The Villainous Consort (GL) - Chapter 32

“Since my legs have healed, I must pay my respects to Father immediately. Come to think of it, the Prince Consort has not entered the Palace to offer formal greetings since our wedding. We shall make up for it this time.”

The Eldest Princess adjusted her veil and looked at Qi Yu, who had finished changing. The person before her had a calm countenance and a refined, striking elegance. When silent, she was, at the very least, a passable match. After all this time, perhaps Father would no longer be so displeased with her.

As Qi Yu met the Princess’s scrutinizing gaze, she inexplicably recalled the morning she woke up from her drunken stupor. Her back and shoulders still seemed to ache faintly. Does this villain truly have that kind of… preference?

Her heart skipped a beat. She vowed to remain sober at all times henceforth, lest she be “defiled” without even knowing it. Pah, as if I’d let myself be defiled.

With a stiff expression, Qi Yu rubbed her brow and said, “As the Princess arranges.”

At the palace gates, they alighted from the carriage. The Eldest Princess produced a waist token, and the guards promptly allowed them through. As the Emperor’s most beloved and only daughter, she clearly enjoyed the privilege of direct entry.

The palace paths were silent. Had it not been for the occasional eunuch or maid kneeling in greeting, Qi Yu might have wondered if anyone lived here at all. The atmosphere was oppressive; everyone seemed to live as if walking on thin ice, their very footsteps cautious and measured.

After meeting the Emperor and completing the formal salutations, Qi Yu watched the monarch. His face was flushed with visible excitement as he stepped forward to help the Eldest Princess up. This was the image of a true father, not the cold, distant sovereign she had imagined.

“Rise quickly, my child! Xiao Linzi, pass down the word: We shall hold a grand banquet. Tonight, you and the Prince Consort shall stay in the Palace.”

The Emperor walked around the Eldest Princess, looking her up and down with irrepressible joy in his eyes. The Head Eunuch, Manager Lin, stood by with a beaming smile before scurrying off to make the arrangements.

The Eldest Princess smiled gracefully. “This daughter has been unfilial, causing Father worry these past few years. However, I have another surprise to share.”

With that, she quietly lifted her veil, revealing her face in its entirety.

The Emperor’s eyes widened. He vividly remembered receiving the news that the Princess had been slashed during an assassination attempt. The imperial physicians had claimed the scars would be permanent. As a sovereign and a father, he had looked at the wound once and lacked the courage to look again.

For years, his daughter’s legs and face had been a knot in his heart. Seeing both suddenly restored, his disbelief was quickly overtaken by exhilaration. For a moment, he was speechless.

A flash of guilt crossed the Princess’s heart. She had deceived everyone, and the only person she felt uneasy about was her father. Her grandfather had been the deposed Prince Li, who lost his status for rebellion. Yet, the late Empress had disregarded past grudges and abdicated the throne to her father.

Consequently, the Emperor always remembered the lesson of his own father—the deposed Prince Li. He feared nothing more than strife among his heirs, often adjuring his two children never to let the throne come between them.

The Eldest Princess understood her father’s pains and had endured much in silence, but now she was backed into a corner. Looking at the emotional Emperor, she sighed inwardly. Some things simply could not be avoided.

“The divine physician not only healed my legs but used an ancestral scar-removing ointment to restore my face. Now, only a faint trace remains; it can be hidden with a bit of powder.”

The Emperor leaned in closer. Indeed, there was only a very faint mark that would vanish under a touch of rouge. He rejoiced, “Then I can rest easy! Come, my child, drink a few cups with me. Prince Consort, you join us as well.”

Qi Yu, who had been trying her best to act as background scenery, simply moved to a different location to continue her role. The banquet did not wind down until well into the night.

The attendants thoughtfully arranged for the two of them to share a room. After bathing, Qi Yu looked at the only large bed in the chamber. At this moment, she inexplicably missed that girl, Han Shui.

If she had only said the word, Han Shui would have thoughtfully brought two sets of bedding. But facing these unfamiliar palace attendants, those excuses couldn’t be voiced. How am I supposed to sleep tonight?

Just as she was pondering, the Eldest Princess entered and walked straight toward the bed. Qi Yu’s brow twitched. Although she had long known it was impossible, witnessing the loss of her “bed rights” still made her heart ache. Without a blanket, sleeping on the floor in this weather would be the death of her.

Seeing the Eldest Princess lift the covers and slide into bed without a word, Qi Yu bit her lip. “Princess, the spring chill is biting. Sleeping on the floor without a blanket… one could easily fall ill.”

The Princess seemed to just realize another person was in the room. She asked in surprise, “Why sleep on the floor? Does the Prince Consort find me distasteful? Are you unwilling to share a bed with me?” Her lips curved slightly. So, this person finally found the courage to speak up?

They were both women. Furthermore, she found that she didn’t dislike Qi Yu. Thinking about sharing a bed, she found it acceptable.

