After Transmigrating Into A Love-Brained Scumbag Villain - Chapter 29

The glistening in Wang Yaoshuang’s eyes could not be hidden from Zhao Shangrong at all. Zhao Shangrong dismissed all the maidservants and, regardless of how others might view her actions, directly took the princess consort’s hand and led her into the East Study.

Wang Yaoshuang did not resist in the slightest. Like a puppet on strings, she was led into the East Study by Zhao Shangrong.

The doors closed, cutting off all gossiping gazes.

Zhao Shangrong did not continue walking farther inside. She turned around and, by the little dim yellow afterglow squeezing in through the window lattice, stared fixedly at Wang Yaoshuang.

“What happened to you? A dignified princess consort shedding tears in front of so many people damages your authority.”

The surge of tears in Wang Yaoshuang’s eyes was forcibly stopped by these words. Her fingers unconsciously hooked onto His Highness’s sleeve, and she said stubbornly, “This concubine did not cry.”

Cool fingertips brushed past the corners of her eyes. His Highness chuckled. “Oh. Then I understand. This is the crystal-clear glow of the sunset refracting.”

Wang Yaoshuang brushed away her hand, turned her face aside, and pretended to examine the interior of the East Study. She asked, “What did Your Highness and Zhenyue do?”

“Zhenyue?” Zhao Shangrong reacted. “I asked her to teach me the pipa. What else could I have done?”

Of course, she absolutely would not tell others that she had originally wanted to ask the pipa musician to be her model. But after tiring herself out from painting, she had instead asked the pipa musician to teach her how to play the pipa.

The maidservants said that the reason the princess consort had come to the East Study was because she heard news that Zhenyue had seduced His Highness, so she rushed over to catch an affair.

As for why Zhenyue had to kneel and wait until the princess consort woke up, the answer was self-evident.

Thinking of this, Zhenyue’s heart tightened.

Bihe merely glanced at Zhenyue, then also returned to the hall.

Seeing the two faint tear tracks on the princess consort’s face, the Assistant Court Physician understood. He said, “Your Highness, this minister has said before that the princess consort’s congenital deficiency cannot withstand great emotional fluctuations. She must maintain a cheerful, relaxed mood and clear away worries. How could Your Highness make the princess consort cry?”

The freshly boiled sugar water was placed over ice to cool quickly. Once the temperature was suitable, it was fed to Wang Yaoshuang.

Zhao Shangrong was burning with anxiety. She hooked the door open with her foot and shouted, “Someone! Quickly go find the Assistant Court Physician!”

Carrying Wang Yaoshuang on her back, Zhao Shangrong instructed, “I will carry the princess consort to the North Study. You wait outside the door for the Assistant Court Physician.”

Zhao Shangrong did not know how long Wang Yaoshuang would take to wake up, so she simply sat by the bed and waited. Last time, when she had fainted, Wang Yaoshuang had also waited outside for her. This could be considered returning courtesy with courtesy.

The Assistant Court Physician said, “First have the princess consort hold a piece of ginseng in her mouth. After she wakes, boil some sugar water for her. Once she feels no discomfort, she should eat promptly.”

She had only been plucking randomly for a little while when Bihe came in and said that the princess consort had been standing outside for a long time.

The female attendant looked at Zhenyue with pity and said, “She is waiting for the princess consort to wake.”

If possible, Zhao Shangrong also wanted to help Wang Yaoshuang share her worries. Unfortunately, this involved Wang Yaoshuang’s position as well as the emperor’s fear and suspicion of imperial princes, so Zhao Shangrong was helpless.

Hearing the Assistant Court Physician’s words, Jiumo hurriedly took out a small packet of ginseng slices wrapped in oil paper from her robes. She was grateful that the princess consort needed to eat ginseng every day to replenish qi, and that she always carried some with her. Now, it happened to be useful.

As he took the princess consort’s pulse and examined her, he grumbled inwardly: These two masters of the prince’s manor are truly something. Not one of them is healthy. Last time, it was His Highness who fainted. This time, it is the princess consort! Can two sickly people not make less trouble on ordinary days?

