The Vicious Female Supporting Character and The Sadistic Heroine Got Together [Through the Book] - Chapter 9

“Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence,” a palace attendant said respectfully to Li Changsheng.

“Hmm,” Li Changsheng replied, stepping forward and passing through the screen to reach the center of the hall.

Seated before him on the throne was a dignified woman wearing a phoenix crown and robes—the reigning Empress.

Li Changsheng bowed deeply. “Your son greets Mother.”

“The Fifth Prince has arrived!” The Empress handed her teacup to a nearby maid and straightened her posture. “Rise, please.”

Wiping her lips, the Empress observed Li Changsheng’s downcast gaze and distracted demeanor, her thoughts unreadable.

“Thank you, Mother,” Li Changsheng said obediently, straightening up and taking the seat the Empress had indicated.

Gazing at the scorching sun outside, Li Changsheng, who had just left the palace, sighed deeply and walked away without looking back.

Inside the palace, the moment Li Changsheng’s shadow disappeared, the Empress eagerly pulled the young palace maid standing beside her into her arms, causing the girl to stumble into her embrace.

The maid lay nestled in the Empress’s arms, her chin gently pinched. Her face flushed with bashful shyness as she whispered, “Your Majesty…”

“Heh…” The Empress chuckled softly, lowering her head to kiss the girl.

As Li Changsheng walked through the Imperial Palace, his mind replayed the conversation he’d just had with the Empress.

“If you can secure the support of Shen Chou and Tang Suan, you’ll essentially have the backing of both the Prime Minister and Grand General Shen’s factions. When you compete for the Crown Prince position, you’ll no longer need to fear failure.”

“This son thanks Mother for her guidance!” Li Changsheng replied outwardly, but inwardly he thought, As if I hadn’t already considered that myself?

The reason he had sought out Tang Suan that day, then staged a chance encounter with Shen Chou, was precisely for this purpose. Moreover, his entire meeting and subsequent acquaintance with Tang Suan had been meticulously planned. To Li Changsheng, as long as he achieved his goals, what did it matter if he resorted to any means necessary?

Li Changsheng had been walking for what felt like an eternity when he finally snapped out of his daze. He found himself outside the palace walls, standing in the bustling heart of the capital. The streets teemed with people, and shops of all sizes lined the way. In an instant, his eyes landed on Shen Chou.

Instead of rushing forward, Li Changsheng paused to observe. He’d noticed a pattern: ever since Shen Chou had inexplicably begun clinging to Tang Suan, wherever Shen Chou went, Tang Suan was sure to follow.

His gaze immediately began scanning the area around Shen Chou. Sure enough, he soon spotted Tang Suan’s figure.

Tang Suan was still wearing her favorite white gown, its flowing fabric making her stand out in the crowd. Her raven-black hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, framing a profile of breathtaking beauty.

If he could set aside her scheming, Li Changsheng truly admired Tang Suan. He believed, “A wife should be like Tang Suan.” Only she was worthy to be his Crown Princess, his Empress.

After observing from a distance for a while, Li Changsheng finally strode forward, heading toward the two women.

Unfortunately, just then, Tang Suan suddenly left for some unknown reason, leaving Shen Chou alone. Seeing Shen Chou about to leave as well, Li Changsheng quickly followed her to a nearby teahouse.

Shen Chou had just settled into her seat, about to ask the waiter for a pot of tea, when Li Changsheng called out to her, his voice a mix of surprise and delight: “Shen Chou!”

What’s he doing here again? Shen Chou thought impatiently, turning to ask Li Changsheng, “What do you want?”

“Just checking on you!” Li Changsheng teased.

Shen Chou’s face immediately fell, her expression practically screaming, I’m not happy.

Seeing her displeasure, Li Changsheng quickly explained, “Actually, I’m here on official business.”

“Whose orders are you following? And what kind of business?”

Normally, Shen Chou wouldn’t care about his affairs, but she remembered he was a key figure in completing her mission. Offending him could lead to dire consequences. If she couldn’t afford to offend him, she’d have to make small talk. Since she had no idea what else to say, she just blurted out the question.

To her surprise, Li Changsheng took her question seriously. “I’m acting on my Mother’s orders,” he replied, “investigating some matters outside the palace.”

Shen Chou raised her teacup to take a sip when Li Changsheng’s words stopped her. Images flashed through her mind: she suddenly recalled that in the novel, Li Changsheng’s frequent trips outside the palace were merely a pretext for gathering support and making early preparations for the Crown Prince’s succession.