Qi Yu froze. It wasn’t for any other reason than that phrase: “share a bed.” In the months since transmigrating, she had deliberately tried to ignore certain things. “Sharing a bed”—what a beautiful concept, yet she knew it was all a pipe dream.

The atmosphere grew strangely heavy. Qi Yu lay down on the bed as if she had lost her soul. The Eldest Princess shifted further inward. Under one silken quilt, two people lay with vastly different thoughts.

The red candles flickered gently, as if knowing their destiny was to burn out, waiting patiently for the end.

The Eldest Princess turned her head to look at the person lying flat on their back beside her. This person always had a plain, unadorned look, yet even so, it couldn’t hide the refined grace of her features. If she put a bit of effort into herself, she would surely be a lady sought after by every family in the capital.

Yet, this person’s reputation was abysmal: incompetent, prone to drinking and listening to music—like an overgrown child. Her reckless behavior had simultaneously killed any desire from men to seek her hand.

The Eldest Princess had endured for many years; her observation of people was meticulous. Since their marriage, the Qi Yu in her eyes seemed like a different person, entirely distinct from the “straw bag” of the National Teacher’s manor she had heard of. The only similarity was the lingering youthful spirit.

But just now, that similarity seemed to vanish. A suspicion formed in her mind, yet her thoughts were restless, and she found she didn’t want to verify it.

However, as the Eldest Princess of Baiyue, how could she let a doubt go unprobed? Staring at the tip of Qi Yu’s nose, she asked, “I heard that the Prince Consort once claimed that, regardless of marriage, you would never choose an ugly woman, much less grow old with a cripple. Now that my legs and face are healed, do I meet your standards? Or… does the Prince Consort already have someone in her heart?”

Qi Yu turned over. Even in the dim candlelight, the Princess’s porcelain skin was radiant. She stared into those searching eyes and drifted into memory. Someone in her heart? Who knows? As for what the original owner of this body said, she was too lazy to explain.

As she dazed out, the silence stretched. The Eldest Princess frowned slightly. “Prince Consort? I am asking you a question.”

Qi Yu was snapped out of memories she didn’t want to recall. Looking at the slightly annoyed Princess, she suddenly smiled. “Did the Princess forget something?”

They were merely in a cooperative relationship—two villains destined for a tragic end. Discussing life was inappropriate; they should be discussing mutual interests. Qi Yu didn’t know why the Princess was asking these irrelevant questions, but she had no desire to discuss them. At such a time, a villain should say something to spoil the mood.

“What have I forgotten?” The Princess hadn’t expected her question to be met with a counter-question. she knit her brows. Forgotten what? Nothing, surely.

Qi Yu leaned in slightly. The two of them, already close, now seemed intimately inseparable. She murmured softly, “We had a deal. After returning from Pingman Province, you would give me three thousand taels. Surely the Princess doesn’t intend to go back on her word?”

She was penniless right now. Once she left the capital to wander the world, she couldn’t do without silver. This was the real business they should be discussing!

The Eldest Princess choked. Her heart, which had been fluttering for no reason, was suddenly smothered by a surge of irritation. “I am not in the habit of carrying currency. Upon returning to the manor, have Han Shui go to the accounts to disburse it to you. It is late; I am tired.”

With that, she turned her back. She couldn’t explain why she was angry. Just before falling asleep, she realized with hindsight that her question had been dodged by this person once again.

Her Prince Consort might have no other talents, but her ability to shift the subject and fool others was truly peerless. How vexing.

The next day, upon leaving the palace, the two did not head straight back to the Princess’s Manor. Instead, they diverted to the National Teacher’s Manor.

Qi Yu was still preoccupied with the person who had impersonated her to assassinate the Princess. Though she hadn’t seen them with her own eyes, someone who could deceive everyone—even the Eldest Princess and Han Shui—must be an uncanny lookalike.

The carriage traveled for fifteen minutes, passing through the capital’s most bustling street, when their path was suddenly blocked.

After a moment of commotion outside, the carriage remained motionless. A servant reported that someone had collided with the carriage and was now lying on the ground, refusing to get up unless the owner came out to apologize.

When Qi Yu heard this, she thought: A professional scammer? Because of such shameless people, many kind-hearted souls had grown afraid. What should be a simple moral question—whether to help someone who has fallen—had become a terrifying challenge.

If you help, you might be tethered to a trouble you can’t shake off. It’s a bottomless pit where a kind soul can be extorted until they are destitute.

“Just give them whatever silver they want. Do not let this delay our business,” the Eldest Princess ordered. But it was to no avail. Someone outside recognized it as the Princess’s carriage and began wailing about how “Princes who break the law should be treated the same as commoners,” insisting the Princess apologize in person.

At a nearby intersection, a low-profile carriage was parked. The person inside watched the scene from a distance.

“Chuanlian, though this trick is common, it is most effective. I truly look forward to the next scene.” The speaker was the Second Prince. The other person in the carriage was indeed Li Chuanlian.