My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chapter 63

Helan Ci’s heart trembled slightly.

Lu Wuyou’s tone carried an indistinguishable mix of emotions, neither purely happy nor purely lamenting. It was laced with a mixture of feelings, so dense and heavy that it weighed on every word.

Her knees slowly gave way, and she felt herself being embraced by him.

Lu Wuyou buried his face into the curve of her neck. His breaths came long and slow, tinged with a hint of ambiguity, brushing past her ear with a lingering warmth, as if he was absorbing the scent from her body. But he made no further move. He simply tightened his arms around her waist.

“…You didn’t actually have to come.”

Helan Ci moved her lips.

She didn’t quite know how to say it. She has traveled thousands of miles, just wanted to confirm if he was safe.

And now that she had seen Lu Wuyou with her own eyes, that taut nerves that had been holding her up seemed to ease slightly.

As long as he was safe, that was enough.

She raised a hand and nudged his shoulder, softly said, “Well, since I’m already here… tell me, what’s happened over these three months? Are you okay? Why did you suddenly appear just now? You scared me…”

Lu Wuyou lifted his head to look at her. “Miss Helan, it really is you… the ability to ruin the mood haven’t changed at all.”

Helan Ci paused for a moment, then began to reflect on what was wrong with what she had just said.

“…How did I ruin the mood?”

Lu Wuyou raised the corners of his peach blossom eyes and said, “After three months being apart, shouldn’t we start by pouring out our hearts to each other?”

Helan Ci said, puzzled, “Wasn’t I just expressing concern for you?”

“You came all the way to Yizhou…” Lu Wuyou’s tone lifted, subtle and teasing, “You must’ve missed me at least a little, right? Shouldn’t you say something nicer? Of course, it doesn’t matter which part of me you missed.”

He couldn’t help leaning in and giving her lips another peck.

Thank heavens, everyone had already been cleared out by Zizhu just moments earlier.

Helan Ci shrank back slightly, her body still hot and weak. It had truly been so long since they were last this close, she had almost forgotten how it felt. But her body remembered it clearly and quickly responded even more.

“I did…” she admitted, a little embarrassed. “Worried about you.”

Lu Wuyou chuckled softly and tilted his head, about to kiss her again.

Helan Ci quickly stopped him. Though everyone had already been dismissed, doing anything more in such an unsafe place was still far too outrageous. Besides, she had only just started asking him questions—she was still concerned about who that man earlier really was.

She didn’t know Lu Wuyou’s current situation either and was worried that if he revealed himself, it would draw attention.

In short, they couldn’t just start doing things so recklessly.

With her hand still pressed against his shoulder, Lu Wuyou finally straightened up a little, his tone more serious now. “But I really didn’t expect you to come. When I got the news, I thought it must be fake. You, in the capital… did you run into any trouble? I wasn’t in Jiang’an today, it took me some time to rush over—that’s why I was delayed…”

Helan Ci said, “Nothing much happened in the capital.” She just felt uneasy there, “But, I ran into Xiao Nanxun on the way.”

“I heard about it.” Lu Wuyou lifted a hand, gently brushing away the faint dust of travel from her hair. “Are you still afraid of him?”

She had only just arrived in Jiang’an today and hadn’t rested for even a moment before rushing around everywhere.

Though she still looked like a fairy in white robes and skirts, up close one could detect the subtle exhaustion and weariness between her brows. Lu Wuyou’s heart softened even more.

He really hadn’t expected her to come.

He knew perfectly well that she was someone who lived with utmost caution. Even when he had offered her freedom, she hadn’t wanted to know the details and had rejected it outright—had she truly considered it, she would’ve at least asked him more about the arrangements. Instead, she had politely declined the very next day.

So for her to come to Yizhou like this—it must have been a difficult decision for her.

And yet she still came.

Helan Ci shook her head. “Not so afraid anymore…”

What she had feared all along wasn’t Xiao Nanxun as a person, but the helplessness she felt in the face of his power, unable to resist, and only able to be at his mercy.

If all he had wanted was her beauty, she would’ve been long used to that.

