Your Majesty, We’re Counting on You to Ruin the Country! 76

Chapter 76: Plum Blossoms

Yu Qianshou finally reacted and suddenly pushed Qin Zhaohuang away.

Noticing his slightly red ears, Qin Zhaohuang wiped his mouth and smiled a little wickedly.

“You’re actually shy.”

As he spoke, he was about to snatch his veil again.

“Qin Zhaohuang!” Yu Qianshou grabbed his hands and twisted them behind his back. Qin Zhaohuang’s strength was no match for the highly skilled Yu Qianshou, and at this moment, he had no choice but to be obedient.

Qin Zhaohuang said with a wronged expression, “Why won’t you let me see!”

Yu Qianshou looked at his flushed cheeks from anger, which made his bright eyes even more beautiful. He couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “I was disfigured when I was practicing my skills after entering the Poison Sect.”

“I don’t care.”

“You will care when you see it.”

It was a face that even he himself couldn’t bear to look at.

Qin Zhaohuang stuck out his neck. “How would you know I don’t care if you don’t let me see? I just like ugly. The uglier, the more I like it.”

Yu Qianshou sighed. He thought to himself that if he let him see, he would probably give up… or feel disgusted and never look at him again.

While he was still struggling, Qin Zhaohuang tore off the veil himself.

“Swish—”

Yu Qianshou was startled, his eyes wide.

Qin Zhaohuang stared at him without blinking. Under the veil was skin covered in scales. The scales were dark black with a hint of dark green, hard and rough. His lips were a deep purple, and his skin was deathly pale. He was neither human nor ghost.

“Wow,” Qin Zhaohuang blinked.

Yu Qianshou felt an inexplicable nervousness, a cold sweat breaking out on his palms.

Qin Zhaohuang wrapped his arms around his neck and smiled. “What’s the big deal? Is it worth you hiding it for so long?”

With that, he pressed his lips against his again and kissed him.

“I just like this kind of ugly. This way, it makes me look good. Besides me, no one else will dare to want you. I don’t have to worry about you cheating on me behind my back.”

Yu Qianshou stared at him. At this moment, Qin Zhaohuang was very close to him, his fan-like eyelashes fluttering gently.

“Qin Zhaohuang, the way you kiss is still like a child. That’s not a kiss at all, but a bite.”

With that, before Qin Zhaohuang could get angry, Yu Qianshou lowered his head and said in his ear, “Let me teach you how an adult kisses.”

“Mmph—”

Qin Zhaohuang only felt his lips being pried open. The not-so-light, not-so-heavy nibbling and scraping made his body feel a little hot, his breath gradually being taken away, the tip of his nose filled with the scent of the person before him.

Yu Qianshou had always been a man of few desires. A deep taste was enough to satisfy him. After the kiss ended, he let go of his hands and continued to fiddle with the food.

It was Qin Zhaohuang who was still immersed in the moment, unable to extricate himself. He hugged him from behind, his face pressed against his back, rubbing.

“Ah Shu.”

“Mmm.”

“Ah Shu, Ah Shu, Ah Shu.” Qin Zhaohuang said with satisfaction, “You’re finally willing to be frank with me. I told you you liked me, but you wouldn’t believe it, always so conflicted.”

Yu Qianshou said helplessly, “You’re not ashamed.”

“We’re both willing. What’s there to be ashamed of?” Qin Zhaohuang took off his outer robe with great bravado, intending to start a raging fire, but was hit by a cold wind and sneezed.

Yu Qianshou put the outer robe on him and smiled. “Stop fooling around. You’re still sick.”

Outside the hut, the cold wind blew and snow fell. Inside, the two of them were fooling around, the room full of an amorous and warm atmosphere.

The Plum Blossom Villa, hidden on the mountainside, was, as its name suggested, filled with plum trees. At this moment, the plum blossoms were blooming in the wind, their red color especially striking against the white snow. Not only were they not afraid of the biting cold wind, but they were also proudly competing with the white snow in beauty.

Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi got out of the carriage and, holding hands, stepped into the villa, feeling as if they were in a sea of flowers. The scent of plum blossoms was all around them, and they felt their mood lift.

Bai Bi exclaimed, “It’s much more beautiful than the summer villa!”

Wen Ning’an smiled. “The summer villa was not originally for admiring the scenery. This villa is different. Every design and furnishing has its own particularity. That’s why it has become a feast for our eyes.”

“Ah! What’s that!” Bai Bi suddenly pointed to a tall plum tree in the distance.

Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi followed the direction he was pointing and saw a paper kite caught on one of the plum trees. The kite was in the shape of a fish and was now hanging on a branch, swaying in the wind.

Wen Ning’an asked strangely, “How could there be a paper kite here?”

Feng Qi said, “Perhaps it was the child of a servant at the villa playing nearby in the autumn. It must have broken its string and they forgot to take it down.”

Seeing the light in Bai Bi’s eyes as he looked at the kite, Feng Qi smiled. “You want it? Let’s go and get it down.”

With that, he picked up Bai Bi.

Bai Bi was startled. He had always been a little afraid of the imposing Feng Qi. This was the first time he had been so close to him.

Feng Qi placed him on his shoulders, allowing him to reach the kite on the tree.

Looking at the two of them, Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but chuckle.

Later, Feng Qi ordered someone to bring a table and a blanket, and he sat with Wen Ning’an on the long corridor to admire the plum blossoms. The two of them leaned against each other, nestled in the soft, thick blanket, quietly watching the falling snow and the red plum blossoms outside.

“Cooking snow to brew tea. Want to try?”

Wen Ning’an was stunned for a moment, then nodded. “Let me do it.”

