Transmigrated into a Scummy Alpha Playboy in Ancient Times - Chapter 116

“Close your eyes and get some more rest. Your body hasn’t recovered yet—be good.” Zhou Zixuan, still worried about Shen Yining’s injuries, didn’t dare let her exert too much energy.

After speaking for a while, Shen Yining indeed felt exhausted. She looked at Zhou Zixuan for a moment before falling into a deep sleep again.

Before long, Zhou Zixuan quietly opened the door to the antechamber. Ye Yuran greeted her with a gentle smile, but Zhou Zixuan’s ears turned crimson at the thought of what had just happened. “Her Highness is still weak. We spoke for a short while before she fell asleep again.”

Shen Kaiyuan nodded and turned to the imperial physician at his side. “Go examine Ning’er’s pulse again. I want to know her current condition.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the physician replied, quickly bowing before returning to the chamber to examine the young princess.

The lead physician took her pulse carefully for a while, then returned to report, “Your Majesty, Her Highness’s pulse has stabilized. Most of the residual toxins were cleared when we changed the dressing earlier today. However, she may still experience occasional fevers over the next few days. As long as we lower her temperature promptly, she should recover swiftly.”

“Excellent. Once Ning’er is fully recovered, I shall reward you handsomely.” Hearing that his youngest daughter was out of danger, Shen Kaiyuan was visibly delighted.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the physician responded gratefully. With the Crown Princess showing signs of improvement, the entire medical team could finally breathe a little easier.

At that moment, Shen Xingyue entered from the Hall of Diligent Governance. Seeing the Emperor and Empress both present, she quickly bowed in greeting. “Your Majesty. Your Majesty the Empress.”

“That’s enough—no need for such formalities among family,” Shen Kaiyuan said with a smile, gesturing for her to rise.

“Aunt, how is Her Highness doing?” Shen Xingyue glanced toward the chamber, where she saw Zhou Zixuan sitting on a round stool, keeping vigil beside the young princess.

“She’s doing much better. She woke up earlier and chatted for a while. You were right—having Zixuan by her side really lifted Ning’er’s spirits when she first regained consciousness.” Shen Kaiyuan smiled and patted Shen Xingyue lightly on the shoulder.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll go in and see her myself.” Shen Xingyue was still worried about her little cousin and wanted to check on her personally.

Shen Kaiyuan nodded, and Shen Xingyue quickly stepped into the inner chamber.

Seeing that it was Shen Xingyue, Zhou Zixuan rose and gave her a slight bow. Shen Xingyue quickly waved her hand—after all, Zhou Zixuan was to be the future Crown Princess; no need for such formalities toward herself.

Shen Xingyue approached the bedside. The young princess’s complexion was visibly rosier, and her lips had regained some color. Only then did Shen Xingyue feel somewhat reassured.

Zhou Zixuan, however, glanced at her thoughtfully. Just earlier, the little “piglet” had revealed that all those storybooks were borrowed from the Princess herself—apparently, the Princess had led her astray. But such matters were private within Qianyuan, and since she and Shen Yining weren’t married yet, it wouldn’t be proper to comment. Still, once they were wed, she’d make sure to properly educate her little piglet to stop reading such odd books.

Shen Xingyue, unaware that her little cousin had completely sold her out, was simply overjoyed to see her recovering.

After spending some time with Shen Yining, Shen Xingyue left the antechamber. Remembering the officials outside, she couldn’t help but offer a reminder. “Aunt, when I entered the palace, I noticed quite a few ministers waiting at the gate. It’s likely related to what happened the other day.”

“I’m aware,” Shen Kaiyuan replied, turning her gaze toward her niece. “But I intend to put it off for now. Once Ning’er’s wounds heal a bit more and she’s no longer so dazed, I’ll handle the matter accordingly.”

Shen Xingyue nodded, but still voiced her concern about Wang Mingda’s position. “Most of them can’t stir up much trouble, but General Wang still commands fifty thousand troops. Though they’re no match for the Imperial Guard or the Han Family Army, fifty thousand is still significant. If he truly wanted to cause unrest, it’s not impossible.”

Shen Kaiyuan nodded. Her thoughts mirrored Shen Xingyue’s. “I’ve already dispatched the Shadow Guards to monitor both Minister Cui and General Wang’s residences. The capital has been sealed on all sides for several days now. Even if Wang Mingda has plans, he won’t be able to send anyone out to contact his troops.”

“Your Majesty is wise,” Shen Xingyue said, taking the opportunity to flatter her.

Shen Kaiyuan gave her niece a playful glare and said, “You’ve rendered great service this time. What reward would you like? So long as it’s within my means, I won’t be stingy.”

Shen Xingyue’s eyes sparkled with thought. She gave Shen Kaiyuan a small smile and said, “Actually, there is one thing I’d like to ask of you, Aunt.”

“Oh? What is it? Tell me,” Shen Kaiyuan asked, raising her eyebrows with interest.

“It’s about Yuer,” Shen Xingyue began, carefully choosing her words. “Back at the Su residence, she was never truly welcomed. Her mother and younger sister are still living there. Su Changyuan, her father, is incredibly biased—he treats them poorly. He was so stingy he wouldn’t even give them charcoal in the winter. I was wondering if we could get Su Changyuan to agree to divorce Yuer’s mother and give up custody of her younger sister.”

Over the past few days, Shen Xingyue had people keeping an eye on the Su family. Though Su Changyuan and his son, Su Yuming, were far from decent, they hadn’t done anything illegal enough to act upon. Waiting for them to slip up didn’t seem like a real solution, so she decided to bring it up now and take advantage of the situation.

Shen Kaiyuan thought for a moment before nodding. “That shouldn’t be too difficult. If I remember right, Su Changyuan’s eldest daughter is Shen Yijia’s concubine. We can use this as an excuse to handle the matter.”

