Chapter 53: The Transmigrator

Hearing Liu Rulan's words, Xie Tingyao flew into a rage and lunged forward to scratch and beat her again.

Crown Prince Murong Bo could only order his guards to pull them apart with all their might.

In the end, everyone was sent back home, and the ice-skating gathering came to an abrupt end.

Just as Tang Chaozhao was about to leave, Crown Prince Murong Bo called out to stop her.

"Second Miss Tang."

Tang Chaozhao turned back to look at him.

Murong Bo wanted to say something, but when he met Tang Chaozhao's gaze, he ultimately swallowed his words.

Tang Chaozhao frowned slightly.

"If Your Highness has nothing else to say, I shall take my leave."

Seeing Tang Chaozhao turn and walk away immediately, Zhao Mengyue felt a tinge of regret.

Yet she understood that today was hardly the time to continue outings and amusements.

She cast a stealthy glance at the Fifth Prince Murong Qing not far away, and then at Crown Prince Murong Bo, whose face wore a helpless expression.

Only then did she hurry to catch up with Tang Chaozhao.

Upon returning to the estate, Tang Chaozhao went straight back to her small courtyard.

Zhao Mengyue, however, headed directly for the longevity courtyard.

Seeing her return at such an early hour, Lady Tang asked with a hint of surprise, "Why is Yue'er back so early? Did someone give you a hard time?"

Zhao Mengyue shook her head repeatedly; today had truly opened her eyes.

The noble ladies of the capital were more terrifying than the last.

As a delicate, white-lotus flower from the twenty-first century, she doubted she could survive the vicious bickering of the women here.

Indeed, the soul residing within Zhao Mengyue's body had already been replaced.

The Zhao family was traditionally a family of scholars, with ancestors who had served as court officials.

However, the family fortunes had since declined, and each succeeding generation proved more mediocre than the last.

Nowadays, by purchasing a minor official post back in their hometown using family funds, they managed to live a life free from worries about food and clothing.

Zhao Mengyue was the daughter of the third son of Lady Tang's elder brother.

Unluckily, Zhao Mengyue's father had fallen gravely ill and passed away suddenly when she was only six years old.

From then on, it was just a lonely widow and her orphaned daughter.

The family property was meager to begin with, and her father had left behind three brothers.

Consequently, the mother and daughter were intensely marginalized and bullied.

One day, Zhao Mengyue was pushed into a lake by her cousin.

By the time she was rescued and brought ashore, her breath had already ceased.

Yet, unexpectedly, the person who had clearly drawn her last breath suddenly came back to life.

Finding the young girl rather uncanny, the members of the Zhao family dared not bully or provoke them casually from that day onward.

It was precisely at that moment that Zhao Mengyue's soul transmigrated into the original owner's body.

Faced with a mother who did nothing all day besides eating and sitting by the window doing embroidery, Zhao Mengyue felt such a life was far too dull.

Having read numerous transmigration novels, she knew she must be the protagonist chosen by the heavens.

She could never squander her life away like this.

Just at that moment, the Zhao family received a letter from an aunt who had married far away to the capital.

Upon learning the contents of the letter, Zhao Mengyue had smiled.

As expected, the protagonist was always spoon-fed by destiny.

Her great-aunt's eldest son was a renowned and powerful grand general of the Kang Kingdom.

With such a prime opportunity to secure concumbines for him, how could she let outsiders reap the benefits?

Zhao Mengyue looked at her still-charming mother and thought that if she could send her mother over, she might even secure the position of a co-wife.

Her plans were meticulously laid, and she had already gathered information regarding certain matters in the Kang Kingdom.

For instance, years ago, the Kang Kingdom had been engulfed in endless warfare, resulting in a massive casualty rate among men.

Consequently, the imperial court of the Kang Kingdom strongly encouraged the populace to reproduce.

It was common for widowed wives to remarry their deceased husbands' brothers, and since her mother shared no blood relation with Tang Wu, there would be no obstacle at all.

Whether the plan would succeed, however, depended on probing her great-aunt's true intentions.

This was the real reason Zhao Mengyue had traveled alone to the capital.

On the surface, she was merely visiting her great-aunt, but in reality, she had come to test the waters.

Zhao Mengyue massaged Lady Tang's shoulders while giving a general recount of the day's events.

Hearing the tale, Lady Tang grew angry at Tang Chaozhao's willful and unruly behavior.

Acting in such a manner would completely alienate and offend people beyond redemption.

There was not a shred of anger or sympathy for the fact that her granddaughter had been framed by others.

Observing this, Zhao Mengyue noted inwardly that her great-aunt intensely disliked Tang Chaozhao.