Shen Chou and Tang Suan were the key targets of his flattery.

The thought made Shen Chou lose her appetite. If Li Changsheng had already begun his schemes, she needed to start planning her own moves as well.

Just then, Shen Chou noticed Tang Suan hadn’t returned. “Strange,” she muttered, “why has she been gone so long?”

Hearing her murmur, Li Changsheng also realized Tang Suan had been gone for an unusually long time. It didn’t seem like she’d abandoned Shen Chou to return to the palace alone.

“Could something have happened?” he ventured.

Shen Chou immediately clamped her hand over his mouth, her face twisted in disgust. “Spit, spit, spit! Don’t jinx it, okay? Tang Suan is such a good person—she’ll be fine. If you curse her, I’ll never play with you again!”

She even made a silly face to try and scare him, but instead of being intimidated, Li Changsheng found her unexpectedly endearing.

In a secluded alleyway, the once pristine Tang Suan, who had seemed like a celestial being descended to earth, now lay disheveled on the ground, surrounded by a menacing group of women with varied appearances. Forced to retreat step by step, she had nowhere left to go.

“Where do you think you’re going to run today?” the lead woman sneered, her voice dripping with arrogance as she closed in on Tang Suan.

Cornered with no escape, Tang Suan could only brace herself against the wall, her body trembling as she struggled to stand. Her eyes remained fixed calmly on the woman before her.

“What are you staring at? Keep looking like that, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!” One of the women, clearly angered by Tang Suan’s gaze, immediately lashed out with a harsh rebuke.

Oh no! Shen Chou suddenly realized what Tang Suan might be going through. Panic seized her as she leaped from her seat and began frantically searching for Tang Suan’s figure in the bustling street.

“What’s wrong?” Li Changsheng, who had settled the bill and followed her out, asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

In her desperation, Shen Chou grabbed Li Changsheng’s arm tightly, her voice urgent. “Li Changsheng, you have to help me find Tang Suan! She’s in danger!”

As the Fifth Prince, Li Changsheng had grown up within the deep palace walls, accustomed to grand occasions and crises. He remained far more composed and rational than Shen Chou.

Hearing her words, Li Changsheng didn’t panic. Instead, he gripped her arm firmly and asked, “Don’t panic. First, tell me, do you know where Tang Suan went?”

“Tang Suan told me her custom-made clothes were ready and she needed to pick them up. She asked me to wait here for her. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I realize I should have gone with her. If I had, this wouldn’t have happened,” Shen Chou said, her face etched with regret.

After hearing Shen Chou’s words, Li Changsheng slowly released her, saying nothing.

Seeing Li Changsheng’s silence, Shen Chou grew frantic. “What should we do now? We can’t just sit here and wait to die, can we? It’s all my fault…”

Hearing her sobs, Li Changsheng felt a pang of distress and a surge of frustration.

“Stop crying,” he snapped, his voice rising. “Try to remember if Tang Suan mentioned which shop she was going to.”

“How would I know…?” Shen Chou retorted instinctively, then suddenly remembered the System.

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that earlier?” The realization that she could ask the System for help and have it guide them to Tang Suan filled Shen Chou with sudden hope.

System: So you’re using me as a GPS now?

“Please, please!” Li Changsheng watched as Shen Chou clasped her hands together and pleaded into the air.

Li Changsheng stared in shock, his finger trembling as he pointed at her. “What are you doing…?”

Before he could finish, Shen Chou grabbed his hand and dragged him into a frantic run, shouting, “Hurry! I know where to find Tang Suan! If we don’t go now, they’ll bully her!”

The images the System had shown her burned in her mind, fueling her fury. Those people are really asking for trouble! How dare they bully the Protagonist? And those cannon fodder side characters, taking advantage of her misfortune to kick her while she’s down?

Tang Suan stood there, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes, looking utterly pitiful as the crowd mocked her with smug satisfaction, throwing things at her without restraint.

“Beg for mercy! Why aren’t you begging? Get down on your knees like a dog and plead with us! Maybe, just maybe, we’ll show you some mercy and let you off.”

“Exactly! So what if you’re the legitimate daughter of the General’s Residence? Your father doesn’t care about you, your mother’s dead, and everyone hates you!”

They all knew that since Tang Suan’s mother had died, her father, the Grand General, had completely abandoned his daughter, showing no concern for her well-being.

