My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chapter 35.1

In the end, Lu Wuyou really did find someone to repair the roof of the Helan residence. It wasn’t like before, when they casually patched up a leak—it was a proper, thorough renovation.

This actually made Helan Ci feel a little embarrassed.

Lu Wuyou thought she was still dissatisfied and said, “What? Did you really expect me to climb up onto the Helan residence roof and fix it brick by tile for you? Specialization in one’s craft is important; it’s better to be proficient in a few things than to be mediocre in many. Not everything needs to be done by oneself. How would a bricklayer make a living otherwise?”
He spoke with conviction.

Helan Ci couldn’t help but mutter, “You have quite a few unusual things you can do too.”

Lu Wuyou said, “I know a little bit.” He smiled and said, “Still can’t compare to Miss Helan. Although I really don’t know why you want to learn so many things.”

Later, Helan Ci even counted on her fingers and honestly confessed to him things she had learned. Although she couldn’t ride a horse, she had learned to drive a horse-drawn carriage. Besides paddling, she had also learned some basic swimming. Because she didn’t have many opportunities to spend time in the water and her body couldn’t handle the cold, her posture wasn’t very good and she could barely float. Besides these, there were also some other miscellaneous things…

Lu Wuyou didn’t notice it at first, but upon careful consideration, he realized that most of it was for the sake of survival.

It made Lu Wuyou start to suspect that over the years, she hadn’t been living as the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official, but rather like some kind of notorious outlaw.

Helan Ci hesitated and said, “Better safe than sorry, you haven’t seen…”

A few years ago, she followed her father and witnessed the officials confiscating homes and exiling people. They were still a family with whom they had past dealings. The cries in the house were deafening; the men were driven to death by smashing their heads against the rockery, and the womenfolk suffered even more miserably.

For her father to serve in office and reach such a high position was purely a matter of good fortune.

The Emperor’s health wasn’t very good. If something unexpected happened—or even if the Emperor simply had a sudden change of heart—her father could fall into disaster at any moment.

She didn’t even need the dream’s omen to know: without her father’s protection, her own fate definitely wouldn’t be good.

After listening, Lu Wuyou was both amused and helpless. “But even if you’ve learned all that, it doesn’t mean you’d actually be able to escape.”

Helan Ci honestly said, “I know, I just learned to seek peace of mind.”

*****

Once matters in the household were more or less settled, Helan Ci finally remembered what he had mentioned earlier—about her helping him read through the manuscripts.

Lu Wuyou pointed to the thick stack of papers on the bookshelf in his study and said, “If you have time, you can help me go through these. There are more that couldn’t fit here and have been piled elsewhere.”

Helan Ci hadn’t been in his study much because her father didn’t often let her into his study either. She thought it might be considered a private space.

Lu Wuyou clearly didn’t mind. He said, “You can read here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime. You can also take it back to your own study to read. After you’re done, come find me.” At first, when they discussed the house layout, Lu Wuyou asked her what kind of room she wanted, and she quietly mentioned wanting a study. To her surprise, Lu Wuyou readily agreed.

Helan Ci picked up a stack of papers and still wanted to confirm: “Do you really want me to help you look at these?”

Lu Wuyou flipped through the booklet in his hands without looking up and said, “Aren’t you usually quite confident? Don’t worry, most of the essays here aren’t as good as the ones you wrote for your brother at the government office. You just need to pick out the ones you think are well-written. If you have some spare time, you can take a piece of paper, tear it into small pieces, and write your comments on that essay, then attach it to the paper.” He tilted his chin slightly and smiled. “We can enjoy the fun of voting and reviewing drafts like the Cabinet.”