She recalled something and repeated what Xiao Nanxun had said to her

Lu Wuyou pondered for a moment and said, “I pretty much guessed as much.” A hint of light sarcasm appeared between his brows, “When the dike broke, I went to take a look. The foundation was stuffed with things like straw—clearly patched together to cut corners. It wasn’t just a natural disaster; it was man-made. I asked a friend in the Ministry of Revenue. Last year, the court allocated two million taels to Yizhou for dam repairs. After deductions by the Ministry, the Riverway affair office, and the provincial government, the county might’ve only received about one million taels. And based on previous reports, if the dam hadn’t collapsed, they might’ve even falsely reported a shortfall of another one or two hundred thousand taels.”

Helan Ci paused. “So what did you find out?”

Lu Wuyou said, “The river dikes required large quantities of timber, stone, and other materials. Almost all the procurement in Yizhou is handled by people with inside connections—swapping good materials for bad, jacking up prices on purpose. In short, all kinds of corruption. It wasn’t hard to investigate. But just as I got wind of it, they were about to destroy the evidence. Time was tight, so I broke in directly. To cover it up, they set fire to everything.”

Helan Ci was shocked: “So you really got burned?”

“At that time, the fire was really quite big. Not exaggerating—they really tried. If I didn’t have some martial skills, I might’ve died there…”

Seeing her visibly tense expression, Lu Wuyou smiled again. “But I did get the account books for the Riverway supply purchases. The corruption of the state officials is quite clear, enough for them to lose their official hats. But…”

Helan Ci said, “Can’t you just say it all at once!”

At this moment, the two of them were still nearly pressed together.

Lu Wuyou lowered his head again, breathing softly at her shoulder, saying, “I just feel like it’s not adding up. That amount of silver can’t all be in their hands. The deeper trail of evidence is much harder to trace. That Yizhou inspector from censorate probably died for this. The Yizhou bureaucracy is very secretive about him even mentioning him, they only say he overestimates himself. Perhaps he really did uncover something.”

She felt itchy because of him 

She raised a hand to push at his head again, but Lu Wuyou caught her wrist and shamelessly said, “What’s wrong with letting me take a sniff?”

Helan Ci replied honestly, “It tickles… Then what? What do you plan to do next? Stay in Yizhou? But officially, you’re still…” a dead man.

Lu Wuyou held her wrist, his fingers tracing the soft, delicate skin there. “They only relaxed because I ‘died.’ I’ll keep investigating the case, but it won’t be easy for me to show my face. I’ve already called in a trusted colleague to help coordinate… Though Yizhou’s waters run deep, there’s a catch.”

Before, Lu Wuyou had liked getting affectionate with her, but not to this degree—like he couldn’t bear to let go for even a moment.

Helan Ci grasped Lu Wuyou’s hand that was causing trouble and said, “Continue.”

Lu Wuyou looked into her eyes for a moment, finally compromising as he released her wrist. He bent down, picked up one of the rouge boxes that had fallen to the floor, and began demonstrating to her.

“They have internal conflicts among themselves. It’s not as if they’re a solid block. Though when faced with a common threat—like me, or that imperial inspector—they’ll band together. But once the crisis passes, they begin to suspect one another again.”

Lu Wuyou’s long fingers pushed the rouge box back and forth across the table.

He looked up and asked her, “Do you have a rough idea about the local officialdom in Dayong?”

Helan Ci nodded and said, “I know a little.”

Lu Wuyou smiled and said, “Miss Helan is indeed very studious. In short, this dynasty, to prevent local officials from growing too powerful and wielding excessive authority, not only sends regular inspection envoys and censors but also layers administrative jurisdictions upon one another. Especially in the provincial capital—it was easy for officials to argue over who had authority over certain matters, and over time, this naturally gave rise to conflicts — which also acted as a kind of mutual check and balance. It’s not unusual for superiors and subordinates to pretend to obey each other while secretly doing their own thing — since both sides feared being undermined or backstabbed. There’s even an unspoken rule in court—to prevent collusion, direct superior-subordinate pairs wouldn’t meet in person. For instance, the Judicial Commissioner¹ won’t meet the prefect², and the prefect won’t meet the county magistrates³; instead, orders were typically passed through intermediaries—like Provincial Administrator⁴ or subordinate officials⁵. Then there are other offices like Regional Surveillance Commissioners, Patrol Officers, and Military Commissioners, which often had conflicting responsibilities with one another. If we go into all the details, we could talk about it all day.”

