The Eldest Princess' Substitute Husband (Transmigration) - Chapter 25

“I almost thought Wei Luoyi was a lesbian.”

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After the start of spring, the sun became gentle and warm. It was no longer the gloomy, dreary weather of winter that made people feel miserable. This mild, comfortable weather was perfect.

It was still an hour or so before noon. After Song Jinsheng left, Wei Luoyi, with nothing to do and still feeling tired, didn’t go to her study to practice calligraphy as usual. Instead, she curled up languidly on a soft chair in her room.

On the table beside her was a bowl of lotus seed and red bean soup that the imperial kitchen had just delivered. The Empress had sent it over, but Wei Luoyi hadn’t had a single sip, or even picked up the bowl.

She just used a porcelain spoon to idly stir it, while holding the novel she hadn’t finished reading a few nights ago. Her expression was as placid as water, and she looked listless, as if her mind was a million miles away.

Suddenly, another gust of wind blew in from outside, lifting a few strands of hair on Wei Luoyi’s forehead. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and the motion of her spoon stopped.

Her gaze, which had been fixed on the novel for a long time, lifted to the wooden box on the corner of the table. Inside was the stethoscope, the one she had used to listen to Song Jinsheng’s heartbeat not long ago…

And then that person had fled in a panic.

Fled in a panic…

Trying to escape? Trying to escape from me?

…Can she?

Chunyue, seeing the wind, and knowing that Wei Luoyi was prone to getting cold and was still in her monthly cycle, rushed to close the wooden window.

She was about to say a few more words of care when she turned and saw Wei Luoyi still holding the book, her gaze wandering to some unknown place, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Chunyue froze on the spot.

This scene… was a little too strange…

She knew the book in her princess’s hand was a novel she and Dongyang had gone to great lengths to find and buy. They’d heard that any random chapter from it was enough to scare someone witless.

Of course, she knew the Princess wasn’t afraid of ghosts or anything… but not being afraid was one thing. What was with the smiling?

As Chunyue watched, she felt both a chill and a sense of confusion. She couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness… is this book… not scary enough?”

At her words, Wei Luoyi’s smile slowly faded. She looked up at her, confused. “It’s alright… Why do you ask?”

Chunyue lowered her head and mumbled softly, “Nothing, it’s just that I… just saw Your Highness smiling…”

“What did you say?”

“…I said, Your Highness was smiling.”

Wei Luoyi frowned in bewilderment. After a moment of silence, she looked at Chunyue and asked again, “Was I smiling just now?”

Was I?

I just remember… I was thinking about something…

Chunyue nodded repeatedly. But seeing Wei Luoyi’s confused look, she felt even more uneasy.

How could she not know she was smiling? Is it possible… that a ghost from the book came out and possessed her?

Chunyue’s mind began to wander to strange places. Especially seeing Wei Luoyi’s blank stare, a look she had never seen on her princess’s face before.

Her bizarre thoughts deepened until a knock on the door came from outside. It startled her, and she quickly put away her strange ideas to open the door.

Two people stood outside. Dongyang was in front, and behind her was a fair-faced young girl with moth-like eyebrows and pearly-white teeth. Although she was only wearing a simple, light green dress without much expensive jewelry, it couldn’t hide her noble presence.

Chunyue was only stunned for a moment before she immediately recognized the person in front of her—the Princess of Yun’an, Wei Qingwan, who had lived away from the capital for many years.

Wei Qingwan was the daughter of the Prince of Pingyang, who was the emperor’s only younger brother. He and the emperor were very close, so Wei Qingwan was naturally favored.

When she was a child, she often came to find Wei Luoyi and loved being with her. Even if they spent an hour just reading and not talking, she was happy to do so.

At first, Wei Luoyi didn’t like her closeness, but children crave playmates, and Wei Qingwan loved to follow her and was difficult to send away. So, she got used to Wei Qingwan coming to find her every day.

It was thanks to Wei Qingwan that Wei Luoyi wasn’t as solitary as she was now in her childhood. It was just a shame that the Prince of Pingyang later left the capital, and Wei Qingwan also moved away, making it difficult for them to see each other.

