After Transmigrating Into A Love-Brained Scumbag Villain - Chapter 14

The procession for the Princess Consort of Yingchuan’s return visit was grand and imposing, comparable to the day she had married.

Both sides of Wuyi Lane in Jiankang City were packed with commoners watching the excitement. Even many sons of noble clans who lived in Wuyi Lane could not suppress their curiosity and secretly stuck their heads over the walls to watch.

Many married people had experienced returning to their maiden homes, but today’s protagonists were no ordinary people. One was the Prince of Yingchuan, who was rumored to be as beautiful as a woman yet brutal in temperament. The other was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Wang clan, who had originally been engaged to a talented son of the Xie clan, only for disaster to strike and everyone to flee for themselves, causing the Wang clan to hurriedly stuff her into the Prince of Yingchuan’s manor!

A few days earlier, the Prince of Yingchuan had failed to personally welcome the bride or perform the wedding bowing ceremony, making Wang Yaoshuang a laughingstock among the noble clans. Although the court and imperial clan had both acknowledged her status as princess consort, according to worldly conventions, not performing the mutual bow meant His Highness did not recognize her as his legitimate wife. After all, only concubines entering the household did not need to perform the bowing ceremony.

Everyone had come today to see how this princess consort, treated by the Prince of Yingchuan like a concubine, would humiliate herself!

Inside the carriage, Zhao Shangrong and Wang Yaoshuang sat side by side, but both were extremely silent and said nothing.

Wang Yaoshuang was lost in thought again.

This morning, she had somehow lost her senses and straightened His Highness’s clothing and crown. That presumptuous action had made both of them very embarrassed.

Just then, someone came from the Empress Dowager’s Palace. It was a palace maid from Grand Consort Yun’s side delivering a message. The message said that Grand Consort Yun had dreamed of His Highness last night and suddenly remembered that His Highness had not entered the palace for many days. Feeling wronged, she asked why His Highness had not brought the princess consort into the palace to perform the rites a few days ago.

A thin sheet of paper, only a few short sentences, yet it fully expressed a mother’s longing for her child.

Zhao Shangrong felt a chill run through her. It was here, it was here—the “plot-mandated death flag” was walking toward her with a knife!

But no matter what, she had to fight for herself.

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Was His Highness deliberately coaxing her, or was she hard of hearing?

She had heard that entering the palace required choosing an auspicious hour, but she had never heard that entering the palace also required choosing an auspicious day.

All kinds of sounds poured into their ears: discussions, shouts, trumpets, suona horns, and all sorts of chaotic noise. Zhao Shangrong could not even hear one complete sentence clearly. The words she heard most often were things like “princess consort,” “beautiful,” “His Highness,” “humiliation,” and “concubine.”

In her previous life, Wang Yaoshuang had also suffered this kind of criticism. And as her relationship with the Prince of Yingchuan grew increasingly distant, such criticism only became more intense. It was not until the Prince of Yingchuan died that the mocking public opinion gradually disappeared, replaced instead by cheap sympathy.

If Wang Yaoshuang had not clearly heard the commoners discussing how His Highness was so beautiful he did not look like a man, and how he had humiliated her, the princess consort, with concubine treatment, she might really have believed it.

The procession for the return visit had been arranged after Chief Clerk Chen and the prince’s manor officials discussed it. Although Chief Clerk Chen was somewhat dissatisfied that the princess consort had taken away part of his authority, considering the role of the Wang family, he believed that no matter how dissatisfied he was, he could not delay His Highness’s affairs. The prince’s manor still had to first give the Wang family enough face so the Wang family could let go of their grudge, put in a good word for His Highness before the emperor, and help bring about the beautiful matter of His Highness going to her fief as soon as possible!

In truth, if His Highness had been willing to listen to advice back then and properly complete the wedding ceremony, they would not have had to lower their posture so much now.

However, no one seemed to have expected that what should have been a warm family reunion would, because of Grand Consort Yun’s illness flaring up, lead to so many tragedies…

Based on her understanding of the female lead halo, Zhao Shangrong automatically turned those words into one sentence: “The princess consort is so beautiful. If His Highness takes concubines, that would simply be an insult to the princess consort!”

In order to ease the atmosphere, Zhao Shangrong took the initiative to speak. “Princess Consort, listen. The common people are all praising you for being as beautiful as a flower.”

“Your Highness…”

With the Prince of Yingchuan’s feelings toward Grand Consort Yun, Wang Yaoshuang did not dare be certain whether His Highness would ultimately keep her promise and accompany her home, or break her promise and enter the palace instead.

Zhao Shangrong, who lacked common sense in this area, did not grasp the intention of her officials. She assumed that other princess consorts’ return visits were also conducted with such pomp.

Just as Wang Yaoshuang opened her mouth, Zhao Shangrong expressionlessly refused the palace maid. “Tell Mother that today, I must accompany the princess consort back to her maiden home. After some days, I will choose an auspicious day to enter the palace and visit her.”

Hearing these remarks again in this life, for some reason, Wang Yaoshuang’s heart was not torn apart by anger, nor was it bound by anxiety and uncertainty. She could truly laugh it off.

Besides, the next auspicious day might not come until two or three months later. Was His Highness serious?

His Highness was unwilling to enter the palace, and the palace maid could not force her.

