After the Foolish Beauty Wore Women's Clothes and Married the Brutal General - Chapter 15.1

Chapter 15.1: A Feeling That Doesn’t Even Border on Love.

Despite it being called “protection,” Nan Jianxue didn’t actually suffer much harm.

The Princess’s Mansion already had guards, and after his marriage to Liang Qifeng, Liang Qifeng brought in his personal troops to reinforce the defense of the entire residence. The courtyard where he lived was guarded layer by layer; forget a person, even a fly would find it hard to fly in. Therefore, all Nan Jianxue really had to do was stay indoors; Liang Qifeng would handle the rest.

Roughly on the second day after he was “poisoned,” rumors began to spread through the capital that the eldest Princess Anle had been poisoned and was in critical condition.

It started with a servant responsible for sweeping at the Princess’s Mansion who let it slip while drinking with friends. The details were vague, mentioning only that the General had investigated everyone in the mansion, forbidden anyone from approaching the main courtyard, and invited many doctors, including many Imperial Physicians from the palace something had likely gone wrong.

Consequently, people went to investigate and, through various twists and turns, heard from a maid working in the main courtyard. She had told her family she feared her job at the mansion wouldn’t last long and didn’t know what to do in the future.

Later, the news of the poisoning at the banquet spread, and everyone guessed that the Princess had been poisoned there.

No matter how much it spread, it was ultimately just a rumor. What truly “confirmed” the matter was the following night: the Emperor took several Imperial Physicians to the Princess’s Mansion. Seeing his anxious state, it seemed the news was likely true.

Thus, the rumors spread further and wider, with some even saying the Anle Princess’s Mansion was already preparing for funeral arrangements.

The one who “confirmed” all this, Nan Zhanyuan, was currently sitting in Nan Jianxue’s room, and his expression was indeed unpleasant.

When he arrived, it happened to be when the medicine’s effect had worn off and the poison began to act up again. Nan Jianxue lay on the bed, unable to even make a sound from the pain, curled up and looking pitiably miserable, which made his heart ache intensely.

“It’ll be better in a moment.” Liang Qifeng’s expression was also poor, but he remained relatively calm. “The Ghost Market is also researching this poison. It will be cured sooner or later, so don’t worry.”

“I know that, of course.” Nan Zhanyuan spoke, but his face remained grim. “If I find out who administered the poison, I’ll skin them alive!”

“Find them first before you talk.” Liang Qifeng glanced toward the bed and lowered his voice. “This matter must have been planned for a long time. Did you really not notice anything?”

Nan Zhanyuan shook his head and also lowered his voice: “Many people admired A-Xue. Since her hair-pinning ceremony, people have come to propose almost every month, including many high-ranking officials. When Father was on the throne, he considered bestowing a marriage many times.”

Hearing about the late Emperor, Liang Qifeng thought of the incident in the carriage and couldn’t help but frown slightly.

“Then why didn’t he do it?” Liang Qifeng asked. “The late Emperor… was also very fond of her?”

Nan Zhanyuan shook his head, lowering his voice further: “Concubine Jing came from a humble background. When she was still alive, Father didn’t pay much attention to her, so naturally, he didn’t care much for A-Xue either. Back then, Mother and A-Lan were shielding her.”

Liang Qifeng thought of Princess Anping and found it a bit strange: “Princess Anping isn’t married either.”

“It’s precisely because she wasn’t married that she could shield her.” Nan Zhanyuan’s expression softened slightly at this, even carrying a hint of a smile. “Whenever a family sought to marry A-Xue, A-Lan would go beg Father to bestow a marriage between herself and that family’s son.

She would say that as the elder sister, she hadn’t wed yet, so it would be improper for A-Xue to be betrothed. If Father didn’t agree, she would make a scene. Father couldn’t overcome her and had to compromise. Anping’s temperament back then was much more fiery than it is now; even Father couldn’t handle her, let alone those ministers. No one wanted to marry an ‘ancestor’ back home, so they all gave up.”