Chunyue moved aside and bowed slightly. “This servant greets the Princess. Please come in.”

“Mmm, no need for formalities.”

Wei Qingwan gave her a bright smile and rushed towards Wei Luoyi. Ignoring the fact that Wei Luoyi was still sitting down, she knelt on the floor and burrowed into Wei Luoyi’s arms, her voice soft and sweet. “Sister Yi’er, I finally have time to come find you. I didn’t even get to say much to you at the banquet yesterday before my father told me to go back and rest.”

“You don’t know, ever since I returned to the capital, I’ve been wanting to come and find you… Wan’er hasn’t seen you in so long…”

The sudden intimacy caught Wei Luoyi by surprise, but after her body adjusted, she also smiled and gently patted the head of the person in her arms. “Alright, alright, get up first. Didn’t you see me now?”

Wei Qingwan obediently let go of Wei Luoyi’s waist and sat down on the bed with her, her eyes fixed on Wei Luoyi’s face, never moving away.

Seeing this, Wei Luoyi couldn’t help but smile. She raised her hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Wei Qingwan’s ear. “Didn’t you miss me? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Sister Yi’er…” Wei Qingwan pouted, her expression both charming and pitiful. She naturally took Wei Luoyi’s hand, just as she did when she was a child, and leaned her head lightly on her shoulder. “It’s been a year since we last parted… Sister, you’ve gotten a little thinner. Wan’er’s heart aches just looking at you…”

Wei Qingwan’s voice dropped, then she suddenly looked up at Wei Luoyi. “Sister, did that bad person bully you?”

“Bad person?” Wei Luoyi frowned, not understanding who she was talking about.

“You know… that person…” Wei Qingwan’s words trailed off. She lowered her head and softly grunted, then took Wei Luoyi’s arm and leaned back on her.

Wei Luoyi thought for a moment before saying hesitantly, “Wan’er, are you talking about the Consort?”

“Mmm.” Wei Qingwan inhaled the faint floral scent on Wei Luoyi’s neck, then leaned in closer and grumbled in a low voice, “If she dares to bully you, just tell me. I’ll go and teach her a lesson for you!”

She was already at an age where she should be a young woman, but she still spoke like a child, which made Wei Luoyi unable to suppress a smile. “Wan’er, remember, no one can bully your sister.”

“Why do you say the Consort is a bad person?”

“Because…” The words were on the tip of Wei Qingwan’s tongue, but she felt they weren’t appropriate and swallowed them back.

Could she say it was because the Consort had married Wei Luoyi?

She knew that when two people got married and became husband and wife, they would be very, very intimate… just like her father and mother, who were inseparable all day long. But even so, it was a normal thing for a married couple, but…

But the thought of Wei Luoyi being intimate with someone else, even more so than with her, made her heart turn sour and heavy.

“I… I… Hmph, anyway, looking at her smooth-faced appearance, she doesn’t look like a good person. She’s a bad person!”

Wei Luoyi raised an eyebrow, lowered her gaze to the person on her shoulder, and said softly, “Wan’er, the Consort is not a bad person. If you see her, or when you’re in front of others, you must not say things like that.”

“I… I know, Sister Yi’er. I won’t speak carelessly outside.”

Hearing Wei Luoyi defend someone for a change, Wei Qingwan felt even more resentful. She couldn’t help but shake her arm, her beautiful eyes wide as she looked at her. “Sister… do you… like her very much?”

At her words, Wei Luoyi’s heart trembled. She answered almost instinctively, “No.”

“Really?” Wei Qingwan immediately sat up and turned to look at her.

“Mmm.” Wei Luoyi’s eyes blinked a little faster, and a faint smile curved her lips. “The Consort is just my husband, nothing more. There’s no deep affection… The person I love most is you, Wan’er.”

Wei Qingwan, at the age of fourteen, had not yet experienced romance. She didn’t fully understand the first part of Wei Luoyi’s sentence, but when she heard the latter, her face lit up with joy. She smiled widely and hugged Wei Luoyi’s arm.

“Good. Wan’er loves Sister the most, too.”

