After Transmigrating Into A Love-Brained Scumbag Villain - Chapter 4

Zhao Shangrong had no idea what Wang Yaoshuang was pondering. All she knew was that after she said that rather considerate sentence, the other party fell silent.

She felt uncertain. Had she said something wrong and made the female lead unhappy?

Before Zhao Shangrong transmigrated, she had only been a young corporate worker who had entered society less than two years ago. Typesetting was her first job after graduation. There were no complicated interpersonal relationships around her, and the company atmosphere was quite good. There was not much scheming between colleagues, and her focus had always been on work… All these experiences had destined her to be someone without much scheming ability, so she completely failed to realize what her considerate gesture meant in other people’s eyes.

Wang Yaoshuang realized that she had been lost in thought for too long. She came back to herself and subconsciously glanced secretly at Zhao Shangrong, wanting to see the other party’s reaction, only to find that the other party was not wearing a cold expression.

The seventeen-year-old Prince of Yingchuan was in the prime of youth. The face that had once been somewhat round because it had not fully matured had, with age, begun to reveal clear bone structure. She loved cleanliness, and her face was pure and flawless, without the slightest blemish. Her brows had not been trimmed, so the inner ends looked a little messy, but the tails of her brows were like knife edges, carrying a natural heroic air.

Such looks would not lose out even among men.

The world’s sense of beauty was that, regardless of gender, fair skin and a beautiful appearance were considered worthy of pride. Men and women alike loved applying rouge and powder to their faces, shaping their brows into willow-leaf brows, and wearing flowers in their hair. In order to make their speech and behavior appear ethereal and elegant, they would even take Five Minerals Powder, after which their entire person would seem to float, though their bodies would also become extremely frail.

The Prince of Yingchuan’s skin was naturally fair. She had never covered her face with rouge and powder, but in the eyes of the world, she still belonged to the kind of elegant, romantic young talent. Unfortunately, her temperament and appearance were vastly different, making it impossible for others to feel close to her.

Unexpectedly, His Highness looked rather pleasing to the eye when she was not glaring furiously. Wang Yaoshuang could not help being momentarily dazed by her beauty.

After a moment, she spoke uneasily. “Your Highness…”

“Mm?” Zhao Shangrong’s brows and eyes were clear and cool.

If she remembered correctly, the Prince of Yingchuan’s face had been ruined by her birth mother. Although she was not clear on the exact time when it happened, as long as Zhao Shangrong came into contact with her, it meant the crisis of disfigurement could happen at any moment.

The Assistant Court Physician asked, “What specific kind of discomfort is it?”

If she knew how the Prince of Yingchuan had been disfigured by her birth mother and under what circumstances the incident had happened, she could still guard against it somewhat. But now, she had only transmigrated less than two days ago and had made no preparations at all. If she rashly entered the palace, wouldn’t she be walking straight into danger?

She answered blindly, “Two days ago, I suppose. I already felt unwell on the night of the wedding.”

How would she know all that? She started feeling unwell after having the nightmare… No, that was not quite right. During the period when she fell asleep and transmigrated into the book, her body had already seemed quite uncomfortable.

As a modern person, Zhao Shangrong did know that people who could not tolerate alcohol could easily suffer alcohol poisoning or liver toxicity if they drank too much. Some symptoms of alcohol poisoning included hallucinations, mania, and lack of coordination.

The Assistant Court Physician also felt a little troubled. He said, “It should be dizziness caused by excessive drinking. This subordinate will prescribe some medicine for Your Highness to decoct and take. Rest for another two days and see whether there is any improvement.”

The Assistant Court Physician had thought His Highness would lose her temper, but unexpectedly, she was so calm. Could it be because the princess consort was by her side?

He quickly went out. Only then did Wang Yaoshuang hesitate for a moment before pretending to show concern for Zhao Shangrong. “Your Highness, you…”

“It’s just a headache and pain in my limbs, especially these joints…” The more Zhao Shangrong described it, the more she felt that the nightmare of being torn apart by five horses had been projected into reality.

