Transmigrated as the Doomed Scumbag Alpha of the Eldest Princess - Chapter 58

Seeing how close the two of them were, Zhi Miao’s face turned red and she quickly stepped out of the room.

She shooed Lan Shao and Wei Nian away as well when they came by, making sure no one interrupted Jiang Si and Mowan Ci.

They stayed in that embrace for a long time, and Mowan Ci cried for just as long.

Jiang Si had always had a soft heart. That was exactly why she tried not to get too close to Mowan Ci—because she was afraid that one day, she would get hurt.

But seeing her like this now, Jiang Si couldn’t control herself.

She reached out and held her back just as tightly, gently stroking her hair as she comforted her in a soft voice.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m right here with you.”

“I was just away for a moment handling official duties. I was planning to make something nice for dinner.”

Words she never thought she would say came pouring out of her like spilled beans. By the time Mowan Ci’s emotions finally calmed, Jiang Si felt a bit embarrassed.

Whenever something happened to Mowan Ci, she always seemed to lose her composure.

Earlier, she had been listening to Su Xun and Ye Chan report on Huai City and northern military affairs, but her mind had wandered. She didn’t even wait for the meeting to end before rushing back when she saw Zhi Miao hurrying toward her.

When Mowan Ci was in danger, Jiang Si always seemed to sense it. She hadn’t even waited for an explanation before preparing herself to act.

What she saw was Mowan Ci’s tear-streaked face. She was mumbling something unintelligible, but it was clear she was in deep pain.

At that moment, Jiang Si felt regret. She should have been more attentive.

But regret wouldn’t help now. What mattered was calming her down.

Mowan Ci gripped her hand tightly. It hurt, but Jiang Si endured it without complaint, continuing to speak gently and comfort her.

Only after a long while did Mowan Ci begin to come back to herself. She slowly pulled away from the embrace, her eyes red from crying. She didn’t want to look up at Jiang Si, so she turned her head away.

“I must look ridiculous in front of you.”

“It’s nothing,” Jiang Si replied softly. “Just a nightmare. Everyone has them. You don’t need to think too much about it.”

“Have you had nightmares like this before?” Mowan Ci asked.

“Something like that… yes. But I usually wake up quickly. Even after waking, though, the dreams still linger.”

Jiang Si answered in a calm tone as she walked to the table and brought her a cup of water. “Here. Drink this.”

She sat beside her, watching quietly as Mowan Ci, still turned away, sipped the water.

Then she added, “I’ll have them set up some calming incense later. You’ll sleep better tonight.”

“Do you have important matters tonight? If not…”

“No, everything’s taken care of. I even sent someone to buy chili peppers from the city. I’m making spicy boiled beef for dinner.”

“You haven’t had that in a while, have you?”

Mowan Ci didn’t respond to anything she said. She remained silent, gripping the blanket tightly.

But the anxiety from the dream had already started to fade. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she found herself growing more and more dependent on Jiang Si. Even the way she was being addressed began to feel distant and wrong.

“In the future, there’s no need for you to call me ‘Princess.’”

Jiang Si hadn’t expected her to say that. She didn’t reply right away.

Mowan Ci turned to look at her, uneasy at her silence, and noticed her expression looked a little conflicted, maybe even displeased.

“You once told me not to use formal titles for myself either. But you still do,” Jiang Si said with a hint of frustration.

She could be petty sometimes, and that habit didn’t change no matter who she was talking to.

Hearing this, Mowan Ci finally smiled through her tears.

She bravely took Jiang Si’s hand and said more gently than ever, “Then from now on, let’s not use titles with each other. I won’t refer to myself that way anymore either. Does that sound good?”

Jiang Si repeated the words in her mind— “Does that sound good?”—and the way Mowan Ci looked when she said them. For some reason, she felt like she was the one being coaxed.

Her face flushed instantly. She turned her head quickly and muttered, “I… I’ll go make dinner. You rest for a while.”

She tried to let go of Mowan Ci’s hand as she spoke, but to her surprise, Mowan Ci held on tightly and wouldn’t let her go.

