14 – The Little Highness Has a Screw Loose
Shi Sui slowly raised her gaze. Although Wen Nian had withdrawn his eyes extremely quickly, Shi Sui’s sharp perception still caught the slight awkwardness and regret in his expression. Being thick-skinned as always, she asked directly, “Are you dissatisfied with my small chest?”
Wen Nian: “…?”
In all his years, Wen Nian had never encountered a woman who would voice such a question so bluntly.
Moreover, he clearly hadn’t said anything—where did she even draw that conclusion from?
As she spoke, Shi Sui slumped back down again, sighing helplessly, “I don’t understand.”
Why was the female lead still flat-chested? She didn’t understand, truly didn’t understand.
After holding back for a while, Wen Nian spoke frankly, “Then why are you still lying on your stomach?”
Shi Sui instantly rolled over, lying flat on her back. She shifted closer to Wen Nian and asked earnestly, “Could it be that my flat chest is from lying on my stomach and pressing it down?”
“Why do you care about such things?” Wen Nian’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. The bed board was hard, and he didn’t often come to the library to read—there wasn’t even a pillow here. Worried that Shi Sui might roll around and bump her head, he reluctantly lifted his hand to cushion it beneath her head, saying, “Afraid I’ll abandon you?”
“Huh?” Shi Sui asked, “Not really.”
It was as if she had suddenly come to her senses, remembering that she was a married woman.
Heavens, this marriage—how was it any different from being single?
What was going on? Why did she feel that this Young Master, who was clearly labeled as “mad” in the original book, was so gentle?
Shi Sui asked, “But I think, even if you don’t say it out loud, you’d still dislike my small chest, right? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you let me lie on my stomach?”
Wen Nian was amused by her, “Lying on your stomach to read is bad for your eyes.”
Shi Sui: “…” Really? Would we, as female leads, even get nearsighted? I don’t believe it.
Perhaps because Wen Nian’s gesture of cushioning her head felt so natural, she actually maintained this position and started reading. After lying like this for a while, Wen Nian remarked curiously, “You’re reading history books?”
Shi Sui: “Has Your Highness forgotten? I am the number one talented lady.”
Wen Nian: “You? A talented lady?”
The blatant disbelief in his tone made Shi Sui feel deeply insulted.
After all, she was a top student from the history department of a prestigious university! Couldn’t he show a little respect?
“A great philosopher once said,” Shi Sui declared, “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” (Note: This quote is attributed to the great philosopher Hegel.)
“So history is very important,” Shi Sui concluded.
Wen Nian nodded slightly, “Mm, important.”
The current situation was actually quite bizarre. Though she and Wen Nian were technically husband and wife, it was practically no different from not being married at all. Neither of them had brought it up explicitly, and Wen Nian only occasionally teased her a little, never crossing any boundaries. He always maintained a sense of propriety.
Shi Sui felt as if she were bathed in holy light. Unless her own life was truly at stake, she wouldn’t take the initiative to do anything. Being a slacker wasn’t so bad either—after all, her previous life had been one of constant toil, and it was only after death that she realized how many beautiful sights she had missed along the way.
Just then, Yuan Youdao, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly coughed loudly. Shi Sui followed the sound and looked over, only to see Yuan Youdao blinking frantically, trying to signal her. Wen Nian wasn’t looking at him because of the cough—he only noticed Yuan Youdao’s almost neurotic behavior when he followed Shi Sui’s gaze.
Wen Nian asked, “What are you doing?”
Yuan Youdao: “…My eyes hurt.”
Wen Nian: “Then get out and go see an eye doctor.”
Yuan Youdao thought to himself that he could only hint this much to Shi Sui; the rest was up to her.
So before leaving, Yuan Youdao didn’t forget to give Shi Sui a look that said, “Go for it, I can only help you this much.”
Shi Sui: “…” Brother, are you crazy?
Yuan Youdao took all the guards and maidservants out. In no time, the entire library was left with only Wen Nian and Shi Sui, instantly falling silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind audible.
Shi Sui didn’t speak, and neither did Wen Nian. The two of them stared at each other again, just like during the meal. At this point, Shi Sui couldn’t focus on reading anymore and had to find a topic herself: “Your Highness, you could actually ask me what I’ve learned from these books.”
Wen Nian: “But what if I don’t want to ask?”
Shi Sui: “…” How am I supposed to respond to that?
So Shi Sui resorted to her second tactic. She coaxed Wen Nian gently, tugging at his sleeve and whispering, “Dong Zhi.”
Wen Nian: “…”
Again, with this trick.
It won’t work.
Wen Nian thought silently to himself.
