The Traitor Crown Princess (Transmigration) - Chapter 2

The sky cleared, and a few rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves of the treetops and fell onto Shen Yi. However, he felt not a hint of warmth.

His prisoner robes were tattered by the bushes, and the biting wind made him ache as if a curved knife were shaving away his skin; it was unbearable.

He ran for a while, and only when he was certain he had gained enough distance did he dare to stop. He glanced back, and upon confirming that no one was following, the stone in his heart finally settled.

He casually picked a small stream to scrub his feet clean, then followed his memories of the journey to head back toward the town. Although the Shen family estate had been confiscated, the original host had hidden a small treasury beneath his bedroom, which would be perfect for finding a place to settle down.

Capital City.

Shen Yi hid behind a tree trunk, poking his head out to observe the situation.

A group of government soldiers stood before the city gate, inspecting carriages and pedestrians one by one. They seemed to be holding something in their hands, comparing it to the people passing through.

“Goodness me, what’s going on?”

“You don’t know? I heard the third young master of the Shen family has gone missing, and the tongue of the officer escorting him was cut out it was a truly wretched sight.”

“How could someone just go missing like that?”

“How would I know? People can’t make a mute talk, can they?”

Several pedestrians whispered in the queue. Shen Yi’s heart went cold. It looked like the soldiers were holding a portrait of him. Walking out in his current state would be no different from delivering himself to death—there was no way he could get in.

Shen Yi secretly pondered what to do. A donkey cart rolled slowly by. An old man with dark skin sat at the front, pulling a cartload of yellow straw behind him. A hat obscured half his face, and he looked as if he were asleep.

Shen Yi had a sudden flash of inspiration and walked toward the donkey cart.

The soldier glanced at the portrait, looked at the old man, and nodded: “You may pass.”

The old man straightened his hat and pressed his palms together: “Thank you, official.”

“Wait!” Another soldier’s gaze locked onto the pile of straw behind the old man. He signaled the two new recruits beside him, who immediately understood. They picked up their spears, raised them high, and thrust them into the straw pile, stabbing it over a dozen times. Seeing that was enough, the soldier raised his hand and shouted, “That’s it, go on.”

The old man, unaware of the truth, continued to offer his thanks: “Thank you, officials, you’ve worked hard.”

The two recruits withdrew their spears, the donkey cart’s wheels rolled slowly, and it moved gradually into the city gate.

Today happened to be the Lantern Festival, a day for families to come out and play. Both sides of the street were lined with stalls of all sizes, the hawkers’ cries resounding through the street. A few young children held candied haws, running past with giggles. The scent of freshly steamed buns mingled with various tea snacks drifted by, making one’s mouth water.

Shen Yi hadn’t eaten in two days and couldn’t resist the temptation. As his focus slipped, his body, starving for two days, could no longer support him, and he fell to the ground. Seeing the wooden cart moving slowly in front of him, he swallowed his saliva, flipped over, and crawled out from beneath the boards.

The donkey cart traveled further and further away. Shen Yi frantically wiped the straw dust from his face. Seeing someone approaching, he hurriedly ran into a small alley behind him, luckily avoiding being seen by passersby.

He dodged the rubble on the ground, wrapped his arms around himself, and walked out of the alley mouth. By chance, he saw a discarded brown straw cape by the roadside. It was a bit ragged, but having clothes was better than having none.

He put on the cape and tidied himself up; it happened to cover the “prisoner” character on his robes. He tucked the stray hairs at his temples behind his ears, finally looking somewhat human, and randomly chose a passerby to ask for directions.

“Excuse me, young lady, could you tell me how to get to the Shen residence?”

The young woman looked delicate and pretty; she showed no hint of disdain for Shen Yi, raising a finger to point in a direction: “Walk down this road, take a left, go a little further, then take a right and you’ll be there. Why are you going there?”

