Yutian walked to Si Yan’s side, parted her legs, and sat lightly on Si Yan’s lap, facing her.

Once settled, she turned her face away, too embarrassed to look at Si Yan.

And this person claims to be “battle-hardened”?

Si Yan found it hilarious but kept it to herself. Given this girl’s personality, saying it out loud would probably cause her to die of shame.

“I asked you to pick up food and feed me,” Si Yan spoke leisurely. “Facing me like this… what exactly are you planning to feed me?”

Lin Yutian blanked for two seconds. Then, Si Yan watched as the person before her transformed from a pale pink bun into a bright red apple.

“I… I got it wrong.”

Lin Yutian tried to stand up, but Si Yan grabbed her waist and pressed her back down onto her lap. The domineering scent of orchids from Si Yan’s body invaded her senses as the distance between them suddenly vanished. Terrified, Lin Yutian tried to shrink back. “No!”

“Why not?” Si Yan’s tone was light. “Miss Lin, your seduction techniques still need a lot of refining.”

“You already know I was intentionally trying to seduce you, so why should I practice?”

Every cell in Lin Yutian’s body screamed resistance as she searched for a chance to escape. She had never been this close to anyone, the sensation where their bodies pressed together was soft and itchy, making her feel completely out of her element.

Yet, her resistance only seemed to make Si Yan more excited.

“Your performance is so poor. Did no one ever teach you how to charm your master?” Si Yan blew softly into her ear. “Shall I teach you?”

Lin Yutian’s body went as stiff as reinforced concrete. She was truly scared now and whispered hurriedly, “Your…Your Majesty, let’s eat first.” Her apricot-shaped eyes were full of plea. “The food will get cold.”

She only calls me ‘Your Majesty’ when she’s afraid.

Si Yan had originally intended to test Lin Yutian’s attitude. Seeing her extreme repulsion toward physical contact confirmed that the aphrodisiac incense from the previous night likely wasn’t her intentional doing.

That made it even more puzzling. If that were the case, why light the incense at all?

Si Yan was certain that Lin Yutian’s goal was to provoke her. But why? Why try to jump into the lake today? Why keep provoking her to kill her?

She concealed her searching gaze.

Lin Yutian, her ears burning, adjusted her position. Si Yan took the opportunity to wrap her right arm around her waist, pulling Lin Yutian’s back flush against her.

Lin Yutian’s grip on the chopsticks tightened. She knew Si Yan was a bit taller than her, but only now did she truly feel the physical disparity. Sitting on Si Yan’s lap, she felt completely enveloped. Her feet couldn’t reach the floor, hanging uselessly in the air.

Then, she felt a weight on her neck.

Si Yan rested her chin lightly on Lin Yutian’s shoulder and said lazily, “Feed me.”

Lin Yutian didn’t even dare to breathe too heavily, fearing that a single impulsive move from Si Yan would lead to unthinkable consequences. She tried to make her voice sound normal: “…What do you want to eat?”

Si Yan gave only two words: “Whatever.”

Lin Yutian: “…”

Unsure of Si Yan’s preferences, she followed her own tastes. She first picked up a piece of soy-braised duck coated in rich sauce. With a crimson face, she endured the shame and held it to Si Yan’s lips. “Will you eat this?”

Si Yan slowly opened her mouth.

While silently grumbling about how difficult she was to serve, Lin Yutian fed the duck into Si Yan’s mouth. If Lin Yutian had the courage, she could have intentionally shoved the chopsticks deeper to hurt her. But for some reason, her gaze lingered on Si Yan’s pale red lips.

Her mouth is so pretty… how can she be such a bad person? she complained internally.

Her resentful gaze did not escape Si Yan, who finished eating elegantly before saying composedly, “You can’t even look away while I’m eating?”

“Is my beauty truly that captivating to you, Miss Lin?”

Lin Yutian snapped back to reality, her eyes widening like a startled cat. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Si Yan licked her lips. “Nonsense? Then tell me, what were you just looking at?”

Seeing she had no ground to stand on, Lin Yutian resorted to a personal attack. “So what if I looked? You’re just… you just have a very pretty face, that’s all.”

No one likes being called a “vase” (a person who is just a pretty face). Si Yan had to be the same.

To her surprise, Si Yan didn’t seem angry at all. Her dark, bright eyes locked onto Lin Yutian. “I knew I was good-looking, but I didn’t realize Miss Lin was quite so obsessed.”

Even if she forgot me, is she still drawn to this face?

Lin Yutian really didn’t want to say another word to this narcissist. She simply stuffed more food into Si Yan’s mouth to shut her up.

After a few bites, Si Yan stopped. “I’m full.”

Lin Yutian’s hand paused. “You only ate that much?”

Si Yan wiped her lips with a handkerchief, her eyes on Lin Yutian’s face. “Could it be that you want to keep feeding me?”

Lin Yutian replied coldly, “You’re dreaming.”

Si Yan chuckled. “Fine. You eat, then.”

Lin Yutian’s eyes widened. “Me?” She thought Si Yan had kept her here just to torture her. Why the sudden kindness?

“Is there anyone else in this room?” Si Yan countered.

Lin Yutian swallowed hard. She tried to stay dignified: “I’m not eating.”