******

“Achoo—”

Song Jinsheng rested for an hour in the Changxin Palace’s resting hall. On her way back to the main room, she had sneezed several times.

Song Jinsheng rubbed the tip of her nose, feeling confused.

Did I catch a cold? But it’s not even that cold right now… It can’t be that someone is talking bad about me behind my back, can it?

Song Jinsheng walked along, lost in thought. Maybe she really had caught a chill; she wasn’t feeling very energetic. She even forgot to knock on the door before entering and just walked straight in with her head down.

After a big yawn, she looked up and almost got a heart attack.

At first glance, she saw a beautiful young girl leaning intimately against Wei Luoyi. Not only that, but their hands were intertwined.

Anyone who saw that would be shocked.

She almost thought Wei Luoyi was a lesbian.

Song Jinsheng froze on the spot, staring blankly at the two people on the bed.

As she took a closer look, she realized the girl must be quite young, just a child. Although her face was beautiful, it was still childish. She was probably Wei Luoyi’s sister.

But it was still surprising that Wei Luoyi was willing to be so intimate with someone. She had always thought that someone like Wei Luoyi, who wasn’t close to the emperor or empress, would be distant with everyone.

“How dare you! Why are you staring at me like that!” Wei Qingwan saw that Song Jinsheng had been staring at her without hesitation since she walked in and couldn’t help but blurt out the rebuke.

Song Jinsheng was stunned again.

She was speechless.

What kind of sisters are they? One is gloomy and the other is ferocious.

“Wan’er.” Wei Luoyi heard that Wei Qingwan was truly angry and spoke to calm her down. After she heard her let out a soft hmph, she turned to the stunned Song Jinsheng.

“Consort, this is Princess Yun’an.”

“…Oh, greetings, Your Highness Princess. I was momentarily distracted just now. Please forgive my disrespect.” Song Jinsheng came back to her senses and immediately bowed her head and clasped her hands in a respectful gesture, so the little princess wouldn’t continue to scold her.

“You don’t bow to me first, and you keep staring at me. What kind of distraction is that, Consort?” Wei Qingwan moved away from Wei Luoyi’s embrace. Seeing Song Jinsheng’s attempt to be polite, she was still not satisfied and continued to be difficult.

“I…” Song Jinsheng lowered her head, feeling awkward and speechless.

What could she say? Should she say she didn’t recognize her as a princess? That would probably just anger this little tiger even more.

“That’s enough, Wan’er,” Wei Luoyi said, taking Wei Qingwan’s hand. She glanced at the helpless Song Jinsheng. “The Consort hasn’t seen you in a long time. She probably looked a little longer because she didn’t recognize you.”

“Didn’t you say you were hungry just now? It’s almost lunchtime. Will you stay and eat with your sister? Or…”

Before Wei Luoyi could finish, Wei Qingwan immediately grabbed her hand and shook it, her eyes crinkling into a happy smile. “Of course I’ll stay with Sister!”

Then, she glanced at Song Jinsheng.

That one look made three big question marks pop up in Song Jinsheng’s mind.

Was it her imagination? Why did she feel… that look had a hint of a boast?

And this princess… why did she feel a strange hostility from her?

The three of them sat together at the table. Song Jinsheng listened to the two of them chat, not saying a word, just inwardly complaining.

As if to prove her point, Wei Qingwan picked up a piece of bamboo shoot, put it in Wei Luoyi’s bowl, and then asked in a sweet voice, “Sister, Wan’er rarely gets to visit you. Can I stay in your palace tonight? Wan’er wants to sleep with you…”

At her words, both Wei Luoyi and Song Jinsheng’s expressions froze.

Song Jinsheng couldn’t help but frown as she looked at the still-pouting Wei Qingwan. She was a beautiful girl, but for some reason, Song Jinsheng felt a deep sense of discomfort…

Doesn’t Changxin Palace only have one bedroom for Wei Luoyi and a side room?

This little brat wants to sleep with Wei Luoyi… So what about me?

******

[Author’s Note]

There’s no sibling incest here. The younger sister is just very fond of her sister, and she’s an accomplice!

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