After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by the Paranoid Eldest Princess - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Miss! Someone from the manor has arrived!”

Yinxing ran over hurriedly with a joyful face, nearly colliding head-on with Ajin, who had just risen.

Stopping in her tracks, Yinxing looked strangely at Ajin, who was wearing only a sleeping robe: “Why are you here?”

“Cough.” Wen Chenqing winced and massaged her neck, speaking up to divert Yinxing’s attention: “Why has someone come from the manor?”

Sure enough, Yinxing stopped focusing on why Ajin was coming out of the Miss’s room in her nightclothes early in the morning. She said happily, “The results for the county exam are out! The manor sent someone early this morning to announce the good news. Miss, you are now a Xiucai!”

Wen Chenqing realized that it was indeed the day for the results to be posted.

She watched Ajin’s retreating figure disappear around the corner, then turned to ask the ecstatic Yinxing, “What time is it?”

Yinxing’s smile widened: “Miss, it’s already the three-quarter mark of the Si hour (approx. 10:45 AM). You woke up late today.”

That’s because I stayed up late last night, Wen Chenqing thought.

She lowered her hand, and only then did Yinxing clearly see the marks on her neck.

“Miss, why is your neck red?!”

With a gasp, Yinxing’s joy vanished as she hurried to bring over a bronze mirror.

Wen Chenqing tilted her neck, looking left and right in the mirror. A flash of doubt crossed her eyes.

There were indeed some red marks. Could she have caused them herself just now when she was massaging it?

Come to think of it, her throat hurt a little when she spoke.

Recalling the events of the previous night, Wen Chenqing asked Yinxing, “Is there any medicine left to prevent a cold? Boil some later.”

“There is,” Yinxing asked worriedly. “Are you sick, Miss? I’ll go fetch Dr. Shen to take a look.”

Wen Chenqing waved her off: “No need, I’m not sick. It’s just a precaution. Oh, boil extra and send a bowl to Ajin as well.”

After all, Ajin’s constitution was weaker than hers. If she felt uncomfortable, Ajin’s symptoms might be even worse.

Yinxing nodded in agreement. As she placed the bronze mirror back on the dressing table, her peripheral vision caught something different about her lady’s bed—there was an extra pillow and a second set of bedding.

Thinking of the Ajin she had just seen, her eyes widened.

“Yinxing,” Wen Chenqing called her. “Where is the person from the manor?”

Yinxing, still preoccupied with the fact that Ajin had apparently slept with her lady last night, answered distractedly: “It rained last night, and it’s a bit chilly today. Madame Chen said the messenger arrived early, so she prepared hot tea and let him rest first, waiting for you to come out before he reports.”

Wen Chenqing estimated the timing; the manor must have sent someone the moment the results were posted.

Tying her silk belt, she said, “Let’s go and have a look.”

As soon as they reached the side room, the resting messenger immediately stood up and bowed to Wen Chenqing.

Even though Wen Chenqing had been “exiled” by the Wen family, a master was always a master, and a servant was always a servant.

The man dared not be disrespectful. After a crisp bow, he said with a joyful face: “Congratulations, Miss! You have passed the exam!”

Wen Chenqing took the letter he handed over and scanned it quickly.

A few moments later, she tucked the letter away and gave him a gentle smile: “You’ve had a long journey. Where are the things my father asked you to bring?”

In the letter, Father Wen mentioned her success in a neutral tone, added a few words of encouragement, and noted that the manor had sent some supplies for her to check.

The messenger’s face was full of eagerness: “Miss, they are all here.”

There were puddles in the courtyard, and Madame Chen was directing the moving of several large chests.

The messenger pulled another envelope from his robe and presented it respectfully with both hands.

Wen Chenqing took it and slipped it into her sleeve.

Once everything was settled, Wen Chenqing wasn’t in a hurry to check the supplies from afar. She watched the servant, who said he was rushing back to report, drive the carriage away before leading the group back inside.

Yinxing came out of the kitchen and said, “Miss, the medicine is boiled. Why don’t you eat something before drinking it?”

Wen Chenqing nodded. As she lifted her robes to walk toward the main room, she saw Ajin standing neatly dressed by the door.

Seeing her look over, Ajin said with a smile in her eyes: “Congratulations, A-Qing.”

Wen Chenqing, who had actually noticed her earlier, asked: “Why didn’t you come out just now?”

Ajin replied, “The visitor was from your family. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to appear.”

Wen Chenqing didn’t think much of it: “What’s inappropriate about it?”

Ajin stole a glance at her.

Wen Chenqing happened to walk right up to her and saw it clearly: “What are you trying to say?”

Ajin’s eyelashes fluttered, looking as if she were summoning courage—or perhaps acting on purpose: “Aren’t many stories in the storybooks like this? With my status, it’s almost as if I am A-Qing’s ‘outer room’ mistress.”

Wen Chenqing was shocked: “?”

Yinxing, who was bringing over the food, stared with wide eyes: “…”

Wen Chenqing immediately turned to question: “Yinxing, did you read your storybooks to Ajin?”

“What?” Yinxing’s head shook like a rattle. She said repeatedly: “Miss, I didn’t!”

Usually, Miss Ajin barely spoke to her! When the Miss was studying, Miss Ajin stayed in her room and didn’t come out!

