After Transmigrating into a Scum Alpha Supporting Female Character, I Conquered the Female Lead - Chapter 2

Chunxi immediately led people toward the servants’ quarters. Along the way, quite a few bits of gossip drifted into her ears.

“Have you heard? The princess moved that woman to Fanghua Hall, and even invited an imperial physician to nurse her body.”

“The princess actually didn’t punish that woman?”

“That’s right. Didn’t someone say they saw her push the princess?”

“What’s even stranger is that today, the princess actually carried that woman back to Jinxiu Hall.”

“Maybe the princess has thought of some new and novel way to torment her.”

Chunxi was the head palace maid by the princess’s side. Seeing the change in the princess’s attitude toward the princess consort, she felt that it did not seem fake. In the future, she had better pay more attention to that side.

When she arrived at the servants’ quarters and saw that Lanxin was unharmed, Chunxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On the way here, when she had come to ask for her, she had been afraid that the servants’ quarters would not know their limits and would have already ruined the person.

“Let’s go,” Chunxi said expressionlessly.

“Where?” Lanxin looked frightened.

Chunxi did not answer her and simply walked ahead on her own.

Lanxin glanced at the guards who had surrounded her. They seemed to be asking, Are you going to walk by yourself, or shall we drag you?

Fanghua Hall was not too far from Jinxiu Hall, where the princess lived. Its splendor and magnificence were no worse than Jinxiu Hall’s. Anyone who could live here was also someone the stewards and mamas in the residence absolutely would not dare to look down on.

Outside the hall, Chunxi bowed slightly and said respectfully, “Princess Consort, the princess ordered me to bring your maid, Lanxin, here to serve you.”

After waiting for a long while without any response from inside, Chunxi straightened and waved her hand, signaling for Lanxin, who had changed into clean clothes, to go in directly.

Lanxin walked inside half-believing and half-doubting. They said I can return to Miss’s side again…

Only when she saw the familiar, cold side profile sitting by the window in the inner hall did her tears surge out uncontrollably.

“Miss…”

The familiar voice pulled Su Yao back from the book in her hands. Seeing that the person who had come really was Lanxin, Su Yao froze slightly and set the book down. She had not expected that madwoman to send Lanxin back…

There was no time to think carefully about Rong Yang’s intentions. The moment she saw Lanxin, a trace of softness appeared in that hard place in her heart.

Lanxin had grown up with her since childhood. She was also the only person in the Princess’s residence around whom Su Yao could lower her guard. Seeing the usually innocent and lively young girl now with reddened eyes and a thin body that looked as if she might collapse at any moment, yet still walking toward her firmly, Su Yao took a deep breath and suppressed the churning bitterness in her heart.

“Has everything been all right?”

Lanxin sobbed, “Miss, I’m fine. I missed you so much. Wuwu… I thought I would never see you again!”

“You’ve suffered.” Su Yao held Lanxin’s shoulders, which were trembling from emotion.

“Wuwuwu…” Lanxin cried even harder.

“Princess Consort, the princess also had some food prepared and asked you to eat a little,” Chunxi’s voice sounded at an inappropriate time.

Without waiting for Su Yao to respond, Chunxi had the food brought inside.

Su Yao glanced at the meal placed on the table.

“The princess said that if the princess consort does not eat, Lanxin will be punished by not being allowed to eat dinner,” Chunxi said lightly.

With a crash, a white porcelain vase on the table fell in response, symbolizing Su Yao’s silent resistance.

“Then this servant will withdraw.” Chunxi’s eyelid twitched.

“Miss…” Looking at Su Yao’s pale face and skin-and-bones body, several more tear tracks appeared on Lanxin’s face.

“It’s fine,” Su Yao comforted her.

“Miss, wuwuwu… why did she… change your place…” Lanxin cried as she spoke unclearly.

