After Transmigrating Into A Love-Brained Scumbag Villain - Chapter 13

Wang Yaoshuang slept very soundly this time.

Only after she woke did she learn that the laughter had not been something she imagined in a dream. The source of the laughter had indeed been the maidservants playing with His Highness, and from beginning to end, His Highness had never scolded or punished them.

After hearing Jiumo’s words, Wang Yaoshuang remained silent for a long time before asking, “Where is His Highness?”

Jiumo said, “His Highness said gambling games should be enjoyed in moderation, and fun should also stop at the proper time. So he only played for half an hour before letting the maidservants go back to their duties. He also returned to the North Study, saying he had to prepare for tomorrow’s return visit.”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Was this His Highness truly the Prince of Yingchuan?

Her experiences in her previous life had left a deep psychological shadow in her heart toward the Prince of Yingchuan. The atrocities committed by the disfigured Prince of Yingchuan were like brands carved into her soul. Every time she thought of them, her soul trembled with fear. Wanting to change her view of His Highness would likely not be something she could accomplish in a short while.

But this His Highness was the one before disfigurement, not the Prince of Yingchuan after disfigurement.

If she changed the future, then His Highness might no longer become the Prince of Yingchuan from her previous life, and her temperament might also change accordingly…

Just as Wang Yaoshuang raised a hand to support her head, Jiumo knew she must be feeling unwell. She hurriedly went behind her and massaged her temples. Then she asked, “Princess Consort, earlier, the kitchen courtyard came to ask whether your dinner should be sent here, or sent to His Highness’s place. Or should His Highness’s dinner be sent here to you?”

At the fifth watch, Wang Yaoshuang rose to bathe and change clothes. While doing so, she did not forget to send a maidservant to urge His Highness to get up, ensuring that His Highness could smoothly accompany her back to her maiden home.

Wang Yaoshuang once again fell silent.

Wasn’t bathing something one did every day? Why did it have to be so grand?

She did not know that people of the time did not bathe every day. Only when there was an important festival or ceremony, or when they needed to meet some important person, would they burn incense and bathe. The court even gave officials a day off specifically so they could bathe, and thus days off were also called “rest-and-bathe” days.①

The Prince of Yingchuan loved cleanliness, so she bathed every day. But the expenses caused by each bath inevitably made people mutter that her lifestyle was extravagant and excessive.

The next day was the day of the return visit.

Wang Yaoshuang knew they had misunderstood, but there was no way to explain this matter.

Could they not simply follow the old rules and send the meals to their respective residences?

After a moment, she reacted. His Highness had just handed the great authority of the prince’s manor over to her. This was a signal that she was beginning to act as the mistress of the manor. Naturally, the kitchen courtyard’s attitude toward her was different from that of her previous life.

Had the kitchen courtyard made a mistake? When had she said she wanted to eat together with His Highness?

If it were not for bathing early in the morning, she could have slept two more hours!

The maidservant explained softly, “Today is the princess consort’s return visit. Burning incense and bathing is the proper etiquette.”

But Zhao Shangrong did not blame Wang Yaoshuang for this. Instead, she instructed the maidservant, “In the future, prepare hot water at night. Who gets up early in the morning just to bathe?”

She said, “If His Highness has given no instructions, then just follow the previous arrangement.”

When Zhao Shangrong was woken, she was indeed somewhat unhappy. These past two days, all that sleeping had thrown her biological clock into chaos. Last night, she only fell asleep at the third watch, and now she had been made to get up so early. She had not slept enough!

Everyone in the prince’s manor felt that the princess consort’s action was too risky. After all, His Highness had a temper when waking up. The more one urged her to rise, the more unhappy she became. Perhaps she would scold the princess consort and say, “I have my own maidservants by my side. Since when do I need you to meddle?”

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

Since Wang Yaoshuang had spoken, the kitchen courtyard naturally obeyed.

