After Transmigrating Into A Love-Brained Scumbag Villain - Chapter 30

Even though Wang Yaoshuang suspected His Highness was pretending to be foolish, she did not “expose” her. Instead, she pretended to be happy and reminded her, “If the grand consort can truly leave the palace, then Your Highness will be able to meet the grand consort.”

Zhao Shangrong nearly lost all composure.

Right. If Grand Consort Yun left the palace, didn’t that mean she would be at risk of disfigurement again?!

She looked at the princess consort with a sincere face and said, “Princess Consort, have you forgotten? I already promised to accompany you in hosting guests at the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. As for the dragon boat regatta, just leave it to Chief Clerk Chen to watch. In any case, Chief Clerk Chen seems very idle lately. I’ll find him something to do to pass the time, so he won’t come bother me every day.”

Chief Clerk Chen either encouraged her to form factions for personal gain or spent all day nagging about recommending Chen clan members to serve as instructors by her side. His loyalty was unquestionable, but to her, who knew the Prince of Yingchuan’s ending, Chief Clerk Chen was very likely to become a troublemaking stick that obstructed her plan to lie flat.

So, as many tasks as she could find for him, she would push them all onto him.

Since the emperor would leave the palace to watch the “dragon boat regatta,” he would certainly attach great importance to the dragon boats’ training. Zhao Shangrong could perfectly be a hands-off manager and secretly slack off.

One stone, two birds. One arrow, two eagles. She truly was a genius!

Wang Yaoshuang said, “Since the regatta has already drawn His Majesty’s attention, it is no longer a small, private quarrel. His Majesty is personally leaving the palace to watch the regatta. How could Your Highness not be present? Moreover, Your Highness and the grand consort have not seen each other for a long time. Does Your Highness not miss the grand consort? This concubine has not yet begun writing invitations to invite relatives and female guests to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. This banquet can be postponed.”

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

Miss her, my foot. As long as Grand Consort Yun did not plan to disfigure her, she would treat the other party like her own mother and be filial to her.

But these words absolutely could not be said aloud.

After dinner, Wang Yaoshuang returned to the rear courtyard.

Princess Consort, you really do not need to be this considerate.

Zhao Shangrong thought about it and had nothing else to instruct, so she returned to the North Study.

“Yes.”

From the bottom of her heart, Wang Yaoshuang felt a trace of relief—both because she had confirmed that His Highness was not the Prince of Yingchuan and the heavy stone in her heart had been lifted, and because she was happy the maidservants in the prince’s manor would no longer suffer undeserved disasters.

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

Luckily, she was currently leaning against Zhao Shangrong. From this angle, Zhao Shangrong could not see her expression at all. Otherwise, she would definitely have been startled by that appearance of someone gnashing her teeth while pretending to be dignified.

Only then did Zhao Shangrong say righteously, “That will not do. How can the princess consort’s plans be disrupted because of other matters? Princess Consort, do whatever you want to do. There is no need to accommodate me!”

If His Highness was not the Prince of Yingchuan, then who was His Highness?

Then His Highness lowered her voice beside her ear and said, “The princess consort catching an affair or something like that will cause misunderstandings if word spreads. People who don’t know the truth will think I was fooling around! So next time, let us keep a lower profile, all right?”

“This concubine understands.” Wang Yaoshuang smiled faintly.

Also, she had originally thought she was the one who changed His Highness’s future of being disfigured. Now, it seemed that it was actually not she who had changed it, but His Highness herself.

“Your Highness has already told this concubine.”

Why did she show no flaws when interacting with everyone?

“Next time means next time!” Zhao Shangrong had not finished her painting yet, so she would definitely still need to find models to practice. If every time such a misunderstanding happened, how many times would the princess consort faint? So it was better to explain everything clearly now. Next time, the princess consort would not find it strange and would no longer care about such rumors.

If Wang Yaoshuang had not had the extraordinary experience of being reborn and discovered so many things that differed from her previous life, she would not have been able to distinguish His Highness from the Prince of Yingchuan.

These questions had no answers. Only His Highness could answer them for her. But how could His Highness easily tell her such important things? Therefore, what she should pay attention to right now was actually another matter—the emperor’s suspicion and His Highness’s position.

