Transmigrated as the Doomed Scumbag Alpha of the Eldest Princess - Chapter 74

“Jiang Si…”

Mowan Ci lowered her eyes. After a long pause, she softly called her name.

Jiang Si couldn’t tell whether that was a sign of agreement or something else. She stepped forward and gently lifted Mowan Ci’s chin, forcing her to look up.

But after just a moment, Mowan Ci looked away again.

She didn’t want to meet her gaze.

Jiang Si felt a wave of disappointment, but she still wasn’t ready to give up.

“Can’t you tell?” she asked quietly. “Can’t you see how much I care about you?”

“Or… did you have another terrifying dream these past few days?”

She knew it wasn’t fair to question her like this, but her heart had been aching with frustration. The silence between them only made her more unbalanced.

Finally, Mowan Ci let out a soft sigh, like someone surrendering to something they couldn’t fight.

“I shouldn’t have said what I did that night.”

“But it was the truth, wasn’t it?”

Jiang Si’s voice turned bitter. Her emotions rose with each word.

“I know I’m not easy. I’m stubborn, I take things too seriously, I hold grudges. So when you said what you said… it really hurt me.”

“I thought we were already…”

Her voice grew louder and more agitated, but when she saw Mowan Ci’s expressionless face, everything inside her deflated. Her voice faded.

She shouldn’t have said so much.

And maybe none of it mattered now.

“There are plenty of rooms on this ship. I’ll stay downstairs tonight.”

Their cabin was located on the third level. It had been designed just for the two of them, with a spacious bedroom, a dining area, a sitting room, and even a tea set for Mowan Ci, along with her chessboard.

But looking at it now, all of it felt unnecessary.

Jiang Si stumbled down the stairs. Instead of going far, she sat halfway down, listening carefully to hear if Mowan Ci had moved.

But there was nothing.

It was completely quiet.

Mowan Ci hadn’t moved from her spot. She hadn’t walked into the side room. She hadn’t come after her.

When Jiang Si reached the second floor, she saw Lan Shao carrying her belongings into one of the rooms.

There were two bedrooms on that floor. Aside from Mowan Ci and herself, Lan Shao was the highest-ranked person on the ship, so naturally she was assigned this level. That left one room open.

Lan Shao looked puzzled when she saw her. Then she smiled faintly and asked, “You’re not going back to comfort Her Highness?”

Jiang Si was already upset with Mowan Ci, and hearing Lan Shao say that only made her mood worse. She turned her head and muttered, “Why should I be the one to comfort her?”

Jiang Si had always been curious about Lan Shao.

She never seemed too involved in Jiang Si’s or Mowan Ci’s private matters, yet she was always watching from the side.

Frustrated and needing someone to talk to, Jiang Si grabbed two bottles of wine. She pulled Lan Shao into the kitchen to grab a roasted chicken, then turned to her.

“Come on. Let’s go outside and drink.”

“My lord, are you sure? We’re still sailing, and the deck isn’t exactly…”

“I’m sure. We’ll drink on deck.”

Jiang Si pulled her along without giving her a chance to refuse. Halfway through, she suddenly turned to a passing kitchen maid.

“Make something warm and nourishing for Her Highness.”

The maid bowed in response, and Jiang Si walked away with Lan Shao toward the deck.

The sea breeze was crisp and cool. Jiang Si lifted a wine bottle and took a long drink without hesitation.

Lan Shao frowned and quickly took it from her.

“What happened between you two? Is it really that bad?”

Jiang Si wasn’t drunk yet, but she wanted to be. Her words came out slow and uncertain.

“I prefer when you talk like this. Don’t keep calling me ‘my lord’ or ‘marquess.’ Just use my name.”

Lan Shao had always been the most relaxed person around her. Jiang Si really did like her for that.

In some strange way, she had always been the most intriguing person in Jiang Si’s circle.

“Lan Shao, all these years, why did you always avoid me?”

Lan Shao didn’t look at her. Her answer was simple.

“Jiang Si, I’m a dominant.”

