Simple Life Chapter 5: Zhang Shen

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The crown princess married over for a year now, almost two years actually, which meant that, for the moment, the young master Zhang was still vice general. He had yet to rise in rank. Thus, there was still some time before the male lead ascended the dragon throne. Two years again… or maybe three. In those years, the now vice general Zhang Shen would become general.

Though Lane had yet to see him to determine how he looked, the author's description of him floated to her mind. He was supposed to be quite scary, having been surnamed the red demon due to his fame for his killing spree on the battlefield. Rumors had it that he would be covered from head to toe with his enemy's blood. He sported a scary-looking scar on his face that he had received on the battlefield which led him to his title of general. So, for the time being, he shouldn't have that.

Some said he liked danger. Fierceless and ruthless, but not mindless. However, no matter the amount of precaution one could take, life or death was never guaranteed in the battlefield. Having only this one son, the madam was quite worried about him. He may never come back after all, at that time… that was something she forced herself not to think too much about. His father, on the other hand, wasn’t all that moody and rather basked in the well-known reputation of his legitimate son. The man was indeed quite satisfied with the distinctions and the prestige won by this child of his, boasting to who cared enough to listen that he was indeed worthy of being his heir.

This father Zhang who was an old scholar, had three other sons, concubines’ sons. They followed the scholars' routes like himself, so he was a bit closer with them, though, he didn’t dare neglect neither his wife nor his legitimate daughter, lest it angered the first son.

That was how renown Zhang Shen was, capable of making his own father break in sweat with his unforgiving gaze.

Zhang Shen was described as having a distinguishable presence, most of the time he was thirsting for someone's blood. There were very little passages written where he wasn't emitting bloodlust. Most of those passages were when he was with his family members that he approved of, meaning his mother and his sister. His future scar would run along his right eye up to his lower lip, accompanied by other scars all over his body, having been tortured once by the country’s enemies. It was after that when he would free himself and come back with victory, that the old emperor would raise his rank, making him a general of the first rank, after his upcoming victory against the barbaric tribes at the East. The protagonist had vouched for him and praised him heavily. In another two years though, that same protagonist would feel threatened by his power and would want the military seal back, killing the whole family in the process. In the end, his wife concubine cheating on him had been God-given chance or rather, the plot working in his favor.

Fu Bin wouldn’t want to dwell on the right or wrong of this, palace and power balances were a whacking mess and immoral, she really didn’t want to lose some brain cells. One couldn’t be an Emperor with a soft heart but in the end, those who died, she could only consider them pitiful. They just had the misfortune of not being the protagonists’ friends or trusted allies.

Standing in the middle of a passage and truthfully lost, she was quite upset now that this villain family was just sided characters else wouldn't she know her way with the authors' love of places description? She was certain actually that she could find her way in the imperial palace right now if someone dumped her there but here, tsk, tsk. Let's try going back on her track.

While walking, she kept on thinking. The book really didn’t dwell too much on this family, explaining them only in passings. However, being inside the manor, she was privy to the hearsays of the servants.

The first son, Zhang Shen, until now, had yet to touch a woman. Others’ sons were introduced to this since their teen days, sometimes even having an official wive at fourteen, but this one son, no matter what the main wife did, refuse to take a concubine, he didn’t want a concubine-servant either. 

He was already nineteen this year and considering his line of work, his mother was even more anxious than other women to let him settle down. He absolutely showed no sign of being interested in the fairer sex, no matter how much she pushed the women to him, no matter how beautiful they were. He was simply, unwilling. 

The web novel never talked about any concubines nor bedwarmers, but then again he was no main character, so Fu Bin couldn’t be sure how this would turn out. The story wasn’t, after all, focused on him so that they didn’t mention him having concubines didn’t mean he didn’t have, maybe he would end up yielding to taking bed warmers like his mom wanted, maybe no. For now, she was trying to ingratiate herself and become a good servant in case they were planning to chase her out, better be useful now. After all, these days weren’t good for those who had nowhere to go and certainly not for someone who had yet to grasp the common sense of this time.