He took a bamboo slice and carefully scraped off the fallen snow from the ground, taking the snow that was buried deep within. He poured it into a cauldron and melted it with firewood, then cooked it with tea leaves.

The tea bubbled and boiled, and the fragrance of the tea wafted out.

Wen Ning’an took a sip of the tea in his cup and only felt it was clear and fragrant. The white snow, which had gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, always had a special penetrating power. After swallowing it, there was a fresh and sweet aftertaste that lingered on the tip of his tongue.

Feng Qi also smiled. “Truly good tea. This is quite an elegant and comfortable way to live.”

Cooking snow to ask the taste of tea, watching the wild geese fly in the wind.

“Wait a minute.” Feng Qi stood up and collected the snow from the plum blossoms into a jar.

“If we bury this jar in the snow and use it to brew tea when we come again next year, that will be a true delicacy.”

A warmth spread through Wen Ning’an’s heart. “Alright. We’ll come again next year.”

Feng Qi sat back down beside him. He reached for the teacup on the table but only felt a chill on his chest, and his whole body couldn’t help but shiver. He hurriedly patted away the snow that had fallen into his collar and turned to see Wen Ning’an’s triumphant look.

Feng Qi was speechless. He turned and grabbed a handful of snow, also wanting to stuff it into Wen Ning’an’s clothes in revenge, but Wen Ning’an had already slipped away.

Feng Qi chased him out of the corridor, smiling. “You! Come back here!”

Bai Bi, at the side, shouted excitedly, “Snowball fight! Snowball fight!” With that, he immediately made a snowball and joined the fray. Xingxing and Liangliang, as if fearing the world was not in chaos, also did their best to stir up trouble. The courtyard was filled with laughter.

Wen Ning’an and the others didn’t stop fooling around until dusk. Just as the sun was about to set, Wang Zhengyi also came with An Su. The few of them sat in the main hall, and Fu Che served them tea cooked with winter snow.

“Good tea.” Having been a merchant for a long time, Wang Zhengyi could tell with one sip that this was made with freshly collected snow and the best tea leaves.

Feng Qi had someone bring up a wooden box.

“This is the Qianchen Grass that I accidentally found. I heard from Zhaohuang that you need it. According to his description, this seems to be it. You two take a look.”

Wang Zhengyi opened the wooden box with some excitement, then knelt down. “This commoner kowtows to Your Majesty! Your Majesty’s grace is vast, your grace is vast—”

Seeing this, An Su also slowly knelt down with his large belly and kowtowed.

“I never thought there was really Qianchen Grass in this world!”

The conversation between An Su and Qin Zhaohuang that day had been overheard by Wang Zhengyi, and the two had had a big fight over it. After that, he had tried every means to find Qianchen, but to no avail. He was almost desperate. And after receiving Feng Qi’s letter, his heart had never slowed down. Only now did he finally let go of the great stone in his heart, feeling as if his whole body were a little weak.

Feng Qi had Fu Che help them up and smiled. “No, as the ancient books say, there is no Qianchen Grass in this world. I got it from hell.”

At the bottom of Jueyan Cliff, Qianchen was everywhere.

Wang Zhengyi was stunned for a moment and tactfully did not press further, just saying respectfully, “This commoner thanks Your Majesty and General Wen. In the future, I will definitely be willing to serve Your Majesty like a horse or a dog.”

Feng Qi waved his hand. “Alright, it was just a small effort. An Su is also about to give birth. Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, it’s a girl.” Wang Zhengyi’s smile was brilliant. He liked it whether it was a boy or a girl. If it was a boy, he would teach him martial arts. If it was a girl, he would hold her in his palm and dote on her. The thought of having a lovely daughter clinging to him in the future, besides An Su, made him unable to stop the smile on his face.

“You two have not had an easy journey. The daughter will be named Wuyou.”

[Translator’s Notes: Wuyou: This name means “without worries” or “carefree.”]

Unexpectedly receiving a name from the Son of Heaven, Wang Zhengyi and An Su were both overjoyed.

After the two of them happily left, Wen Ning’an smiled. “This time, it was truly a blessing in disguise. Not only did we get Yingyue Zhuori at the bottom of the cliff, but we also brought back Qianchen. For you, it was a small effort, but it is a life-saving grass for An Su.”

Feng Qi just smiled.

Consider it accumulating blessings for Wen Ning’an.

Wen Ning’an said, “Yingyue Zhuori, you haven’t shown it to me yet.”

Feng Qi said, “Next time. We’ll start dual cultivation after you’ve given birth to Long’er. With your body now, I absolutely will not allow any mistakes. Anyway, I can now use the mental cultivation method Senior Zhou left me to control it.”

Wen Ning’an frowned slightly, but thinking of the child, he didn’t say anything in the end.

For the two of them now, the most important thing was Long’er.

“Huaitian, you gave a name to Wang Zhengyi and An Su’s daughter, but our Long’er still doesn’t have a name yet.”

Feng Qi kissed his forehead. “Our Long’er’s name, I’ve been thinking about it ever since you told me. The imperial physician also reconfirmed that day that it’s a boy, so after thinking it over, let’s call him Shengshi! Feng Shengshi.”

[Translator’s Notes: Shengshi : This name is very grand. “Sheng” means “bright” or “splendid,” and “shi” means “world” or “era.” Together, it means “prosperous age” or “brilliant world.”]

Wen Ning’an smiled and nodded. “Shengshi… Long’er will definitely become a good emperor in the future.”

“He must. He is my son.” Feng Qi’s tone was full of pride.

“I will give him the best, and he will definitely be a wise ruler who looks down on all heroes.”

And the prosperous age that the new emperor would create in the future, that was another story.