After Transmigrating As The Scumbag Alpha In An Ancient Pregnant-And-Run Novel - Chapter 8

When Yun Chenghuai left the front courtyard, she did not notice a shadow slipping swiftly into the study the moment she was gone.

After that figure left the front courtyard, they headed straight toward the imperial palace.

Yun Chenghuai hurried toward the main courtyard. It was getting late. She had to go accompany Shen Liunian for lunch.

Although the other woman did not want to see her, she had to cling to Shen Liunian no matter what.

Presumably, after an entire morning had passed, Shen Liunian had already given most of the orders she needed to give, right?

Three days was already not enough time. Yun Chenghuai was worried that if she clung too tightly, it might backfire. Too much of a good thing would become harmful.

Therefore, she had given Shen Liunian time to handle her private affairs. For the remaining time, she would continue sticking close to her.

On the way to the main courtyard just now, she had heard from Anyuan that another of Shen Liunian’s maids, Beizhu, had left the prince’s manor.

Anyuan had sent someone to follow Beizhu. News should come back before long.

Yun Chenghuai wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. She did not know what kind of fur this cloak was made of, but it was warm. Even while walking outside, she did not feel cold.

The snow on the paths through the courtyard had been swept clean. The snow that had fallen on the flowers and plants was still there, adding a certain artistic mood to the prince’s manor.

The main courtyard was now entirely filled with Shen Liunian’s people. The maids who had belonged to the original owner had been sent outside to sweep and clean.

In one morning, they had gone from the prince’s personal maids to sweeping maids in the courtyard. Their status had plummeted.

As expected, the moment they saw Yun Chenghuai step into the main courtyard, one bold maid immediately rushed in front of her and knelt at her feet with a thud, crying.

“Your Highness, please let us continue following you. We’re willing to do anything in the front courtyard.”

Go to the front courtyard?

Yun Chenghuai lowered her head and looked at the young woman crying so beautifully before her. There was no pity in her eyes.

Most of these maids had been bought off by others. Keeping them at her side would only bring trouble.

Shen Liunian had sent them into the courtyard, but in Yun Chenghuai’s opinion, that was still too close. They should have been sent away completely.

Generally speaking, Kunze would not become slaves or maids. They would only become servants if their family had been convicted of a crime. Most of them would end up in the Bureau of Music and Entertainment and rarely flow out from there.

In this world, the ratio of Qianyuan, Kunze, and Heyuan was roughly 3:1:6.

Qianyuan were still all right, but Kunze were extremely few in number. Most were concentrated among aristocratic and noble families, and they rarely appeared among the common people.

Qianyuan all wanted to marry Kunze. Unless their family had fallen so low that they truly could not afford to eat and their lives were at stake, they would only then consider marrying a Heyuan.

A union between Heyuan and Heyuan required certification from the government office, and sacred water issued by the government in order to have children. There was a very small chance they would give birth to a Qianyuan or Kunze, but most children would still be Heyuan.

In general, for aristocratic and noble families, having a Qianyuan daughter-in-law was something worth showing off. If a family gave birth to a Kunze, then hundreds of families would seek marriage with them.

But for ordinary families, a Qianyuan might still be all right. A Kunze, however, would be like possessing a jade disk while innocent of any crime. They would draw the eyes of those with wealth and power.

Therefore, very few Kunze became slaves or maids. Most became wives or concubines of wealthy and noble households.

The original owner’s maids were all Heyuan. Of course, they were beautiful Heyuan, each with their own talents.

After all, she was an imperial daughter, different from ordinary nobles. Even her maids had been raised better than the daughters of minor officials’ families.

Among the maids, one had stepped forward, while the others knelt in a row before Yun Chenghuai.

She noticed that there was a figure inside the room observing what was happening in the courtyard. Judging by the silhouette, it should be Nanling.

Yun Chenghuai raised her hand and tucked a loose strand of hair that had fallen over her chest behind her ear.

“Anyuan.”

“Your Highness.”

“Take them away. Those willing to return home, send them home. Those unwilling to return home, find them good marriages, or find work for them outside.”

Aside from her personal guards, the prince’s manor also had private soldiers. There were one thousand two hundred private soldiers guarding the manor, along with so many retainers and stewards. If they wanted to arrange marriages, there were more than enough candidates.

If these maids did not have people behind them, pairing them with squad leaders would have been enough.

