Transmigrated as the Doomed Scumbag Alpha of the Eldest Princess - Chapter 98

Su Xun left the room with Ye Chan, leaving only Jiang Si and Lan Shao behind. The atmosphere wasn’t as tense as before, and Jiang Si even sat down to pour Lan Shao a drink.

Her wine had been untouched earlier, so she shouldn’t have poured more, yet after filling the cup, Jiang Si quickly picked up her own glass and downed it in one go.

Then came the second cup, followed by the third.

Lan Shao had accompanied Jiang Si through the hardships of campaigns abroad it had been tough, but she had never seen Jiang Si like this before.

Her skin, no longer as fair as it had been back in Donghai, bore the marks of long campaigns, and her clothes lacked their former neatness.

Even her demeanor had undergone a profound change, both inside and out.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Jiang Si was already pouring her fourth cup as she spoke. Unable to stand it any longer, Lan Shao pressed her hand down, not to stop her but to ask instead, “Aren’t you going to wait for me?”

With that, she released Jiang Si’s hand and picked up her own cup. Unlike before, she didn’t down it in one gulp but merely took a sip before adding, “Drinking harms the body.”

“I know…” Jiang Si responded, also taking a small sip before smiling and asking, “Where do you plan to go next?”

Now that they were alone, Jiang Si’s emotions weren’t as well concealed her voice was bitter, her gaze unsteady.

Lan Shao sighed inwardly.

She knew Jiang Si hadn’t had an easy time these past six months either.

“Westward, possibly to the western frontier,” Lan Shao shared her plans, and Jiang Si nodded repeatedly as she listened.

She didn’t ask anything else, but Lan Shao had the distinct feeling Jiang Si was waiting for something.

The wine kept flowing, cup after cup. Lan Shao remained silent, but when Jiang Si grew hazy from drinking, she suddenly asked, “It’s been a while has my alcohol tolerance improved?”

“Yes.”

“They… are doing well.” Lan Shao’s non-answer made Jiang Si’s hand tremble slightly around her cup. She then tilted her head back and poured the entire drink into her mouth, holding it there as the sharp burn stung her taste buds before slowly swallowing.

Her eyes reddened slightly, but she didn’t rebuke Lan Shao for her words, merely nodding silently.

Growing even drunker, she slumped onto the table and asked, “How long until you return?”

“A year or two, maybe longer.”

“Now that everything here is settled, I won’t linger…”

“Lan Shao, having you around always brings peace of mind.” Jiang Si abruptly spoke up, setting her cup aside and sliding her hand forward. “Check my pulse for me.”

Lan Shao reached out, and the moment she took Jiang Si’s pulse, her brow furrowed.

Jiang Si’s health had deteriorated far more than she’d expected.

“Stagnant qi, disordered essence…” Lan Shao stopped mid-sentence, glancing at the wine cup beside them before gently advising, “Stop drinking. Before I leave, I’ll prepare a prescription for you.”

“After that, bring Lan Yue to stay with you.”

“She’ll be twelve after the New Year, a young woman now. I’d feel better with her by your side, and… with her watching over you, I’d feel at ease too.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Jiang Si slowly rose to her feet, offering a weak excuse. “I… don’t drink often. It’s just that once, during a night raid, it was too cold, so I drank to warm up.”

Since when was war ever easy?

Lan Shao understood, but she still wished someone could take care of Jiang Si.

“While I’m gone, remember to listen to Lan Yue. Don’t frighten her.”

“She’s afraid of you.”

“Why?”

“Because… you once saved her, then tried to kill her.”

Lan Shao met Jiang Si’s gaze deeply after speaking, watching as the confusion in her furrowed brow gradually eased away.

She slowly said, “I understand. I will certainly treat Lan Yue well.”

“However, the person shouldn’t be brought to Shangjing they should go to Xingcheng instead.”

“Have you heard? I’m building a new capital in Xingcheng, which will be fully completed by year’s end. The temporary palace will be ready for relocation after the new year.”

Lan Shao, having traveled all this way, was completely unaware of this news. After a moment of surprise, she asked, “Why Xingcheng?”

Jiang Si didn’t answer directly. Instead, she stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the night-lit prosperity of Shangjing. “Because I don’t like it here. I don’t like the imperial palace in Shangjing.”

