Disclaimer: This is an MTL translation that has been edited to make the story flow smoothly which may cause the translation to not be 100% accurate. The Chinese novel: Abused Female Lead And Beautiful Villainess is not owned by me. This is only a fan translation by Idiot Goggle Translations.
Chapter 10: Are You A Princess? The Kind With A Ruined Reputation
After seeing He Qingning once, Guan Yushan was giddy every day. Since she was a princess, he felt restless, but didn't want to act rashly.
The princess from the Imperial City is definitely not the same calibre as those mediocre women who are obsessed with cosmetics in Yunzhou City.
It's not that he didn't want to do things right away, but there are always a lot of professionals guarding outside He Qingning's yard and he can't get close.
If they don't do well, they'll be noticed by them. It's better to forget this hassle at this time. Being too rash will result in a loss of opportunity. Acting too impetuously would scare the princess away and if that happens, what would the chances be that this'll happen again in the future?
So what he wanted was to find an opening to succeed in one fell swoop. He didn't think about letting the princess go after he accomplishes this. If he let her go, wouldn't that be stupid enough to get his head cut off?
The emperor was far away. Even if the emperor finds out that the princess went missing and demand what happened, couldn't he just make up a story? Even if the emperor didn't believe it and came here personally, once he arrives, all of the evidence would have long been gone. They can make up rumors that the princess came upon bandits on the road. Bandits are a menace anyway, so if court officials were sent to get rid of them then it's basically him doing a good thing.
"But what do I need to accomplish this in one go? Difficult, difficult..."
Chen San'er was Guan Yushan's lackey. He helped him do all kinds of bad things. Every time Guan Yushan kidnapped pretty women from a good family then get tired of playing with them, Chen San'er will be there to pick up the leftovers. Based on the Magistrate, the princess brought followers. The place could be filled with many beautiful women. If they disobey or resist, they'll just sell them directly to a brothel.
Right now, Chen San'er was hiding behind a pile of grass, observing He Qingning's courtyard and listening to the movements inside. He didn't dare come any closer. The people guarding were imposing. At a glance, he could tell that they wouldn't be easy to deal with. Being too close could risk ruining his young master's hard work. His young master said intruding inside would be a bad move as it was too easy to get caught. As long as the princess goes out to play, their chance will come.
As it was summer, he was observing under the heat of the scorching sun. Chen San'er looked into the courtyard and had to swallow his spit. The princess looked like a daughter of a fairy. He played with many women in his life, but he's never played with a princess.
While he was thinking this, Chen San'er felt pain on his ass. He was forced forward, rolling on the ground for several times. He was about to yell at whoever dared to attack him only to raise his head and see Guan Yujing.
"Master," Chen San'er kneeled in front of Guan Yujing, "I was unaware, what is it that the master orders?"
"Chen San'er, what are you doing here?" Guan Yujing took a look at He Qingning's courtyard, "Her Highness, the Royal Princess, He Qingning is residing here. Are you this willing to lose your life?"
"Master, spare me. I haven't seen a princess before. Doesn't the princess' elegant bearing make you want to worship Her Royal Highness?"
"How can you look at the princess with an ugly face like yours?" Guan Yujing waved his hand, "Get lost. Hurry up and get lost. If you disturb the princess again, do take care or I'll be sure to chop your head off, you mongrel."
"Yes, yes, this lowly one will get lost."
Guan Yujing was not afraid of He Qingning. He only knew that He Qingning was heavily favored. He was afraid that if she got involved with an incident here and the emperor pursued, it may cause him a lot of problems. The less trouble, the better. He'll have to keep a low profile for a while. Once this little high-class noble goes away, he'll still be the local tyrant here. That said, Princess He Qingning has lived here for a period of time already. Because of this, surely the emperor would stop thinking there's anything wrong here and he'll finally stop sending people to investigate. Didn't his days just keep getting better and better?
"Wait a minute. Something's not right." Guan Yujing was suddenly reminded of Chen San'er loitering here. He only came to see the princess' face, right?
He remembered his amorous son and felt uneasy. He turned to Guan Yushan's courtyard and prepared to speak with him. He needs his son to keep himself restrained and not cause trouble for him. When the princess is gone, he could play with whoever he wanted.
Unexpectedly, when he approached the door to Guan Yushan's room, he heard that he and Chen San'er were discussing He Qingning. They were plotting about how they could get He Qingning into their hands. Without waiting to hear the rest, Guan Yujing angrily kicked the door open. At Guan Yushan's surprised expression, he suddenly moved forward and gave him a slap.
"You imbeciles."
Guan Yushan covered his face and felt aggrieved, "Father, why did you hit me?"
"For now, give me some peace of mind. Do not go out and make trouble, let alone provoke the princess. Put away all your little schemes. You can touch anyone, but she is forbidden." This is a big problem that he didn't really want to touch. It'd be a lot of trouble and he didn't know how much ass he'd need to wipe clean just to pay for it.
Guan Yushan was very afraid of Guan Yujing. He kept his face covered and agreed, but he was not appeased. This is a place where laws and regulations were set loosely, so who cares if she's the princess? If she fell into his hands, he can't be blamed for touching her.
"These are the information that I sent people to collect secretly." He Qingning's expression was heavy. Her slender palm slammed hard on the table, "This Guan Yujing, how bold he is. With just his son Guan Yushan, I don't know how many couples were broken up, how many women have been killed, and how many good people have been forced into prostitution."
Shen Wan didn't care about Guan Yujing and Guan Yushan. She and her wife are here now. The two will die sooner or later. She eyed He Qingning's red palm and felt bad. Her palm is flesh and the table is wood, can you slam your hand without making it red?