Wang Yaoshuang discovered that she had rejoiced too early, because she had not expected that after changing the future in which she and Xiaoshuang exchanged identities, Xiaoshuang had still not given up looking for a chance to approach the Prince of Yingchuan’s manor.

Wang Yaoshuang felt somewhat moved. His Highness treated her too well and also respected her greatly.

However, a new problem arose.

What kind of playboy scumbag line was His Highness saying now?

Jiumo finally waited until she had a chance to whisper to her mistress. She said, “When the princess consort fainted, this servant was truly frightened. But the one most nervous about the princess consort was His Highness… It seems His Highness has finally opened her eyes and now knows how to care about the princess consort.”

As if she had been enchanted, the corners of Wang Yaoshuang’s lips uncontrollably curved upward.

She was both angry and amused. She gave His Highness a sidelong glance and endured again and again before she managed not to say anything too harsh. “Mm. I am reassured.”

The Prince of Yingchuan had wholeheartedly wanted to leave for her fief, while His Highness appeared completely uninterested in it. Did that mean His Highness would not repeat the same mistakes, and that the Prince of Yingchuan’s ending would not happen to His Highness?

Precisely because of this, she could not let His Highness fall into a difficult position. So she said, “This is what this concubine wants to do. Seeing Your Highness and the grand consort reunite will also make this concubine very happy!”

This news had been brought to Wang Yaoshuang by Xiao Nian’s people. Xiao Nian did not want both of her daughters to fall into a wolf’s den. The two daughters looked so alike—what if His Highness mistook one for the other and did something wrong, causing some irreversible consequence? Therefore, she sent someone to deliver a letter to Wang Yaoshuang, asking her to help persuade Xiaoshuang, because Xiaoshuang listened to her elder sister more.

Thinking of this, Wang Yaoshuang was very glad she had rejected her younger sister Xiaoshuang’s plan, avoiding a situation where Xiaoshuang’s involvement made the situation even more complicated and confusing.

Because if the person she had encountered back then had been the Prince of Yingchuan, then no matter how hard Wang Yaoshuang tried or what she did, the Prince of Yingchuan would never have given up entering the palace for her sake.

Since communication was ineffective, Zhao Shangrong stopped wasting her breath.

So next, what she had to worry about was not the miserable fate of the maidservants in the prince’s manor. What she most had to pay attention to was preventing His Highness from getting involved in power struggles.

Jiumo and Bihe outside the curtain: “…”

Originally, Wang Yaoshuang had thought that this time, when the Court of Ceremonies recruited literary aides and study attendants for His Highness, it would have nothing to do with Xiaoshuang. Unexpectedly, Xiaoshuang had taken another path and used this recruitment to recommend herself as His Highness’s study attendant.

She asked again, “Your Highness, when is next time?”

No. Based on her understanding of the emperor, as well as those commoner clans who wanted to use the emperor’s balancing of imperial relatives and noble clans to achieve the rise of humble families, they would definitely not so easily relax their vigilance toward His Highness.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Wang Yaoshuang’s mind. What aspect did His Highness’s “reassured” refer to? Was she telling Wang Yaoshuang that she would no longer peel Zhenyue’s skin, that she would no longer abuse the servants, or was it…

“Then you can be reassured, right?”

At worst, when the time came, she would keep far away from Grand Consort Yun. If that truly did not work, she would pretend to be ill!

Following the principle of enjoying life while she could, she did not particularly want to seek trouble for herself, so she changed the subject. “By the way, Princess Consort, that pipa girl and I—uh, the pipa girl named Zhenyue… I only called her over because I wanted to learn the pipa.”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

If you do not know how to coax people, then shut up. If not for the Court of Ceremonies, and if Your Highness had to find a princess consort on your own, you would definitely be alone for life!

Wang Yaoshuang felt a bit stifled in her chest. Mm. His Highness had angered her.

Zhao Shangrong had originally already prepared to give up the bed and go lay a mat in the Middle Study to make do for the night. Seeing that Wang Yaoshuang was unwilling to stay overnight, she personally sent her back to the rear courtyard and instructed the maidservants, “After the weather becomes humid and hot, there will be more and more mosquitoes and insects. Burn mugwort during the day to repel mosquitoes, and at night, lower the gauze curtains.”

