Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Yan Shang was incredibly firm. "Why do you bring this up again, Your Highness? I told you long ago, it is impossible for me to be your friend."

It was either becoming lovers or never seeing each other again until death.

The possibility of never seeing each other again seemed far too low now. That left becoming her lover... Yan Shang had always been conflicted. He felt that Pei Qing was incapable of protecting her, and that only he could unconditionally help her. Yet, Yan Shang did not trust himself to be able to stand on her side forever. His sense of "greater love" was too heavy, causing him to always retreat whenever he faced personal romantic feelings.

As for Mu Wanyao, she likely still liked him.

But she also hated his betrayal.

That was why she spoke of being friends. It was just that, if one were to truly follow Mu Wanyao’s version of "friendship"... it would end up in her bed. But she would not give him any status or title.

Yan Shang did not want that.

Yan Shang’s mind was tangled with these thoughts. He organized his train of thought, intending to clearly express to Mu Wanyao his determination to reject her "friend" proposal. Mu Wanyao, however, did not take the "friend" matter to heart at all; his rejection did not bother her in the slightest.

Mu Wanyao remained wearing a faint smile, nudging his arm with her hand. Moonlight shone onto the long couch, and she asked with great interest, "Don't worry about that anymore. Quickly, chat with me about your thoughts and your ambitions. I am truly exceptionally curious about you. It has been three years... are you still the same as you were before? Are you still that person of high and pure character, unmoved by external things?"

Yan Shang felt bashful from her nudging. He forgot his original line of thought and said uncomfortably, "There is nothing worth saying. I am still just me."

But, nudged by Mu Wanyao, he still began to speak, in fits and starts, about what he had done over the past three years.

He spoke of how he first achieved a balance with the Nanyang Jiang clan, and how Rang County was a place where only one voice was heard at the beginning. He spoke of the difficulties in building a private academy back then, and how the Jiang clan had forced him to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" (make an example of someone).

Mu Wanyao was startled: "You killed people again?"

Yan Shang responded in a low voice: "Mm."

Mu Wanyao looked at him. When faced with matters of great justice, Yan Shang rarely regretted his actions. But when reflecting afterward, he would still feel pity for those who had died. He might be tormented, but the things he needed to do, he would still do.

He had torn a hole in the fabric of Rang County. He cooperated with the Jiang clan to develop Nanyang. It was during the second year, when the crops had a bumper harvest and the various rents and grains the Jiang clan collected were more than before, that the Jiang clan finally began to recognize Yan Shang’s reforms in Nanyang.

Over the following two years, Yan Shang focused on only three directions: encouraging agriculture, promoting education, and maintaining public order.

Mu Wanyao nodded with a smile: "Since ancient times, those who serve as officials must look to these three directions. It is just that most officials like to do superficial work, writing beautiful articles; officials who inspect and supervise see these beautiful articles and think the governance is truly that good. Such officials get promoted faster. In reality, perhaps most of their energy is spent on writing those articles."

She looked at Yan Shang with affection: "It is a pity. You are not very good at writing beautiful articles; the things you write are all too... plain."

Yan Shang did not mind, saying, "I do not wish to spend my heart on articles. I prefer to do more for the common people. These past few years, I have just been using Nanyang as an experiment to see how far I can change it, and how far I can truly lead Nanyang.

"Although the suppression of bandits now is to check the Jiang clan, in reality, this is also a step I had to take. No matter how much I encouraged agriculture, every year when the bandits came down from the mountains, the people suffered heavy losses. Moreover, this band of thieves does not engage in production and often colludes with officials to some degree. If they spend some 'filial money' (bribes), some officials will take the risk and let them off easily. As a result, of the people’s yearly harvest, aside from high taxes, they have to pay these bandits... how much can they keep? Suppressing the bandits was an inevitable step for Nanyang.

"I was afraid the officials of Nanyang would not be willing to properly suppress the bandits, so I specifically wrote an essay stating that over these many years, because of the bandits, many officials who came to Nanyang to serve were demoted, and their official paths were unsmooth. I counted the official paths of the officials from the past fifty years, and they all kept getting lower. This meant Nanyang’s feng shui was bad, and the mountain’s orientation had to be changed. Since the mountains were being occupied by those bandits, suppressing them naturally became an important step. With the official path obstructed like this, how could those officials dare not do their best to suppress the bandits?"