“If you go back now, you won’t get any food. You’ll be hungry until tonight,” Si Yan said. “The ingredients here are the finest, don’t you want to try them?”

Lin Yutian was a person of strong will.

“This chicken soup alone has been simmering for four hours. It’s tender and savory.”

Lin Yutian swallowed again. No, no, ‘Wealth and rank cannot corrupt’..

“There are so many dishes. If you don’t eat them, I’ll have to have them thrown out.”

On the other hand, ‘Waste is a sin.’

Lin Yutian maintained her posture and said reluctantly, “Fine then. But let me be clear. I’m only doing this because I don’t want to waste food.”

Si Yan pursed her lips, trying hard not to laugh. “Mm, I should learn from you in that regard.”

The words sounded pleasant. Lin Yutian felt strangely satisfied.

“Farming is hard work. Many people can’t even afford a meal,” Lin Yutian said. “As the ruler of a country, you should set a better example.”

She didn’t say this to provoke Si Yan, it just slipped out without thinking. She didn’t realize that saying this to Si Yan was essentially calling her a tyrant to her face.

The hidden guards on the roof broke into a cold sweat for her. They knew the Emperor had a poor stomach and usually ate very simply, these dishes were prepared specifically to host her.

To say that to His Majesty…

The smile on Si Yan’s lips deepened. “A-Yu is right. I shall be more frugal in the future.”

Lin Yutian was so focused on the second half of the sentence that she didn’t notice the intimate nickname. Her mind was filled with the petty joy of having won an argument.

While Lin Yutian was looking around, Si Yan handed her a set of clean bowls and chopsticks that had been prepared earlier. Having never been cared for like this, Lin Yutian scratched her cheek and took them awkwardly. “Thank you.”

Why is Si Yan suddenly being so nice to me?

…Whatever, don’t think about it.

Eat first, then continue the battle of wits.

Lin Yutian’s attention shifted entirely to the food. She started by eating in small, reserved bites, but eventually let herself go. Who cared about image? If it made Si Yan disgusted enough to order her execution, that would be fine too.

Si Yan, meanwhile, kept one arm around her waist, barely moving, her eyes fixed on Lin Yutian’s slightly bulging cheek. Lin Yutian wasn’t very sensitive to being watched and didn’t notice the gaze for a long time.

…So silly.

Si Yan was curious. How exactly did she end up like this? Why did she forget those things?

Her right palm rested on Lin Yutian’s abdomen. Feeling the slight fullness there, she spoke up: “You don’t have to force yourself to finish it all.”

Lin Yutian looked worried. “But you’ll throw it away.”

Si Yan couldn’t hold back her laughter this time. “The leftovers will be given to the palace maids, or at the very least, fed to the livestock. Nothing goes to waste.” She used a clean handkerchief to wipe Lin Yutian’s lips. “You’ve been in the palace so many years, you didn’t know these rules?”

Lin Yutian froze for a moment, then stammered, “I…I of course I knew.” She immediately made an excuse: “It’s just… no matter who it’s given to, wasting it like this is still bad.”

Si Yan’s eyes darkened slightly as she smiled. “You are right.” She patted Lin Yutian’s thigh. “Since you’re full, can you get off my lap now?”

“……”

Only then did Lin Yutian realize she was still sitting on Si Yan. Her face exploded in a deep red as she scrambled to the floor. Before she could find an excuse, she heard Si Yan say, “I understand. This is also part of A-Yu’s plan.”

Lin Yutian: “……”

“Wanting to kill me while also wanting to take advantage of me… A-Yu, you are quite greedy.”

Lin Yutian protested weakly, “I didn’t want to take advantage of you!”

She didn’t even like women! Her true love was money!

Lin Yutian felt frustrated, cursing herself for being so careless. She was never comfortable with physical touch. Why did it change when it came to Si Yan? Was it because Si Yan was an ancient person, and they had a “generation gap”?

“Your voice is quite loud; you must be full.” Si Yan stood up composedly. “Now go copy the books. Two times in three days. I’ll check them when I return tonight.”

Lin Yutian’s eyes went wide. “Two times in three days?”

“Hmm?”

Lin Yutian tried to bargain. “That’s still too much. I have to work during the day. I won’t finish even if I stay up all night.”

Si Yan let out a light laugh. “Work? Who said you’re going back to work?”

Lin Yutian looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant.

“Until you finish copying, don’t even think about stepping past this threshold,” Si Yan smiled thinly.

Lin Yutian was stunned. She scrambled for an excuse: “Won’t that just increase the burden on others?”

“In this palace, who couldn’t do the little work you do?” Si Yan tilted her head, revealing a small canine tooth. “There are too many people who can replace you.”

Lin Yutian wanted to argue fiercely, but realized it was true. An NPC is just an NPC if one disappears, they’re just gone.

“This is imprisonment,” she persisted.

Si Yan replied righteously, “You provoked me so many times in a single day. Is forcing you to copy books considered imprisonment?”

Now Lin Yutian felt a bit guilty.

“I will check it when I return tonight.” Si Yan narrowed her eyes. “If I find you haven’t copied much or tried to slack off, then… hmph.”

“……”

It was just one syllable, but Lin Yutian understood the hidden threat.

“You’ve provoked me so many times. I haven’t even collected my debt yet,” Si Yan whispered. “A-Yu had better consider her choices carefully.”