Transmigrated into an Ancient M-Preg Novel as the Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 23
Nan Ling picked up the oiled paper from the table and unfolded it. Inside, wrapped in clean paper, was a line of text.
Shen Liunian didn’t take it; she just looked at the words, her expression somewhat grim.
Yun Chenghuai looked on curiously, her desire for knowledge quite evident.
Since Shen Liunian had opened the bun in front of her, she had no intention of hiding it. She motioned for Nan Ling to hand the note to Yun Chenghuai.
Yun Chenghuai took the note. The words made her frown: “Has Princess Consort forgotten the agreement with this Princess?”
The seal at the bottom was a private seal unique to Northern Qi. If discovered, it would make it seem like Shen Liunian was colluding with the enemy.
Although the ten-year treaty between Southern Qin and Northern Qi hadn’t expired, regardless of which country’s national power could completely crush the other, a ten-year truce was nothing but an empty promise.
The two countries were merely maintaining a superficial harmony, a calm before a storm.
One piece of paper might not prove anything, but gossip was a fearful thing, and an investigation would be unavoidable. For Shen Liunian, as a neutral member of the Shen family, suspicion would be doubled.
The sender didn’t intend to kill Shen Liunian; they only wanted to cause her trouble.
If Yun Chenghuai were still her former self, seeing such a note would likely cause an immediate outburst, and Shen Liunian, along with those around her, would suffer a disaster.
Shen Liunian would be relatively okay, at most confined and forced to kneel, but servants like Nan Ling and Bei Zhu would be tortured to within an inch of their lives.
Given the original owner’s personality, several Shen family servants would surely have died.
Perhaps in the novel, the original owner saw something similar, intensifying her mistreatment of Shen Liunian, forcing Shen Liunian to cooperate with Li Zhaoxian.
“Madam, this person intends to sully you,” Yun Chenghuai said earnestly.
Sully her? Although Yun Chenghuai’s wording was strange, Shen Liunian generally understood the meaning of the word.
What surprised her was that Yun Chenghuai actually believed her.
“You believe me?”
Yun Chenghuai “hmm”-ed, nodding heavily. “Naturally.”
“This person must be Northern Qi’s Crown Princess Li Zhaoxian. I already knew she was in the capital, but I didn’t expect her to be so audacious, daring to provoke us at our own doorstep.”
She scoffed, “Li Zhaoxian couldn’t possibly think that I would become suspicious of you because of this, could she?”
“I must say, this person is deeply cunning, wanting to use my hand to pressure you, thereby achieving her own goals.”
Shen Liunian already had thoughts of leaving Southern Qin, but she had too many concerns and couldn’t just leave on a whim.
In the novel, the reasons for Shen Liunian’s determination to leave were, firstly, the original owner’s harsh treatment, and secondly, the promises made by Li Zhaoxian.
Both sides were scheming against Shen Liunian, constantly forcing her to make choices.
No one knew the original owner’s dark thoughts better than Yun Chenghuai. The original owner constantly plotted how to make Shen Liunian die quietly.
At that time, Shen Liunian’s immense dowry and the vacant position of Princess Consort would be a win-win situation.
The original owner wanted to take Shen Liunian’s dowry and then marry another Princess Consort from a good family.
However, they had just gotten married. If something happened too soon and was investigated, she would be finished. So, the original owner tormented Shen Liunian in the manor, often hitting and scolding those around Shen Liunian, even using the rod many times.
In the capital, the original owner was an imperial princess, possessing top-tier authority in Southern Qin. How could Shen Liunian, who had come from afar, possibly resist?
The original owner was arrogant, domineering, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and extremely malicious, often threatening Shen Liunian with the lives of the Shen family’s servants.
Li Zhaoxian’s provocation wasn’t clever, but it was enough to give the original owner a reason to punish Shen Liunian.
“She’s not trying to make you doubt me; she’s giving you a reason to blame me,” Shen Liunian calmly explained to Yun Chenghuai.
Li Zhaoxian’s plot was openly displayed; the excuse was handed to her, it was up to her whether to use it.
The original owner would certainly have used it. Yun Chenghuai was a reasonable person, and besides, she needed to cling to Shen Liunian.
She gave a dry laugh. “How could that be? I’m not that kind of person.”
If you’re not, then who is?
However, Shen Liunian didn’t intend to dwell on this. She ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, then put down her spoon.
“You don’t seem surprised that Li Zhaoxian is in the capital, nor that I know her.”
Yun Chenghuai was still a bit green, showing flaws everywhere.
Sometimes, saying too much only leads to more mistakes. Silence is far better than speaking; explanations only make things more confusing.
Could she tell Shen Liunian that she had read the novel and give her another wave of spoilers?
She thought for a moment, then honestly said, “Last night, I heard you and Bei Zhu talking about it.”
She blinked, showing no intention of causing trouble because of it.
Shen Liunian raised an eyebrow, offering no comment. Bei Zhu didn’t even blink.
Yun Chenghuai proactively clarified, “I had just finished washing up and came out when I heard you two conspiring loudly.”
She had walked smoothly back to her room after washing up and heard them discussing it as soon as she entered.
Shen Liunian: “……”
Yun Chenghuai quickly waved her hand. She was just making a small joke. “I just overheard it by accident, Madam, don’t overthink it.”
