Transmigrated into an Ancient M-Preg Novel as the Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 25.1
The female official’s pupils contracted. When the Crown Princess and Crown Princess Consort showed affection, it was at most writing together, composing poems, or reciting couplets—extraordinarily enviable.
Unlike Princess Chuxiang and the Princess Consort, who openly… just…
The female official was too embarrassed to even think about it. How could they be so abrupt? She quickly said, “Yes, if Your Highness doesn’t accept them, this servant will take them back to the Eastern Palace.”
Although the female official wasn’t sure why the Crown Princess sent her on this errand, the Crown Princess had also instructed that if Princess Chuxiang insisted on not accepting the palace maids, they should be brought back to the Eastern Palace.
The female official couldn’t quite gauge the Crown Princess’s attitude. Seeing that Yun Chenghuai wouldn’t accept, she said no more.
After the female official left with the palace maids, Yun Chenghuai felt the low pressure around her.
If the female official hadn’t gone far, she probably would have been beaten to death. She secretly glanced at Shen Liunian’s face, which was so grim it looked like water was about to drip from it. She gave a dry laugh and quickly said, “Madam, I truly don’t want any secondary wives or concubines.”
Those people would only stir up trouble in the manor. She had so many problems of her own to solve and couldn’t spare the energy to manage so many secondary wives.
She had never been in love, and her attitude toward love was: I believe true love exists in this world, but I absolutely don’t believe it will happen to me.
Relationships, to her, were optional. If she ever met the right person, what she sought was exclusivity, not a house where one mistress managed everything while surrounded by a bunch of concubines.
She wasn’t an ancient person and didn’t think it was normal for a Qian Yuan to have many wives and concubines. She firmly believed that with Shen Liunian by her side, even if there was no true love between them and their bond was one of mutual interest, nominally, Shen Liunian was her wife. During her wife’s presence, maintaining her own fidelity was a principle of her conduct.
Given her current circumstances and the education she received since childhood, Yun Chenghuai would not, at this moment, bring any concubines into the manor.
Shen Liunian’s face was dark, the damp feeling on her nose hadn’t disappeared. She never expected Dog Yun to suddenly kiss her.
Because the female official was present, she couldn’t immediately flare up. And after the fact, the urge to explode had lessened.
Shen Liunian walked into the inner chamber with a gloomy face. Yun Chenghuai hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
“Madam, I’m sorry to trouble you with sending gifts to the various manors.” She had just offended Shen Liunian and needed to find a way to appease her.
“Mm.” Shen Liunian responded coldly.
If not for protecting her belly, Yun Chenghuai would probably have been kicked.
Shen Liunian had been pregnant for a month. It was still early and not noticeable, but the manor physician said the first three months were the most crucial and required careful nurturing.
Yesterday, Yun Chenghuai had already ordered the storeroom opened and had nourishing tonics brought out—those that wouldn’t make the baby too large, as excessive tonics were bad for pregnant women.
Seeing Shen Liunian angry, she sat down on the luohan bed in the inner chamber. Nan Ling quickly brought over a soup that had been simmering since morning.
“Princess Consort, the Maritime Transport Bureau just delivered fresh fish. The kitchen made soup. Please try it.”
Maritime transport was difficult. Even though the capital was near the sea, it would still take a day of continuous fast travel, day and night. Transporting live fish to the capital in winter was even harder.
As the Crown Princess’s biological sister, no matter how little she was favored by Her Majesty, the Maritime Transport Bureau always sent a portion of seafood to Princess Chuxiang Manor whenever they transported seafood to the capital.
Live seafood and seafood kept in ice were transported not only by the Maritime Transport Bureau but also by merchant caravans and escort agencies, though the price was quite high. A *jin* of fish could be worth a thousand taels of silver. The main point was that it was difficult to transport back in winter, so the princess manor only received two fish. The unfavored imperial princess probably only received some frozen seafood.
Yun Chenghuai sat obediently to the side, staring intently as Shen Liunian drank the soup.
