Transmigrated as the Emperor, but Slacking Off - Chapter 29

Wen Xing let out a deeply intrigued, drawn-out “Oh.”

“I am precisely such a foolish tyrant who is utterly deficient in discretion. What is to be done? Does Minister Ning wish to…” He stared intently at the youth, the corners of his lips curving upward as he enunciated each word, “…instigate a change of dynasty?”

Ning Wujie’s pupils contracted violently. He stared at Wen Xing in absolute shock, the words slipping out before he could stop them: “How could that possibly be?!”

Because he was so profoundly shaken by the foolish tyrant’s words, a rare flash of sheer panic broke through his usually calm, self-restrained facade. His voice dropped to a heavy whisper. “Is Your Majesty trying to doom your servant to eternal damnation with such talk?”

Wen Xing raised an eyebrow.

If that’s the case, how on earth did you end up rebelling against me in the original timeline? Just how incredibly incompetent and utterly brainless must the original owner of this body have been to drive a kid—whose mind is entirely stuffed with traditional Confucian ethics, sovereign-minister hierarchies, and human relations—to launch a full-scale rebellion? Surely he couldn’t have been more foolish than I am now?

Wen Xing stood up and walked toward Ning Wujie. Using his broad frame and arms to completely hem the youth against the edge of the imperial desk, he said with a lingering smile, “Then what should we do?”

“I have no desire to change my ways, and Minister Ning is unwilling to overthrow the dynasty.”

“In that case, Minister Ning can only endure my indiscretion.”

The foolish tyrant’s low voice drifted against the shell of his ear, carrying a puff of warm, soft breath that sent a sudden wave of numbing electricity straight down his spine. Ning Wujie’s ears flushed a vivid crimson almost instantly.

Ning Wujie ground his teeth. “Why doesn’t Your Majesty find someone else who is more than willing to match your indiscretion to serve you?”

“For instance…” He locked his eyes fiercely onto Wen Xing’s, “Master Wang.”

Deep down, he didn’t truly believe Wang Jiang would ever be willing to indulge in madness alongside this foolish tyrant. Yet, for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom, he simply couldn’t stop himself from bringing the man up.

If this foolish tyrant had grown weary of his stiff, unyielding nature and wished to replace him with a more agreeable favorite, then he… then he could simply return to the northwest to assist his father and brother in fighting off the border tribes. He would no longer have to endure this tyrant’s constant, relentless teasing.

But if that’s what I want, why is this fury roaring so uncontrollably within my chest?

Before he could find an answer, the foolish tyrant suddenly reached out, pinching his chin firmly as he chuckled, “What nonsense are you uttering? This Emperor only enjoys being ‘deficient in discretion’ with Minister Ning.”

Ning Wujie’s pupils shrank.

In the very next heartbeat, a pair of soft lips pressed down firmly over his own.

A slender tongue swept smoothly across the seam of his lips. The sensation was akin to a sudden electrical current, causing his entire body to freeze instantly.

As if this kiss had violently reawakened his latent memories, the two previous intense encounters rushed back into his mind, overriding his thoughts and triggering a visceral, physical response. His conscious mind screamed in resistance, yet his body was already deeply addicted to the taste.

Almost entirely out of sheer instinct, he began to accommodate the foolish tyrant’s nimble tongue, actively wrapping his own around it to intertwine their breaths.

Sensing that the youth’s kissing technique had somehow upgraded entirely on its own without any guidance, Wen Xing raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. He fluttered his eyelids open to look, only to find that beneath Ning Wujie’s lowered lashes, his dark eyes had grown incredibly murky, heavily blanketed by a dense, warm mist of raw desire.

Just as Wen Xing was becoming completely captivated by the sight, the youth suddenly gripped the wrists Wen Xing had propped against the desk. With a sudden, forceful twist of his body, he flipped their positions.

Wen Xing felt a sudden, commanding force lock onto his lower back, followed by a brief, dizzying spin of his vision.

In the next fraction of a second, he found himself forced flat onto his back against the grand imperial desk.