“Accident?” Shen Liunian scoffed. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you to silence you?”
Yun Chenghuai’s smile froze. She stopped eating and awkwardly pleaded for mercy, “Madam, I really did hear it by accident.”
Actually, she was just feigning begging for mercy. She understood that, for now, Shen Liunian wouldn’t kill her; she knew her own value.
Whether Shen Liunian intended to stay or leave, she wouldn’t do anything to her for the time being.
In that case, Shen Liunian was only trying to scare her, or perhaps testing her. So, what harm was there in cooperating?
Shen Liunian saw through her act at a glance and gave a cold laugh.
Just as she hadn’t hidden the note inside the bun, she wasn’t afraid of Yun Chenghuai knowing.
To Shen Liunian, cooperating with Li Zhaoxian was like scheming with a tiger, and cooperating with Yun Chenghuai was no better.
It could only be said that her choices were too limited now, and she had too much to do if she wanted to change her situation.
In the Southern Qin capital, her influence was limited. Choosing one side to cooperate with would benefit the current situation.
But this was, after all, the Southern Qin capital. No matter how formidable Li Zhaoxian’s methods were, she would still be constrained.
“How do you see this matter?” Shen Liunian trusted no one. For her, the most reliable cooperation would be her choice.
Yun Chenghuai paused for a moment, her mind racing.
Shen Liunian showed her the note. Although she didn’t know why Shen Liunian didn’t avoid her, one thing was clear: the other party wouldn’t cooperate with Li Zhaoxian.
Choosing one of two sides meant trouble for the other.
Li Zhaoxian was not easy to get along with; she would never leave a path for retreat.
So, had Shen Liunian already chosen her in her heart? Or was it to agree to cooperate with her first, to stabilize her?
Last night, she reached an agreement with Shen Liunian. Although she understood her advantages, she still had concerns. The current outcome indicated that the beginning of their cooperation was good.
“The Crown Princess knows Li Zhaoxian is in the capital and certainly won’t let her off easily. No matter who contacts Li Zhaoxian in the capital, they’ll likely be targeted by the Crown Princess…”
As Yun Chenghuai analyzed this, she suddenly understood. Shen Liunian probably chose her precisely for this reason.
Crown Princess Yun Chengji wouldn’t simply watch Shen Liunian leave the capital. The novel didn’t elaborate much on Crown Princess Yun Chengji, mostly glossing over her, but someone who could steadily hold the position of Crown Princess for over twenty years was certainly no ordinary person.
She was now in the real world, where the situation was constantly changing.
Thinking of this, Yun Chenghuai asked, “What would happen if the Crown Princess knew you contacted Li Zhaoxian?”
Shen Liunian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Dog Yun truly had become smarter.
It was good to be smart. Cooperating with a smart person was much safer than with an idiot, preventing her from ruining things.
If she didn’t cooperate with Yun Chenghuai, she would have to leave Southern Qin in a short time.
Since she had reached an agreement with Yun Chenghuai, her strategy would have to change.
“That’s why I showed you the note.” Shen Liunian’s words were quite direct.
Yun Chenghuai was the Crown Princess’s biological sister. If they came to an understanding beforehand, even if the Crown Princess investigated Shen Liunian, the matter could be downplayed.
In reality, Shen Liunian was gambling. In her view, Yun Chenghuai cooperated with her for her money and the child in her belly.
At least one thing was certain: until the child was born, their cooperation should be stable.
Yun Chenghuai understood Shen Liunian’s meaning, feeling a little heavy-hearted.
The original owner had no credibility in Shen Liunian’s heart. Their cooperation must have been driven by something she wanted to gain.
Who knew if she could just live freely, not confined for life?
She wanted to believe that with the wisdom of the ancients, there was no lack of entertainment, but that was imprisonment, not as simple as being confined. She was still just in confinement now. If there were endless songs and dances, the Emperor would surely impose even heavier penalties.
Although the princess manor was large, being trapped there for an entire lifetime until death… no normal person could endure that. A normal person would probably become abnormal in the end.
Yun Chenghuai’s goal was very simple: not to suffer the same fate as the original owner.
It was normal for Shen Liunian not to believe her. Perhaps cooperating with her was also forced by circumstances. The Crown Princess had discovered Li Zhaoxian in the capital and would soon investigate their contact. Cooperating with Yun Chenghuai could effectively avoid suspicion.
In the novel, the original owner only wanted to use flimsy “evidence” as a reason to deal with Shen Liunian.
Shen Liunian had no choice but to either be harmed by the original owner or wait for the Crown Princess to demand accountability, so she had to flee Southern Qin.
The more she knew, the more Yun Chenghuai could empathize with Shen Liunian’s helplessness, pushed along by fate.
A pampered girl, raised with care, endured humiliation after marriage, suffered a miscarriage after escaping, had her glands removed losing half her life, and then witnessed the successive deaths of her family, losing too many people important to her. Any one of these events, placed on any individual, would be an almost unbearable pain, yet Shen Liunian endured it all, constantly suffering both physical and psychological blows.
All of this started with the original owner. Yun Chenghuai thought, if she were Shen Liunian, she would probably also wish to kill the original owner to quell the hatred in her heart.