Helan Ci was already used to his daily outrageous behavior and casually asked, “Then what will you be doing?”
“Flipping through the scriptures, checking references… Of course, the most important thing is reviewing the Daily Records¹,” Lu Wuyou flipped another page and said, “It’s pretty tedious. I used to think compiling the previous dynasty’s history would be harder since so many documents were lost during the wars and the years and events would need to be pieced together. But now I realize that even compiling the Annals of the Former Emperor, which is extremely well-documented, isn’t easy. Not to mention the official correspondence and memorials, just the Daily Records alone are written day by day—it’s exhausting. Of course, if I were just an assistant compiler, it’d be much easier…”

He noticed Helan Ci staring over and said again, “Are you interested?”

Helan Ci nodded. She indeed felt a bit interested, because her father never discussed official matters with her, only letting her be a proper young lady. Sometimes, when he was copying memorials at night, she would bring him some late-night snacks, and her father would deliberately cover them up so she couldn’t see.

Although she knew it was a court matter, she could understand that but she couldn’t help being curious.

Lu Wuyou chuckled and beckoned her over. “Then don’t read the manuscripts for now. Come look at this with me. I can’t take the Daily Records out, but these here are things any official can access… I’m looking at the section about Crown Prince Huaijin. It’s quite interesting.”

The late Emperor’s Crown Prince Huaijin really was a tragic figure.

The state of Dayong took “Yong” as its name, and the era names all began with “Yong” as well. For example, the current era is Yongshun, and everyone refers to the emperor as the Shun Emperor. The previous emperor’s era name was Yongxuan, so he’s also called the Xuan Emperor. Thus, Lu Wuyou was now compiling the Annals of the Xuan Emperor.

Emperor Xuan reigned for a long time and had a very famous crown prince, born of the empress, who was appointed at the age of three and deeply loved by the emperor.

The Chief Minister personally took him under his wing, and the team selected by the Imperial Academy were all carefully chosen, the best of their time. Even generals who had just returned from war were tasked with teaching him military strategy and martial arts. They were clearly grooming him to be a wise and capable ruler, strong in both civil and military affairs.

And Crown Prince Huaijin did not disappoint. He became a man of brilliant talent and character.

He speaks eloquently, possesses outstanding talent and learning, has a warm but not cowardly temperament, is kind but not weak, and paints excellent landscape paintings. Those who have seen his work all praise him, and that’s not all—his martial skills are also exceptional.

The image of Crown Prince Huai Jin riding a horse, raising his whip, and shooting three arrows in a row during the royal hunting festival at Changyong Hunting Grounds is still a legend in the capital. The paintings are widely circulated, and it is said that at that time, all the noble ladies wanted to marry him to become the Crown Princess, and no one doubted that he would inherit the throne.

But the world is unpredictable. Emperor Xuan reigned for too long. Crown Prince Huaiqin had already married and had children, yet Emperor Xuan showed no intention of abdicating, leading to growing resentment between the two parties.

It was around this time that a notorious case emerged—the Treason Case of Crown Prince Huaijin.

Helan Ci didn’t know the details very well; she only knew that Prince Huai Jin died in this treason case. However, in the end, Emperor Xuan found out that Prince Huai Jin had been framed and didn’t actually intend to commit treason.

Thus, all the vested interests—the remaining princes—became suspects.

In his later years, the Xuan Emperor became extremely paranoid and, heartbroken over losing his beloved son, ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate to investigate thoroughly. The case implicated so many people that hundreds of officials were convicted. Including minor clerks, the number neared a thousand. The purge swept from the central government to the local regions.

As for the princes, they were even worse off; even those who had already been granted fiefs were dragged back, imprisoned, or even executed, causing everyone in the court to turn pale at the news.

It was at this time that Emperor Shun—who had married Empress Xu— was able to stand out and, amidst the turmoil, ascended to the throne with great difficulty.

Lu Wuyou pointed to the booklet in his hand and said to Helan Ci, “…… I find it interesting that, despite all the legends about Crown Prince Huaijin being such a remarkable and extraordinary person, looking at the records, he was actually quite arrogant and conceited.”

Helan Ci heard him use these four words to evaluate others and couldn’t help but turn to him and say, “…… compared to you?”