When Jiang Si looked back, Mowan Ci’s eyes darted away, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m scared, Jiang Si…”

Then she looked up again, eyes filled with vulnerability.

“Can I stay with you?”

Mowan Ci had just come out of a nightmare. Jiang Si, of course, couldn’t bear to turn her down.

But she hadn’t expected Mowan Ci to be this clingy.

When they arrived at the kitchen, Jiang Si decided to make the porridge now instead of tomorrow morning. She was worried that Mowan Ci might have no appetite after what happened.

But while she was rinsing the rice, Mowan Ci refused to leave her side.

“Your Highness, the kitchen is really small. If you sit over there, you can still see me. There’s no need to…” Jiang Si spoke as she worked, not noticing the slight downturn at the corners of Mowan Ci’s mouth.

She didn’t like the way Jiang Si called her just now.

The silence that followed made Jiang Si turn around after finishing with the rice. She saw Mowan Ci with her head lowered, lips tightly pressed together.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Si asked.

Mowan Ci didn’t answer right away. Instead, she tugged gently at the hem of Jiang Si’s sleeve.

“You promised. No more calling me ‘Princess.’”

Jiang Si let out a quiet laugh. So that was it.

She had only said it out of habit, but Mowan Ci had taken it seriously.

“What should I call you, then? Wan Ci?” Jiang Si asked with a smile.

Mowan Ci nodded seriously and repeated, “Wan Ci.”

“Alright, Wan Ci… can you do me a favor?”

“What kind of favor?” Mowan Ci’s eyes lit up. She didn’t know much about cooking, so being able to help Jiang Si even a little would make her happy.

But she hadn’t expected Jiang Si to tap her lightly on the shoulder and say, “Can you move over a bit? You’re kind of in the way.”

Mowan Ci fell silent.

Jiang Si noticed her disappointed expression but didn’t have much choice. Mowan Ci really was standing too close and getting in the way of her movements.

Still, seeing her like that made Jiang Si feel guilty. So, she softened her tone and tried to cheer her up.

“If you move, I can finish faster. Then we can eat sooner.”

“We?” Mowan Ci repeated softly.

Mowan Ci murmured something under her breath, but Jiang Si, already busy with the preparations, didn’t catch it.

She turned her head and asked, “What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

Mowan Ci moved aside this time without fuss. Jiang Si simply shrugged and didn’t press her further.

Half an hour later, the vegetable and ham congee was ready. Jiang Si also made two side dishes that Mowan Ci liked.

“There aren’t any preserved vegetables this season, and even the fresh greens are limited,” she explained.

“But they’re all nutritious.”

“Nutritious?” Mowan Ci repeated. “What does that mean?”

“That…” Jiang Si was caught off guard by the question and paused. After thinking for a moment, she replied vaguely, “It just means… it’s good for you!”

“Alright.” Mowan Ci didn’t ask again. She smiled faintly and began to taste the congee Jiang Si had made especially for her.

Spending time with Jiang Si made Mowan Ci feel that time moved faster than ever. After dinner, the two of them bathed separately and prepared to sleep, but before long, Jiang Si was called away by Su Xun.

After that, the night seemed to drag endlessly.

Mowan Ci couldn’t sleep at all, tossing and turning until the early morning when Jiang Si finally returned.

She looked completely exhausted, her body still carrying the heat of travel.

Normally, this was something that would make Mowan Ci uncomfortable, but the moment she caught a whiff of Jiang Si’s familiar amber scent, she felt an unusual sense of calm.

“Jiang Si, what were you doing?”

It was the first time Mowan Ci had asked her directly about her business.

Jiang Si didn’t hesitate. “We were discussing matters regarding Pingjin.”

“Cai Yingwei, the former governor of Huai City, has surrendered.”

“You brought him back with you?”

“Yes. I wanted him to see with his own eyes the kind of person his former master really is. Even when standing at her own doorstep, Mu Shuyang is still timid and hesitant.”

