Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha Playboy in Ancient Times (GL) - Chapter 22

Not just anyone could receive an invitation from the Fifth Princess, Shen Yijia. In truth, the Su family hadn’t qualified to attend the plum blossom gathering at all—it was only thanks to Su Muqiu’s mother, Li Qinglan, who pulled strings through several layers of connections, that they managed to obtain one.

Su Muxue, who had always gone out of her way to flatter Su Muqiu, was only allowed to attend this time because of those efforts.

Su Muqiu more or less understood what Su Muxue was thinking, but her own ambitions were set far higher. She wasn’t sure whether this outing would present a chance to speak with the Fifth Princess directly—but if it did, she wouldn’t waste it.

Outside the estate gates, noble sons and daughters were steadily arriving. Su Muqiu and Su Muxue entered together, followed by two maids and two older serving women.

“Big Sister, do you think Su Muyu will show up today?” Su Muxue asked, a hint of curiosity—and excitement—slipping into her tone. “Technically, she’s the Lady Consort now.”

“You know what her situation in the manor is like,” Su Muqiu said with a slight smirk. “The Lady barely tolerates her. Do you really think she’d bring her here?”

Her tone was confident, as if she had seen with her own eyes how much Shen Xingyue despised Su Muyu.

Su Muxue sighed regretfully. “That’s a shame. I brought a little surprise for her. If she doesn’t show up, we’ll miss all the fun.”

“What surprise?” Su Muqiu raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. She leaned in.

Su Muxue moved close and whispered something into Su Muqiu’s ear. When she finished, both sisters exchanged a knowing smile.

Su Muqiu cleared her throat and said lightly, “We shouldn’t do things like that. No matter what, she’s still part of the Su family. If that letter gets out, how will she ever hold her head up in the capital?”

“That’s her own fault,” Su Muxue said with a cold huff. “She wrote that letter to her mother herself. I’m just bringing it for everyone to enjoy. Who told her to lie through her teeth in it?”

She’d always looked down on Su Muyu. They were both concubine-born daughters, yet Su Muyu never tried to curry favor or play along. She always walked around with a cold, distant expression, like the world owed her something.

“You should really focus more on finding a good Qianyuan,” Su Muqiu advised. “Take Xiao Yang, for example—the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue’s household. She’s a bit playful, sure, but far more reliable than the Lady. Her mother is a senior second-rank official in court. The only problem is, we don’t know what type of Kunze she prefers.”

“That’s true. I’ve heard of Xiao Yang before,” Su Muxue said, eyes lighting up. “She used to be close with the Lady, but then Shen Xingyue started hanging around with that gang of rich brats, and Xiao Yang slowly drifted away. I saw her last year at a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister’s household. She was graceful, polite—and honestly more beautiful than many Kunze I’ve seen.”

Su Muqiu gave her a sideways glance and chuckled. “Look at you. The moment a Qianyuan comes up, your whole mood changes. She’ll probably be at the gathering today. Try to get in a word or two.”

Though she said it aloud, Su Muqiu didn’t really expect much. Su Muxue was, after all, just a concubine-born daughter. Even if someone like Xiao Yang did show interest, marriage would be out of the question—at best, a side arrangement.

This world had six gender roles, which meant Qianyuan could marry not only women and female Kunze, but also male Kunze. As a result, inner households were often complex—and intrigue was a daily occurrence.

By this time, Shen Xingyue and Su Muyu had already arrived at the main hall of the estate. The room was warm, with charcoal braziers lit and maids offering tea and pastries to the arriving guests. At the center, seated on the host’s chair, was the Fifth Princess, Shen Yijia, occasionally rising to greet or chat with guests.

Shen Xingyue’s gaze lingered on her.

This was her first time seeing the “official pairing” for Su Muyu from the original novel. She took a moment to examine Shen Yijia—who was elegant and poised, dressed in silver robes that enhanced her noble presence. The delicate golden hairpins in her bun swayed lightly with her every movement, adding just the right touch of brilliance to her refined aura.

