Level Max Villainous Second Female Lead, Just Wants to Slack Off CHAPTER 56

Chapter 56: Slacking Off, Day Fifty-Six

【Mission Failed】

This time, the system didn’t add any of its usual commentary. It had probably run out of things to say.

The bailiffs in the main hall fell silent, witnessing the scene.

It was clear now that this time, the steamed buns were indeed personally made by the eldest young miss. They had heard rumors that she was uneducated and unskilled, especially in the kitchen, but they never imagined… her cooking could be this bad.

Wen Ying felt this wasn’t a matter of good or bad cooking anymore.

This was a transformation from food into a lethal weapon.

Cao Ruobing hissed in pain for a long time before he finally calmed down. Looking at the bag of buns, his body instinctively recoiled. “Miss… Miss Wen, these buns… I’m afraid I’m not blessed enough to enjoy them… Please, take them back.”

His voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

Even if Lu Xiaojie was a terrible cook, creating a bun of this hardness was something no ordinary person could achieve. A culinary disaster that even Wang Goudan couldn’t replicate was no ordinary disaster.

If it hadn’t been for Cao Ruobing’s yelp of pain, Wen Ying wouldn’t have noticed. Now that she had, she was actually interested in taking them back.

“Fine.” Wen Ying walked into the hall, approached Cao Ruobing’s desk, and reached out to retrieve the buns.

As she did, she casually glanced at the official document he had been writing.

Of course, she knew there wouldn’t be any real official business on it. But she truly hadn’t expected it to be filled, from top to bottom, with nothing but blacked-out squares.

It was just like the censorship blocks she used to see on certain web novel sites.

Had Cao Ruobing really written this? Or… was it related to the strangeness of this town?

After taking back the buns, Wen Ying glanced at the documents held by the nearby clerks and bailiffs. They were all identical to Cao Ruobing’s, pages filled with nothing but black squares.

Although Wen Ying knew in her heart that the reason for the blocks wasn’t anything illicit, being surrounded by them still gave her a rather indecent feeling. It was especially jarring seeing Cao Ruobing and his men maintain such solemn, serious expressions. It made them look even more like wolves in sheep’s clothing…

“Pfft.” Wen Ying couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She turned and walked out of the hall.

Hearing her laugh, Cao Ruobing looked utterly bewildered.

He couldn’t understand what she was laughing at.

Could it be… that he had been wrong all along? That Wen Ying wasn’t bringing him food because she had feelings for him, but simply because she wanted… to see him embarrassed?

Not affection, but… disgust?

Then all this time… had he just been flattering himself?

At this thought, Cao Ruobing was overcome with shame, and a blush crept up his cheeks.

Just as he was drowning in his embarrassment, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He felt an incredibly harsh gaze fixed on him, as if trying to pierce him through.

He looked up toward the source of the stare—only to see the young master of the Shen family, Shen Linfeng, standing not far from the yamen entrance.

Wen Ying saw him at the same time and smiled. “Little brother, what are you doing here?”

Shen Linfeng smiled shyly and pulled a note from his robes, handing it to her. “I heard you came to the yamen. I came to walk you home.”

Cao Ruobing blinked. The young master now looked as meek and reserved as ever. The ferocity from moments before seemed to have been just his imagination.

Wen Ying looked at the closed yamen gates and the two guards standing there, then asked casually, “How did you get in?”

Shen Linfeng thought for a moment, took out a charcoal pencil from his sleeve, and quickly scribbled another note for her: “I knocked and wrote to them that I was here to find my sister. They let me in.”

Wen Ying took the note and read it.

Mmm. It made sense. The bailiffs were probably desperate for her to leave, so they’d be happy for anyone to come and collect her.

This “young master,” Shen Linfeng, was of course the young male concubine that Xu Huang had foisted upon her. On the second day after their arrival, he, like everyone else, had integrated into his false identity as the “young master of the Wen family” and the younger brother to her “eldest young miss.”

As for why the three Shen children all had different surnames, the collective consciousness of the town had even provided a complete explanation. Wen Ying took her mother’s maiden name, Shen Linfeng took his father’s surname, and Sheng Qing took her own mother’s name.

In this setting, because Wen Ying’s mother had died young and their father was always busy with business, her younger brother Shen Linfeng was very attached to her. So, it wasn’t strange for him to show up at the yamen looking for her.

“Alright, let’s go then,” Wen Ying nodded.

While Cao Ruobing was gnawing on the bun, she had already surveyed everything inside the yamen. Other than the documents filled with black squares, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

A happy smile spread across Shen Linfeng’s face as he started to walk out of the yamen with his sister. Just as they were leaving, however, he turned his head slightly, his gaze seeming to sweep coolly over Cao Ruobing.

For no reason, Cao Ruobing felt that chill again.

He must be overthinking it… The Shen family’s young master was always the obedient little brother hiding behind Wen Ying. He couldn’t even speak due to a congenital illness. How could he possibly possess such an imposing aura?

