Transmigrated as the Villain: Punching the Protagonist Group and Stepping on the Domestic Abuser - Chapter 7

At the Marquis’s estate, after returning from the palace, Liang Shenyu half-reclined on the short couch in the study, holding a brush as he reviewed official military documents. A young man dressed in a light blue robe, looking refined and handsome, was grinding ink nearby. The youth muttered, “My Lord, I heard that Rong Se is a debauched and extravagant arrogant prince. Why don’t you get rid of him sooner rather than later? I hear his manor is filled with gold and jade, bought with goodness knows how many of our soldiers’ military rations.”

Liang Shenyu glanced at him. “Get rid of him, and then what?”

Song Yan scratched his head, looking blank. “What do you mean, and then what? Then we go back to Qiangzhou, of course.”

“Go back to Qiangzhou?” Liang Shenyu let out a cold chuckle. “The elite Jinbei Iron Cavalry are in my hands. The late emperor tried various excuses to make me return to the capital multiple times, and the letters he sent to Qiangzhou also mentioned this repeatedly. Both father and son are afraid that the Jinbei Iron Cavalry will forever bear the name of the Liang Family Army. Right now, they are wary of Rong Se and have to rely on me. Entering the palace today, the Emperor instigated things both openly and covertly, and even used our six years as former classmates as leverage. If I really help him eliminate the Regent, the next person forced to resign and hand over military power will be none other than this Marquis of Dingbei.”

Song Yan’s face changed completely upon hearing this, and he gritted his teeth. “Damn it! Does he still have any shame? Whose merit was it that allowed him to sit on that dragon chair? Does he have no idea in his heart?”

Though Song Yan looked young, he was already past the age of twenty. Having spent these past few years mingling with the rough men in the army, he hadn’t learned much else, but he had picked up a whole basket of coarse language. Liang Shenyu had corrected him several times to no avail; usually he could restrain himself a bit, but whenever his emotions ran high, foul language would immediately spill out.

With an unchanging expression, Liang Shenyu leisurely made notes on the documents, saying, “A subject whose merits overshadow the monarch. These past two years the borders have been peaceful, and the Xiongnu haven’t invaded, so they think the world is at peace and it is time to sit back and enjoy wealth and glory.”

Fourteen years ago, the Xiongnu invaded Jin from Qiangzhou, slaughtering their way through sixteen cities along the way. In that battle, the old Marquis of Dingbei, the heir apparent, and the second young master of the Marquis’s estate all died in battle at Qiangzhou. The Xiongnu King drove straight into the heartland of Great Jin; past Yizhou was Jinjing.

That battle was fought with too much tragedy, yet blood and corpses had been buried over these past fourteen years, sinking into the dust to become a past event that no one dwelled upon.

Ever since Liang Shenyu crushed the Xiongnu and drove them deep into the desert two years ago, he had gained a mere two years of peace. In the eyes of the capital officials or the Son of Heaven, this world might be a time of peace and prosperity, but in Liang Shenyu’s eyes, it was an undercurrent of surging danger.

The ambition of the Xiongnu tribes would never disappear; they were merely afraid for the time being, just like sand vipers lurking in the desert, hiding without a sound, waiting for the split second when their prey let down their guard to deliver a fatal strike.

They were waiting for the right moment.

Song Yan felt an itch of anger in his roots and wanted to say more, but he saw his master abruptly sit upright, roll the annotated documents into a stack, and instruct, “Send these back. There’s no need to prepare dinner in the manor tonight. I’m heading out.”

“Oh.” Understanding immediately upon hearing this, Song Yan asked casually, “Whose banquet is it?”

Liang Shenyu raised an eyebrow, straightened his cuffs, and said, “The Regent.”

“Oh, oh, the Regent is good. Oh.” Song Yan’s eyes widened in shock. “Huh?”

Liang Shenyu had already strolled out the door.

In the Regent’s estate kitchen, Rong Se was busy from corner to corner, frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, and simmering. Watching his master’s extremely practiced stir-frying technique, Yun Chu wore a complex expression, not daring to show it as he lowered his head and said, “My Lord, the Marquis of Dingbei has arrived.”

“Invite him to the Golden Pavilion.” Rong Se kept his eyes fixed on the oil temperature.

