Transmigrated as the Emperor, but Slacking Off - Chapter 22.2

“Is there a hot spring in the palace?” He wanted a bath, deeply missing the kind of hot spring SPA from his previous life where one could stay all day with food, drink, and entertainment. It was perfect for slacking off all day in such cold weather.

The old eunuch was used to the Emperor’s forgetfulness. “There is a hot spring pool in the palace, but it is not as large as the Hot Spring Palace at Mount Li.”

Wen Xing’s eyes lit up. “Is the Hot Spring Palace far?”

“One day at the fastest, two at the slowest.”

“Prepare the carriage.” Wen Xing lazily extended an arm. “Dress me.”

Li Dequan looked troubled. “But… Lord Ning said that since the mastermind behind the last assassination hasn’t been found, His Majesty should not leave the palace at will.”

Wen Xing: … I have to consult Ning Wujie even to leave the palace? Who exactly is the Emperor?

The silkworm cocoon was very unhappy. “Tell Ning Wujie to get his ass over here.”

Li Dequan: “Lord Ning went to the Bureau’s prison early this morning.”

Wen Xing grit his teeth. This stubborn man had an excuse to slip away every day busy during the day, busy at night simply never seen from dawn to dusk. Does he hate me that much, hiding from me all day? What happened to being responsible for my safety?

He said crossly, “Tell him to roll over and see me the moment he returns to the palace!”

Inside the Bureau’s prison.

The County Prince, clad in a green dragon robe, sat upright in the prisoner’s chair. Behind him were countless torture implements. He looked at the youth standing before him without fear, saying with cold disdain: “Punishment does not reach the high officials (Shidafu). I am a County Prince personally titled by the Late Emperor!”

Ning Wujie, with his back to the prisoner, did not answer. His fingertips brushed over the implements on the table, finally landing on a steel needle about the length of a palm. He picked it up and studied it against the torchlight. His gaze was chillingly cold, and deep in his pool-like eyes were unreadable emotions.

“The ‘Drunken Bone Silk’ is an aphrodisiac commonly used by Huanhai Tower. How did your grandson, Wang Yian, obtain it?”

As he spoke, he turned around, holding the steel needle, and walked toward Wang Xuanyi. The tip of the needle gleamed sharply under the torchlight, and the handle still bore faint traces of unknown blood. Wang Xuanyi’s pupils shrank. “You… you cannot use torture on me!”

Ning Wujie let out a cold laugh. “How can the Prince be so naive? This is the Bureau’s prison.”

With a slight jerk of his chin, two investigators pinned Wang Xuanyi’s hands to the table and pressed his head down until it was flat against the surface, forcing him to watch his own right hand. In Wang Xuanyi’s terrified sight, the tip of the steel needle hung right before his index finger, ready to pierce it instantly.

“Once this needle goes in, it pierces from the fingertip straight through the metacarpal. In all these years at the prison, no one has survived a single needle,” an investigator said coolly. “Rest assured, Prince—punishment does not reach the officials. This torture will only leave a pinprick; at most, it will shatter a few bones. We’ll ensure you remain whole.”

Wang Xuanyi’s hair stood on end, and he broke into a cold sweat. His eyes widened, and he struggled violently, yet he was held motionless. But his mouth still struggled: “How should I know? Yian was my grandson, yes, but do not think you can pin his crimes on my head!”

Then a bone-chilling voice came from above: “I shall answer for you: because you are the true Master of Huanhai Tower. You were the one who gave him the ‘Drunken Bone Silk’.”

Wang Xuanyi was startled and blurted out: “Nonsense! Ning Wujie, do not dream of framing me!”

Ning Wujie let out a cold laugh: “Do you think I would say these things without evidence?” As he spoke, the steel needle sliced cleanly into the flesh.

Wang Xuanyi let out a piercing scream. The intense pain surged from his fingertip nerves to his brain, making his breathing stop for a second. “I… I’ll talk!”

“I intentionally… gave it to his page-boy.”

Ning Wujie looked at Wang Xuanyi, his gaze turning several degrees colder. “You used your own flesh-and-blood grandson to set a trap for me?”

Wang Xuanyi raged: “That madman! After seeing the Emperor three years ago, he became obsessed! Talking about not wanting to go to the Hanlin Academy, but wanting to serve by the Emperor’s side how could my Wang family produce such a worthless thing!”

“Using him for a trap if it succeeded, he could divert the Emperor’s favor from you. If it failed, you would be the killer. Why wouldn’t I do it?”

Ning Wujie stared at the grey-haired old man, his cold gaze filled with contempt. He leaned into Wang Xuanyi’s ear and hissed: “Regicide… warrants the execution of nine generations.”

“I did not! I did not attempt regicide!” Wang Xuanyi denied frantically through the pain. “I did not expect him to attempt an assassination!”

Ning Wujie let out an “Oh?” “You didn’t attempt regicide? Then wasn’t it you who hired the Banyue Tower for the last assassination?”

