After Transmigrating As The Scumbag Alpha In An Ancient Pregnant-And-Run Novel - Chapter 9

“Let’s eat.”

Yun Chenghuai gave the order, and lunch was brought in one dish after another.

Shen Liunian leaned against the luohan couch, looking utterly languid.

Even when Yun Chenghuai came in, she did not move at all. That air of contempt somehow made Yun Chenghuai feel inexplicably guilty.

Yun Chenghuai narrowed her eyes and took two steps toward the luohan couch. “Madam, shall I carry you?”

She had simply seen Shen Liunian’s dismissive attitude and, for a moment, wanted to go over and tease her.

Shen Liunian: “???”

“Nanling, come support me.”

The morning had been an accident. Naturally, Shen Liunian did not want Yun Chenghuai to touch her, so she quickly had Nanling help her over to the dining table.

The main room was very large, with bamboo curtains everywhere, separating off the more private areas, such as the bedroom, the wardrobe, the dressing table, and the place where the beauty couch was placed.

Bedrooms in Southern Qin were relatively small, only around ten square meters. It was said to be due to feng shui considerations. Basically, people would use screens or curtains to partition the sleeping area into a small space. In modern terms, it gave a sense of security.

Given the original owner’s personality, the courtyard had been decorated very elegantly and simply, which truly did not match her character.

That was because the original owner had a tiny bit of literary talent and often considered herself a scholar. Most of her retainers were xiucai and juren with some poetic ability.

Juren could at least become officials and go to some remote place to serve as minor officials, but xiucai were truly not of much use.

Among her retainers, there were also some capital officials without any real power, as well as a few useless siblings from noble families.

As a prince, and one with ambitions to fight for the throne at that, the people around her were actually a group of wine sacks and rice bags who only knew romance, poetry, flowers, and moonlight, with no real ability to speak of.

Perhaps those retainers could write a few decent poems, and those wastrel children could gain the affection of their grandmothers and mothers at home, but that was far from enough when it came to fighting for the throne.

Unlike the Crown Princess, whose side had civil officials and military generals. If they so much as stomped their feet, they could shake the entire court.

After the Crown Princess, the two imperial daughters with the strongest forces were the Fourth Imperial Daughter and the Seventh Imperial Daughter. The former’s wife’s family included one of the current dynasty’s prime ministers, while the latter’s maternal grandfather’s family was one of the Eight Great Dukes.

In comparison, the original owner’s conditions had been much better. She had a maternal grandfather who was the head of the Eight Great Dukes, and an older sister who was the Crown Princess.

To put it unpleasantly, even if she did nothing at all and simply waited until her Crown Princess sister could no longer hold on, it would have been enough for her to naturally inherit the connections and resources her sister left behind.

Not fighting was also a form of fighting. Later on, as long as the original owner wanted it, it would only be a matter of raising her arm and calling for support.

But the original owner insisted on courting death. She provoked the Emperor’s disgust, married a merchant’s daughter, and completely cut off her own path in the succession struggle. Afterward, an excuse was found to confine her for ten years.

Of course, the so-called “merchant’s daughter” was merely the prejudice of this era. Yun Chenghuai, on the other hand, felt that a rich, beautiful, fair-skinned woman like Shen Liunian was already a career-minded, powerful woman in her own right. In the future, she would become the first Kunze empress in history. Eight hundred original owners would not be worthy of one Shen Liunian—and that was only because the original owner had a good-looking face.

Yun Chenghuai had memorized so many cases and legal provisions. Take those cases, for example. If not for the progress of current technology, relying on human effort alone would not have allowed anyone to uncover anything.

Battles over wealthy family inheritances were even more entertaining than television dramas.

As for her, when she grew tired from memorizing legal provisions, she would find some dramas or novels to watch. She especially liked historical power struggles. She had read quite a few proper history books too.

