Transmigrated as a Love-Obsessed Scumbag Villainess (GL) - Chapter 5

Wang Yaoshuang needed to return to prepare her attire and jewelry, and Zhao Shangrong also needed to rearrange her own clothing.

The Chief Clerk had already sent someone to the palace to inform the Emperor, Empress, and Consort Mother that the Prince and Princess Consort were feeling unwell and could only depart after noon.

Fortunately, the Emperor and Empress did not assign blame. In fact, palace servants bringing medicine and tonics from the Emperor to nourish them arrived at the residence even before they left.

The maidservant Wang Yaoshuang brought from home couldn’t help but say to her mistress, “His Majesty truly dotes on His Highness.”

Wang Yaoshuang remained silent.

Does the Emperor dote on the Prince of Yingchuan?

Judging from the events of her previous life, he was mindful of the bond between siblings, but he did not necessarily truly love his younger brothers.

Emperor Zhao Jinfu was the second son of Emperor Wu, born to Consort Hu. When the Emperor was young, he already displayed outstanding talent. Because Consort Hu was favored, she developed the ambition for her son to become the Crown Prince.

However, Emperor Wu had already designated his eldest son, Zhao Xiwen, as Crown Prince. Consort Hu believed that because the Crown Prince’s mother was Lady Zhang, and he was neither the legitimate son nor someone who cared about his studies, her own son, who held a reputation for virtue, was more suitable to be the heir.

She presumptuously discussed the position of Crown Prince in front of Emperor Wu, thinking that even if Emperor Wu didn’t want to change the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t do anything to her. To her surprise, Emperor Wu, who had been doting on her moments before, immediately rebuked her upon hearing her words.

No one knew what Emperor Wu said to reprimand Consort Hu, only that Consort Hu committed suicide upon returning to her residence.

Zhao Jinfu was only twelve at the time. He went from being a glamorous, favored prince to becoming the “son of a guilty consort,” whom everyone avoided.

Thereafter, he remained extremely low-key and reserved, daring not to show any ambition for the Crown Prince position.

But he was, after all, Emperor Wu’s son. So, at the age of fifteen, Emperor Wu enfeoffed him as the Prince of Pengcheng and sent him to Xuzhou to serve as Prefect.

It wasn’t until May of the year before last that three of the four regents Emperor Wu had left for the Crown Prince—Xie Mian, Xue Rao, and Fu Yanzhi—grew dissatisfied that Zhao Xiwen only cared about pleasure and neglected government affairs, even ignoring the Yan invasion at the border. Thus, the three decided to depose him in the name of the Empress Dowager.

Zhao Xiwen was vacationing at Hualin Park at the time. The three men led private troops into Hualin Park and imprisoned Zhao Xiwen.

The event was known at the time as the “Hualin Coup.”

After deliberating on the successor, the three used the Empress Dowager’s name to depose the former Emperor as the Prince of Haichang. They then sent people to Xuzhou to welcome the Prince Zhao Jinfu, who was considered the weakest in terms of power, back to the capital to ascend the throne.

Zhao Jinfu harbored some doubts about this. To pressure him to return and take the throne quickly, Xie Mian and the other two killed the already-deposed Prince of Haichang and posthumously named him “The Wastrel,” citing his “love of pleasure and neglect of governance.”

Zhao Jinfu traveled slowly, often taking detours, and took over a month to return to the capital.

With the support of the three powerful ministers, Zhao Jinfu was welcomed as the new Emperor. After lying in wait for a year and a half, and with the support of the last remaining regent, Xu Daoji, he decided to eliminate the three powerful ministers who had participated in the deposition and killing of the late Emperor, “The Wastrel.”

In April of this summer, the new Emperor summoned Xie Mian, Xue Rao, and Fu Yanzhi to the palace for consultation as usual. In reality, he had already set up an ambush behind the palace gates, intending to charge them with the crime of deposing and killing the former Emperor once they entered.

The three learned of the new Emperor’s scheme beforehand. Xie Mian, overcome by a feeling of bitter helplessness (like a rabbit caught after the hunting dog is cooked), chose to commit suicide at home. Xue Rao and Fu Yanzhi were unwilling to have the person they installed betray them and thus raised an army to revolt.