Especially because yesterday, His Highness had questioned why the princess consort’s dishes were different from hers. The maidservants familiar with His Highness’s temper had heard the monstrous anger hidden beneath that calm tone.

His Highness was warning the kitchen courtyard that, in the future, they must provide the princess consort with the treatment appropriate to her rank.

The Prince of Yingchuan never cared whether other people bathed every day. Zhao Shangrong, who had absorbed her memories, therefore had no awareness in this regard.

After Wang Yaoshuang bathed and changed clothes, arranged her hair, pinned on gold hairpins and pearl ornaments, applied rouge and powder… once she had tidied herself properly, she sent someone to inquire about His Highness’s situation.

The maidservant said, “His Highness fell asleep in the bath and has just woken up to change clothes.”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

How sleepy did one have to be to doze off while bathing?

Speaking of which, was His Highness really such a sleepy person?

She went to the side hall where His Highness bathed and changed, the “West Study,” and happened to see Zhao Shangrong walking out in a set of black princely court robes.

Having just come out of the bath, she carried a fragrance from the aromatic herbs used to scent the water. The black garments made her skin look even fairer, like that of a delicate young man. Yet her eyes, still slightly showing the whites below from just waking, made her seem rather cold and unfeeling.

Black was the most common clothing color among both officials and commoners, but the dark, near-black garments Zhao Shangrong wore were different. From the material, tailoring, and patterns, to the garment-making technique that allowed faint golden light to shimmer over them when the morning sun fell upon them, every detail displayed her noble status.

For one instant, Wang Yaoshuang seemed to see the Prince of Yingchuan from her previous life. She could not help slowing her steps. Only when she arrived before Zhao Shangrong did she bow with her heart trembling. “This concubine greets Your Highness.”

“Mm, Princess Consort, you’re here!” Zhao Shangrong forced herself to perk up.

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Mm?

Had she heard wrong?

Zhao Shangrong asked, “Have you been waiting long? Did I delay the auspicious time to leave?”

At this moment, she was like someone who had finally looked forward to a long-awaited trip to an amusement park after working overtime for half a year. She had been so excited that she could not sleep all night, and although she was clearly sleepy to death, before setting out, she was full of excitement.

Wang Yaoshuang came back to herself and said, “No. Your Highness still has time… to apply powder.”

She had a deep impression of His Highness’s actions the day before yesterday, when she had applied rice powder to her face before going out, making her complexion look unhealthy.

Zhao Shangrong said cheerfully, “There is no need to pretend illness when going to the princess consort’s maternal family. Instead, I should make myself look healthier. Otherwise, as parents, how could they feel at ease letting their daughter spend the rest of her life with a sickly person?”

Wang Yaoshuang wanted to say that His Highness’s complexion at this moment did not look very healthy either. But in this life, it was the first time she had seen His Highness speak with the corners of her eyes carrying a smile.

In her previous life, Wang Yaoshuang had only seen such an expression when the Prince of Yingchuan was with Yuan Si, the crown prince of Yan.

The faint upward curve at the corners of His Highness’s eyes was alluring, and her smile could easily break down a person’s defenses.

By the time Wang Yaoshuang returned to her senses, her hands were already resting on His Highness’s black court robes, her movements practiced as she straightened His Highness’s clothing and crown.

The morning light that had just squeezed over the roof eaves seemed to freeze within time. Everything around them fell into silence, and even the air seemed filled with an ambiguous substance.

Wang Yaoshuang calmly withdrew her hands.

Zhao Shangrong held her breath. Her heartbeat was like a wild horse galloping all the way down an empty path.

While feeling alarmed and nervous, she also thought with immense relief: Good thing she didn’t touch randomly. Otherwise, even if my disguise had fallen off, I might not have reacted in time!

Author’s Note:

Princess Consort: Is His Highness allergic to romance?

His Highness: Wait a second. Why is the princess consort so practiced with her hands?

Princess Consort: ? You really know how to pick a fight.

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Note: ① From the entry on “rest and bathe.”