The neatly stacked booklets and official memorials on the desk tumbled off one after another, the loud, scattering thuds of papers hitting the floor violently cutting through the heavy, tangled sounds of their ragged breathing.

Though he didn’t particularly care for the submissive nature of being pinned down like this, Wen Xing knew his physical strength was absolutely no match for the youth’s. He decisively abandoned any thought of pushing him away, opting instead to loop his arms securely around the back of the youth’s neck, pulling him downward to deepen the kiss.

Even while pinned beneath him, he still instinctively tried to seize control of the rhythm. He kept his eyes open, utterly unwilling to miss a single shift in Ning Wujie’s expression.

Sure enough, before long, he watched the corners of the youth’s eyes flush a deep, beautiful crimson, entirely saturated with raw emotion. Even his eyelids had grown damp and warm.

Wen Xing felt himself falling completely under his spell.

The youth’s body was incredibly hot, so much so that it began to ignite a matching heat within his own veins. This isn’t like me, Wen Xing thought to himself. I’ve always been exceptionally cold and clinical regarding these matters, unlike this hormonal teenager who catches fire the absolute second he’s sparked.

But how on earth did I, the one who entered this merely to tease him, end up catching fire as well?

He couldn’t be bothered to analyze it any further. True to his philosophy of never making life difficult for himself, Wen Xing kept one hand firmly anchored behind Ning Wujie’s neck while his other hand began to slide slowly downward.

Realizing what the Emperor was doing, Ning Wujie’s entire body stiffened. He made a sudden, sharp movement to lift his head, but Wen Xing’s hand locked onto the nape of his neck, completely trapping him.

Beside his ear, the foolish tyrant’s soft, breathless chuckle vibrated: “Don’t you dare run.”

“You have yet to truly witness just how ‘deficient in discretion’ This Emperor can be.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ning Wujie felt an identical, scorching heat press flush against him. The sheer intensity of the heat caused him to gasp sharply, his pupils trembling violently.

“You… mmph…”

Wen Xing sealed his lips over the youth’s mouth once more, ruthlessly cutting off the rest of his sentence.

Amidst the desperate, tangled biting of their lips and teeth, the foolish tyrant’s voice slurred out like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, whispering smoothly, “…Don’t be afraid. It will feel wonderful.”

Ning Wujie’s breathing fractured completely, the light within his eyes instantly scattering into a dazed, unfocused sheen.

Within the silent expanse of the hall, nothing remained but the heavy, muffled sound of trembling, restrained gasps.

Leaning lazily against the edge of the imperial desk, Wen Xing pulled out a silk handkerchief, meticulously wiping his fingers one by one. He turned his head to look at Ning Wujie, who was still lying flat across the desk, completely lost in a dazed, scattered stupor.

The youth’s dark pupils had yet to find their focus. His cheeks and the corners of his eyes were flushed a deep, intoxicating crimson, and a fine, watery mist clung to his lashes, casting an incredibly alluring, sensual aura over his otherwise blank gaze.

Wen Xing thoroughly cursed the fact that he was stuck in ancient times without a proper camera to immortalize this exact image. He felt that just staring at this face alone was enough to make him want to…

The remaining words were far too crude, so his rare flash of conscience stepped in to bury them.

Once his fingers were completely clean, he tossed the handkerchief aside. Bending over, he propped his chin in one hand while using his other to gently pat Ning Wujie’s flushed cheek. “Was it comfortable?”

The dark depth within Ning Wujie’s eyes slowly reclaimed its clarity. He remained completely motionless, but his eyes rolled over to glare at the foolish tyrant who was currently looking down at him with a deeply amused, mocking grin.

He took a sharp, deep breath, finally snapping his eyes shut to shut out the sight of this utterly loathesome individual.

His mind had been left completely blank for far too long, and only now did he fully process what had just transpired. He felt an overwhelming urge to draw a blade, slice this foolish tyrant to pieces, and then turn the weapon upon himself.

Seeing his stark refusal to communicate, Wen Xing found it thoroughly hilarious. “Are you truly so overwhelmed with shame and fury that you want to die?”

“Just how on earth did you manage to grow into adulthood?”