But because there were people behind them, they could only be matched with households unrelated to the prince’s manor, or with stewards who had no real authority.

“Your Highness, I am unwilling to marry.”

“If you’re unwilling to marry, then go home.”

Yun Chenghuai had given them a choice.

Some accepted their fate and felt this result was not bad. At least they would not become concubines. Others felt it was better to be a noble’s concubine than a commoner’s wife.

Besides, as the prince’s maids, when they went out, even officials had to speak nicely and hand them silver.

Anyuan waved her hand and had people take the maids away. Rarely, she said one sentence more.

“Your Highness, isn’t this a little too merciful?”

Behind these maids were those imperial daughters. But Her Highness had not liked Anyuan, saying that she always looked mournful, as if someone had died. If Anyuan had not been sent by the old Duke, Her Highness would probably have driven her away long ago.

Today, Her Highness had finally made up her mind to deal with these maids, and even used the Princess Consort’s name to do it.

The Princess Consort had sent them into the courtyard to sweep. The maids were dissatisfied and sought Her Highness to make a decision. Her Highness then used the opportunity to drive them away. The only thing was that Her Highness was still too merciful. These maids had betrayed Her Highness. They should have disappeared without a sound.

Yun Chenghuai paused. Was she merciful? Perhaps so. She still had the thinking of a modern person and would not decide life and death with one word.

“They also had no choice.” If one had a choice, who would willingly become a slave or maid?

Nanling saw how she handled the matter and repeated it word for word to Shen Liunian.

“The prince said that those who want to go home may go home. Those who do not want to go home will have the guard captain find a good household for them to marry into, or find them work outside.”

Nanling’s words made the people in the room fall silent for a moment. None of them had expected Yun Chenghuai to have such a human side.

Shen Liunian paused, then waved her hand, signaling for them not to continue.

Yun Chenghuai was not a benevolent person. Today, she truly was abnormal in every way.

Completely unaware of this, Yun Chenghuai entered the room. Seeing several maids inside with their heads lowered and the atmosphere rather heavy, she thought something had happened.

She coughed softly. “How is Madam’s health?”

After kneeling in the snow and ice for so long, and with medicine for pregnant women needing to be used carefully, her body probably would not recover so easily.

Nanling curtsied and replied, “Your Highness, the Princess Consort is weak. The resident physician said she needs a quiet place to rest and recuperate properly.”

The other meaning was: Your Highness, if you have nothing to do, please stop coming to disturb my mistress.

Yun Chenghuai did not feel awkward either. She was someone who would become a lawyer in the future. She had participated in plenty of debate competitions. In those unofficial ones, when the arguments got heated, people would point at each other’s noses and curse. A little insinuation like this did not bother her at all.

The original owner had done so many things to humiliate Shen Liunian. If Shen Liunian’s people made a few pointed remarks, it was not as if Yun Chenghuai would lose a piece of flesh.

She smiled, pretending not to understand. “Have Yichun come wait nearby.”

Yichun was the most skilled among the resident physicians. She came from a family of imperial physicians and specialized in children and pregnant women. With her by Shen Liunian’s side, if any accident occurred, she could treat it in time.

Shen Liunian lifted her eyes. In the morning, Yun Chenghuai had forcefully kept her in the main courtyard and given her authority over all matters there. So Shen Liunian had sent Yun Chenghuai’s personal maids into the courtyard. She had also placed them on the necessary path from the main courtyard gate to the room.

That was why, as soon as Yun Chenghuai arrived, those maids saw her and blocked her way.

All of this had been arranged by Shen Liunian to test her. Yun Chenghuai’s way of handling it was beyond Shen Liunian’s expectations.

In the past half year, based on Shen Liunian’s understanding of Yun Chenghuai, this person had never taken servants seriously. The lives of servants were not lives to her. Whether to beat or kill them was a matter of a single thought.

The way Yun Chenghuai had handled things just now was enough to be called benevolent.

Shen Liunian did not believe she was such a person. That meant she must be acting. Acting meant she had another purpose.

Yun Chenghuai, just what exactly was your goal? And whom was it aimed at?

Shen Liunian leaned against the luohan couch and bent her knee slightly, bringing her lower leg closer to her arm. Perhaps she did not know what Yun Chenghuai wanted to do, but neither she nor her people could ever become dead pieces on the board.