So, bitterly, Lane held onto the full basket of clothes she was carrying and thought not for the first time today, just where the hell, where the laundries room again?

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The Moon to the Sun Chapter 2: At three again

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At first, Yue Liang really thought that she died and got to reunite with her family once again. It wasn’t the case she understood a couple of days later. She was still alive and even more surprising she went back in time. Instead of her soul going to its next reincarnation, she had been given the chance to start over again. God was really merciful!

Bad or good news, she went back to her three years again, when she contracted an illness that left her bedridden for weeks. Previously, despite her illness, her paternal grandmother had insisted that she came to the family gathering, even inviting a famous physician to treat her. Her father wasn't in the capital and her mother had been pressure and unable to refute without it been deemed as being disrespectful to the elders or without it somehow, making a stain on her husband's reputation.

Only, during the gathering Min Yue Liang's illness had flared up, the physician, who had been unable to come had sent his apprentice but the later was overwhelmed, not knowing how to treat this disease. Uncaring about anything else, her mother finally lost it, and forcefully took her home.

By now, it had been three weeks since. Her father had already come back. Yue Liang still didn’t have the energy to move at will and didn’t try too hard either. She just let herself be pampered. When was the last time she had been called Liang’er or Liang Liang or Yue Yue? She missed it dearly, someone by her side to share her sorrows with.

Her mother would never be away and if she was, she was fast to come back. Her sister, Min Ming Xing, two years older than her and her brother, Min Hu Ai, twelve years older, would come for some hours every day to accompany her. Even her father would come after court sessions. Yue Liang had cried a lot in their presence these days. However, upon waking up the next day each time and realizing that nothing vanished, she slowly started to accept that maybe, this was the reality and God had really been merciful towards her.

Basking in that feeling, it took her a time to remember that it was around this time that things would start going wrong for their family.

The Min family was of military lineage, that had produced many generals in the past. However, it had slowly started to decline and in four generations, none of its men rose to merits. Contrary to his predecessors, her father hadn't taken the road of arms but that of the quill and excelled there. 

Her father, Min Xi Wan, was the fourth son in his generation, a concubine's son. His mother died a couple of days after having him, thus he was raised by the main wife. The woman hadn't mistreated him, but there had always been a bias each time he had a conflict with one of her two sons. That bias persisted even after they grew up and Xi Wan couldn't take it anymore and left the Min residence to settle his own, against his father's wishes. Professionally, Xi Wan's road hadn't been smooth. Been born from a concubine he had to prove himself more than those born from the main wife. However, he slowly rose to his position where he was now a second rate official, the assistant of the minister of war.

Yue Liang's mother, Qing Ju, was actually her father’s second wife and had given him two daughters. The first one died having contracted a disease a couple of months after giving birth. Which wasn't exactly the truth.

Actually, the woman had been poisoned. Her father would know about it around these weeks. Her symptoms, after all, were the same as that of the woman and learning from an expert that it was poison, he would unearth the true. Adding new grievances to old ones, he would go and ask justice from his elders. After all, this shameful affair of family poisoning those of the same members couldn't be talked about outside. But once again there would be bias against the concubine born him and angry and unresigned, the man would finally decide to cut off links with the rest of the family.

By itself, that was a good thing but this would make others deemed him unfilial and after being plotted against, he would lose his position and would be relocated far from the capital.

Then he would die and the endless suffering of their small family would start.

While thinking up to here, hot tears would stream down her face as she mumbles infinite thanks. She was so grateful to have been taken pity upon. She didn't know how yet, but she would try her best to not let it be in vain. This time around she would protect every one of the people she cared about and loved.

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Yet Another Transmigration Chapter 4: Adapting

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While she was bathing, Miyabi couldn't help looking at this body all over. Such pale skin, did this Yzaide never walk under the sun or what? And her hair was so supple, wasn't this cheating. Back at home, Miyabi had to spend hours treating her rebellious hair and the result was nowhere half as good as this!