Jiang Si blinked, caught off guard. She turned her head to look at her, confused.

Lan Shao’s expression became guarded.

“Even if you’re my superior, we’re both dominants. I could never be interested in you, so stop looking at me like that.”

The disdain in her tone made Jiang Si feel almost embarrassed that she had ever considered her the subordinate she liked most.

Even Su Xun was better. At least Su Xun’s sharp tongue wasn’t aimed at her on purpose.

Jiang Si narrowed her eyes slightly and said nothing for a while. Then she asked again, more seriously this time.

“Can you just answer my question directly?”

“You mean why I avoided you?”

Lan Shao’s voice grew calmer.

“Jiang Si, maybe you should ask yourself something instead. Why aren’t you the same person you used to be?”

“What do you mean by that?” Jiang Si snapped, turning to glare at her.

Lan Shao didn’t answer. She picked up her cup and took another drink.

Jiang Si drank too. Before long, they had nearly finished one bottle.

Their cheeks were flushed from the alcohol when Lan Shao stood up, steadying herself against the railing. She looked out toward the sea and pointed.

“That way… is Xichui.”

“Jiang Si, do you still remember?” Lan Shao asked softly. “The year you went to war with the former Marquis of Jiajing. It was your first campaign, right? It happened on the western frontier. You saved me.”

“After that, I followed you every day, never speaking a word. And you never seemed bothered by it.”

Jiang Si remained silent. She didn’t remember.

Lan Shao had clearly had too much to drink. The alcohol made it easier for her to speak, as if it concealed parts of her she didn’t want seen. When Jiang Si didn’t respond, Lan Shao continued, as if talking to herself. “You once asked me why I was so familiar with Xi Yuefeng.”

“It’s because we’re cousins.”

“Her late mother was my mother’s younger sister.”

“We share the same blood.”

“What?” Jiang Si asked in a quiet, surprised voice.

Lan Shao nodded with a faint smile. “Just as you’re thinking. I come from the most secretive voodoo family of the western frontier, the Xi Yuefeng family.”

“Xi Yuefeng’s mother was a Kunze and much younger than mine. When she was forced to become a courtesan, my mother was still struggling to survive at the border, trying to fight the Ximen clan and save our people.”

“But the result was obvious. She failed.”

“I was taken in by a healer, someone close to my mother. His surname was Lan. He became my master and raised me until the year before I met you. Just before he passed away, he told me everything about the Xi Yuefeng clan.”

“Jiang Si, you don’t belong here.”

“Or rather, you don’t belong only here.”

Lan Shao’s voice suddenly became serious. The sea wind blew her hair into a mess. Under the moonlight, even her expression seemed to change.

Jiang Si felt a chill run down her spine. It was as if Lan Shao had casually revealed something terrifying.

She didn’t belong here?

Not only here?

Jiang Si stood up and grabbed Lan Shao’s hand, her voice shaking. “Lan Shao, what do you really know?”

Lan Shao shook her head and finished the last drop of her wine. Her eyes turned dull as she replied, “I don’t know anything. I can only see what others can’t.”

“You can see it because you’re from the Xi Yuefeng family?”

“Then what about Xi Yuefeng? What does she know? Why did she risk her life to bring the antidote to Mowan Ci, and why in such a strange way?”

“I truly don’t know. I’ve told you everything about her past. What she does now, how she does it, that’s her choice. It’s not something either of us can control.”

Lan Shao’s voice became flat. Even the way she looked at Jiang Si had changed.

Jiang Si frowned. “Can you stop being so vague and just speak clearly?”

Ever since Lan Shao mentioned the Xi Yuefeng family, ever since the sea breeze picked up, something about her had become unnatural. Her eyes were lifeless, and her limbs stiff.

“Are you acting like this because of the alcohol?”

“I really hated the way you used to be,” Lan Shao whispered. “I hope she never comes back.”

Maybe she truly was drunk. After saying that, she staggered inside. When Jiang Si tried to support her, Lan Shao pushed her away.

Not long after, she came back.

