Transmigrated as the Doomed Scumbag Alpha of the Eldest Princess - Chapter 101

“Jiang Si, is that you?”

Jiang Si halted in her tracks but gave no response. The anxious call came again, leaving her momentarily dazed and uncertain.

Lan Yu, who stood ahead, scrutinized her briefly before shifting her gaze to Mowan Ci behind her. “Do you know her?” she asked.

With a faint smile, Jiang Si kept her eyes fixed on Mowan Ci, lips parting slightly as if she had something to say.

In a sudden rush, Jiang Si grabbed Lan Yu’s arm and shook her head.

But the next moment, someone seized her other wrist from behind.

The three of them now stood in a straight line, each holding onto the other. Lan Yu still wore that faint smile, whileMowan Ci’s breathing behind her was slightly labored, she must have run those last few steps.

Jiang Si struggled slightly against the grip on her wrist. Mowan Ci held on tightly, and it took some effort for Jiang Si to finally pull free. At the same time, she released Lan Yu’s arm.

Now that Mowan Ci had caught up, whether Lan Yu spoke or not no longer mattered.

Turning around, Jiang Si faced Mowan Ci directly.

What she saw was unexpected—Mowan Ci’s eyes brimmed with tears, her hair slightly disheveled from the hurried steps. After catching her breath, she called out again, “Jiang Si, it really is you.”

“You didn’t—”

“I didn’t die.”

Jiang Si couldn’t bear to watch any longer and spoke coldly. The tears that had been threatening to fall from Mowan Ci’s eyes stopped at that moment.

She even took a few flustered steps back.

Lan Yu’s voice chimed in at just the right moment, “Who is she?”

She was asking Jiang Si who Mowan Ci was but her posture carried an ambiguous undertone. Before Jiang Si turned around, Lan Yu had stood a step apart from her, but now there was no space between them.

Though there were no overt gestures, the way the two stood together was enough to invite speculation whether innocent or not depended entirely on the observer.

And Mowan Ci was clearly the type to overthink. Her gaze shifted from Jiang Si to Lan Yu. Though Lan Yu was dressed entirely in black, her face obscured by a dark veil, making her features indiscernible,

Instinct was irrational. Mowan Ci could sense Lan Yu’s amusement and the undeniable fact that, while their relationship might not be intimate, it was far from unfamiliar.

Having spent so much time with Jiang Si, Mowan Ci could tell, if there wasn’t at least some level of trust, Jiang Si would never allow someone to act this way toward her.

“Her Royal Highness, Princess Shaoyuan of Yue.”

Jiang Si’s voice cut through Mowan Ci’s thoughts. Her tone was icy as she stated Mowan Ci’s title, though her expression toward Lan Yu remained warm.

When she turned back to Mowan Ci, her gaze was sharp as a blade. “Thanks to Lan Yu, otherwise,  you would have gotten your wish.”

The mocking smile on her lips was unmistakable. It took Mowan Ci a moment to realize what Jiang Si meant by “your wish.”

Stunned, she didn’t know how to respond. The academy envoy beside her interjected, “Your Highness, the Princess has been—”

“Silence!”

Mowan Ci turned and coldly reprimanded the envoy who had tried to speak for her. The armed maidservant opened her mouth to say more but ultimately stepped back without another word.

Jiang Si glanced at them indifferently before turning to Lan Yu. “Let’s go.”

After taking a few steps, Mu Wanzi’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Si. She called over the envoy she had just reprimanded: “Liao Yang, go to Cu City and inform General Su… I’ve found Jiang Si.”

Her words had barely left her lips when she sensed someone approaching rapidly from ahead.

She turned to see Jiang Si, who had clearly walked away moments ago, now standing before her, eyes blazing with anger. “Mu Wanzi, I remember the way back.”

“And it’s not like you found me. It was just… a chance encounter.”

With that, she turned away again without a second thought for Mu Wanzi’s feelings.

Lan Yu was waiting not far off. As Jiang Si reached her side, Mu Wanzi caught a glimpse beneath the fluttering veil, a single smiling eye. Then the pair walked away hand in hand.

Mu Wanzi stood rooted to the spot for so long that Liao Yang grew impatient. “Your Highness, should we still send the carrier pigeon to Cu City?”

“No need.”

“Then we—”

“We’ll return on our own. A-Yue and A-Wu are waiting for me.” Mu Wanzi’s voice trembled with barely suppressed tears. Liao Yang said no more, simply ordering the attendants to prepare the carriage for the journey back to Cu City.

Nearly a year had passed since their departure from the Eastern Sea. Mu Wanzi had searched every city along the western border, enduring countless hardships, but never before had she been in such a state not just the quavering voice, but eyes rimmed red, hands shaking faintly even as she boarded the carriage.

The return journey passed in near silence, with Mu Wanzi scarcely leaving the carriage. Only Wei Nian remained by her side for care indeed, when they’d encountered Jiang Si, Wei Nian had been back at the inn packing their belongings. When they reunited, Liao Yang tried to have Wei Nian comfort Mu Wanzi, but before he could finish hinting at the idea, Mu Wanzi from within the carriage gently refused, insisting Wei Nian stay close to her instead.

The western frontier stretched vast, cities lying far apart across mostly barren lands. Their party took nearly a month to reach Cu City.

Only upon entering their rented residence and seeing A-Yue and A-Wu did Mu Wanzi’s condition improve somewhat. During the long months searching for Jiang Si, she’d only been able to visit the children for a few days every month or two. Naturally, A-Yue remained as clingy as ever after the long separation, while A-Wu was more reserved—only after A-Yue had demanded hugs and kisses would A-Wu gently tug at Mu Wanzi’s sleeve. When asked if she’d missed her mother, A-Wu would shyly admit she had.

