Transmigrated as the Emperor, but Slacking Off - Chapter 30

Wang Jiang only felt the drafty chill behind his back plummet ten degrees further, freezing his very bones to solid ice!

Without even turning his head, he could easily guess that the hidden sleeve-arrow in Ning Wujie’s hand was practically on the verge of launching.

He instinctively squeezed his buttocks tightly together, his overlapping hands covering his rear even more securely.

From behind him, a voice carrying a bone-deep, haunting chill drifted over eerily: “Master Wang, think very carefully before you speak.”

Wang Jiang: “…”

Before him, the Emperor was looking at him with a gaze that was half-amused, half-scrutinizing.

Pinned down by these two opposing lines of sight, his entire body felt thoroughly pricked.

“Your… your servant does not possess such overstepping thoughts.”

“Is that so?” Wen Xing looked at him suspiciously. “Then your arrival to see This Emperor today was merely to have me look over your examination questions?”

“If so, why did you refuse to leave after asking your questions, staying behind to accompany This Emperor in playing games, and even peeling mandarin oranges for me…”

Wang Jiang felt that for every single action the Emperor listed, the freezing aura behind him grew three degrees colder, causing him to shudder significantly more violently.

“Just a moment ago, you even mentioned wanting to learn massage techniques from Li Dequan…”

A sharp, piercing edge pressed directly against his backside.

“Your servant!”

Shivering uncontrollably, Wang Jiang closed his eyes in sheer panic and cried, “Your servant merely… merely wished to fulfill his duties as a minister…”

The sharp edge advanced another fraction of an inch, and Wang Jiang could already feel a very real, piercing pressure.

His voice suddenly shot up an entire octave. “I harbored absolutely no other intentions!”

Witnessing Wang Jiang’s utterly petrified expression, Wen Xing couldn’t help but feel surprised. Why is he wound up this tight? Am I truly that terrifying?

Amused, he let out a chuckle. “If you are terrified to this extent, how on earth do you expect to accomplish the mission the Empress Dowager tasked you with?”

Wang Jiang froze. “Your Majesty… how, how do you know?”

Ning Wujie narrowed his eyes.

Wen Xing replied coolly, “Is there even a need to think about it?” His sharp gaze sliced across the space. “Your surname is Wang.”

Struck by the Emperor’s freezing glare, Wang Jiang dared not hide the truth any longer, rushing to explain, “The Empress Dowager said… she said Your Majesty’s relocation to the Lishan Hot Springs Palace was the absolute best opportunity. She said a minister who has caught Your Majesty’s favorable eye could join Your Majesty in…”

Before the sentence could even finish, Wang Jiang felt as though his rear was about to be sliced into a blooming flower. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he hastily blurted out in a whimpering, sobbing tone, “But! But your servant truly lacks that kind of intent! Your servant doesn’t even know how…”

“Doesn’t know how to di… di… divide imperial favor!”

The veins at Ning Wujie’s temple gave a sharp throb.

“Your servant was completely forced into a corner by absolute helplessness! May Your Majesty clearly discern the truth!”

Wang Jiang felt profoundly aggrieved.

On one side, the Empress Dowager was threatening him; on this side, the Emperor had completely seen through him; and right beside him was a literal god of death ready to claim his life at any second.

He was truly far too miserable!

“Furthermore, your servant is well aware,” he sniffed, “that no matter what, your servant cannot even begin to compare to Master Ning’s position in Your Majesty’s heart.”

The moment these words left his mouth, Wang Jiang noticed that the pain against his backside seemed to ease significantly.

He blinked in confusion. Once his mind caught up, a brilliant light flashed within his eyes, and he continued rapidly, “Your Majesty’s profound love and high regard for Master Ning is universally known to all! Your servant is entirely incapable of matching Master Ning, whether in terms of intellect or physical appearance!”

The sharp, pressing danger completely receded, leaving behind nothing but the stinging, spicy sensation of scratched skin.