“Thank you, Aunt,” Shen Xingyue said gratefully. Her greatest concern now was Liu Xiang and Su Muzhi. As long as she could get them out of that house, she could finally relax.

Meanwhile, Han Shu was at the city’s south gate, organizing the troops. She instructed the soldiers to relocate the remaining refugees to a temporary tent camp a few miles outside the gate. The tents had been hastily built by laborers over the past few days.

To prevent further unrest, she ordered the soldiers to escort the refugees and maintain order during the move.

Han Shu sent most of the troops back to their original posts, leaving just two thousand soldiers to guard the refugee camp. The rest returned to their garrisons to resume farming duties.

Without any instigators stirring up trouble—and knowing the ringleaders had already been executed—the refugees quickly lost the will to rebel again.

Han Shu left the camp in the hands of her younger brother, Han Qiang, and rode back to the capital with a few trusted aides. She hadn’t seen her dear Taotao in days and couldn’t wait to get home.

When she arrived in the capital, she found that life in the city had already returned to normal. As soon as she reached the General’s Manor, she rushed to her bedroom. Pulling off her mask, she quickly scooped up Shen Taotao, who was sitting there staring at her in surprise.

Shen Taotao’s eyes instantly welled with tears of joy. She wrapped her arms around Han Shu’s neck and whispered through a sniffle, “Sister Shu, what took you so long?”

Han Shu gently kissed her beloved and spoke in a warm voice. “The unrest outside the city has finally been settled. I left everything with Han Qiang and rushed back to see you.”

Then, as if remembering something, Han Shu leaned back slightly, smiling playfully. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes twinkled as she said, “I haven’t taken off my armor in days. I must smell awful. Let me take a quick bath before I hold you again.”

But Shen Taotao wrapped her arms around her tighter and shook her head, her face full of concern. “I don’t mind, Sister.”

“You really don’t mind?” Han Shu teased gently, her smile growing. “Then… how about we bathe together?”

Her peach blossom eyes sparkled mischievously, and Shen Taotao blushed bright red—but after a moment, she gave a shy nod.

Han Shu was overjoyed. She asked the servants to prepare hot water, then carried Taotao with her to the bath.

But Taotao seemed tired and listless. Over the past few days, she’d had trouble keeping food down and often felt nauseated. Han Shu couldn’t bear to push her, so instead of teasing, she gently helped her bathe, dressed her in clean clothes, and tucked her into bed.

After changing out of her armor, Han Shu grew even more worried. Not wanting to take any risks, she sent someone to bring the household physician to check on Taotao.

The physician, a composed woman in her thirties, arrived shortly after being summoned. She gave a respectful bow to Han Shu and Shen Taotao before beginning her examination.

After checking her pulse for a few moments, she smiled and offered her congratulations. “Congratulations, Marshal. Congratulations, Madam. You are expecting.”

“There’s a baby?” Han Shu froze in shock. She had not expected something like this. She and her sweet girl were going to have a child?

“Yes, Marshal,” the physician replied warmly. “Judging by Madam’s pulse, she is about one month pregnant.”

“Is there anything we should be careful about?” Han Shu asked immediately, her voice filled with worry.

“There’s nothing particularly serious,” the physician answered with a smile. “If Madam starts feeling unwell, just send someone to call me. I’ll prepare some nourishing medicine to help support her.”

“Thank you,” Han Shu said, grateful as she walked the physician out. Then she quickly returned and pulled Shen Taotao into her arms, gently kissing her lips. “Have you been feeling unwell these past few days? I’m so sorry. I was outside the city and didn’t even know.”

Shen Taotao leaned softly against her chest. “It’s not your fault. His Majesty gave the order, and you had to go calm the people. That was the right thing to do.”

Looking down at the girl resting quietly in her arms, Han Shu felt her heart melt. Her voice turned tender. “How about I take you back to your family’s manor for a few days? No one there knows about the baby yet.”

“Alright. It’s been a while since I went home anyway,” Shen Taotao replied. “But will everything be okay with your troops?”

“Don’t worry. Han Qiang is there to take care of things. We’ll head back first thing tomorrow morning,” Han Shu said gently. She held Shen Taotao close, but after everything, she was truly exhausted. Before long, she fell asleep with her arms wrapped around her beloved.

The next morning, Han Shu brought Shen Taotao back to the Wang Manor. The young lady was overjoyed to return. Holding Han Shu’s hand, she immediately took her to visit her father, Shen Zhengchu, and the rest of the family.

When he saw them, Shen Zhengchu sent someone to call Shen Xingyue and Su Muyu to come over.

By the time they arrived, everyone was already happily talking about the baby growing in Shen Taotao’s belly. Shen Xingyue couldn’t believe it.

“She’s already pregnant?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Han Shu replied with a warm smile. “We didn’t expect it either.”

From that moment, Shen Taotao became the center of everyone’s attention. No one let her do anything on her own anymore.

After having lunch together, she returned to her courtyard with Han Shu keeping her company.

As Shen Xingyue and Su Muyu walked back together, Su Muyu leaned gently against Shen Xingyue’s shoulder and mumbled, “Shen Xingyue, even Taotao is expecting now. How did things happen so fast for her?”

Shen Xingyue pulled the little kitten closer and replied softly, “These things happen when the time is right. Besides, everyone is different. What we have now is already very good.”

Still snuggled up to her, Su Muyu reached up and pinched Shen Xingyue’s cheek playfully. “What if the problem is you?”

“Oh really?” Shen Xingyue raised an eyebrow and pulled the cheeky kitten into her arms. “Then when we get back, I’ll give you a proper demonstration and prove whether I’m the problem or not.”

Clearly, someone was about to be taught a lesson for being too bold.

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