Zhao Shangrong did not know what Wang Yaoshuang’s reaction had been like when she fainted last time. She only knew that she could not let anything happen to Wang Yaoshuang.

The other maidservants were also at a loss. Only Bihe calmly came over to help Zhao Shangrong support Wang Yaoshuang up.

The female attendant walked up to Zhenyue and said sympathetically, “See? A master’s favor is not so easy to bear.”

“His Highness told you to go back and rest. She will learn the pipa from you another day.”

Outside the door, Zhenyue knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

With warm fragrance and soft jade in her arms, Zhao Shangrong had no charming thoughts at all. She struggled to hold the person in her arms and discovered that Wang Yaoshuang had actually fainted. Two clear trails of tears still hung on her cheeks.

The Assistant Court Physician did not get involved in inner residence matters. He greased the soles of his feet and quickly slipped away.

Zhao Shangrong was preparing to let Wang Yaoshuang go out so she could turn back and put away those calligraphy and paintings. But in the next moment, her waist tightened and her shoulder grew heavy. Wang Yaoshuang’s arms weakly wrapped around her, and her forehead rested against her shoulder.

The Assistant Court Physician arrived in time. Not long after Zhao Shangrong had Wang Yaoshuang lie down, he came rushing in, panting.

Zhao Shangrong’s mind was a mess as she thought: Someone like Wang Yaoshuang, who looked weak on the outside but was strong inside and could withstand the danger of the mad Prince of Yingchuan discovering her identity as an undercover agent while smoothly completing the task assigned by the emperor—what could possibly crush her heart and make her reveal such a fragile side?

Zhao Shangrong knew that Wang Yaoshuang bore an important mission, so she had never thought of setting up obstacles. She had even actively given Wang Yaoshuang a “pass” that allowed her to investigate the secrets of the prince’s manor.

For the time being, she did not want the princess consort to know about the painting. After all, when she had drawn the structural diagram of the rocking fan before, she had boasted that she had studied calligraphy and painting. If the princess consort saw those practice works that did not reflect her true level at all, she would definitely think Zhao Shangrong had been bragging!

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

The princess consort had gotten into trouble because of her. She could not escape blame.

Zhao Shangrong’s head buzzed. She had just been about to say something when she immediately realized that now was not the right time to speak.

Zhao Shangrong thought this seemed like low blood sugar.

Not long after, Jiumo walked out. She looked in surprise at Zhenyue kneeling on the ground and said, “Why are you kneeling here? Neither His Highness nor the princess consort ordered you to kneel. What kind of behavior is this?”

The weight on Zhao Shangrong’s shoulder suddenly became heavier. Wang Yaoshuang’s body swayed, and she collapsed entirely into Zhao Shangrong’s arms.

Oh no. Her paintings were still spread out on the desk and had not been put away!

Through the half-open door, Jiumo saw Wang Yaoshuang unconscious and was so frightened her soul nearly left her body. Without waiting for the other maidservants to act, she hurriedly ran off to find the Assistant Court Physician.

Facing the surrounding gazes—some sympathetic, some pitying, some taking pleasure in her misfortune, and some numb—Zhenyue felt both wronged and terrified, not knowing what punishment might be waiting for her next.

Zhao Shangrong had no time to argue with the Assistant Court Physician. She asked, “I am asking you how the princess consort is. Does she need acupuncture? Will there be any lingering effects from this fainting?”

Bihe escorted the Assistant Court Physician out of the hall. Seeing the abrupt figure kneeling below the steps, her feet paused. She asked the female attendant beside her, “What is going on with her?”

Zhenyue wanted to say she had not received His Highness’s favor at all, but His Highness had forbidden her from revealing what had happened inside the East Study, so she could only endure the piercing pain in her knees and continue kneeling.

Last time, the Assistant Court Physician had carried such a huge pot on his back. Now, he could finally throw it back at His Highness.

“Ah?” Zhenyue froze, and the surrounding maidservants also had various thoughts.