Shi Sui didn’t care whether this trick worked or not; after all, it was the only one she had at the moment. So she began bombarding him: “Dong Zhi.”
“Dong Zhi, I know you want to ask.”
“You must have a whole basket of questions for me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll answer every one of them, guaranteed to satisfy you.”
Wen Nian’s fingers curled slightly at his side. He lowered his gaze and asked, “Shi Sui, you don’t actually think that using this trick will make me agree to anything, do you?”
“In the past, my father was like this,” Shi Sui said with a sigh. “Now, I actually miss him a little.”
Wen Nian: “…”
After a long pause, the two of them just stared at each other, locked in a stalemate. Shi Sui, who usually seemed mild-tempered, showed no fear at this moment, not even blinking.
“Could you say something? My eyes are getting sore from staring like this,” Shi Sui leaned back slightly, forcing herself not to blink.
“Then blink,” the Youth couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“No,” Shi Sui said. “Whoever blinks first loses.”
Wen Nian was genuinely afraid that if he didn’t agree, Shi Sui would keep staring and competing with him like this. He let out a light laugh and said bluntly, “Little Glutinous Rice Ball.”
“Hmm?” Shi Sui responded.
“Read fewer storybooks next time,” the Youth said with a smile. “They’ll make you silly.”
Shi Sui: “But I’m reading history books.”
“Hmm, do you want me to praise you for that?” the Youth asked again.
“Ah,” Shi Sui simply said what she wanted to say, no longer beating around the bush. “Actually, I wanted to say that reading history makes one wise. Look at the crown princes throughout history—weren’t they all diligent and attended court every day?”
After a moment of silence, the Youth replied softly, “It seems you really did read some history books and actually learned something.”
This statement didn’t clearly state his position, and Shi Sui wasn’t sure if he understood. Afraid that talking too much would annoy Wen Nian, she blinked and observed the Youth’s expression.
The Youth casually flipped through a few pages of the book in front of him and said straightforwardly, “I don’t attend court because the useless people there are too noisy. They annoy me.”
Shi Sui: That sounds so arrogant.
Having laid everything out in the open with that one sentence, it opened up a new topic of conversation. Shi Sui also noticed that Wen Nian didn’t like beating around the bush—just like her, he was straightforward. She actually thought this way of talking was quite good; at least there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, and there probably wouldn’t be all that torment between the male and female leads like in the original story.
In the original book, the male lead, Mu He, was a “central air conditioner”—gentle and kind to everyone, but he unknowingly attracted a lot of admirers, who then joined forces to torment the female lead. When Shi Sui was reading that awful book, she wanted to slap Mu He to death. Why did he have to be so clueless and let other girls misunderstand him? Why did he have to cause trouble for the female lead?
Look, the wife he had right in front of him ended up running away.
Thinking about it this way, Shi Sui genuinely felt that this little black flower was actually pretty good.
Just as Shi Sui was about to press her advantage and persuade the little black flower further, she saw the Youth’s dark eyes shift slightly, his gaze landing on her face as he smiled and said, “Glutinous rice ball, why are you so concerned about court politics today?”
Shi Sui now felt that Wen Nian somewhat resembled a child who didn’t want to go to school because they were being bullied by classmates.
“Just curious,” Shi Sui asked again. “Do you really dislike those people in the court?”
Wen Nian smiled. “I wouldn’t say I dislike them, I just find them noisy. For example, that General Wang is particularly loud.”
Hearing the words “General Wang,” Shi Sui’s heart skipped a beat. In the original book, it was General Wang who recognized Mu He’s jade pendant, and it was also he who helped Mu He regain his position as a prince, diligently serving as the man behind Mu He and opposing Wen Nian all along.
Shi Sui: “What did he do?”
“He said that the crown prince spends all day reading storybooks—what kind of example is that?” Wen Nian chuckled lightly, his tone casual.
Hearing this, Shi Sui frowned slightly. She suddenly realized something.
Wen Nian had clearly read a lot of books—he had read all the books in the library. Sometimes when she mentioned a few lines, Wen Nian could even continue them. He was nothing like the spoiled, useless crown prince described in the original story. It seemed as though he had a clear mind and understood everything.
And did General Wang and the others really think that Wen Nian was just a Young Master who only knew how to have fun, read storybooks, and accomplish nothing?
Shi Sui: “…You couldn’t have just let that slide, could you?”
Wen Nian’s tone was leisurely: “I said, why don’t you let your son be the crown prince instead? I’d like to see how your three-year-old, mentally deficient son could possibly govern the country well.”
Shi Sui: “…” Well done. Now I understand why General Wang sided with Mu He to impeach you. You’re just asking for a beating.