Transmigrated as the Emperor, but Slacking Off - Chapter 2

Ever since his rebirth, Wen Xing’s energy levels had been incredibly low. It was as if he were trying to make up for all the sleep he’d missed in two lifetimes combined; he could never get enough rest. After the chaos at court, he returned to the Hall of Funing and immediately grew drowsy again, sleeping until noon the following day.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bed curtains, resting on Wen Xing’s eyelids. As his consciousness slowly drifted awake, he caught a muffled voice from outside the window: “General Ning, please don’t make things difficult for us servants. His Majesty said your duty is in the Imperial Study from now on.”

Wen Xing knitted his brows slightly. “Li Dequan.” he called out, his voice raspy and thick with sleep.

The voice was too faint; the people outside didn’t hear him.

He took a deep breath and called out more forcefully: “Li Dequan!”

This time, the old eunuch heard him, responded quickly, and came jogging into the room.

Wen Xing stared at the top of the canopy and asked expressionlessly, “Who is outside?”

“It is General Ning,” the old eunuch replied. “He says he wishes to request His Majesty to rescind the imperial order.”

Those four words rescind the imperial order again. Wen Xing felt a headache coming on. What was wrong with the people of this dynasty? No one from top to bottom would obey. No wonder the original host worked himself to death; the entire court was slacking off, leaving the Emperor as the only one doing any work!

His voice was laced with suppressed anger. “Tell him to get lost and go to work.”

The old eunuch looked toward the door with some hesitation. “This old servant has tried to persuade him, but he says he has urgent matters to report. He has been waiting since yesterday at noon.”

Wen Xing subconsciously did the math. That was over twenty hours.

For real? Did I really sleep that long?

The nameless fire in his heart dissipated slightly. Just as he was hesitating whether or not to see the man, Li Dequan added, “Your Majesty, General Ning has not had a drop of water or a grain of rice for a day and a night.”

Wen Xing looked out the window. A tall, slender figure, straight as a pine tree, was standing in the courtyard.

It was early autumn, and the summer heat had not yet faded. The noon sun hung high, sending up waves of shimmering heat. The begonias in the yard had wilting crowns.

He waved a hand. “Let him in.”

He had slept so long that his limbs felt heavy and sore, so he didn’t bother moving, allowing the servants to wash and dress him.

When Ning Wujie was led into the inner hall by a eunuch, he saw the young Emperor leaning against the bed in jade-white silk sleeping robes, currently washing his hands.

“Speak. What do you have to report?”

Wen Xing didn’t look up. He flicked away the water droplets and took a silk cloth from an attendant, wiping his fingers one by one.

Ning Wujie’s gaze inadvertently fell on those cold, white, slender fingers.

“Your servant returned to the capital to report on the matter of military supplies for Hantie Pass,” Ning Wujie began. “The Shuofeng tribe pressed upon our borders with a massive army three months ago; the war in the Northwest is critical. A month ago, my father petitioned the court for reinforcements, but there has been no response. My father feared a delay in military opportunity, which is why he sent me to the capital to seek an audience.”

“I hope Your Majesty will grant the request for supplies and allow your servant to return to Hantie Pass to assist my father and brother in repelling the enemy.”

Hearing this, Wen Xing tried to recall the relevant historical events. The “trash” system detected the keywords and popped up a prompt for the confused Emperor:

Hantie Pass. A strategic border town of the Chen State. In the 12th year of Yongjing, the Shuofeng tribe of the grasslands launched a full-scale surprise attack. The Ningyuan Army resisted for over a year. The then-General Ning Wujie led reinforcements but was ambushed en route, suffering heavy injuries and failing to arrive.

The Ningyuan Army eventually fell. Consequently, the gates to the Chen State were flung wide; sixteen prefectures were lost in succession, sowing the seeds for the dynasty’s eventual collapse.

[Click for details >>]

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes.

