After The Scumbag Alpha Consort Chose To Lie Flat, The Princess Rebelled - Chapter 13

The palace matrons sent to listen outside the bedchamber came again, but the people who came this time were much more obedient. When Meng Qianyan did not speak, they would not say even half a word, much less overstep their authority and give orders on her behalf.

Seeing that they were fairly compliant, Meng Qianyan did not make things difficult for these palace servants who were only carrying out their duties.

“Has the consort arrived?” Meng Qianyan had already finished washing and dressing, and had changed into comfortable, warm sleeping clothes.

Silver One was guarding at the side and answered directly, “The consort is still bathing. She rolls around in the mud every day. Back then, how did she even have the nerve to say this subordinate was not clean?”

At that, Meng Qianyan also remembered that among the people the consort had called filthy was herself.

Meng Qianyan’s expression darkened a little, and she asked, “When will the consort come?”

“In reply to Your Highness, soon, I suppose. Recently, the consort can’t bear to part with Little Five and can’t stay away from it for long.” Silver One was combing her long black hair, slowly and leisurely, while chatting with her through the mirror.

Meng Qianyan looked at herself in the mirror. Without the intimidating aura she carried during the day, she actually looked somewhat gentle and graceful now.

“Little Five?”

Silver One quickly said, “It is the name the consort gave to the winter plum Your Highness bestowed on her.”

“She even has the leisure and refinement to name a flower branch? Why call it Little Five?”

“This subordinate does not know either. A few days ago, the consort kept muttering ‘Number Forty-Five, Number Forty-Five.’ After saying it for long enough, she gave the winter plum this name.”

Meng Qianyan did not take it to heart again. The consort had been the newly titled top scholar at the start of the year, and now, nearly a year had passed. The consort was entirely different from when they first met.

Back then, when Meng Qianyan first looked at the consort, she had only felt that this person was gloomy to the extreme. She did not have deep schemes, but she was extremely good at enduring. When looking at people, she always avoided meeting their eyes directly, as though afraid of matching someone’s gaze, giving off a rather furtive, sleazy feeling.

As for the current consort—

She was not much better. She had become much more foolish, and her courage had grown quite a bit too. The person who had not dared look Meng Qianyan in the eye back then now not only dared stare straight at her, but even dared tease her with words.

She was truly impudent to the extreme!

Meng Qianyan grew irritated for no reason for a while, then asked, “What do you think of the consort now?”

“Now? This subordinate cannot really say, but I feel the consort’s temperament has improved quite a lot.”

At the beginning of the year, the consort had passed the imperial examination, while Young General Wu had suddenly gone missing on the battlefield, causing the battlefront to collapse. Great Jin had no choice but to negotiate peace with Zhao.

Originally, the Seventh Prince had been chosen to go for the political marriage alliance, but the Seventh Prince caught an illness and did not survive until summer.

Zhao refused to let the matter go. In the end, in order to humiliate Great Jin, they said they wanted General Wu’s surviving betrothed to go for the marriage alliance. This enraged the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince entered the palace overnight to request a marriage arrangement for the Sixth Princess, and the person chosen was the newly titled consort.

His Majesty agreed to this matter.

At that time, the consort was the top-ranked scholar, young and newly successful, flushed with triumph. She had originally wanted to display her talents in officialdom, only for a single marriage decree to come down and sever her entire path to high office.

The consort did not dare openly defy the imperial decree, but behind the scenes, she became depressed and unhappy. She often bought herself drunk and lingered in the pleasure quarters. No one dared say anything about the consort’s behavior.

She was an Alpha, and she had not yet married the princess. She had not gone so far as to bring an Omega from outside back home. She was merely going out to play. In the eyes of the world, for an Alpha to act this way was simply the romantic wildness of a talented scholar.

Later, she encountered the Second Prince, and so she racked her brains trying to board the Second Prince’s ship. After all, she had also spent a few months in officialdom and knew that the Crown Prince faction’s greatest opponent now was the Second Prince faction.

“Does the consort still have any contact with the Second Prince’s side?”

Meng Qianyan looked at herself in the mirror and felt somewhat unfamiliar. She curved her lips into a shallow smile, and instead, Silver One, who had always served her, stared in a daze.