Wang Jiang blinked, cautiously turning his head a fraction to steal a glance at Ning Wujie. He found the youth still completely expressionless, though the sleeve-arrow had been pulled back albeit still pointing toward him from a distance as a warning.

Leaning lazily against the pool wall, Wen Xing propped his chin in one hand, the corners of his lips curling upward. “Oh? It turns out Minister Ning is so thoroughly flawless that even you competitors can only sigh in self-deprecation.” Though his words were addressed to Wang Jiang, his eyes were locked entirely onto Ning Wujie’s face.

Receiving Wen Xing’s raw, heavy, and completely naked gaze, Ning Wujie felt a sudden, bizarre illusion as though the tyrant’s eyes were physically licking across him.

His handsome brows knit slightly, and he averted his gaze.

In his heart, he viciously cursed the man as a foolish tyrant once more.

Wang Jiang braced his courage and stated, “Your Majesty, your servant’s presence here was entirely in obedience to the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree; I had absolutely no other choice. But your servant truly harbors zero intentions of overstepping boundaries.”

“Very well,” Wen Xing raised a hand to cut him off. “This Emperor understands.”

Wang Jiang paused. “Your Majesty understands?”

He heard Wen Xing let out a mocking sneer. “With that atrocious acting ability of yours, what could you possibly use to seduce This Emperor? Since you lack the heart for it, don’t force yourself anymore; watching you is an absolute eyesore.”

Wang Jiang: “…”

He felt deeply insulted.

“You are completely unlike Minister Ning,” Wen Xing continued, his eyes trailing back to Ning Wujie. “He possesses a face capable of turning the entire realm upside down. Even if he does absolutely nothing, it is more than enough to leave This Emperor’s heart thoroughly clawed and scratched with desperate longing.”

Ning Wujie: “…”

This foolish tyrant is spouting completely filterless nonsense yet again!

To escape that scorching gaze, he turned his face slightly away, exposing the tip of an ear that had flushed a deep crimson.

Watching him, Wen Xing let out a soft laugh.

The Emperor’s gaze carried far too much physical weight, so much so that even Wang Jiang couldn’t ignore it. Out of sheer curiosity, his eyes followed Wen Xing’s line of sight to look at Ning Wujie.

Seeing Ning Wujie’s expression a thoroughly tangled mix of intense shame, irritation, and back-teeth-grinding hatred Wang Jiang stared blankly.

These two…

His mind processed the scene for several long heartbeats before his face suddenly fell.

Are these two literally using their eyes to flirt and tease each other right in front of my face?!

The Emperor was actively responding to his words while simultaneously using the opportunity to thoroughly seduce a beauty.

Wang Jiang desperately wanted to scream the word ‘tyrant,’ but his cowardice ultimately overrode his desire.

He heard the foolish tyrant state, “This Emperor knows you cannot defy the Empress Dowager. You may return to report to her exactly as planned, telling her that This Emperor is highly satisfied with you.”

Wang Jiang was stunned. “Your Majesty’s meaning is…”

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes. “If you fail to accomplish your mission, it will be difficult for you to give an account to the Empress Dowager, will it not? This Emperor can assist you.”

“You only need to tell her that This Emperor is precisely a foolish tyrant who is entirely blinded by lust, and that I would naturally never pass up a piece of fresh, tender meat delivered straight to my doorstep.”

Hearing the words “blinded by lust” yet again, Ning Wujie knit his brows to glare at Wen Xing, finding it profoundly difficult to believe this foolish tyrant wasn’t deliberately saying it for his benefit.

It took Wang Jiang’s brain several rotations to fully comprehend what the phrasing implied, and his face couldn’t help but flush slightly. “But…”

“As for the mathematics discipline, This Emperor shall still leave you completely in charge of it,” Wen Xing stated, his gaze hardening into a cold warning. “However, from this day forth, you must remember exactly whose man you are.”

Wang Jiang’s pupils shook. Once the realization struck home, he nodded frantically. “Your servant shall definitively not disgrace his mission!”

