A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 28.1

During the thirty minutes spent waiting in the pure white corridor, time blurred into a single digit.

Like a dormant beast suddenly waking up at midnight and devouring all volition, the scientists in white uniforms hurried past, leaving behind nothing but hazy shadows.

Zhu Yu could only stand outside and wait.

Initially, she leaned against the glass, hoping to deduce what had happened from people’s expressions, but blocking the doorway was far too much in the way, and she couldn’t help with anything either, so she had to move back to the opposite wall.

It felt exactly like being forced to stand as a punishment. She stood straight as a rod; the passing personnel all addressed her as “Your Highness Zhu Yu,” and she went from being anxious to accept it with numbness, nodding with an inscrutable expression.

This segment did not exist in the original novel—at least, not in the part Zhu Yu remembered.

Bai Shuzhou was supposed to have a perfect life: from an exceptionally gifted, heavily doted-on princess to a principal dancer, and after her blackening, taking it a step further to become the ruler of a massive empire once Bai Qianze vanished.

Her first trash Alpha wife was the sole blemish on her flawless resume.

Could it be that her arrival had changed something? Zhu Yu had heard of the butterfly effect and had wondered what a changed future would look like—Bai Shuzhou wouldn’t have to suffer so much, she herself wouldn’t have to die, and they might truly have a daughter.

But the exact moment those wings flapped, the world seemed to have already spun out of control.

The security brought by her familiarity with the [FUTURE] became a scrap of empty words, gently torn to shreds tonight.

Having lived the first half of her life far too smoothly, Zhu Yu had barely suffered any setbacks. She grew up ordinarily and advanced through school ordinarily; even during her most hot-blooded adolescence, she had no deeply ingrained memories.

A normal person’s eighteen-year-old life consisted of romance, challenges, and exploring a vast unknown.

But Zhu Yu merely advanced to the university she expected, studied a major she liked, spent each day keeping company with mechanical parts, and possessed near-zero new social interactions.

If she hadn’t encountered Bai Shuzhou, even after transmigrating to an alternate world, she would likely have just continued researching her major in some small city, earning a living, and passing her life in plain tranquility.

But now, she grew a bit greedier, wanting to stand by Bai Shuzhou’s side, sharing her radiance while also sharing her shadows.

She had initially thought that it would be enough just to send her home.

To Zhu Yu, “home” was a place sufficient to shield one from wind and rain—an absolutely safe haven where one would be secure just by returning.

Yet arriving here did not bring Zhu Yu a single shred of security; only in places where Bai Shuzhou’s aura existed could she feel slightly at ease.

Feng Jiyan arrived very quickly, casting a startled glance at Zhu Yu, and Zhu Yu looked right back at her.

Those pitch-black eyes were not bright like before; amidst her confusion, she revealed a rare trace of aggression, like a young beast pacing outside its cave, baring its claws and teeth in a blustering display.

The Feng family controlled the Academy of Sciences, so her suspicion was the greatest.

Those scars left behind by surgeries—what on earth did you people do to her?!

Her eye color grew deeper, the aura belonging exclusively to Bai Shuzhou still lingering over her body as a faint woody scent slipped out from the gaps, tightly gripped within her palm.

She was completely oblivious to how terrifying her appearance looked at this moment. That ill-timed white hazmat suit, far from weakening her aura, instead made the stagnant low pressure surrounding her appear even more grim; a near-physical killing intent caused the passing researchers to shut their mouths obediently, instinctively detouring around her.

Shortly after, Feng Jiyan emerged with a slate-green expression; upon seeing Zhu Yu, her knit brows deepened further.

“How is she?”

“We need to talk.”

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Inside the office, an electronic barrier rose silently, cutting off scrutiny from the outside world. Feng Jiyan’s fingertips tapped impatiently against the desk, her fox tail drooping down as well.

“We have all been played by the Emperor,” she threw out her conclusion coldly, bearing a trace of irritation from being made a fool of.

Zhu Yu: “That is not what I want to hear. How is the Princess?”

“Nothing major. It’s just a memory regression induced by abnormal spiritual power; it’s temporarily uncertain whether it was caused by stimulation or drugs, but it’s also within the normal threshold.”