“I don’t know.” Su Yao concealed the gloom in her eyes and glanced at the food that had just been set down nearby. She had already been hungry for so long that she had lost all feeling, but she had to survive. She had to walk out of the Princess’s residence alive, live to trample Rong Yang beneath her feet.

“Let’s eat first,” Su Yao said gently. “You’re hungry too.”

At the mention of food, Lanxin stopped crying and looked toward the tempting dishes on the table not far away. Those black, coarse things in the servants’ quarters had been nearly impossible to swallow. It had been a long time since she had seen proper food.

“Miss, this servant will serve you some food. We can’t make things difficult for our own bodies.” Lanxin wiped away her tears and pursed her lips.

“You eat. There’s no need to serve me. I’ll eat a little too. If I starve to death just like this, then wouldn’t all the suffering I endured before have been for nothing?” Su Yao said lightly.

Su Yao let Lanxin sit down as well. The food sent over was light. After a few mouthfuls of fresh, warm chicken soup entered her stomach, Su Yao’s stomach, which had been aching faintly all along, eased a great deal.

Neither of them noticed the figure that flashed past the doorway.

“Princess, the princess consort has eaten,” Chunxi reported truthfully what she had seen.

Rong Yang nodded. As long as she could eat, that was good. She had really been afraid the female lead would starve herself to death just like that.

Sending Lanxin over had been a good idea. Chunxi deserved credit for it.

“All of you withdraw.” Rong Yang dismissed everyone, wanting to be alone and have some quiet. Her thoughts wandered. What should she do next?

At dinnertime, after thinking for an entire afternoon without making any progress, Rong Yang was lamenting where she should even begin with the Manchu-Han banquet spread across the table when someone came to report from outside the hall.

“Mama Liu, who is in charge of the garden, says she has an important matter and requests an audience with the princess.”

Rong Yang glanced at Chunxi, who was waiting at the side. Her original intention was to have Chunxi go understand the situation, then find an excuse to send the person away.

But then she suddenly changed her mind and said, “Have her answer from outside the screen.”

A six-panel folding screen painted with the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake was carried into the hall by attendants, blocking the visitor’s line of sight.

Mama Liu knelt outside the screen, unable to see Rong Yang’s face. She had just returned to the residence after visiting relatives outside. When she learned that the princess had been injured and unconscious, and then heard a few people say that Su Yao had pushed her, she thought of how her family was currently short of money.

An opportunity had come…

“Greetings, Princess.”

“What matter do you have to report?”

“Princess, this time you were unconscious for several days. It was not an accident, but truly caused by someone. This old servant personally saw someone push the princess.”

Mama Liu’s words were vicious, as if she had truly witnessed it with her own eyes.

Rong Yang furrowed her brows slightly. In the original book, Rong Yang’s coma this time had been written as an accidental fall where she hit her head on a stone and fainted. But someone with ulterior motives pinned the blame on Su Yao. Rong Yang already hated Su Yao, and the moment she heard it was her, she naturally did not distinguish right from wrong.

Not only did she punish Su Yao, she also embellished the matter and reported it to the emperor and empress.

The emperor blamed Prefect Su for failing to educate his daughter properly and said he was unworthy of being a local official responsible for the people. He ordered him dismissed from his post and investigated while awaiting punishment.

After this incident, the female lead hid her abilities and bided her time, swearing that she would cut Rong Yang into a thousand pieces.

“Oh? Who was it?” Rong Yang’s tone was neither warm nor cold.

“Who else could it be in this residence besides that lowly woman! I saw it with my own eyes!” Mama Liu swore solemnly. If she had accused someone else, the princess might have considered it a little. But who in the residence did not know that the princess hated Su Yao most?

She was certain that the princess would not investigate and would definitely have Su Yao brought over and convicted directly.

When the time came, no matter how Su Yao tried to argue, the princess would not believe her. This move would not only allow the princess to vent her anger, but also allow Mama Liu to receive a reward. Perhaps if the princess was happy, she might reward her with a hundred taels, or even a thousand taels. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Rong Yang tapped her fingers lightly against the table and did not speak.