As for feng shui, there have always been those who believe in it. After Yan Shang listed so many instances of officials being demoted, those who served as officials, even if they were half-doubting, had to start working.

Mu Wanyao immediately gripped his arm: "What? Everyone who came to Nanyang to serve as a local official had an unsmooth official path? You counted fifty years of cases like this? Then you..."

Doesn't that mean Yan Shang won't be able to return to Chang'an? Will Yan Shang’s official path also be unsmooth?

Mu Wanyao had not believed in these superstitious things, but since the person who listed the data was Yan Shang... she, too, began to become suspicious and paranoid.

Yan Shang blushed and said with shame, "It was nothing more than a trick to fool people. I even described a high-ranking official like the Minister of Rites from thirty years ago as 'failing to advance further, which was truly a pity.' Such tricks, mixed into such a long article, were not obvious. However, if one scrutinized it, there were problems everywhere. But officials are accustomed to being suspicious, so they wouldn't bother to scrutinize it."

Mu Wanyao suddenly realized: "Ah..."

Then she listened to him talk about how he handled disputes among the people in Rang County, and how he personally went into the fields every spring to lead the people in farming...

Mu Wanyao listened while resting her chin in her hand. She held his arm, and the more she listened, the more she unconsciously leaned toward him.

She looked up at him, her breath resting on his face, but he could not see, so naturally, he did not know Mu Wanyao was almost kissing his face. Perhaps he felt it, but he did not know how intimate Mu Wanyao’s posture was, and he did not know how much she wanted to hold his face and examine him, inch by inch—

Looking at this hateful person.

Looking at this remarkable person.

His thinking had matured much more than it was three years ago, and there were many things he wanted to do in Nanyang. He had set a very complete plan for Nanyang. Based on his position as a county magistrate, he made the regional inspector give way to him and cooperate with him. He sought neither fame nor profit... yet, with things reaching the stage they were at, the hearts of the people had flown toward him without him even asking for it.

The scholars of humble origin took pride in him.

In the future, they would also take him as their guiding light.

Mu Wanyao had supported scholars of humble origin for three years, and she had blocked any information regarding Yan Shang, yet she would still occasionally hear officials talking about Yan Suchen. It was a pity that Yan Shang was a local official, with too little leverage against Chang'an. His influence on Chang'an was too weak... and Mu Wanyao, on this night, unconsciously thought: if Yan Shang were in Chang'an, the person leading the scholars of humble origin now would be Yan Shang, right?

And what was Pei Qing, anyway?

Pei Qing would have no choice but to give way to Yan Shang.

Yan Shang possessed a pure and noble character, and after years of experience, his methods had gradually become polished... Mu Wanyao, sitting beside Yan Shang this night, listening to him speak of his past years in such an ordinary, plain language, already couldn't help but feel her heart thumping, bowing before him.

His entire being was glowing.

Making her unable to look away for a long time.

Yan Shang had said enough; he stopped and smiled slightly. Mu Wanyao was already fascinated by the story. Unconsciously, he wasn't just talking about himself; he was also discussing the way of an official with Mu Wanyao. He suddenly stopped, and Mu Wanyao anxiously urged him: "Why did you stop? Continue."

Yan Shang said in a low voice: "I have been talking for a long time, and I am a bit thirsty."

Because his eyes were inconvenient, for the past half-month, the two had posed as a married couple living in the same room. Mu Wanyao had learned to take care of him in the little things. Hearing that he was thirsty, the Princess, who usually stood high above, prepared to leave the couch to pour him water. But Yan Shang pulled her back, saying helplessly, "What I actually meant was... it is very late, shouldn't Your Highness go to sleep?"

Mu Wanyao paused, looked at the bed behind the screen, and said: "I don't want to go to sleep."

Although the two lived in the same room, Yan Shang was decorous, and the two had always slept in separate beds. Yan Shang slept on the couch outside, and Mu Wanyao slept on the bed inside. It was just that tonight, Mu Wanyao was a little unwilling.

Mu Wanyao looked at him infatuatedly and muttered: "I want to hear you talk."