“Could it be that you have never once pleasured your—”

“Shut your mouth!” Ning Wujie bolted upright, his palm slamming down over the foolish tyrant’s lips, terrified that another mortifying phrase would slip out and leave him with no choice but to smash his own head against the wall.

With his mouth firmly clamped shut by the youth’s palm, Wen Xing merely blinked, his long, feather-like eyelashes sweeping softly across the pad of Ning Wujie’s thumb.

A sudden, sharp itch flared up from the contact. Given how hyper-sensitive his body currently was, Ning Wujie withdrew his hand as if he had just received an electric shock, suddenly not daring to touch the foolish tyrant anywhere.

Yet, the foolish tyrant simply continued to laugh.

“What is it? I refuse to believe you’ve truly never experienced it before.”

“That is…” Ning Wujie ground his teeth together so hard they cracked, the words tasting as though they were boiling hot as he fought to force them out. He squeezed his fists tightly before snapping, “Such a private matter… who on earth would ever perform it with another person?!”

Wen Xing watched as the deep crimson flush on the youth’s face bled all the way down his neck until it looked thoroughly cooked.

His shoulders shook uncontrollably from laughing so hard.

“Well, This Emperor happens to love performing such things with Minister Ning.”

Ning Wujie’s beautiful eyes flew open once more, staring at him in utter disbelief, his gaze practically screaming the word ‘shameless.’

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself: This is barely the beginning. I’ve only just chipped off a tiny corner of that sacred chastity archway of yours; one day, I will smash the entire thing into absolute dust.

Sometimes, he genuinely felt that his life as an emperor was far too boring, so much so that he was rapidly developing some rather twisted, degenerate hobbies.

With a thoroughly satisfied expression, he stood up and strode toward the doors, feeling completely refreshed. “Minister Ning’s skills in serving his sovereign have improved remarkably. Keep up the excellent work.”

The very second Wen Xing’s silhouette vanished past the threshold, Ning Wujie slammed his clenched fist violently against the desk with a deafening CRACK.

That absolute, utter tyrant!

In the blink of an eye, the seasons shifted into the depths of a bitter midwinter.

The moment the weather turned freezing, Wen Xing found himself completely unable to tolerate the drafty, icy expanse of the imperial palace. With a grand wave of his wide sleeve, he decisively decreed that the entire court would move to the Lishan Hot Springs Imperial Palace to escape the winter cold.

Naturally, Ning Wujie followed along, accompanied by a vast assembly of grand officials from the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries. In an instant, the Lishan Imperial Palace effectively transformed into a bustling miniature capital.

From the early hours of the morning, Ning Wujie would entrench himself within the Palace of Diligent Government, reviewing official memorials and debating state affairs with the Grand Tutor and various ministers, only returning to his quarters when night had thoroughly fallen.

On his way back to his bedchamber.

Ning Wujie paused right outside the grand entrance of the hot spring bathhouse, turning to question the young eunuch standing guard. “Is His Majesty still inside?”

The eunuch nodded respectfully. “His Majesty arrived around noon, and he even decreed that his evening banquet be served right inside.”

As he spoke, the eunuch very mindfully stepped forward to push the heavy doors open for Ning Wujie.

The moment Ning Wujie stepped past the threshold, his eyes locked onto four distinct silhouettes gathered around the edge of the steaming waters.

Wen Xing’s back was turned toward him, his clear, resonant voice echoing sharply within the cavernous bathhouse: “Six! Six! Six! Ha! I’ve been promoted!”

“Master, you’re cheating!”

“There are no masters or emperors here! Right now, you must address me as… Lord Prefect!”

“You flicked the die just now, I saw you! It was supposed to be a four! Ahhh~ my prefectural office! I was just a single step away from capturing it!” Xinghe wailed in utter despair, shouting, “You all saw it, right?!”

The old eunuch waved his hands frantically. “This old servant saw absolutely nothing.”

Wang Jiang shook his head like a spinning toy. “Your servant saw nothing at all either.”