“Oh, look at my memory! I almost forgot—your mother’s been dead for ages. So, you really are motherless and fatherless. How pitiful! Tsk, tsk…” The man shook his head with a sigh and reached out to touch Tang Suan’s face, but she dodged his hand.

Tang Suan glared at him fiercely, her eyes burning with murderous intent. The man felt a primal instinct that she would kill him without hesitation in the next moment.

And it wasn’t just a feeling—it was intuition. Tang Suan hissed in a voice only they could hear, “Touch me, and I’ll kill you!”

The man had come to mock Tang Suan, never expecting to be threatened by her. Humiliated and enraged, he raised his hand to slap her viciously.

But Tang Suan didn’t flinch. Her eyes locked on his, and the sleeve dagger she had concealed in her sleeve flashed into view, gripped tightly in her hand. She looked ready to stab him, willing to take them both down in a desperate gamble.

Yet the slap never landed on Tang Suan’s face, and her sleeve dagger remained sheathed.

Shen Chou arrived just in time, seizing the man’s wrist and retaliating with a swift backhanded slap.

The man’s face stung from the heavy slap, and he flew into a rage, whirling around to retaliate.

But Shen Chou’s next words instantly drained his courage to strike back.

“Dare to hit me? I am Ning’an Commandery Princess, personally appointed by the Emperor! My father is His Majesty’s own younger brother! And you? You’re nothing but Xu Jinhui’s lapdog!” Shen Chou stood before him, head held high, chest puffed out.

The man gnashed his teeth in fury. “You, you…”

“Go ahead, hit me! Or better yet, ask yourself: do you dare? Do you even think you could?”

The man truly didn’t dare strike Shen Chou. Not only was his status far inferior to hers, but more importantly, his father had repeatedly warned him: Never, ever offend Ning’an Commandery Princess. Her father was a Prince, the Emperor’s own younger brother, born of the same mother.

Offending Shen Chou would have unimaginable consequences. The thought alone made him tremble—at best, he’d lose his life; at worst, his entire family could be executed, or even his entire clan wiped out. He immediately dropped to his knees, begging for mercy.

“I was wrong! I’ll never dare to do it again! Please, Ning’an Commandery Princess, spare me!”

Hearing this, Shen Chou’s eyes widened in disbelief. “There’s a next time?”

The man hastily shook his head. “No more, no more! I’ll never dare to do it again…”

Shen Chou was about to reprimand him further when Xu Jinhui, who had been standing silently beside them, spoke up, her voice tinged with impatience. “Shen Chou, what are you doing here? Weren’t you the one who despised Tang Suan the most? You used to see her as a thorn in your side, a dagger in your heart. Why are you defending her now?”

Remembering recent rumors, Xu Jinhui’s face twisted with disbelief, as if she needed to verify them herself. “I heard you’ve been spending a lot of time with Tang Suan lately?”

“Yes,” Shen Chou replied directly, without denying it.

Xu Jinhui studied her, then added, “No wonder you’re protecting Tang Suan today. So you two have already reconciled in secret. But I wonder if Tang Suan has truly forgiven you, or if she’s just pretending? Don’t let her pitiful act fool you!”

With a mocking smile, Xu Jinhui cast a meaningful glance at Tang Suan, who stood behind Shen Chou.

After all, the things Shen Chou had done to Tang Suan in the past were far more cruel than anything Xu Jinhui had ordered today.

As expected, Xu Jinhui’s words caused subtle shifts in the expressions of both Shen Chou and Tang Suan.

Xu Jinhui smiled inwardly, thinking, This is going to be good.

But how could Shen Chou let things go according to her plan?

With a cold snort, Shen Chou thought, Xu Jinhui truly lives up to her role as a cannon fodder character on the Protagonist’s path to growth. She’s a perfect example of “if you don’t court death, you won’t die.” She’s utterly detestable.

“Mind your own business! You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Why don’t you worry about yourself? Stop making enemies for no reason. You’ll end up with no one to bury you when you’re finished! Ruining your own life is one thing, but how do you plan to clean up the mess when you tarnish the Duke’s Residence’s reputation?”

Shen Chou retorted without holding back.

“Tang Suan, how dare you—!” Xu Jinhui’s face flushed crimson, then paled with fury.

Li Changsheng, who had accompanied Shen Chou to find Tang Suan, was inwardly surprised by Shen Chou’s sharp retort. He had never realized she could be so cutting.

It seems I’ve underestimated her—and Tang Suan too. I need to observe them more closely in the future.

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