She sat back down, lowered her head, and gently tugged at his sleeve: "Let me sleep on the same couch with you tonight. Let’s chat all night, alright?"

Yan Shang’s heart skipped a beat, and his spirit was so shaken that his fingertips went slightly numb. A young woman saying such things in the dead of night... to a young man and woman who had just embraced and kissed so desperately in an alley, it was truly too ambiguous.

Yan Shang: "You are already engaged, and I am also..."

Mu Wanyao said sharply: "You promised me you would break off the engagement; are you going back on your word?"

Yan Shang was stunned, then softly comforted her: "I am not going back on my word. When I return to Rang County, I will handle this matter. But even if I did not have an engagement, you also..."

Mu Wanyao softened her tone and said indifferently: "I will break off my engagement, too. Do you think that after Pei Qing treats me like this, his official path will still move forward? My marriage is a union for the sake of profit. Since this profit does not satisfy me, I will naturally correct it; you do not need to concern yourself."

Hearing the firm tone in her voice regarding breaking the engagement, Yan Shang felt a vague sense of happiness for her. He was happy that she could finally control her own destiny, and that she would not have to be pressured and forced into marriage by various forces like before.

However... Yan Shang still felt that sleeping in the same bed was inappropriate.

Yan Shang hesitated for a long time. Mu Wanyao grew impatient, feeling that his indecisiveness had not improved at all since before. She said with dissatisfaction: "What are you afraid of? You are a grown man; what could I possibly do to you?"

Yan Shang gave a bitter smile.

She still thought he was as green and innocent as he was three years ago, that faced with a beautiful woman sleeping on his couch, he would not have a single thought.

But when Mu Wanyao became arrogant, Yan Shang could not refuse her. He still made space for her, watching her excitedly embrace a soft pillow as she returned, happily sitting on his couch, and then pulling him to lie down and talk together. Yan Shang’s heart kept thumping violently. Although he could not see, the fragrance of the woman was right before his nose and mouth, and his self-restraint became exceptionally weak.

Yan Shang could no longer scold himself, but Mu Wanyao kept urging him, so he complained: "You are always like this."

Mu Wanyao widened her eyes, confused: "What is wrong with me again?"

She was obediently listening to him talk now, not doing anything, not bullying him; what was he complaining about?

Yan Shang whispered: "Kissing and hugging mean nothing to you, they don't represent anything. But I... in the future, don't do this to other men."

Mu Wanyao was silent for a moment and said: "There are no other men, only you."

She slept on the couch with him, watching him sleep on his side, watching the gauze over his eyes. He was gentle and soft, lacking aggression; he brought her the kind of security that a sage might bring.

And he had a cuteness that a sage did not have.

She adored him exceptionally and began to discover that time could not diminish this adoration. Seeing him still reignited the love she had back then. Mu Wanyao’s long hair was spread out on the pillow, and she smiled: "Pei Qing has never been on my couch."

Yan Shang: "..."

His face stiffened, and he was somewhat displeased: "Why are you telling me this?"

He did not like discussing other men with her, nor discussing her other men.

Mu Wanyao suppressed a laugh in her heart but stopped talking. With the topic opened, Yan Shang hesitated for a moment and took the initiative: "What has Your Highness been doing these past three years?"

Mu Wanyao was evasive: "What could I be doing? Busy seizing power and collecting people. It is boring to talk about me. Let us talk about your affairs."

She loved hearing about what Yan Shang was doing and was quite indifferent to the things she was busy with herself. She felt that she was just mediocre, but what she wanted to hear more in her heart were the stories of a person like Yan Shang. In her youth, she admired the heroes of the world, and now, a formidable hero was sleeping on her couch—how could she not be moved?

She seemed to envy a person like Yan Shang very much.

But Yan Shang was stubborn: "I want to hear about Your Highness’s affairs, too. How could what Your Highness does be boring? I think it is very interesting. Why do you always belittle yourself and feel that you are not good? I treated you like that back then... yet Your Highness forgave me. Your Highness is, is..."

He was sincere, moved by his own feelings: "Your Highness is the best princess in the world, the best woman."

Mu Wanyao was stunned and suddenly sat up, her long hair draping over him: "What did you say?"