The rouge box was divided into several groups. Lu Wuyou continued, “In Yizhou, the Prefect of Jiangan, Feng Tiannian, and the Judicial Commissioner, Ling Bo’an, were classmates⁶; The Financial Administrator, Lan Daoye, and the Provincial Governor, Ji Ting, once served in the same office; The Riverway Supervisor, Ju Jingquan, along with the Education Commissioner⁷, Qu Sizheng, and the Prefect Feng Tiannian, once had a teacher-student relationship during the provincial exams. Only Garrison Commander Chu Zhuang of the Garrison seems like an outsider, since he’s under the Five Military Commands Office⁸ of the Capital. Overall, there are factions, and each of them has different backers. Without someone backing you in the capital, it’s hard to advance in the provinces. That’s why they say the Hanlin Academy is so prestigious — because they generally don’t have to curry favor with anyone…”

Helan Ci tried hard to remember the names but then couldn’t help but say, “Why are you bragging while talking?”

Lu Wuyou smiled and said, “I was afraid it would sound too serious and boring to you.”

Helan Ci shook her head, “No, it’s quite interesting.”

It’s just that the names are a bit hard to remember.

Lu Wuyou said, “Now let’s talk about something more interesting. The Prefect of Jiang’an is a lecher—his household is full of concubines. The most favored one might be a concubine named Madam Yujiao. The River Supervisor is greedy for money. He bought his post by sending a hefty bribe to Eunuch Peng, a favored attendant beside His Majesty—I suspect no less than a hundred thousand taels. The Judicial Commissioner is obsessed with fame. Before he even took office, he reportedly spent his own money to make a ‘Ten Thousand People’s Umbrella’ and even erected a monument to himself. As for the Provincial Administrator, there’s no need to even say much — he’s extremely good at scheming and is just a fence-sitter.”

Helan Ci thought for a moment and asked, “So the colleague you mentioned is going to negotiate for you?”

Lu Wuyou said, “I will spread the news that although I am dead, I managed to uncover something before I died and entrusted it to that colleague of mine. The people of Yizhou will surely be alarmed. At that time, I will have my colleague pretend to know nothing, and making connections here and there, stirring up suspicion among them. Then, I will deliberately let some vague hints slip, and there will always be someone who can’t resist…”

Helan Ci said, “…Isn’t that basically sowing discord?”

Lu Wuyou smiled and said, “That sounds a bit harsh, it’s just a small strategy. It’s a pity I was unfamiliar with the people here when I arrived. If I could move personally, the results would be even better.”

Helan Ci pondered for a moment and said, “But from what you said, it seems like I can do it too.”

Lu Wuyou: “……?”

Helan Ci said, “I am your widow, isn’t that more than reasonable? Besides, my father is the Left Chief Minister, they should still have some reservations and give me a bit of face.”

Lu Wuyou stopped fiddling with the rouge box. “You’re too… upright.”

Helan Ci tried to argue. “Says who! When I tricked Xiao Nanxun, I thought I played the part quite well. I was just a bit scared at the time…” She immediately lowered her eyes, revealing a sorrowful expression, even biting her lip to genuinely show a hint of sadness.

Lu Wuyou paused, looked away slightly, and said, “Stop trying to seduce me.”

Helan Ci: “……?”

Lu Wuyou also said, “There will inevitably be some risks.”

“Doesn’t your colleague face risk too?” she said seriously. “Along the way, I’ve seen the disaster victims displaced by the dike breach, and I don’t want to just sit and wait. Since I’m here, if I can do something to help you, then the trip won’t be in vain. Besides, you’ve seen me in Qingzhou before, now I’m just more familiar with you. If we weren’t close, you wouldn’t be able to read my thoughts so easily…” Helan Ci continued trying to persuade him, “If we can get them to spit out some silver for disaster relief… My aunt’s already been dismissed, and the Ministry of Revenue’s leadership has changed. I doubt they’ll be able to come up with much.”

Lu Wuyou stared at her quietly for a moment, then suddenly reached out to brush aside a lock of her hair, laughing as he said, “I can’t help but feel… you’ve changed a little over these past three months.”