“Mu Shuyang has always been like that. Even back in the capital, she was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong.”

“Then why would Mu Zesheng continue to trust her?” Jiang Si asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be highly guarded when it comes to the Mu royal family?”

It was the first time Jiang Si had directly questioned Mowan Ci about Mu Zesheng. In the past, she had only ever hinted at it, and the answers she received were always vague.

This time, she expected something different.

“Rather than say he’s guarded against the Mu family, it’s more accurate to say he’s guarded against me—and against my father’s descendants,” Mowan Ci said calmly. “Mu Shuyang… he doesn’t think much of her. He doesn’t believe she’s capable of anything, and he doesn’t even see her bloodline as legitimate.”

“Why? Isn’t she also a descendant of the founding emperor?”

“The Pingjin line was born of a concubine,” Mowan Ci replied.

“That’s it?” Jiang Si looked genuinely surprised, and the disdain in her tone was obvious.

Mu Zesheng wasn’t just arrogant—he was foolish too.

Mu Shuyang might be timid now because her forces couldn’t match Jiang Si’s, but with the right support, she might still put up a fight.

“There’s more. Mu Zesheng has already allied with the Western Border King. I’m afraid he plans to open the road for the Pingjin army.”

“Are you worried?” Mowan Ci asked.

“Of course not,” Jiang Si said with confidence. “The Pingjin Prince is not a real threat. Even if the Western Border King sends troops, it’ll only be a vanguard. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Jiang Si had stayed up all night. Her eyelids were heavy, and she kept nodding off. Mowan Ci watched her for a moment, then gently reached out to pinch the space between her brows. Her voice was quiet and soft.

“Go to sleep. Even if there’s something to be afraid of…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Si suddenly opened her eyes wide and asked, “Wan Ci, what did you dream about today?”

She had wanted to ask this question for a while, but Mowan Ci had looked so frightened earlier that she had held back.

When Zhi Miao came to get her that day, she already sensed something was very wrong. She had sent Zhi Miao away to give them privacy.

The soft, distressed sounds from the room had reached her ears alone.

Only she had heard Mowan Ci calling her name again and again.

And after she woke, Mowan Ci didn’t want her to leave.

She had clung to her more closely than ever.

Faced with the sudden question, Mowan Ci fell silent and pressed her lips together. Jiang Si leaned closer and asked again, “You dreamed of me, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I dreamed we were at the Ling Shang estate. You appeared behind me and saved me.”

Most of the earlier parts of the dream were already fading from her memory, but what remained vivid was the moment Jiang Si had marked her.

As she spoke, her face flushed with warmth. She didn’t want to say anything more.

Fortunately, Jiang Si didn’t press her. Instead, she smiled and gently took her hand.

“Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, every time you’re in danger, I’ll be there to save you.”

Jiang Si couldn’t be sure of that. But right now, this was what she wanted to promise.

Mowan Ci’s eyes flickered slightly, as if she wanted to say something in return. But Jiang Si closed her eyes and placed Mowan Ci’s hand against her chest.

“Sleep. I’ve been up all night. I’m so tired.”

Mowan Ci stopped talking. She let Jiang Si hold her.

When she heard Jiang Si’s breathing begin to slow and steady, she carefully pulled her hand away.

Moving quietly, she got out of bed and walked to her vanity.

She searched through her drawers for a while, then walked to the writing desk.

There, she spent some time writing a letter. When it was finished, she sealed it tightly in a special bamboo tube.

Finally, she stepped over to the window.

She scattered something outside. Not long after, a carrier pigeon flew down and landed.

Back in bed, where Jiang Si should have been asleep, her eyes were already open. She had woken the moment Mowan Ci left the bed.

By the light of the moon, she watched everything.

Only when the bamboo tube had been taken away and Mowan Ci returned to bed did Jiang Si shift slightly, pretending to stir and reach for her.

She had always had a habit of sleeping while holding Mowan Ci. Every morning they woke together, Mowan Ci would always be in her arms.

It was already late. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

Support