The result was the collapse of the three great aristocratic clans.

Wang Yaoshuang believed that the new Emperor might not have truly intended to ambush them. Instead, he deliberately leaked the news to test their reaction, forcing the three powerful ministers to raise a rebellion, making his subsequent execution of them more legitimate. This way, no one would accuse him of turning against his benefactors.

Of course, this was just her speculation. The new Emperor’s mind was deep, and no one could be sure of his true thoughts at the time.

As for the Prince of Yingchuan, her maternal family’s status and prestige far surpassed that of the new Emperor’s maternal family.

Her birth mother, Consort Yun, came from a prestigious clan. Her mother was Princess Changming of the previous dynasty, and her father was the powerful minister Yun Qingxuan of the previous dynasty. Over thirty years ago, after General Xun Xuan usurped the throne and killed Emperor Luxi, Princess Changming’s father, he established the Wu Kingdom with Jiankang as its capital.

Yun Qingxuan, a powerful aristocrat and son-in-law of the Emperor, was ordered to lead troops to suppress the rebellion but was defeated and killed by Xun Xuan.

Princess Changming entrusted her young daughter to her husband’s nephew, Yun Hongxun, before following her husband in death.

Later, Emperor Wu, who was then a low-ranking general serving under Xun Xuan, used hunting as an excuse to gather over 1,700 of Yun Qingxuan’s remaining soldiers and launch an uprising.

Emperor Wu’s call was supported by the private armies of the Yun clan and military generals across the region, sparking a wave of anti-Xun Xuan sentiment everywhere.

After several years of fighting, Xun Xuan was defeated, and the aristocratic forces supporting him disintegrated. Emperor Wu also grew from a minor general into a major general with heavy forces.

Emperor Luxi’s youngest son, the Young Emperor, was installed on the throne, while Emperor Wu was granted the title of Prince of Luo, Minister of Works, and Grand General, with a fief of three thousand households. Consort Yun, who was thirteen at the time, was sent into the backyard of the Prince of Luo by her cousin, Yun Hongxun.

A year later, the Young Emperor abdicated, and the Prince of Luo ascended the throne, using his noble title, “Luo,” as the name of his dynasty. He became Emperor Wu of Luo.

Given Consort Yun’s background, she should have been given a high rank. However, after suffering a miscarriage, she frequently lapsed into madness, losing Emperor Wu’s favor. Emperor Wu only conferred upon her the rank of Meiren (Beautiful Lady).

Three years later, Consort Yun gave birth to Emperor Wu’s seventh son, Zhao Shangrong. Because of her madness, she constantly worried that her child would be harmed, so she kept the child with her all day. No one else could get close, and even Emperor Wu found it difficult to approach the child.

Emperor Wu, resigned, simply let her be.

Zhao Shangrong lived in the palace until the age of ten when she was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yingchuan and left the palace to establish her own residence.

By this time, Zhao Jinfu was twenty-two and had long since left for Xuzhou. The two half-brothers never formally met even once before Emperor Wu’s death.

So, to say that the new Emperor had any particular affection for his half-brother, the Prince of Yingchuan, was highly doubtful.

Furthermore, if he truly cared for this brother, he wouldn’t have continued to feign ignorance, preventing the Prince of Yingchuan from going to his fiefdom to govern and command his private army.

Also, after the Prince of Yingchuan was enfeoffed and Emperor Wu died, Consort Yun, as the Prince of Yingchuan’s birth mother, should have been sent out of the palace to live with him.

During the reign of “The Wastrel” Emperor, Consort Yun was mourning Emperor Wu and lived in the palace convent, which was understandable. Yet, even in the new Emperor’s reign, Consort Yun still resided in the palace convent of the Empress Dowager, along with consorts who had never borne children for Emperor Wu, which clearly violated the rules.

Therefore, everyone believed the new Emperor was intentionally using Consort Yun as a hostage to contain the Prince of Yingchuan.

Wang Yaoshuang mused: The other Princes who are already adults, have descendants, and are in their fiefdoms seem to pose a greater threat to the new Emperor. Is he simply picking on the soft target?

