Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 103.2

In the eleventh year of Xuanwu, the former Emperor died, and Prince Chen staged a coup to force the throne. Qin Guanghan helped the Crown Princess suppress the rebellion and was promoted to commandant of the Imperial Guard.

The following year, the Empress was assassinated during a field hunt. Qin Guanghan was charged with dereliction of duty, after which he resigned and returned to Binhe County, where he became a biaoshi (bodyguard/escort) and opened the Qin Family Escort Agency, married, and had a daughter.

Others only thought that Qin Guanghan had a falling out with the Empress and angrily resigned to return home, but the real reason behind it was that Qin Guanghan retreated behind the scenes, using the Escort Agency as the Empress’s secret intelligence network in the Jiangnan and Lingnan Circuits.

Qin Guanghan had already reported to the Empress about the private stockpiling of pig iron by Peng Changwei, the Military Governor of Qinzhou, during the case of Prince Yunzhou’s grain selling.

Since Princess Changning could not go to the battlefield to earn merit for herself, the Empress intended to use the pig iron case as a practice run for her to gain merit.

Before setting off, the relevant information about the Qin father and daughter had already been placed on Princess Changning’s desk.

The first encounter outside Binhe County made Princess Changning instantly remember that bright, sun-like smile. The day they set off for Qinzhou was their official first meeting.

When Qin Feiyan came to the Liang residence to find her, Princess Changning deliberately waited for her arrival before putting on her veiled hat to go out.

She thought that since she already recognized Qin Feiyan’s appearance, it was only fair to make a deep impression on her as well.

Upon seeing her face, Princess Changning was satisfied to see a look of astonishment on Qin Feiyan’s face.

At that moment, Princess Changning also, for the first time, felt pleased to possess a beauty that was unforgettable.

Princess Changning was exceptionally intelligent and most looked down upon people who only valued her looks. However, born into the imperial family, her outstanding appearance was actually another form of burden.

The sounds of laughter and joy transmitted through the carriage curtain along the way also made her feel physically and mentally comfortable.

Princess Changning’s beauty indeed left a deep impression on Qin Feiyan, but it didn’t cause her to treat her differently.

Qin Feiyan always conveyed messages through Alv and never initiated conversations with her.

It wasn’t until the consecutive days of travel caused her heart condition to relapse, leading to the incident where she was ‘saved,’ that Qin Feiyan came looking for her first thing the next morning.

In fact, such intimate contact not only left an impression on Qin Feiyan’s heart but also almost made the habitually composed Princess Changning lose her composure.

In the moment before she woke up, her consciousness had already partially returned. She could clearly feel the soft touch on her lips and seemed to smell a warmth like the scorching sun.

The customs in Xiliang were open, and there were countless flamboyant and passionate members of the royalty and nobility in the capital. For instance, Princess Qinghe, from her third royal uncle’s family, had countless male and female companions even before marriage and was well-known in the capital.

Due to her poor health, Princess Changning usually didn’t pay attention to matters of affection. She didn’t keep young male or female companions after establishing her residence, but influenced by the capital’s atmosphere, she didn’t think intimate matters were a big deal.

Regarding the unexpected incident that night, Princess Changning, upon waking, originally didn’t intend to dwell on such minor things. But for some reason, she thought of that bright smile and the warm touch again in the night.

That was the first time she suffered from ‘heart palpitations,’ and besides that, a feeling she found hard to control arose.

Born as a favored child of heaven and groomed as a potential heir, Princess Changning was accustomed to strategizing and keeping everything under control.

The feeling of losing control made her displeased and also instilled a sense of ‘fear’ she had never experienced before.

Yet, the source of her sleeplessness came knocking on her door the next day, completely out of character. Separated by the door, Princess Changning sensed her intention from her conversation with Alv.

Joy, amusement, and displeasure surged into her heart all at once.

She couldn’t believe that someone with such an easygoing, open, and cheerful personality would be as rigid as the old pedants in the Hanlin Academy when it came to such matters.

Just because of that “kiss” which wasn’t quite a kiss, she had the thought of taking responsibility and marrying her.

She didn’t know whether to praise her for her sense of responsibility or criticize her for offering marriage so easily.

She came to her with a promise without even investigating her true identity.

This person was too reckless in her actions.

Deliberately staying silent inside the room, Alv understood her intention and blocked the person outside the door.

Qin Feiyan told Alv that she would come back later, but unexpectedly, they encountered a ‘surprise’ intentionally set up by Wei Yuan on the road, and her identity was exposed.

Princess Changning immediately looked at the expression on Qin Feiyan’s face and noticed the calm in her eyes after the initial shock.