Enter the palace?!

Alarm bells rang loudly in Zhao Shangrong’s heart.

After some consideration, Wang Yaoshuang thought that since she knew Grand Consort Yun would have an episode the day after tomorrow, they should go while the other party was still clearheaded. So she said, “It is getting late. Should we enter the palace?”

Zhao Shangrong knew that it was possible she had been affected by that nightmare, causing phantom pain to appear.

Thinking that this was an online novel, and many authors often substituted modern baijiu into the worlds they wrote, it did not seem all that strange for alcohol poisoning to appear here.

Seeking good fortune and avoiding harm was human nature. Zhao Shangrong did not mind having her appearance ruined, but she also did not want to suffer for nothing. So she sat down on the couch, held her head, and said to the Assistant Court Physician, “I have a headache. Take a look for me.”

But the problem was, most of the alcohol in this era was brewed with wine starter. It was not distilled liquor. Would it contain a large amount of high-purity alcohol?

His question left Zhao Shangrong stunned.

“Mm. Then you may withdraw.” Zhao Shangrong accepted the Assistant Court Physician’s explanation.

He asked, “When did Your Highness begin feeling unwell?”

Wang Yaoshuang, who was standing at the side, had not expected Zhao Shangrong’s body to have problems too. Her heart tightened slightly, and she quickly looked to see what the Assistant Court Physician would say.

The Assistant Court Physician had originally been prepared to slip away. He had not expected His Highness to suddenly do this. He thought His Highness was still throwing a tantrum with the one in the palace and was deliberately looking for an excuse not to go.

Unexpectedly, after he went forward to examine Zhao Shangrong, his expression changed slightly.

Zhao Shangrong suddenly patted her thigh and had someone call in the prince’s manor’s Chief Clerk. She said, “The princess consort and I are unwell. I’m afraid we will be unable to enter the palace today to pay respects to my mother consort and the empress. You know how to handle it.”

As a prince who had already established her own manor, even though the Prince of Yingchuan had not yet gone to her fief to take office, there were already many advisors and subordinate officials in her manor. Even after she went to her fief and took command of troops, there would be plenty of people to help her handle matters of war. Therefore, there were some things she did not need to personally handle at all.

Take her marriage with Wang Yaoshuang, for example. Above them was the Court of Ceremonies, and below them were the prince’s manor officials. Even though she had not personally welcomed the bride or bowed in the wedding ceremony, the wedding had still proceeded as usual without any major mishap.

According to ritual, on the third day after the wedding, she was supposed to bring her new wife into the palace to perform the proper rites before the empress and Grand Consort Yun, who had given birth to and raised her. But she could claim illness and not go, thereby avoiding the crisis of disfigurement.

Zhao Shangrong felt that her idea was excellent. Little did she know that Wang Yaoshuang’s face turned pale. Although this time Wang Yaoshuang had been dragged into it too, the excuse being used was still exactly the same as in her previous life, and the final result was still leading toward the same previous life. How could this be?

“Your Highness!” In her urgency, Wang Yaoshuang grabbed Zhao Shangrong’s left hand, wanting to persuade her to retract the order.

Zhao Shangrong was startled. Her pair of dark eyes looked innocently at the princess consort, who, for some unknown reason, had become anxious.

Her body temperature was somewhat low, and her hands were also slightly cool, even a little cooler than Wang Yaoshuang’s, who had been weak since birth. It was like the weather in early autumn, giving one a refreshing but not cold feeling. Because of this, when Wang Yaoshuang grabbed her, she was instead startled back to her senses by the coolness. She hurriedly withdrew her hand, stood up, and apologized. “This concubine has behaved improperly. Please forgive me, Your Highness!”

Zhao Shangrong had just wanted to reach out and help her up, but then felt that it did not fit the Prince of Yingchuan’s character setting. To avoid her character collapsing too quickly and making people suspicious, she cleared her throat and said in a deep voice, “You and I are husband and wife. How can this count as improper? There is no need for us to be so distant.”