So, according to history, this battle was fated to be a loss anyway? And Ning Wujie not only failed to arrive but was also severely injured?

Then why go back? To seek death?

It would be much safer to stay here and work for him.

Thus, Wen Xing shook his head quite naturally. “Denied.”

“Your job is in the Imperial Study. Dismissed.” He issued the order for the guest to leave.

The tight line of Ning Wujie’s lips twitched, the outline of his clenched jaw faintly visible beneath his skin. After a long silence, he knelt abruptly on both knees, creating a heavy thud.

“Hantie Pass is in peril. I beg Your Majesty to grant my father’s petition.”

Wen Xing looked at the kneeling man and raised an eyebrow. This kneel had quite an aura; every part of his body except his kneecaps was tensed and straight. That spine in particular was straighter than a steel rod completely different from the ministers he was used to.

Wen Xing suddenly found this amusing. He leaned back, propping his temple with a curved palm, and countered: “And if I simply refuse?”

The youth’s jaw tightened. The skin on his thin lips was cracked and white from dehydration. Perhaps because he had stood outside all night, his eyes were bloodshot, yet his gaze was tempered with ice.

“Before entering the capital, your servant swore a military oath. If I cannot secure the supplies, I will have no choice but to face military law.”

Wen Xing: “……”

Wen Xing didn’t know if there really was a military oath. But in history, after the Ning family lost the battle, their house was seized. This young general certainly wouldn’t have escaped involvement. As for how all the Ning men died except for him, who managed to escape, raise a rebel army, and overthrow the dynasty, Wen Xing didn’t know and wasn’t interested in knowing.

Regardless, he never intended to withhold the supplies. All he ever wanted was the person, Ning Wujie.

He stared at the youth’s crimson eyes for a while before finally waving his hand helplessly. “I grant the military supplies.”

“But you must stay.”

Ning Wujie’s hands at his sides secretly clenched into fists. He remained kneeling, his expression solemn as he repeated: “Hantie Pass is in desperate need of men. I implore Your Majesty to let your servant return to aid my father and brother.”

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes, finally getting out of bed. He walked slowly to the youth and looked down at him. “Are you defying an imperial decree?”

In Ning Wujie’s lowered vision, the young Emperor’s bare feet stepped silently onto the Phoebe-wood floor. Those feet were white and slender, carved like jade; the neatly trimmed nails were as smooth and lustrous as mother-of-pearl.

The general lifted his gaze, neither humble nor arrogant. “Your servant would not dare. However, my heart is with the safety of my father and brother. Even if I am in the court, I fear I cannot wholeheartedly complete the tasks Your Majesty assigns. Approving memorials is of grave importance; if a mistake is made, your servant’s life is a small matter, but I fear it would jeopardize the affairs of the state.”

Wen Xing sneered. “Then keep kneeling. Get up whenever you can put your heart into it.”

As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward a corner by the door. “Go kneel over there.”

Ning Wujie furrowed his brows, stood up decisively, walked to the corner, and neatly lifted his robe to kneel again.

Wen Xing studied the youth’s ramrod-straight back and muttered in his heart: Stubborn mule.

At that moment, a servant announced the arrival of the Empress Dowager.

“Huaiyu, I heard that yesterday in the court…”

Wen Xing looked up and saw a woman of about forty, dressed in magnificent robes, walking in. This was his mother, Wang Fuwei.

The Empress Dowager was not his biological mother. Since Wen Xing’s birth mother was a barbarian woman of lowly status, she never received a title and died of exhaustion shortly after giving birth. Since the Empress was childless, Wen Xing was adopted by her, becoming the legitimate son with the first right of succession.

The woman’s steps paused as she passed Ning Wujie. She surveyed the kneeling man with a scrutinizing gaze. “Are you the Ning Wujie that His Majesty appointed to the Imperial Study yesterday?”

Ning Wujie bowed his head. “Yes, Empress Dowager.”

