The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Be a Kept Woman (GL) - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Laying Bare the Truth

The tenth day of the eleventh lunar month, in Changyong, the capital of Langing Kingdom, inside the Princess’s residence.

“You may rest at the consort’s manor from now on. If I have need of you, I will send for you.” In the crimson-draped bridal chamber, the woman who should have been in a wedding dress had already changed into a moon-white, cloud-patterned palace robe, half-reclining on the wedding bed with a cold, languid posture.

Lian Liejin had long anticipated this scene. The woman not far from her was so arrogant that she begrudged even a single glance in her direction.

But this was normal. She was the Seventh Princess, Gao Jingxi, the most favored princess of Langing, and the legitimate daughter of the Empress. She was forced to marry her due to a marriage contract the Emperor had made years ago.

It was rumored that the Seventh Princess had gone on a three-day hunger strike to defy the decree, and it was the Empress Dowager who finally convinced her. Only Princess Gao Jingxi knew the exact means used.

Now that the marriage had taken place, any further intimacy was utterly impossible.

Lian Liejin didn’t mind at all; in fact, she was secretly a little pleased. “As Your Highness commands. This official shall withdraw now.”

In Gao Jingxi’s view, the reappearance of Lian Liejin, the third young miss of the Yan Duke’s Estate who was raised in the wilderness, had caused the old marriage contract to be brought up again, forcing her to marry beneath her station. Such a person couldn’t be anything good.

To be fair, Gao Jingxi’s thoughts were somewhat biased and unfair. After all, Lian Liejin was just a child when the contract was made. However, a Princess who already had a sweetheart would naturally detest the marriage to the extreme and harbor a hatred for the person she had never met but was now bound to.

So, when Gao Jingxi turned her head and met a pair of eyes as placid as an old well, she was startled—being personally ordered out by one’s wife on their wedding night, even a clay figure should show some emotional fluctuation. Yet, the person before her had nothing but serenity in her slender eyes. Could she be attempting a ‘play hard to get’ trick?

She had seen such antics many times. Gao Jingxi sneered internally, thinking that despite Lian Liejin having the face of a cold, detached immortal, she was, in reality, no different from all the other men and women trying to climb into her bed.

Lian Liejin noticed the Princess scrutinizing her. She lowered her gaze, hiding a slight smile, then opened her eyes wide again to carefully observe Gao Jingxi. She finally concluded that the Princess indeed possessed a nation-toppling beauty, mesmerizing and inspiring love at first sight.

However, this did not include Lian Liejin. She had been carefree for eighteen years since transmigrating and being reborn on this continent called Pengqiu.

Heaven was her witness: she wasn’t interested in women, lived a life of minimal desires, and was the ultimate competitor in the “mother-solo” (never had a relationship) decades-long race. She was only forcibly brought back by her family to fulfill the marriage contract, which she reluctantly agreed to because she was truly out of options.

The Pengqiu Continent believes in the power of the stars. Every child born is able to utilize the Stellar Energy granted by the twenty-eight constellations in the sky, and everyone possesses their own unique Star Chart.

A Star Chart could be a flower, a tree, an animal, or a symbol of the heaven and earth, wind and rain, or the vast sky. Different patterns bring different elemental power enhancements.

For example, a person whose Star Chart is related to fire might be able to use their Stellar Energy to enhance fire, allowing them to cook more delicious dishes or forge superior weapons.

As this matter is of vital importance, all affairs related to the Star Chart are managed and overseen by each kingdom’s Stellar Observation Bureau.

Yet, Lian Liejin was an exception. She could not use the power of the stars. Even more terrifying, she possessed another, more pure and powerful force that was not tolerated by this world.

As the saying goes, “An innocent man is guilty only for the jade he carries” (meaning: possessing something valuable invites disaster).

She still remembered what her cheap old dad had told her: “Marrying into the royal family might protect you, and it was your mother’s dying wish…”

And so, she was packed and shipped off. Starting today, she would begin to live off the Seventh Princess (eat soft rice).

Just as Lian Liejin and Gao Jingxi were staring blankly at each other, the steward Mama Zhao suddenly returned, calling out from outside the door, “Your Highness, the Empress ordered this old servant to deliver the Fortune-Granting Multi-Child Soup.”

Mama Zhao was a personal attendant of Gao Jingxi’s mother, so Gao Jingxi had no choice but to motion for Lian Liejin to sit on the edge of the bed before allowing the servant in.

“Your Highness, why have you changed your clothes so quickly?” Mama Zhao gave Gao Jingxi no face at all, her tone quite aggressive.

“I was the one who asked Her Highness to change,” Lian Liejin smiled bashfully on the surface. “Mama, please do not blame Her Highness.”

“This old servant wouldn’t dare,” Mama Zhao’s eyes darted between the two of them. She had been instructed by the Empress to remind Gao Jingxi—who knew her daughter better than the Empress? The Princess was arrogant, and it wouldn’t do to slight the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Yan. “May the Princess and the Consort drink this soup for a life of satisfaction and everlasting affection.”

“Mama, this soup…” Gao Jingxi sat up, her brow furrowing involuntarily. What if her mother insisted that Mama Zhao personally watch them drink it?

“Answering Your Highness, it is made with Jade Birth Fruit personally picked by the Empress.”

The Jade Birth Fruit is a substance that enables childbirth between women. It has two colors, green and red. It is split in half: the Consort drinks the green-fruit soup, and the Princess drinks the red-fruit soup. After the two perform their marital duties, the Princess has a chance of becoming pregnant.

