SWHCBB 96

Chapter 96: How Can a Man Be This Adorable?

Wen Jue thought he would finally meet Yunchuan again, but before he knew it, his body turned light once more, and his vision gradually cleared. Was he no longer blind? Yet he still couldn’t move.

His mind was in turmoil, unable to grasp what day or year it was. Only when he saw his royal sister Wen Yan, dressed in dragon robes and seated at the desk in Yangxin Hall reading memorials, did he finally come to his senses.

Slowly, he recalled everything before he fainted. So everything he had just seen was no more than a fleeting dream…

All those scenes he once glimpsed in dreams, he had now relived firsthand. He thought… he understood now what the Ancestor had intended.

The Ancestor had clouded the memories of this life, allowing him to personally experience what choices he would make if placed in the same circumstances as in his first life.

And he had still made the same choice as before, one he believed was right and worthwhile. He often said that different experiences shape different people, but no matter how much he changed, his core remained the same.

Just like Yunchuan, no matter how unjustly he had been treated in their first life, in this second life he still remained dedicated to the people and the nation: resolute, sincere, loyal, and righteous. Even after their falling out and standing on opposite sides, he had never once sought revenge.

As for himself, he didn’t switch sides purely for selfish reasons. He had seen through Prince Yi’s hypocritical, self-serving nature, how he betrayed loyalty for his own gain. Before the outcome of the imperial succession was even decided, he had already decisively turned away from Prince Yi.

This world was nothing but their whetstone.

But now… what was this? Had his royal sister finally realized her ambition from their first life?

Wen Jue was overcome with excitement. He had finally witnessed this moment, though it was a bit of a pity that he couldn’t see her coronation with his own eyes. But even this was enough!

Only… why did she look so worn out?

Before the desk, Wen Yan sat dressed in dragon robes. Her removed crown was neatly placed beside her. Her hair was tied up high, no longer adorned with bejeweled hairpins like when she was a princess. Her figure and face had grown thinner, a faint weariness hung over her expression. Her eyes were bloodshot, perhaps from sleeplessness, or from tears.

She rubbed her temples, closed the memorial in her hands, tossed it aside, and opened another.

A eunuch knocked at the hall doors and called out, “Your Majesty, Lady Gongsun seeks an audience.”

Wen Yan replied, “Let her in.”

The eunuch opened the door, ushering Gongsun He in. She gave a light bow of greeting.

Only then did Wen Yan lift her gaze from the memorials. She tapped the pile she had just thrown aside and sneered coldly, “You’re just in time. Take these memorials away. At tomorrow’s court session, I’m going to burn them one by one in front of those old fossils!”

Gongsun He glanced at the stack and chuckled knowingly. “Your Majesty has only just ascended the throne, your foundation is still fragile. Of course they’ll try to test you. If you give in, they’ll push further. If you stand firm, they’ll have to retreat. It all depends on where your bottom line is. It’s a good sign, it means they fear you.”

Wen Yan nodded calmly. “These old ministers and noble houses are entangled like vines. Truly a headache. The late Emperor was softhearted and tolerated them, I will not. If they think I’m just a woman they can trample…”

She narrowed her eyes, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Gongsun He hesitated slightly. “Your Majesty… word is that you intend to hang that criminal’s corpse at the city gate as a public warning. He was already subjected to a thousand cuts before he died. If you expose his body like that, I fear… it may cause unrest among the people.”

Criminal? Who? Wen Jue didn’t understand. His royal sister might be proud and distant, but she had always had compassion. What kind of person could make her act with such merciless finality?

“Unrest among the people?” Wen Yan let out a cold laugh. “What, are you going to say next that people will think I’m a cruel and brutal tyrant?”

Gongsun He quickly bowed lower. “Your servant would never dare.”

Wen Yan shook her head. “You would, and you know I won’t punish you for it. Do you think I don’t know the consequences of doing this?”

She leaned back in her chair, pinched the bridge of her nose, visibly exhausted, dropping her imperial pretense before Gongsun He. “Let me be willful just this once, Ah He. You know what he did to Zhiyu. If I don’t do this, the hatred in my heart will never be eased.”

Wen Jue’s heart trembled. The one tortured so horribly, was it Wen Yu?

Gongsun He sighed, bowed deeply, and pledged, “Then I shall do all I can to manage the aftermath. I’ll have the construction of the Temple of National Guardians expedited, the statues of the Great General and Prince Jin will be finished soon. Once the storybooks are written, the people will understand Your Majesty’s intentions!”

Wen Yan nodded slightly.

Wen Jue was overwhelmed with emotion. His royal sister had built a temple for him and Yunchuan?

She had taken the throne, yet she didn’t seem happy as he’d imagined. Their mother was gone. He was gone. Even the Emperor… was gone.