It came to her too, that there was no milk coming out of her breasts. Which shouldn't be surprising, really. It had already been five months since she gave birth and Yzaide had never breastfed her children by herself, so obviously the milk supply had dried. She fleetingly wondered if it was possible to relactate in her conditions before dismissing the idea. It wasn't like she was adamant on breastfeeding and it wasn't like those children didn't have a wet nurse to feed them. And to be honest, Miyabi wasn't really sure she wanted to have such intimacy with strangers.

Thinking back to her married days, For her wedding, her mother had gifted her a teddy bear which was holding in its hands a smaller one, hoping that the newlyweds would be blessed with children soon. Well, it certainly didn't end as the woman wished but Miyabi couldn't say she was unhappy not having had a child. And she wasn't really thrilled now at this very moment either.

***

She walked out of the water room with a long white towel draped around her body, the other around her hair. Her bedroom was silent, only the soft breathing of the babies was heard. The maid and wet nurse were nowhere in sight, she had chased them previously, after having them fetch people to fill her bathtub. When she had said she didn't need anyone to help her bath, those women had appeared all too happy while dismissing themselves. As a result, now, facing this enormous closet with multiple clothes, she wasn't sure what was appropriate to wear.

Making her movements as noiseless as possible, Miyabi explored the contents. The events Miyabi previously saw in her mind were like a film playing in front of her eyes, she couldn’t really say she put every single detail to mind but she did remember seeing Yzaide raging at her clothes being old-fashioned and needing new ones. Technically speaking, these clothes weren't old and actually, there were some that the woman had yet to wear. But Yzaide was locked in this forest's manor for almost two years now. There was no need to go to the capital to know that the trend had changed already.

However, more than the trend, what interested Miyabi was the comfort of the clothes. She eyed the corsets, wondering just how scandalous it would be to forgo this. Never mind, wasn't she in a semi prison, who would say what? And so, she turned a blind eye to that corner of the closet and rummaged through the full-length dresses, skirts, elbow lengths of gloves, stockings, hats, and whatnot. Somehow, she had forgotten that the underwear wasn't really the ones she was used to. She had almost gone and called to ask where they were before remembering. This world was a bit like the nineteenth century. Reluctantly, she shifted her gaze towards the corsets again. Besides them, there were chemises, drawers, petticoats, and... bustles? Her lips twitched.

If there was one thing Yzaide did right, it was clothing herself but right this very moment, Miyabi couldn't care less what went before what. She put on a combination of chemise and drawer, turned a blind eye to whatever else, and chose a blue dress with white flower patterns. Without the bustle to puff the dress at the back, the thing was trailing but for now, that will do.

The material of the dress was supple and comfortable, of high quality. The majority of the clothes in this bedroom were brought using Yzaide's money, or more precisely that of her dowry. Her father gave her a hefty sum. If there was one thing their family didn't lack, it was that. She bought them from her family's stores too, which helped her get discounts. Other than clothing, her family also traded salt and magical tools. Yzaide had quite a bit of magical tools in her possession but rather than the practical ones, she liked buying the fanciful ones which were used mostly for decoration.

Once dressed, she vigorously wiped her hair before taking down the towel. The long strands were still damp, so she didn't style it, letting it dry.

The babies were still sleeping. She crossed the room and parted the curtains slightly, to see outside. The sun was still out and judging by its position, it should be 2 or 3 p.m right now. Only a couple of hours had passed since she came but somehow it felt like an eternity.

Checking that the two little ones were deep asleep, she slowly made her way to the door. It opened to a long corridor which she chose to take left. While walking, her heart was thumping in her ribcage. It was really not a dream.

As she walked, more than maids, it was the soldiers that were numerous in this mansion. Each one sported a stern expression on their faces but otherwise stayed silent. The first maid who saw her stiffened and bowed, stuttering about helping her dress. Miyabi dismissed it with a wave of her hand and kept on exploring the place, entering left and right. The guards by the central doors would stiffen each time she ended out of the building using different doors. They were a sight to behold.

