After Transmigrating As The Scumbag Alpha In An Ancient Pregnant-And-Run Novel - Chapter 5

Yun Chenghuai was currently grounded, so she could only wander around the prince’s manor and could not go outside.

When the maids finished setting out breakfast and invited them to eat, it was probably a little past seven. In ancient times, that would be the hour of the Dragon.

Without a watch or phone, even checking the time was quite difficult.

At the dining table, Yun Chenghuai tilted her head and looked at Shen Liunian, observing her expression.

The two of them had never sat together for a meal before. In her previous life, Yun Chenghuai had often shared tables with strangers in the cafeteria, so she did not feel unused to it.

As for Shen Liunian, she had her personal maid beside her serving dishes. The maid knew her tastes, so Shen Liunian only had to lower her eyes and eat.

Feeling the gaze beside her, Shen Liunian actually sensed a kind of pure harmlessness from it.

How could Yun the dog possibly be pure and harmless? She was stupid and vicious.

Yun Chenghuai had no idea that with just one glance, Shen Liunian had already cursed her out in her heart.

She did not want to cling to Shen Liunian either. The two of them had only just met. With her reserved personality, how could she possibly do something like this?

But right now, aside from sticking to Shen Liunian’s side, she seemed to have nothing else she could do.

No matter what, what kind of ending she would face three days from now depended on Shen Liunian. Shen Liunian was the key figure.

The plan she had set for herself was to please Shen Liunian, change Shen Liunian’s impression of her, and eliminate Shen Liunian’s hatred for her.

In any case, her goal was to make Shen Liunian feel at ease.

Since Shen Liunian seemed rather annoyed by her being nearby, should she find something to do for herself?

She actually wanted to visit the original owner’s study. Although she now had the original owner’s memories, she was not especially familiar with them. Only when she needed something would she call it up.

A person’s work area could reveal quite a lot of key information.

She also wanted to sort out her current situation on paper—that was, the people around her who might affect her.

Thinking of the original owner’s imperial elder sisters and younger sisters, along with all sorts of complicated family relationships, truly gave her a headache.

She had never had so many relatives before, let alone relatives who wanted her life.

Their mother was the current Emperor. In the original owner’s memories, when her imperial mother was still alive, the Emperor had always worn a smile.

Ever since her imperial mother passed away, the Emperor had never smiled again.

When her imperial elder sister was six, their imperial mother ascended the throne. The first thing she did was establish her elder sister as Crown Princess.

Later, after the original owner was born, the Emperor had doted on her at first.

It was as if the other consorts and imperial daughters were merely ordinary imperial daughters, and only she and her sister were truly the Emperor’s children.

It was precisely because she carried this belief that the original owner acted arrogantly and could not clearly distinguish whether she was a subject or a child before the Emperor.

Being close to a monarch was like being close to a tiger. Being an imperial daughter was even more difficult. The main thing was to distinguish when one was a child and when one was a subject.

This was something every imperial daughter had to learn from childhood.

The original owner, who could not understand the situation at all, had been born into the imperial family, yet acted as if she were in an ordinary household. Every day, she carried herself as if she were the future emperor. It would be strange if the Emperor liked her.

Across history, how many emperors could tolerate their children coveting their throne while they were still alive?

Even if they said nothing on the surface, in their hearts, they had long since grown disgusted.

The original owner ending up confined—Shen Liunian’s departure was probably only an excuse.

But since Yun Chenghuai now occupied this body, she had to proceed carefully at every step. She could not give them even an excuse.

The original owner had been too arrogant and domineering, and she had not understood the cold-bloodedness buried in the bones of the imperial family. Or perhaps she was cold-blooded toward others, yet did not believe her imperial mother would be cold-blooded toward her.

The original owner’s blind arrogance had led to her own outcome.

More importantly, the original owner’s maternal grandfather, the Duke Who Stabilizes the State, head of the Eight Great Dukes, had passed away two years ago. Among the original owner’s aunts, only her eldest aunt and youngest aunt were useful.

Her eldest aunt was upright and incorruptible, with quite the air of a refined scholar. If she had become a civil official, she likely would have had a smooth official career.

Unfortunately, back then, her eldest aunt had wasted her years in the military camp and could not take the imperial examinations. What successful candidate had not spent their childhood studying bitterly by a cold window? After staying in the military camp for too long, the books she had read were not enough for the imperial exams.

Now she had inherited the title. As a noble from a military family who could not fight battles, and who was upright but not smooth, this was probably as far as she could go.

As for her youngest aunt, she was quite talented in military strategy. However, because she had not inherited the title, she could only rely on herself to fight on the battlefield. Now she guarded the border and was only a Loyal Martial General of the upper fourth rank. In reality, she was merely the defending general of one city, commanding ten thousand troops. That city was also in the Chuxiang region, which was Yun Chenghuai’s fief.

Chuxiang lay at the border between Southern Qin and Northern Qi. The two countries had signed a ten-year ceasefire treaty. Without military achievements, barring any accidents, it would be very difficult for her youngest aunt to rise in rank.

As for the remaining aunts, they were all wastrel descendants of noble houses, wasting their days on cockfights, dog races, and idleness.

