The Slacker's Cover Is Blown (Bonus Chapter)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The book was somewhat old, its cover and page edges yellowed, the text faded. It was clear that its owner had treasured it dearly. Even so, every page was neat and orderly, with annotations.

The publication date was printed on the opening pages. It had been bought over a decade ago.

Li Wenchuan turned another page, then froze, staring at the signature on it. He blinked several times.

It was a seal, bearing an ancient-style character—Yan.

In this era, anyone who had studied history would know of one man: the veteran minister who had served three Qing emperors, the regent who had proposed countless reforms and led the Qing dynasty into prosperity.

His surname was Jiang, and his given name was Yan. His courtesy name was Cheng Yu.

He was Jiang Yan, Jiang Chengyu.

An indelible, shining figure in the long river of history. He had stood firm in court for decades, unshaken by wind or rain. After the Qingming Emperor's unexpected death, he had held up the whole of Great Qing by himself, a pillar holding the tide.

The history books preserved only his aged appearance. In the portraits, Jiang Yan was an energetic, stern, upright old minister. The splendor of his youth had been scattered among fragmentary unofficial accounts. What student memorizing his reform statutes would ever imagine that this man had once been a young gentleman as handsome as Pan An?

Li Wenchuan suddenly recalled that young prime minister dressed in court robes and holding a tablet. Standing against the light, he seemed to rise above any crowd. Especially among that bunch of doddering old men, he had been exceptionally conspicuous.

He still remembered when they had decided to send troops into the Northern Desert and bring Pingle back. An old minister had stepped forward and said:

"Since Princess Pingle has been married to the Northern Desert for twelve long years, she has long since taken root there. Your Majesty's actions will not only exhaust the people and waste money, but also separate the princess from her husband. It will... chill the late emperor's painstaking intentions as well."

The implication was that once a princess married out, she was no longer a subject of the Qing dynasty. Was there really any need to make such a huge fuss? Besides, the Northern Desert had been behaving itself lately. Why start a war?

To put it plainly: Your Majesty, I disagree. I object.

That old fossil usually occupied his post while accomplishing nothing, yet he had a whole repertoire of lofty rhetoric. Li Wenchuan had been so furious he had wanted to rip the eastern pearl off the dragon throne and throw it at him.

It was then that Jiang Chengyu stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this minister has something to say."

"Minister Cao is truly a pillar of two reigns, so thrifty and so concerned for the nation and its people. I had nearly forgotten that his daughter is in the prime of her youth. I have also heard that the Northern Desert recently intends to seek peace. They do not ask for royal sons or princesses, only a dignified woman of Great Qing. In my view, Minister Cao's daughter is highly suitable. It would also count as a daughter carrying on her father's aspirations, fulfilling Minister Cao's earnest wish not to exhaust the people and waste money."

"Jiang Yan... you!"

"The late emperor married Princess Pingle off to quell the conflict and allow the people to recover. Now that the Northern Desert is in urgent need, can Minister Cao not contribute a little more, to preserve peace at the borders for ten years?"

Minister Cao immediately dropped to his knees, saying that his daughter was still young, that his wife had only this one daughter and wanted to keep her a few more years, and so on. He wept dramatically in the grand hall, enough to make even an uninformed onlooker feel heartbroken.

Jiang Chengyu paid him no mind and bowed from afar toward the throne. "Your Majesty, this minister believes that Minister Cao's daughter is at the height of her beauty, graceful in appearance and wise within, gentle, obedient, respectful, filial, virtuous, and dignified. She may be granted the title of princess and married to the Northern Desert, thereby securing ten years of peace for Great Qing!"

"Your Majesty! You must not—"

Even now, Li Wenchuan could still remember Minister Cao's heart-rending expression. In the end, whenever anyone opposed sending troops, Jiang Chengyu would recommend that man's daughter instead. Not a single household was spared.

He even suggested sending several more princesses. After all, they were not truly of royal blood, and the Northern Desert might not be satisfied. As for the concubines' daughters in their households, they could be included as well. Even accompanying concubines could not be left out.

The court instantly fell silent. Those who had loudly condemned reckless militarism suddenly began praising the decision as farsighted.