Liang Qifeng couldn’t help but laugh: “They are clearly sisters, yet their temperaments are completely different.”

Nan Zhanyuan felt a bit sentimental: “Actually, when she first arrived at Fengyi Palace, her personality wasn’t like this.”

Liang Qifeng looked at him without speaking, but the meaning in his eyes was clear he wanted him to continue.

Nan Zhanyuan smiled, a hint of nostalgia surfacing in his eyes: “When she first arrived at Fengyi Palace, she was very silent, very timid, and very dull. If no one called for her, she could stay cooped up in her room all day without coming out.”

It was a temperament completely opposite to how she was now. Liang Qifeng could hardly imagine what such a Nan Jianxue looked like, yet he could vaguely guess why she was like that.

“She… didn’t have a good life in the palace before?” When Liang Qifeng asked this question, he already had an idea. He couldn’t imagine that Nan Jianxue, but he had seen such imperial daughters heads bowed, shrinking back; he had initially thought she was a maid until Nan Zhanyuan told him she was his sister.

Nan Zhanyuan didn’t answer but stood up and walked toward the door.

Liang Qifeng understood and followed immediately. It wasn’t until they reached the courtyard that he heard Nan Zhanyuan ask: “How much do you know about A-Xue’s biological mother?”

“Not much,” Liang Qifeng said truthfully.

At first, he hadn’t even been interested in who he was marrying, let alone learning about her situation. Before the marriage was bestowed, they had no interaction, so he wouldn’t have investigated.

Nan Zhanyuan said: “Concubine Jing was from the South and was very beautiful. A-Xue took after her mother.”

Hearing this, Liang Qifeng had an idea. Looking at Nan Jianxue, her mother must have been extremely beautiful.

Nan Zhanyuan continued: “She entered the palace through the imperial selection. Because of her beauty and her gentle, considerate nature, Father favored her for a period of time. A-Xue was conceived during that time.”

“And then?” Liang Qifeng said. “According to you, she should have been quite favored.”

Nan Zhanyuan shook his head: “At that time, Noble Concubine Chen also happened to be pregnant. Most of Father’s attention shifted to her, so he neglected Concubine Jing. However, since she was carrying an imperial heir, her life in the palace was actually okay. It was only later when Noble Concubine Chen failed to carry her child to term—I heard it was a son. At that time, Noble Concubine Chen only had two daughters and always wanted a son. She was stimulated by this incident and became very… irritable.”

But no matter how irritable she was, she would never show it in front of the Emperor. Instead, she would weakly act out the grief of losing a child—

Calling it “acting” isn’t entirely correct, as she was indeed in pain, but that pain needed an outlet, so it all turned toward the people in her palace along with her anger. During that period, bodies were frequently carried out of Jingren Palace; there were even rumors that the gaps in the floorboards were so soaked with blood they couldn’t be washed clean.

But the Noble Concubine was heavily favored; the Emperor didn’t care, and the Empress couldn’t override the Emperor. The people below could only find a way to find another outlet. So, someone said it might be the child in Concubine Jing’s womb that was “clashing” with the Noble Concubine’s son.

“After that, Concubine Jing’s life became very difficult,” Nan Zhanyuan said. “Although Father liked Concubine Jing, compared to Noble Concubine Chen, he naturally favored the latter more. So, as long as it wasn’t too excessive, he turned a blind eye.”

Liang Qifeng frowned: “Concubine Jing didn’t say anything?”

“What could she say?” Nan Zhanyuan said. “You know how arrogant Noble Concubine Chen was. Moreover, Concubine Jing… also had a submissive nature.”

The Empress could handle things on the surface, but the two didn’t live together. If Concubine Jing didn’t report it, the Empress couldn’t have people standing guard just to catch Noble Concubine Chen. Whether not reporting it was due to personality or threats from Noble Concubine Chen is hard to say.

