The Traitor Crown Princess (Transmigration) - Chapter 6

The clear blue sky was bathed in brilliant, radiant sunlight.

Early in the morning, Shen Yi was dragged out of bed by Qiushui and Hanxiang. After a simple meal of jujube paste cakes, he was pulled away to wash up.

After finishing his morning mouthwash, he first went to the Shen family ancestral hall to pay respects to his ancestors. He then returned to his room, where a professional xipo (a woman who specializes in bridal hair styling and rituals) styled his hair before he began applying makeup and putting on his bridal robes.

The bridal robes had been crafted day and night by hundreds of Su embroidery artisans. The fabric was soft, smooth, and silky. Gold thread was used to embroider a phoenix on the robe, poised as if to spread its wings and take flight, surrounded by auspicious clouds and blooming peonies; it seemed as though all the good omens of heaven and earth had been gathered into the garment, and the patterns looked incredibly lifelike.

The phoenix crown was made primarily of gold, inlaid with rare pearls, jade, and other precious materials. At the top were several gold phoenixes, also appearing as if they were ready to take flight, each holding a red gemstone in its beak. It was extremely luxurious, beautiful, and dazzling, with red gemstone tassels hanging from both sides, dangling down to his shoulders and swaying elegantly.

Though the attire was magnificent, it did not lack solemnity and elegance.

Qiushui and Hanxiang helped Shen Yi put on the bridal robes layer by layer, then carefully placed the phoenix crown upon his head. The moment it touched his head, Shen Yi felt as though he were balancing two dumbbells it was incredibly heavy and he reached up instinctively to steady it.

“Why is it so heavy?”

Hanxiang replied, “Phoenix crowns are all this heavy. Please, my Lady, endure it a little longer.”

Once the phoenix crown was secured, Shen Yi began to feel sleepy. He mindlessly grabbed some pastries from the table and shoved them into his mouth. After finishing a few pieces, he reached for a teapot to pour some water, but was stopped by Qiushui. “My Lady, you absolutely must not.”

Shen Yi asked, “Why?”

Qiushui answered, “If you drink too much water, you will easily need to go to the latrine. Once the bridal robes are on, they cannot be taken off, so it is better not to drink any water.”

“Fine.” Shen Yi put down the teacup, feeling a bit sullen.

A burst of firecrackers sounded at the doorway, and the xipo, dressed in bright, festive colors, walked into the room, smiling. “Greetings to the Crown Princess. The bridal sedan chair has arrived; we may head out now.”

Shen Yi quickly wiped his hands with a handkerchief, then, supported by Qiushui and Hanxiang, stood up and walked slowly out of the bedroom.

Because Shen Yue was an orphan without parents, the ritual of bidding farewell to his parents was omitted, and he could proceed directly to the sedan chair.

Crackling,

The sound of firecrackers grew louder. Holding a gold-rimmed circular golden fan, Shen Yi walked out of the estate and sat inside the luxurious dragon-and-phoenix sedan chair, which was decorated with precious materials like gold, silver, and jade. At the xipo’s command, “Lift the chair”

Eight people worked together to lift the bridal sedan and began to move forward, with the long procession of the dowry following slowly behind.

Shen Yi lifted the red curtain to take a look. Through the bright red screen embroidered with gold branches and jade leaves, he could see the crowds watching from the side of the street.

Hanxiang noticed the curtain had been lifted and hurried over to ask, “My Lady, what is wrong?”

Shen Yi replied, “Nothing, the sedan chair is swaying quite heavily; I’m just getting some air.”

Hanxiang breathed a sigh of relief. “That is good. Please, my Lady, endure a little longer; we will arrive soon.”

Shen Yi nodded and lowered the curtain.

At 9:45 AM, the Xuanwu Gate opened wide, and the bridal sedan entered the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, stopping before the palace gate.

The sedan chair was set down, and Hanxiang lifted the curtain. Shen Yi reached out to rest his hand on Qiushui’s and slowly stepped out.

He walked slowly into the palace gate, along the red silk laid out on the ground.

In the main hall, red silk ribbons were hung on the walls, and the maids and servants wore red cloth strips around their waists, highlighting the festive atmosphere. Directly in front, the Empress and the Emperor sat on large, ornate chairs.

The Empress maintained her usual look of grace and luxury, while the Emperor sitting beside her, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, appeared dignified without needing to show anger.

Shen Yi looked at him from behind the round fan, observing him carefully.

After they stood still, the Emperor, Chu Chen, twirled the prayer beads in his hand and said impatiently, “Where is the Crown Prince?”

Feng Xi replied, “The Crown Prince may have been delayed by something; we have already sent people to look for him.”

Chu Chen did not say anything more, but his expression grew even more annoyed.

