Chapter 58

f Scenic Views Or shall we turn back to the manor since this servant is bothering you" Seizing an opportunity, Li Yun bellowed at the Fourth Prince.She was a smart woman; she had heard from the conver...Chapter 58

Yun Qianyue stood outside the courtyard of the Old Eldest Prince and looked utterly bewildered and aggrieved. Was she too weak in her actions here Did it invite others to bully her mercilessly Shouldn't she be strong, like when she had the identity from the 21st century, showing courage and bearing That way no one would dare underestimate or bully her

But then wouldn't that make her Li Yun instead of herself

Now she was Yun Qianyue. She was Yun Qianyue who was deeply devoted to a man, Yun Qianyue who was weak and bullied by a bunch of unworthy concubines and illegitimate daughters from the Cloud Noble Manor, Yun Qianyue who couldn't even recognize a single character, let alone manage household accounts If she suddenly knew everything, transforming from an idiotic waste to a genius, what would happen

She had made up her mind this lifetime to enjoy the good life without working hard and be pampered by others. How could she not show off or stand out and contribute her talents wholeheartedly for the country as before What was there to do

Suffer!

Yun Qianyue took a deep breath, but this oppressed life just wasn't worth it!

"If you don’t want to go, I’ll tell Grandpa that you can stay with me. You could accompany Princess Qingwan while also learning how to recognize characters. How is that" Yun Muhuan walked out and asked Yun Qianyue.

"No need!" Yun Qianyue turned her head to glance at him, then strode off towards the Moonlit Hall.

Yun Muhuan watched as Yun Qianyue's figure quickly faded from sight. He gave a bitter smile and guessed that she was still resenting him for having Rong Jing divined about her. Looking back at the Old Eldest Prince’s room, he saw that the prince had not come out yet. He turned to walk towards his own courtyard.

Inside the Old Eldest Prince's residence, after Yun Qianyue and Yun Muhuan left far enough away, the Cloud Eldest Prince said softly, "Qianyue is an unmarried lady; having her daily interact with the Jing Crown Prince might lead to gossip. That doesn't seem proper. From what I see, we should wait until Han has spent some time with the princess and then teach Qianyue later."

"What's not right about that I don't think there’s anything wrong with it. You needn’t worry about this matter; just manage your own affairs properly," said the Old Eldest Prince, waving his hand dismissively.

The Cloud Eldest Prince was about to say something else when he saw the unwilling look on the Old Eldest Prince's face and decided to swallow his words. He bowed and left.

After three people had left one after another, the Old Eldest Prince looked at the table where everything was in disarray. He shook his beard angrily and said, "Stinking brat! If I can't deal with you, then I’m wasting my title as your grandfather!"

The Cloud Eldest Prince walked out of the Old Eldest Prince’s courtyard feeling that it wasn’t right for Yun Qianyue to study alongside Rong Jing. Unmarried man and woman spending time together would likely lead to gossip even in this open-minded era. He wondered what his father was thinking, perhaps he had become senile Did he still want Yun Qianyue to marry the Jing Crown Prince The Emperor definitely wouldn’t allow it.

"Father!" Just as the Cloud Eldest Prince was thinking about this, a sweet voice called out.

The Cloud Eldest Prince looked up and saw Yun Xianghe being supported by her maid. She still had white cloth wrapped around her hands. He put away his thoughts and asked, "Why are you out of your courtyard if you’re injured"

"I heard that my sister was in trouble at Lingtai Temple and I’m very worried about it. After all, she's my sister; although I haven’t been a good older sister, these days I’ve realized many things. We share the same blood, no matter how hard we might be broken, our bones are still connected by sinews! So I came out to see you and then hurried over after hearing you were in Grandpa’s courtyard," Yun Xianghe said softly with sincerity.

"Yes, it's good that you understand this now. You two will get along better from now on. She was in great danger this time but luckily she is fine; she can be considered fortunate. Now that she has returned to her own courtyard, go and see her," the Cloud Eldest Prince nodded with satisfaction. No matter what happened, he had watched Yun Xianghe grow up himself and felt she wasn’t a bad person, so he blamed the demoted Concubine Feng for this incident.

"Yes, I'll go to see my sister now." Yun Xianghe lowered her head obediently.

"Alright, then," said the Cloud Eldest Prince as he waved his hand and walked towards his study.