Yan Shang blushed instantly, realizing he had been reckless just now.

He gripped the corner of the quilt covering him, turned his face away, and said with an uneasy tone: "I didn't say anything. I was just saying Your Highness is becoming better and better..."

Mu Wanyao felt ashamed.

Because she was fundamentally not the person Yan Shang described, but because he thought so, it made her unable to help but reflect on herself and want to truly become what he said. She wanted him to admire her, wanted him to take pride in her... Mu Wanyao looked down at him for a long time and whispered: "I still love power the most. You know, I am not like you; I cannot lose power."

Yan Shang said nothing.

Mu Wanyao leaned down and lay back beside him. He did not know if he was dreaming, but later, as he continued to chat with her and felt a bit sleepy, he heard her blurred words: "...but apart from power, you are ranked second.

"Only you can contend with the power I love, and pull me back from being swallowed by it."

Yan Shang instantly sobered up, but he held his breath, and then heard nothing more from Mu Wanyao. It was pitch black before his eyes, and he felt that the night must be very deep; the fragrance beside him was as it had always been, Mu Wanyao gently leaning against his arm, her breathing steady.

He gently called her "Yaoyao," but she did not respond, so Yan Shang felt she must have fallen asleep.

He gave a light sigh, fumbled to tuck her in, and the back of his hand gently touched her face. He was always worried about her health, afraid she would fall ill after escaping all the way, so he was exceptionally attentive in this regard. Only when he felt her body temperature was normal did he feel completely at ease.

But Yan Shang was also tormented by that last sentence, wondering if it was a delusion of his own or if Mu Wanyao had really said it.

He turned over gently, sighed gently. His heart was agitated, yet he was afraid she would reject him, afraid he could not achieve it. In the darkness, he engaged in self-reflection and self-torture—

Could he truly balance the relationship between the "greater self" and the "lesser self," and could he truly avoid letting Mu Wanyao be hurt again?

If the events of three years ago were to happen once more... Mu Wanyao would collapse, and he would collapse, too, right?

While Yan Shang was turning over and sighing, Mu Wanyao, sleeping beside him, was actually wide awake. She looked at him in the darkness with bright eyes, watching him toss and turn, watching him be conflicted because of her, and her heart couldn't help but flutter, softening like water.

...She had actually been moved by Yan Shang again and again.

She didn't just want to sleep with him; she wanted to possess him.

She wanted to build a high tower and a golden house to store Yan Shang away properly.

She wanted to cherish him well, so that no one else could have him, no one else could see his good, and no one else could share him. Yet, how could that be possible?

And so, Mu Wanyao grew melancholy along with him and sighed.

Her single sigh made Yan Shang, with his back to her, instantly alert. He called her name with a tremor, but she did not respond, so he quieted down again, thinking she had just sighed in her sleep. But the fact that Mu Wanyao would sigh even in her dreams made Yan Shang feel even more heartache, feeling that it was all his fault.

Thus, the night passed—

Last night was so wonderful.

Mu Wanyao had never talked so much with Yan Shang, nor had she ever tried so seriously to understand his world, his thoughts. Three years ago, she only wanted to establish a physical relationship with him. Three years later, with her and Yan Shang’s path becoming a dead end, with no way forward, Mu Wanyao was forced to open her heart.

Only because if she did not open her heart, she might truly lose him forever.

Without opening her heart, this dead end she and Yan Shang were on truly could not be broken through.

And last night was wonderful; Mu Wanyao felt that the distance between her heart and Yan Shang’s had shortened significantly. He also attempted to understand her, and she shyly said one or two things, and he listened with such focus. His focus was a great happiness to her, giving her the illusion that she was receiving an award.

While kissing in the alley certainly made the body tremble, chatting and revealing one's heart at night brought souls even closer together.

She did not know how long they chatted last night before falling asleep, but when she woke up the next morning, the good impression of last night remained in her dreams. When Mu Wanyao woke up in the morning, she couldn't help but smile at the corners of her lips. She was a bit afraid that the wonderful atmosphere of last night was just a dream, but she had never dreamt of this day when she and Yan Shang would reconcile.