On the way from the yamen to the Shen residence, Shen Linfeng seemed to suddenly remember something. He took out his paper and pencil and wrote to Wen Ying: “Sister, we’ll be together forever, right?”

Perhaps the incident with Cao Ruobing had affected him. After all, his current persona was that of a young boy who had grown up under his sister’s care. It was understandable that he wouldn’t want to leave her side.

Wen Ying smiled and patted his head. “You’ll have to start your own family someday. You can’t live with your sister forever.”

Over the past two days, Wen Ying had truly started to see Shen Linfeng as her younger brother. Having such a well-behaved brother wasn’t so bad, really.

Shen Linfeng frowned, thought for a long while, and then wrote again: “Then, can I start a family with you, sister?”

When Wen Ying saw that note, she nearly threw the buns in her hand.

Although she and Shen Linfeng weren’t actually related by blood, from his perspective, this was incest! Incest!

Shen Linfeng quickly added another note: “In our family, it’s just you and me, sister and brother. Can’t it be just us?”

…So that’s what he meant.

Wen Ying felt she needed to repent. To think she had twisted such a pure, childish thought into something so sordid…

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re still young, you don’t understand. When you grow up, you’ll want to find a wife.”

Her words were meant not only for Shen Linfeng the “brother,” but also for Shen Linfeng the “male concubine.” If she later confirmed that he was truly innocent in all this, she would, of course, let him go free.

Shen Linfeng didn’t reply, but in his downcast eyes, there was not a trace of confusion or hesitation.

Back at the Shen residence, Wen Ying examined the buns and quickly understood the reason for their hardness.

They were infused with Lu Xiaojie’s qi.

In other words, these buns were essentially flour held together by his qi.

The reason wasn’t hard to guess. Although Lu Xiaojie thought he was an ordinary person, he had no idea how to make buns. He didn’t know you needed to add water to knead the dough. Faced with a pile of flour that he couldn’t shape no matter what, he had subconsciously used his qi.

It seemed the cultivators in Ping’an Town hadn’t had their powers sealed; they had merely forgotten them.

Flour mixed with qi—these buns were more than sufficient as weapons. The fact that Cao Ruobing could take a bite without losing his front teeth meant he must be a cultivator as well.

Now, although she had discovered a clue, but…

Looking at the large pile of hard buns, Wen Ying had no idea what to do with them. Even though they were completely inedible, she couldn’t bring herself to waste food by throwing them away.

After much thought, she finally came up with a solution.

If she couldn’t throw them away, she’d let someone else do it.

The Shen residence had a large kitchen. If she left this pile of inedible buns there, someone would see them and figure out how to dispose of them.

After dropping the buns in the kitchen, Wen Ying returned to her room.

Inside, servants had prepared fruits and pastries. Although Wen Ying was a decent cook herself, food that you could eat without lifting a finger was naturally more enjoyable than food you had to prepare.

Since Cao Ruobing was a cultivator, then most of the people in town probably were as well.

Compared to the deceit and scheming of the outside world, how could one not get lost in a paradise like this? Even Wen Ying herself was quite content with this kind of life. She had not only the care of servants but also the warmth of family.

It was just a pity…

A dream is still a dream. It must eventually end.

Just as Wen Ying was enjoying her life, the mission box popped up, thoroughly ruining the mood.

【Second Female Lead in a Sweet Historical Romance, Mission Three: Stop Sheng Qing from eating the poisoned food she deliberately prepared for herself. Do not harm Sheng Qing!】

Wen Ying leisurely flicked the box away.

Everything here was indeed wonderful, except… for Sheng Qing. Even in a fake world, she still had a role to play as the second female lead.

Although the mission was given by the system, just as Wen Ying had said before, everything that happened in this world was real, not arranged by the system.

“Eldest Young Miss, it’s time for lunch,” a young maid’s voice called from outside the door.

Poisoned, was it? Well then, let her poison it.

If Sheng Qing wanted to poison herself, what did that have to do with her?

Wen Ying gave a cold smile, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The chef in this Wen family was, by ordinary standards, quite skilled. She certainly wouldn’t be missing a meal.

By the time Wen Ying reached the main hall, Sheng Qing and Shen Linfeng were already there.

Wen Ying took her seat, but when she saw the food on the table, she couldn’t help but freeze.

Today’s staple food wasn’t white rice, but large, white steamed buns.

And these buns looked awfully familiar.

They were… the ones Lu Xiaojie had made…

Wen Ying had intended for the kitchen to dispose of them, but who would have thought that a kitchen boy, seeing the buns, would assume they were the purchased staple food and serve them without a second thought?

Wen Ying watched as Sheng Qing gracefully picked up a bun.

Wen Ying watched as Sheng Qing, using her sleeve as cover, secretly sprinkled poison onto the bun.

Wen Ying watched as Sheng Qing opened her mouth, a flash of triumph in her eyes, and then, with all her might, bit down.

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