Transmigrated as the Villain: Punching the Protagonist Group and Stepping on the Domestic Abuser - Chapter 2

“Yun Zhi, stand straight,” Rong Se said coldly. “There is no mistake to admit. Keep your spine straight and tell His Majesty right in front of all the civil and military officials why you did not bow.”

Yun Zhi was stunned for a moment, then immediately said in a clear, unyielding voice, “Replying to Your Highness, the Marquis returned to the capital without an imperial edict, so this official was only fulfilling his duty by not granting passage. Furthermore, the laws of our dynasty clearly state that when military officials are on duty wearing armor, they are not required to make a full profound bow, not even to the Son of Heaven.”

“Did you hear that clearly?” Rong Se’s gaze swept across the assembled officials, finally fixing on Rong Jing. “While Your Majesty favoring and trusting the Marquis of Dingbei is one thing, there is truly no need to use others as stepping stones. Never bowed and paid respects? Since all the senior officials are here right now, Your Majesty might as well order them all to kneel and kowtow to the Marquis of Dingbei. How about that?”

The expressions of the officials present changed. Anyone able to attend the imperial banquet was an official of the fourth rank or higher, and even the pro-emperor faction looked grim. They indeed had to rely on the military forces of the Marquis of Dingbei, but kneeling to the Marquis was absolutely out of the question!

Maxing out the hostility value, Rong Jing was pushed into the opposition of the officials, and he awkwardly stammered, “It was my oversight.”

“Oversight?” Rong Se initiated mockery. “Does Your Majesty happen to be completely unaware of the laws of our dynasty?”

Rong Jing choked. He had wanted to seize the opportunity to deal with Yun Zhi, but instead, he was outmaneuvered by Rong Se, leaving him utterly speechless and unable to even find a rebuttal.

In the end, it was Rong Jing’s maternal uncle, Cao Lun, who came to the rescue: “His Majesty is busy with state affairs, so a temporary oversight is only natural.”

Rong Se spoke with sarcastic insinuation: “Today, forcing a second-rank Governor of the current dynasty to bow and pay respects to the Marquis of Dingbei, who knows if others will be wrongfully convicted because of this tomorrow? With just one oversight from the Son of Heaven, there is no telling how many people will suffer. Your Majesty should reflect on yourself.”

The officials dared not pick up the topic and remained silent, yet they were secretly communicating with their eyes.

Rong Jing turned pale, embarrassedly clenching his hands tightly, before finally saying dryly after a long while, “What Your Imperial Uncle says is true; I have learned my lesson.”

Having achieved his objective, Rong Se also perceived the attitude of Liang Shenyu toward Rong Jing.

Very well, this part matched the original book. Liang Shenyu was still in a phase where he had no particular romantic or emotional intentions toward Rong Jing; otherwise, he would not have remained so silent.

The space for maneuverable action had just expanded quite a bit.

As he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Liang Shenyu ask, “Not to your taste?”

Rong Se was blank for a brief moment. When he raised his eyes to meet the gaze of Liang Shenyu, he realized the question was directed at him, so he nodded submissively, “Mn.”

It was the same in the past. Rong Se always preferred the food he cooked himself.

Immediately, someone chuckled with sarcastic derision: “Could there actually be someone in this world capable of making food superior to that of the imperial chefs? The Ninth Prince’s Mansion is merely a prince’s residence; how could it ever compare to the imperial kitchens?”

Tracing the voice, Rong Se spotted a young master dressed in crimson. This was Rong Jing’s cousin, the son of Cao Lun, named Cao Haoyun, also set in the text as a supporting male character who deeply cherished Rong Jing with lingering ambiguous feelings, commonly known as the deeply affectionate second male lead.

“You take this as a treasure?” Rong Se picked up a plate of boiled cabbage arranged in the shape of orchid petals, saying with unmistakable pity, “Yet this Prince finds it unpalatable, like eating chaff.”

The state banquet was only at this standard; what good food could one possibly eat on ordinary days?

Rong Se was genuinely and sincerely pitying him.

His words were exceptionally arrogant, but Rong Se possessed the confidence of his own pride: the food he cooked tasted much better than this!

As for a bowl of egg drop soup, while clear enough, it had way too much salt added. It was impossible to tell whether the dish was supposed to be heavy-flavored or light.

The cheeks of Cao Haoyun flushed red with anger, and he wanted to say something more, only to be interrupted by a light chuckle from Liang Shenyu.

“The Little Marquis frequently stays in the borderlands, a barren place, and has never tasted many rare delicacies,” Liang Shenyu said with a polite and pleasant smile. “I wonder if I might have the honor of tasting the food from the Ninth Prince’s Mansion?”