When the old Duke Who Stabilizes the State was still alive, she had commanded hundreds of thousands of troops in Southern Qin, so the Emperor had always tolerated the original owner. But now, the current Duke Who Stabilizes the State no longer commanded troops and had become idle. If the Emperor wanted to deal with an imperial daughter, she did not need to consider anyone’s face.

Shen Liunian had truly suffered a calamity for no reason, running into an idiot like the original owner.

As Yun Chenghuai ate, her mind spun rapidly.

To keep Shen Liunian here, aside from clinging to her, there was one relatively important matter.

The fact that Shen Liunian had been able to leave the prince’s manor showed that Prince Chuxiang’s manor was not guarded that strictly.

She glanced at Shen Liunian. The other woman had just put down her chopsticks, her brows faintly furrowed, seeming a little impatient.

Naturally, Shen Liunian did not want to live in the same room as Yun Chenghuai. During breakfast, she had been waiting for Yun Chenghuai to act up, so she had not brought up returning to her own courtyard.

But while they were eating, Yun Chenghuai did not say anything. She obediently ate her meal.

This made Shen Liunian somewhat puzzled. Since when had Yun the dog been able to endure so much?

Breakfast was over, yet Yun Chenghuai still had not acted up. Shen Liunian had no mood to waste too much time.

This pregnancy was an unexpected matter for her. It affected her plans going forward, so she had to come up with arrangements as soon as possible.

The Crown Princess of Northern Qi, Li Zhaoxian, would remain in Southern Qin’s Shangdu for at most three more days.

And today was the day Li Zhaoxian would send someone to contact her. No matter what Yun Chenghuai intended to do, it would still be more convenient for Shen Liunian to return to her own courtyard.

Shen Liunian looked toward Yun Chenghuai. Their gazes intertwined, and Yun Chenghuai even smiled at her…

Since morning, she had felt that something was wrong with Yun Chenghuai. But the person was still the same person. She could not say clearly where the problem lay.

Just then, a sharp and domineering voice rang out.

“This old servant heard that Lady Shen is to move into the main courtyard?”

When Yun Chenghuai heard the voice, she lifted her eyes and saw a richly dressed woman of about fifty walking in.

She matched the person entering the room with the one in her memories: the original owner’s wet nurse, Lanping’s mother, Momo Xue.

Before Yun Chenghuai could answer, Momo Xue walked straight to a chair and sat down. With a flick of the handkerchief in her hand, she was utterly arrogant.

“Your Highness, Lady Shen is merely a merchant’s daughter. How can she move into the main courtyard?”

“Your Princess Consort should be someone from a prestigious family or noble house. Lady Shen has occupied another’s nest like a cuckoo, so she ought to know her place and keep to her proper bounds. She must not lose all self-awareness and truly think she is worthy of the position of Princess Consort.”

“She has been in the prince’s manor for half a year, yet she does not know rank or propriety and shows no respect to Your Highness. How could she possibly live in the main courtyard of the prince’s manor?”

Momo Xue relied on her status as the original owner’s wet nurse and was dissatisfied that Shen Liunian had become the princess consort. Usually, she either called Shen Liunian by name or called her Lady Shen. When she spoke, she was not polite in the slightest, her mouth full of humiliation and criticism.

The original owner disliked Shen Liunian for being a merchant’s daughter, and had tacitly permitted everyone in the prince’s manor not to call her Princess Consort.

Hearing this, Yun Chenghuai felt her head throb.

She was trying every possible way to improve her relationship with Shen Liunian, but every single person around her was making things difficult for Shen Liunian. In the end, the account would naturally be settled on her head.

Moreover, Momo Xue usually lived outside the prince’s manor and was provided for by her own Qianyuan daughter. The residence had been purchased by the original owner. For her to arrive at the prince’s manor so quickly, it seemed Lanping must have passed on the manor’s affairs to her.

The entire Prince Chuxiang’s manor had been managed by the original owner until it was like a sieve. There were all kinds of informants around her. Who could clearly say how many people in the manor belonged to other powers?

Shen Liunian could not help furrowing her brows. She did not even endure Yun the dog anymore; at worst, she would be punished. Why should she endure a wicked old momo?

Yun the dog had been grounded by the Emperor for a month. The moment she returned to the prince’s manor, she had taken her anger out on Shen Liunian. In just a few short days, who knew how many times she had deliberately picked trouble?

If not for Yun Chenghuai threatening her with the people at her side, Shen Liunian would not have compromised so easily.

A mere momo dared strut and flaunt her power before Shen Liunian. Did she really think Shen Liunian was made of clay?

Shen Liunian endured it and did not lash out. She thought of her plan to return to her own courtyard and realized she could use Momo Xue’s words as an excuse to go back. In the next second, her expression returned to calm.

“Momo Xue is right. I will return to my own courtyard now.”

After saying this, she immediately stood. The injury on her knee pulled sharply. She failed to steady herself, and just as she thought she was about to fall, she unexpectedly dropped into a warm embrace.

When she lifted her eyes, she saw Yun Chenghuai’s concerned gaze.

Yun Chenghuai was already dissatisfied that Momo Xue had come here to ruin her plans. She had been anxiously wondering whether all of her morning’s efforts would go to waste, so her eyes had stayed fixed on Shen Liunian the entire time.

Seeing that Shen Liunian was about to fall, she hurriedly rose to support her. In the end, she pulled the other woman directly into her arms.