After Becoming the Cannon Fodder Live-in Spouse A (GL) - Chapter 4: The Fourth Day

Chapter 4: The Fourth Day

Shen Jinglan had not lacked suitors before.

Even though she led troops from the age of fifteen, following the Late Emperor to conquer the chaotic world, often appearing as Zhongjun in the army, and even after the Great Dynasty was established and she was ennobled as a king for her illustrious military achievements, revealing her Dikun identity to the world, there were still plenty of noble families fawning over her.

No matter how noble a Qianyuan was, they could only look up to her in the face of her merits and status.

She had seen all kinds of brazen self-offers to share her bed.

But that was all before that war—

The Da Zhi had submitted to the Central Plains for a century, and even though the dry season left scarce water and grass, prompting them to invade south before autumn, Prince Qi’s iron cavalry had, at the founding of the Great Dynasty, forced countless Qiang and Hu tribes to retreat a hundred miles beyond the northern Great Wall. Only a little over a decade had passed since then.

In other words, even such ferocious barbarians were driven away, so even if a general who only talked strategy on paper took command, they wouldn’t have lost to the Da Zhi.

The Battle of Yancheng was enough to ruin her reputation.

This defeat held another meaning for the Great Dynasty. The Yan region was the Shen family’s homeland, where Prince Qi, the current Emperor, and even the Late Emperor grew up. That land nurtured the Shen family, ended the chaos of the previous dynasty, and blessed the people. Yet, Shen Jinglan let the Da Zhi trample her homeland, plunder her people, and lose sixteen more cities because of her.

Unworthy of her position, ungrateful, and disloyal—these were the lightest insults hurled at her.

…How could anyone still admire her?

How could anyone dare to admire her?

Now, she was like a walking corpse, her power slipping away like a fleeting dream. What could this young girl possibly want from her?

…

Ye Fuguang didn’t yet know her frenzy had been fully noticed.

She busied herself half the night, boiling wine for disinfection and cleaning bl00d-soaked handkerchiefs, too preoccupied to check her mental state. When the patient on the bed finally cooled down, she collapsed by the bedside, exhausted, muttering with unfocused eyes:

“What a loss.”

“You owe me extra, Your Highness.”

The script didn’t say marrying in meant doing the work of a maid and a physician!

That was clearly a separate price!

Having never done much physical labor, and with her transmigrated role being a weakling, Ye Fuguang, the college student, worried about whether Shen Jinglan’s small wound would get infected while daydreaming about a lavish feast of abalone and shark fin. Her sleep was restless, with fragmented images flashing by, none of which she could recall.

When she was woken, daylight was already streaming outside.

Through the window she’d pushed open yesterday, snow-laden pine branches glistened in the cold sunlight, the silver needles dazzling her until she closed her eyes again.

“Concubine Ye.”

A voice came from outside.

Still groggy, she thought there were no morning classes today, so why was her roommate waking her? She mumbled, “Can’t I sleep a bit more?”

“…”

The knocking stopped.

Ye Fuguang fell back asleep.

When she woke again, she stared at the ornate, gold-painted ceiling, marveling at its intricate wooden craftsmanship, thinking it rivaled the Forbidden City.

The next second, she shivered, remembering yesterday’s transmigration, and snapped fully awake.

Her stomach growled in fierce protest at her lingering in bed.

“Grr—”

Ye Fuguang gave a resentful look, clutching her stomach as she stood, musing that life in Prince Qi’s mansion seemed leisurely, perfect for retirement or a vacation.

She walked over and opened the door, intending to ask for directions to the kitchen, but as soon as she cracked it open, she met a pair of sharp eyes that startled her.

“Concubine Ye is finally awake.” The speaker’s tone carried clear displeasure.

Ye Fuguang remembered.

This was the person who urged her to hurry while she got off the sedan yesterday, someone in charge at the mansion, named Yu… something?

She gave a silly smile, scratching her head.

Yu Qing didn’t look at her again, pushing the door wider as maids filed in, the two at the front carrying a faint fragrance that made Ye Fuguang glance sideways.

Inside the hall, Yu Qing only allowed those two maids to clean and dress the prince, while the others bustled about, making Ye Fuguang feel like an outsider.

She waited patiently and politely for a long time until breakfast was brought in. Though it was just soup suitable for a patient, it smelled divine. This time, Ye Fuguang stopped a passing maid.

Red ginseng and scallop porridge, peppery pig stomach soup… and other dishes she could only recognize by their plates were presented before her.