The freezing edge behind his back was finally pulled away entirely, and Wang Jiang let out a massive, soul-deep sigh of absolute relief.

Wen Xing nodded, waving his hand dismissively. “You may leave.”

As if he had just received an imperial amnesty, Wang Jiang practically rolled and crawled his way out the door.

Watching Wang Jiang’s frantic, panicking retreat, Wen Xing’s brows knit slightly with a touch of concern. “With courage that microscopic, he won’t accidentally spill the truth in front of the Empress Dowager, will he?”

Ning Wujie cast a sidelong glance at him, his words betraying the opposite of his true thoughts: “If Your Majesty is so deeply worried, why not turn the fake performance into reality? If you truly favor Wang Jiang, you will no longer have to worry about him spilling the truth before the Empress Dowager.”

Wen Xing narrowed his eyes. “Does Minister Ning wish for This Emperor to favor him?”

Ning Wujie stared directly back at him, the depths of his dark eyes blanketing an unnamable, turbulent emotion. He merely stated coolly, “Whomever Your Majesty wishes to favor, what does it have to do with your servant?”

Wen Xing let out a mocking laugh. “How could it possibly have nothing to do with you? Minister Ning naturally wishes for This Emperor to switch his favor to another person, so you can dream of me finally letting you go, is that not so?”

Hearing this, Ning Wujie silently squeezed his fists.

I should be thinking exactly that.

But…

The mere thought of anyone else climbing onto this foolish tyrant’s imperial dragon bed caused an uncontrollable fury to roar within his chest. Just a moment ago, he had come dangerously close to genuinely slaughtering that man surnamed Wang.

Catching the distinct flash of fury swirling within the youth’s eyes, Wen Xing grew even more certain that this kid was trying every single method under the sun to distance himself from him.

The evil little spirit deep within his soul became even more energized. He stated in a thoroughly teasing, malicious tone, “But This Emperor simply wants to ‘cling to you relentlessly’.”

Ning Wujie knit his brows fiercely to glare at the foolish tyrant.

Why on earth does this foolish tyrant fail to remember anything he ought to remember, yet every single word of my past drunken ramblings is recorded so vividly in his mind? He seized every available opportunity to drag them out just to torment him.

This individual was truly far too detestable, leaving his back teeth aching with sheer hatred.

“What is to be done? Until This Emperor grows completely bored of playing with you, Minister Ning is destined to never escape.”

Grows bored of playing? Treating me as a mere plaything?

A roaring fire erupted within Ning Wujie’s dark eyes, his fists tightening with immense force.

Wen Xing watched as the rims of the youth’s eyes burned a vivid crimson. Beneath the collar of his pristine white inner robes, his exquisite Adam’s apple resembled a miniature mountain peak, shifting up and down as if desperately fighting to force something heavy down.

Thoroughly caught up in the thrill of teasing him, Wen Xing thought to himself that if he were to trap this fury-ravaged miniature peak directly within his palm to play with it, it would definitively be monumentally entertaining.

He curled a finger toward Ning Wujie. “Come here.”

Ning Wujie stared at him fiercely, refusing to budge.

Wen Xing issued a lazy, low threat: “If you defy an imperial command, This Emperor shall execute you right this second, and switch to having Minister Wang serve me instead.”

The tightly squeezed knuckles of Ning Wujie’s fist let out a succession of sharp cracks.

He did not fear death, but the mere thought that the literal second he died, someone else would promptly occupy this foolish tyrant’s dragon bed made him want to slaughter every single one of them first.

He took a sharp, deep breath, ruthlessly forcing the raging inferno of his fury down. Ultimately, with immense reluctance, he stepped forward to stand at the edge of the pool.

Wen Xing: “Kneel.”

Ning Wujie directed a freezing glare at the foolish tyrant inside the pool. After a long moment of hesitation, he ultimately complied, dropping onto one knee.

