Yue Yao had come down with a cold as well, and yet Cang Lan and Blue Skirt Girl were becoming closer., This caused her to feel very frustrated. ‘Their red strings are tied together, so they’ll be mutually attracted to each other. If I don’t break them apart now, Cang Lan’s going to marry her sooner or later!’
Once the news that Cang Lan had taken Blue Skirt Girl, Wei Ling, to Moonwind Inn to have a meal reached Yue Yao, she forced herself up. Despite not having fully recovered from her illness, she immediately went out to look for them.
When Yue Yao entered the doorway to Moonwind Inn, she just so happened to bump into Shi Sheng.
“Your Highness!” Bi Xi anxiously helped Shi Sheng steady herself. The latter sighed as she mused about the fact that female leads and supporting female leads were truly tied together by fate—they could bump into each other just about anywhere.
Due to being in a rush, Yue Yao didn’t spare a glancet as to who she had bumped. Instead, she immediately made to go upstairs.
Bi Xi frowned in displeasure as she signalled the guards behind her to stop Yue Yao.
“What are you people doing?” Yue Yao lifted her head and glared angrily at the guards who had suddenly appeared to obstruct her way.
“You want to just leave after bumping into our Highness?” Bi Xi walked over to stand in front of Yue Yao.
Yue Yao’s heart fell the moment she recognized who Bi Xi was. ‘How come I run into her everywhere?!’
“Not as if I did it on purpose…” Yue Yao muttered unapologetically.
“Does not doing it on purpose erase the fact that you bumped into our Highness?” Bi Xi was livid. ‘Why is this An Yue Yao always saying she “didn’t mean it” as an excuse?!’
Yue Yao frowned as she glared back at Bi Xi, “What’re you being so fierce for? Your mistress hasn’t even said anything yet! Besides, it’s just a little bump—nothing else happened! Are princesses this fragile?”
‘So what if she’s a princess? Is that a great thing? I’m a goddess, but you don’t see me complaining!’
Shi Sheng was struggling to keep a neutral expression. ‘This FL is broken to a scary extent…’
Bi Xi was furious to the point that she started smiling. “If anything had happened to our Highness, do you really think you’d still be standing here?!”
“I—” Yue Yao’s rebuttal halted as her gaze turned to fix on the second floor.
Cang Lan was standing beside Wei Ling on the walkway, his gaze staring darkly at her.
He quickly descended from the second floor and, without so much as a glance towards Yue Yao, saluted Shi Sheng with clasped hands. “My wife has been rude. Please do be forgiving, Princess Qing Guan. I shall properly educate her on manners from now on.”
“General Cang Lan is certainly a faithful man,” Shi Sheng looked at him with a faint smile. “However, I’m(bg) afraid it won’t do to forget propriety. Bumping into me(bg) isn’t such a big deal; I(bg) don’t want her life—just an arm. If she had bumped into the Emperor of Chen, or some other important dignitary though… there’d be no guarantee.”
Cang Lan, “…” ‘It’s not a big deal?! You’re asking for an arm for crying out loud!’
Cang Lan took a deep breath and his attitude turned more sincere, “I believe that as a magnanimous person, Princess Qing Guan must surely be the bigger person. I request that you spare her this once.”
Shi Sheng faintly replied, “I’m(bg) not ‘the bigger person’, I’m(bg) only 16 this year.”
She was really pushing it…
“What will it take for you to forgive her, Princess Qing Guan?”
‘This woman is clearly deliberately finding fault, yet she has a proper reason to back her. I can’t possibly stoop to her level, can I?’
Shi Sheng’s eyes curved into crescents as she spoke with a magnanimous expression, “Since today’s not a good day to draw blood, I(bg) shan’t want the arm then. Just get her to apologise.”
This was a reasonable request.
Cang Lan looked at Yue Yao before ordering in a low tone, “Apologise to Princess Qing Guan.”
All female leads had some level of rebelliousness towards their male leads. The more a male lead insisted on something along these lines, the more unwilling they were to listen.
Adding on to the fact that Cang Lan was together with Wei Ling, Yue Yao was even more unwilling to listen to him.
“Why should I?” Yue Yao straightened her neck, refusing to bow down as she felt she was in the right, “Am I to blame if she doesn’t look where she’s going?”
Inwardly, Shi Sheng gave this FL-sama a thumbs-up.
‘At the rate you’re screwing yourself over, I(bbb) won’t even have to do anything to break you guys apart!’
Cang Lan felt nothing but disappointment. Ever since he’d married her, there hadn’t been a single day of peace in his household. His previous image of a once-cute girl was slowly fading into distant memory.
“This general[1] apologises for my wife’s transgressions,” Cang Lan spoke as he suddenly bowed deeply towards Shi Sheng.