He had asked Jiang Chengyu how he had come up with that.

Jiang Chengyu had said, "Some people only feel pain when the blade falls on their own bodies. Perhaps they do not understand that, in the peace they beg for through women, they are all cowards who should kneel and repent."

Minister Cao had hated Jiang Chengyu ever since. At the time, he had even wanted to make trouble before Jiang Chengyu's memorial tablet, only for Jiang Chengyu to strip him of his office outright.

But what came afterward? In Li Wenchuan's eyes, the man standing in court had been young. What about in the eyes of later generations?

As one generation replaced another, through the storms of three reigns and as a minister of three reigns, perhaps he had merely become another decrepit old man among a crowd of young people.

His thoughts had drifted far away when Jiang Hansheng's coughing reached his ears again.

Right. Maybe it was all a coincidence, just his own imagination. There were countless people in the world who looked alike. Why was he being so neurotic?

Li Wenchuan hurriedly looked for medicine. There was none on the table, nor did he see any by the bed. He could only drag over the suitcase. Fortunately, it had no combination lock, and he quickly found some stomach medicine in a hidden compartment.

How serious was it that he had brought this stuff even to participate in a variety show?

It looked as though it had not been taken out these past few days. Or perhaps Jiang Hansheng had obsessive-compulsively put it back in its original place. Either way, Li Wenchuan had not noticed anything wrong with him lately.

He poured a cup of warm water, took the medicine over, and helped the person lying on the bed sit up. "Come on, take your medicine."

"This king is not ill."

"..." The hallucinations had not even been vomited out yet. "No, you are."

"This king possesses the Phoenix Bloodline. How could I possibly fall ill!"

"Really? I don't believe you unless you prove it to me."

"Chirp."

"???"

"Chirp chirp chirp." Jiang Hansheng looked unwell, but he still gave what he believed was a charming smile. "Heh, man. Never heard a phoenix cry before, have you? Now you have."

His entire face said—my bloodline has shocked you, hasn't it? It's fine, no need to be surprised. The Phoenix Bloodline was simply this magnificent.

"..."

Li Wenchuan desperately wanted to knock out this man imitating a chick. And what was with that twitchy expression on his face? If not for the last remnants of his morality, he could have snapped a photo and sold it to a few gossip accounts, then lived without working for the rest of his life.

"Chirp chirp chirp." Jiang Hansheng thought Li Wenchuan had been completely overwhelmed. He nodded. "Right? The cry of a phoenix is so noble."

"You really are a genius." Li Wenchuan could not be bothered with nonsense anymore and shoved the water in front of him. "Drink! Then take these pills, or when you turn into a phoenix later, you'll attract your enemies."

When someone became a genius, naturally, the only way to defeat genius was with genius logic.

Jiang Hansheng was undoubtedly defeated by that logic, but he remained defiant. "Enemies? There is no one in this world this king fears!"

"Do you fucking not want your second child anymore, so you're trying to start a fight at home?!"

Li Wenchuan: So angry he lost his mind. Damn it!

The mighty and imposing Prince Jiang finally lost some of his momentum. He obediently swallowed the pills that suppressed his bloodline's rampage and lay back down on the bed.

"Go back to your own room." Li Wenchuan was tired.

"What? We're actually sleeping in separate rooms?!"

"..." Forget it, he would not argue for now. "I'm going to shower first." After all that commotion, he felt like he was about to sour.

Afraid that Jiang Hansheng might do something irreparable again—like going outside to test whether he could fly—Li Wenchuan showered at lightning speed.

After leaving the bathroom, he finally smelled the shower gel on himself, and his mood improved considerably.

The moment he sat on the edge of the bed, the figure lying behind him pounced.

Li Wenchuan had reached the end of his patience and instinctively raised his hand, ready to chop him unconscious.

Jiang Hansheng swiftly caught Li Wenchuan's hand. He clasped both hands of the person beneath him in his own and braced himself above him. His slightly confused eyes looked directly into Li Wenchuan's, and the room became very quiet.

Then Li Wenchuan heard him say:

"Yu'an, were you trying to chop me unconscious again just now?"