A young palace maid ran in and knelt before the two of them. “Reporting to your Highnesses, we cannot find the Crown Prince. We beg the Emperor to calm his anger.”

Chu Chen pondered for a moment, then waved his hand. “Forget it, just begin the wedding ceremony.”

Feng Xi looked at Shen Yi and offered a few words of comfort. “I will compensate you later; let us proceed with the ceremony first.”

Shen Yi nodded in silence. The hall was filled with high-ranking officials and nobles, yet no one dared to whisper a word.

“First bow to heaven and earth.”

As Li Dequan’s voice rang out, Shen Yi bowed toward the door.

“Second bow to the high hall… Third bow to each other, and send to the bridal chamber.”

Supported by Hanxiang, Shen Yi left the main hall and walked along the long corridor into the bedchamber.

The walls of the room were decorated with bright red “Double Happiness” characters, and dragon-and-phoenix candles were placed on the table, their faint light illuminating the entire room.

Only when Shen Yi sat on the bed did he finally catch his breath. Hanxiang brought him a cup of tea. “My Lady, you must be exhausted. Drink some water.”

Shen Yi put down the circular fan, drank the water in the cup in one gulp, and muttered, “When will this end? I’m so tired.”

Hanxiang said, “Please wait a little longer, my Lady; the Crown Prince will be here in a moment.”

Qiushui brought him some red dates to eat and, upon hearing this, began to grow indignant. “What kind of rubbish Crown Prince is he, to actually play games with our young mistress like this? Without the title of Crown Prince, he is nothing. He should look at his own worth—it is his good fortune that our mistress married him, yet he takes the advantage and still complains. I think he should”

“Quiet!” Hanxiang covered Qiushui’s mouth, scanned the doorway vigilantly, and quietly walked over to open the door a crack. After confirming that no one was around, she closed it again.

Hanxiang said, “You really should change this personality of yours, otherwise you will bring trouble upon our mistress.”

Qiushui shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. “I know, I hope the mistress won’t blame me.”

Hanxiang said, feeling extremely frustrated, “How could the mistress blame you? You only pick the soft ones to bully.”

Shen Yi said, “Enough, Qiushui, just be careful in the future. Hanxiang, you should teach her well.”

Hanxiang replied, feeling gloomy, “I understand, my Lady.”

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and all was quiet. Soon, the time reached 2:00 AM.

Shen Yi was dozing off on the bed, his phoenix crown heavy and cumbersome. He asked, “Hanxiang, how much longer until the Crown Prince comes?”

Hanxiang replied, “This… I do not know, my Lady.”

Shen Yi said, “It seems he is not coming tonight. You two come and help me take off this phoenix crown; I want to take a bath.”

Hanxiang asked, “Shall we wait a little longer?”

Shen Yi replied, “No need. If he were going to come, he would have been here by now; he wouldn’t wait until this late.”

Hanxiang could not refuse him, so she and Qiushui worked together to remove the phoenix crown and then take off the bridal robes. Shen Yi searched through the chest the servants had brought in and finally found a brand-new set of white undergarments.

The bathhouse was very close to the bedchamber, as he had noticed earlier.

He draped a robe over his shoulders and stood up to walk out. Hanxiang hurriedly asked, “My Lady, where are you going?”

Shen Yi replied, “To bathe.”

Qiushui asked, “Do you know the way, my Lady?”

Shen Yi walked out on his own. “Oh, I know. The Eastern Palace is only this small, so finding the bathhouse won’t be that difficult. Besides, the Crown Prince won’t suddenly jump out like a corpse, and who knows where he is playing right now.”

There was no one in the Eastern Palace at this hour. As the wind blew, the silk fabrics under the eaves fluttered, making it look exactly like a ghost town.

Shen Yi felt that the place was somewhat creepy, and he could not help but quicken his pace.

He opened the palace door and passed through the pink gauze curtains; inside was the bathhouse. The surface of the water was filled with steam and scattered with pink rose petals. The walls were all made of Hetian jade, and incense burners in the corners burned with waves of dragon-saliva incense.

Shen Yi felt his mood relax quite a bit. He walked behind the screen and began to take off his clothes.

Bang,

A sound came from outside. Shen Yi, in the middle of taking off his clothes, froze. He turned his body slightly to look outside and saw a black figure walking in.

The man’s face was covered by a veil. He first untied his black belt, and his top slid down from his shoulders, revealing his sturdy, muscular body underneath. His skin looked as if it were carved from jade, fair and flawless.

Then, he reached out to grab his trousers, preparing to take them off. Shen Yi jumped, and quickly turned his head back.

How could an outsider break into the Eastern Palace?

Shen Yi’s internal alarm bells went off, and he began putting back on the layers of clothing he had just removed, preparing to sneak away.

