Chapter 59: Bro, You're Hardcore

Political intrigue novels are filled with this sort of trope. An imperial prince, genuinely pure and indifferent to power, happens to be surrounded by a clique of self-righteous sycophants who insist on pushing him onto the throne. Then they begin clamoring about how they labored and sacrificed for his success, seizing power and authority until they essentially reduce their "master" to a mere figurehead.

If Feng Yanling truly cared for that position, he should have directly rejoined the imperial family the moment he returned from the wasteland star. The fact that he refuses to return means he has no desire for the throne.

To be frank, with the current imperial family hollowed out by the Council of Elders and the military, they are essentially nothing more than mascots in Ye Moxi's eyes.

Feng Yanling shares the same upright and straightforward conduct as Ye Tianjiao, yet he has been trained by Commander Ye Tianjiao to be excessively principled.

Take herself, for instance. Knowing that confronting the Xiong family would be like a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree, she chose to endure and bide her time. But once a genuine opportunity arises, she will undoubtedly make the Xiong family take a massive tumble.

If her identity and Feng Yanling's were swapped today, even if she refused to return to the imperial family, she would confront them head-on, making those two bastards suffer dearly and forcing them to cower in her shadow for the rest of their lives.

Rather than merely cutting off their left and right arms the way Feng Yanling did—injuring their tendons without breaking their bones!

"Cooperating with intelligent people requires an intelligent person's methods of negotiation. Even if Feng Yanling harbors no ambitions for that throne, given his current status and position, he does not wield much actual influence... Of course, the most important point is that I personally happen to be allergic to fools and have zero tolerance for them!"

Wen Boyan pushed a document across the table.

"Miss Ye Moxi might as well look over my terms before giving me an answer."

Ye Moxi locked eyes with him for a long moment before finally reaching for the document.

To his own amusement, Wen Boyan actually found himself letting out a sigh of relief.

The document was only two pages long, written in a concise and straightforward manner. After scanning through it, Ye Moxi could not help but look up at Wen Boyan.

"You've proposed a contractual marriage, which is why only half of your assets will belong to me. To demonstrate your sincerity, the contract states that all of your salary during the duration of our marriage will be turned over to me—that I can understand.

This specially marked clause—'When circumstances require cooperation, Party A must accommodate Party B in certain... intimate behaviors'—I can understand that as well. However, this clause here: 'If Party A requires Party B to fulfill marital obligations, prior application must be made to Party B'..."

*Thwack.*

She slammed the document down onto the table.

"The marital obligations you mentioned... that means what I think it means, doesn't it?"

Wen Boyan adjusted his glasses, his refined and elegant face maintaining an expression of noncommittal indifference.

Ye Moxi sneered.

This man was truly narcissistic!

Ever since she transmigrated, she had only ever fanboyed over two men: one was Feng Yanling, and the other was Chief Michael!

One of them was her man now, and the other was an impossibly high and unreachable flower upon a snowy peak!

As for other men in her eyes... they were all utterly worthless!

"Do you really think every woman is drowing over your boiled-chicken-like physique? If your entire body were edged in gold, I might perhaps look at you a bit differently..."

What on earth was a boiled chicken? Wen Boyan didn't understand, but she was presumably disparaging his physique. Although his build wasn't as robust as Feng Yanling's and the others, he wasn't lazy either; he consistently maintained a regular workout routine, and his physique was actually quite decent...

And what was the meaning of being edged in gold? Was his skin supposed to be gold? As it happened, he possessed the metal-attribute ability, so adhering a layer of gold to his skin was something he could certainly pull off!

With wide eyes, Ye Moxi watched as Wen Boyan—a perfectly normal man—suddenly revealed skin beneath his clothes that gleamed with a brilliant golden light. She almost felt compelled to drop to her knees before him...

Mister, you are truly a hardcore player!

I surrender to you!

Ye Moxi picked up a pen, made a few swift strokes across the document to revise it, and immediately placed a call to Feng Yanling.