Knowing full well that he had ruined the good deed of this person, and having heard that he was vengeful and held grudges for every minor grievance, Liang Shenyu generated an intention to test the waters.

Rong Se raised an eyebrow slightly.

Men, after all, could establish a bit of rapport simply by sharing two meals and drinking two rounds of wine.

“Tomorrow, then,” Rong Se agreed readily. “The Marquis may come for dinner tomorrow.”

Unexpectedly, there was no mockery; one could even call it gentle. Could this be setting up a trap or a Hongmen Banquet?

The expression of Liang Shenyu turned subtle, and he let out a laugh: “Then it is a settled agreement. I hope the Prince will not mind the Little Marquis intruding.”

Rong Se: “I will not.”

Having been cut off mid-sentence, Cao Haoyun was already displeased. Seeing the two of them chatting so congenially, his complexion turned even uglier. He stood up and said to Rong Jing, “Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince repeatedly disparages and defies imperial grace, which is clearly an act of great disrespect toward the Holy Emperor!”

The mouth of Rong Jing twitched, thinking to himself that he already knew he was disrespectful and that he had never respected him once. But his gaze still subconsciously glanced toward Liang Shenyu.

The Marquis of Dingbei had clearly returned to the capital specifically to assist him in ascending the throne; why was he constantly striking up conversations with Rong Se today instead?

“Is the Little Marquis also showing great disrespect toward His Majesty, then?” Liang Shenyu asked in a soft tone. Just like his superficial refinement, it could not mask the rich, cold darkness suddenly sinking deep into his eyes. The smile lingering at the corners of his lips remained elegant and proper as he slowly stated that words cannot be spoken recklessly.

Seeing that Liang Shenyu seemed displeased, Rong Jing slightly frowned and said warmly, “What are you talking about? Today is the imperial banquet; esteemed lords, do not just focus on talking, partake in the meal.”

Seeing that Rong Jing had no intention of pursuing the matter, Cao Haoyun reluctantly sat back down, casting a cold sweep of a glance at both Rong Se and Liang Shenyu.

Rong Se did not particularly enjoy such socializing. He had only been forced to put on a facade and play along for a bit after transmigrating here. Now that he had roughly figured out the situation, he had no intention of staying any longer to accompany them in fake smiling. The hands and feet that had grown cold from the fear of falling gradually warmed up. Rong Se decisively stood up and stated, “This Prince is fatigued, and will take his leave now.”

Giving a perfunctory nod, Rong Se swaggered out through the hall doors.

Thanks to the noble status of the original body, he was spared from performing the three-kneel and nine-kowtow grand ritual.

Casually summoning a palace attendant to lead the way, when he reached outside the palace gates, a man in green robes came forward to greet him. This person bore a face identical to that of Yun Zhi, except that because Yun Zhi was a military officer, his expression always carried a certain resolute and stern stiffness, whereas the person before him possessed a restrained scholarly air.

It was the twin older brother, Yun Chu.

Yun Chu led the way ahead, saying softly, “I thought Your Highness would not stay long. Were you held back by something?”

Rong Se thought to himself that the one who went inside was his master, but the one coming out was a chef, and that nobody would have guessed that.

“Mn, let us return to the mansion,” Rong Se said concisely.

In front of his subordinates, the original body had always maintained an unfathomable, aloof persona. It so happened that he himself was not particularly fond of talking either. Besides, soul-transmigration was hardly something anyone would suspect, so there likely would not be any issues.

Sure enough, Yun Chu did not question it further. He guided him to a rather luxurious carriage and brought over a small stepping stool, being extremely thorough.

Before boarding the carriage, Rong Se glanced in the direction of the palace gates and instructed in a low voice to send people to keep an eye on the movements of the Marquis of Dingbei tonight.

In the original book, this passage depicted Rong Jing keeping Liang Shenyu in the palace for a nighttime chat by candlelight to reminisce about the past.

Rong Se had not interfered precisely to see whether his tiny butterfly wings tonight could actually stir up the plot.

Yun Chu lowered his gaze and replied that he understood.

Only then did Rong Se step into the carriage. Freed from the gaze of so many pairs of eyes, he relaxed a bit, leaning back against the carriage as his gaze gradually drifted off into space.

Two hours ago, he was still at home recording cooking videos facing the camera, diligently acting as a food vlogger. After accidentally falling from a building, however, he had transmigrated into the main villain of a book, and then improvised his way through the original plot. From that moment on, his originally peaceful life was completely turned upside down into a total mess.