“Silver One?”

“Mm? Your Highness, I was distracted!”

“No matter. This is not outside, so it is fine to relax a little. This palace asked you just now whether the consort still has any contact with the Second Prince.”

“In reply to Your Highness, we have not discovered any contact between the consort and them at present. Ever since the consort refused to let the Second Prince’s people enter the estate last time, the Second Prince’s side seems to have intended to give up. Afterward, Your Highness purged the consort’s estate, and the Second Prince’s people were all sent away. At present, we have not discovered any suspicious people approaching the consort.”

“What about the Eastern Palace?” Meng Qianyan felt that the others were more or less holding back for the moment, but this Crown Prince brother of hers was probably already on the way to demand an explanation.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince had been sent out to handle the case of Jiangnan gentry writing rebellious poems mourning the previous dynasty and had not remained in the capital. Otherwise, the Crown Prince would likely have come to question her long ago.

But counting the days, the Crown Prince should be returning soon.

“The Crown Prince will definitely return before the New Year. All of you must be careful. If you encounter anyone from the Crown Prince’s side making things difficult, report to me at once.” Meng Qianyan said a few more things to her. The red candle shed two drops of wax tears, and Meng Qianyan thought the timing was about right, so she had someone go invite the consort.

“Your Highness, should I again—” Silver One waved her fist, intending to repeat the old trick from the wedding night.

Meng Qianyan lowered her eyes. The cold wind blowing in through the half-open window made the candle shadows sway, drifting left and right, just like Meng Qianyan’s current thoughts.

“No need. Go wait outside.”

Silver One was somewhat worried. “Your Highness, what if the consort bullies you? Your heat period is near. What if the consort takes advantage of you?”

“No need to worry. Yun Rou has given this palace pills.” Seeing how anxious Silver One was, Meng Qianyan found it amusing. “You are not that old, yet you understand quite a lot?”

“Isn’t that all for Your Highness’s sake? That’s why this subordinate went to learn a little more. Alphas have all kinds of methods and strength when it comes to bullying Omegas. This subordinate has no choice but to guard against it!”

“Enough. With the consort’s body, where she pants after every step, how could she bully this palace? Even if this palace let her bully me, she would be too busy to manage it. Go down and rest at ease.” Meng Qianyan held back her laughter as she persuaded Silver One to leave.

After Silver One left, she closed the door behind her.

Meng Qianyan sat down facing the candle and poured herself a cup of tea.

She thought that since the consort had changed, she could no longer judge the current her based on her past understanding of the consort.

She ought to truly understand the current consort again.

However, this action also carried an intention to test her, to see how much sincerity the consort had toward her.

Gu Xianyu was delivered to the princess’s residence like a duck forced onto a perch. Before being sent through the door, she did not forget to remind Silan.

“Take care of Little Five. Don’t forget.”

Silan had already answered this order eight hundred times along the way. Once again, she raised a smile. “Yes, Consort. This subordinate will personally take care of it.”

Only then did Gu Xianyu finally dawdle into the room. Outside the door, Silan closed it as though a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. If the rules had allowed it, she would even have wanted to put a lock on the outside.

Silan had finally escaped the consort, who spoke haltingly yet loved to chatter.

“I remember the consort didn’t stutter before, did she? The consort was personally selected by His Majesty as the top scholar. Not only was her writing excellent, her skill with words was also impressive. Why does she stumble so much when speaking now?” Silan could not understand no matter how she thought about it.

A faint voice drifted from beside her. “Exactly.”

Silan subconsciously turned to look, then was shocked. “Silver One! Why are you outside?”

“Otherwise? Where should I be?”

“The consort has already gone in. Why are you still here? Aren’t you going to protect Her Highness closely?” Silan grew so anxious that she secretly twisted the handkerchief inside her long sleeves. “What if Her Highness is bullied by the consort?”

“It’s fine. Her Highness said that if the consort bullies her, the consort will have plenty to keep herself busy.”

“…Silver One, do you dare guarantee those were Her Highness’s exact words?”

“Mm? That was probably what she meant. I can’t remember the exact words.”