Transmigrated into an Ancient M-Preg Novel as the Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 13
In the courtyard, the managers and nannies had returned, standing in rows, shivering in the cold wind.
They had been there for well over half an hour. Shen Liunian deliberately took her time, had an incense stick lit, allowed Nan Ling to assist her with her toilette, drank a cup of tea, and only stepped out after the incense had burned down.
Yun Chenghuai, meanwhile, struggled to do her own hair. “Did” her hair meant she simply tied it into a ponytail, slipped on her hair crown, and secured it with a hairpin.
The original owner was her age, twenty, which was just coming of age in Southern Qin. After coming of age, a Qian Yuan’s hair would be fully tied up.
She knew how to tie a bun, but with too much hair and no proper tools, she couldn’t really tie it up. She just casually tied it.
In this state, she didn’t look like a Princess, but more like a wandering knight-errant.
When it came to getting dressed, she was utterly lost. She wanted to ask Shen Liunian for help, but the other party certainly wouldn’t bother with her.
If the mistress didn’t care, the maids naturally wouldn’t either.
Fortunately, An Yuan’s voice came to her rescue. “Your Highness, Xiao Bei is back.”
“Tell her to come in.”
As for the Princess Consort’s room, An Yuan, being a Qian Yuan guard, naturally stayed outside. Xiao Bei was different.
From memory, Xiao Bei was originally a Qian Yuan from a martial arts family. Unexpectedly, her family was annihilated by enemies, which injured Xiao Bei’s gland. By a strange turn of events, she entered the palace as an internal official.
Since the original owner moved to the imperial princess’s residence, Xiao Bei had always followed her. The two could be considered to have grown up together, and Xiao Bei was the one who understood the original owner best.
Whether it was royalty or aristocratic families, there was a rule where if the master made a mistake, the servant would take the punishment on their behalf.
When the original owner was punished with house arrest for her mistakes, it was Xiao Bei who took the blows of the cane for her. Fortunately, the original owner secretly gave money, so the punishment wasn’t too severe, and Xiao Bei returned after recuperating for about ten days.
Initially, Yun Chenghuai was worried about exposing herself in front of the original owner’s personal internal official, but at this moment, she desperately needed Xiao Bei’s rescue.
Xiao Bei entered the room, paused at the sight, then knelt steadily to pay respects. “Your Highness, your servant has returned.”
“Greetings, Princess Consort.”
Yun Chenghuai’s brow slightly raised. From the moment she transmigrated until now, Xiao Bei was the only one who addressed Shen Liunian as “Princess Consort” and genuinely paid respects.
Indeed, few incompetent people could survive in the imperial palace.
The novel only described how much of a scoundrel the original owner was and how badly she treated the female lead, with not much detailed description about the original owner’s specific situation.
Yun Chenghuai only learned about her predicament from the original owner’s memories, sorting out the character relationships centered around the original owner.
She stood from a god-like perspective, reviewing all of the original owner’s memories, seeing things the original owner couldn’t, and gaining some understanding of those people.
Xiao Bei, in her memories, was loyal to her master, always prioritizing the original owner and never bullying others by leveraging the original owner’s power.
Seeing Xiao Bei, Yun Chenghuai felt that she might be the only usable person around her, apart from the personal guard unit.
The original owner really made a mess of things; if it weren’t for the help of the Duke Zhenguo’s residence, she wouldn’t even be able to find competent people around her.
Now that she had taken over the original owner’s mess, she needed to plan carefully to avoid repeating the past.
Even in this capital city, where everyone was as shrewd as if they had ten heads, her plans might not necessarily surpass others’.
Coming from modern times, and without having experienced the grind of society, even with reading a few more books and knowing the novel’s plot, every step was difficult.
Sigh, thinking too much was useless. She would just take things one step at a time.
“Xiao Bei, help me dress.”
Normally, apart from her personal maids, Xiao Bei served the original owner the most.
Hearing Yun Chenghuai’s voice, Xiao Bei quickly stepped forward to help. Seeing her high ponytail, she paused slightly and chuckled. “Your Highness looks like your younger self today.”
Yun Chenghuai smiled. How would she know what the original owner looked like as a child? She couldn’t see her own appearance in her memories.