With one hand resting across his knee and his other propped against the edge of the pool, he looked down at the foolish tyrant from above, demanding icily, “What are Your Majesty’s commands?”

Wen Xing lifted his head to look back at him, half of his shoulders and back exposed above the water’s surface. Droplets of water traced glistening paths across his skin and muscles, outlining his frame with fine silvery edges.

It was white enough to dazzle the eyes.

The foolish tyrant stretched a slender arm out, looping it securely around the back of the youth’s neck. Suddenly using the grip as leverage to pull himself forward, he pressed his lips right against the shell of the youth’s ear, lowering his voice: “I want you to come down.”

The warm, soft breath swept across the hyper-sensitive skin of his neck, sending a violent, trembling itch straight down to his core.

Ning Wujie’s pupils shook, the roaring fury in his heart instantly extinguished by this intoxicating, alluring cadence.

He hastily ripped his gaze away from that blindingly white skin, letting out a dry swallow. “Your servant still has official duties—”

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, a sudden, violent force from the back of his neck ruthlessly dragged him downward.

SPLASH—

Ning Wujie was violently hauled straight into the water in a crushing embrace by the foolish tyrant.

“Mmph—cough—!”

Ning Wujie bolted upright, wiping the water from his face, letting out a succession of ragged coughs as he gasped for air.

He was thoroughly soaked from head to toe. When he opened his eyes, the pool water dripped from his lashes, blurring his vision.

This foolish tyrant had actually used the entire dead weight of his own body just to drag him down.

He knit his brows fiercely, snapping, “Your Majesty!”

Witnessing his thoroughly drenched, bedraggled state, Wen Xing laughed so hard his frame doubled over.

“Are you not a decorated military general? How on earth do you lack even this basic shred of vigilance?”

Ning Wujie stared at him in utter speechlessness.

It wasn’t a lack of vigilance, it was…

Ning Wujie closed his eyes deeply, thinking to himself that he had truly been led straight into a ditch by this foolish tyrant. The man had used such a disgraceful, underhanded method just to shatter his focus, and he had actually fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

It took Wen Xing a considerable amount of time to exhaust his laughter before he finally straightened up to inspect the youth.

Even Ning Wujie’s hair crown was completely drenched, his ponytail falling straight and sleek down his lower back. The stray bangs across his forehead were soaked through, plastering themselves against his cheeks. His fierce brows were tightly knit, and a fine scattering of tiny water droplets clung to his lashes, shimmering brightly.

“Minister Ning’s clothes are completely soaked through. Come, This Emperor shall assist you in removing them.” As he spoke, Wen Xing’s hands immediately reached out to tear at Ning Wujie’s collar.

Knowing the man harbored absolutely zero good intentions, Ning Wujie shot his hand out, firmly pinning down the right hand that was actively making mischief, stating icily, “Your Majesty, your servant truly lacks the leisure to accompany you in your non—”

Yet, mid-sentence, the foolish tyrant suddenly used his other hand to firmly grasp his throat, ruthlessly pinning his words right back down his throat.

Ning Wujie’s pupils shrank. He suddenly felt the pad of the foolish tyrant’s thumb lightly sweep across his Adam’s apple, triggering a succession of numbing, paralyzing waves of pure itchiness.

He couldn’t help but let out a hard swallow. “Your Majesty…”

The sharp tip of the cartilage pressed right against the pad of Wen Xing’s thumb, rolling up and down as if desperately trying to escape the restraint. Following the sliding movement of that cartilage, a strange, unnamable itch continuously traveled straight toward Wen Xing’s core.

The curve of Wen Xing’s lips widened, his eyes flashing with a wicked cunning as if he had just discovered a spectacular new toy.

“I command you to strip off your clothing.”

“Otherwise…” Wen Xing paused to ponder a moment, issuing a threat that carried absolutely zero true weight: “This Emperor shall pinch your Adam’s apple until it bursts.”

Ning Wujie: “…”

Though he found it thoroughly mind-boggling, he ultimately complied anyway.