The moment the Cloud Eldest Prince left, Yun Xianghe looked up and her beautiful eyes filled with malice. She had heard that Yun Qianyue had lost all of her martial skills and still claimed it was fine As a woman who couldn’t even recognize a single character and knew nothing else, she only had her martial arts to rely on, but now that even those were gone, what did she have left With an icy laugh, she walked towards the Moonlit Hall.

Yun Qianyue returned to the Moonlit Hall and saw Cai Lian, Tingxue, and Tingyu all back already.

Zhao Mama had tears in her eyes as she welcomed Yun Qianyue with her people. She pulled Yun Qianyue over for an inspection; seeing that she wasn't seriously injured, she felt reassured and said to her, "Old servant heard that Miss lost your martial arts skills, but it’s no big deal. No matter how good one's martial arts are, they're not as important as life. It's best that you’re safe and sound now. You can start learning again if you wish in the future; don't be sad."

"Yes." Yun Qianyue nodded with a smile. Seeing the genuine concern on Zhao Mama’s face and others who served her, she felt warm inside. The gloom dissipated greatly as she walked into the house.

The Moonlit Hall was just as it had been when she left, orderly, clean, bright, and fragrant with orchids in full bloom.

Yun Qianyue was surrounded by people entering the room.

"Since Miss wasn't at home these days, everything has been peaceful here. No big incidents happened. Only Third Auntie and Fifth Auntie came to ask about the accounts; old servant told them that you took it away for learning purposes. Although they looked displeased, they didn’t cause any trouble," said Zhao Mama with a smile.

"Yes." Yun Qianyue nodded her head. She felt headaches just thinking about account books.

"Miss, your face looks bad; did something happen" Cai Lian asked Yun Qianyue.

"It's fine! Tomorrow I'm going to Prince Rong's王府to invite Rong Jing to teach me how to write, I just don't want to go," said Yun Qianyue.

"Miss, this is a good thing! Everyone knows about Young Lord Jing’s extraordinary talent. He has more talent than our own young lord; you can learn from him, which should be your blessing. Why wouldn’t you want to go" Mother Zhao hurriedly persuaded her, "No one in the capital probably has Miss' luck!"

"That's right, Miss, you're going to see Young Lord Jing again!" Cai Lian was delighted upon hearing this.

"Young Lord Jing will definitely teach Miss well. He’s better than our young lord," Tingshu immediately said as well.

"Yes, Miss, you must go! Maybe in a few days you'll be able to learn how to run the household!" Tingtian agreed too.

Yun Qianyue was speechless. She really didn’t understand what kind of mind-altering potion Rong Jing had given everyone in the world, making them all worship him like a god. She admired his ability to do this. She waved her hand and said impatiently, "I just said I don't want to go, not that I won't go."

The four of them immediately showed joyful expressions at Yun Qianyue's words, thinking that if Miss were to learn from Young Lord Jing, it wouldn’t be long before she could run the household.

After getting over this annoying matter, Cai Lian, Tingshu, and Tingtian started chattering around Mother Zhao about the prayer festival at Fragrant Hot Spring Mountain. Even small matters were made interesting by them. The maids in the courtyard also crowded in to listen, making the room lively.

Yun Qianyue sat on her chair and watched them with a smile. She felt that life was still quite beautiful. At least in her previous life, she didn't have time to sit around listening to others chat.

When everyone was talking excitedly, Yun Xianghe and her maid entered the yard.

"Miss, it's Miss Xianghe!" Cai Lian, facing the door, immediately saw Yun Xianghe as she walked in.

Hearing this, everyone immediately stopped talking and looked towards the door.

“Hn!” Yun Qianyue glanced outside. Even though she had no martial arts skills, her sharp senses from her previous life allowed her to hear sounds fifty steps away. She heard Yun Xianghe's voice when she walked to the courtyard gate. Furrowing her brows, she asked Mother Zhao, "Wasn't she confined in the yard for recuperation"

"She is recuperating. Old servant hasn’t seen Miss Xianghe come out recently; perhaps she just came out today," said Mother Zhao softly, “If you don’t want to see her, I can send her away and tell her you’re not home.”

“No need, let her in. I’ll see what she wants,” Yun Qianyue shook her head.

Mother Zhao and the others didn't say anything more.