While walking, Miyabi identified the two living rooms, one bigger than the other, two libraries, one upstairs and one on the ground floor, five bedrooms witch each a water room, and a central water room on the ground floor.

Before she got to finish her exploration, one maid came to her, stating that the lunch was served in the dining room.

It was a long table but with only her herself, it appeared all the more lonely and the fanciful food looked like it would go to waste.

***

In the end, after finishing her plates, she went back to the library upstairs. It was bigger than the other one. The letters were something she recognized, or rather, her body recognized. She browsed the shelves, searching for books about learning and the ones referencing about the use of time and space magic. There was nothing to peek for the latter but she got three concerning the former.

The baron used to use this manor as a vacancy residence for him and his wife or to just be by themselves and escape, for a time, the bustling and noisy life in the capital. So, there were a couple of interesting books he brought here to read but forgot to take back after declaring this place as his second wife's residence. However he certainly didn't forget to take away everything that was his wife's.

However, since it was not the place where he spent most of his time in, besides a couple of books the rest of things that filled the shelves were actually books he deemed cumbersome for the main manor and dumped them here. The books Miyabi was holding fell into that category. They were old editions that the baron's great-grandfather used. Since his time, easier training methods had been developed. The baron himself didn't use those. However, Miyabi didn't know that, and if she knew, she wouldn't care. So long as she reached her goal, she didn't mind using the harder way.

***

When she came back to the bedroom she woke up too, the sight that greeted her was that of the wet nurse changing the babies' diapers. The twin she was working on was babbling happily, his small hands extending and his feet dancing. He sounded happy.

Coming closer, she saw that the second twin had his eyes opened but was silent. It appeared that his diapers had already been changed. Those infants really looked like dolls, Miyabi couldn't resist wanting to hold him. She put down her books and did just that.

The wet nurse finally realized that she wasn't alone anymore and explained that she didn't dare fed them outside today for Miyabi had previously asked it to be here.

Miyabi glanced at the two babies one to the other and frowned, ordering the other woman,

"Change his clothes."

What's with giving them the exact same outfit to wear, how was she supposed to recognize who was who. For her, they looked completely alike, okay!

The woman, without question, she did as bid. She looked like she was in a hurry as she did so, her expression stiff, no longer smiling as she was previously. Done, she put the child back in his crib, "I'll go fetch Ela to look after them"

"No need, I'll be alright."

Once outside the bedroom, Maine breathed a sigh of relief, before speeding to talk to Ela. It didn't matter if Ela was amusing herself by betting how long the woman was going to keep her newfound facade, they had to come up with something to enter the room. Who knew how long that person would be patient with the twins.

Oh why, why did these cute children had the misfortune of having a mother like her.

*** 

Miyabi who knew none of Maine's ideas, looked at the baby in her arms with a bit of longing. The child had turned his face towards her breast and appeared to want to suck through her clothes. It was a bit funny. Look at those eyes, look at this tiny nose and tiny mouth. Such cute hands trying to pinch her clothes. He started to blabber, saliva running down his mouth and Miyabi couldn't help but smile. How can anyone not like this child? Right, this instant she wished she could hide them away, those two. On his own, the other child was continuing his story and when Miyabi peeked, the child turned towards her, saliva drooling down his cheek. Taking a supple handkerchief from the drawer, she wiped their mouths and finally set the baby she was holding back in his crib.

Enthusiast now, her mood lifted, she pulled one of the poufs that were near the bed and sat between the two cribs. They were so well-behaved. She opened her first book and started reading aloud. It didn't matter that they couldn't understand her so long as they could hear.

Ignoring the glaring black on her fingernails, she read.

That first book didn't really help, it was more focused on the origins of the magic rather than how to wield it but she read on. It was more detailed than the game's prologue and had more insight into the entities called fairies.