Wang Yaoshuang had not expected another unexpected development to arise right before they left. Her feelings were complicated, and she now understood why the Prince of Yingchuan had chosen to enter the palace on such a day in her previous life.

Wang Yaoshuang was worried more changes would occur, so she urged His Highness to leave on the grounds that the auspicious departure time had arrived.

Because Zhao Shangrong was overly curious, she had even secretly lifted the curtain to peek outside while Wang Yaoshuang was in a daze.

The palace maid who had delivered the message: “…”

Thinking this, Wang Yaoshuang subconsciously laughed.

Her laugh was very soft and pleasant, like the spring breeze describing its lingering affection with the white bauhinia, like a summer night sharing the summer song it played together with the katydids. It stirred up in Zhao Shangrong a hidden memory of youthful heart-fluttering from her younger years.

In that instant, a thought flashed through Zhao Shangrong’s mind: even just for the sake of this smile, she absolutely could not allow Wang Yaoshuang to suffer the slightest grievance.

But it lasted only an instant.

After realizing her thought was somewhat absurd, Zhao Shangrong felt too embarrassed to look at Wang Yaoshuang again.

The long procession passed through the Wang family’s gate. Only when the understated yet luxurious carriage drawn by five fine horses stopped in front of the entrance did everyone come to a halt.

Quite a few people were already standing in order before the Wang family’s main gate, waiting. However, their expressions did not look very good. From this, one could tell that they were not looking forward to the Prince of Yingchuan’s arrival.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Zhao Shangrong was the first to come out of the carriage.

She was not very used to being stared at by so many people and felt extremely nervous inside, but her face showed no expression.

Her gaze swept quickly over everyone. In their eyes, however, it was like a sharp blade ruthlessly slicing across them, as though in an instant, a million corpses lay fallen and blood flowed for a thousand li.

Only when Zhao Shangrong found Wang Yaoshuang’s familiar face among all the unfamiliar faces did her expression relax somewhat.

A familiar figure could divert her attention and also bring her a little sense of security.

Zhao Shangrong was not sure how she should interact with the princess consort outside. Relying on her many years of experience watching television dramas, she reached out her hand toward Wang Yaoshuang, who was preparing to step down from the carriage.

Wang Yaoshuang froze for a moment. Realizing that His Highness wanted to display their affection in front of others, she hesitated for one second before lightly placing her hand in His Highness’s palm.

But His Highness failed to understand that this was just superficial performance and took the initiative to clasp that slender, fair hand tightly.

Wang Yaoshuang’s mind buzzed. She vaguely heard the crowd begin discussing, “What is going on? Didn’t they say the Prince of Yingchuan despised the princess consort and treated her with the rites of a concubine? They’re being so intimate in broad daylight. How does that look like a bad relationship?”

Among the Wang family members, everyone also put away their careless expressions and cast measuring, probing, and puzzled looks at them.

Zhao Shangrong was just about to try to distinguish what the watching crowd was saying when she saw a plump, fair-faced middle-aged man from the Wang family walk over with a stern expression. He properly bowed. “This official Wang Ru greets Your Highness!”

This was Wang Yaoshuang’s biological father, Wang Ru.

The Wang noble clan had produced many powerful ministers of high rank and great authority. However, with the example of the Xie clan’s destruction before them, the Wang family did not dare act too ostentatiously. Moreover, under the suppression of Emperor Wu and the new emperor, the power of the noble clans was no longer what it had once been.

At present, in the main branch of the Wang clan, only Wang Ru still held the elegant and prestigious but not particularly powerful position of Guanglu Daifu. As for the other collateral branches, some held local office, while others had been recruited into middle- and lower-rank positions. Their glory was no longer even one or two tenths of what it had been.

Zhao Shangrong let go of Wang Yaoshuang’s hand and also bowed to him, deliberately putting on a noble and delicate manner as she said, “You are the princess consort’s father and my father-in-law. How could I allow you to perform such a great salute?”

Wang Ru’s pupils trembled, and the astonishment on his face was undisguised.

Zhao Shangrong had already gotten used to people looking as if they had seen a ghost, so she did not mind.

Wang Ru looked at his composed daughter, suppressed those disordered thoughts, and said, “Since that is so, then forgive me for my lack of courtesy.”

After saying that, he left Zhao Shangrong to the side and went directly to examine the daughter he had not seen for many days. Seeing that she was dressed properly and elegantly, and that the ornaments she wore and the clothing she had on all followed the standards of a princess consort, it was clear that she had not suffered any grievance in the prince’s manor for now.

But that did not mean the Wang family did not care about the humiliation the Prince of Yingchuan had brought upon them and Wang Yaoshuang on the day of the wedding.

Wang Ru’s legal wife, Xiao Nian, walked over. After giving a cursory bow, she took Wang Yaoshuang away from Wang Ru’s side. Only then did Wang Ru invite Zhao Shangrong into the Wang family residence.

Author’s Note:

Princess Consort: His Highness is so pitiful. So young, yet already hard of hearing.

His Highness: …Princess Consort, must we hurt each other like this?

Princess Consort: Hm? Did we?

His Highness: Count the little skits from the previous chapters. How long have we been roasting each other?

Princess Consort: The author thinks this is called flirting.

Instant Noodle Jun: (^▽^)