Mu Wanyao opened her eyes quietly and saw the young man with his back to her on the bed, still asleep. His thick, ink-black hair was scattered on the pillow, like ink spread out. He habitually slept with his back to her, his undergarment thin, the young man’s rugged, handsome backbone as expansive and beautiful as mountains and rivers.

Male beauty was so seductive.

Even if it was just his back, even if he was still wearing his undergarment.

Mu Wanyao watched until her cheeks felt burning hot. For a moment, she felt a stirring of desire, a restlessness in her heart. She secretly wondered what was wrong with her; had she been without a man for too long that she felt this hungry just looking at a man’s back?

Suddenly, Mu Wanyao heard Yan Shang sigh.

Mu Wanyao was startled. She covered her heart, almost thinking she had been discovered staring at him early in the morning. But she quickly realized he was a blind man, and his back was to her; what could he discover? Mu Wanyao then safely and boldly stared at him, curious about why he was sighing so early in the morning.

Yan Shang lay on the bed for a while; he was accustomed to self-discipline and only lay there for this short time. While Mu Wanyao still wanted to stay in bed, he had already propped himself up with his arms and sat up. Mu Wanyao felt him turn around to "look" at her, so she hurriedly closed her eyes.

Then she remembered again that he couldn't see.

So she quietly opened one eye again.

She saw him leaning down, his collar slightly open, with some black hair brushing against his collarbone, appearing exceptionally beautiful. Yan Shang reached out to touch her forehead. Mu Wanyao didn't move, letting him test her body temperature. She hugged the quilt tight, watching with a flushed face as his face came closer. As he got closer and closer, Mu Wanyao saw him stiffen; he sighed again, and before his hand even touched her forehead, he pulled away.

Mu Wanyao: "..."

She stared for a long while, then couldn't help but gently hook her lips into a smile, understanding perfectly well.

Because she knew what Yan Shang was sighing about.

When he leaned down, the vigorous reaction below his waist was exceptionally obvious. This reaction made him confused, helpless, and caused him to sigh many times just after waking up.

Mu Wanyao observed him in a leisurely manner, somewhat like a spectator, and saw Yan Shang turn his back to her and sit there, stunned. Mu Wanyao was still waiting to see how he would solve his morning problem, but he just sat there, motionless for a long time, and then sighed again.

Yan Shang sat on the edge of the couch, his hands supporting himself, sighing. The natural reaction of the morning would usually have been fine; after a while, it would have passed. But he had underestimated Mu Wanyao’s influence on him; he had spent the whole night resisting the impulse to move closer to her. Having finally endured until daybreak, his upright body was more honest than he was.

He had been lying there for a long time, and it wouldn't subside, but he knew that if this continued, Mu Wanyao would wake up. If she woke up, how could he face her in this state?

Yan Shang frowned and felt troubled for a long time, sitting stiffly until he felt he would collapse. The more he wanted the reaction to fade, the more rigid his body became, uncontrolled by his will. Yan Shang was too afraid of Mu Wanyao finding out after she woke up. After a long period of internal struggle, he finally, unwillingly, reached out toward his clothing sash, his fingers trembling as he moved downward...

A woman’s light laugh came from behind him.

Yan Shang stiffened.

He was embraced from behind.

Very naturally, Mu Wanyao hugged his waist from behind. Her soft, warm hand reached over and pressed onto the back of his hand, then turned, gently grasping his hand and giving it a tug. Yan Shang was stiff to the extreme. Mu Wanyao applied pressure with her fingers, and his waist involuntarily pushed back. Afterward, he felt a shame worse than death, his entire face and neck turning red in an instant.

He said with a look of terror: "Y-Yaoyao?"

Mu Wanyao leaned against his neck and smiled sweetly: "What are you afraid of? How are you still so restrained... last night in the alley you kissed so passionately, I thought you had made progress. It turns out that was just acting, and this is truly you."

He said hoarsely: "D-don't say anymore."

He bent his shoulders in discomfort and used his elbow to push her away, trembling: "Go away... don't, don't worry about me, it will be fine in a moment..."

Mu Wanyao: "There is nothing to this. Why are you like this? I will help you."