Noticing Shen Xingyue looking at her, Shen Yijia smiled and rose to greet her. “Cousin, what are you staring at? Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten even me?”

Shen Xingyue smirked. “How could I not recognize you, Your Highness?”

She quickly recalled how the original Shen Xingyue used to address her. Though she had been a troublemaker, she’d always shown proper respect to members of the royal family.

“I’m just teasing,” Shen Yijia replied warmly. Then her eyes shifted to Su Muyu. “And is this your Lady Consort?”

Their gazes met, and for some reason, Su Muyu felt a jolt of nervousness. She had wanted to speak with Shen Yijia—but now wasn’t the right moment.

Shen Xingyue, watching from the side, felt oddly uncomfortable. Why should I introduce my female lead to Shen Yijia? Her jealousy was rising—after all, she was still working hard to raise Su Muyu’s affection level. Who said the plot had to go as originally written? She hadn’t necessarily come here just to be torn apart in the end.

“Yes,” Shen Xingyue replied coolly. “This is Su Muyu. And this is the Fifth Princess, Shen Yijia.”

She gave a simple introduction, unaware that the two women already knew each other.

“Cousin, feel free to enjoy the refreshments with your Lady Consort. I’ll go greet the other guests.” Shen Yijia smiled politely and moved on to her hosting duties.

“Do as you please, Your Highness,” Shen Xingyue replied casually. She then led Su Muyu to a seat nearby, and the attentive maids quickly refilled their teacups with fresh, steaming brew.

“Yu’er, have some tea first to warm up. We can stroll through the plum garden later—there’s no rush,” Shen Xingyue said as she picked up her own teacup and took a few sips.

“Alright. There are so many people here today—it seems like every noble family in the capital has sent someone,” Su Muyu remarked while holding her cup to warm her hands and sipping quietly.

“Yes, the turnout is impressive,” Shen Xingyue nodded, though her thoughts had already drifted elsewhere—to the imperial family of Beichuan.

The Empress of Beichuan, Shen Kaiyuan, had several consorts before marrying the current Empress, Ye Yuran. Among those earlier consorts, four or five had children, but the first, second, and fourth children all died young. Only the Third Prince and the Fifth Princess survived into adulthood.

After marrying Empress Ye Yuran, Shen Kaiyuan never took another consort. The current Crown Princess—ranked sixth among the siblings—was born from Ye Yuran.

Shen Xingyue remembered clearly from the original book that the Crown Princess, Shen Yining, would die in an accident. Following that, the Third Prince, Shen Yiqian, and the Fifth Princess, Shen Yijia, would become fierce political rivals. Both held considerable influence in court, and although Shen Yijia would ultimately prevail, it wasn’t an easy fight.

Su Muyu played a pivotal role in that struggle.

After escaping from the Prince’s Manor, she became Shen Yijia’s trusted ally—recruiting talent, raising funds, managing logistics. It was through their alliance that Shen Yijia stabilized the empire and secured the throne.

The more Shen Xingyue thought about it, the worse she felt.

If events unfolded just like in the book, the court would descend into chaos. The Prince’s Manor would be inevitably dragged in. And Su Muyu… would she really leave one day, become Shen Yijia’s right hand, and walk a path far from her?

She was still lost in thought when Su Muyu turned to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Shen Xingyue said quickly. “Let’s rest a bit longer, then go view the plum blossoms.”

The gathering was quite large. Those seated in the main hall were mostly sons and daughters of high-ranking officials—third-rank and above. Families of lower status had to rest in the side hall.

Before long, Li Minghua also arrived, accompanied by two attendants. When he saw Shen Xingyue, he didn’t dare approach and quietly found a seat far away.