Wang Yaoshuang froze, truly unable to imagine that these were words the Prince of Yingchuan would say.

In her previous life, the Prince of Yingchuan had despised her. Even in front of others, she had been too lazy to put on the superficial act of mutual respect between husband and wife, let alone have any physical contact with her.

The two of them completely ignored the Chief Clerk waiting at the side.

He looked at His Highness, then glanced at the princess consort. Based on his understanding of His Highness, he believed that at this moment, it would be most appropriate to do as His Highness wished. However, after His Highness met the princess consort, her attitude seemed faintly different.

After a little thought, he made a decision in his heart and stepped forward. “Your Highness, this subordinate has something to say, though I do not know whether I should say it.”

Zhao Shangrong: “…”

She said, “Whether you should say it or not is something you, as a subordinate, should know in your heart. Do not throw the question to me.”

The Chief Clerk choked, then said awkwardly, “This subordinate…” He very obviously glanced at the princess consort and reminded her, “According to the Marriage Rites, after Your Highness and the princess consort marry, the princess consort has completed the rite of ‘becoming a wife.’ However, after entering the manor, the princess consort must still ‘sit for three mornings,’ and three months later, perform the rite of ‘temple audience.’ This is the rite of ‘becoming a daughter-in-law.’”

Zhao Shangrong nodded and said with full justification, “This is my first marriage. I do not know the things you are talking about. You… explain more clearly.”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Chief Clerk: “…”

Your Highness, back then, you were the one who was unwilling to marry and refused to listen to the Marriage Rites. Now you are also the one saying you do not understand. Had you known this day would come, why act like that back then?

He only dared to grumble about his superior in his heart and did not dare offend her openly.

Seeing that Zhao Shangrong was not angry, he explained more clearly. “‘Sitting for three mornings’ is the rite by which the imperial clan meets the princess consort, after the princess consort enters the palace and performs the rites before the empress and the grand consort. The ‘temple audience’ rite three months later requires going to the ancestral temple to perform rites and worship the ancestors. Only after this can the princess consort be considered a titled woman officially recognized by the court.”①

After the Chief Clerk’s explanation, Zhao Shangrong finally understood why Wang Yaoshuang’s expression had been wrong just now. If she used illness as an excuse and did not allow Wang Yaoshuang to enter the palace to perform the rites, then even though Wang Yaoshuang had married her as her wife, she would still not be a princess consort recognized by the imperial family. In the future, wherever she went, she would be mocked and pointed at by others. This was far more serious than when the Prince of Yingchuan had not personally welcomed her or bowed in the wedding ceremony.

After weighing the pros and cons between entering the palace and not entering the palace, Zhao Shangrong made up her mind.

She said, “Then prepare to enter the palace!”

When the time came, she simply would not go near Grand Consort Yun. She refused to believe the other party would slash her face with a knife in front of so many people.

Her behavior once again departed from Wang Yaoshuang’s understanding. Influenced by the memories of her previous life, Wang Yaoshuang subconsciously asked, “Your Highness will enter the palace as well?”

Zhao Shangrong asked in confusion, “It turns out I can choose not to enter the palace?”

The Chief Clerk quickly answered, “Your Highness naturally must enter the palace.”

If His Highness did not enter the palace and make her presence known before His Majesty, how would she bring up the matter of going to her fief to command the troops?

Of course Wang Yaoshuang hoped that Zhao Shangrong would enter the palace with her, proving that they could make a choice different from the previous life. However, considering Zhao Shangrong’s physical discomfort, as the princess consort, even if she was only pretending, she ought to pretend to be gentle, virtuous, and considerate of the other party. So she said, “Your Highness is unwell. This concubine can enter the palace alone.”

Zhao Shangrong said, “Your condition looks even worse than mine. If even you can enter the palace, could I possibly be inferior to you?”

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

His Highness’s inexplicable competitive spirit.

Author’s Note:

Your Highness: How can you say I can’t do it?!

Princess Consort: The two of us are a bit like weaklings pecking at each other.