“Why are you kneeling?”

Wen Xing said lazily, “He is defying a decree.”

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly. “General Ning certainly has quite the courage.”

Ning Wujie expressionlessly repeated his request to return to Hantie Pass. Hearing this, the Empress Dowager arched an eyebrow and personally leaned down to help Ning Wujie up with great compassion. “Good child, I know your loyalty. Stand up.”

She walked over to sit beside Wen Xing and advised: “This concerns border defense. Huaiyu, you should let him go back. I know your health hasn’t been good lately and you need someone to share the burden of government. But even if the Grand Tutor is unwilling, are there not the Ministers of the Six Departments?”

She looked at Ning Wujie again. “I shall decide this matter. You may return to the Northwest.”

Wen Xing frowned. “Denied.”

“Huaiyu.” The Empress Dowager was displeased. “How can such an important position as approving memorials in the Emperor’s stead be given to a mere military officer? Moreover, he is only seventeen.”

Wen Xing: “I was only eleven when I ascended the throne.”

“How can that be the same?” The Empress Dowager’s voice rose in reprimand. “Huaiyu, what has come over you lately? You used to listen to your mother the most.”

“I know you’ve developed chest pains. I understand you handing over affairs to the ministers, but you cannot be so capricious. Is it possible that the entire court is useless and it must be him?”

Wen Xing was uncompromising: “It must be him.”

After all, the world would belong to Ning Wujie in three years. Letting other officials handle things risked “nurturing a tiger to cause trouble,” but letting Ning Wujie do it carried no such worry. It was just familiarizing him with government affairs early; it made no difference.

Furthermore, according to history, he was supposed to die at Ning Wujie’s hands. Rather than letting Ning Wujie be out there threatening his life, it was better to keep him close and monitor him. Once the three-year mark arrived, he’d find a chance to leave the palace, change his name, and live a life of total retirement.

Perfect.

The sleeping quarters fell silent for several breaths.

The Empress Dowager was in disbelief. “What if the entire court opposes him?”

Wen Xing sank gloomily into the mountain of stacked pillows, staring at the canopy listlessly. “Then I won’t be the Emperor anymore.”

If being the Emperor meant having no freedom, he’d rather not be one.

Ning Wujie’s pupils flickered slightly as he watched Wen Xing with an inscrutable gaze. This tyrant… what on earth is he babbling about?!

“Absurd!” The Empress Dowager snapped, standing up.

Seeing Wen Xing still in a “slacker” state, her face turned ashen. She pointed an arm at Ning Wujie. “What kind of bewitching soup has he fed you? He’s only entered the palace for the first time and you’ve already lost your sense of propriety. Even if you want to favor him for the sake of the Marquis of Ningyuan, it needn’t go this far”

She paused, as if realizing something. She turned her head suspiciously and stared at the youth’s nearly perfect face. She whispered: “Could it be”

Being stared at like that, Ning Wujie frowned in confusion.

Wen Xing really didn’t want to waste more breath on her. His eyes shifted, and he suddenly clutched his chest with a cry of pain: “It hurts”

Seeing him curled up in apparent agony, the Empress Dowager hurriedly said, “Huaiyu, is it the chest pain again? Quick, call the imperial physicians.”

Wen Xing issued a weak order for her to leave. “Seeing the physicians is useless. I, just need to rest a while. Mother, please leave.”

Li Dequan quickly brought medicine and said respectfully to the Empress Dowager, “Your Majesty, the physicians said His Majesty needs quiet rest and must not be overtaxed.”

The Empress Dowager bit her lip, clutching her handkerchief, seemingly wanting to argue further. “But, Ning…”

Wen Xing was annoyed. At first, he was just faking the pain as an excuse to get people out, but now, because being the Emperor felt so restrictive, a genuine ache began to flare up. Once it started, it became uncontrollable. He gritted his teeth, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, and interrupted sharply: “Mother, please leave.”