Wang Yaoshuang knew Xiaoshuang was bold, but she had not known Xiaoshuang was this bold!

She hurried back to the Wang family and heard her mother Xiao Nian and her elder brothers persuading Xiaoshuang. “How can a woman serve as an official? You are making trouble!”

Wang Yaoshuang suddenly slowed her steps.

Wang Xiaoshuang sighed. “Mother, Elder Brothers, I know I cannot be chosen. But when His Majesty issued the edict for recruitment, he did not specify that only men could respond. Recommending myself is my own matter. The Court of Ceremonies can choose not to select me, and His Majesty can choose not to summon me. They cannot punish me just because I recommended myself, can they?”

Xiao Nian and Wang Yaoshuang’s elder brothers were rendered speechless.

Wang Xiaoshuang did not argue with them over whether women could serve as officials, avoiding further escalation of the conflict. Therefore, in the eyes of the Wang family, she was still merely fooling around.

However, Wang Yaoshuang knew Xiaoshuang was not fooling around. In her previous life, Xiaoshuang had done even bolder things. Recommending herself as an instructor to an imperial prince could be said to be very much her style.

Moreover, Xiaoshuang was qualified to serve as His Highness’s study attendant. She had loved learning since childhood, studied under Doctor Liu Su, was quick-witted, well-versed in the classics, and her scholarship was no inferior to that of her fellow disciples. Among noble clan sons, there were many ignorant and incompetent ones. Even their own elder brothers would be too embarrassed to say their literary talent surpassed their younger sister’s.

“Ah, Elder Sister!” Wang Xiaoshuang discovered her sister’s figure.

Wang Yaoshuang’s appearance instantly eased the tense atmosphere.

Xiao Nian came over and took her hand. “Yaoshuang, you’re back. Help us persuade Xiaoshuang.”

Wang Yaoshuang had originally come to persuade Wang Xiaoshuang, but after hearing her family’s discussion, she suddenly changed her mind. She smiled faintly and said, “Mother, during Former Qin, Lady Xuanwen was already eighty years old, yet she was still able to establish a lecture hall, accept students, pass down the classics, and teach learning. She was granted the post of Erudite of the Imperial Academy… Who can say women cannot serve as officials?”

Xiao Nian and her two sons froze. Wang Xiaoshuang looked at her elder sister with gradually brightening eyes.

Wang Yaoshuang’s words amazed everyone, because none of them had ever known about Lady Xuanwen. How had she known?

“Th-There really was such a person? You’re not tricking us, are you?” Wang Yaoshuang’s elder brother asked.

Her second elder brother said disapprovingly, “Moreover, Former Qin was a state established by Hu people who invaded the Central Plains. It was not orthodox Huaxia. Besides, that was something done by a muddleheaded ruler of Former Qin. How can we imitate the actions of such a muddleheaded ruler? If women all begin crowing at dawn like hens, the world will surely fall into chaos.”

Wang Xiaoshuang spread her hands. “That is why I do not like arguing with them about this. Elder Sister, you saw it.”

“Hey, how are you speaking?” Second Brother Wang looked very angry.

Wang Yaoshuang said, “Mother and Elder Brothers need not persuade her. As she said, whether His Majesty summons her or not is for His Majesty’s sacred will to decide. There is no need for everyone to harm family harmony over this matter.”

Xiao Nian discovered that her eldest daughter had changed. Compared with before marriage, she had become much more confident. Her words made people unconsciously listen and believe her.

After chasing her two sons and Wang Xiaoshuang away, Xiao Nian said to Wang Yaoshuang, “From what Xiaoshuang means, she seems to want to go to your side.”

Wang Yaoshuang understood her mother’s meaning and said, “Mother is worried that Xiaoshuang and I look too alike, and His Highness will not be able to tell us apart?”

Xiao Nian said, “We cannot put all our stakes in one place.”

Being treated as a bargaining chip caused no waves in Wang Yaoshuang’s heart. She said, “The reason Xiaoshuang recommended herself is likely not only because she wants to come to my side. I fear there are other reasons as well. Mother may as well ask her more clearly.”

After hearing her words, Xiao Nian called Wang Xiaoshuang back and asked what confidence she had that she could succeed.