“And most of all, I dislike how far it is.”

Lan Shao didn’t ask what it was too far from. She merely smiled faintly and joined Jiang Si by the window.

“I wanted to bring you some durian from the East Sea, but I was afraid you might not want it.”

“How could that be? I love it, you know that.”

“When you return to Xingcheng, you can send someone to fetch some from the East Sea…”

“No need. Though I love it dearly, if I can’t have it at its freshest, I’d rather not have it at all.”

Lan Shao stayed in Shangjing for several days and truly witnessed how busy Jiang Si had become.

Crumbling cities needed repairs, the former concubines of the Yue palace required handling, Mu Zezheng occasionally caused trouble, and capable ministers needed to be subdued.

There was also Tao Zun and his clan, who had disappeared on the day the city fell and still needed to be found.

Jiang Si had considered asking Lan Shao to stay for the new year, but the city’s ruined state offered no festive atmosphere, so she abandoned the idea.

Whenever she had time, Jiang Si would visit Lan Shao’s room to talk. True to her word, she abstained from drinking for several days and took her medicine on time, improving her health slightly. But as they spoke, Su Xun arrived with a report.

The Grand Secretary, Elder Wen, requested an audience.

This man was a veteran minister of the Yue court, a pillar of the previous emperor’s reign stubborn, rigid, and inflexible.

Though often sidelined during Mu Zezheng’s rule, he was still treated with respect as a widely recognized Confucian scholar. Jiang Si was at a loss on how to handle him now.

Unable to subdue him, yet fearing harsh measures would tarnish her reputation, she found Elder Wen particularly troublesome, always eager to argue.

Mention of him made Jiang Si visibly agitated. Seeing this, Lan Shao tried to comfort her, but Jiang Si suddenly stood up, eyes reddened as she stared at Lan Shao before pacing restlessly around the room.

“What does that old man even want? Why didn’t he argue when Mu Zezheng and Tao Zun were in power?”

“Now that I’m here in Shangjing, with Mu Zezheng and Tao Zun both removed, he suddenly shows up!”

Men like Elder Wen were always the hardest to deal with, but…

Surely Jiang Si wouldn’t go too far?

Seeing her agitation, Lan Shao frowned. Before long, Jiang Si stopped speaking altogether and stormed out.

Lan Shao wanted to call after her, but at the door stood not only Su Xun but also Nan Gongyan.

And Jiang Si no longer seemed annoyed by her presence, she merely glanced at her before leaving.

Several days passed without Lan Shao seeing Jiang Si again. It wasn’t until she was preparing to leave Shangjing that Jiang Si reappeared.

She personally escorted Lan Shao to the gate.

Lan Shao asked, “What happened with Elder Wen?”

“It’s settled. He was just making a fuss to assert his status as a great scholar, afraid I might actually harm him!”

Jiang Si forced a smile, but exhaustion was evident in her expression.

For some reason, this time, seeing Jiang Si left Lan Shao with an uneasy feeling something about her weariness seemed off.

The pulse diagnosis revealed nothing unusual.

When it was time to part, Lan Shao studied her carefully once more, noticing she seemed more energetic even insisting on escorting her on horseback.

“Don’t bother. The capital is busy, and with the situation just stabilizing, you must strike while the iron is hot.”

Aside from trivial matters, during her days in the capital, Lan Shao had also noticed Mu Shuyang’s restlessness.

Jiang Si was no fool, she saw it too.

After all, Mu Shuyang was of the Mu imperial clan. With Mu Zesheng imprisoned in the palace, she was the one who visited him most often. Moreover, those stubborn loyalists treated Mu Shuyang far more courteously than they did Jiang Si.

But these things couldn’t be changed overnight. Jiang Si still wanted to see her off.

Though Su Xun and Ye Chan were also devoted to her, neither could offer the same heartfelt counsel as Lan Shao.

Jiang Si was reluctant to let her go.

Yet every time she brought it up, Lan Shao would hesitate, saying only that she had matters to attend to and had to leave.

“I’ll… return as soon as I can.”

“Don’t see me off.” Lan Shao was reluctant to face Jiang Si like this. The more they spoke, the more dependent Jiang Si became.

Lan Shao was willing to do much for her like staying in Donghai to care for Mowan Ci during childbirth.