Helan Ci said, “Because when a person has nothing to do, they can only let their imagination run wild. Actually… I’m a bit worried that you might think I shouldn’t have come.”

“I am indeed worried, but I won’t stop you from coming. As long as you want, you can come anytime.”

He paused for a moment, then said, “So besides worrying about me, did you miss me a little during these three months?”

Helan Ci’s cheeks warmed. Truthfully, even when her father returned from official trips, they never said things like “I missed you.” She always felt that overly affectionate expressions of emotion were somewhat embarrassing.

For example, like her cousin Yao Qianxue and her fiancé Song Qichuan.

Now that she had finally calmed down, she had the chance to take a good look at Lu Wuyou’s appearance. He hadn’t changed much from when they last parted—still elegant and refined, with a handsome face and peach blossom eyes that stirred the heart no matter when they looked at her, full of affection when they lingered.

Only his features seemed a little sharper, and perhaps he’d gotten thinner—Yizhou’s food really didn’t seem that great.

She looked at him seriously for a moment, nodded, and then somewhat awkwardly said, “Did you… get thinner?”

Before she finished speaking, Lu Wuyou had already pressed down on her shoulders and kissed her, his eyes filled with laughter.

Helan Ci hadn’t expected it, and her eyes widened briefly.

Then she heard Lu Wuyou’s voice murmuring low and intimately between her lips, “I have gotten thinner… probably because of hunger.”

This time it wasn’t just kissing—Lu Wuyou’s fingers were lightly caressing her waist as well. Helan Ci’s waist weakened, and she instinctively leaned back, hitting the table behind her. But Lu Wuyou’s strength was too much. Before she could react, there was a loud clang.

The table they had just been leaning on toppled to one side, and the rouge boxes scattered all over the floor with a crash.

Helan Ci gasped, but was immediately pulled over by Lu Wuyou for another kiss. Soon, she forgot all about that table.

The room was divided into front and back by a screen. Lu Wuyou kissed her while guiding her further inside.

Not long after, someone’s foot seemed to trip it, and with a loud bang, the four-panel screen painted with beauties toppled to the ground. Helan Ci instinctively reached to steady it, but Lu Wuyou’s hand moved faster—he pinned her wrist and pressed her up against the low cabinet, continuing to kiss her.

The wet sounds of their entangled lips and tongues were vivid and clear.

Helan Ci’s waist leaned against the edge of the cabinet, her back pressed to the wall, her face flushed in a drunken haze. A thin string of saliva still clung to her lips, her chest heaving as she gasped under Lu Wuyou’s weight. Unknowingly, her sash had already come undone.

Gripping Lu Wuyou’s collar, she absentmindedly tugged open his outer robe as well.

Lu Wuyou grew even bolder.

Helan Ci whimpered, managing to gasp out, “Your hand… is cold.”

Lu Wuyou, still nibbling at her lips, panted, “Then let me warm it up.”

Sticking to her waist and abdomen, even wandering up, the palms gradually became warm, even somewhat scorching.

The two stumbled away from the cabinet once more, still kissing, and finally tumbled onto the couch in the inner chamber. In the chaos, they knocked something else over, though neither cared.

Helan Ci originally wanted to care about it a little, but Lu Wuyou was really too relentless, even her inner garments were scattered.

He released her lips and moved lower.

Helan Ci couldn’t help but clutch the blanket beneath her, her voice choked with tears.

Knock, knock…

Someone knocked on the door.

Zizhu’s flat voice came from outside: “That person is rolling on the ground, and the subordinate doesn’t know what to do.”

Lu Wuyou: “……”

Helan Ci: “……”

She suddenly woke up, remembered where she was, and hastily pulled her robes together.

Lu Wuyou still wanted to continue, but seeing Helan Ci’s shocked expression and how quickly she fastened her sash and got up to right the fallen screen, he could only press a hand to his forehead with a look of pained restraint. After a moment, he said, “I’ll go out in a bit.”

Zizhu retreated in response.

Lu Wuyou muttered, “I should have him clean the latrines.”

Helan Ci looked down. “Um… he’s helped me a lot along the way.”

Lu Wuyou had been kneeling to straighten his robes, but at that, he raised his head and said with a faint smile, “Now I really want him to clean the latrines.”