It was a commanding tone. The Empress Dowager almost doubted her ears. “Huaiyu…”

Wen Xing looked at her, his fierce gaze filled with warning. Having never seen Wen Xing make such an expression, she froze and stepped back. Finally, she yielded. “Fine. I won’t force you.”

She turned and walked a few steps, pausing as she brushed past Ning Wujie. She glanced sideways at his face and whispered to herself: “He is a beauty; no wonder His Majesty.” She swallowed the rest of her words and strode away.

Her voice was low enough, but Ning Wujie’s hearing was sharp; he heard everything. The youth’s pupils trembled.

Servants bustled around him, occasionally brushing against his robes. Looking at the Emperor on the bed, dripping with cold sweat from pain, Ning Wujie’s brow locked tight.

Tyrant!!

The Empress Dowager strode out of the Hall of Funing. Seeing her fury, an attendant tentatively asked, “Your Majesty, if it really won’t work, perhaps we should select a few good-looking ones from the clan…”

She snapped, “Could any of them be better looking than the one from the Ning family?”

The attendant bowed. “But if we don’t, are we to watch as His Majesty hands power to the Ning family? They are border generals with heavy troops.”

The Empress Dowager glanced at the attendant. “Whether he wants to give power to the Ning family or pull them to his side is yet to be seen.”

She paused, recalling the look in the Emperor’s eyes. She gripped her handkerchief tightly. After a moment, she sighed. “I am also to blame. The Emperor ascended at eleven; for twelve years the harem has been empty, and he has refused to appoint an Empress. I should have realized this sooner.”

“Unfortunately, it’s too late now. His heart and eyes are full of that Ning boy. He’d even give up the throne for him.”

The attendant asked, “Do we have no other way?”

The Empress Dowager looked back at the Hall of Funing. After a moment of thought, she seemed to make a firm decision, her gaze sharpening.

Inside the hall, there was chaos.

Wen Xing’s chest pain grew more intense; even breathing hurt. He was soaked in sweat, his jaw clenched tight. His fingers gripped the edge of the bed, turning his knuckles white.

His consciousness grew hazy. He faintly heard the frantic voice of the old eunuch. “Your Majesty, take the medicine. Open your mouth.”

Wen Xing’s mind was out of control, unable to respond. He could only instinctively tense his muscles and grit his teeth against the sharp, violent pain.

Seeing no reaction, Li Dequan panicked completely. He tried to pry Wen Xing’s mouth open, but Wen Xing fueled by some unknown strength held it shut tight. Fearing he would hurt the Emperor, the eunuch didn’t dare force it. He turned to Ning Wujie.

“General Ning, you know martial arts. Please, help us.”

Ning Wujie stared at Wen Xing. The Emperor’s elegant brows were knotted in pain, and his eyelashes trembled violently over his closed eyes. Sweat slid from his hairline, pooling into large drops at his jaw before soaking his collar.

He looked as if he were truly in agonizing pain.

“General Ning!”

Ning Wujie snapped back to reality, looking at the panicked eunuch holding the medicine bottle. His gaze darkened. He stepped forward, pinching Wen Xing’s jaw with one hand and holding his other palm out to Li Dequan. “Give me the medicine.”

Li Dequan placed a tiny pill in his palm. “This must be placed under His Majesty’s tongue. It must not be swallowed.”

Ning Wujie applied pressure with his fingertips, prying the jaw open just enough. He flipped his palm, pinched the pill, and decisively placed it in Wen Xing’s mouth.

His finger brushed against the tip of the tongue. The warm, soft, and smooth sensation made him freeze. An unfamiliar feeling, like an electric current, shot from his fingertip up his arm.

Ning Wujie withdrew his hand as if he’d been shocked.

The medicine worked quickly. The previously tensed body gradually relaxed. Ning Wujie watched the man intently eyelashes fluttering, then slowly lifting to reveal a sliver of blue-gray eyes, wet with involuntary tears like shimmering lake water.

