Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 95

Chapter 95

“To be honest, I don’t know much about the inner workings of the Xiao Mansion’s back courtyard. I’m afraid besides the women living there, few in this world truly do.

“But Little Sister, you must remember: being able to manage the vast back courtyard of the Chancellor’s Mansion so methodically, without a single dispute, is not something that can be achieved through mere gentleness and indulgence. You must never throw tantrums or act spoiled in front of Madame Xiao.

“You are not Xiao Wangshu or Xiao Fuguang. You are not the flesh of Madame Xiao’s own womb; she will not be entirely sincere in her indulgence of you.

“If Xiao Wangshu had gone to the northern lands for a political marriage, perhaps for the sake of her daughter’s well-being there, Madame Xiao would have been doubly kind to you in exchange for our favorable treatment of her daughter.

“But now, Wangshu has not married into our tribe; she has become our sworn sister.”

In other words, under these unequal circumstances, Tuoba Xin’s desire to marry into the Chancellor’s Mansion was inherently an act of placing herself at a disadvantage.

“But Father said I am a Princess Tuoba, and Uncle Xiao will look after me.”

“Prime Minister Xiao will certainly look after you for Father’s sake, but Little Sister, you must remember that he is the Prime Minister of Great Wei. He is busy with state affairs, and the management of the Xiao Mansion is left entirely to Madame Xiao.

“Once you enter the Xiao Mansion, and with Wangshu not having married into the tribe, Father and your elder brothers will be too far away to protect you at all times.”

As Tuoba Jihui spoke, he reached out and gently patted Tuoba Xin’s head.

“Sigh! Forget it, Second Brother. Stop scaring her; she only has so much courage,” Tuoba Yunxiao said, unable to bear the sight of Tuoba Xin’s drooping head.

Tuoba Jihui also realized he had been a bit too intimidating. He patted her head again and smiled. “Fine, forget it. You are, after all, the most pampered Little Princess of the Tuoba Tribe. I doubt many people would dare give you a hard time.”

Hearing those familiar words, Tuoba Xin finally broke into a smile.

***

Inside the study of the Chancellor’s Mansion.

On Xiao Hong’s desk lay several confessions from spies, presented by Lu Xuyang.

He had been reviewing them for a long time today but had not detected anything unusual.

It truly appeared to be an assassination plot orchestrated by those spies to break the alliance between him and the Tuoba Tribe.

However, on that day, the spies had gathered in a swarm, coming out in full force to assassinate the envoys. Lu Xuyang just happened to be walking down the street when he encountered the spies killing each other, discovered the assassination attempt, and led his troops to the rescue.

All of this felt a bit too coincidental. It always gave him the sensation that a hidden hand was manipulating the situation from the shadows, pushing them forward.

“Chen Chu, that spy you were searching for a while ago-is there any trace of him?” Xiao Hong suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

Chen Chu clasped his hands and replied, “I have searched the capital and the suburbs but found no one. I am currently leading men to search through the mangled corpses from that day.”

“Are you still being stubborn?” Lu Xuyang said, caught between laughter and tears.

This Chen Chu was excellent in every way, but his stubbornness was terrifying.

It was just one assassin. The man had surely been trampled to pieces, yet Chen Chu insisted on seeing a body, dead or alive.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong leaned back against his chair and raised a hand to rub his temples.

“Never mind. There’s nothing urgent right now, so let him be. His archery rarely misses; since the man escaped his arrow, he won’t be satisfied until he finds a corpse.”

Hearing this, Lu Xuyang didn’t say anything more about Chen Chu.

Then, Xiao Hong added, “Wangshu has been leaving the mansion frequently lately. Call the housekeeper and ask him what Wangshu has been up to.”

“There’s no need to call the housekeeper, Prime Minister. I know the answer to that,” Lu Xuyang said with a chuckle.

Xiao Hong lowered his hand and asked, “You know?”

Lu Xuyang nodded. “I do. Yesterday, when I took my nephew out for a meal, I happened to run into the Fourth Miss on White Tiger Street.”
“It’s quite heart-wrenching, really. A while ago, when the Fourth Miss thought she was going to be sent off for a marriage alliance, she settled all the businesses under her name and left them to the Madam. She said she was afraid the Madam wouldn’t have enough silver to spend.