Mama Liu continued to show her loyalty. “These past few days, this servant has been uneasy and terrified. Only after waiting for the princess to wake and informing you truthfully did this servant feel slightly relieved. Princess, you must not let a criminal like Su Yao go!”

Rong Yang looked listless. She had originally wanted to directly throw this person out of the residence, but on second thought, wasn’t this a good opportunity to perform in front of the female lead?

“Chunxi, go invite the princess consort here.”

“Yes.”

Princess consort? Mama Liu froze. Since when did the residence have a princess consort?

The dining hall was completely silent. Mama Liu knelt on the ground and raised her head slightly, unable to see Rong Yang’s expression. For some reason, cold sweat kept forming at the corners of her forehead. Wasn’t the princess supposed to directly have Su Yao brought over?

After a while, a voice came from the doorway.

“Princess, the princess consort has been invited here.”

When Mama Liu saw that the person Chunxi had invited was Su Yao, her heart trembled, and she even forgot to breathe.

Rong Yang rose and walked out from behind the screen. Her sharp, light-brown eyes looked coldly at Su Yao.

Su Yao stood there quietly. The candlelight behind her shone softly over her body, and between her brows was a coldness that rejected others from a thousand miles away.

“Su Yao.”

Hearing her familiar name come from the mouth of a person she loathed, Su Yao frowned slightly. The hatred in her eyes could not be concealed.

“Was it she who pushed me?” Rong Yang pointed at Su Yao and asked.

Mama Liu sensed that something was wrong. The princess was…

Under everyone’s gaze, Su Yao looked cold and indifferent, saying nothing. Was this Rong Yang’s new trick?

“This old servant… it seemed to be her who pushed you.” Since the words had already been spoken, Mama Liu could only continue trying to make them work. But the unexpected situation before her began to frighten her.

“What day and what time?” Rong Yang asked carelessly.

“Two days ago… during shenshi…” Mama Liu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and casually made up a time. “This servant does not remember the exact time clearly. In any case, it was around then.”

Su Yao lowered her eyes, her palm clenching tight. A charge of attempted murder—what kind of punishment was she trying to inflict this time?

Su Yao’s eyes were filled with gloom as she stared at Rong Yang’s arrogant eyes.

“Skip such lowly methods as framing me. Why not just say directly what you want to do?”

This… the female lead seemed to have misunderstood…

“What were you doing two days ago, during shenshi?” Rong Yang stepped closer. Su Yao’s figure was reflected in her dark eyes. As long as you say it, I’ll believe you, Su Yao.

Su Yao sneered. Whether she spoke or not, what difference would it make?

Rong Yang’s melodious voice turned low at this moment, carrying a hint of thin anger as she said almost word by word, “Answer truthfully!”

Yet inside, Rong Yang was anxious. Female lead, hurry up and say it. As long as you say it, I’ll believe you. Once you say it, I’ll have this gossip-mongering Mama Liu beaten thirty times with a plank!

Su Yao did not conceal the disgust in her eyes. She hated Rong Yang’s voice, hated her questioning, hated her vile amusement. No matter what she said, the result would be the same.

“I did nothing.”

Rong Yang froze slightly.

When Mama Liu heard this, she felt the matter was settled. Such a perfunctory answer—the princess would definitely feel she had been toyed with.

“Someone, take her away and beat her thirty times with a plank,” Rong Yang ordered, staring closely at Su Yao.

Su Yao clenched both fists.

Sure enough…

Looking at the woman before her with her wanton, arrogant attitude and beautiful yet hypocritical face…

The one who deserved punishment most was clearly Rong Yang.

But the hatred filling her eyes was insignificant before absolute power.

Rong Yang’s gaze moved from Su Yao to Mama Liu kneeling on the ground.

“Mama Liu, for slandering the princess consort, after the beating, throw her out of the residence.”