Only then did Wang Xiaoshuang say, “My teacher has been promoted by His Majesty to Secretariat Yellow Gate Attendant. The Minister of Ceremonies wants to choose disciples of my teacher who have both talent and learning to serve as study attendants for the three imperial princes in the capital. I am also my teacher’s disciple. Why can I not recommend myself?”

As for why it was “study attendant” and not “literary aide,” that was because “literary aide” was mostly something already in the pockets of great clans. The Wang clan Wang Xiaoshuang came from was a great clan, but she was restricted by her identity as a woman.

Wang Yaoshuang covered her smile.

Xiao Nian and Wang Xiaoshuang, mother and daughter, both looked at her. She said, “It is nothing. I simply thought of an interesting anecdote.”

Two pairs of eyes stared straight at her. She no longer kept them in suspense and said, “When Xun Xuan rebelled and established the state of Wu, there was once a woman in Yangzhou named Lou Cheng. She disguised herself as a man and, with her superb chess skills, gained the appreciation of the Inspector of Yangzhou. She was recommended through the inspection system as an Administrative Affairs Attendant of Yangzhou. During her tenure, she handled affairs competently, but two years later, after her identity was exposed, she was dismissed and sent home.”

Xiao Nian’s expression changed slightly. “Are you encouraging Xiaoshuang to disguise herself as a man and respond to the recruitment?”

Wang Yaoshuang shook her head. “I only wish to say that many women in this world originally had opportunities to display their talents and leave their names in history, but in the end, because they were women, all their accomplishments were erased, and they became silent and nameless. Is that not a pity? If there is even the slightest chance for Xiaoshuang to be like Lady Xuanwen and leave behind proof that she existed, why give it up?”

At the end, she said earnestly, “Mother, success depends on human effort.”

Xiao Nian was left speechless.

How long had it been since she took control of the prince’s manor’s authority? How had her eldest daughter become so dignified and imposing?

She asked in confusion, “You were raised in the inner chambers from childhood, rarely leaving the main gate or the second gate. How do you know so many things?”

Wang Yaoshuang smiled faintly. Naturally, it was because in her previous life, Xiaoshuang had exchanged identities with her, giving her a chance to go outside and broaden her knowledge. Since she had received Xiaoshuang’s help, it was only right that she use this life to repay Xiaoshuang.

It was getting late, and Wang Yaoshuang also had to return to the prince’s manor.

Wang Xiaoshuang saw her off. From the garden to the front gate, she looked as if she wanted to speak several times but stopped herself.

Wang Yaoshuang said, “As your elder sister, I should protect you and shelter you. But clearly, you have your own ideas. No matter what purpose you have in wanting to go to His Highness’s side, I have only one thing to say: hold fast to your original heart, and do not do anything dangerous.”

Wang Xiaoshuang looked frankly at her elder sister. “I will.”

Just as Wang Yaoshuang turned to board the carriage, Wang Xiaoshuang suddenly jogged over, grabbed onto the carriage, and asked with a smile, “Elder Sister, are you not worried that the two of us will fight over one man? Mother and Elder Brothers seem to be worrying about that.”

Wang Yaoshuang smiled and poked her smooth forehead. She said with certainty, “You will not.”

Wang Xiaoshuang did not ask why. She let go, and the carriage slowly drove into the distance.

Wang Yaoshuang’s certainty naturally did not come from confidence. On the contrary, it came from her confidence in her younger sister Xiaoshuang.

As for His Highness…

When Wang Yaoshuang returned to the prince’s manor, she thought that since she had returned, she should take the initiative to tell His Highness. But just as she reached the North Study, she again heard the tuneless pipa sounds, as well as a bright singing voice like ghosts crying and wolves howling:

“C-li C-li~ C-li C-li yo laiga, mi-li mi-li…”

A maidservant took the initiative to report, “His Highness… summoned the woman musician alone again.”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

“There is no need to disturb them!”

After saying this, she turned and swept her sleeves away.

Author’s Note:

Ever since His Highness’s character setting further collapsed—

Princess Consort: …Your Highness, as long as you’re happy.

Zhenyue: My pipa has been ruined. o(╥﹏╥)o

His Highness: （￣。。￣）

—

Notes: Lady Xuanwen was Lady Song, mother of the Former Qin official Wei Cheng.

Lou Cheng was a woman from Southern Qi.