She dared not disturb her, waiting until Shen Liunian put down her spoon before asking, “Is it good?”
Shen Liunian: “……”
Nan Ling quickly said, “Why doesn’t Your Highness try it herself?”
“Ah?” Yun Chenghuai blinked. Why did she have to try it?
She nodded doubtfully. “Okay.”
Nan Ling responded, “This servant will go get it for Your Highness.”
“No need.” Yun Chenghuai directly picked up Shen Liunian’s leftover soup and took a sip. Her face immediately scrunched up. “What is this? So awful.”
It was fresh enough, but also too fishy.
Shen Liunian pursed her lips, not speaking, but a smile appeared in her eyes. Otherwise, why would I only take a couple of sips begrudgingly?
But remembering Yun Chenghuai’s abruptness just now, her expression instantly turned cold. She wasn’t one to suffer a disadvantage herself, so she said coldly, “Drink it all.”
Yun Chenghuai: “……” She weakly picked up the fish soup, not daring to refuse. If she didn’t drink it, the anger in Shen Liunian’s heart might never subside.
She could only pick up the fish soup, looking distressed, and gulped it down.
Wet Nurse Xu, at the side, explained, “Fish soup should ideally have some wine to remove the fishy smell, but the Princess Consort is pregnant and shouldn’t consume alcohol.”
To remove fishy smells, modern cooking uses cooking wine, while ancient times often used huadiao or yellow wine.
Yun Chenghuai had become independent early on. When she got tired of eating out, she would cook a bit herself and had some experience in cooking.
Later, living in dorms, she ate in the cafeteria every day and rarely cooked herself.
Yun Chenghuai thought for a moment and said, “You can add sugar to remove the fishy smell.”
Southern cooking often used sugar for seasoning. While its fish-removing effect wasn’t as good as cooking wine, it was still decent.
Wet Nurse Xu smiled and didn’t retort. Nan Ling, being impatient, loudly said, “It’s clearly the kitchen staff being unhappy about the Princess Consort managing the household, deliberately making such fish soup.”
Otherwise, why would she bring the fish soup up and even make Yun Chenghuai taste it?
Their Shen family was not short of money; there was nothing they hadn’t eaten. Even as servants, they knew several ways to make fish soup. There was no reason for it to be bad just because no cooking wine was added.
Wet Nurse Xu had made an excuse, thinking that with so many managing matrons dealt with, the young female and female servants would have to be temporarily used until suitable replacements were found. Who knew Nan Ling would directly expose it?
What was even more shocking was that Yun Chenghuai didn’t mind that Shen Liunian had already drunk from the soup; she just picked it up and drank.
Shen Liunian was utterly speechless. She wanted to give her a good beating, but restrained herself due to her pregnancy.
Seeing that Yun Chenghuai didn’t want to drink after just one sip, she thought, It’s not that easy.
Yun Chenghuai slammed her hand on the table, her hand feeling slightly numb from the shock. She coldly snorted, “How utterly presumptuous! Bullying people, and they dare to bully my wife! Get those few from the kitchen out of here!”
Wet Nurse Xu was speechless. She had noticed that Yun Chenghuai only punished their Shen family servants; for the manor’s own servants, she merely had them “expelled.”
“Your Highness, since someone in the kitchen dared to neglect the Princess Consort like this, this old servant will send for people from the employment agency. The agency will bring people over.”
Many people were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs yesterday. That side had selected people, preparing for the princess manor to choose from.
Shen Liunian thought it best to buy from the employment agency first. The people there might not be as disciplined as those from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but their backgrounds were much cleaner.
The discipline of servants could be taught, but if more spies infiltrated, the manor might as well not be reorganized.
When the Ministry of Internal Affairs brought people, she would just symbolically choose a few.
This was a good opportunity to get rid of those who tried to bully their master.
Yun Chenghuai nodded. “Madam is still the most thoughtful.”
She listened as the rain outside stopped, then leaned back on the luohan bed, her eyes half-closed.