By all rights, Wang Yaoshuang should not have had anything to worry about. But ever since she married into the Prince of Yingchuan’s manor, she had been easily frightened and always seemed to be worrying about something.

Zhenyue wept with joy. “Thank you, Female Attendant Jiumo.”

Jiumo snorted. “No need to thank me. I am not the one who mentioned you before His Highness.”

“Eh?” Zhenyue was confused. What did that mean?

Jiumo’s words represented His Highness’s attitude. Once she said this, the other female attendants and maidservants naturally understood that not only had Zhenyue done nothing wrong, she had truly caught His Highness’s eye.

Zhenyue returned to the Variety Theater, and this matter came to an end.

Zhao Shangrong had not expected that merely finding a model—ah, no, a pipa teacher—could make others imagine such a romantic scandal.

But did the princess consort really think she was fooling around with Zhenyue, so she came to “catch an affair”?

Zhao Shangrong lay by the bedside and poked the princess consort’s face. Finding her fingertip stained with white makeup powder, she wiped it on the princess consort’s clothes without thinking.

Wang Yaoshuang, who opened her eyes just in time to see this scene: “…”

She was so angry she laughed.

This kind of childish behavior was something the Prince of Yingchuan could absolutely never do.

She had suspected for a long time that His Highness was not the Prince of Yingchuan, but all this time, she had not had any solid proof.

Now… she did not need any proof at all. She did not even need His Highness to admit it. She could already confirm that this person was not the Prince of Yingchuan.

She had wondered whether the Prince of Yingchuan might have been reborn like her, which was why her temperament had changed so drastically. But if the Prince of Yingchuan had truly been reborn, then with her vicious nature, she absolutely would not have let off those who had betrayed her in her previous life.

Could this Prince of Yingchuan be fake?

Or were there actually two Princes of Yingchuan in the world, just like how she and Xiaoshuang had secretly exchanged identities in her previous life, and His Highness and the Prince of Yingchuan had also swapped places?

But if that were true, it would have been impossible for no one in the previous life to discover that there were two identical Princes of Yingchuan.

As long as a person existed in this world, it was impossible for them to leave not the slightest trace of their existence.

Also, since His Highness was here, where had the Prince of Yingchuan gone?

Zhao Shangrong was preparing to scrape another layer of powder from Wang Yaoshuang’s face when she met those clear eyes.

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Ah, how awkward.

“Princess Consort, you’re awake!” Zhao Shangrong decided to pretend nothing had happened.

As long as she was not embarrassed, then the embarrassed one would be someone else.

Wang Yaoshuang smiled beautifully. “Mm.”

She felt that she should be grateful His Highness was not the Prince of Yingchuan. Otherwise, she absolutely could not have lived safely for this long.

The awkward atmosphere had not yet dispersed, so Zhao Shangrong could only try to justify her behavior. “Your makeup was caking. I was helping smooth it out.”

Wang Yaoshuang’s expression did not change. “Many thanks, Your Highness.”

She sat up from the bed. Zhao Shangrong moved over and half-embraced her waist, lending half her body to Wang Yaoshuang as an armrest to lean against.

“No need to be polite.” Zhao Shangrong calmly accepted her thanks. “Cough. Princess Consort, your body is weak. Next time, take a palanquin over.”

Wang Yaoshuang rested her head against His Highness’s shoulder and slightly turned to look at His Highness’s side profile. Pretending to hesitate, she asked, “Would that not be too troublesome?”

Zhao Shangrong said, “Not trou—”

Wang Yaoshuang continued, “Why does this concubine not live in the North Study instead? The weather has grown hot, and Your Highness previously said this place is cooler.”

The rest of Zhao Shangrong’s words were frightened back into her throat. “…”

Are you really this dedicated as an undercover agent?

She had heard of personal bodyguards, personal guards, and personal maidservants, but she had never heard of a personal undercover agent.

The greatest secret in the prince’s manor was currently on her own body. Letting Wang Yaoshuang live with her would be handing over her life!