Even though she guessed that Qin Feiyan wouldn’t come looking for her again, she still ordered Alv to invite their entire group to the relay station.

Things unfolded as she had expected. After learning she was a princess, the person didn’t even look her in the eye, let alone specifically try to talk to her.

Seeing her lack of courage, perhaps annoyed with herself or for some other reason, Princess Changning maintained a cold demeanor until the escort agency group left, deliberately avoiding contact with Qin Feiyan.

With the heavy responsibility of inspecting the Jiangnan Circuit, there were countless matters to deal with, and coupled with the feeling of being deliberately ignored, the issue was quickly drowned out by miscellaneous affairs and rarely thought of.

Yet, some matters that one tried to avoid would resurface and linger in one’s mind.

After settling the affairs in Qinzhou, Lin Shuqing sent news that Princess Changning had made a detour to Binhe County before returning to Qingzhou.

After discussing the strategy and arriving at a restaurant for dinner, Princess Changning immediately spotted four people sitting opposite each other in the teahouse across the street.

She recognized two of them: Qin Feiyan and her mother, Yang Jinlan. Opposite them sat a middle-aged woman and a young lady of similar age to Qin Feiyan.

Such a scene inevitably reminded Princess Changning of a civilian blind date.

Sure enough, after a while, the two women left the seats, leaving only Qin Feiyan and the young lady in the private room of the teahouse.

Looking at the two people chatting happily opposite her, Princess Changning called Alv to send a letter to Qin Guanghan.

Three days later, as Princess Changning had anticipated, Qin Guanghan sent Qin Feiyan to be her guard.

The expected sense of control brought pleasure to Princess Changning, but a series of unexpected events on the boat later made her regret it.

She shouldn’t have let Qin Feiyan be the guard.

With Qin Feiyan around, she feared that more unexpected things would happen in the future.

She spent two days in a heavy mood. This day was a periodic rest day. Qin Feiyan accompanied Princess Changning out for a meal, only to encounter assassins on the road.

She was engrossed in fighting the assassins and couldn’t break away. Seeing another female assassin appear in the crowd, Qin Feiyan hastily fought while retreating towards the restaurant.

Seeing the woman’s knife aimed at Princess Changning, Qin Feiyan quickly turned back to intercept, and it was this moment of slackness that the assassin’s sword aimed at her heart. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and shifted her body.

The long sword pierced Qin Feiyan’s arm, but she couldn’t care less. She anxiously looked toward the restaurant and didn’t see Princess Changning but saw the female assassin caught in the door.

Her hanging heart relaxed a little, but the assassin wrapped around her again. However, in the next moment, the assassin was subdued by two agile figures.

Qin Feiyan was stunned for a moment and immediately understood. She turned around and indeed saw Princess Changning standing calmly at the restaurant entrance.

In the moment of their gaze meeting, Qin Feiyan felt the pain in her shoulder intensify.

Since descending the mountain, Princess Changning had changed her usual cautious style, returning to the provincial government office with much fanfare. Yet, she worked in the yamen for several consecutive days, even skipping the welcome banquet, until this day of periodic rest, when she alone took Qin Feiyan out, not even bringing her personal maid, Alv.

Countless snippets flashed through Qin Feiyan’s mind, leading to only one conclusion.

From the moment she brought only Qin Feiyan out of Binhe County until today, it was all a trap set by Princess Changning, a feint intended to lure out the assassins today.

No wonder a dignified princess only hired her as a guard; it all turned out to be a ploy to draw the snake out of its hole.

Pitifully, she, a mere pawn, almost had her arm skewered for this play.

Thinking of this, a surge of inexpressible anger arose in Qin Feiyan’s heart.

She was angry at Princess Changning for not explaining the plan earlier, causing her anxiety and fear just now. She was also angry that Princess Changning had put herself in such danger just to catch a few assassins.

Qin Feiyan was angry, but mindful of Princess Changning’s identity, she didn’t flare up on the spot.

She turned her head petulantly, fixing her gaze on the dark guards pinning down the assassins, feeling even more frustrated.

With two such skilled dark guards, why did they need her as a guard? And there was no need to wait for Yan Hua to replace her.

Once they returned to the yamen, she would submit her resignation and go home first thing tomorrow morning.

Since the play had concluded, she, as a character, should know better than to linger on the stage.

Qin Feiyan was wearing dark-red clothes. It wasn’t until she walked closer that Princess Changning noticed her sleeve was already soaked with blood.

The joy of the perfectly executed plan was instantly replaced by remorse. She looked at Qin Feiyan apologetically but saw that the person had already turned her head away.

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