Helan Ci said, “Get your act together!”

Lu Wuyou let out a light sigh, got out of bed, and said, “It turns out you really don’t miss me.”

Helan Ci said with an unfriendly tone, “I came all the way to Yizhou with great effort!”

Lu Wuyou replied, “But you don’t even want to play with me.”

Helan Ci: “…”

There was really no way to continue this conversation.

Helan Ci perfunctorily said, “Let’s talk about it later, this place… isn’t really suitable.”

Lu Wuyou nodded and said, “Forget it, one time definitely won’t be enough. If you go back to the Chu residence and someone notices something off, that wouldn’t be good.” He paused and said, “Anyway, I’ve endured it for so long already.”

Helan Ci: “……”

In the end, she ignored whatever Lu Wuyou was saying. She righted the table, set the rouge boxes back in place, picked up the dagger, and only then opened the door to leave. But just before stepping out, she remembered something, “Um, do you know who the person who invited me here is? Is it okay if he sees you…?”

Lu Wuyou followed behind her, completely unconcerned, saying, “He’s just Ji Wangfei’s nephew. His father died early, so she raised him like a godson. Always bullying men and women alike. I didn’t expect he’d dare set his sights on you. But it’s fine, I’ll go scare him a little.”

Helan Ci quickly found out exactly how Lu Wuyou scared people.

This consistently suave and gentle young man wore an extremely tender yet nonchalant smile on his face, twirling a flying knife between his fingers, and said, “What to do, huh? you have found out something you shouldn’t have…”

The other man was shouting, “Lu Wuyou! Let me go If my aunt finds out, she won’t let you off…”

Lu Wuyou’s smile only grew gentler. “Exactly. So we can’t let her find out.”

He bent down slightly, tapping the cold blade of the knife against the man’s cheek, then drew a shallow cut across it, leaving a bloody mark: “Then just kill you, wouldn’t that work?”

The man clutched his face and shrank back in fear. “You dare?! Th-this is murder, aren’t you afraid—”

A wave of crushing pressure rolled in.

What followed was a chill, murderous aura so cold and sharp it was almost tangible. That mask-like smile on Lu Wuyou’s face only made the contrast more terrifying. The man couldn’t help but be seized by fear—as if Lu Wuyou truly might do something horrifying the next moment.

Lu Wuyou’s tone remained perfectly polite. “I’m already a dead man. Even if someone suspects, it won’t be me…”

“Then I’ll just kill them all. That way, no one will know.”

When he said kill, his tone was as casual as if he were talking about eating or drinking.

Suddenly, a vicious aura surged forth!

Lu Wuyou reversed the knife in his hand and, with a swift movement, plunged it into the man’s thigh.

Bl00d sprayed.

A sudden, excruciating pain struck.

But Lu Wuyou’s expression remained unchanged, still wearing that calm, unaffected smile, as if nothing at all had happened.

The man let out a scream, sobbing as tears and snot streamed down his face. He howled, “Help! Help! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, please, please, I absolutely won’t tell anyone about what happened tonight, please… spare my life!”

Helan Ci, hiding outside and watching, was honestly impressed. She felt that learning never truly ends, and she can still improve further.

Lu Wuyou had already come out. He was wiping the bl00d from his fingers with a handkerchief, looking a bit disgusted. “I used a few other methods on him too. Anyway, now he’s completely obedient—he can’t go against me. If he does, it’ll be his own death. Of course, keeping him might be useful.”

Helan Ci asked curiously, “What methods?”

Lu Wuyou looked up at her and said, “It’s a rather underhanded method, and I rarely use it. Usually, I…” He suddenly realized, “You… aren’t afraid?”

He hadn’t planned on letting her see this. Who would’ve thought Helan Ci wanted to watch?

Helan Ci said, “I stabbed Ling Ting before, and… I’ve seen many corpses, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Lu Wuyou moved his lips. “When have you seen dead bodies?”

Helan Ci told him the story.

Lu Wuyou’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he pinched her cheek with his clean fingers and said,“Sometimes I think… your ability to accept things is kind of terrifying.”

Helan Ci tugged at his hand. “Hmm?”

T/N:

This chapter is a bit hard to translate because of many official terms. _(:I」∠)_

If there is any error on the footnote, please let me know.