"Sister went to Lingtai Temple for a trip, narrowly escaping death; big sister came to check on little sister," said Yun Xianghe as she stepped in with a smile. "I heard that this time you lost all your martial arts skills. You liked wielding weapons so much, now that you’ve lost them, you’ll be doing fancy but ineffective moves from now on. What a pity!"

It was clear that she came to mock her! Yun Qianyue sneered.

"You don't know even one character; you can’t play the qin or chess, paint or write poetry. You don't understand sewing and embroidery. Now your only skill is also gone—truly useless in every way. I think..." As Yun Xianghe stepped over the threshold, she said with a smile.

"Throw this woman out of here!" Yun Qianyue thought what was so new about this woman! She had come to mock her The old king could bully her, but he was her grandfather. Rong Jing bullying her was fine because she couldn't match his malice or venomous tongue. Cloud Muhan bullying her was acceptable because he was her brother. But why did the tiny Yun Xianghe dare to bully her Did she think she was easy to provoke

"Miss…" Cai Lian and others looked at Yun Qianyue.

“I said throw this woman out of here, didn’t you hear me” Yun Qianyue emphasized.

"Yes, Miss!" Cai Lian, Tingshu, and Tingtian responded in unison.

The three of them each grabbed a broom or feather duster or fan, and rushed toward Yun Xianghe. With their lead, the maids and servant women in the courtyard immediately armed themselves and swarmed her.

"Yun Qianyue, you dare! I was sent by Father to see you!" Yun Xianghe shouted.

Upon hearing this, everyone paused.

"Hit her!" Yun Qianyue spat out a word. Even in front of King Yun, if this woman dared to mock her so coldly, she would definitely hit her back.

Cai Lian and the others wasted no time; they struck Yun Xianghe with whatever was in their hands. At first, their strikes were light, but as objects started hitting Yun Xianghe’s body, she yelled curses at them for being "lowly women" who dared to hit her. Soon everyone remembered how this Miss used to bully people from Qianyue Manor when she was arrogant; old grudges bubbled up, and they no longer held back.

In a short while, Yun Xianghe could not stand the blows anymore and covered her head as her maid helped drag her out of Qianyue Manor.

Seeing that she had been thrown out, everyone felt relieved. They returned with satisfaction in their hands holding whatever they had used to hit Yun Xianghe.

"Not bad!" Yun Qianyue smiled as she looked at everyone present, "In the future, deal with such matters in this manner. We people of the Qianyue Pavilion need to stick together and not let others bully us."

"Yes, Miss!" Everyone nodded.

"But I won't offend anyone who doesn't offend me. You shouldn't rely on my tolerance to go around bullying others recklessly. Guard your own patch well. As long as you're still someone from the Qianyue Pavilion, I'll take care of you and won't shortchange any of you." Yun Qianyue continued.

"Yes, Miss!" Everyone bowed their heads again.

"Alright, those who didn't get enough to say earlier can continue speaking up. Those who haven't had enough to listen can keep listening," Yun Qianyue said with a smile as she waved her hand.

The Qianyue Pavilion instantly became lively again, and the sound of laughter and chatter could be heard from outside the courtyard.

Yun Xianghe's hair was disheveled, and various parts of her body hurt. She probably had bruises all over. Fuming with rage as she looked at the Qianyue Pavilion, she never expected Yun Qianyue to still be so outrageous even without martial arts now. Listening to the laughter inside sounded more like they were mocking her; she nearly bit through her teeth in anger and stomped off decisively, "Let's go, I'll seek justice from my father! That brat must be punished for her arrogance."

Yun Xianghe’s maid had also been beaten but not as severely. She quickly helped Yun Xianghe up, and the two of them headed toward Cloud Duke's study.

In Cloud Duke’s study,

The Third Concubine and Fifth Concubine knew that their lord was back home and rushed to his study after learning he had returned. They were all concerned about who would control the household. This time, both of them privately agreed not to compete over it. Even if they jointly managed the household, they still wanted to hold the keys to management in their hands. If that yellow-haired brat Yun Qianyue controlled the household, how could they lead a good life After all the trouble they went through to get rid of Phoenix Concubine, they certainly wouldn't let Yun Qianyue take over now.