She had always wanted to create a mystery and investigation novel set in ancient times herself. Unfortunately, before she could realize it, she had transmigrated into ancient times.

Yun Chenghuai had studied for so many years and had become independent early on. Whether in terms of logic or personal character, she was much more mature than her peers.

People who experienced the warmth and coldness of human relationships too early could always adapt to new environments more quickly.

After sorting things out in the morning, she understood her current situation even more clearly. She understood that she had internal troubles as well as external threats.

Fortunately, she had the personal guard left by the old Duke. With them around, she would not be unable to move an inch.

The original owner, that idiot, could not distinguish good from bad. Those so-called confidants she had trusted—what kind of people were they?

The idea to seize Shen Liunian’s dowry had been suggested by those retainers.

Those retainers had told the original owner to keep persecuting Shen Liunian, or the people around Shen Liunian, forcing the other woman to voluntarily take out money in order to protect herself and those at her side.

The original owner wanted money, but also wanted to save face.

She had not thought about it at all. How was this any different from directly robbing someone? Her face had long since been completely lost.

No wonder Shen Liunian hated her so much. The original owner had brought it all on herself.

Shen Liunian’s attitude toward Yun Chenghuai was disdainful, and her expression of disgust was completely undisguised.

Shen Liunian had been raised in pampered luxury. After coming to Southern Qin, she had been bullied constantly. It was not merely bullying; it was abuse and humiliation.

So toward Shen Liunian’s attitude, Yun Chenghuai showed no reaction. Instead, as if performing a magic trick, she pulled a packet of pastries out from her sleeve.

“Old Li’s jujube paste and yam cakes.”

She could not leave the manor, but that did not mean the people in the prince’s manor could not go out.

Red dates nourished qi and blood, while yam replenished weakness. She had asked the resident physician, and pregnant women could eat them.

When she was sorting through the original owner’s memories, she discovered that every time the original owner went to Shen Liunian’s courtyard, there would be jujube paste and yam cakes placed on the table.

The shameless original owner had even picked one up and eaten it.

When Yun Chenghuai went to the front courtyard in the morning, she had asked where the jujube paste and yam cakes were good, then had someone go buy them.

Because there had been a line, by the time she was about to reach the main courtyard, the guard had just arrived with the pastries. She had taken them along with her.

Just now, those maids had nearly bumped into them, startling her. If the pastries were crushed, they would no longer be appetizing.

Shen Liunian looked at her and froze slightly. “I don’t like sweets.”

Then she picked up a piece of pastry beside her, took a small bite, and waited for Yun Chenghuai to lose her temper.

A person’s true nature could not be concealed. One could pretend for a moment, but not for a lifetime. She wanted to see how long Yun Chenghuai could keep pretending.

Yun Chenghuai’s emotions were steady. She did not think this was a big deal. Liking something was liking it. Not liking something was not liking it. It was just like the reason she wanted to become a lawyer: black was black, white was white, and the law would give every person fairness.

Even if Shen Liunian simply refused to eat the things she bought, what could that do?

“You don’t like sweets? Then let’s eat.” Yun Chenghuai lowered her voice, making her slightly magnetic voice sound soft and tender.

Her words carried a hint of ingratiation, once again refreshing the understanding of the people beside them.

Could pregnancy really change a person? But the one who was pregnant was their young mistress. The servants present were filled with doubt.

The moment Shen Liunian was found to be pregnant, Yun Chenghuai seemed to have become a different person. It was truly hard to believe.

Yun Chenghuai was quite anxious inside. If she could not make Shen Liunian change her mind within three days, then her ending was already set.

She had even thought about what she should do if, three days later, she failed to successfully change her fate.

Should she reveal that she was a transmigrator and was not the original owner at all, or should she run away together with Shen Liunian?

She did not notice that Shen Liunian had taken in her thoughtful expression.

Inwardly, Shen Liunian cursed coldly, “Dog thing,” feeling that Yun Chenghuai was plotting something bad again.