He remained nervous, remained afraid. Yet she made him comfortable, made him open his mouth and gasp, his jaw tightening, his body alternating between stiffness and relaxation. Mu Wanyao pressed against his face, seeing his expression of addiction, handsome and moving. She couldn't help but lean down and take his lips into her mouth, and when he was shocked, she sternly blamed him: "It was you who opened your mouth."

Sunlight fell into the room; the two were unable to resist their mutual affection.

Mu Wanyao finally pressed Yan Shang down. He lay amidst the bedding, and the young woman, mischievous yet strong, lay on his shoulder. She grabbed his hand, disregarding his refusal, and used his hand to toy with him together. He trembled all over, wave after wave of heat making his breath ragged.

In the end, it was unclear who was kissing, and who was unwilling to leave.

After everything was over, Mu Wanyao’s face was also red and hot, but she brushed aside the stray hair stuck to Yan Shang’s face and looked down at him. His lips were blushing red, his ears red through and through; he was panting, looking up at her direction, a bit dazed: "Yaoyao..."

Mu Wanyao remained silent, her face flushed red.

Yan Shang held her fingers, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Do you need me to help you?"

Mu Wanyao: "...?"

He still had this kind of courage? How did she not know?

Mu Wanyao laughed: "How would you help? With your hand? No need, haha. I do not have such strong needs as you."

Her laughter was soft and alluring, her tone loaded with meaning, making his face turn even redder—

During breakfast, Han Suxing felt those two were a bit strange, but he had never quite been able to understand people from the Great Wei, so he didn't pay it any mind and instead spoke of the news he had gathered.

Yan Shang said to wait two days; he wanted to talk to this county magistrate about the current situation.

Two days later, the local magistrate was almost going insane. Because the Princess could not be found, and the Princess’s guards were gradually drawing closer, with the pressure from the Jiang clan coming down, everyone would have to pay the price... It was precisely at this moment that Yan Shang felt the time was right to go negotiate with the magistrate.

Before leaving, Yan Shang hesitated and asked Mu Wanyao: "After this is over, you will be going to Jinling. Then you... can you wait for me?"

Mu Wanyao was curious: "Wait for you for what?"

Yan Shang said: "...Wait for me to go to Chang'an. I am thinking, can we make a fresh start?"

Mu Wanyao was dazed, not expecting Yan Shang to say such a thing.

He bid her farewell at the doorway, lowering his head and whispering to her: "I will come find you after I settle the engagement, and I will come find you after my one-year term in Nanyang ends... is that okay?"

After a long moment, under his anxious gaze, Mu Wanyao curled her eyes: "Alright."

But one year was too long—

After Yan Shang left, Mu Wanyao sat on a swing in the courtyard alone.

She finally finished the swing in the afternoon and swung for a while before hearing sounds outside the courtyard. When she looked up, she saw Fang Tong and the others leading the guards as they arrived.

Fang Tong was, of course, moved and relieved to see the Princess, and Mu Wanyao also smiled slightly, very happy to see them arrive. Fang Tong’s arrival meant that Pei Qing had taken control of Rang County, and Chang'an could free up hands to deal with Nanyang.

All of this was about to end.

However, when all of this was ending, Fang Tong spoke with relief about how they could go to Jinling. Yet, Mu Wanyao sat on the swing, chatting with Fang Tong who had come to find her: "I want to live the kind of life Yan Shang has."

Fang Tong was stunned: "What does that mean?"

Mu Wanyao said carelessly: "It’s nothing. Tell me specifically about the current situation in Rang County."

Fang Tong was silent for a moment, first saying something the Princess would surely care about: "Yan Erlang’s fiancée, Miao Niang... the people in Rang County think Erlang is dead, but his fiancée still wants to observe mourning for him. Miao Niang’s father is currently trying to persuade his daughter not to do so."

Fang Tong’s words made Mu Wanyao reach a resolution she had been wavering on. She curled her lips: "Observe mourning for him? That means as long as he returns, as long as she knows Yan Shang is still alive, that Miao Niang still wants to marry him? Yan Shang is getting off easy. Since that is the case, I want to keep Pei Qing in Rang County, and as for Yan Shang... I want to imprison him, imprison him, and force him to come to Jinling with me, back to Chang'an together. I want to imprison him and force him to marry me."