However, after soft and hard persuasion for quite some time, Cloud Duke remained firm in his stance that since Yun Qianyue was a legitimate daughter of the Cloud王府 (Cloud Manor), she should manage the household. The two felt their hopes dwindling at this point.

At this moment, Yun Xianghe and her maid arrived, with sobbing sounds preceding them into the room.

The Cloud Duke was annoyed by his favored concubines pestering him earlier; hearing the sobs made him yell from within, "Xianghe, weren't you visiting your sister Why are you crying here"

Yun Xianghe sobbed pitifully as she entered and cried, "Father, I won’t go to my younger sister’s courtyard anymore. If I do again, I probably won’t come back alive."

"What happened You were fine just now. How did this happen" The Cloud Duke frowned as he asked after seeing her state.

"I went there earlier and was beaten out of her house before even entering," Yun Xianghe wiped tears from her eyes with a handkerchief while crying pitifully, lifting her sleeves to reveal bruises on her arms for evidence.

"Is this truly from Yun Qianyue" asked the Cloud Duke.

"Father, do I need your favoritism" Yun Xianghe lowered her head and more tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yun Qianyue is really too outrageous!" said the Cloud Duke.

"Your Excellency, as I said earlier, how can Miss Yun manage the household The one managing must distinguish between kindness and enmity; if she beats up a daughter of the house just for visiting her after returning home, how can fairness be maintained in this household" Seizing the opportunity, the Third Concubine advised the Duke.

"That's right. Your Excellency, think about it. Miss Yun has always been任性囂張紈絝不化的 (self-willed and outrageous), and over the years she hasn't changed at all; now she’s completely lawless. It was just one day after arriving on Fragrant Spring Mountain that she nearly caused a fire while barbecuing fish, followed by getting drunk for an entire night. Later it was because of her mischief that she fell into the underground Buddhist hall and was locked up for three nights. Now upon returning home, she beats up the eldest daughter right away; this is simply unacceptable. The old Duke indulges her, but you can't let her get away with it!" exclaimed the Fifth Concubine immediately.

"That's true! Your Excellency, if things continue like this, you'll ruin her. Which noble family’s daughter acts as willfully and recklessly as she does" The Third Concubine added.

"In the capital, all the refined ladies of prominent families follow propriety; only our household's Miss Yun is unruly," chimed in the Fifth Concubine.

Yun Xianghe didn't speak up, listening to her two stepmothers attempting to influence her father. As long as they managed to get rid of Yun Qianyue, she wouldn’t care about their previous help in bringing down her mother.

"You all should stop talking now. I and my old father will make a judgment," said the Cloud Duke after a moment of silence, waving his hand at them dismissively, "All of you may leave! Xianghe, rest well in your own courtyard; since your sister doesn’t like you, try not to appear before her frequently. Don't worry; Miss Yun is actually quite magnanimous; she’s just a bit temperamental and capricious. Even if she manages the household, I assure you no allowance will be withheld from you."

"Your Excellency" The Third Concubine and Fifth Concubine were surprised to see that their lord remained unmoved despite their efforts.

"Father" Yun Xianghe’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could her father not intervene after she was bullied so badly He didn’t even hint at punishing Yun Qianyue!

"Leave all of you now! Green Twig, prepare the writing materials," said Cloud Duke sternly.

A green-clad woman about thirty years old stepped forward. Although no longer young, she exuded a scholarly aura; she spoke to them coolly without much warmth, "Both consorts and Lady Yun may leave; Your Excellency has matters to attend to."

The Third Concubine and Fifth Concubine had no choice but to retreat as the Cloud Duke was firm. Yun Xianghe clenched her lips tightly, looking at him until he stopped regarding her, then she turned abruptly and left the study.

"They are all a bunch of troublemakers. Father King was right; I've been糊塗了大半輩子."

The Cloud王爺sighed, looking somewhat despondent and old.

"Although I've been糊塗for the first half of my life, there's still the second half, isn't there Your Excellency need not worry," Green Twig smiled.

"Ever since Han'er and Shanjue's mother left, I've had no interest in anything. I've been like this for so many years. Luckily, you've been with me all along. But you're still unmarried; it's my fault that you haven't found a husband," the Cloud王爺looked at Green Twig and said slowly.

"With just these seven points of beauty, being someone else's shadow is sometimes a blessing," Green Twig shook her head and said calmly: "Your Excellency should start handling things again! You've accumulated a lot more work since you went to Lingtai Temple for two days. It will probably be late before you finish today."