Wen Chenqing turned her gaze back to Ajin and said with a stern face: “Don’t say such strange things all day.”

She didn’t know if Ajin took the words to heart.

The next second, she heard Ajin ask Yinxing: “What is this?”

The industrious Yinxing, who had just served the food and was now serving the medicine, gave a resentful look to the person who had caused her to be wrongly accused by her lady. She huffed twice and said: “This is the medicine to ward off the cold that the Miss specially asked me to brew for both of you.”

Si Jinghua looked at the seated Wen Chenqing in surprise.

Wen Chenqing tilted her chin to indicate: “We woke up late today. Eat something to line your stomach, then drink the medicine to prevent a cold.”

As she spoke, she rubbed her neck again, feeling a slight discomfort even when eating.

Si Jinghua thought for a moment and realized why Wen Chenqing was doing this.

Her eyes flickered with complexity as she watched Wen Chenqing touch her neck; she suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

Eating distractedly, Si Jinghua suddenly remarked: “You sleep very deeply at night.”

The person was nearly strangled to death by her, yet she hadn’t woken up.

“Mhm?” Wen Chenqing looked up blankly, swallowing her food. She had no idea her life had been in danger last night. She asked with concern: “Did you not sleep well last night?”

Wen Chenqing’s sleep quality had always been excellent. Back in boarding school and university dorms, the teeth-grinding, snoring, and whispering of others never affected her once she was tired. She was always the one who slept the most soundly.

Moreover, she could sleep anywhere, which used to make others quite envious.

Last night, having someone beside her—with zero experience sharing a bed—made her a bit uncomfortable at first, but she soon succumbed to the overwhelming waves of sleepiness.

Ajin’s soft voice turned sweet: “With A-Qing by my side, I slept extremely well in the latter half of the night.”

“Uh… as long as you didn’t have any more nightmares.” Wen Chenqing awkwardly looked away.

However, while Ajin slept well, she herself had a nightmare last night—dreaming she was being smothered to death by a quilt.

Yinxing listened silently to their conversation. Her expression shifted from confusion to shock, and finally to a “so that’s how it is” realization.

She suddenly spoke up, her tone bright as she said to Ajin: “Ajin, if you have another nightmare next time, you can come find me to accompany you. Miss has never shared a bed with anyone before. If she doesn’t rest well at night, what if it affects her studies during the day?”

In the past, Yinxing would never have said such a thing.

But she had taken all of her lady’s hard work these days to heart. Furthermore, since the Miss had passed the Xiucai exam, she had to prepare properly for the provincial exam!

Si Jinghua looked at Yinxing’s well-meaning, round face and inwardly frowned.

This little girl really has no sense of timing.

Yinxing had no idea she was being critiqued. She looked at her lady joyfully, her face full of “please praise me.”

“Yinxing really is the most thoughtful.” Wen Chenqing praised her as desired. The indulgent smile on her face looked strangely irritating to the other person.

“Cough, cough.”

“Did you catch a cold after all?” Wen Chenqing immediately turned with concern.

Ajin covered her mouth with her sleeve and said softly, “It’s nothing, I just choked while drinking the medicine.”

Wen Chenqing said disapprovingly, “No need to drink so fast.”

“Mhm,” Ajin answered, her brow suddenly tinged with a hint of loneliness.

“…”

Wen Chenqing saw this and paused. She said to Yinxing, “Actually, I’ve been sleeping very deeply lately, so I don’t think it has much of an effect. If Ajin is truly afraid, it’s no trouble to come find me.”

Yinxing nodded: “Mhm, mhm, I’ll listen to the Miss.”

Si Jinghua set down the empty medicine bowl, her lips immediately curling into a smile, the loneliness from a moment ago vanishing.

Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Wen Chenqing felt an unconscious sense of relief.

After the meal and medicine, Wen Chenqing took the letter from her sleeve; it was an ancient version of an admission notice.

The original body used to study at the Imperial Academy, but now that she was exiled, the Wen family would not agree to let her return and cause more trouble. They had found her another academy.

Jinyun Academy.

Wen Chenqing had heard of it; the teaching staff was quite good, and it wasn’t particularly far from her current location.

It was clear that although the Wen family didn’t like her and didn’t want her back, they weren’t making things too difficult. As soon as the results were out, the admission notice was ready for her.

“Is A-Qing going away to study?”

Wen Chenqing tucked the notice away: “I’ll be heading to the academy in a few days.”

She saw Ajin looking thoughtful and called to her: “Come, let’s see what the manor sent together.”

Several large chests were opened.

Wen Chenqing leaned over to look. There were two chests of books, some clothes, and daily necessities. There was even half a chest of medicinal materials and several ginseng roots. Some of these were clearly prepared by the original body’s birth mother.

Yinxing noticed too. She knelt down and held the items, happy for Wen Chenqing: “Miss, look! These were prepared by Concubine Liu!”

Wen Chenqing smiled and nodded: “I see.”

Si Jinghua secretly observed Wen Chenqing’s expression. It was flawless; she looked genuinely happy.

This monster’s acting skills are impressive.

Wen Chenqing looked at Ajin, then suddenly smiled, reached down, and picked up a high-quality ginseng root. She said naturally: “Stewing this to nourish Ajin will be just right.”

Si Jinghua’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked, her phoenix eyes staring directly at Wen Chenqing.