Transmigrated as the Doomed Scumbag Alpha of the Eldest Princess (GL , ABO) - Chapter 5
Jiang Si still did not fully understand what Mowan Ci meant.
Had she really been summoned all the way here just because of some ice?
But after thinking about it, she realized it made sense. At this point, Mowan Ci was unfamiliar with the original Jiang Si and likely found her hard to figure out.
So why not make herself even harder to read?
Naturally, she chose not to show any reaction.
That way, if anyone from her side asked about it later, she could simply brush it off. She could say she was playing along with the princess for amusement.
Although on the surface, it looked like the princess was the one playing with her.
But the truth was, Jiang Si knew exactly what she was doing. She just chose to let the princess have her way for now.
Sure enough, after they left the Southern Courtyard, Su Xun could not help asking why she was not angry. Jiang Si gave her an answer, and Su Xun immediately understood.
That was when Jiang Si started to feel a bit more confident.
Clearly, the original Jiang Si had been strange and unpredictable. So acting the same way now was not wrong at all.
After she left, the one who remained confused was not Jiang Si but Zhi Miao.
Her confusion had not started with the pointless mention of ice. It had started the moment Mowan Ci asked to meet with Jiang Si.
Before leaving the palace, and even afterward, the princess had always shown only dislike and rejection toward Marquis Jiajing. She hardly ever spoke of her.
It was as if she wished Jiang Si did not exist at all.
But something changed after that meeting at the marquis’s estate. Mowan Ci had not been the same.
Zhi Miao had grown up with the princess. She might not have understood her perfectly, but she knew her well enough.
That was why this all felt so strange.
Especially after they moved into this Southern Courtyard.
The princess seemed unusually interested in the place. Once the attendants from the marquis’s side left, she kept looking around quietly.
Later, she sat in the lakeside pavilion, gazing at the view. Then she suddenly asked Zhi Miao to go send word to Jiang Si, requesting a meeting.
But there had never been any connection between them. There was no old friendship to revisit.
Even so, Zhi Miao did not dare question it. Ever since the princess had come of age, she had been cold and distant. Asking too much would be seen as overstepping. At best, she would be ignored. At worst, she would get a cold glance.
Zhi Miao did not want to bring that upon herself, so she simply stayed close to the princess and remained quiet.
Mowan Ci had even changed into a new moon-white ruqun before the meeting.
After Jiang Si left, Mowan Ci returned to her seat. Zhi Miao watched her silently. The princess sat there, calm and graceful, but her eyes seemed empty.
No one could guess what she was thinking.
She paid no attention to her surroundings.
Zhi Miao could not hold back her concern. She did not dare ask why her mistress had gone through the trouble of teasing Marquis Jiajing, but she did ask gently, “Princess, would you like another layer of clothing?”
It was already May. If they were still in the capital, Zhi Miao would not have asked. But here in Ling Shang City, in the northern frontier, the weather was still chilly.
Wearing a thin shawl seemed far too cold for this time of year.
Zhi Miao even suspected that the princess’s face had turned a little paler from the cold.
Mowan Ci raised her hand slightly. She understood what Zhi Miao was really asking.
But there were some things even she could not explain clearly.
Zhi Miao leaned down, and Mowan Ci gently placed her hand on her shoulder.
“It is fine.”
Mowan Ci always spoke this way. Zhi Miao was long used to it and asked nothing more.
A few quiet days passed.
Then, without warning, Ye Chan arrived at the Southern Courtyard with several attendants.
She came with an invitation from Jiang Si, asking the princess to visit the horse grounds.
Mowan Ci did not refuse. After changing into suitable clothing, she accepted the invitation with quiet grace.
Zhi Miao, on the other hand, was completely surprised and clearly unhappy about it.
The reason behind it all
It was because the princess had once fallen from a horse while learning to ride as a child.
And the one who had taught her to ride was none other than Captain Feng.
The princess had always been quiet, but deep down she was incredibly stubborn. Captain Feng had learned quickly, mastering riding with ease. But the princess, who was normally good at everything, could never quite get the hang of horseback riding.
She had fallen off many times. Once, it had even happened in front of the late emperor.
As his most beloved child, Princess Shaoyuan had received more affection than anyone else.