“Her father was just a minor county magistrate and couldn’t give her any support. Later, he was involved in a corruption case and was dismissed,” Nan Zhanyuan said. “After that, Concubine Jing became even more… silent.”

Silent to the point of disappearing from the harem, only showing her face during the imperial family banquets after the New Year.

“Actually, Father would occasionally visit her palace,” Nan Zhanyuan said, his brow furrowing. “But she didn’t know how to please Father and sometimes even made him angry. So later, Father rarely went there.”

Nan Zhanyuan didn’t know exactly what had angered the late Emperor, only that Father had said Concubine Jing had become increasingly foolish even with a beautiful face, staying there too long would make one feel bored.

Liang Qifeng was puzzled: “She was able to win the late Emperor’s favor before, which shows she wasn’t stupid.” She might even have been a clever person who understood people’s hearts; otherwise, she couldn’t have kept the Emperor’s heart.

Nan Zhanyuan said: “I’ve also thought she might have been hiding her light, I just can’t understand why she did that. You should know, she had already incurred Noble Concubine Chen’s dislike; she would be targeted regardless.”

Rather than appearing harmless, it would have been better to join the Empress’s camp. Even if she couldn’t regain the Emperor’s favor, she would at least have the Empress’s protection.

But she didn’t. She stayed shrunk in her palace. No matter how much trouble Noble Concubine Chen caused, she endured it. Not only did she not seek the Empress’s protection, she even avoided the Empress. After several years of torment, the originally gentle and lovely woman gradually changed. She became miserable, timid, and increasingly disliked by the Emperor.

“Mother was quite surprised when she begged her,” Nan Zhanyuan said. “I don’t know the full details, but Mother once said Concubine Jing suffered greatly. She asked us children what we thought, and naturally, we had no objection only A-Ming was a bit reluctant.”

There were many princes and princesses in the palace without a biological mother nearby some because the mother died, others because the mother’s rank was too low to raise them. These children would be placed in specialized halls and cared for by palace staff. A few lucky ones might be adopted by other concubines, but usually only by those without children. The Empress already had four children; there was no need to specifically bring one back.

But wanting to raise one was fine. How to teach her was for the Empress to decide. For Nan Zhanyuan and the others, it was just another mouth to feed. Especially since Nan Zhanyuan already had two sisters, one more didn’t make much difference.

The only one with an objection was the youngest, the Ninth Prince Nan Zhanming, for a very childish reason: he feared another child would take away Mother’s affection. But this reason was truly amusing; the Empress soothed him in a few sentences, and Nan Jianxue was successfully taken back to Fengyi Palace by the Empress.

As it turned out, the one most enthusiastic about Nan Jianxue at Fengyi Palace was Nan Zhanming. Because Nan Zhanyuan had a heavy workload and no time to play with him, and Nan Jianlan and Nan Jianfei preferred spending time with their close friends rather than their brother, it was instead Nan Jianxue, the sister who didn’t like going out, who would pay attention to him.

Liang Qifeng stood by and listened. Nan Zhanyuan ended up talking about how Nan Zhanming pestered Nan Jianxue to play with him. As he listened, his mind began to wander. He thought again of Nan Jianxue crying in the carriage. He wondered if Nan Jianxue had also cried frequently before going to Fengyi Palace, which was why he was still crying in his dreams.

“Did he cry after going to Fengyi Palace?” Liang Qifeng suddenly asked.

Nan Zhanyuan didn’t expect him to ask this. He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head slightly after a few breaths: “No. Strange as it sounds, as far as I know, although Concubine Jing didn’t have a good life, she was very fond of her. When she went to Fengyi Palace, Concubine Jing had passed away not long before, yet she never cried once. Later, as she got used to life in Fengyi Palace, she cried even less.”

Liang Qifeng gave an “Mm” and said no more, while Nan Zhanyuan couldn’t help but tell him more about Nan Jianxue’s childhood.

