The Traitor Crown Princess (Transmigration) - Chapter 17

It is unknown how much time had passed before Shen Yi woke up. He stared at the carved wooden patterns on the ceiling, lost in thought.

Where am I now?

He tilted his head upward and caught sight of a hand with well-defined knuckles propping up a book before his eyes. Realizing where he was lying, he sat up abruptly, sending the book flying away.

Shen Yi scrambled to his feet in a panic. “I’ve overslept!”

Chu Yun’s expression remained unchanged as he put the storybook away. “It’s fine. Let’s get off the carriage.”

Shen Yi scratched the back of his neck, feeling that something was strange, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Whatever. Shen Yi dismissed his concerns and followed Chu Yun off the carriage.

Leng Feng was resting against the carriage, his arms crossed with a straw hat covering his face.

When the carriage door suddenly opened, Leng Feng jolted awake from his dream. “Master.”

The two stepped down from the carriage. Chu Yun asked, “Have you booked the rooms?”

“They have been booked, but there are only two rooms left…” Leng Feng gauged Chu Yun’s expression; seeing it was no different than usual, and recalling the striking scene he had witnessed earlier, he added, “I prefer to stay in a room alone. Master, why don’t you and Young Master Shen share one?”

Chu Yun remained silent, but Shen Yi interrupted their conversation. “Or you can stay in a room with your master, and I’ll take one separately.”

Leng Feng touched the tip of his nose. “I snore when I sleep; I’m worried it would disturb the Master.”

Shen Yi suggested, “Otherwise, I’ll continue sleeping in the chicken coop, and you two can each have a room.”

Leng Feng lied through his teeth. “Those chickens might have bird flu; it wouldn’t be good if you got infected.”

“…” Shen Yi was left speechless. He then turned to Chu Yun. “Are you willing to share a room with me?”

Chu Yun was composed. “I am.”

Shen Yi: ???

Shen Yi pushed the door open. The room was reasonably tidy, and a screen in the middle cleverly separated the space into two areas. The drawback was that there was only one bed.

Shen Yi opened the window and looked down at the empty street below, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He wondered how those commoners were faring.

“Customer, here is the incense you requested. The hot water for the bathtub is also ready.”

“Hmm.” Chu Yun tossed a few taels of silver to the waiter. “Please help prepare the hot water again tomorrow.”

The waiter looked at the heavy silver in his hands, his face beaming. “Understood, thank you, customer.”

After the door closed, Shen Yi opened the wardrobe and took out the bathing robe inside. “Do you want to bathe first, or should I?”

Chu Yun was sitting on the bed. “I already bathed once before we left today. You go first.”

Shen Yi draped the robe over his shoulders. “Alright. If you get sleepy, just go to bed; don’t worry about me.”

“Hmm.”

Shen Yi immediately stepped into the inner chamber.

Chu Yun lay on the bed, closing his eyes to rest.

A while later, the sound of rustling water drifted out from the inner chamber, followed by a faint floral fragrance permeating the air.

The image of Shen Yi bathing automatically surfaced in Chu Yun’s mind.

The surface of the water was covered in red flower petals. Shen Yi was leaning against the side of the tub, scooping up a handful of water and splashing it onto his shoulders. His fair fingertips brushed past, and the water slid down his porcelain-like skin, disappearing into the water below.

The corners of his lips were slightly upturned, his crimson lips and the rose petals on his skin complementing each other perfectly. His black hair hung naturally down his back, and his eyes shimmered with faint, deep glints—his face was more beautiful than flowers.

If those eyes were to be used for weeping…

Chu Yun’s eyes snapped open, and he walked out of the room in silence.

When Shen Yi came out, he was surprised to find he was alone in the room.

He walked over to a chair and sat down, changing into a clean robe to dry his black hair. After he finished washing, there was still no sign of Chu Yun. Too lazy to go looking for him, he climbed under the covers and prepared to sleep.

The door opened at that moment. Chu Yun walked in, seemingly having changed his clothes; his hair was slightly damp.

A head poked out from the white silk quilt.

“Where did you go?”

Chu Yun hesitated. “…To bathe.”

Shen Yi didn’t think much of it. “Let’s sleep. We have to continue our journey tomorrow.”

After saying this, he scooted over to the side, proactively lifted the edge of the quilt, and patted the bed with a sincere expression: “Come and sleep together.”

Chu Yun: ……..

He said nothing and did not refuse. After blowing out the candle, he climbed into bed and lay on the outer side.

Shen Yi’s eyelids began to grow heavy. He didn’t know why, but having Chu Yun by his side always gave him a sense of security, allowing him to relax involuntarily.

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Chu Yun, however, could not fall asleep for a long time. He could even smell the floral fragrance on Shen Yi. Listening to his steady, rhythmic breathing, the desires he had just forcefully suppressed began to stir quietly once more.

If he had known it would be like this, he would have just gone to sleep with Leng Feng.