That worked out perfectly; as long as the old matriarch favored her, her mother's chances of entering the General's Estate would be all the greater.

Back in her room, Tang Chaozhao was tinkering with various vials and jars.

These were medicinal pills she had refined herself—some intended for her mother, and others for Prince Lin.

The poison within Prince Lin's body had already been completely cleansed.

The next step required him to exercise and walk daily, supplemented by the pills she made.

He would soon recover to his normal state.

Meanwhile, her mother's constitution still required continuous nourishment and care.

Seeing Xue walk in, she was already accustomed to seeing such a sight and showed no surprise.

"Young Miss, the General asks for you to come to the study."

Knowing what her father wanted to discuss, Tang Chaozhao stood up, put away the jars and bottles scattered across the table, picked up one particular bottle, and headed outside.

When she arrived at Tang Wu's study, the door was open, and she walked straight in.

She looked at his familiar, sallow complexion.

"Is Father planning to stop feigning illness?"

Hearing this, Tang Wu raised his head to look at her and nodded.

"Having returned to the capital for some time now, remaining perpetually unwell will inevitably arouse suspicion."

Tang Chaozhao placed the medicine bottle she had brought onto the desk.

"Will His Majesty order you to return to Huaicheng then?"

Tang Wu took the medicine and drank it down immediately.

"Unlikely. Huaicheng is stable now and can breed no further chaos. We will not be leaving the capital anytime soon."

With those words, Tang Chaozhao felt reassured.

Seeing this, Tang Wu continued, "In a few days, His Majesty will host a palace banquet for me. At that time, our entire family must attend. In front of outsiders, remember not to humiliate your grandmother too severely, understand?"

Tang Chaozhao blinked her eyes innocently.

"Does Father mean that family scandals should not be aired in public?"

Amused and exasperated by his daughter's teasing, Tang Wu glared at her with feigned annoyance.

"Your mother's health has improved considerably of late. Take her out for more walks when you have free time. That way, the old matriarch will naturally find fewer opportunities to make things difficult for her."

Tang Wu understood his mother all too well, but as a son, since mediation proved futile, he could only choose to avoid the conflicts.

Tang Chaozhao nodded obediently.

"Understood. I will take Mother out for a stroll tomorrow."

After a moment's thought, Tang Wu added, "The Crown Prince may have intentions of taking you as his wife. You must make your own decisions."

Hearing this, Tang Chaozhao's pretty face darkened instantly.

Without answering Tang Wu, she turned and left the study.

Her elder sister had died precisely because of her engagement to that man.

For this wretch to dare set his sights on her now made him utterly deserving of a sound thrashing.

The next day, just as Tang Chaozhao was heading out accompanied by Song Rongzhi, Zhao Mengyue appeared once again.

A bright, radiant smile adorned her face.

"Cousin, Aunt, I came to the capital in such a rush that I brought very few things with me. Great-aunt told me to come out with you both so I could pick up some daily necessities."

Purchasing goods was merely a pretext.

After all, the General's Estate had already prepared everything she could possibly need in abundance.

Her primary goal was to spend more time interacting with this mother and daughter, laying the groundwork for her own mother's future arrival in the capital.

Thinking nothing of it and assuming the girl genuinely needed to buy things, Song Rongzhi agreed.

Tang Chaozhao raised no objections either.

The three of them boarded a carriage and alighted before a jewelry shop.

This jewelry shop enjoyed considerable renown within the capital.

Virtually all the noble daughters of official households loved to purchase their hair ornaments and accessories here.

As Tang Chaozhao's party stepped inside, the shopkeeper hurried out to greet them with a welcoming smile.

He was a shrewd man; although the newcomers looked unfamiliar to him—especially the young woman dressed as a Daoist nun—his shop assistant had already informed him that their carriage bore the crest of the General's Estate.

Beaming, he ushered the three inside and personally served fine tea accompanied by exquisitely crafted pastries.

Zhao Mengyue could not help nodding inwardly at the sight.

So ancient merchants possessed just as much business acumen and tact.

Her gaze swept over the neatly arranged jewelry displayed on the counters.

She found the designs far too monotonous; if she were to sketch out her own designs, she was certain she could make a fortune.

With this thought, Zhao Mengyue's eyes drifted to Song Rongzhi's hair bun.

She noticed that the hairpins and ornaments worn by Song Rongzhi, while of fine quality, shared the same lack of variety in design.

This clearly presented a lucrative business opportunity.

When her eyes shifted to Tang Chaozhao's hair, however, she quickly looked away.

Only then did Zhao Mengyue recall that ever since she first met Tang Chaozhao, she had never once seen her wear any jewelry, let alone don a single pretty dress.

She was forever clad in a simple Daoist robe.