While she was reading she would sometimes take a look at the children. When satiated, they were really angels. Neither cried or fussed at all and by the time she was at one-third of the book, they were already sleeping.

Aya, children really slept a lot, didn't they? She leaned on their cribs to look carefully, thinking back to her old life. Despite her mother's wishes, she had never really thought of children before. In her couple, it was always a topic for later. In the beginning, they were just waiting a bit for their career to stabilize but there was never a good time for the child to be born and maybe it was for the best that they didn’t drag a child into a divorced family with workaholic parents. 

But maybe, it wouldn't have been terrible. Maybe, she could have managed just fine. After all, she had always been more patient and tolerant of children. She doubted she would have kept on with her hectic schedule after she had a child. She would have made time for him. Or maybe she was just consoling herself?... To what end, anyway, she was dead. No turning back. No more work to do, no more blind dates to suffer through, no more meeting with her friends, no more talking to her parents...

Hot tears slowly fell down her cheek and Miyabi furiously wiped them. Ah, how did she become morose again, wasn't she trying to see the bright side of it all? She forcefully pushed the negative thoughts and returned to her books.

She should stop with the tears, she rebuked herself. What was so bad about being here? There was magic. Magic! She just has to master it.

And maybe, she would even learn how to go back one day.

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Betrayal Chapter 6: Friendship

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Even if the odds were against her, Shun Shufen was taking her task seriously, no matter what others expectations about that task may be. She noted down the symptoms of the prince, wrote the disease that happened to have those symptoms and then she tried to check with the books in her father's library which disease she should erase from the list. At first, she thought it would have been easy to cross and certainly, the only one that would be left in the list would be what ailed the prince. Who knew that after spending from morning until the night, she was still left with seven different illnesses that matched the prince's state and each illness had a different treatment. With things as they were, how could she proceed?

Coming home to learn that his daughter didn't eat or rest since morning, stubbornly trying to find the answer in his books, physician Shun sighed and had her come out to eat with him. Who knew that the little girl who usually was chatty asking this and that about his day and then hers would this time be uncharacteristically silent, eating her plate as though she couldn't finish it quicker, almost choking herself. In the fastest speed, she was finished and returned back to his library. The old man could only sigh. Well, maybe that task would teach her about patience.

When night came and she was still reading those books, her father personally came to close them and shooed her to her room. Shufen reluctantly slept, dreaming that she found the right illness for the prince.

***

The day that followed was the start of her official function as the prince's physician. The little child mimicked her father. The man laughed a bit, opening his back for her to see its content. She noted down every medical tool it had and proceed to fill her small bag the same way. 

She was still an apprentice, so she couldn't have other apprentices hold her bag as her father had, but she wouldn't have wanted it anyway. The small child was all smile while carrying her bag, walking ahead of her father, even ushering him to walk faster, as she almost ran her way to the carriage that was parked to bring them to the palace. Physician Shun had a happy smile on his face as he obliged, making the servants smile at the sight of their masters almost running to catch up with his little girl.

Although Shufen was young, she was still a girl and the prince was a boy. For propriety sake, her father arranged two servants-girls to follow her around her rounds in the palace. Hua and Jiu. They were both around the same age, sixteen. These past few days, they had gone through intense training to adapt to the etiquettes of the palace, at the time, physician Shun simply wanted these girls to be with his daughter when he would go on his rounds in the palace but now that Shufen had been selected to attend to the prince, he couldn't be more glad of his foresight.

So, father and daughter went different ways after entering the palace. The chief physician going to his apprentices while Shufen went in the direction of the cold palace.

Along the way, no matter what the girls did to help their mistress carry her bag, the little girl was unwilling, so they could only sigh and resignedly followed behind their mistress, who herself was following behind a palace's servant. It took a long time, but once they reached, Shufen reluctantly passed her bag to Hua for the little girl still wanted to look professional and in her mind, her father wasn't the one holding his medicinal bag when meetings his patients.