As the daughter of the actual power-holder of the Academy of Sciences, Feng Jiyan spoke lightheartedly, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Zhu Yu asked: “Memory regression? To roughly what period, and when can she recover?”

“We are organizing a tissue repair; if it goes smoothly, about a week. However,” Feng Jiyan lifted her eyes, staring at Zhu Yu, “the Emperor doesn’t seem to want us to push forward, worrying it might cause some harm to the Princess.”

This was an obvious, clumsy excuse.

“A teenage princess whose mother has just passed away, returning to a time before all the tragedies occurred, left to rely entirely and whole-heartedly on her only older sister…” Feng Jiyan’s smile turned playful and cold, saying in a soft voice, “How interesting, how endearing.”

The entire galaxy knew how much Bai Qianze doted on this younger sister; they were each other’s sole living family in the world.

Bai Shuzhou liked peace, so Bai Qianze built an entire sky garden for her; Bai Shuzhou fell sick, and no matter how busy she was with official business, the Emperor would always accompany her side without sleep or rest… Countless people envied such a perfect older sister.

“Was it Bai Qianze’s doing?”

“I never said that,” Feng Jiyan shrugged innocently. “How could the Emperor possibly harm the Princess? She simply loves her too much.”

She deliberately emphasized that word “love,” her gaze locking tight onto Zhu Yu like a spider observing a prey’s reaction, waiting to weave the next, more precise web.

“So, the Princess’s life is not in danger, right?” Zhu Yu summarized her main focus. “Then how are her legs? Will the treatment be very painful? I want to see her medical records…”

“Stop.” The barrage of questions caused Feng Jiyan to knit her brows, dissatisfied with the dominance shifting away.

She raised her hand to put a stop to it, exhibiting the arrogance and aloofness unique to nobility:

“First of all, I express my deep regrets regarding the Princess’s injuries. But I am not responsible for trauma; I only research brain science. Secondly, do not question the technical standards of the Royal Academy of Sciences. You had better worry about yourself instead.”

“Hmm?” Zhu Yu frowned. She racked her brain through a circle, and the greatest problem she faced was that Bai Shuzhou seemed to have forgotten her entirely.

Feng Jiyan felt exasperated by her failure to meet expectations. “Do I need to remind you? In six days, it will be the day you two sign the divorce confirmation document.”

She sneered: “To think that at a time like this, the Princess has amnesia…”

A meaningful pause. “Think about it: when has the Emperor ever supported you two being together? Once you divorce and lose the Princess’s protection, can you truly walk away unscratched from those prior affairs of yours?”

“In the past, you clearly didn’t do small favors for the Royal family either, did you?”

Her voice dropped low, every word piercing the heart: “But what did your killing and risking your life on the front lines exchange for? The Princess doesn’t belong to you, the Emperor doesn’t trust you, the nobility loathes you, and Iselia—who supported you with all her might before—was backstabbed by you—”

“You should be fully aware that your quota was supposed to belong to your old superior, Iselia. She and the Princess are childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven.”

Feng Jiyan watched with satisfaction as Zhu Yu’s face turned white bit by bit. “As long as you leave, the Princess will naturally come together with Iselia as a matter of course. The most powerful knight and her princess—what a perfect alliance of the strong.”

“I don’t understand,” after a moment of silence, Zhu Yu softly bypassed Feng Jiyan’s provocation, saying in a raspy voice, “I don’t understand why the Emperor can lay hands on her own family member for such a reason.”

Zhu Yu also had an older sister; she found it hard to believe that Bai Qianze would actually let her only younger sister bear such a risk for a reason so absurd. Was it purely to control her?

“Stop being stupid,” Feng Jiyan sneered. “This is the Imperial family.”

Bai Qianze indeed had consistently looked forward to the birth of this younger sister, but Bai Shuzhou’s talent was simply too terrifying. If it hadn’t been for her suffering from a severe genetic disease, in this empire where martial prowess was revered, the person sitting on the imperial throne would definitely have been her.