She handed Jiang Si two bottles of wine and held two more in her arms. It was clear she didn’t plan to stop drinking anytime soon.

Jiang Si didn’t understand everything Lan Shao had said. Her heart was already troubled because of Mowan Ci. Without thinking too much, she took a bottle and drank.

After another bottle, Lan Shao returned to her usual self. She leaned against Jiang Si with a lazy smile. “Jiang Si, those were the things you wanted to know. I’ve told you all of it.”

“The rest, you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

“What about Mowan Ci?” Jiang Si knew she was drunk but still had to ask.

Lan Shao quickly covered her mouth and whispered mysteriously, “That’s something I can’t tell you.”

“You—”

“Forget it. I won’t argue with a drunk.”

For some reason, the last glass of wine hit Lan Shao harder than the others. She pushed Jiang Si to keep drinking with her.

In the end, Jiang Si got drunk too. As they stumbled back, she vaguely heard Lan Shao ask, “Are you in your Rain-Dew cycle?”

“This incense smells awful.”

Then, Jiang Si felt herself being pulled into something soft and warm. She didn’t resist. She even nuzzled into it.

“Have you touched enough?” a cold, calm voice came from below.

It sounded like Mowan Ci. But when Jiang Si looked up, everything was blurry. She couldn’t make out the face.

She usually only drank a little at gatherings. As the Marquis of Jiajing, no one dared to pressure her. They would always flatter her instead, so she would just have a few sips before someone helped her back to her room.

She had almost forgotten how bad her alcohol tolerance was.

And how she blacked out and acted foolish when drunk.

“Ice cream.”

She was convinced the soft thing she was holding was a giant scoop of ice cream. It was sweet, cool, and comforting. It eased the burning heat in her body.

She wandered around holding her “ice cream” in her arms, over and over again, until finally, she was pulled away by someone who pressed down on her head.

Jiang Si protested loudly, “You weren’t supposed to talk!”

The “ice cream” stayed quiet. Only then did Jiang Si feel satisfied enough to fall asleep in her arms.

These past few days, Jiang Si had been tormented by her Rain-Dew cycle. But at last, she managed to get a good night’s sleep.

When she woke, her cheeks were slightly flushed, while the person she had clung to all night looked completely drained.

“Did you sleep well?”

Mowan Ci rested her chin in her hand and asked. Jiang Si, just opening her eyes, frowned slightly and took a moment to think. Then she asked, “Why am I here?”

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Mowan Ci replied calmly. “Why did Lan Shao send you to me?”

Just remembering how she’d been held over and over again the entire night made Mowan Ci irritated. On top of that, she had been called by a strange name again and again.

Even though she and Jiang Si were still in the middle of a cold war, Mowan Ci couldn’t control her emotions. Her voice turned icy as she asked, “Who is this ‘Ice Cream’? The prince’s new favorite?”

Jiang Si’s mind went blank for a moment. She had no idea how ice cream got brought into this.

But then again, if that word came up, it must have been from her. There was no way Mowan Ci would say it on her own.

“I…” Jiang Si instinctively wanted to explain, but just as the words reached her lips, she swallowed them and asked instead, “Is that really how you see me? Someone who flirts around without a care?”

“You spent the whole night calling someone else’s name. What was I supposed to think?” Mowan Ci replied coolly, stating what she believed to be the obvious.

Jiang Si clenched her jaw in frustration.

But thinking back to last night, when she had clearly made a mess of things while drunk and probably exhausted Mowan Ci, her confidence faltered. Forgetting they were still in a standoff, she reached out and pulled Mowan Ci toward her.

Their lips almost touched, and Jiang Si’s breath caught for a second. Still, she managed to say, “Ice cream is just a kind of food. I used to like it a lot.”

After she spoke, Mowan Ci didn’t respond. Her expression remained unreadable.

Jiang Si immediately deflated but still felt unwilling to give in.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Mowan Ci’s waist, pushed her down onto the bed, and kissed her lips in frustration. “You don’t have to trust anyone else, but you must believe this. I don’t like anyone else. Only you!”

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