The moment the words fell, the needle pierced another half-inch. Wang Xuanyi’s howling echoed through the entire prison. His legs shook, and he shouted in a trembling voice: “I did not! The one I wanted to kill was you! Not the Emperor!”

The smell of urine seeped from his crotch. The two investigators holding him showed looks of disgust. Wang Xuanyi’s lips had turned pale, and he was shaking uncontrollably from the pain. “Those useless fools from Banyue Tower! They saw you enter the carriage and struck; they had no idea the person inside was the Emperor! I did not… I truly did not attempt regicide.” His voice grew weaker, still denying it.

Ning Wujie narrowed his eyes, his expression unsurprised. In his position, he had cut off many people’s paths to wealth; those who wanted him dead were numerous. He rose with disdain and said to the investigators: “Continue the interrogation. Make him spit out every bit of the Wang clan’s influence in the military. Give me a list.”

“Yes.”

Ning Wujie turned and strode out of the prison.

Upon returning to the palace, before he could even change his clothes, he was summoned by a messenger eunuch. The eunuch led him on a jog, apologizing: “His Majesty’s decree: Lord Ning is to go the moment he returns, without delay.”

Ning Wujie was led to a palace. Looking up by the lamp-light, he saw the three characters “Ninghui Hall” (Hall of Condensed Radiance) on the plaque. Puzzled, he turned to the eunuch: “The Emperor is here?” This faint-hearted ruler usually only stayed in his bedchamber to sleep, or sneaked out to brothels; even attending court required coaxing. Why the change of nature today? What is Ninghui Hall for?

The eunuch only lowered his head with a smile. “Pray follow me, Lord Ning.”

The eunuch held a palace lantern, splitting the path with a small circle of warm yellow light. Red carpets covered the lapis lazuli floor tiles. Ning Wujie’s boots stepped soundlessly on the carpet as they crossed the main hall and turned past several landscape screens. The air suddenly became heavy with moisture. A warm fragrance of sandalwood mixed with sulfur hit his face.

He was first led to a partition to bathe and change into a tea-white wide-sleeved long robe. Then, he was led to a curtain. His vision was obscured by a semi-transparent moon-white gauze curtain, making everything behind it look soft and silhouetted. There was the sound of trickling water.

An ominous premonition rose in Ning Wujie’s heart. The eunuch stopped before the curtain and drew it aside. “Pray enter, Lord.”

Behind the curtain, the steam suddenly billowed. In the haze, a back was resting against the stone wall of a pool. Black hair cascaded down, half of it falling into the water. Most of the figure’s body was submerged, revealing only the curve of a neck and shoulders above the surface.

Ning Wujie was stunned. Realizing what he was seeing, he turned to leave.

“Stay.” The faint-hearted ruler’s voice came from behind.

Ning Wujie closed his eyes, not daring to look back. “What is Your Majesty’s business?”

With the sound of splashing water, Wen Xing turned around, resting his arms on the edge of the pool. He beckoned to Ning Wujie with a finger. “Come over.”

Ning Wujie stiffened and took a step back.

“Why so far? Come closer.”

Ning Wujie took a deep breath and retreated three steps. “Is this enough?” The distance was already very close; any further back and he would step into the pool.

Wen Xing rested his head on his arms, looking up at him. Seeing him with eyes closed and brows knitted, the Emperor found it funny. “What are you hiding from? Oh, are you going to say ‘one must not look at what is improper’ again? What is there that cannot be seen? I am letting you look.”

Ning Wujie still didn’t move. “How will you serve me if you don’t open your eyes?”

Ning Wujie grit his teeth. “I cannot learn it.”

“I am commanding you.” Wen Xing sneered in his heart. Hiding from me, are you?

He stood up directly from the water, the pool water cascading down and splashing onto the tops of Ning Wujie’s boots. Perceiving his movement, Ning Wujie’s brow tightened even further. Wen Xing walked onto the shore barefoot, step by step. The water traced his body as it fell, and a pair of shoulder blades like spreading butterfly wings were exceptionally distinct.

He rounded to Ning Wujie’s front and stood before him, studying the youth’s locked brows and tightly closed eyes with great interest. A pair of eyelashes were trembling slightly due to intense tension. His gaze swept over the tips of Ning Wujie’s ears, which were tinged with pink.

He smiled and said with curled lips: “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

The eyelashes fluttered, and the eyelids lifted slightly with great difficulty. Ning Wujie forced his gaze to fix on the Emperor’s face. But that face was stained with a thin mist of water, damp hair stuck to his cheeks, and tiny droplets hung from his lashes. The dim light reflected in the droplets, refracting dots of gold that shone along with those gem-like eyes. That gaze, carrying a misty dampness, swept over him with a tangible weight, making Ning Wujie’s Adam’s apple bob and his spine stiffen.

The Sovereign walked lazily to a lounge chair by the pool and lay down, beckoning with a finger: “Come over. Massage my legs. Learn your ‘Way of Serving the Sovereign’ properly.”

Ning Wujie clenched his fists hard. …Faint-hearted ruler!