Wen Xing stuck his tongue out at Xinghe, pulling a childish face that perfectly embodied a petty villain who had just gotten his way. Xinghe’s cheeks puffed up entirely with sheer rage.

Seeing that Wang Jiang was actually present here as well wearing nothing but a single, incredibly thin bathrobe that was loosely draped over his frame Ning Wujie’s expression darkened instantly as he strode forward.

A thick, luxurious animal pelt carpet was spread across the floorboards, upon which the four individuals were seated in a tight circle. In the center lay a highly unusual map adorned with various miniature building models, dice, and small wooden tokens.

Sensing an arrival, Wen Xing lifted his head, his gaze colliding directly with Ning Wujie’s pitch-black, freezing eyes.

The bright smile on Wen Xing’s face hadn’t even faded as he said enthusiastically, “Want to play? Imperial Court Monopoly.”

This foolish tyrant was constantly spouting bizarre phrases that were completely incomprehensible to others, and Ning Wujie had long since grown accustomed to it. He replied flatly, “Your servant does not know how.”

The front of Wen Xing’s thin bathrobe was incredibly wide, and the silk tie had been fastened with absolutely zero care. Consequently, the two loose fabric panels had parted entirely without a shred of resistance, exposing a vast expanse of his pale chest and lean abdominal muscles. Though the muscle layer was relatively thin, there wasn’t a single trace of excess fat; every single contour and line was sculpted to absolute perfection.

Ning Wujie cast a fierce, piercing glare at the completely oblivious Wang Jiang. Then, with an immensely sour expression, he dropped into a half-crouch right beside Wen Xing and reached out to refasten the tyrant’s belt.

Failing to notice Ning Wujie’s incredibly foul expression, Wen Xing continued seamlessly, “If you don’t know how, you can learn! It’s remarkably simple; look, even Xinghe managed to learn it.”

Xinghe let out an aggrieved pout.

“I’ll teach you.”

Ning Wujie meticulously tightened the silk belt, carefully overlapping the fabric to completely conceal Wen Xing’s chest. Then, lifting his eyelids to look at the man, he recalled that whenever this foolish tyrant offered to ‘teach’ him something, it definitively involved absolutely nothing decent. He flatly refused, “Your servant has no desire to learn.”

The answer was completely within expectations, so Wen Xing didn’t feel a shred of disappointment. He simply let out his usual sigh: “You truly are far too boring.”

Turning right back around with immense excitement, he slid the dice over to Wang Jiang. “Your turn.”

Wang Jiang happily scooped up the dice and tossed them, feigning a look of immense shock. “Oh dear, a mere one!”

“It seems that no matter what, your servant cannot escape paying taxes to Your Majesty.” As he spoke, he slid his token forward by a single space, landing squarely right outside Wen Xing’s prefectural office.

Ning Wujie’s brows slowly knit together.

Wen Xing reached out, ruthlessly snatching the paper currency straight out of Wang Jiang’s hand. “Hand it over!”

Wang Jiang maintained a brilliant, shining smile. “Your servant’s luck is truly far too abysmal; I cannot even begin to hope to match Your Majesty’s stride. If we continue playing for a bit longer, I fear I might end up losing even my official minister’s hat to Your Majesty.”

“There is no ‘Your Majesty’ here. Right now, you must address me as Lord Prefect.”

Wang Jiang repeatedly bowed his assent.

Ning Wujie massaged the bridge of his nose. Moving forward, he planted himself firmly within the narrow gap between Wang Jiang and Wen Xing, using his massive frame to completely isolate the two from one another.

“Your Majesty may teach your servant now.”

Wen Xing let out a sharp, astonished “Huh?”

The sun must have truly risen from the west today.

However, the moment he realized he could actively induct this stiff traditionalist into a brand new game, Wen Xing’s excitement flared to life. He ruthlessly swept the entire board clean, overturning the game. “Then let us start entirely from the beginning!”

Xinghe let out a deeply tragic wail: “Ahhh~ Master! I had already successfully become a County Magistrate!”

Li Dequan didn’t care a single bit about the game being reset. He maintained a brilliant, knowing grin, thinking to himself: As expected, one truly needs a bit of healthy competition to spark some real motivation.

