Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha Playboy in Ancient Times (GL) - Chapter 3

Cuizhu didn’t care much about where she was placed—what mattered most to her right now was her mistress’s safety. She had no idea where the princess had taken her lady, nor if she’d truly flown into a rage and handed her over to beggars as punishment.

“Where’s my lady? What happened to her?” Cuizhu cried anxiously, trying to push past Hexiang and the others who were blocking the doorway. But they wouldn’t let her through.

“You mean the Princess Consort? Who knows?” Hexiang sneered. “All I know is, she injured the Princess this time. You think she’s going to get away with just kneeling in the snow? And you—filthy little maid—you dare lay hands on us?”

Relying on their numbers, Hexiang and her companions quickly pinned Cuizhu down. Without hesitation, Hexiang slapped her across the face—twice.

At that moment, Yiliu returned to Feixue Courtyard with Physician Zhou Miao and the medicine. She frowned at the commotion and asked coldly, “What’s going on over there?”

“Miss Yiliu, it’s just Cuizhu being disobedient. We were helping the Princess discipline her,” one of the maids replied just as the sound of more slaps rang out.

Yiliu turned to Zhou Miao. “Physician Zhou, please take the medicine to the Princess. I’ll handle this and join you shortly.”

“Understood.” Zhou Miao nodded and continued toward Shen Xingyue’s chambers with her two apprentices.

Yiliu strode over, her brows tight with disapproval. “Enough! Who gave you permission to beat someone like this?”

Hexiang rolled her eyes. “Please, I was just doing the Princess a favor by disciplining an unruly maid. Why are you so upset, Yiliu? Don’t forget—you’re not the only one trusted by Her Highness.”

She cast another contemptuous glance at Cuizhu, then turned and left with her two flunkies.

Yiliu stared at Cuizhu, still kneeling on the dirty ground. “Clean yourself up.”

Cuizhu slowly pushed herself up. Her cheeks were red and swollen from the slaps, and the corner of her lip on the left side was split open, still bleeding.

Ignoring her injuries, she dropped to her knees in front of Yiliu and kowtowed. “Miss Yiliu, how is my lady? Has the Princess calmed down? Please… let me take the punishment in her place. My lady is in poor health. If she’s not treated quickly, she could die. I’m begging you, please let me see her.”

Yiliu looked down at Cuizhu, her heart softening slightly. The girl was loyal, that much was clear. But Shen Xingyue’s sudden change in attitude toward the Princess Consort had thrown everyone off—Yiliu didn’t yet know how to interpret it. Offering help recklessly might cost her dearly if she guessed wrong.

“The Princess’s mind is not something you or I can guess at. If you insist on going, do so—but it’s on your own head. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Thank you, Miss Yiliu! Thank you! I won’t bring you any trouble. It’s all my own doing,” Cuizhu said gratefully, kowtowing several more times until her forehead was dusted with snow.

Yiliu said no more and turned back toward the Princess’s courtyard with her attendants.

Cuizhu stumbled after them. Her shoes were old and thin, her cotton coat worn to the point of being useless against the wind and cold.

Inside the room, Shen Xingyue had propped up the still-shivering Su Muyu so she could lean against her. She carefully held the bowl of medicine and slowly fed it to her.

To her surprise, Su Muyu simply frowned slightly and swallowed the bitter liquid with quiet obedience—like someone so used to drinking medicine that she had gone numb to it.

Coming from a modern world, Shen Xingyue couldn’t even stomach a single licorice tablet without mentally preparing herself. And this was thick, black, foul-smelling traditional medicine.

She turned to one of the maids and said, “Bring a bowl of honey water. The medicine is too bitter.”

The maid paused in surprise, then quickly nodded and left to fetch it.

Cuizhu had just entered and dropped to her knees, ready to beg for her mistress’s safety—only to freeze.

What she saw stunned her speechless.

The Princess—who usually couldn’t stand the sight of her mistress—was now holding her gently, cradling her in her arms as she fed her medicine. She looked nothing like the cold, ruthless woman she remembered.

The words “Please punish me instead” got stuck in her throat.

Clearly, her lady wasn’t being punished. She was being… cared for.

After Su Muyu had drunk half a bowl of honey water, Shen Xingyue finally set the bowl aside, passed it to the maid, and gently tucked Su Muyu in again. Then she turned to Zhou Miao and asked, “How often does she need to take the medicine? When will it take effect?”

“Every three hours. It should start working by tonight. The Princess Consort’s body is extremely weak, so I used a mild prescription,” Zhou Miao explained.

“Good. Then prepare the next dose in three hours. As I said earlier, no one else is to handle it. You and your team will deliver it personally. No substitutions,” Shen Xingyue said firmly.

After all, the original Shen Xingyue had loathed Su Muyu. There were bound to be hidden dangers in the inner court. Medicine was meant to heal—not harm.

“Understood. I will see to it personally,” Zhou Miao replied respectfully.

Shen Xingyue’s gaze swept the room and landed on a figure still kneeling on the ground.

It was Su Muyu’s maid.

She frowned slightly and said, “Didn’t I have someone send you to rest? Why are you here? Get up—speak properly.”