"Mm!" The Cloud王爺nodded.

The study fell silent as the王爺handled matters and Green Twig attended to him quietly.

After leaving the Cloud王爺's study, Third Aunt and Fifth Aunt discussed and then headed towards Yun Shan Yue's Shanjue Pavilion. For these days they had blown a lot of wind into the王爺's ear but he remained unmoved; it seemed he was determined for Yun Shan Yue to take charge of the household. So, now that she had returned from her ordeal at Lingtai Temple, they would have to visit her. They hoped she would look after them in the future.

The two arrived at Shanjue Pavilion and saw Grand Steward Yun Meng directing people inside with a number of trunks and treasure boxes of various sizes. The two looked at each other before approaching Yun Meng quickly. Third Aunt asked smilingly, "Grand Steward, what are you bringing in"

"Old servant greets the two ladies!" Yun Meng bowed. "These are health supplements from all over sent to Miss Shanjue. Old servant is delivering them."

"So many" Third Aunt was surprised.

"This is still few This is only a small part, most have been stored in the household's warehouse already. Moreover, His Majesty and Empress have also sent health supplements which are on their way. I will go to receive them," Yun Meng said.

Third Aunt was speechless; she turned to look at Fifth Aunt who had a similar expression. Judging by those exquisite treasure boxes, they must be rare supplements of great value. And they came empty-handed. That really wasn't good.

"Are the two ladies here to see Miss Shanjue Go in! Miss Shanjue is inside," Yun Meng said.

Fifth Aunt immediately shook her head, "We only heard some noise and came over for a look. It's late now; Miss Shanjue just returned, she must be very tired from the journey. We won't go in today. Tomorrow when she has rested well, we will come to see her."

"That's right, let's go tomorrow," Third Aunt also nodded.

"Alright!" Yun Meng knew their intentions.

The two quickly turned and left. Each thought that if they came the next day, they must bring better gifts than others. People who used to disdain them now had power over their future livelihoods; naturally, it was best to curry favor with them.

Inside Shanjue Pavilion, Cai Lian saw Third and Fifth Aunt at the door but she left soon after. She whispered to Yun Shan Yue: "Miss, just now Third and Fifth Aunts came but only spoke briefly with Grand Steward before leaving."

"Mm!" Yun Shan Yue leaned against her lady's chair and swayed her legs.

"Miss, I'll start preparing the supplements. What would you like All of these are good things. Miss hasn't had so many gifts in your birthday for years now. Moreover, what was received annually used to be kept by Aunt Feng in the household's warehouse and secretly taken for herself; only second-rate items were given to us here at Shanjue Pavilion. But this time there are all top-grade products!" Mother Zhao counted as she spoke.

"Pick the best ones and prepare a few," Yun Shan Yue glanced over the supplements, indeed they were all high-quality, unlike modern processed goods which were natural. Her body was weak at the moment so she accepted everything.

"Good, I'll go make them for you immediately." Mother Zhao said right away.

"Mm, prepare a few pots; Cai Lian, Ting Xue and Ting Yu have been worrying too much. They need to be replenished as well. Everyone in our courtyard should eat some; they look pale and thin like people who've been starving for a long time. In the future, we must all eat enough and regain our health," Yun Shan Yue said.

"Miss is so kind! Alright, I'll go make more right now." Mother Zhao smiled and left.

Cheers could be heard throughout the courtyard, everyone calling out how good Miss was!

This was good then. Yun Shan Yue smiled.

On this night, every servant in Shanjue Pavilion ate food they had never tasted before. The pavilion was filled with laughter all night until the moon hung above the willow branches; only then did everyone fall asleep.

The next morning just as dawn broke, Yun Shan Yue woke up. She saw it was time for her to get up every day in her previous life. Frowning, she thought perhaps coming into this world and changing bodies meant that after sleeping these few days, she had to return to her old habits again No way! This life she was a young lady; at the very least, she needed to make up for all the sleep she missed before. She closed her eyes and tried hard to go back to sleep but turned over several times and couldn't fall asleep again. Finally, she pushed away the quilt and got up.

She opened the door; the courtyard was quiet as Cai Lian and others were still sleeping. She suddenly had an idea and picked a spot to start practicing Tai Chi to recover her inner strength sooner.