"Feng Yanling, Wen Boyan says he wants to sign a contract marriage with me. I think he's full of sincerity and suitable for cooperation."

Feng Yanling paused in surprise.

Ye Moxi turned her screen to face the opposite side.

Wen Boyan tried to withdraw his ability, but under Ye Moxi's warning gaze, he didn't dare act rashly.

This young lady was utterly eccentric!

Good grief! Feng Yanling froze for a full three seconds.

This glowing golden entity...

He literally didn't know what to say!

Ye Moxi then pivoted the camera toward the document on the table.

She had shortened the duration from five years to three, and made targeted revisions right beside the two clauses Wen Boyan had specially marked.

"At any time, in any place, and under any circumstances, neither party is required to fulfill any marital obligations (hereby broadly referring to all intimate behaviors). Should Party B violate this rule, Party A reserves the right to execute Party B on the spot..."

Wen Boyan... you have a death wish!

A sharp, cold light flashed in Feng Yanling's eyes.

Wen Boyan also caught sight of the revisions Ye Moxi had made. How should he put it? This girl was truly bizarre!

Not only was she someone who refused to take a loss, but her methods of retaliation were so simple and brutal that they were downright appalling!

"Senior Attorney Wen, stop playing games of probing and testing! I agree to your contract marriage, but I also need to see your sincerity! Since all three of us are present today, with this video as proof, you take my and Feng Yanling's marriage application and trade it for the contract marriage certificate between you and me!"

"Moxi..."

Feng Yanling frowned in an attempt to stop her.

Ye Moxi pressed a hand against her chest.

"Feng Yanling, trust my intuition! If this matter doesn't go through today..." Then they might genuinely never get married!

Of course, it wasn't an absolute certainty; once she killed Xiong Sheng, she could still remarry. But the consequences of that would be severe. She, a proper maiden, was experiencing the impulse to marry for the very first time across two lifetimes. It was one thing to be tangled up in all sorts of mess, but she absolutely could not become a twice-wed woman!

Feng Yanling fell silent.

Wen Boyan also reined in his thoughts.

The young lady across from him was bold and decisive, which only made his own hesitation look petty by comparison.

Wen Boyan had originally intended to first test the waters with the Second Prince's camp, but the man was naturally suspicious... If this matter was imperative and urgent, his only option was to make use of the simple-minded and arrogant Fourth Prince!

And so, during the time Ye Moxi and Feng Yanling were on their call, Wen Boyan used his subordinates to successfully manipulate the Fourth Prince into pressuring the Council of Elders using Feng Yanling's marriage application...

*Ding-dong.*

Feng Yanling quickly received a brief message.

"The marriage application has been approved! The marriage certificate will be delivered by courier shortly."

In truth, once the application was approved, the records for Feng Yanling and Ye Moxi would update automatically, but since Ye Moxi wanted that physical marriage certificate, Feng Yanling simply requested one along the way.

"Come on, has the contract been revised or not?" Eager for a swift resolution, Ye Moxi rolled up her sleeves and smacked a hand onto the table.

Wen Boyan: There's really no need to be quite this rushed...

Ye Moxi: *Heh!* Who has the idle time to play mind games with you lot!

...

"Wife, the marriage application has been submitted. Shall I have the marriage certificate mailed to you?"

The reason she wanted the marriage certificate with Feng Yanling was because she and Feng Yanling were the couple she recognized in her heart. As for Lawyer Wen, they were bound merely by a scrap of contract paper—what did she care about his marriage certificate!

"Keep it and admire it yourself!"

After deleting and retyping several times, Ye Moxi ultimately decided to pretend she hadn't seen it and left it unanswered.

Along the way, she even renamed Wen Boyan's contact to "Golden-Edged Wen Dog."

The consequence of walking with her head down without watching her path was that she crashed right into someone, and when she instinctively recoiled, she ended up yanking painfully on her own hair...