Cui Zhu didn’t dare rise. Her eyes were fixed on her mistress lying in bed, and she was nearly in tears. If she had known Lady Su was safe, she never would have rushed over. Right now, the Princess seemed to be in a good mood—clearly intending for the physician to treat her mistress properly. But if her sudden appearance caused any offense, and the Princess ended up taking it out on Lady Su, she wouldn’t be able to cry hard enough to undo it.

“This is my fault. I’ll accept punishment right away,” Cui Zhu said, her voice tight with worry. “I only ask that Your Highness continue caring for my lady. Her health is poor, and she can’t withstand more kneeling like that.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she spoke.

Lady Su was the third daughter in her family, but born to a maidservant. Because of her status, she had never been favored. From childhood, she had been bullied by both her sisters and the servants. Cui Zhu had once hoped that marriage might finally give her mistress some protection. But instead, she had been forced to marry in place of her sister, and life in the Prince’s manor had only become more dangerous. Every punishment was harsher than the last—each time she was made to kneel in the snow, it was as if half her life was being drained away. And Su Muyu, stubborn to the core, would always kneel silently, without a word of complaint.

“What punishment? I haven’t blamed you,” Shen Xingyue said calmly. “Get up and speak properly.”

Yiliu gave a look to the two younger maids beside her, and they quickly stepped forward to help Cui Zhu up. Only then did Shen Xingyue notice the bruises on her face.

“Those marks on your face—where did they come from? I’m sure they weren’t there earlier,” Shen Xingyue said, frowning. The redness and swelling were clearly from someone slapping her.

Cui Zhu kept her head low. She knew that Hexiang was one of Shen Xingyue’s trusted maids, and she didn’t dare tell the truth. “It’s nothing, Your Highness. I fell by accident. No one else was involved.”

To her, so long as her mistress was unharmed, a few injuries meant nothing.

“You think I can’t tell what happened?” Shen Xingyue asked sharply. “I sent Hexiang to find you a clean room and help you change clothes. Yet here you are—still in the same outfit, and now bruised. Did she hit you?”

Fearing she would cause trouble for Lady Su, Cui Zhu quickly dropped to her knees again. “It was my own foolishness. This has nothing to do with Hexiang or the others. I’ll accept punishment if I must—please don’t blame them.”

Shen Xingyue sighed inwardly. She had already seen enough of the original Shen Xingyue’s memories to know that Hexiang was a personal confidante. Cui Zhu was clearly afraid of offending her and indirectly provoking Shen Xingyue’s wrath, so she was trying to protect herself—and more importantly, Su Muyu.

But Shen Xingyue was no longer the same person. Now that her survival depended on the female lead’s favor, she couldn’t allow people like Hexiang to keep sowing discord.

She glanced at Yiliu, her voice cold. “Bring Hexiang here.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Yiliu replied and quickly left with a few maids to fetch her.

Hexiang was the second most powerful maid in Feixue Courtyard, just beneath Yiliu, and even had her own room. When she saw Yiliu arrive, she barely lifted an eyebrow.

“Well, what a surprise. Sister Yiliu herself. What brings you here today?” she said with a mocking smile, her tone half-joking, half-sarcastic.

“Save it. The Princess wants to see you and your maids. Let’s go,” Yiliu replied curtly, not bothering with pleasantries.

Hexiang snorted. “Don’t tell me that wretched little maid ran off to complain? She really thinks the Princess would take her and her mistress’s side?” She laughed derisively. “Fine, I’ll go. In the end, it’ll be them who suffer.”

Having served Shen Xingyue for years, Hexiang was convinced she still loathed the consort. She remembered clearly how disgusted the Princess had once been just from sharing a room with Su Muyu. So she felt completely confident.

“Greenleaf, Hong’er, let’s go. Don’t keep Sister Yiliu waiting,” Hexiang said smugly, striding toward the Princess’s chambers with her two cronies.

She walked in with her usual arrogance, utterly certain she had nothing to fear.

But before Shen Xingyue could even speak, Hexiang pointed at Cui Zhu and snapped, “You little tramp! I spared you out of kindness, and you repay me by stirring up trouble with the Princess? Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death today!”

Based on her past experiences, she thought this was exactly what Shen Xingyue wanted—someone to take out her anger on. Without waiting for permission, she raised her hand, ready to slap Cui Zhu again.

But—

“Is the Prince’s manor under your rule now?” Shen Xingyue’s voice rang out, cold and sharp.

Hexiang froze, her arm suspended mid-air. “N-no, Your Highness… I wouldn’t dare. I was only following your orders. Who knew that maid would keep causing trouble? She’s just like her mistress—no respect for her betters—”

She started rambling, just as she always did. In the past, she’d toss in a few harsh comments about Su Muyu, knowing that Shen Xingyue never stopped her.

But this time, Shen Xingyue’s face darkened completely.

She looked around the room, at the maids who had taken these behaviors as normal. Living in this kind of environment, Su Muyu had endured not just physical punishment, but constant emotional abuse. It was no wonder that, in the original novel, the Princess had been sentenced to death by dismemberment.

But now, if she didn’t change the script, that brutal end would be hers.