Ning Wujie secretly clenched his fingers, crushing that slight, strange sensation at his fingertips.

As the pain faded, Wen Xing let out a soft sigh, his consciousness finally returning. His blurred vision focused on Ning Wujie’s somewhat odd expression. Clutched his heart, Wen Xing found a comfortable position among the pillows; he had no energy left to deal with the man.

The imperial physician arrived in a hurry. Seeing him, Ning Wujie stood up to give him space. The physician checked Wen Xing’s pulse thoroughly and instructed: “Your Majesty is fine. This illness is like this, it comes and goes quickly.”

“However, Your Majesty must be careful from now on. Do not wait until the pain is extreme to take the medicine. You must be alert; at the slightest discomfort, take the medicine first.”

Wen Xing gave a soft “Mm.”

The physician bowed and left, turning to pull Li Dequan aside. He whispered, “Eunuch Li, please be careful. Don’t let His Majesty get this bad before taking medicine again. If this illness worsens to an uncontrollable point, the medicine will be useless, and his life will be in danger.”

Li Dequan was horrified and nodded repeatedly, wiping away a cold sweat. If not for General Ning just now, the Emperor might have. He didn’t dare think further.

This whispered conversation fell entirely into Ning Wujie’s ears. He frowned at the Emperor, whose hair was wet with sweat. This tyrant has such a severe heart condition? I never heard a word of it.

Sensing a gaze fixed on him, Wen Xing looked over. A slight smile touched his pale lips. He asked raspily, “Have you made up your mind?”

Ning Wujie’s face darkened. He walked back to the corner by the door and knelt again with a heavy thud.

Wen Xing gave a small huff. He really is stubborn.

Li Dequan brought a cup of tea to Wen Xing, part-blame and part-hint: “It’s this old servant’s incompetence; I had to ask General Ning to feed Your Majesty the medicine.”

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes at Ning Wujie. The youth knelt straight, looking ahead. Even after standing outside for a day and night and kneeling here for half a day, his aura had not diminished. Only his cracked white lips and increasingly red eyes betrayed his fatigue.

Li Dequan followed Wen Xing’s gaze and reminded him, “Your Majesty, General Ning hasn’t eaten in a long time. Should we?”

Wen Xing didn’t speak, merely sipping his tea. Li Dequan knew this was permission. He gestured to the servants: “Prepare a meal.”

When the food was brought in, Li Dequan looked at Ning Wujie, who knelt expressionlessly, and then at the Emperor sipping tea. Seeing that Wen Xing had no intention of asking Ning Wujie to get up and eat, he was inwardly helpless. He ordered a small low table to be placed in front of Ning Wujie, setting the dishes as he said apologetically, “I apologize for the poor arrangement, General Ning.”

Ning Wujie saw the table filled with exquisite dishes and Jin Jun Mei tea. What is this? A slap followed by a sweet date? He wants to tame me into staying willingly?

Wen Xing had fully recovered from the pain. He set his tea bowl aside and lazily lifted his eyelids. He saw Ning Wujie still kneeling straight, looking at him with an inscrutable gaze.

Wen Xing arched an eyebrow. “What? Are you afraid I poisoned you?”

Ning Wujie said nothing.

Wen Xing huffed. “Defying decrees repeatedly, I thought you weren’t afraid of death.”

Ning Wujie said coldly, “Your servant would not dare.”

With that, he drained the tea and picked up his chopsticks. Looking at the spread, he closed his eyes and decided to let his stomach off the hook. I need strength to deal with this tyrant, he thought.

Wen Xing reclined on the couch in a lazy, comfortable posture, watching Ning Wujie eat in silence. The golden glow of the setting sun crossed the window frame and rested on the youth’s profile, outlining his peerless features. Although the boy’s eyelids were lowered, Wen Xing seemed to catch a fleeting sense of resentment and humiliation in his peripheral vision.