The dishes he made today were all home-style, but home-style dishes had their own intricacies. Take this dish of Three Fresh Delicacies from the Earth, for example; he didn’t follow the conventional method of deep-frying the eggplants, potatoes, and green peppers separately. Instead, he used a pan-frying method, coating them in batter before frying so they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, meaning they wouldn’t turn into oil-soaked sponges when tossed back into the wok.

Rong Se fished out the green peppers that had been pan-fried until their skins blistered. He had found this ingredient growing in the estate’s small garden, planted there as an ornamental plant. According to what he had inquired about, no one in the Jin Dynasty ate this yet; it was entirely imported from foreign lands as an article for appreciation and play.

Simply, what a terrible waste of heavenly treasures!

Looking at the tribute chili peppers, Yun Chu couldn’t help asking, “Can this really be eaten?”

Rong Se couldn’t be bothered to explain. “It won’t poison you. Go host the Marquis of Dingbei.”

Words hung on the tip of Yun Chu’s tongue, but he didn’t dare to press further. Hesitating to the side, he asked, “If this subordinate goes, won’t it be too discourteous?”

Without even raising his head, Rong Se earnestly pan-fried the eggplant while keeping an eye on the pork slices rolling in another pot of oil, multitasking with effortless mastery. Until he felt the heat was just right, he scooped out the eggplant first, then the pork slices, placing each on a plate to drain the oil.

Hearing that the original owner’s two other subordinates were also in the estate, Rong Se had ordered them to stay for a meal as well. Naturally, he needed to make a bit more food; the portions weren’t large, but having a greater variety worked just as well.

This was entirely out of habit. After all, in the world he came from, the most common greeting for socializing was: “Have you eaten yet?”

At that time, if the answer was yes, the reply would be: “Then sit down and eat another round!”

And if the answer was no, it would be: “Just in time, come eat together!”

To Rong Se, who suffered from social exhaustion, these kinds of wonderful and enthusiastic social patterns were his sole means of socialization: “I’ll cook for you!”

“I’m cooking myself, and he still thinks it’s discourteous?”

Yun Chu suddenly understood.

That’s right! His Lordship was cooking personally; what more could the Marquis of Dingbei possibly be dissatisfied with?

Thus puffing out his chest, his steps were much more confident as he walked out.

Yun Chu led Liang Shenyu to the Golden Pavilion and said amiably, “Please wait here, My Lord Marquis.”

Inside the Golden Pavilion, Lan Ying and Yun Zhi were already present. Lan Ying was young, her light blue dress making her look cute and charming, with a saber hanging at her waist, exuding an aura of the martial underworld.

Yun Zhi sat expressionlessly, the two of them sitting rigidly on the left and right sides.

Liang Shenyu glanced over, then calmly took a seat with a smile. “Why is Your Lordship’s esteemed Regent nowhere to be seen?”

Full of imposing aura, Yun Chu raised his chin slightly. “His Lordship is in the kitchen preparing dishes.”

The expressions of Yun Zhi and Lan Ying, whose faces were already stiff, nearly cracked.

Liang Shenyu also froze for a rare moment, blankly letting out a sound: “Ah?”

Yun Chu, the only person presents who had tasted his master’s cooking, was extremely composed. Glancing at his dumbfounded younger brother and sister, he said to the Marquis of Dingbei, “To host the Marquis, His Lordship is cooking in person.”

Liang Shenyu pondered, “Troubling His Lordship.”

The luxury of the Regent’s estate was indeed startling. Liang Shenyu’s attendance at the banquet today was merely to get in touch with this rumored Regent, at least to figure out what kind of person he was so that he would have a countermeasure when navigating the court. He couldn’t trust Rong Jing as the new emperor, and naturally, he also remained vigilant against Rong Se, the Regent who held towering power across the court.

As a result, from the moment he laid eyes on him until now, this person’s actions were bizarre and completely devoid of rules, making Liang Shenyu increasingly baffled.

Every single step Rong Se took was outside his expectations; this person seemed to be walking a dangerous edge, leaving others with no way to figure him out.

Surely, he wouldn’t go so far as to cook personally just to poison him to death?

For a moment, Liang Shenyu couldn’t gauge whether this was a Hongmen banquet or something else entirely.

Forget it. Soldiers will be met with shields, and water with an earth embankment, Liang Shenyu thought to himself.