Moreover, Bai Shuzhou’s SSS-grade data was detected when she was six years old; that was the upper limit of the testing equipment, not hers.

Meanwhile, Bai Qianze had barely managed to touch the boundary of SSS-grade from SS-grade only after her adult differentiation.

As imperial heirs, they were inevitably compared together.

Could Bai Qianze truly have zero grievances after all these years? At any rate, Feng Jiyan didn’t believe it; that the two sisters shared such a good relationship was what had immensely exceeded her expectations.

Thus, when Bai Shuzhou was stranded outside and didn’t contact the Emperor at the first opportunity, but contacted Feng Jiyan instead, she was practically ecstatic.

Bai Shuzhou undoubtedly trusted her older sister a lot, but human hearts cannot withstand testing; once a rift appears, it will definitely expand continuously.

Furthermore, they were still within the vortex of power, destined to experience struggles and disagreements.

Seeing the fracture of collapsing faith in Zhu Yu’s eyes, Feng Jiyan knew the timing was ripe. She approached elegantly like an advisory mentor: “Listen, within these next few days, you must secure the Princess’s favor and outside support, making her abandon the divorce and support our medical treatments moving forward smoothly.”

“This is your sole choice.”

She had already analyzed the situation very clearly; Zhu Yu had no reason to refuse.

But the girl kept her hands clasped behind her back, pondering for a long time before asking in a raspy voice: “Will it pose any danger to the Princess?”

She couldn’t forget those shocking wounds on her body; if the price of remembering was pain… she would rather she give up those memories entirely.

“…”

Feng Jiyan stared at her in utter disbelief, as if she had seen a ghost. It was hard to imagine a person like Zhu Yu—who resorted to any means necessary—traveling a circle in exile outside, only to turn into a hopelessly devoted soul.

What on earth existed in the Chaotic Zone that could cause such a massive shift in a person? How ironic.

But it didn’t matter; this also meant that her weakness had become exceptionally obvious, leaving no need to expend effort trying to guess it anymore.

“A doctor’s benevolent heart,” Feng Jiyan instantly put on a hypocritical mask, her tone warm and subtle, “we simply want to help the Princess recover her health and return to her original position.”

She suddenly shifted her tone, “Of course, the premise is that the Emperor does not obstruct it, and the person who can operate this ‘scalpel’…”

A meaningful pause. “Aside from the Emperor, there is only me.”

Therefore, you can only rely on me.

A cunning light flickered within the fox’s eyes: “It’s just that I find one point quite strange: why did it happen precisely at a time like this? Could it be that after the Princess returned, she said something… as if a canary securely controlled in the palm wanted to fly out of its cage, so its wings were snapped…?”

“Zhu Yu, to the Princess, you seem to have always been a very special existence.” Feng Jiyan spoke with a smiling tone, praising her very highly.

—Look, because of you, the Princess did not hesitate to defy the Emperor, and it is also because of you that she brought about her own destruction.

Regarding the investigation into Zhu Yu abducting the Princess, Feng Jiyan had consistently felt something was amiss.

The Emperor possessed an intense desire for control over Bai Shuzhou; from childhood to adulthood, all her activities were under her arrangement. Yet during this disappearance, although the Emperor flew into a massive rage, she did not dispatch the highest-tier search party.

If the military department had acted, even if they had to level the entire universe, the Princess would definitely have been found at the very first opportunity.

But the Emperor did not do so.

Initially when Feng Jiyan received this case, she thought Bai Qianze wanted to use her hands to dispose of Zhu Yu safely and discreetly, with no need to worry about Bai Shuzhou finding out and growing angry.

The little princess had grown up, and it was quite normal for her to be a bit rebellious and long for the outside world; but what if the outside world was very dangerous, and it just so happened that a piece-of-trash abducted her?

Would a canary raised in a cage since childhood still hold any longing when facing such a filthy world?

Relying solely on Zhu Yu, a mere commoner, how could she possibly abduct the Princess completely undetected?

Yet Feng Jiyan, responsible for the massive investigation, instead managed to root out many pests of the Northern District that opposed the Southern District one after another—even resulting in the heir of the Grey Wolf dying within the interrogation cell.