Over and over again, she repeatedly practiced the thirteen forms but there wasn't even a trace of true qi in her dantian.

Half a shi (unit of time) later, Yun Qianyue stopped. As Jing Rong said, it seemed that it would take at least a year for her to regain her inner strength. She sighed and looked at her slim figure and slender wrists. Now she really couldn't carry anything on her shoulders or pick up anything with her hands. Her martial arts skills were also gone; when no one was around, wouldn’t she be waiting to be slaughtered She pursed her lips and made up her mind that even without inner strength, this body should still get stronger. Perhaps it wouldn't catch up to Li Yun's body, but it shouldn't be too weak.

With this in mind, Yun Qianyue began training according to the methods she had trained with in her previous life for over ten years.

An hour later, everyone in the Shallow Moon Pavilion gradually woke up. Yun Qianyue also finished punching and kicking and sat on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, sweating profusely.

Cai Lian had stayed up late last night and walked toward Yun Qianyue's room drowsily when she woke up. She saw that no one was inside and turned to find her sitting in the courtyard; she couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Young Miss, why are you awake so early today"

"I couldn’t sleep, so I got up." Yun Qianyue stood up and walked into the room.

Cai Lian nodded. In her heart, she thought, is the sun really rising from the west today Usually, it was hard to wake Young Miss up even if one dragged her; this was indeed rare! She looked at the sky—still, the sun rose in the east. She turned around and followed Yun Qianyue into the room.

After washing up and taking breakfast and medicine, the young miss lazily lounged on a chair. Sunlight came through the window, shining golden on her purple robes.

"Young Miss, aren’t you going to Prince Rong’s residence today" Cai Lian reminded Yun Qianyue when she didn't seem to be moving.

“Mm-hmm!” Yun Qianyue remained seated and said, “I’ll go later.”

"It's already getting late. Our Cloud王府 is separated from Prince Rong’s residence by two main streets; you should leave now." Cai Lian urged.

“Two streets are nothing!” Yun Qianyue remained seated, unperturbed.

"Although they're only two streets, these are bustling thoroughfares. It'll take longer to get there later when the streets are crowded with people. If Young Miss doesn’t leave now and delays further, you’ll be at Prince Jing’s home for lunch." Cai Lian looked at Yun Qianyue; she knew that Young Miss didn't really want to go.

Yun Qianyue was silent.

At this moment, Yun Meng rushed in. Before he arrived, his voice rang out: "Young Miss, I’ve prepared your carriage for you as the Old Master ordered. The old king had a carriage specially made for Young Miss when she went to Lingtai Temple these days. He said that since Young Miss’s body is recuperating and should not ride horses anymore, you should use this carriage."

“I’m not that weak!” Yun Qianyue said.

"The old king sent your horse thirty li away to a villa for someone to take care of it. He said when Young Miss recovers and regains her martial arts skills, you can bring back the horse you love," Yun Meng added.

“That old fool!” Yun Qianyue was annoyed.

Cai Lian stifled a laugh; she thought that Old Master and Young Miss were really entertaining. She felt as though Old Master just enjoyed bullying Young Miss. But he was also very indulgent toward her—only he could bully her, not others.

"Young Miss, you should go now! The carriage is waiting at the main gate." Yun Meng said that and turned to leave.

Yun Qianyue stood up and walked out. Cai Lian chuckled and followed behind Yun Qianyue as they left Shallow Moon Pavilion.

Outside Cloud王府's gates, there was indeed a brand new carriage parked. Although it wasn’t made of sandalwood like Jing Rong’s carriage, it was still made from fine timber. It was wrapped in colorful ribbons that fluttered in the wind. A horse stood in front of it, entirely red, with small ornaments and bells tied all over its body; even when it didn't move, the bells rang constantly.

Yun Qianyue looked speechlessly at the carriage and horse. Was there a need for such ostentation This made her feel as though she was like a courtesan of a pleasure house passing through the streets. She turned to look at Cai Lian; Cai Lian had an expression of joy on her face, looking at the carriage: "Young Miss, you finally have your own carriage! It’s so nice!"

"Didn’t you realize that this carriage is decorated abnormally" Yun Qianyue asked.

"Young Miss, it was decorated according to what you like. Just think of your horse in the past—it looked just like this," Cai Lian said with a normal expression.