Through a gap in the screen, he saw the man soaking in the bath, his ink-black hair draped naturally behind him, eyes closed as he leaned against the edge of the pool to rest.

Shen Yi tiptoed away, feeling rather sneaky, when suddenly a few flower petals flew past like blades, embedding themselves deeply into the wall in front of him.

Shen Yi took a few steps back as an even stronger palm wind brushed past him. Shen Yi dodged it subconsciously, and the man slapped the wall, causing it to crack into two pieces directly.

Shen Yi instantly felt his hair stand on end. He was dazzled for a moment by the sight of the fair skin, and then his throat was gripped by the man, leaving him unable to move.

The fierce force immediately made it impossible for him to breathe.

Shen Yi looked up instinctively it was Chu Yun.

At this moment, the murderous intent in his eyes was growing, and his gaze looked at him as if he were a dead man, without the slightest bit of pity.

Shen Yi said, “It’s you?”

If that was the case… he…

He looked subconsciously, and Chu Yun was indeed completely unclothed.

He did not know how Chu Yun managed to walk around naked, but then again, he had no need to consider the thoughts of a dead man. Right now, surviving was the most important thing.

With no other choice, Shen Yi channeled all his inner strength and punched Chu Yun, but unexpectedly, Chu Yun didn’t even grunt, and his body didn’t move an inch.

Seeing that Shen Yi still had the strength to resist, Chu Yun increased his pressure. Shen Yi could barely hold on. When the wind from the window blew, the curtains fluttered, and Shen Yi’s eyes lit up. He grabbed the pink curtain with one hand and pulled it hard; the curtain instantly entangled both of them, and he pushed forward with all his might.

Splash,

The two of them tumbled into the bath, splashing water several meters high.

Shen Yi floundered in the water a few times but could not stop himself from sinking. A sense of suffocation spread to his limbs. The Hetian jade under the water emitted a faint, eerie glow, but the light before his eyes began to dim, and his consciousness began to blur. His body felt as if it had been filled with cement; even moving a little was incredibly difficult.

Just as he was about to suffocate, his waist was grabbed, and they broke through the water’s surface in an instant.

The massive sound of falling into the water stimulated Shen Yi’s eardrums. He opened his mouth, gulping down fresh air. Once he calmed down, he suddenly felt something hard and elastic in his palm.

He looked down and saw his right hand covering Chu Yun’s chest.

Water flowed slowly down Chu Yun’s skin, slipping into the gaps between his fingers. Through the skin, his palm could feel the beating heart beneath, and the orderly heartbeat continuously stimulated his nerves.

He had to admit, Chu Yun’s physique and appearance were truly quite impressive.

“Have you touched enough?”

Chu Yun’s single sentence pulled Shen Yi’s thoughts back. He widened his eyes instantly and raised his hand, trembling.

It’s over, should he chop this hand off? He didn’t want it anymore!

However, that was not the point. Shen Yi looked down at his body; Chu Yun had one arm wrapped around his waist, carrying him on his shoulder. Once Shen Yi understood what was happening, he gave an awkward laugh: “Your Highness, could you please let me go?”

“Hmm?” Chu Yun raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

Shen Yi’s face turned ghastly pale. “No, what I meant was—”

Before Shen Yi could finish, Chu Yun let go, and Shen Yi fell back into the water.

However, this time was different; Shen Yi found his center of gravity in a few seconds, placed his legs naturally on the jade bricks, stood up with force, and his head emerged from the water.

It turned out the bath was only shoulder-deep; it wasn’t very deep at all.

Shen Yi maintained his balance and walked slowly toward the shallow area. When he turned his head, he saw Chu Yun laughing at his misfortune. He was leaning against a soft cushion, watching him as if he were a chick pecking at rice. Noticing the playfulness in his eyes, Shen Yi became serious. He puffed up his cheeks, climbed onto the shore, and stood to the side to wring out his clothes.

He knew Chu Yun was still watching him. After wringing out his clothes, he adjusted his mindset and turned around. “I would like to cooperate with the Crown Prince. I wonder what Your Highness thinks of this?”

Chu Yun was uninterested and listlessly flicked at the flower petals in the pool. “Continue.”

“Nowadays, the Emperor and the Empress favor the Second Prince, and they rarely mention the Crown Prince.”

Father doesn’t love, mother doesn’t care.

“There are many voices in the court opposing Your Highness, but my Shen family has been a cabinet elder for three generations. If Your Highness cooperates with me, I will assist you with all my might!”

If you don’t cooperate with me, you’ll be a goner~

Chu Yun’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The Crown Princess is very well-informed.”

Shen Yi replied, “Oh, not really.”

Chu Yun asked, “What if I refuse and want to burn both bridges?”

Shen Yi’s smile froze on his face.