Shen Yi made up a random excuse: “I have an old acquaintance working nearby, I’m going to check on them.”

“I see.” The woman thought nothing of it. Seeing how young Shen Yi looked, she couldn’t help but advise him: “I advise you to stay away from there if you can.”

“There are government soldiers guarding the place. If you get targeted, you won’t be able to explain yourself even if you have two mouths.”

Shen Yi was silent for a moment, then smiled: “Alright, I understand. Thank you, miss.”

“It’s nothing, I’m glad I could help.” Shen Yue waved goodbye to him.

The people on the road slowly dwindled. When he reached the Shen residence, it was just as the young woman had said—there were heavy troops guarding the entrance, and two seal strips were pasted across the main gate; not even a fly could fly inside.

Shen Yi pretended to pass by, circling the estate, but couldn’t find even a dog hole, and was shooed away by the soldiers who mistook him for a vagrant. He was speechless. To avoid attracting attention, he had no choice but to return to the street, intending to wait until nightfall to climb the wall.

As dusk deepened, the lanterns on both sides of the road lit up, and crowds poured into the streets, among them street performers, noble young ladies, and young masters from prestigious families.

Several children skipped past Shen Yi, their faces filled with happy, joyful smiles. In comparison, Shen Yi was more like a rat in a gutter, peeking at others’ happiness from the shadows.

After a day of running about, he had no intact skin left on his body, his hair was a tangled mess, his face was smeared with mud, and with the ragged straw cape on his body, sitting on the ground, he looked exactly like a homeless beggar.

Shen Yi pulled his straw cape tighter, trying to keep himself warm.

Some people walked out of the Yihong Courtyard across the street. A man with a face like jade, elegant and easygoing, walked out in yellow robes holding a jade fan, flanked by two flower-aged girls, with a little servant in blue clothes following behind.

One of the girls shyly hooked her arm through his and said coquettishly: “Master Yuan, once you leave today, when will you come again? I’ve missed you to death.”

The other girl also hooked the man’s other arm, not to be outdone: “Don’t forget me, Master Yuan; I’m thinking of you every moment.”

Yuan Hua handled them effortlessly: “I’m reluctant to leave you both, but I have things to attend to these days. I’ll come to see you in a few days.”

Shen Yi watched the man and felt he looked strangely familiar. He suddenly remembered reading in the book that the original host had a close friend named Yuan Hua; the description of his clothing and appearance was very similar to this person.

If it really was Yuan Hua, he could ask him for help.

But he was currently the son of a disgraced official. If he helped him and was exposed by someone with ill intentions, he would be implicated—would he really be willing to help him?

A carriage drove by slowly, with a white jade pendant hanging at the door, engraved with the character “Yuan.” The coachman opened the door, bowing respectfully to the side. Seeing the man was about to get into the carriage, Shen Yi couldn’t care less. He scrambled up and ran over, but because he hadn’t eaten for several days, Shen Yi couldn’t control his strength. He plunged directly at Yuan Hua’s feet, his hands reflexively grabbing Yuan Hua’s trousers and pulling them down.

The apricot-colored underpants inside were revealed instantly. The atmosphere went quiet. Yuan Hua was stunned; the passersby were dumbfounded. A woman widened her eyes and hurriedly covered the eyes of the child beside her; a hawker gaped, stunned in place; others muttered about how preposterous it was.

Very quickly, Yuan Hua reacted, using his sleeves to block his lower body. He cracked right there: “Damn it, are you freaking sick?!”

Shen Yi was flustered and immediately let go: “No, I didn’t mean to.”

Yuan Hua had the heart to kill Shen Yi. Before anyone could react, he hurriedly pulled up his pants and cursed: “You didn’t mean to? You mean you did it on purpose? Who gave you the courage?!”

Shen Yi tilted his head, almost blurting out: “Liang Jingru?”

The two of them froze at the same time. Yuan Hua looked at Shen Yi in disbelief: “You… Change into an odd parity?”