Mu Wanzi smiled at this, setting down A-Yue to crouch before the smaller child. Born prematurely and frail, A-Wu had never grown as robust as her sibling, with poorer appetite and quieter disposition. Back in the Eastern Sea, Mu Wanzi had exhausted herself trying to get A-Wu to eat more, hoping she’d become as lively as A-Yue, but the willful child would only humor her mother briefly before returning to solitary play.

After half a year without their mother’s presence, the contrast between the siblings had grown starker. Once nearly equal in height, now A-Yue stood half a head taller, their fuller frame making A-Wu seem almost small enough to tuck inside.

Heart aching, Mu Wanzi stroked A-Wu’s slender arm noticeably smaller than A-Yue’s and asked, “Is there anything you’d like to eat? Mother will make it for you.”

After a moment’s thought, A-Wu nodded and said in her milky voice, “Want milk cake~”

A-Wu was still too young to remember the full name of the milk-scented cakes Mowan Ci used to make for her, so she could only mumble vaguely about them.

Mowan Ci, of course, knew what she meant.

But not long after seeing Jiang Si again, she found herself thinking back to the past, how she had learned to make those cakes in the first place because Jiang Si loved them. Though she usually made them for the girls without a second thought, now the memory lingered.

A-Wu, who hadn’t gotten a response, pouted slightly, while A-Yue tugged at her sleeve impatiently. “Mama, I want some too!”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mowan Ci glanced at A-Yue, who had pressed close, and then at A-Wu’s slightly crestfallen expression. She pulled them both into her arms, softening her voice. “Alright, Mama will make you milk-scented cakes.”

“From now on… I can make them for you every day.”

“I’ll never leave your side again.”

A-Yue was the happiest to hear this. She immediately bounced in Mowan Ci’s embrace, wrapping her arms around her neck and planting a kiss on her cheek.

A-Wu wasn’t as excitable, but her eyes still curved into happy crescents.

Mowan Ci smiled too. With A-Yue and A-Wu by her side, the gloom in her heart dissipated entirely.

After learning that Jiang Si was still alive, Mowan Ci decided to leave the Western Frontier. She spent a few days preparing, spoiling the girls with various delicacies before restoring the rented house to its original state and packing their belongings for the journey back to the Eastern Sea.

The trip from the Western Frontier to the Eastern Sea would take about two months if they hurried, but this time, there was no desperate urgency like before. Before setting out, she had sent a letter to Xiao Su, informing her of their approximate return date, so Mowan Ci took the journey slowly, stopping in bustling cities to let A-Yue and A-Wu explore.

By the time they neared Xingcheng, it was already March of the following year spring, when flowers bloomed in abundance.

Under Mowan Ci’s attentive care over the past months, both girls had grown noticeably taller. A-Wu, in particular, had shot up quickly, catching up to A-Yue’s height, where she had once been half a head shorter, she now reached A-Yue’s ears.

As a mother, moments like these brought her the greatest joy.

“Mama, let’s go on a boat!” A-Yue, though small, was surprisingly strong. She tugged at Mowan Ci’s left hand with enough force to pull her forward, nearly making A-Wu stumble.

“A-Yue, slow down. Don’t drag your sister over.”

In the half-year without Mowan Ci, A-Yue had no reason to compete for attention anymore, and the two sisters had grown much closer. So even though she pouted at the gentle scolding, she did slow down though she couldn’t resist grumbling, “Sister, walk faster!”

“A-Yue!”

“Hmph! Then I’ll hold Sister’s hand so she’ll hurry up!”

A-Yue was impulsive by nature, while A-Wu…

Was much slower. When A-Yue grabbed her hand, she didn’t even realize she was being scolded for dawdling, she just obediently let her sister pull her along.

The three of them walked in a row, with A-Yue in the middle, squeezing Mowan Ci’s hand one moment and A-Wu’s the next.

“When you were little, you lived by the Eastern Sea. You saw boats every day until you got sick of them. Now you find them exciting again?” Mowan Ci teased A-Yue, who ignored the remark entirely, she just wanted to see them, to ride them.

Xingcheng bordered the sea on only one side, with the rest of the city inland, so whenever there were maritime events, crowds gathered. Mowan Ci held the girls’ hands tightly, afraid of losing them in the bustle, while Wei Nian and Liao Yang flanked them protectively.

Normally, they wouldn’t have been separated, but as they approached the seaside, a group of soldiers suddenly arrived, making the already crowded area even more packed.

They had come to post notices. Mowan Ci paid no attention at first, glancing back at Ayue and Awu, when suddenly she heard the soldiers shouting: “On the first day of next month, there will be a grand ceremony to select an empress for the new emperor. All eligible Kunze within Jing Kingdom’s borders may participate…”

Ascending the throne and selecting an empress?

She hadn’t been completely unaware of the news during her journey.

Jiang Si had returned to Cucheng months ago, conquering several western frontier cities. But when nearing the western capital, he turned back to Xingcheng to proclaim himself emperor instead of continuing the western campaign.

She didn’t understand Jiang Si’s reasons, and told herself it no longer concerned her.

As long as he was alive, that was enough.

Yet she never expected to hear such news at this moment.

Her eyes grew dry. Mowan Ci stood frozen, unsure how to react, only snapping back to reality when she realized her hands had gone slack and empty. Looking down, she saw only Awu remained by her side.

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