“Leave it. I will drink it with the Consort later.” Gao Jingxi wore a smile, her cheeks flushed. To others, she looked like a bashfully charming bride.

But Mama Zhao naturally knew the cunning nature of this pampered Seventh Princess. “Your Highness, the Empress wishes for you and the Consort to drink it while it’s hot. It is late, and you should retire soon.”

“You!” Gao Jingxi knew Mama Zhao was relaying her mother’s intention, and she couldn’t disobey.

The bowl gave off a sweet, intoxicating aroma. Lian Liejin was about to drink it in one gulp but caught a faint woody scent amidst the strong fragrance of the Jade Birth Fruit. She sighed inwardly and then slowly finished the soup.

Mama Zhao left, or rather, she didn’t quite leave, saying she would stand guard in the outer room.

Gao Jingxi, who had been smiling brightly moments before, immediately dropped her facade. She said with a cold face, “It seems you have to stay here tonight.”

Lian Liejin, with irritating indifference, simply hummed in agreement and prepared to lie down on the bed. “In that case, Your Highness should also retire early.”

“You will sleep on the table. You are not permitted to sleep in my bed.”

“The bed is so big. If I just move to the side, there’s enough room for both of us.” Lian Liejin rolled past Gao Jingxi, moved to the right, and closed her eyes.

The room suddenly felt hot. Gao Jingxi was about to lose her temper, but her entire body felt as if it were burning. She irritably tugged at her collar, her eyes clouded with an indistinct haze.

Before Lian Liejin could even warm up the blanket, a large shadow blocked her view. Gao Jingxi was completely draped over her, her cheeks flushed with fever.

Oh no, Lian Liejin sighed inwardly. She hadn’t expected the aphrodisiac added to the soup to take effect so quickly; after all, she didn’t feel anything yet. However, she herself was an alchemist, and her drug resistance was naturally many times better than that of this delicate Princess. Furthermore, the drug might have even been enhanced by the Stellar Energy of an alchemist with a Star Chart related to plants or herbs, making its potency stronger.

“Guan Xie…” The scarlet silk quilt on the bed was heavily tangled by Gao Jingxi. She was calling out something softly, a whisper like a lover’s murmur or a pleasurable moan.

Lian Liejin, who was busy fumbling for a medicine bottle in her clothes, was clearly oblivious to the romantic atmosphere. “Change shoes? In the middle of the night, at a time like this, you want to change shoes?” She glanced suspiciously at Gao Jingxi’s feet. In the middle of winter, even with the floor heating, the temperature wasn’t that high. Yet, Gao Jingxi’s bare feet were like white jade tinged with the scarlet juice of a spring flower, delicate white with a blush of pink.

Perhaps finding their clothes bothersome, Gao Jingxi started reaching out to tear at Lian Liejin’s wedding attire. One struggled to remove, the other struggled to block. After several rounds, both were breathless from exhaustion.

The drugged Gao Jingxi, however, was relentless. Seeing that she couldn’t remove Lian Liejin’s clothes, she sat astride Lian Liejin and began to strip off her own brocade robe. In an instant, the Princess was left with only a lotus-pink dudou (undergarment), which was also on the verge of falling off, as if something was about to burst forth.

The scene was vivid and alluring, and the aroma was overwhelming.

Lian ‘Not-Interested-in-Women’ Liejin: “Benefactress, this is improper, most improper!”

Finally pulling the medicine bottle from her clothes, Lian Liejin quickly poured out two pills into her palm. Unexpectedly, Gao Jingxi seized the opportunity to lean down, capturing her hands and pinning them to her sides.

Lian Liejin watched helplessly as the medicine bottle and the pills fell from her grasp, rolled under the bed, and vanished. She never imagined Gao Jingxi would have such strength, forcing her into such a passive position.

Those were the Hundred-Remedy Detoxification Pills for clearing the mind and dispelling poison, each pill worth a fortune. Now, an entire bottle was utterly wasted. Lian Liejin’s heart ached.

The already not-rich family was now even worse off.

“It hurts,” Gao Jingxi’s hazy eyes were full of moisture, and her voice became soft, sweet, and seductive. An all-consuming, bone-deep fragrance filled the air around them.

In an instant, Lian Liejin felt her knee become wet with something. While she was distracted, Gao Jingxi’s full, rosy lips finally pressed against hers.

So soft, so fragrant. This was Lian Liejin’s first thought. The next second, she tilted her head away from Gao Jingxi and clamped her left hand down on the woman’s pulse.

While she was diagnosing Gao Jingxi, the Princess nibbled incessantly at her chin and neck like a kitten, staining Lian Liejin’s clothes with suspicious wet marks.

Lian Liejin rolled over, pinning Gao Jingxi beneath her. The woman’s eyes were flushed with a captivating red, and combined with faint tear tracks, she looked utterly pitiable and bewitchingly seductive. She sighed deeply. The Empress had indeed used a potent drug; even if she wanted to promote a good relationship between her daughter and daughter-in-law, there was no need for such an aggressively strong substance.

The world rumored that the Emperor and Empress doted on Gao Jingxi immensely. Looking at this, the Princess was perhaps merely a pawn to secure the people’s loyalty. Furthermore, in the current world, women could marry freely and serve as rulers or officials. Everyone had previously favored Gao Jingxi to become the Crown Princess. Today, Lian Liejin felt the final outcome was still uncertain.

Since the dropped medicine was unusable, Lian Liejin had no choice but to lift Gao Jingxi by the waist and walk towards the bathhouse at the back of the room.