“Look at the lower limit for the symbol?” A glimmer of hope lit up in Shen Yi’s eyes. “Did you transmigrate too?”

Yuan Hua was almost laughed to death by Shen Yi. He felt both love and hate for him now: “I’m Yuan Hua in reality, and you?”

“Shen Yi.” Shen Yi was quite surprised. “Deskmate! It’s you!”

“It certainly is a coincidence.” Yuan Hua tilted his head toward the carriage: “Get in and we’ll talk.”

Shen Yi scrambled up from the ground, but as soon as he stood, he felt a wave of dizziness. It wasn’t until Yuan Hua supported him that he didn’t fall.

Yuan Hua felt extremely complicated, supporting Shen Yi as they entered the carriage, following closely behind.

Yuan Hua: “To the Wanchun Tower.”

Ruyu came to her senses: “Yes.”

The branches put forth tender green buds, and a yellow oriole landed on a tree tip, tilting its head to watch the scene inside the private room.

Various dishes were arranged on the eight-immortal table. Shen Yi held a roast duck in both hands, devouring it in a few bites. Yuan Hua fanned him: “Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you.”

Shen Yi ate two more plates of roast duck, two plates of eel, and three plates of Dapanji before finally feeling full. He picked up a handkerchief from the table to wipe the grease from the corners of his mouth: “Thanks, I’m full.”

Yuan Hua had originally wanted to lose his temper at Shen Yi, but seeing his starved, ghost-reincarnated appearance, he could only swallow his anger and ask: “The Shen residence has been confiscated; what are your plans for the future?”

Shen Yi leaned back against the chair with his hands behind his head: “What can I do? I’m currently wanted by the entire city; to survive, I can only live in the deep mountains and forests.”

Yuan Hua pondered: “Or how about I pay a Jianghu sorcerer to help you disguise yourself? That way, you’ll shed your original identity and be able to establish yourself anew. I can then arrange for you to work at my shop, and you’ll have a good place to stay.”

“If I do that, I will never be able to rise again.” Shen Yi turned serious. “Rather than living a cowardly life, I would rather fight for it, clear my family’s name, and bring the murderer to justice.”

Yuan Hua had thought Shen Yi was a cowardly person who feared death; it seems he had been mistaken. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration for him: “The Shen residence was confiscated by the Emperor’s decree. If you pop up now saying there’s a problem, aren’t you slapping the Emperor in the face? Besides, even if you’re lucky enough for the Emperor to reinvestigate the case, what evidence do you have that you’re right?”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Shen Yi sipped his tea to moisten his throat. “When I transmigrated, the Shen family had already been confiscated. I only have two options: first, return to the Shen residence to search for suspicious letters but that won’t work, they were likely destroyed long ago. Second, get a job at a teahouse and gather information.”

Yuan Hua: “I can gather information from the teahouse for you, but while teahouses have a lot of information, most of it is just conjecture, which I fear will be of no use.”

Shen Yi: “Then I only have the third option: enter the palace, get close to the Emperor, become his right-hand man, and once I have his trust, get him to reinvestigate the case.”

Yuan Hua waved his hand: “Impossible. You’re a wanted man. You can’t take the imperial examinations to become an official, nor can anyone recommend you. How can you enter the palace, let alone get close to the Emperor?”

Shen Yi: “This matter must be discussed carefully… I can’t think of a way for the moment.”

Yuan Hua patted Shen Yi’s shoulder, comforting him: “Forget it, forget it, don’t think about it. I’ll take you to the Yihong Courtyard to have some fun; the girls there are so beautiful—they play the zither and dance.”

Shen Yi was speechless: “It’s been so long, and your philandering personality hasn’t changed a bit.”

Yuan Hua spread his hands: “Old habits die hard, right~ We’ve been classmates for so many years, you know me.”

Shen Yi: “So, how did you die?”