Zhao Shangrong didn’t think that deeply. She just thought the Prince of Yingchuan was unlucky—her older brothers, except for those who died, were all sent to their fiefdoms to be regional kings before Emperor Wu died. But she happened to encounter a series of events: Emperor Wu’s death, “The Wastrel” Emperor’s dissolute rule, and the new Emperor’s intention to consolidate military power, all of which prevented her from realizing her wish to be a regional king.

Truth be told, if Zhao Shangrong was asked, she wouldn’t even want to go to her fiefdom!

If things went as described in the original novel, after all that trouble, she would be sent to Yuzhou, where she would likely clash with the Yan army. She knew nothing about warfare. Even if she won battles relying on her capable generals, she would have to guard against becoming too powerful and being executed by the Emperor.

All that exhausting and thankless effort was not worth it. She might as well take advantage of the Emperor’s guilt and remorse to secure benefits now and retire early to a life of keeping cats and feeding birds.

Therefore, when she entered the palace later, she absolutely could not bring up the matter of going to her fiefdom.

The carriage was prepared. Wang Yaoshuang heard that Zhao Shangrong was not yet ready, so she boarded the carriage first to wait.

A moment later, Zhao Shangrong entered with a ghastly white face, startling Wang Yaoshuang: “Your—Your Highness?”

Zhao Shangrong looked up at her: “What is it?”

“Your face…”

Zhao Shangrong said, “Oh, I put on some powder. This way, my complexion doesn’t look so healthy.”

Although she was genuinely unwell, her complexion didn’t look like that of a sick person. So, she went and applied some powder to make herself look terminal. This would make it easier to gain the Emperor’s pity, hoping he would give her a raise and a bonus out of sheer misery.

Wang Yaoshuang: “…”

Suddenly, she recalled that the Prince of Yingchuan had agreed to marry her because the Emperor had once mentioned to his aides that since his ascension, he had been busy dealing with government affairs and countering traitorous officials like Xie Mian, forgetting to settle his two younger brothers, the Princes of Yingchuan and Yiyang. He felt guilty toward them, and only after they were married could he, as their older brother, safely send them to their fiefdoms.

After these words were leaked, almost everyone (including the Prince of Yingchuan) believed they would be able to go to their fiefdoms after marriage.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor did not follow through on this, or rather, before he could, the incident where Consort Yun went mad and ruined the Prince of Yingchuan’s face occurred.

After that, everyone forgot about discussing the fiefdoms. The Prince of Yingchuan also closed himself off and refused to speak of it.

Three years later, the Prince of Yingchuan came of age, and discussions in court grew louder. The Emperor was forced to confer upon him the title of Prefect of Yuzhou, with the addition of Kai Fu Yi Tong San Si (granting him a high ceremonial rank and the right to establish his own bureaucracy), and sent him to Yuzhou to take command of the local troops.

Afterward, the Prince of Yingchuan met Tuoba Mumo, the Crown Prince of Yan, in Yuzhou.

Tuoba Mumo used the alias Yuansi. Yuansi inherently meant “heir/eldest son,” but no one would have guessed that the Crown Prince of a foreign country would run away from home.

—Speaking of Yuansi running away from home, the cause was the Yan Kingdom’s “Death of the Mother for the Son’s Nobility” system, where, to prevent the Empress Dowager from ruling behind the scenes after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Yan Emperor would execute the Crown Prince’s birth mother after installing him as heir.

Yuansi’s mother was executed after he was made Crown Prince. Distraught, he ran away from home and ended up in Yuzhou, where he serendipitously met the Prince of Yingchuan.

And then…

Wang Yaoshuang pulled herself back from her reverie. She thought: “Is His Highness selling misery because he hopes to go to his fiefdom quickly?”

In all honesty, Wang Yaoshuang did not want the Prince to go to Yuzhou, because as long as he was there, he would always run the risk of meeting Yuansi again.

However, she also knew that the Prince harbored resentment over his failure to gain real power. It was hard to guarantee that prolonged frustration wouldn’t lead him to a dead end, where he could be incited to collaborate with the enemy and commit treason.

As the Princess Consort, what should I do?

Author’s Note:

Princess Consort: Alas, the brutal Prince is the most difficult to serve.

Prince: Meow?