Hearing this, Lu Wuyou’s peach blossom eyes curved up, and he laughed in a bewitching manner, “So in Miss Helan’s heart, I’m that impressive?”

Helan Ci said, “ It’s just, hearing you evaluate others like this… it feels strange.”

Lu Wuyou pushed the booklet over, lowered his head, and leaned in a bit closer, his fingertip pointing at a few lines.His long lashes trembled lightly as he said, “You can see for yourself. He shot three arrows in a row just to hit a hawk—there’s no reason for it other than showing off. He even deliberately turned his head to pose for the court painter…. I’m much more low-key than him, okay? I outgrew these flashy tricks when I was ten.”

Helan Ci followed his finger and looked. Normally, no one bothered to read the late emperor’s records. People were more interested in the older histories.

Seeing that the text was indeed as he described, Helan Ci couldn’t help but feel a bit of interest. Just as she came to her senses and was about to speak, she turned her head and found Lu Wuyou’s profile almost within reach, as if she could hear his breathing.

His long eyelashes continued to tremble. He turned to another page, and pointed it out to Helan Ci: “This part too… it makes me laugh uncontrollably, hm?” Realizing that Helan Ci had no reaction, Lu Wuyou also turned his head.

He saw Helan Ci staring at him in a daze and hurriedly looked away.

Lu Wuyou was so focused on showing her interesting things that he didn’t notice the distance between them was indeed a bit too close at this moment. That faint fragrance wafted over again, and he paused slightly in his breathing, saying, “……Are you used the fragrance from your house?”

Helan Ci shook his head and said, “I usually use soapberries.”

Soapberry? Is that what this smells like?

Lu Wuyou wanted to go and sniff, but he felt it was not very appropriate during the day. While hesitating, Helan Ci had already stood up, seemingly wanting to pick up the stack of manuscripts. He instinctively grabbed the hem of her sleeve.

Helan Ci turned around and said, “Hmm?”

“You’re in such a hurry to leave, aren’t you going to stay a bit longer?”

Helan Ci had been feeling guilty for distracting him from work, but his question startled her. What kind of invitation is that?

She stopped and asked, “Do you want me to keep reading with you?”
Lu Wuyou said, “It’s not impossible, but…”

He hesitated a moment, then gave up the struggle, set the booklet aside, and pushed some other things on the desk aside as well. “Can I smell you?”
“Hmm? Smell what?”
Helan Ci was taken aback; Lu Wuyou had already placed his hands on her waist, gently pressing her against the edge of the desk.
She braced herself on the desk behind her, and before she could react, Lu Wuyou lowered his head and brought his nose close to her neck, breathing in softly. “I’ve always been curious about what your scent actually is.”
Helan Ci instinctively grabbed a nearby inkstone, a hint of nervousness in her voice, “It doesn’t smell like anything.”
Lu Wuyou’s breath brushed over her neck. His nose nearly touched her chin as he sniffed again. “I can’t quite tell what it smells like, but it actually smells pretty good. I remember that soapberries don’t smell like this…”

He said this with a voice so close it almost brushed against her ear. From her perspective, Lu Wuyou lowered his eyes, seemingly engrossed in serious study.

But they were too close. Her heart was already beating faster.

Helan Ci stepped back a bit and then sat down at the table.

Lu Wuyou lifted his head and noticed her unease. Logically, he should’ve stepped back, but the thought came swiftly and irrationally—and besides… she had kind of agreed, hadn’t she?

Helan Ci lifted her head and was shocked by Lu Wuyou kissing her.

——Although she didn’t mind him kissing, it was still broad daylight in the study!

Lu Wuyou pressed her directly onto the desk, leaning in between her knees. His kiss was slow and gentle, probably because it was daytime, so he didn’t make much sound. But Helan Ci felt it was terribly inappropriate.

To her, a study was a sacred place—almost more solemn than a public hall.
Moreover, she was really worried that if she moved too much, she might knock something off the desk.