“I suppose I must have liked that,” Yun Qianyue sighed and turned her gaze back to the carriage: "Alright then! If we go out like this, everyone on the street won’t need to talk; they’ll all be looking at me."

Cai Lian laughed, “That’s great. No one will dare to stop Young Miss’s path; our journey will be smooth.

“Mm-hmm!” Yun Qianyue pulled back the curtain and got into the carriage.

Cai Lian followed closely behind and jumped onto the carriage as well. The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage set off smoothly.

As Cai Lian had said, they were indeed on two main streets. Cloud王府 was located in the eastern part of the capital city, while Prince Rong’s residence was situated in the northern part. Ancient people believed that east was superior to west and north superior to south. When the four great manors were selected for locations back then, Emperor Tian Sheng had granted Cloud王府 with a location in the eastern district and granted Prince Rong's Manor the northern district; he granted Prince De’s residence the southern district and Prince Xiao’s residence the western district. The four mansions dominated the capital city, surrounding the imperial palaces at the center of the city.

The carriage passed through the streets, the ribbons fluttering and the bells ringing incessantly.

When passersby saw the carriage and horses' attire, they immediately thought of Yun Qianyue's name. Then, upon seeing the license plate at the front of the vehicle, everyone nodded in confirmation, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, and respectfully made way for her.

Cai Lian stretched out her hand to lift a small gap in the curtain and whispered to Yun Qianyue, "Miss, look! Everyone on the street knows who you are and is making room for you. I told you that once Miss goes through this area, there will be no obstacles."

Yun Qianyue rolled her eyes. "Thank goodness everyone makes way for me instead of treating me like a rat being chased by people."

"How could it not Although Miss is considered a wastrel and has a bad reputation, you are much better than those noble ladies in the capital’s minds. You have done so many good deeds for ordinary folks! When you built porridge stalls to help refugees, everyone saw that with their own eyes. In fact, your poor reputation was spread by those idle people who had too much time on their hands. Moreover, Miss has privately built shelters for homeless orphaned children no one knows about."

Huh Yun Qianyue was stunned. "Did I really do all that"

"Oh my! Miss is getting more and more forgetful; you can't even remember the good things you did. If it wasn’t for me always being by your side, I would have thought someone had switched places with you!" Cai Lian gave Yun Qianyue a reproachful look. "Miss carried out these acts in secrecy. Ever since coming to serve Miss half a year ago, I only accompanied her on one visit to see the children she helped. Furthermore, it was such a secret location that no one else knew about it."

Yun Qianyue smiled and said, "If everyone did good deeds for their reputation, they would lose the essence of being kind-hearted." Seeing Cai Lian’s confused expression as she listened to her, Yun Qianyue whispered, "Wait a few days more and we’ll go see those children. We just keep things secret so that no one disturbs them."

“Yes, Miss is right,” Cai Lian nodded.

The majority of these children were rescued by Yun Qianyue from the playthings of real wastrels in the capital city. If anyone knew about this, they would surely cause trouble.

"Mm," Yun Qianyue nodded thoughtfully for the first time as she pondered over her new body’s owner.

Since arriving at this world, she had only heard and seen bad things about her body's owner. She was illiterate, ignorant of calligraphy, music, chess, painting, unable to weave or sew clothes well, and even her martial arts skills were just superficial techniques. Furthermore, she was infatuated with Night Tianqiong and suffered from being bullied by concubines and secondary wives in the manor. She was also considered a wastrel who did not follow any teachings and committed all sorts of evil deeds, like murder and arson. However, things didn't seem to be that way.

Although she had no memories, Yun Qianyue seemed to have felt that her body’s owner must be very clever. Especially with the elegant yet simple arrangement of her room, it was unlikely a person without taste would arrange such an environment. Then there were also her vast inner strength before losing it and finally, the good deeds she had privately done as told by Cai Lian. How could these actions be those of someone truly infamous

She felt that everything must have been just an outward appearance to mislead everyone.

Just like how a horse dressed up in flowers and decorations seemed tasteless, but matched the body’s owner's reputation as a wastrel who didn't know any better. And then there was her poor performance with all things women should master and her martial arts skills being very good yet described as half-baked...

