Transmigrated as the Princess's Scummy Wife - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Who Stole Her Vegetables in the Middle of the Night!?

In the main hall of the Qinghe Courtyard, a figure leaned sideways against a beauty couch, her thin garments outlining a slender frame. She held a sheet of paper, her eyes closed and long lashes trembling slightly as she fell into deep thought. On the paper was written:

The Consort led Jiaoyu by the sleeve to the pavilion to rest; the two spoke in low voices.

The Consort slapped Jiaoyu.

The Consort ate in a private room at Tianxiang Pavilion with Nan Tianwei, Bai Yu, and Qi Tianhuai. After the meal, Boss Qi gave the Consort a thirty-percent discount and gifted her a puppy.

Every single movement of the Consort had been recorded on paper by Xiao An. Donghe, A-Ying, and A-Xiang knelt respectfully by the couch, waiting for their mistress to speak. After a long time, a soft sigh broke the silence. The three kept their gazes lowered, focused inward.

“Where did the Consort go?” The mistress’s first question was about the Consort’s whereabouts.

Donghe replied, “After the Consort delivered the letter, she went straight back to the Hetian Courtyard. Xiao An has been following; the Consort has stayed in the main room and hasn’t come out. After receiving Your Highness’s letter, the Consort did not send a reply.”

Xuan Zhaoci nodded slightly and lifted her eyelids. “A-Xiang, tell me, is my Consort most protective of her vegetables?”

A-Xiang thought for a moment. “Your servant has been pulling the cart for the Consort lately. Every time, she strictly warns me to be careful with her crops. Even the palace maids are not allowed to harvest without her. Your Highness is correct; the Consort indeed treasures her vegetables above all else.”

“However… your servant finds one thing strange. The Consort only treasures the few mu enclosed with netting; she is quite casual about the rest.”

“How many mu are enclosed?” Xuan Zhaoci focused her gaze.

“Eight mu.”

“And what has been planted there lately?”

“Various vegetables and fruits, not much different from the other fields.”

“Are there any mature crops in those eight mu?”

“There is half a mu of butterhead lettuce.”

Xuan Zhaoci smiled subtly. “This Palace wishes to eat that vegetable tomorrow. A-Xiang, I command you to go at the end of the third watch and harvest a head of butterhead lettuce. Remember, I want the one from those eight mu.”

That smile carried a hint of gentle malice.

A-Xiang: “Yes!”

In her heart, she silently lit a candle for the Consort. Oh, Consort, who told you to suddenly stop sending letters and stay away from the Qinghe Courtyard for no reason? Intentionally giving Her Highness the cold shoulder has backfired. Now Her Highness is annoyed and insists on picking your precious vegetables! Her Highness surely wanted the Consort to know that the only thing she should treasure most is Her Highness.

“A-Ying.”

“Your servant is here. Pray give your command, Your Highness.”

“There is no need for you to do it yourself. I command you to tell Xiao An to do this.”

As the Princess spoke, the eyes of the three grew wider and wider with every word they heard.

Nan Qing had been unable to find the way to open the hidden compartment for a long time, so she was forced to go to sleep. Nan Shi started whimpering the moment she was left alone, so Nan Qing gave the puppy a bath, rinsed its mouth, and groomed it until it was fragrant inside and out before letting it onto the bed.

Man and dog slept soundly.

Nan Qing dreamed of returning to the modern world. It felt as if her return seamlessly connected to the moment she left, as if time had stood still there while she was in the ancient world. She returned to the comfortable, springy bed of the film crew’s hotel, feeling the air conditioning and marvelling at the beauty of industrialization.

Nearby, a large TV screen was playing a highly anticipated drama the one from the neighboring crew, titled Zhaoci. The drama was being aired as it was filmed. The opening credits featured pre-taken stills, and Nan Qing carefully tried to see which actor was playing her role as the Consort.

Suddenly, she saw her own face on the television.

Nan Qing nearly screamed and woke up with a jolt, clutching her chest and gasping for breath. Sweat poured down her forehead. Nan Shi, who had been sleeping in the crook of her neck, was also startled. The puppy’s nose twitched, catching the scent of a stranger. For the first time, it broke out of its whimpering and barked fiercely at the illegal intruder.

The milky little puppy stood tall, bravely protecting its master.

“What’s wrong…” Nan Qing’s voice was raspy from sleep as she asked in confusion. But she didn’t need the dog to answer; she had already noticed something eerie. She tried to pat the puppy’s head, but her hands were immobilized, held by something cold.

Alarm bells rang in her mind.

Without thinking, she lashed out with a kick. The original owner’s body was sturdy from years of farming, and her limbs were explosive. Nan Qing herself knew exactly how to exert force to make a person buckle. Unexpectedly, her full-strength effort was deflected as if by a cotton shield, and with her hands pinned, she nearly fell over.

“Who is it!?”

“Goodnight, Consort.”

The voice didn’t match anyone she knew. The clouds were thick tonight, and the light was dim; Nan Qing could only make out the rough silhouette of the person gripping her hands. As an actor, Nan Qing had a specific strategy for recognizing people; once she paid attention to someone, she would remember their features. She was certain she had never seen this person before.

Who was it? Was it someone sent by Xuan Hengyan to threaten her again? Had the Second Imperial Daughter’s power grown so great that she could sneak into the Qinghe Princess Manor in the dead of night? Was Xuan Zhaoci in mortal danger?

Nan Qing broke into a cold sweat. The more anxious she felt, the more she forced herself to stay calm and negotiate.

“The Consort’s hands are dirty. Her Highness specifically ordered me to clean them for you.”

Nan Qing: “Huh?”