His Majesty truly has this little beauty completely wrapped around his finger.

The five heads huddled tightly together, and they spent a considerable amount of time shouting and playing merrily.

During one of Wen Xing’s subsequent dice rolls, his pinky finger gave a microscopic, almost imperceptible flick to the die. However, this microscopic movement failed to escape Ning Wujie’s sharp gaze.

In the blink of an eye, his wrist was violently pinned down by Ning Wujie’s hand. A razor-sharp glare sliced across the space. “Your Majesty is the supreme sovereign of the nation; resorting to such petty trickery is beneath your imperial dignity.”

Xinghe instantly seized the golden opportunity to avenge his past losses, shouting, “Look! Master was indeed cheating!” He turned around, pointing an incredibly frustrated finger at Li Dequan and Wang Jiang. “You two are completely blind!”

Wang Jiang lowered his head as far as it could humanly go, thinking to himself that this Master Ning was truly mind-bogglingly audacious. He actually dared to grab the Emperor’s hand just like that, and even openly called His Majesty out for cheating right to his face! Even if he were granted ten thousand times his current courage, he would never dare to attempt such a thing.

So this is what it truly means to be thoroughly arrogant on account of imperial favor.

Li Dequan maintained an expression that clearly saw through everything but chose to remain silent, smiling without a word.

Wen Xing didn’t mind in the slightest. Pouting slightly, he muttered, “Fine, fine, I was wrong. Will that suffice?”

With Ning Wujie’s hawk-like eyes monitoring his every move, he played the remaining rounds with absolute honesty, finally allowing Xinghe to secure a glorious victory.

Xinghe practically leaped three feet into the air, spinning around the hot spring pool in sheer, unadulterated ecstasy. “I won, Master!”

Wen Xing watched the child with a soft smile for a long moment before rising to his feet and walking toward the edge of the steaming pool. His feet dipped smoothly into the water, and as he descended the stone steps one by one, he casually shed his loose bathrobe.

Ning Wujie’s eyes followed Wen Xing’s form closely. Suddenly, his expression darkened completely. Without even turning his head, he shot his arm out, firmly blocking Wang Jiang’s field of vision.

Wang Jiang, who had barely managed to catch a brief glimpse of a bare back: ?

Ning Wujie ground his teeth, his voice dropping to a freezing, absolute chill. “His Majesty wishes to bathe in the hot springs. Master Wang, please take your leave.”

Wang Jiang thought to himself: If he wants to bathe, why on earth aren’t you leaving either?

But on second thought, the man before him was the ultimate, undisputed favorite minister; he had likely bared himself completely before the Emperor long ago. Thus, he prepared to stand up and depart, only for Wen Xing to suddenly turn around in the water, waving a hand toward the two of them. “You two should come in as well.”

The foolish tyrant let out a profoundly satisfied sigh. Reaching over to the fruit platter resting by the pool’s edge, he picked up a slice of a neatly peeled mandarin orange and popped it into his mouth.

Winter truly demands a good hot spring soak, Wen Xing thought to himself. After spending so much time in this era, I’ve finally discovered that being an emperor does have some spectacular perks. For instance, this type of 24/7 premium luxury thermal SPA—I can soak whenever I please, and I can even drag people along to play board games with me.

The foolish tyrant decided he never wanted to leave; he was going to put down permanent roots right here at the Lishan Hot Springs Palace.

Having received an explicit imperial command, Wang Jiang let out an affirmative “Ah,” and was just about to untie his bathrobe when he collided directly with Ning Wujie’s icy, homicidal stare.

Instantly frozen by a very real, primitive sense of mortal peril radiating from that gaze, Wang Jiang’s movements locked up entirely.

This…

For a terrifying moment, he found himself utterly trapped he didn’t dare to put his robe back on, yet he didn’t dare to take it off either.

Li Dequan, being exceptionally sharp and politically savvy, promptly grabbed Xinghe by the collar and dragged him away.

As he was being hauled out, Xinghe yelled in utter confusion, “Why can’t I soak in the pool?!”