“Lately, after she entered the Blood Exchange Brotherhood with the Tuoba Third Prince, the Madam sent people to accompany the Fourth Miss to the government office with the land deeds to change the names back.

“Anyway, with all the switching back and forth, they’ve been incredibly busy. My eyes were spinning just watching them.”

After listening, a flicker of pity flashed in Xiao Hong’s eyes.

“Is changing the names on manors and shops truly that much of a hassle?”

Hearing Xiao Hong’s question, Lu Xuyang, always blunt and straightforward, answered directly, “Is it ever! When my cousin got married, my aunt only gave her two shops as a dowry, yet they had to run to the government office many times.”

Xiao Hong lightly tapped the armrest of his chair. “Never mind. Go and speak with the Metropolitan Governor. Tell him to send a couple of people to help Wangshu get everything settled.”

Perhaps he had been being paranoid again.

Following Xiao Hong’s instructions, Lu Xuyang cupped his fists and complied. “Understood.”

At that moment, an Armored Guard arrived to report: “Reporting to the Prime Minister, the Tuoba Two Princes have arrived with the Princess to discuss the marriage alliance.”

Xiao Hong nodded and ordered, “Invite the three of them in.”

“Yes!” The Armored Guard immediately obeyed.

Then, Xiao Hong looked back at Lu Xuyang and Chen Chu. “You two may leave to attend to your duties.”

“Yes!” The two cupped their fists in unison, bowed, and departed.

***

Meanwhile, at the intersection of Zhuque Street in the north and White Tiger Street in the west, the Chancellor’s Mansion carriage turned left into the marketplace.

Xiao Wangshu lifted the carriage curtain and looked down.

Melting snow had soaked the soil. Sewage and discarded vegetable leaves were mixed together, while poultry droppings and entrails lay strewn by the roadside, yet to be cleared.

“Miss, let’s just go back. We can let Ruan Fuxin handle this place. If there’s anything you need, just send him to do it.”

Yichun tugged at Xiao Wangshu’s sleeve, trying to pull her back into the carriage.

Their lady possessed a body worth a thousand gold; how could she step into such a filthy place?

Shuxia also persuaded her, “Miss, these markets are dirty and chaotic, and the crowds are rowdy. The wound on your palm hasn’t healed yet; don’t let the miasma here infect it.”

On the day of the Blood Exchange Brotherhood, their lady had cut such a long gash in her palm. Only a few days had passed, and the wound was just beginning to scab. How could she toss herself about like this?

Furthermore, hadn’t their lady always hated getting her clothes dirty in the past?

“It’s fine. I’ll just change my shoes when we get back.” Xiao Wangshu stepped out of the carriage and, with Yang Ping’s assistance, stepped down onto the footstool.

As soon as she stepped down, the mud submerged the soles of her shoes.

Seeing her descend, Yichun and Shuxia followed closely behind, both stepping into the mud and rotten leaves one after the other.

“Luo Xing, follow us with the carriage,” Xiao Wangshu said. She then took a scroll handed to her by Yang Ping and unfurled the hand-drawn blueprints.

Shuxia stepped forward, taking the other end of the bamboo scroll to help her spread the drawings flat.

Qin Tai stood nearby, handing over a bamboo brush. He then took a small piece of ink from a bulging pouch and ground it against a roof tile by the roadside using melted snow.

Yichun kept her brow furrowed the entire time, struggling to hold up Xiao Wangshu’s hem. She didn’t even notice her own skirt sweeping through the sewage.

Yang Ping walked at the rear, almost parallel with the carriage, keeping a close watch on Xiao Wangshu’s surroundings.

The commoners manning stalls along the street cast various looks their way.

To them, the scene before their eyes was equivalent to a pile of iron lumps protecting a gold ingot that had fallen into a latrine.

They were completely out of place.

Even Yichun and Shuxia didn’t look like people who should appear here, let alone Xiao Wangshu, whose skin was like cream and face like peach blossoms.

Yet, Xiao Wangshu was the most grounded of them all. She walked with composed steps, as if she were not treading through a filthy market, but the back gardens of a royal palace.