Xiao Yang entered the hall not long after. She greeted a few familiar faces, and after spotting Shen Xingyue, noticed something strange—Li Minghua, who used to stick to Shen Xingyue like glue, was now sitting far from her. She hesitated, then decided not to approach either of them.

Shen Xingyue didn’t go out of her way to greet anyone either. She still hadn’t matched all the faces with names from the original host’s memories and was happy to stay quietly at Su Muyu’s side.

Meanwhile, in the side hall:

“Zhang Huaixin, Tian Dong—have either of you seen the Lady these days?” asked Feng Wenbin, the legitimate son of the Deputy Minister of Justice.

“No, and don’t even mention it,” Zhang Huaixin sighed. “We went drinking at Spring Breeze Pavilion with Second Young Master Li the other day, and guess what? We had to pay for everything ourselves. The Lady’s issued new orders—no one can use the Prince’s Manor’s name to run up a tab anymore.”

“I’ve heard the same,” Feng Wenbin said curiously. “It’s like she’s a whole different person. And is it true she had Li Minghua thrown into the street?”

“It’s true,” Tian Dong confirmed. “He told us himself—furious about it. But if the Lady’s done with us, what are we supposed to do?” His father’s official rank was low, and his ability to act arrogant in the capital had always relied on Shen Xingyue’s protection. Without it, he was nothing.

“Well,” Feng Wenbin said, lowering his voice, “the Lady’s here today. If we want things back to how they were, we need to cheer her up.”

“Right. We’d better make a good impression today.”

On the other side of the side hall, Su Muqiu and Su Muxue were chatting with Lu Qianqian, the daughter of the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs. Her father held a fourth-rank position—making him the highest-ranking official in the side hall.

“I heard the Lady originally wanted to marry you. So how did your younger sister end up marrying into the manor instead?” Lu Qianqian asked curiously. Nearby guests also glanced over, clearly intrigued by the topic.

Su Muqiu smiled calmly, her voice composed. “It’s a little embarrassing, Lu sister. My younger sister is a concubine-born daughter. She feared she wouldn’t marry into a noble family and pleaded with me several times to give up the position. As her elder sister, I had to think of her future—so I reluctantly agreed. I truly don’t know how she’s been doing at the manor.”

“Wait—so she begged you to marry the Lady?” Lu Qianqian asked, surprised.

“Of course,” Su Muxue cut in with a sneer. “Our eldest sister has always had a soft heart. She’s treated us concubine-born sisters with great kindness since we were young. She couldn’t bear to see Su Muyu cry every day, so she let her take her place and marry the Lady.”

“I see,” Lu Qianqian said with a low voice. “I’ve heard she hasn’t been doing well in the manor. The Lady supposedly has a temper—made her kneel out in the snow, even.”

“I heard the same,” Su Muqiu said with a sigh. “I just hope, if I do get a chance to speak with the Lady today, I can plead on her behalf. She’s always been frail—she can’t endure that kind of punishment.”

“Muqiu, you’re so kind,” Lu Qianqian said, clearly moved. “People have been talking behind your back—it’s so unfair.”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as Yu’er is doing well, that’s enough for me,” Su Muqiu replied with a heavy-hearted expression, as if bearing the world for her sister’s sake. Su Muxue chimed in at all the right moments, amplifying the sentiment. Before long, everyone in the side hall had heard their version of the story.

“So, Su Muyu begged to marry into the manor? I always thought her sister forced her to.”

“Muqiu is so selfless… taking the blame all this time, even under the Prince’s Manor’s pressure.”

“I can’t believe Su Muyu, a concubine-born daughter, had the gall to pull something like that. And Muqiu just let her. If my half-sister ever did that, I’d have taught her a lesson myself.”

The side hall buzzed with speculation.

Meanwhile, Tian Dong tugged at Feng Wenbin’s sleeve and whispered, “Master Feng, should we go greet Su Muqiu? After all, she’s the one the Lady favors. If she puts in a good word, maybe the Lady will forgive us.”