Upon hearing this, Shen Liunian glanced at the two, then coldly snorted. “Otherwise, I can move back to Qinglin Courtyard and leave this place to you two, master and servant?”
Xiao Bei quickly curtsied and focused on helping Yun Chenghuai dress.
Yun Chenghuai smiled. “Madam is jesting. If anyone should move, it should be Xiao Bei who moves for us.”
Shen Liunian: “……” Attempted sarcasm failed, and I got teased instead.
Shen Liunian’s face was cold, even her back exuded a chill.
“Let’s go.”
Yun Chenghuai stepped forward to follow. Xiao Bei followed behind the two, glancing at Nan Ling, and was met with several eye-rolls.
Shen Liunian and her servant had always disliked Yun Chenghuai and her servant, but Xiao Bei didn’t mind.
Under the veranda, the brazier burned brightly. Shen Liunian was wrapped in a fluffy cloak, most of her small and exquisite face obscured. If she weren’t tall enough, she might have been entirely swallowed by the cloak.
This made Shen Liunian appear delicate and lovely. Were it not for her indifferent eyes, she would have a somewhat sweet, commanding aura.
Yun Chenghuai followed beside Shen Liunian, sitting on the other side of the brazier.
There were many valuable and exotic flowers in the princess manor’s main courtyard. As if knowing the courtyard’s mistress was in a bad mood, they all drooped their heads.
Royalty was royalty; there were plenty of flowers to admire even in winter.
Yun Chenghuai’s gaze lingered on the flowers for a moment, and then she heard the sound of account books being turned.
She looked up to see Shen Liunian casually flipping through the account books placed on the table.
The managers and nannies had returned with the items and submitted everything.
Shen Liunian didn’t seem to scrutinize them closely. She quickly put down the account books, her beautiful eyes fixed on Yun Chenghuai, giving her a frosty look with a slight frown.
“The account books will be audited by special personnel. You should have heard of my Shen family’s accountants. Those who admit their faults will be lightly punished in consideration of past merits. Those who remain stubborn…”
Shen Liunian’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold word escaped her lips: “Kill.”
When she uttered “kill,” Shen Liunian exuded a palpable killing intent, nothing like an ordinary Kun Ze from a sheltered boudoir.
Yun Chenghuai remembered that the novel mentioned Shen Liunian had excellent martial arts, often bending a bow to shoot eagles and taming wild horses. She would occasionally lead her subordinates on hunts and had killed many wolves.
The northwest had many tribes, and some always tried to plunder the Shen family. The Shen family owned eighteen mines and often faced harassment from tribal cavalry.
Shen Liunian, even before adulthood, led the Shen family’s private army to battle those cavalry. Because she liked to wear a silver mask, legends of “Silver-Masked Shen” circulated throughout the northwestern grasslands. Everyone thought she was a Qian Yuan and never considered her a Kun Ze.
The fact that Shen Liunian was Silver-Masked Shen was only revealed much later in the novel.
The Shen family was also once a tribe many years ago, possessing eighteen mines and countless riches. The tribespeople never lacked clothing or food. But their wealth became their downfall, leading to conflicts between the Southern Qin and Northern Qi nations, and northwestern tribes.
Thus, the Shen family decided to engage in trade, separating from the northwestern tribes, and surviving in the cracks between the two nations, leveraging them to develop themselves.
Owning eighteen mines and developing their own power, if the Shen family were still a tribe, they would be the head of the northwestern tribes.
Unfortunately, they lacked city protection. Later, Shen Liunian acquired cities, and with the Shen family’s hundred thousand private soldiers, she unified the northwestern tribes, using the northwest as a starting point to gradually encroach upon Southern Qin.
Yun Chenghuai, having just met her gaze, suddenly thought of the young Shen Liunian from the novel, galloping on a spirited horse, wielding a sword to slay enemies.
Just thinking of General Shen in armor made her heart pound. Who wouldn’t love the handsome General Shen, who could bend a bow to shoot eagles? It was a shame she couldn’t witness it firsthand.
She was in a fangirl mindset. When reading the novel, she always liked the female lead and had a strong filter for her. Seeing Shen Liunian like this, her eyes were practically sparkling.
Shen Liunian’s peripheral vision was already on her. Noticing Yun Chenghuai’s gaze, her heart inexplicably clenched, and she cursed inwardly: Your sick.