She blinked her eyes, “It really isn’t appropriate for me(bg) to accept your bow.”
Yet, despite saying so, her expression revealed no hints of discomfort.
“Since General Cang Lan has spoken, I’ll(bg) let it go this time. But as for next time… I(bg) won’t be as forgiving,” Shi Sheng smiled at Yue Yao before continuing, “You’re just the daughter of a Prime Minister. Above you there’s still the Emperor and his children. Don’t go around seeking death now.”
‘Even though she’s married to Cang Lan, her status is a General’s first wife at most. As if that amounts to anything…’
Shi Sheng gave Cang Lan a nod before leaving Moonwind Inn in an arrogant manner.
After Cang Lan brought Yue Yao back to his estate, he coldly ordered for someone to hire a governess[2] to teach her manners. He also restricted her from leaving the estate.
Without Yue Yao’s interference, Cang Lan and Wei Ling soon got together, and Wei Ling was to be married into his household.
Yue Yao losing favour with Cang Lan soon became widely known throughout the noble circles of Chang’An.
After Yue Yao and Cang Lan’s marriage, they were as close as two peas in a pod, drawing much envy and jealousy from onlookers. Yet despite this still being fresh in the memories of most, Cang Lan had unexpectedly taken a concubine.
Yue Yao was angered to the point of tears. Of course, she started loathing Shi Sheng even more because of this matter. ‘If she hadn’t purposefully made trouble for me, I would’ve already broken up Cang Lan and Wei Ling by now! There’s no way they’ could have gotten together!’
After Wei Ling got married to Cang Lan, she demonstrated matureness, obedience, as well as a worshipful respect towards Cang Lan. With Yue Yao’s unreasonableness serving as a foil, Cang Lan naturally favoured Wei Ling more.
In the end, Yue Yao’s incessant plotting to break them up ended up slowly whittling away Cang Lan’s patience for her.
……
When Shi Sheng had the chance to meet Yue Yao once again, it was during a palace banquet. Yue Yao was seated beside Cang Lan, her complexion a bit unsightly. She no longer looked like a cute, newlywed young lady, but a jealous wife.
Noticing Shi Sheng’s gaze on her, Yue Yao glared back viciously.
However, Shi Sheng calmly shifted her gaze away, causing Yue Yao’s teeth to itch from anger.
During the banquet, the Chen Emperor tried to probe Shi Sheng for a date when she’d be leaving.
Ever since she’d begun residing here, the dandies of Chang’An had become stuck at home. After so long, their hair had probably reached the ground.
The Chen Emperor was rather infuriated at the people who claimed Princess Qing Guan was a dignified, scholarly, virtuous, and elegant woman. ‘Are they all blind?! This is clearly an unreasonable, spoilt princess!’
He had originally expected that she wouldn’t be leaving any time soon, but she surprised him by giving him a clear answer.
She would be leaving in a month’s time.
‘A war’s going to start in a month. I still have that mission to get promoted to Highgod, of course I can’t remain here!
Besides, I don’t need to do anything more to the FL. The interesting part’s when we return to the Heavenly Realm.’
Upon hearing that Shi Sheng was finally planning to leave, all the young dandies participating in this banquet were struck with excitement.
‘This menace is finally going to leave!’
Just remembering about how they had all been forced to stand by the lakeside as punishment the other day, they felt like breaking down in tears.
When the banquet came to a close, the crowd slowly started to disperse.
“Your Highness, aren’t we leaving?” Bi Xi reminded Shi Sheng when she saw that many guests had already left.
“There’s going to be a good show later.” Shi Sheng winked mysteriously at Bi Xi.
‘A show? Your Highness, you always end up drawing enmity every time you watch shows! I don’t want to watch a show…
Though my opinion isn’t important…
You get the last say, Your Highness…’
Shi Sheng only got up to leave only after most of the crowd had dispersed.
A palace servant awaited her outside the door, holding a lantern to assist her as a guide.
The majority of the vast palace was shrouded in darkness. The small amount of light present was not enough to illuminate the surroundings. It was very much unlike how they presented the palace to be a radiant and splendorous place, regardless of the time of day, in dramas.
There were some areas that had only darkness and desolation.
No other sound could be heard aside from their footsteps as they followed the servant out.
[1] He referred to himself in the third person here, and I wasn’t sure if I should keep it.
[2] Momo or “嬷嬷” was the original. It is a term for elderly female servants who are in charge of educating the new women or children of a noble family the rules and customs. Sometimes, they act as guards/chaperones for the females. I think there are some instances (in fiction at least) where they are the ones to inflict punishment on disobedient females… or something. I’m not an expert… I just sort of remember the term.