Transmigrated into an Ancient M-Preg Novel as the Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 21
Yun Chenghuai, whose life could be forfeit at any moment, was unaware of Shen Liunian’s true thoughts. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
Yesterday, she was a college student grappling with textbooks; today, she awoke to schemes.
For the sake of her own destiny, she had thought about so many things today, feeling her head swell.
An ordinary college student, knowing her future fate, had limited ways to respond.
Fortunately, Yun Chenghuai was mature and somewhat clever, quickly forming a plan after transmigrating.
Although her method wasn’t perfect, it was the best response she could devise.
As long as Shen Liunian agreed to cooperate, her simple plan would be half successful.
Three days later, when Shen Liunian hadn’t left the princess manor, nor fled Southern Qin, her initial plan would be completely successful.
So, her eyes were fixed on Shen Liunian, filled with anticipation.
Yun Chenghuai was genuinely nervous, a faint sweat appearing in her palms.
Shen Liunian stared steadily into her eyes. “Since that’s the case, then let’s cooperate.”
Yun Chenghuai’s eyes lit up. She quickly said, “Happy to cooperate.”
Shen Liunian gave her an inexplicable look. Happy? What’s happy about this negotiation?
However, since they were cooperating, for her own comfort in the future, Shen Liunian wouldn’t be perfunctory.
Their goal was to leave the capital. For this common goal, they had to figure out a way to achieve it.
Shen Liunian lay in bed, her body rigidly tense, possibly because Yun Chenghuai was beneath the bed, and this was also an unfamiliar environment.
It was the first day she moved into the main courtyard. While her belongings had been moved, the furnishings were still different.
Yun Chenghuai had initially been propped up, but seeing Shen Liunian lie down, she too lay back in her quilt.
She probably heard that Bei Zhu couldn’t meet Li Zhaoxian, and Li Zhaoxian’s people said they would come tonight. But with her lying under Shen Liunian’s bed, their plan was likely to fall through.
More importantly, Yun Chengji had discovered Li Zhaoxian in the capital. The Southern Qin Crown Princess had found the Northern Qi Crown Princess in her own capital; she certainly wouldn’t let it go easily.
All indications suggested that Shen Liunian had not yet finalized cooperation with the Northern Qi Crown Princess.
Since she had reached an agreement with Shen Liunian first, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Shen Liunian should not leave Southern Qin anytime soon.
The first step had been taken well, and Yun Chenghuai’s mood relaxed considerably.
Although there were still many troubles ahead, and the cooperation was temporary, with the situation constantly changing, for now, her heart was at peace.
With less worry in her heart, drowsiness washed over her. Yun Chenghuai closed her eyes, ready to drift into sleep at any moment.
Just then, Shen Liunian’s voice suddenly broke the silence. “Have you thought about how you’ll go to your fiefdom?”
Vassal princesses sent to fiefdoms in Southern Qin were generally those who were out of favor and had committed minor to moderate mistakes.
Princesses who remained in the capital were either not yet adults or had a chance to contend for the highest position. The previous Yun Chenghuai was an exception.
The previous Yun Chenghuai was unfavored but of noble bl00d, born to the original Empress, and the current Crown Princess’s full sister. She had a Duke as her maternal grandfather who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. Keeping her in the capital was the Emperor’s way of balancing power.
Yun Chenghuai drowsily opened her eyes. “I originally intended to commit some minor mistakes to displease Her Majesty, leading her to naturally send me to my fiefdom. But as you saw, Her Majesty confined me to the manor, yet showed no intention of sending me to my fiefdom.”
The news the original owner received about the Emperor wanting her to go to her fiefdom was false; it was fake news transmitted by the seventh princess through an inside informant. This was a problem she discerned from the list An Yuan had provided.
If she made any more mistakes during her confinement, the outcome would be predictable.
Her imperial sisters longed for her to make more and more mistakes, but the original owner, that idiot, couldn’t see it.
She found this rather strange. The Emperor disliked the original owner, yet kept her in the capital. Why?
Old Duke Zhenguo was dead, and Crown Princess Yun Chengji was sickly. The Emperor shouldn’t be wary of her, should she?
She suddenly remembered what “The Emperor’s heart is unfathomable” meant from the TV show.
Shen Liunian’s calm voice came. “The Chu family, Duke Zhenguo, were founding heroes. Half of Southern Qin’s territory was conquered by the first Duke Zhenguo. But the Duke and the High Ancestor were like sisters. The High Ancestor originally intended to enfeoff her as a non-royal princess, but she chose to remain as a Duke.”
“By your maternal aunt’s generation, five generations later, excluding the current Duke Zhenguo and going back to your maternal grandfather’s generation, each ruler commanded 170,000 Southern Qin troops. That was the famous Xuanjia Army, also known as the Chu Family Army.”
“Southern Qin has a million soldiers, but not many are truly deployable. Duke Zhenguo alone commanded 170,000 heavily armed troops. The High Ancestor, Taizong, Gaozong, Renzong—four successive emperors’ trust in Duke Zhenguo’s residence was a stroke of luck for those who held military power.”