“Children soak in the small pools.”

“You’re lying! Where on earth is there a small pool? Wait, I am not a child!”

The voices of the old and the young gradually drifted off into the far distance.

Seeing that absolutely no one was moving toward the water, Wen Xing turned his head back in confusion, only to find Wang Jiang standing there in an incredibly awkward, frozen posture, while Ning Wujie remained seated cross-legged on the carpet, his face completely rigid like a block of solid ice.

Wen Xing knit his brows, reasoning to himself that Ning Wujie’s refusal to enter the water was likely because he was unwilling to strip completely bare in front of him specifically regarding the lower half of his clothes. Though, in truth, he had already seen every single inch of him long ago.

But what on earth is Wang Jiang’s problem?

He commanded coldly, “Wang Jiang, get over here. This Emperor has matters to question you on.”

Wang Jiang instinctively prepared to take a step forward, but a sudden, massive force violently yanked him backward. He spun his head around, only to find Ning Wujie staring blankly ahead, his hand firmly gripping the back hem of Wang Jiang’s robe.

Wang Jiang: ?

Before he could even process his bewilderment, Ning Wujie’s freezing, lethal gaze swept over him, causing a violent shiver to race straight up his spine.

He looked at the Emperor who was actively commanding him to come over, and then at Ning Wujie who was absolutely barring him from moving a single inch, completely stuck in a state of absolute, agonizing paralysis.

From Wen Xing’s vantage point inside the pool, he could only see Ning Wujie sitting serenely while Wang Jiang stood beside him like a complete idiot, entirely unaware that Ning Wujie’s hand was actively hidden right behind Wang Jiang’s back.

Wen Xing’s brows furrowed deeply.

What on earth is going on? I already can’t seem to command Ning Wujie, but am I now unable to even command a fool like Wang Jiang?

“What exactly are you doing?” he questioned in a dangerous, freezing tone.

Wang Jiang didn’t dare to defy an imperial decree. He could only turn his head slightly toward Ning Wujie, frantically mouthing the words: His Majesty is calling me.

Ning Wujie remained completely unmoved. He merely lifted his eyelids slightly, tilting his head a microscopic fraction to signal Wang Jiang to look down.

Wang Jiang cast his eyes downward, initially only seeing Ning Wujie’s hand tightly gripping his robe. Yet, as he looked closer, a sudden, blinding flash of cold steel caught the light, violently rattling his vision. He froze in absolute horror, finally realizing that from the tight cuff of Ning Wujie’s sleeve, the razor-sharp tip of a hidden sleeve-arrow had extended outward. The wicked, gleaming edge was currently pointing directly upward, aimed squarely at his backside.

Wang Jiang’s pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks, his entire frame turning completely rigid with absolute terror.

Carrying concealed weapons right in front of the imperial presence!

No, wait! My backside!

He instinctively flew his hands backward to shield his rear, his entire body trembling like a leaf in a storm as cold sweat erupted across his forehead.

What on earth is Master Ning’s deal?! Is he saying that the literal second I dare to take a step toward that pool, he is going to make my backside explode into a bloody flower?!

Wang Jiang wanted nothing more than to break down and weep right then and there. Yet, the Emperor’s piercing gaze was still actively pressuring him from the pool. Left with absolutely no choice, his legs shaking violently, he could only force out a trembling, wavering pitch: “Yo… Your Majesty, your servant… your servant shall speak from right here.”

Wen Xing was utterly baffled. “Is speaking from such a massive distance not incredibly exhausting?”

Wang Jiang: “N… No, it is not exhausting at all.”

Wen Xing thought to himself that he was the one who found it exhausting.

Though he couldn’t fathom what kind of mental illness these two had suddenly developed, Wen Xing was far too lazy to investigate it deeply. He shifted his position, leaning comfortably against the opposite wall of the pool, casting a cool, incredibly playful glance toward Wang Jiang.

“Did you not arrive today with the explicit intention of offering yourself to my bed? Standing so incredibly far away, just how on earth do you expect to seduce This Emperor?”

Wang Jiang: !

Ning Wujie: ……