Chu Yun made a move to get up, but Shen Yi suddenly rolled over, pressing half of his body onto him.

Shen Yi’s arm resting on his shoulder was one thing, but his leg happened to pin down a spot that shouldn’t be pinned.

Smooth, delicate skin pressed together, separated only by a thin layer of fabric.

Chu Yun took a deep breath, wrapped one arm around Shen Yi’s waist, and whispered, “This is what you brought upon yourself.”

Shen Yi woke up and opened his eyes. What met his gaze was a white gauze canopy. He wanted to get up, only to discover that his hands had been tied to the headboard with hemp rope.

Just as he was filled with confusion, Chu Yun walked out from behind the screen.

Shen Yi looked as if he had seen a savior: “Help me untie the rope.”

Chu Yun acted as if he hadn’t heard him. He sat between Shen Yi’s legs, grabbed one of his feet with one hand, hooked it over his waist, and wore a wild, arrogant smile: “Guess why I am here?”

Shen Yi was bewildered: “You tied me up? Why did you tie me up?”

Chu Yun: “You will find out in a moment.”

Shen Yi scrutinized Chu Yun, discovering that he was quite different from usual; both his movements and his gaze were much gentler.

His waist felt cool. Shen Yi lowered his head and saw that Chu Yun had untied his belt at some point.

Shen Yi became flustered instantly: “Are you crazy! …I’m straight! Straight! Do you know what that means? It means I hate men!”

Chu Yun did not answer. Even so, he did not stop what he was doing.

Shen Yi felt the blood rushing to his head and sat straight up from the bed.

Only then did he realize he had just been having a dream.

Sunlight slanted in through the latticed windows, illuminating the entire room, accompanied by the cries of street vendors.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and scanned his surroundings with trepidation. Not seeing Chu Yun, he immediately threw off the quilt to check his belt and trousers.

Thank goodness, they hadn’t been unfastened.

Shen Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief and then fell into thought.

Strange. I do have a bit of a good feeling toward Chu Yun, but it’s nowhere near… the level of doing “that” thing…

After much hesitation, Shen Yi got up to change clothes and wash.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Chu Yun and Leng Feng sitting at a table, chatting about something.

Chu Yun noticed Shen Yi first and greeted him: “Awake?”

Shen Yi’s expression was somewhat unnatural: “…Hmm.”

He spoke as he pulled out a chair and sat down. On the table were soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks. He took a few careless bites: “Why didn’t I see you in the room this morning?”

Chu Yun: “I stayed in a room with Leng Feng last night.”

Leng Feng gave a wry smile. He had been sleeping perfectly well last night, only to be kicked to the floor by Chu Yun in the middle of the night. He was furious to the point of exploding. Furthermore, there were rats running back and forth in the room; he almost became their ration!

Leng Feng was so angry he gritted his teeth, inwardly cursing Shen Yi for bringing him so much trouble.

After the meal, the three continued on their journey.

At noon, the carriage arrived at a small town in Jiangnan. Shen Yi hadn’t heard Leng Feng speak for a long time, so he opened the carriage door.

“Have we not arrived yet?”

Following that, he witnessed a terrifying scene.

Countless disaster victims were weeping as they sat on the ground. Their clothes were tattered and torn; without exception, they were skinny as skeletons, their faces devoid of color. They appeared listless, and there were only adults and the elderly—no children to be seen.

Seeing the two men descend, the victims swarmed forward, abandoning the clods of dirt they had been holding.

“The Emperor has come to save us!”

“So hungry, is there anything to eat!”

“Water! Give me water!!”

Chu Yun got off the carriage: “Leng Feng, take out the steamed buns we prepared in advance and distribute them to them.”

“Yes.” Leng Feng took three large bags of buns from the carriage and distributed them to the victims.

The victims were so starved they had lost their minds, nearly dragging Leng Feng down. It was only because Shen Yi reached out to grab him that he didn’t tumble over.

After a bout of scrambling, the victims crouched on the ground, crazily gnawing on the buns in their hands. Shen Yi walked to the spot where the porridge shop had been, but it had been demolished; even the thatched hut specifically built for them was nowhere to be found.

After Hao Tian resigned, the situation should have improved; it shouldn’t have become even more severe.

Shen Yi felt that something was wrong, so he stopped an older woman and asked: “Ma’am, where are the children of the village?”

“Children, children…” The woman suddenly began to laugh maniacally, unable to control herself: “Eaten, all eaten, hahahahahaha.”

After she finished speaking, she didn’t wait for Shen Yi to say a word before she ran off into the open field like a madwoman.

Shen Yi felt his skin crawl. Recalling when they had left Jiangnan before, those children had all…

He dared not think further; an indescribable feeling of bitterness spread in his heart.

Shen Yi found another man sitting on the ground and softened his voice: “Hello, could you please tell me, where did the previous porridge shop go? And what about those thatched huts?”