"What are you going to do, Your Highness?"
Shen Wan took advantage of He Qingning's inattention to place a soft cotton cloth on the table.
He Qingning found out anyway and asked, "What's this for?"
Shen Wan's face flushed a little, "I think Your Highness likes to hit the table too much. The table is very hard. What will I do if you hurt your hand? I won't withhold giving you a soft cloth, then you can hit it as much as you want. Now that there's a soft, thick cloth, not only will it stop it from hurting your hands again, it'll also prevent making too much noise that can attract attention."
"That's very thoughtful of you." He Qingning said. It was something so simple, but she felt as if there was a warm stream flowing in her heart. When she found herself getting angry, she really did hit the table again. As Shen Wan pointed out, it didn't hurt and there was less noise.
"Gather evidence incriminating Guan Yujing first. You don't need to find out everything. You only need to get enough to cut his head off." He Qingning narrowed her eyes, "Then, we'll prioritize beheading him and play afterwards."
"Your Highness, there are people behind Guan Yujing." Shen Wan said as a casual reminder. In fact, she's also much more inclined to kill this corrupt official 1 called Guan Yujing.
He Qingning replied, "It's because there are people behind Guan Yujing that Father Emperor allowed me to investigate. Once we uncover evidence, we can make these corrupt officials lose their head and kill them off. Father has people he will assign as new officials. They are all under Father's control. The emperor trusts them and he believes they are capable. We're planning on putting them in these places first, then they can be recalled at will anytime in the future. I am only a princess. Even if these people notice that I was sent by Father to investigate the case, they wouldn't think I was involved since I cannot participate in the competition for the crown.
"If we killed Guan Yujing, they'll get angry, but who cares? If we kill two more like him, cutting off their support and replacing them with those of Father's men, it'll arouse their suspicions. Shen Wan, we can't possibly kill all of the people that are at fault and killing high officials of the Imperial Court will cause a great backlash. However, killing off their underlings will be a shock to them. This will pique their interest, but they can't do anything about it. They can only swallow a bitter pill and cope with their losses. As I am a princess, there won't be any conflicts coming from my brothers temporarily. As long as Father Emperor can withstand the pressure from these marginal officials and as long as I have the evidence, no one can stop us."
After speaking of this, He Qingning was silent for a while, and then went on, "This is my path. My destiny is to kill before I'll be able to serve the people. First, I must do more dauntless things than those of my brothers. Second, I must act as a woman to suppress people. Although I will be offending many people by doing so, the places where I have removed people will be replaced in the future. These people will support me as they are my father's people. When I finally get power, who would dare oppose me then? If they dare, then I will have more opportunities to replace these people. Going on this trip will give us ample evidence we need." He Qingning spoke with a smile on her face.
This smile was very beautiful, very intimidating, and even a bit majestic.
Shen Wan could only gawk at He Qingning. She didn't expect her little princess to be so powerful. This boldness really made her heart jump all over the place. How can the little princess be so attractive?
"We do have a problem, however. There will be many dangers further as we go." He Qingning frowned slightly, "After all, I will be attracting the attention of many of these people and, in the face of this attention, they'll surely aim to kill me. Then they will casually have someone report that I was murdered by bandits. No matter how angry my father will be, it'll be useless in such a situation."
"Your Highness, my strength is endless. I will help you eliminate any assassins that come for you. Let's see if their little hearts and heads are harder than my little fists."
After saying this, Shen Wan held a wine glass in the palm of her hand. Under He Qingning's eyes, the wine glass shattered into a pile of broken pieces. Shen Wan placed the fragments on the table. "Your Highness, you don't need to be afraid. I protected you when we left the Imperial City, I will protect you when we go back."
He Qingning's lips pursed her lips in a smile, amused. She grabbed Shen Wan's wrist, "Did you hurt your hand after gripping on it so hard?"
Shen Wan: "188, do you see this? The little princess is getting more and more concerned about me now."
188: Don't say anything, just observe.
"It's okay."
Shen Wan faced He Qingning and spread out her palm. Her palm was not injured at all. There were only a few fragments from the wine glass on top. He Qingning took her hand and brushed off the shards carefully using a handkerchief.
Shen Wan happily suffered through it until there was a knock on the door. She quickly took her hand back and put up a cold and serious face. She then stood stiffly behind He Qingning.
Shen Wan: Going out to accompany the little princess to investigate the case is fine, but she didn't feel happy about having to pretend like this.
He Qingning turned to the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Your Royal Highness, a young lady is here to see you."
"Come in."
The door was pushed open and an attractive woman came in, bowing to He Qingning. She did not look up directly at He Qingning, but Yu Guang did sneak a peek at her and Shen Wan. Shen Wan noticed the other woman looking and snorted. She couldn't help, but stare back at her, scaring the woman into almost kneeling.
Her wife is very pretty and not everyone can look at her.
This woman came to see the little princess. She wondered if she came with bad intentions. She better not, otherwise she'll hit her tiny head with a punch.
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¹T/N: The way officials were mentioned here were much more vulgar in the novel, but I couldn't find an English mirror to it, so I just used the word "corrupt" instead.
T/N: I actually had a LOT of difficulties with this chapter despite how short it is. I don't even want to mention them since there's just too much.
T/N2: Guan Yushan is a sick, arrogant bastard. Just saying.
T/N3: That's 10 chapters down! Only 7 left and this arc in the story will be over. I don't think I'll continue further than this arc. I only wanted to translate this one because this one tickled my fancy.
T/N4: This chapter is full of plotting, so not much is going on with Shen Wan and He Qingning. Let's hope there's more Yuri on the next chap, ey?