Shen Liunian didn’t explicitly state some things, but Yun Chenghuai understood.
In history, those who achieved too much merit for their lord were seen as thorns in the emperor’s side, to be removed by any means possible.
Even if Duke Zhenguo’s residence meticulously adhered to all rules and courtesies, the Emperor merely felt that no one else could sleep soundly in his presence. Everyone who could potentially threaten the throne had to die.
Southern Qin’s successive emperors either trusted or were wary of Duke Zhenguo’s residence. The Chu family, having adhered to the four virtues of loyalty, righteousness, and protecting the nation for generations, had committed no wrong. Even if the Emperor wanted to incriminate them, it would be hard to silence public opinion.
Southern Qin valued civil officials over military ones. The Chu family was the only military family that civil officials and scholars revered. They also enjoyed popular support, so how could the Emperor dare to act recklessly?
As soon as Shen Liunian reminded her, Yun Chenghuai’s mind naturally conjured the relevant circumstances. Combining that with her own understanding, she largely grasped what the other party was trying to convey.
She asked uncertainly, “Does the current Emperor fear Duke Zhenguo’s residence?”
“What do you think?” Shen Liunian’s voice grew colder. Imperial family members were as consistently detestable as ever. “On the surface, Duke Zhenguo does not command troops, merely serving as an idle Duke in the capital. In reality, generations of the Chu family are buried in the military. Whether it’s your maternal aunt or your younger maternal aunt, any Chu family bloodline, if they raise their arm in the military, will surely find a response.”
“The current Emperor is wary of every person with Chu family bl00d, including you.”
Yun Chenghuai possessed imperial bl00d and was of legitimate descent. She also had Chu family bl00d.
It became clear what the Emperor feared about her. Duke Zhenguo’s residence had voluntarily relinquished their military seal, but it hadn’t dispelled the Emperor’s suspicions.
What Shen Liunian could see clearly, others could also see clearly.
Yet the previous Yun Chenghuai, despite her noble status, seemed to have lost her mind.
“Suddenly becoming a hot commodity, it’s quite unaccustomed.” Yun Chenghuai mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Yun Chenghuai shook the head she had poked out from the quilt. “Madam means that Her Majesty won’t let me leave the capital, right?”
Shen Liunian “hmm”-ed. “Therefore, if you want to go to your fiefdom, the Crown Princess is the most important factor.”
“The Crown Princess? Why?”
In the original owner’s memory, she didn’t know much about Crown Princess Yun Chengji. They were twelve years apart in age. When the original owner was just born, Yun Chengji had already moved into the Eastern Palace, and they rarely saw each other.
By the time the original owner began studying at the Imperial Academy, Crown Princess Yun Chengji was already in court, acting as regent. Coupled with the later death of the former Empress, their meetings became even rarer.
It wasn’t until the original owner entered court that the sisters started seeing each other more often.
From this, it seemed that although they were biological sisters, they weren’t close. Could the Crown Princess control her affairs?
In the darkness, Shen Liunian ungracefully rolled her eyes and closed them, no longer answering. Some things couldn’t be explained in a short time.
Dog Yun was currently confined, so matters outside the manor could wait.
Shen Liunian stopped speaking, but she couldn’t fall asleep easily. Since coming to Southern Qin, she had been constantly in dire straits, rarely acting as she pleased.
Her poor attitude towards Dog Yun was because she clearly knew that Dog Yun had no influence over the Shen family.
As long as she didn’t step outside the manor, whatever she did inside was considered a family matter, not reflecting on the Shen family.
Upon arriving in Southern Qin, she should have behaved properly in the princess manor, but she was never one to swallow her pride. The Shen family’s compromises, her own compromises, had not changed the Shen family’s predicament.
Rather than constantly enduring, it was better to fight for it.
In Princess Chuxiang Manor, Shen Liunian had never given Yun Chenghuai a good face, especially after being schemed against; she wished the other party dead.
Being able to speak properly with Dog Yun today, to sit down and talk, was due to Yun Chenghuai’s drastic change and her own plan. For the process to go smoothly, she absolutely had to stabilize Yun Chenghuai.
Shen Liunian hadn’t expected Yun Chenghuai to propose cooperation.
Judging by Dog Yun’s attitude, she was still the one in charge of the cooperation, with the other party appearing obedient, leaving everything to her discretion.
She hadn’t yet finalized cooperation with Li Zhaoxian. In their initial interactions, Li Zhaoxian’s attitude was very strong.
The meeting time and place, and the content of their discussions, were all decided by the other party; she had little say.
Li Zhaoxian, who had consistently held the position of Crown Princess for ten years, was not someone easy to deal with. Cooperating with her was undoubtedly like scheming with a tiger.
Li Zhaoxian versus Yun Chenghuai. Shen Liunian weighed the pros and cons of cooperating with both in her mind, analyzing each point.
A person, after all, couldn’t block off every path.
By the end of her calculations, the safety, stability, and likelihood of success of cooperating with Yun Chenghuai clearly outweighed those of cooperating with Li Zhaoxian.
Given this, if Dog Yun cooperated, she could simply ensure Dog Yun had a quick death on the day her plan succeeded.