Perhaps he was simply terrified the foolish tyrant would spout an even stupider phrase to threaten him.

The heavy military robes were thoroughly waterlogged, making them incredibly heavy. Ning Wujie shed the outer layers, boots, and trousers, tossing them onto the dry bank, leaving behind nothing but a single, pristine white inner shirt.

Wen Xing hadn’t expected Ning Wujie to suddenly become this compliant.

He was well aware that his previous threat held absolutely zero true meaning for Ning Wujie; he had merely thrown out a random excuse before bringing out his true ultimate moves.

Thus, taking an absolute mile from the given inch, he reached out and violently ripped the youth’s inner silk tie open. The front of the inner shirt parted completely, exposing a half-concealed, incredibly lean waist beneath.

Because there wasn’t a single shred of excess body fat, the waist appeared remarkably narrow against the frame of his broad shoulders, looking as though it could be completely encompassed within a single hand, forming a powerful, striking contrast against his solid, expansive chest.

Wen Xing’s eyes darkened slightly.

He looks incredibly delicious.

Recalling their previous encounter, he licked his canine teeth in deep addiction. Taking several sharp steps forward, he ruthlessly forced the youth back until he was pinned flush against the pool wall.

The water let out a succession of heavy, splashing sloshes as the two moved through it.

Driven to a point where retreat was physically impossible, Ning Wujie felt an immediate, primitive sense of danger the moment he locked eyes with Wen Xing’s wicked, demonic gaze. He rushed to speak: “Your Majesty, your servant today—”

“Mmph…”

His lips were completely sealed.

Wen Xing bit down onto his lips, refusing to let go as he took an absolute mile, ruthlessly invading and plundering every corner of his mouth.

The violent, trembling currents triggered by the tangled clash of their lips and tongues surged into his brain in wave after wave, driving Wen Xing’s movements to become increasingly feral and ruthless.

He hadn’t expected himself to become this profoundly addicted to this kid’s lips.

He is far too wonderful to kiss, Wen Xing thought to himself.

Perhaps he truly was just a depraved creature driven entirely by lust.

Under the soft, burning provocation of that warm tongue, a specific, heavy string inside Ning Wujie’s mind snapped completely.

With a sudden, explosive twist of his frame, he violently flipped their positions, pinning the Emperor against the edge of the pool. One hand locked securely onto the back of Wen Xing’s neck, while his other arm wrapped completely around the man’s waist.

He felt as though something monumentally heavy within his mind was dragging his consciousness down into a bottomless abyss; he fought desperately to break free, yet he couldn’t help but sink deeper and deeper into the oblivion.

Clearly, this is entirely wrong.

Yet, the ragged gasps escaping the seam of their lips tasted akin to a lethal aphrodisiac, burning his consciousness into absolute chaos, driving his instincts to desperately crave more and more moisture from the other’s mouth in a futile attempt to extinguish the roaring, raging inferno inside his body.

The final result, however, was merely the fire burning significantly more out of control.

Amidst the desperate kiss, Wen Xing’s misbehaving fingertips began a slow, downward descent from the youth’s neck, tracing a path all the way down. The moment they swept across his lower abdomen, the youth’s hyper-sensitive frame gave a violent, uncontrollable tremor.

The corners of Wen Xing’s lips curved upward slightly. His fingertips hooked onto the remaining inner waistband, giving a gentle tug. The silk band unraveled, slipping away into the water.

Realizing that the foolish tyrant was about to deploy his old tricks yet again, Ning Wujie gasped sharply, his eyes flying open.

“You… no…”

Yet, the escaping sounds were ruthlessly swallowed right back down by Wen Xing’s lips.

“Shut up,” Wen Xing commanded in a slurred, breathless murmur. “Defy my command again… and I’ll execute you…”

The heavy, restrained, and trembling gasps intertwined completely, shattered into absolute, unrecognizable pieces by the continuous, violent churning of the water, scattering into the open expanse above the steaming hot spring pool.