The late emperor had deeply loved his empress, and the princess looked very much like the former queen. Because of that, he doted on her endlessly.
Even the current emperor had never enjoyed such favor.
If the princess had not differentiated as a Kunze, perhaps it would be her sitting on the throne today.
Zhi Miao’s thoughts wandered further and further until she finally came back to herself. By then, they had already arrived at the horse grounds.
The first thing that caught her eye was Jiang Si, dressed in a deep red round-collared robe, standing beside a reddish-brown horse.
Both the person and the horse stood still. Jiang Si was cautiously stepping closer to the animal.
This sight confused Zhi Miao.
Marquis Jiajing was a military figure, someone who led troops into battle. How could she be so cautious around a horse?
She turned to look at Mowan Ci and saw that she, too, had gone quiet, her gaze unfocused.
Zhi Miao followed her line of sight, blinking hard several times.
Understanding slowly spread across her face.
No wonder. Today, Marquis Jiajing was wearing red. Captain Feng had liked that color too.
Worried that Mowan Ci might be reminded of painful memories, Zhi Miao quietly asked, “Princess, shall we go over?”
Mowan Ci’s eyes flickered slightly. She pressed her lips together and gave a small nod.
Most of the people at the horse grounds had not noticed the arrival of Mowan Ci and Zhi Miao. Their attention was focused entirely on Jiang Si. Still, many of them found her behavior unusual. She did not seem interested in racing with others and had not even mounted a horse.
Even so, that did not stop the soldiers from flattering her.
After all, Marquis Jiajing was a powerful Qianyuan. She was highly respected and admired by the troops.
They all knew that she enjoyed praise and recognition. If the flattery was timed well, even the least accomplished person might receive a reward.
On the other hand, some had been punished just for saying the wrong thing. Because of that, a small group of soldiers stayed off to the side, not daring to speak or approach her.
They feared upsetting her.
Jiang Si, however, was completely unaware of what these people were thinking.
Her attention was not on Mowan Ci either. It was entirely on the horse in front of her.
It was the same horse that had thrown her off last time.
Jiang Si had not come to the horse grounds of her own will. She had only wanted to get some fresh air. But when she mentioned that, Su Xun had brought her straight here.
Su Xun told her that riding would help her clear her mind.
But how could she ride a horse?
The moment she saw the animal, all her fear came rushing back.
She did not care if others saw how careful and timid she looked.
From the moment she found herself inside this story, Jiang Si had never intended to follow the path of the original character.
Not for major decisions, and certainly not for the small ones.
She wanted to keep her own personality, her own interests, and the way she dealt with people.
She would never announce to everyone that she was someone who had entered a book.
But if someone noticed she was acting differently, she would not go out of her way to deny it either.
So right now, she just did what felt natural.
Back in her original life, she had no real attachments. Now that she was here, that had not changed much.
All she wanted was to live well.
She and the princess had no real future together, and there were no children involved. Everything was still possible.
The wealth and luxury of Marquis Jiajing’s life should not be wasted.
And right now, the first step was to conquer this horse.
“Su Xun, saddle it.”
After her fall, the horse handler had been kept in the estate, ordered to care for the horse and wait for punishment.
Now that Jiang Si had come to the stables, he was still kneeling in the same spot, not daring to lift his head.
But when he heard her voice, he finally looked up. There was a faint brightness in his eyes.
Before Su Xun could move, the handler had already fastened the saddle and led the horse over to Jiang Si. He was even prepared to kneel and place the reins gently into her hand.
There was a faint smile at the corner of his lips, a sign of relief.
He did not expect what she said next would nearly make him fall over.
“Why are you kneeling? Get up.”
“M-Marquis… I…” The stable hand’s voice trembled as his whole body shook like a leaf.
Jiang Si felt a bit speechless. She truly only wanted him to stand up. There was no need for all this kneeling.
But she had forgotten just how much fear the name “Marquis Jiajing” inspired.
Along with the reputation for being ruthless.
Right now, only Su Xun seemed sharp enough to notice her strange behavior and sense that something was off.
Ye Chan and Cheng Pu, however, noticed nothing unusual.
The two of them even worked together to lift the trembling stablehand to his feet.
His legs were already weak, and with both of them pulling him up and down, he looked even more unsteady. Sweat poured down his face in large drops.