Zhao Shangrong had mocked the Prince of Yingchuan for being love-brained. She would not become love-brained like the Prince of Yingchuan!

Even if she liked Wang Yaoshuang, she absolutely could not one-sidedly assume Wang Yaoshuang would accept her feelings. So as for bravely exposing her disguise for love, she would absolutely never do such a thing.

After careful consideration, Zhao Shangrong said solemnly, “If the princess consort likes it, then stay here. I can live in the Middle Study.”

Wang Yaoshuang thought: His Highness really does not withstand teasing.

“This concubine was joking.”

Zhao Shangrong did not think she was joking and suggested, “If the princess consort fears the heat, why don’t we go to the estate by Yanque Lake in the east of the city to escape the summer heat?”

If she remembered correctly, east of Qingxi in Jiankang’s eastern suburbs, many imperial relatives, nobles, clan members, and in-laws had built gardens and villas there. The Prince of Yingchuan had an estate at Yanque Lake in the northeast, surrounded by her farmland, and most of her retainers also lived there.

The Prince of Yingchuan did not like outings, but Zhao Shangrong, on the contrary, felt that living on an estate would be much freer than living in the prince’s manor.

Wang Yaoshuang said, “I fear we will not be able to stay there for many days. Once the court arranges an instructor for Your Highness, Your Highness will need to begin listening to lectures on the classics. Also, in the sixth month, this concubine must go to the ancestral temple to worship the ancestors and perform the temple audience ceremony. Before that, the Court of Ceremonies will send people to instruct this concubine in the relevant rites… In other words, this concubine will be attending classes together with Your Highness.”

After being reminded, Zhao Shangrong remembered that she had quite a few things to do as well. However, she could still use training dragon boats as an excuse to take Wang Yaoshuang outside for a stroll.

Thinking of the Dragon Boat Festival “dragon boat regatta,” Zhao Shangrong told Wang Yaoshuang the news the Prince of Yiyang had brought that day.

She said conflictedly, “From Old Eight’s meaning, although His Majesty wants to arrange instructors for us, he did not forbid everyone from participating in the flying-boat regatta.”

Not only had the emperor not forbidden it, he even found Zhao Shangrong’s suggestion of changing the flying boats into dragon boats for the regatta very interesting. Therefore, he planned to bring the empress and Grand Consort Yun out of the palace to watch when the time came.

“His Majesty requires the number of dragon boats to be reduced to fewer than ten, so Old Eight and Xu Zhan decided to divide into five teams each. On Old Eight’s side, there are Prince Zhao Yixing of Changsha Commandery, Prince Zhao Yiqing of Linchuan, Marquis Zhao Changzu of Dongxing County, and probably me. On Xu Zhan’s side, there are the Jiangnan Wu clan, Langya Yan clan, Qinghe Cui clan, and Jiyang Jiang clan… One side is all imperial relatives, and the other side is entirely noble clans. Isn’t this just a confrontation match between imperial relatives and noble clans?”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Was that the important point?!

Wasn’t the important point that the emperor would bring the empress and Grand Consort Yun out of the palace when the time came?

Although it was only allowing Grand Consort Yun to leave the palace to watch the dragon boat race, this was something that had never happened before!

Did His Highness not want to know what the emperor’s intention was in doing this?

Based on Wang Yaoshuang’s understanding of the emperor, allowing Grand Consort Yun to leave the palace might be a hint from the emperor to His Highness that she would soon be able to leave for her fief. Or perhaps the emperor only wanted to warn His Highness, reminding her not to forget that Grand Consort Yun was still in the palace.

If it were the Prince of Yingchuan, she would certainly care deeply about this matter. But with the current His Highness…

Wang Yaoshuang’s mood was complicated. Was His Highness pretending to be foolish?

Author’s Note:

[The day His Highness decides to tell the princess consort the secret of her origins will be the day His Highness decides to hand her life over to the princess consort.]

—

Assistant Court Physician in the corner: Ah, ending up with two sickly masters is so tiring. I want to go on strike.