Huh? Humiliation? Why that emotion?

Wen Xing thought back, finding a clue in his earlier conversation with the Empress Dowager. Could this kid have misunderstood something?

To test his theory, Wen Xing got out of bed and walked over slowly. A pair of bare feet appeared in Ning Wujie’s vision. The jade-white hem covered most of the feet, leaving only the elegant toes visible—the skin even whiter than the sleeping robes.

Ning Wujie looked up in confusion, his gaze meeting Wen Xing’s. The young Emperor looked down at him and suddenly smiled. He gestured for a lounge chair to be brought over and sat right there.

Ning Wujie: “?”

The chair rocked gently. Wen Xing held a feather fan, fanning himself slowly. A cool breeze carrying the scent of ambergris drifted to Ning Wujie’s nose.

Ning Wujie finally reached his limit and set down his chopsticks. “Your Majesty.”

Wen Xing arched an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“What are you doing?” Ning Wujie asked with a cold face.

“Looking at you,” Wen Xing answered readily. He watched Ning Wujie’s reaction with interest, trying to find that emotion he had noticed earlier.

He saw Ning Wujie frown and look at him with a complicated expression. However, a faint blush suddenly appeared on the tips of the boy’s ears. It was extremely light, but it didn’t escape Wen Xing’s eyes.

His gaze brightened. The decisive, brutal Zhou Wudi actually blushed as a teenager?

Intrigued, he said, “Carry on with your meal.”

How could Ning Wujie eat now? He twitched his lip and said with a wooden face, “What is there to look at?” Get away, his tone implied.

Wen Xing smiled. “You are good-looking.”

Ning Wujie: “……”

He turned his face away, his jaw tightening. He didn’t realize this fully exposed his ears to Wen Xing. They grew visibly redder.

For the first time since transmigrating, Wen Xing found something fun. His eyes moved; he thought he knew how to get this stubborn mule to work for him.

Looking at the discarded chopsticks, Wen Xing said, “Finished already? Such a small appetite?” He picked up a pair of chopsticks, caught a slice of raw fish, and offered it. “Come, let me feed you.”

Because Wen Xing leaned in, the distance between them closed. The scent of ambergris became more fragrant. The fingers holding the chopsticks were like jade carvings, right in front of him.

Ning Wujie’s pupils dilated. He suddenly backed away and stood up, looking at Wen Xing with utter disbelief. Wen Xing looked up calmly, finally seeing that look of humiliation and anger in the boy’s bloodshot eyes again.

So interesting.

Although he didn’t quite understand what the stubborn mule was thinking, it seemed the closer he got, the more the boy wanted to hide. He wanted to see where this fellow could possibly hide.

Wen Xing set down the chopsticks and picked up his feather fan. “Did I tell you to stand up? From now on, you will kneel every day for my enjoyment.”

“Even if you kneel until the end of time, I will not rescind the order.”

Wen Xing lifted his long eyelids; his gaze filled with provocation. He said, word by word: “You—I’ve decided I’m having you.”

Ning Wujie’s eyes were suddenly scorched red with anger. His hands at his sides were clenched into fists, knuckles white.

This tyrant!

Seeing the thin lips bitten tight and the gaze filled with ice, Wen Xing felt the chill but kept the smile in his eyes, continuing the pressure: “Quickly, back to kneeling.”

Ning Wujie closed his eyes tightly, as if making a monumental decision. Finally, he said in a heavy voice, “Didn’t Your Majesty want me to go to the Imperial Study?”

Wen Xing smiled. “So, you’ve thought it through?”

Ning Wujie gave a difficult nod.

Wen Xing waved his fan. “Then go.”

Before the words had even landed, Ning Wujie strode out of the hall. Watching his hurried departure, Wen Xing slowly smiled. He leaned back in his lounge chair, rocking gently.

How very interesting.