Back in Donghai, Jiang Si could have ordered her to leave or destroyed that medicine, yet all she said was, “Do as you please.”

Bound by duty, Lan Shao had no choice but to obey. Today’s departure was only natural.

“I’m really leaving now.”

This time, Lan Shao didn’t wait for a response. She spurred her horse and rode off.

Only after putting some distance between herself and the capital did she glance back. Jiang Si remained motionless outside the city gates.

Behind her, however, a group of people had appeared at some point, kneeling at her side and speaking.

Lan Shao watched for a long time, not leaving until Jiang Si finally turned and reentered the city.

Months after leaving the capital, while staying in a remote western border town, Lan Shao heard of clashes between the King of the Western Frontier and the Jingyuan Army near Cù City.

Cù City was the western frontier’s closest settlement to the northern border, making it a likely battleground. But what she hadn’t expected.

Was the news that Jiang Si’s fate was unknown.

Jiang Si had always been vigilant; she wouldn’t be easily harmed.

Yet the memory of their farewell in the capital lingered Jiang Si’s exhaustion had given Lan Shao a bad feeling.

And now, this incident involved the King of the Western Frontier…

After some deliberation, Lan Shao packed her belongings and set off for Cù City.

Word of Jiang Si’s disappearance spread quickly.

Even Mowan Ci, far away in Donghai, soon learned of it.

After discussing matters with Xiao Su and the island leaders, she returned to the villa as usual to spend time with her daughters.

Now eight months old, they were lively and adorable, just beginning to babble. A-Yue, growing bigger by the day, was clingy the moment she saw Mowan Ci return, she wriggled out of Zhi Miao’s arms and reached for her.

“Ah… Ma~” Her call was indistinct, but it filled Mowan Ci with warmth as she took her into her arms. Then she looked down at A-Wu, quietly watching her from Wei Nian’s embrace.

Her dark eyes held a stubborn glint, her features strikingly similar to Jiang Si’s.

Mowan Ci bent down and asked softly, “A-Wu, why won’t you come to me?”

A-Wu shook her head, her gaze timid as she stared at A-Yue in Mowan Ci’s arms.

Both were her own children. She cherished A-Yue, and naturally, she also cherished A-Wu, who had been frail since childhood. However, A-Wu was never as clingy as A-Yue. With the wet nurse, A-Wu could sleep peacefully, and with Wei Nian or Zhi Miao by her side, she could play quietly.

Unlike A-Yue, who would always cling to her.

This, in turn, made Mowan Ci feel a pang of guilt, making her want to get closer to her daughter.

She set A-Yue down on the ground and reached out to hug A-Wu.

A-Wu wasn’t as eager to snuggle up to her as A-Yue, but she didn’t shy away either. She obediently let herself be held, smiling shyly.

Mowan Ci’s heart softened as she gazed at the face so strikingly similar to Jiang Si’s, momentarily lost in thought.

She considered making something special for the two of them later, but unexpectedly, Xiao Su, who had left not long ago, returned to the courtyard.

Mowan Ci didn’t think much of it and simply asked what the matter was.

Now on the island, Xiao Su was responsible for relaying messages from the mainland, and it was through her that Mowan Ci learned many things.

For instance, Jiang Si had already captured Shangjing and established a capital in Xingcheng.

Tao Zun and his son had fled Shangjing and were now aligned with the King of the Western Frontier.

And then there was the scandal of the Southern Liang royal family, the Southern Liang princess had given birth to the Southern Liang heir’s son.

So, when Xiao Su came now, she must have brought similar news. Mowan Ci didn’t think to have Zhi Miao or Wei Nian take the children away, assuming it would just be some gossip to laugh off later.

But unexpectedly, as Xiao Su approached, her expression was unreadable, as if she was hesitating to speak.

A sense of foreboding washed over Mowan Ci. She set A-Wu down and walked over to ask, “Has… something happened?”

“You could say that.” Xiao Su couldn’t quite gauge Mowan Ci’s feelings toward Jiang Si, who had been gone for so long, but this news… she had to tell her.

“Word from the mainland Jiang,  the Northern Jing King, Jiang Si, has gone missing during the battle with the Western Frontier.”

“Right now, her fate is… uncertain!”

I’m speeding things up! They’ll meet again soon!

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