Everyone she loved, or hated, was gone. Only she remained. Thank goodness she still had Sister Gongsun to understand her.

Gongsun He straightened. “Has Your Majesty chosen a consort yet?”

Wen Yan had ascended as a female sovereign, facing fierce opposition. But now that it was a done deal, many noble families were scrambling to offer their sons for marriage, hoping to secure influence.

To serve the emperor and strengthen their standing, and it wasn’t as if it would be shameful, considering the ruler was the famed and brilliant Princess Chenyu. No, among noble houses, silent maneuvering was already underway.

But Wen Yan waved her hand, clearly uninterested in this topic. Gongsun He sighed inwardly and took her leave.

After she left, Wen Yan picked up the broken jade pendant hanging at her waist and stared at it blankly. A moment later, a single tear slipped down her cheek. She blinked it away and brushed it aside as if nothing had happened.

Sister… Wen Jue so badly wanted to call out to her, to beg her not to be sad anymore.

No wonder she looked so tired… How had she faced his corpse? Just the thought of it made tears sting his eyes again.

How had he borne to leave her alone in this world? The scene shifted again. Wen Jue was pulled into another vortex.

Before he could see anything, he heard Zhuge Qing’s voice:

“Hey, you brute, don’t tell me you’ve really fallen for the Fifth Prince?”

Wen Jue: ?

It seemed they were at the training grounds. Four people sat under a tent. Wine and meat were spread across the table. Huang Guang and Jiang Chuang were still dripping with sweat, likely just finished training.

They clinked their cups and took sips. Jiang Chuang laughed and cursed Zhuge Qing, “You’re the brute! What the hell do you know?”

Chen Lin, deadpan, commented, “They’ve been married less than a month, but anywhere the Fifth Prince appears, General Jiang stops seeing the rest of us.”

Jiang Chuang punched him in the chest. “Bullshit! You’re always sneaking around. Even if I wanted to look, I couldn’t find you!”

Huang Guang burst out laughing. “The Fifth Prince’s looks, if he were a woman, even Zhuge Qing would fall for him!”

“You too?” Jiang Chuang kicked him under the table, annoyed. “So what if he’s a man? I think he’s great, way better than you idiots!”

“Look, look!” Zhuge Qing teased. “Already rushing to his defense. And you say you’re not smitten?”

Huang Guang clutched his foot and cried, “Fine, I won’t say another word, unless I want to lose the other leg!”

Jiang Chuang laughed and cursed, “Get lost!”

But his smile softened a bit, turning serious. “He’s a man, and still had to marry me, a man. That’s not easy. Plenty of people talk behind his back. So don’t say things like ‘it’d be better if he were a woman.’ If he ever hears it… and thinks I feel the same way… he’d be heartbroken.”

Huang Guang straightened and nodded earnestly. “Yes, my fault. I won’t say that again.”

Jiang Chuang patted his shoulder, no words needed. Then reached for his cup to clink again, but changed his mind and put it down. “Ni. If I drink more, I’ll get fuzzy, and then I’ll forget to hold back. No more.”

Zhuge Qing shook his head, exasperated, and said to the others, “Look at this, already henpecked.”

Jiang Chuang just smiled without arguing, a sweetness in that smile. “You guys wouldn’t understand until you’re married. It’s the best thing.”

Huang Guang frowned. “General, didn’t you used to hate this marriage?”

“People change!” Jiang Chuang’s grin widened as he thought of his little spouse at home. “You guys don’t know, he’s so gentle, so good at acting spoiled, smart, beautiful, kind, no trace of royal arrogance! He was blinded by a villain as a child, sickly too, sigh.”

Zhuge Qing quipped, “If he weren’t blind, he might not have liked you.”

Jiang Chuang nodded thoughtfully. “True.”

Zhuge Qing laughed. “You’ve got a decent face, sure, and plenty of noble girls wanted you. You used to be all proud, how’d you end up like this? What kind of spell did that prince cast on you?”

“You don’t get it!” Jiang Chuang shot him a look. “I don’t even know what exactly I like about him. At first I thought I was just taking in an ancestor to worship, but he turned out to be so sweet, and… cough, anyway, he’s blind, he can’t live without me! You know what it feels like to be needed? You don’t!”

“Yeah, I get it, it means being someone’s servant.” Huang Guang nodded.

“Forget it. You don’t know shit!” Jiang Chuang shook his head. Then, thinking of Wen Jue, a foolish smile spread across his face. “Honestly, I realized quickly, he doesn’t need me at all. He can put on shoes, wash up, walk, eat, even bathe… all by himself. But once I’m around, he starts pretending, like he can’t do anything without me! He’s so, so adorable! I know he’s doing it on purpose to seduce me, and once I fall for it, he gets so happy! Tell me, how can a man be this adorable?”