“These are all for the prince?”

Ye Fuguang’s face showed some confusion because she had read that Shen Jinglan was completely immobile, a vegetative state with no bodily responses except breathing. Could she be fed these?

The maid nodded respectfully. “Yes.”

She seemed to realize something and asked, “Does Concubine Ye wish to have a meal brought?”

Ye Fuguang recalled grabbing Shen Jinglan’s wrist last night to find a pulse point, feeling its thinness and the surging, torrential pulse. Staring at the rich, warming dishes, her expression grew odd.

Shen Jinglan’s pulse was already extremely hot, almost toxic. Even if she needed nourishment in her coma, these hot ingredients seemed wrong, didn’t they?

Doubts arose.

The oddities of Prince Qi’s mansion surfaced in her mind.

The original story didn’t detail the mansion’s situation, only mentioning, from the perspective of the male lead Emperor Shen Jingming, his unique general sister. It said that after the Battle of Yancheng, she was gravely injured, lingered in the mansion for a long time, but couldn’t be saved. Her fall, as a star general, plunged the Great Dynasty back into war with the Qiang and Hu tribes. It lamented that if Prince Qi were alive, the empire would never have been lost.

The later romantic plotlines unfolded against the backdrop of war, with him chasing, her fleeing, unable to escape.

The spicy scenes were well-written, with varied and bizarre settings, given the premise.

Ye Fuguang had been drawn in by the Qianyuan-Dikun dynamics, the obstacles set for the leads, and the war-driven values, which frustrated her enough to rant online.

But now, thinking carefully.

The Great Dynasty was only one generation old, its rule not yet stable. Prince Qi was the Late Emperor’s brightest general. Both from the same family, did Shen Jingming, now Emperor, truly harbor no resentment toward his sister?

The pulse she felt last night resurfaced in her mind.

So-called external or severe injuries typically caused a loss of qi and bl00d, but Shen Jinglan showed none of that. It was more like a bomb ticking inside her, with heat and toxins driving her bl00d like a relentless flood ready to burst.

Would the imperial physicians sent by the Emperor really miss this?

Or did Shen Jingming know full well?

Throughout history, few generals and emperors got along, and those whose merits overshadowed their rulers were often eliminated.

If Prince Qi’s death wasn’t an unavoidable tragedy but orchestrated, what should she do?

Faced with life and death, Ye Fuguang’s brain kicked into exam-week mode, sorting through the twists and turns in mere moments, confronting a choice:

Save Prince Qi and defy the Emperor?

Or pretend she knew nothing?

…

The sudden political intrigue overwhelmed her processor. Unable to choose, Ye Fuguang followed her conscience, grabbed the chicken porridge from the tray, and downed it.

The only one who could punish her for overstepping was still lying in bed, so it should be fine, right?

The maid in front of her: “?”

With a mouth full of porridge, cheeks puffed like a hamster, Ye Fuguang swallowed with difficulty, then scooped some pig stomach soup, feigning ignorance. “I heard the royal family tests for poison. I just married into the mansion and want to do something for the prince.”

The maid hesitated. “But that was already…”

Ye Fuguang saw it.

Glancing around, she precisely picked up a dish smelling of mutton. “Was it?”

Her actions were clearly seen by Yu Qing in the inner chamber.

Noticing this low-born side concubine daring to take the prince’s meal, her face darkened like the bottom of a pot. “Concubine Ye, if you’re hungry, the kitchen has your share. The prince’s meals are approved by the imperial physicians. Ordinary people might not handle such rich food.”

“No problem, I can handle it.” She waved dismissively, then added, “Is there bird’s nest porridge?”

That might suit Shen Jinglan better.

Yu Qing’s face stretched long, giving no answer.

Ye Fuguang pretended not to notice, thinking of the heat in Shen Jinglan’s pulse. Smacking her lips, she said, “Green bean soup works too. It aids digestion. Oh, and since it’s cold, make it thick and hot.”

As Yu Qing was about to respond, she caught a glimpse of a maid from the inner chamber carrying out a copper basin of water.

The water shimmered, giving off a faint rusty smell, along with a bl00d-stained cloth.

The dried bl00d bloomed like red plum blossoms, clearly showing what it was.

“!”

Yu Qing’s eyes widened in fury, glaring at the shameless woman who had acted recklessly all night, slept until noon, and now stole the prince’s meal. Her anger boiled into one sentence:

How dare she?!

How dare she treat the prince like this?!