Winter was strangely cold, and the inner chamber was warm, making her drowsy.
“Madam, what would you like to eat? I’ll have Xiao Bei go buy some.”
Eating during pregnancy was particular. Yun Chenghuai called Xiao Bei in and asked, “Are there any new foods in the capital? Go buy some and bring them back for Madam to try.”
“Or buy all the fashionable foods in the capital, see what Madam likes, and then we can often buy them for Madam.”
Hmm… I also want to know what’s popular in the capital and taste it myself.
Shen Liunian didn’t want to bother with her, letting her do as she pleased.
She was very well-behaved, looking like a considerate and good wife.
“Your Highness, Manager Zhao is back.” Xiao Bei had just sent someone to buy food when someone reported that Manager Zhao had arrived.
The princess manor had two managers, one on the left and one on the right. One managed the manor’s administration, overseeing officials and advisors, while the other helped the Princess write memorials, advise the Princess to the Emperor, and correct the Princess’s mistakes.
The former was the Princess’s own person; the latter was sent by the higher authorities to monitor, a thankless job that pleased neither side.
Manager Zhao was chosen by the Crown Princess to manage the princess manor’s officials and advisors, holding real power. The other manager, Manager Li, was still recovering at home after being given twenty strokes of the rod as punishment for the original owner.
Manager Zhao had gone to Xiangzhou to handle affairs and thus escaped this upheaval. Why had she suddenly returned?
“Manager Zhao just returned from Xiangzhou. She must have many things to tell you. Go quickly.”
From last night until now, Dog Yun had stayed in the main residence. Shen Liunian found it headache-inducing and just wanted her gone.
Yun Chenghuai obediently stood up. “Alright then, Madam. I’ll be right back.”
“Mm.” Shen Liunian responded, not wanting to engage further.
Yun Chenghuai gave an awkward smile and stepped out.
Watching her retreating figure, Wet Nurse Xu spoke, “Princess Chuxiang has changed too much.”
Nan Ling, beside her, nodded in agreement. As the two closest to them, they felt the change most acutely.
In the past, Princess Chuxiang would throw her weight around in their courtyard, constantly threatening their master’s life.
She had never been kind to them, and always treated their young lady with a cold face, finding ways to torment her.
“She and I have formed a cooperation,” Shen Liunian said softly. Those around her were her trusted confidantes.
Before her marriage, they would even go to the battlefield together. Their loyalty was beyond what ordinary servants could offer.
Bei Zhu wondered, “If it’s a cooperation in public, why does she still pretend in private?”
“Princess Consort, I don’t think Princess Chuxiang is pretending; I think this is her true nature,” Wet Nurse Xu, being older, was more discerning.
The old matrons who accompanied marrying daughters were always carefully trained, their strategic minds comparable to old generals who had fought for decades.
Shen Liunian listened to her maid’s words, her lips pressed into a thin line, remaining silent for a long while.
Yun Chenghuai’s true nature was not within her consideration. They had briefly formed a cooperation. Should the other party present any problems, she would end the cooperation at any time.
Shen Liunian only wanted to leave without dragging anyone down. With so many accompanying servants from the Shen family, all having brought their families from the distant Northwest to the capital, how could she abandon their lives here?
The Shen family’s dowry was more than just the visible “ten *li* of red dowry.” Hidden properties and land, along with a large box of silver notes, brought hundreds of servants openly, and more than a thousand undisclosed servants.
Shen Liunian turned to Bei Zhu and said, “Bei Zhu, call Chen Lu over and have her take this token to the front courtyard barracks.”
“Yes, Princess Consort.”
After a day of changing address, those around Shen Liunian no longer called her “young lady” in private.
This was actually due to Wet Nurse Xu’s instruction last night. Seeing Yun Chenghuai cling to Shen Liunian, and with the two spending long periods together, no matter what the other party’s intentions were, as Shen family servants, they absolutely could not cause trouble for their master. They had to be diligent in their etiquette.