Before she could say a word, the statement left her dazed. Dazed, she glanced at her hands—the hands she had ignored since waking up were now held by the intruder. The person wore gloves of an unknown material and held her hands, focused on… wiping them?

By the bed sat a stack of clean silk kerchiefs, the standard type used in the manor, and two basins of clear water. Nan Qing’s brain stalled. She had thought some faction was threatening her, but it turned out Xuan Zhaoci had arranged for someone to wash her hands at midnight. This Princess, besides being frail, might have a bit of a mental issue…

Realizing she wasn’t in danger, Nan Qing relaxed her body, treating it like a hand spa. Sensing Nan Qing’s relaxation, Nan Shi stopped barking and fell into a deep sleep on her shoulder.

The person cleaned meticulously fingertips, the gaps between fingers—as if every inch had to be pristine. But they were already clean; Nan Qing had washed them during her bath. The person took so long that Nan Qing grew drowsy, lying back with half-closed eyelids, drifting in and out of sleep.

Much later, just as she was about to enter a deep sleep again, the voice returned.

“I have cleaned the Consort’s hands. I hope the Consort will remain virtuous and prioritize Her Highness. Do not be touchy-feely with others not even a single finger is allowed.”

Nan Qing snapped awake, grumbling, “Who was I being touchy-feely with? I am singularly devoted to Her Highness; don’t talk nonsense.”

“The Consort should not quibble. I saw it with my own eyes; you were holding Jiaoyu’s sleeve in the fields and intentionally took her into the pavilion to cool off. If the Consort hadn’t slapped Jiaoyu afterward to vent Her Highness’s anger, tonight wouldn’t have been as simple as washing hands.”

Nan Qing: “???”

She was moved to angry laughter, reaching out with her freed hand to ruffle the dog’s head. “Does your mistress, with her far-reaching power, really need me to vent her anger!?”

Xuan Zhaoci’s intelligence was terrifying; she even knew the woman’s name, so how could she not know what they talked about!? Nan Qing was full of resentment, so she simply hugged the dog and went back to sleep, ignoring the person.

Sleep soon swept over her again. She began to dream, but not for long. Nan Qing was jolted awake again as if by an electric shock.

Event Triggered: Vegetables Stolen.

Penalty Level: 2.

Electrocution Countdown: 0 Seconds.

A penalty that hadn’t appeared for a long time was suddenly triggered, and it was fierce. A Level 2 penalty was on an entirely different scale than Level 1. Level 1 only affected the arms; Level 2 included both legs.

Electric currents surged into her fingertips and toes instantly, as if hundreds of fine metal wires were being threaded through her body from her extremities. The strange sensation traveled through her blood and bone, causing her agonizing aches and numbness.

Nan Qing groaned, sweating profusely from the pain. Nan Shi circled her, barking anxiously, its watery dog eyes filled with tears, seemingly heartbroken.

“It’s… it’s okay…”

The moment she spoke, the penalty came again. The same event triggered the same level of punishment. Dammit, who is stealing my vegetables in the middle of the night!?

Before her gritted teeth could hold for three seconds, a third wave of punishment surged.

Nan Qing was electrocuted until her gaze grew vacant and she lost the will to live. She lost count of how many times it happened; her limbs were so numb she couldn’t move. The night was exceptionally long.

Host, twenty times in total.

Get lost, did I ask you?

Apologies, the system cannot identify this command. Please change the command or upgrade the system.

Nan Qing slept through the pain with her teeth clenched. The next morning, she went straight to the fields to report to the guards. The demonstration fields were for the exclusive use of the royals; trespassing carried suspicions of intentional poisoning, so the matter would be investigated heavily and publicly.

The investigation didn’t require Nan Qing’s help. She crouched in the field, looking at the scattered dirt. Nineteen heads of vegetables had been pulled out by the roots a truly malicious way to steal. Perhaps having been disciplined by the system’s shocks, Nan Qing felt a pang in her heart looking at the small patch of ruins, feeling utterly pained.

By noon, the guards brought the suspects before Nan Qing. The three of them fell to their knees, begging for mercy with tears streaming down their faces.

“Pray forgive this lowly one, Consort! We didn’t steal much!”

“Yes! We just stole some vegetables and shrimp. We haven’t eaten them yet, we can return them all!”

“Waaa, this lowly one was just craving a taste and lost his mind. Pray be generous, Consort, and forgive us. I have two elderly parents and four young ones at home, and a sickly wife, waaaa!”

After learning the cause and effect, Nan Qing looked speechless. These people hadn’t been able to buy the demonstration field shrimp the other day and were craving them, so they conspired to sneak in and steal some. They figured if each person only took a few jin, no one would notice.

But before leaving, they caught sight of the cucumbers in the shed and the vegetables in the field. One person insisted on picking some as a side dish for the shrimp. The three of them figured since they were already stealing, a few more vegetables wouldn’t hurt.

“How many heads of butterhead lettuce did you steal?” Nan Qing asked with a cold face.

The kneeling people scrambled to answer: “About ten or twenty, we didn’t count.”

The number matched perfectly. In the haste of stealing, remembering a rough number was normal. Nan Qing thumped her crutches heavily and told the guards to handle it according to the law. Her heart let out a huge sigh of relief.

She had thought it was Xuan Zhaoci’s doing. After all, that noble princess was capable of sending someone into her room at midnight to wash her hands, so she was terrified it was her. If it were Princess Qinghe, she would have had to swallow her anger for the sake of going home.

Fortunately, it wasn’t Xuan Zhaoci intentionally messing with her.

Nan Qing laughed out loud, her smile simple and honest.

Xuan Zhaoci: I had a part in it too.

Nan Qing: (Clown face)

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