“Marquis, how should we deal with him?” Cheng Pu asked.
“Leave him in the stables to tend the horses, or…” Cheng Pu paused and looked around.
Jiang Si felt a sense of panic rising in her chest.
She was afraid he would say the same thing Su Xun had said before.
Something like handing the man over to the soldiers.
“Wait. When did I ever say I wanted to punish him?”
“I just wanted him to stand up. All that kneeling makes it look like I am bullying people.”
That was exactly what Jiang Si felt. She really could not stand all the kneeling.
At first, her words sounded very unlike something Marquis Jiajing would say, but Ye Chan and Cheng Pu exchanged a quick look. In that moment, they both seemed to understand.
No matter what her methods were, the marquis always cared about how the common people viewed her.
The stablehand’s fear must have made her feel annoyed.
Jiang Si did not understand what passed between them. All she saw was that the stablehand managed to stay standing.
There was a flicker of confusion in her expression. Then she noticed Su Xun standing quietly to the side, trying not to laugh.
Were they all acting out some kind of play?
Did the original Jiang Si really need this much flattery?
How ridiculous.
It was almost laughable.
Jiang Si rolled her eyes slightly, took hold of the reins, and swung herself onto the horse.
The mounting itself went smoothly, but once she was seated properly and holding the reins, she began to feel nervous. Her legs instinctively tried to grip the horse, but just as she was about to, fear crept in.
What if she startled it?
In the end, she held herself completely still, staring forward and saying nothing.
Then, Mowan Ci appeared in her line of sight.
Her body tensed up. The horse began to move.
It moved slowly and gently. It was well-behaved.
Jiang Si heard the soft rhythm of hooves against the ground as she rode closer toward Mowan Ci, who stood tall and composed ahead of her.
As the distance between them closed, Jiang Si began to feel uneasy. Why had Mowan Ci come here?
Over the past few days, Jiang Si had focused on adjusting to this world. She had been studying how Qianyuan and Kunze interacted and trying to blend in.
So seeing the princess here, in a place usually filled with Qianyuan, made her eyebrows twitch slightly.
Why had Mowan Ci come here?
Was this a lamb walking into a pack of wolves?
Even though Jiang Si was not the original marquis and could not bring herself to do anything despicable, it still seemed wrong for the princess to come all this way.
Something about the story felt off.
Wasn’t she supposed to be afraid of horses? Why was she standing so calmly now?
Even when Zhi Miao tried to offer her support, she had refused.
That only seemed to upset Zhi Miao even more. Her expression was tense, and her eyes were filled with restrained anger.
“Your Highness, shall we go back?” Zhi Miao finally asked, unable to stay quiet.
Mowan Ci tilted her head slightly and looked up at Jiang Si, who sat on the horse. Her gaze shifted for a moment, then settled on the horse instead.
Jiang Si hesitated, unsure of whether she should speak or stay silent.
They stood there facing each other for a long moment. Finally, Jiang Si broke the silence.
“Why has the Princess come here?”
Mowan Ci frowned. Her voice was cold.
“Were you not the one who invited me?”
“I…” Jiang Si was just about to deny it when Cheng Pu came running over in a hurry.
Though he often made inappropriate jokes about Mowan Ci when talking with Jiang Si, he still greeted the princess properly in person.
“Cheng Pu at your service. Greetings, Your Highness.”
After his greeting, he quickly walked over to Jiang Si’s side. One look at his face gave Jiang Si a bad feeling.
When had he gone outside?
Still grinning foolishly, he leaned in and said, “Marquis, Miss Xiang Ning has come to see you.”
Jiang Si nearly lost her balance.
The original marquis must have spoiled these people terribly. None of them seemed to treat the princess with the respect she deserved.
Only Su Xun kept a neutral expression. Cheng Pu was beaming like an idiot, and Ye Chan stood off to the side, watching with a smirk, as if waiting for something amusing to happen.
Jiang Si was genuinely angry.
She had tried to be respectful to the princess, not because she feared her, but because she did not want to repeat the mistakes of the original marquis. But the way these people behaved was truly infuriating.
Especially now, when Mowan Ci’s expression was growing colder by the second.
The way she looked at Jiang Si made her suddenly remember the pain from that dream.
The moment when a golden hairpin pierced her gland.
And how much it had hurt.