Concubine Han and her servant received them with a strained smile. One still had to remember that the emperor gave her son to a child-physician to treat back to health. What kind of joke was this? However, she wasn't in a position to refuse. She could only clench her hands and cursed in her heart.

The concubine's anger was perfectly reasonable but that she didn't try to mask it more annoyed the two servants accompanying Shufen. What would this concubine have their mistress do? Defy imperial orders? If the woman had the power, then she should directly go and complain to the emperor instead! But these all were still battle of hearts and not a word had been uttered.

The prince who in the beginning wouldn't utter a word, after a couple of days, took the initiative to talk to her,

"Will you be able to cure this prince?"

His voice had been feeble and Shufen had to strain her ears to hear him. If she had to be honest, she really didn't know, but those words, her father had said that one shouldn't utter them casually.

"This subject will try her best."

He gave a wry smile, apparently not believing her and turned his head to the side.

Although her father wasn't given permission to enter concubine's Han's quarters, it didn't mean Shufen couldn't describe the symptoms to him. These days they had discussed it a bit, not as much as physician Shun would have wanted for three days after assigning the prince to his daughter, the emperor had the chief physician leave the capital to go east, to his brother, Prince Li's manor, whose child was said to be ill. So, although father and daughter were communicating, the interval of waits between one letter to the other took at best three days and when it rained and the roads were unpraticable, it could even extend to a week. Between asking some questions and details on certain things, the little girl had also confided in her bafflement, wondering with her dad why a prince was treated so. Why was a royal concubine only with one servant, even she, had more servants and she wasn't anywhere near part of the royal family! Her father had rebuked her for asking these in letters and also said that he would explain more when she grew up and for now, she should wait for his return for any other question like that.

Besides her father, she also tried to ask other people on their expertise. The other elder physicians didn't want to give her the time of the day when she had a question and it was pointless to ask the younger generations. If they weren't giving her the cold shoulders they were trying to bully her. 

Just what was ailing the eleventh prince? Although she was slowly treating the appearing symptoms and he appeared better, she knew it was far from enough.

The prince was called Da Zhihao and was the twelfth prince. Since the emperor had yet to bestow an honorary name upon him, he was called twelfth prince for the time being. As he started slowly regaining his strength, the prince smiled quite a lot and him who previously was indifferent upon seeing Shufn started smiling widely each time she entered his room to treat him. So happy was he actually that he directly expressed it,

"You are this prince luck bringer, do you want to be friends?"

Maybe it was because he had been in the cold palace since he was a child of mere months, but there was very little bearing of a prince in him. Apart from the fact that he called himself by 'this prince' then he was exactly like the children in the medicinal hall, displaying his joy, anger, disappointment, every emotion was easy to read.

Since her father had warned her repeatedly, Shufen had tried to talk as less as possible to him, only opening her mouth to ask about his current state, or if he was hurting where exactly. But now that the other party had openly asked for her friendship, how was she to decline tactfully?

He was fast to continue, "there are so few people coming, won't you accompany this prince more?"

Remembering the shabby entrance and how this vast courtyard had only three people leaving in it, Shufen swallowed back the polite refusal at the tip of her tongue and instead, encouragingly said, to lift back the mood of the other person who seemed to have grown morose,"As long as you don’t disdain this subject for being a girl, her friendship will always follow you.”

The prince smiled and answered, “En, friends then”

And so, Shufen started to prolong her stay and actually started coming, instead of every two days, she was entering the palace every day.

They would talk about the books Shufen read and she would bring him some since he didn't have access to them here.

One day, he asked of her to describe for him how was the life outside this courtyard, the life outside the palace and listening to her, he would seem to daydream then and his longing face sometimes made Shufen wondered if she could somehow sneak him outside and let him see the world for himself.

***

Shufen was an oddity in the palace and although the first month went by without any incident, the start of the second him since the prince had been assigned to her, she met with one of the princesses. To say that it was a coincidence would have been false, instead, the other person deliberately waited for her at one point in the road going to concubine Han's cold palace.

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