When Nan Jianxue was young, he didn’t even know how to fake crying. Once, the Empress received several beautiful glass cups and gave one to each child. Nan Jianxue loved his very much and used it every day to drink. After drinking, he would carefully wash and store it, even glancing at it before bed. One day, Nan Zhanming went to play and accidentally broke the glass cup. Fearing Nan Jianxue would be angry, he had someone glue the cup back together and put it back, thinking he could hide it.

Nan Jianxue wasn’t blind and naturally saw the problem immediately, but he didn’t cry. He just stared blankly at the glass cup. When asked what happened, he didn’t say. It wasn’t until Nan Jianlan noticed she stopped using the cup that she understood, so she taught her to go and cry to Mother.

At first, Nan Jianxue didn’t dare. Nan Jianlan dragged her before Mother and vividly described how much Nan Jianxue loved the cup. Perhaps her words touched Nan Jianxue, for he finally squeezed out a tear aggrievedly. Then Nan Zhanming was beaten by the Empress, and she had several more glass cups given to Nan Jianxue.

Such things happened many times. With Nan Jianlan and Nan Jianfei teaching him, Nan Jianxue gradually learned to cry and act spoiled.

After saying all this, Nan Zhanyuan laughed: “Mother once said her womb couldn’t produce someone like A-Xue; perhaps that’s why we treasure him so much.”

Liang Qifeng agreed: “Compared to her, you are indeed quite annoying.”

Nan Zhanyuan: “…”

“When I bestowed the marriage, you were completely unwilling,” Nan Zhanyuan raised an eyebrow. “You stormed into Zichen Hall with a sword; even the guards thought you were going to force a coup.”

“I’m still unwilling,” Liang Qifeng said. “Stop playing matchmaker haphazardly.”

Nan Zhanyuan snorted: “Still thinking about that sweetheart of yours? Fine. The day you find that person, I’ll issue a decree for your divorce. Just don’t regret it then.”

Liang Qifeng’s face darkened, and he said nothing. Nan Zhanyuan stopped talking and pointed behind him: “A-Xue should be about to wake up. She’ll likely throw a tantrum; go coax her. I’ll head back to the palace first.”

Liang Qifeng was silent for a moment before turning back to the room.

Upon entering, he heard Qingqian coaxing Nan Jianxue to eat.

“I’m not eating.” Likely because of the quilt, Nan Jianxue’s voice sounded a bit muffled. “I don’t want this.”

Liang Qifeng walked over and saw Qingqian holding a dish of preserved fruits. Nan Jianxue sat on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, still curled up and looking incredibly aggrieved.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Qifeng asked.

“The Princess wants to eat sugar-preserved bitter melon. The mansion doesn’t have it, and neither do the shops. I could only have the kitchen make it.” Qingqian said, frowning. “The Princess clearly doesn’t like bitter melon.”

Liang Qifeng: “…Why suddenly want to eat that?”

Nan Jianxue looked up from the quilt and explained: “I read in a book that sugar-preserved bitter melon has a very special taste.”

Liang Qifeng understood: “Read it from a story again?”

Nan Jianxue mumbled a response and shrunk back into the quilt. Liang Qifeng took the preserved fruits from Qingqian, crouched by the bed, and said: “When you’re sick, you should eat something sweet. What’s the point of eating bitter melon?”

Nan Jianxue didn’t answer him. Liang Qifeng held the fruit out a bit: “Really not eating?” Nan Jianxue still ignored him. He was indeed throwing a tantrum.

Liang Qifeng said: “I’ll take you out after you eat.”

Only then did Nan Jianxue move, a pair of eyes peeking out from the quilt to look at him: “Out where?”

“Where do you want to go?” Liang Qifeng smiled. “Take you up the mountain?”

Nan Jianxue said in a muffled voice: “What’s there to do on a mountain?”

“Go see the stars?” Liang Qifeng had just said it casually without much thought, choosing an answer he thought a girl would like.

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