Yuan Hua: “Too obsessed with reading BL novels, died of sudden cardiac death.”

Shen Yi’s mouth twitched: “No wonder we’re friends; our ways of dying are so similar.”

Knock, knock—

The door was knocked, and Ruyu called from outside: “Young master, Miss Shen is here; she wants to see you.”

Shen Yi looked at Yuan Hua in confusion. Yuan Hua introduced: “That’s my cousin. Let her in, it’s fine.”

Ruyu opened the door directly and let Shen Yue in.

As soon as Shen Yue entered, she burst into tears, standing before Yuan Hua covering her face with a handkerchief: “Cousin, what should I do?”

Yuan Hua patted her shoulder, comforting her: “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”

Shen Yue sobbed, recounting the turn of events: “The Empress is choosing a Crown Princess, and I’ve been selected.”

Yuan Hua’s expression changed: “What!”

Shen Yi asked suspiciously: “Shouldn’t being selected as Crown Princess be a cause for joy? Why are you two acting as if your parents died?”

Yuan Hua sighed: “You don’t know the current Crown Prince is of foreign bloodline, and the Emperor will never let him inherit the throne. Naming him Crown Prince is just to stabilize the outlying vassal states. Once he controls the outlying vassals, the Crown Prince will lose his usefulness, and then he’ll be killed or discarded…

And that’s not all someone prophesied that he wouldn’t live past 20.”

Yuan Hua sighed: “So you see, the so-called selection of a consort is just a superficial phenomenon. Who would want to be a puppet’s wife? You’d just end up implicating your family hardly anyone is willing to marry him.”

Shen Yi: “Then what are the characters of the Emperor and the Empress like?”

Yuan Hua gave Ruyu a look, and she closed the door before he continued: “I know very little about the two of them, so I can’t come to a conclusion. However, what I am certain of is that the Royal House is not as simple as we see it.”

Shen Yi: “That goes without saying. The Emperor is beyond questioning, and the Empress acts according to the Emperor’s mood. If I want to clear the name, I’m afraid I can only act through the Crown Prince.”

Yuan Hua: “No, I’ve heard the Crown Prince has an unpredictable temperament. If you provoke him, I’m afraid you won’t be able to escape unscathed. Why not forget it? Changing your name would allow you to live quite well.”

Shen Yi: “It’s too late. Every day I don’t catch the culprit, the danger to you and me increases. It’s better to take the initiative and turn passive into active—that’s the only chance for survival. Cowardly survival is something I cannot do.”

Yuan Hua grasped Shen Yi’s hand, his expression grave: “Have you thought it through?”

Shen Yi nodded: “Mmh.”

Only then did he realize the young woman in front of Yuan Hua was the person who had pointed the way for him during the day. Evidently, Shen Yue had recognized him, too; after all, Shen Yi’s current attire was no different from a beggar’s.

The three of them simply gathered around the table for a long heart-to-heart. Shen Yi: “Then it’s decided. I will enter the palace to participate in the selection of the consort in place of your cousin; your cousin will take my place and roam the world with a sword; you will stay outside the palace to collect clues and provide cover for me.”

Yuan Hua: “Naturally. I’ve heard the Crown Prince has white hair and red eyes, and his appearance is exceptionally beautiful you’re in for a treat.”

Shen Yi froze, then set down the teacup in his hand: “White what now?”

Yuan Hua was puzzled: “White hair and red eyes, what’s wrong?”

A picture naturally surfaced in Shen Yi’s mind of the youth in the graveyard who had almost taken his life. He felt a chill in his heart: “Does the Crown Prince like to go to the graveyard?”

Yuan Hua denied it without thinking: “Impossible. How could the Crown Prince leave the palace whenever he pleases? And why would he go to such a place?”

“True.” Shen Yi let go of his doubts and fabricated a perfect excuse for himself.

The person at the graveyard was someone else, not the Crown Prince.