The man lifted his pale face and said in a trembling voice: “After the new magistrate took office, he ordered the porridge shop to be smashed. He also forced us to pay silver; otherwise, he wouldn’t give us anything to eat. The thatched huts were also torn down; he wants to farm, and won’t let us live there.”

The more Shen Yi heard, the more his nameless anger grew. He noticed the baby the man was holding was withered, its eyes tightly closed it had clearly been dead for many days.

The man felt Shen Yi’s unfriendly gaze and scrambled away with the child.

Chu Yun walked over and consoled him: “Let’s go to the yamen first to find the magistrate and see what is going on.”

“Let’s go.” Shen Yi sighed.

The carriage stopped in front of the yamen again. After getting out, Shen Yi pounded on the gate.

Bang, bang, bang,

A long time passed, and there was still no response.

Shen Yi leaped directly over the wall into the inner courtyard and discovered a bailiff snoring loudly on the floor of the main hall, with a half-finished jar of Nu’er Hong wine beside him.

What kind of behavior is this!

Shen Yi’s rage boiled over. He kicked the bailiff in the leg and cursed: “Get up!”

The bailiff was kicked over onto the floor. He clutched his hat, which had slid to one side, grabbed a wooden stick from the ground, and ranted: “Ouch, what kind of reckless fellow is this, daring to kick your grandfather here!”

The bailiff took a few steps forward and raised the stick to hit Shen Yi, but his wrist was suddenly gripped and twisted backward, breaking it instantly. The bailiff let out a piercing scream: “You…”

He had just wanted to start cursing, but when he saw who it was standing beside him, he instantly shut his mouth.

Chu Yun withdrew his hand: “Where is your magistrate?”

“He…” The bailiff hesitated.

“Still not talking?” Shen Yi sneered. “Then we will hang you at the city gate for three days to dry you into a corpse, and then we will slice the flesh off your body piece by piece and feed it to the vultures!”

The more the bailiff heard, the more terrified he became. He fell to his knees on the ground and shouted: “Crown Prince, please have mercy! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! He… he is currently enjoying himself at his own home. We are just gatekeepers; we don’t have the ability to manage anything.”

The two looked at each other. Shen Yi asked: “Where is his house?”

The bailiff racked his brains and stammered: “It seems to be in the Shanghe area. The best-looking mansion there is his.”

Shen Yi turned and left.

Shanghe was not far from the yamen, and they walked there, soon reaching the small town.

The scenery of the town was picturesque, with rows of houses arranged in good order.

The mansion at the very back was incredibly luxurious; the lawn in the courtyard was neatly trimmed, filled with clusters of flowers, and even the servants serving tea and water were dressed better than the ordinary palace maids in the palace.

Shen Yi’s expression was grim; even Chu Yun didn’t dare get within a few feet of him. Chu Yun remained silent for a long time, finally deciding it was best not to touch his temper.

The two quietly snuck into the backyard. Shen Yi chose a corridor with few people, grabbed the arm of a maid, covered her nose and mouth, and didn’t let go until he had pulled her into an empty room. He asked in a low voice: “Where is your magistrate?”

The maid trembled: “In… in the side room of the backyard.”

Shen Yi went looking for the man in a rage. The maid followed closely behind. When they reached the big door, it slammed shut with a “bang,” locking the maid inside the room.

Chu Yun threw the key into the lake and followed Shen Yi to the backyard.

Upon reaching the side room, Shen Yi kicked the door open and saw a fat, pig-headed man behind a desk, holding a brush and writing something.

Shen Yi approached with a dark face: “Are you the new magistrate?”

Magistrate Chen nodded: “It is I. Who are you?”

Shen Yi: “Are you the one who tore down the disaster victims’ porridge shop, causing the people to be displaced?”

Magistrate Chen finally understood the pair’s intentions and stopped covering it up: “…It was indeed this official.”

Chu Yun said coldly: “Are you aware that these are all capital offenses?”

Unexpectedly, Magistrate Chen fell to his knees on the floor, his eyes filled with tears of blood: “This official knows. This official is willing to accept punishment.”

He picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Shen Yi.

It was a blood letter written in human blood.

We, the common people, have previously received the favor of the Empress, and we feel gratitude in our hearts. Therefore, when the Empress asked for my help, I could not refuse.

I never imagined that the Empress would have me do the wicked deeds of killing and arson.

After the Jiangnan floods receded, ten thousand acres of fertile fields were discovered. I originally intended to report this to His Majesty and grant the land to the disaster victims. I never imagined that the Empress would force me to rent the land to the victims at a high price and demand high taxes. I refused, so she threatened me with death. Eunuch Li, under the Empress’s command, had people smash the porridge shop and tear down the people’s thatched huts, forcing me to submit.

I had no other choice. I am useless. I have no words to face the Emperor, and I cannot fulfill my duties as a parent-official.

I can only pay for my crimes with death. I hope the Emperor will deal with the Empress and bring justice to the people!