But why would she need to pretend like this

No one could answer these questions because the body’s owner had already died, leaving behind no clues as to how. Not only did Yun Qianyue have no idea how she ended up in this world and taking over this body, but also all memories were lost except for her martial arts skills.

Yun Qianyue frowned tightly; countless questions filled her mind. Until now, she hadn't thought too much about the matter, only feeling something was off when Cai Lian mentioned it today. She felt that this body wasn’t as simple as its appearance and must be hiding many secrets. If everything said about her had been a facade, then until she understood things better, she would have to continue pretending.

Thinking of this, Yun Qianyue suddenly didn't mind being forced by the old Prince Cloud to learn how to read from Rong Jing so much anymore. The body’s owner must have had reasons for pretending; it was a skill to make everyone in the world believe what she was doing was true. Not only that, but she had been doing this deception for over ten years, whereas Yun Qianyue felt exhausted after just a few days of pretending.

Could her endurance really not be as good as the body’s owner's Of course not! So, it seemed she would have to keep up with the charade then!

"Miss, what is wrong" Cai Lian asked softly when Yun Qianyue didn’t move or speak for a long time and her expression kept changing.

Yun Qianyue quickly wiped away her thoughts from her face. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the carriage suddenly stopped. From outside, there came a sarcastic voice: "I thought whose carriage looked like a colorful peacock It’s that wastrel princess of the Cloud Manor!"

The sudden sound broke Yun Qianyue's thoughts; she raised her head.

Cai Lian paled and whispered, "Miss, it’s Prince Cold from the Imperial Patronage王府的小王爺？雲淺月皺眉，沉聲道：“不用理他，繼續趕車！”

“小姐，怕是走不了了，冷小王爺把路給堵死了。”彩蓮輕聲道：“而且冷小王爺今日似乎帶了不少人。怕是知道小姐出府，來找您麻煩的。”

“我和他有過節嗎？”雲淺月問。

“哎呀，我的好小姐。您忘了什麼也不該忘了和冷小王爺的過節，你和冷小王爺何止有過節？簡直過節大了去了。彆的不說，就說您早些時候接連從他手中搶出了好幾個孩子，就惹了他的惱，後來您前些日子又火燒望春樓，毀了的人中就有冷小王爺的紅顏知己嬌嬌。冷小王爺怕是懷恨在心呢！”彩蓮低聲道：“您火燒瞭望春樓第二日就入了宮，後來一直關在府中被咱們世子教導識字。後來身邊又有景世子跟著您，怕是這冷小王爺一直冇找到機會找您的仇，如今正等在這裡了。”

“原來是這樣！”雲淺月蹙眉。

“雲淺月！你冇聽到本小王爺說話嗎？啞巴了？當真是掉到了靈台寺地下佛堂被摔得傻了？”冷邵卓又陰陽怪氣地道。說話間，人似乎已經靠近了車廂。

Seeing the name of the Prince Cold from the Imperial Patronage Manor, Yun Qianyue frowned and said in a low voice, "Ignore him and keep driving."

"Miss, it’s impossible to proceed. Prince Cold has blocked the road," Cai Lian whispered softly. "Prince Cold seems to have brought quite a few people today. It looks like he knows Miss left the manor to cause trouble for you."

“Did I have any conflicts with him before” Yun Qianyue asked.

"Oh my, dear miss! You shouldn’t forget your conflict with Prince Cold. Not only do you have a grudge against each other but it’s quite severe. To put it simply, in the past, you kept rescuing children from his hands, which infuriated him. Then there was the incident where you burned down the Spring Prospect Tower and destroyed the life of his beloved lady friend, Jiaojiao. Prince Cold must be holding a grudge."

"So that’s how it is!" Yun Qianyue frowned.

“Yun Qianyue! Did you not hear what I said Are you dumbstruck Could you have really been struck by lightning and lost your wits at the temple” Prince Cold sounded sarcastic. It seemed he had approached closer to the carriage now.

Every day seeing readers vote for our "Wastrel Noblewoman Consort" with their monthly votes is one of the happiest things amidst the monotonous process of typing and enduring difficulties. So, those who still have extra votes, you know who I’m talking to! Don’t keep it from us! (⊙_⊙)O（∩_∩）O~ong Jing’s expression suddenly became even colder without saying a word.The grand steward of the Rong王府 and guards all felt shocked, not daring to look at where the storm gathered. They sensed that so...