Su Yao’s body trembled.

Mama Liu lifted her head in terror. Her face turned deathly pale, and her lips moved several times, unable to utter a single word.

Two guards dragged Mama Liu and were about to take her outside.

“No, no, no, Princess, I… I really saw it… Su Yao, she…” Mama Liu’s voice was shrill and extremely piercing.

Rong Yang raised her hand and pinched Su Yao’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze.

“No matter what Su Yao is like, she is still my only princess consort. What I hate most is when others presume to target my people without permission!”

Her eyes were filled entirely with Su Yao’s reflection, yet she seemed to be looking at a bird in a cage. Her gaze was playful, the corners of her lips slightly raised, carrying the innate arrogance of one born above others.

Su Yao let out a cold snort and turned her head, freeing herself from Rong Yang’s hand.

“Princess, what a wonderful play you’ve put on.”

“Princess Consort doesn’t like this ending?”

As Rong Yang spoke, she turned and sat back behind the screen. The screen hid her flustered expression. Looking at her right hand, which still retained some warmth, she felt faintly uneasy.

Why did I touch her again…

Was this also a habit of the original owner?

The female lead’s eyes just now were too frightening!

“Now that the play is over, may I leave?” Su Yao said coldly.

“Withdraw,” Rong Yang replied calmly.

Su Yao turned and left the dining hall, her long lashes concealing the darkness in her eyes.

Only after she saw Su Yao’s disappearing figure did Rong Yang let out a slight breath of relief.

Not long after, the guards saw Chunxi in front of Jinxiu Hall and asked for instructions. “Mama Liu couldn’t endure past twenty strikes.”

Chunxi ordered coldly, “Throw her into the mass burial mound.”

When Su Yao returned to Fanghua Hall, Lanxin was waiting anxiously outside the hall. Seeing Su Yao coming from afar, she hurried forward to welcome her.

Originally, she had wanted to accompany Su Yao, but Su Yao knew Rong Yang was only targeting her. If Lanxin went, she might suffer an undeserved disaster instead, and Su Yao herself would also be restrained by concern for her. So Su Yao had insisted on not letting her go.

Lanxin circled Su Yao and checked her over. When she found that Su Yao had no injuries and that her clothes were also perfectly intact, the stone in her heart finally settled a little.

“Miss?”

Su Yao lowered her eyes and patted her hand. “I’m fine.”

Only then did Lanxin completely relax.

“Prepare water for a bath,” Su Yao instructed. Wherever Rong Yang had touched her, she only felt disgust.

Rong Yang, on the other hand, was in quite a good mood. This could be considered helping the female lead rewrite a key plot point. The Su residence would be fine, she would also be fine, and the female lead’s hatred value would drop a tiny bit, right?

“This is really good.” It was cool in the mouth, sweet but not greasy. “Chunxi.”

“This servant is here.”

“What is this?” Rong Yang asked.

“Replying to Princess, with the intense summer heat coming, this is a new cooling mung bean porridge developed by the kitchen.”

“Not bad. The color is so green and fresh. Looking at it makes one feel clear-headed and refreshed.”

“Double the kitchen’s monthly silver as encouragement.”

The stars glittered, and the evening breeze blew gently.

After bathing, Rong Yang lay on the spacious bed and took a deep breath. The air no longer smelled of disinfectant, and there were no flashing machines beside her.

A healthy body really was comfortable. She would no longer have to suffer so much pain at night that she could not sleep.

Fanghua Hall.

Su Yao sat by the window. Moonlight passed through the window lattice and shone onto the carpet inside the hall. She stared blankly, lost in thought. Her fair jaw was slightly red.

In the silent bedchamber, there was only the sound of water droplets falling from the tips of Su Yao’s hair. Lanxin had gone to rest. As for the people Rong Yang had arranged for her, she had driven them all out.

She did not need those people to serve her. Everything in Rong Yang’s residence filled her with disgust.