Abused Female Lead And Beautiful Villainess (Quick Transmigration)

“Is there truly no hope?”

He Xiyan had come to see Shen Wan several times, finding her barely breathing on the sickbed, without even the strength to lift her eyelids. He couldn’t help but ask Doctor Liu again.

Doctor Liu maintained a stern expression, trying hard to look distressed and helpless while feeling extremely bitter inside. Why wouldn’t the Princess Consort just “die” quickly instead of this slow “death”? It was torturing him.

“Your Highness, there’s really nothing we can do. Didn’t the Imperial Physician come earlier and was also at a loss?”

In truth, He Xiyan was just asking out of habit. Seeing Shen Wan’s condition, he didn’t think she could be saved. He asked instinctively, feeling somewhat conflicted since Shen Wan was losing her life because of him.

He approached the bedside, his voice unconsciously softening, “Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? If it’s within my power, this Prince can help you accomplish them.” In fact, Shen Wan’s death would be a relief to him. Her death would only benefit him, with no downsides.

He didn’t like Shen Wan, even despised her. The poison in Shi’er’s body was related to Shen Wan’s mother, so he could never tolerate her. Most importantly, she occupied the position by his side that should belong to Shi’er. So her death was for the best. If she had any last wishes he could fulfill, he was willing to help.

“No.”

This surprised He Xiyan. Given Shen Wan’s affection for him, he had thought she might make some unreasonable request at the end. But seeing her eyes closed, seemingly unwilling to speak, he hesitated for a moment before leaving. Shen Wan’s death was for the best; with her gone, no one could stand between him and Shi’er.

Two days later, the Princess Consort of Prince Yan passed away.

Her departure caused barely a ripple in the imperial city. In many people’s eyes, she had little presence to begin with.

The Emperor, however, was somewhat distressed upon hearing the news, his appetite diminished for several days. He Qingning saw this but dared not reveal the truth.

Her involvement in her brothers’ power struggles was already the Emperor’s greatest leniency. If she pushed further, she feared it might anger the Emperor to death.

She never intended to tell the Emperor about Shen Wan’s situation.

After He Qingning’s people brought Shen Wan out, she was directly housed in a mansion He Qingning had purchased in the imperial city. Her face had been disguised, though it still resembled her original appearance somewhat. However, those familiar with her would notice differences upon close inspection. Moreover, she was now called He Wan, one of He Qingning’s people—a cold, emotionless woman skilled in martial arts.

“Princess, I’m not that kind of person,” Shen Wan said, rubbing her stiff face once everyone else had left. “You can ask me to smile all day, no problem. But to not smile at all for an entire day? Isn’t that torturing me?”

“Acting aloof makes it harder to be discovered. There are still many who know you. If I have you pretend to be a cold woman, no one will suspect you’re the former Third Prince Consort. Remember, you’re now He Wan, my person. Your personality is icy, showing no emotion to anyone except me. Understand?”

Indifferent to everyone except the little princess?

Shen Wan pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded quickly, “Alright, since the Princess insists, I’ll give it a try.”

“It’s not just trying. You must succeed. From today on, I’ll let people know there’s someone called He Wan by my side. Don’t blow your cover, understand?”

“Okay, okay, I absolutely won’t blow my cover.”

He Qingning’s mood improved. “Quickly put away that expression. Give me a stern face.”

Shen Wan thought: The little princess’s tastes are quite heavy, actually liking to see her stern face.

Fine, if the little princess enjoys this kind of play, she’ll act it out. As long as she’s happy.

Shen Wan’s smile vanished, her face becoming serious, all liveliness disappearing from her eyes in an instant. Occasionally, a cold glint flashed through them, startling He Qingning.

She hadn’t expected Shen Wan to act so convincingly. Even she believed this was the real Shen Wan.

“Smile,” He Qingning ordered, unable to distinguish the act. The cold Shen Wan felt strangely unfamiliar.

Shen Wan immediately grinned, her familiar expression returning. He Qingning’s heart eased slightly. “Good, not bad. Practice more in the future. When others are around, you’re He Wan.”

“I understand. I can only smile in front of the Princess, right?” Shen Wan leaned on the table, smiling at He Qingning. “I’ll do as the Princess says. Now that I’m on your ship, there’s no turning back.”

“Right, you can only smile in front of me.”

And only listen to her.

He Qingning glanced at the pretty face close by, those lively eyes truly captivating. When Shen Wan obediently agreed, her heart skipped a beat for reasons unknown.

“I’ve had people settle Hong Zhu.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Shen Wan smiled gratefully. He Qingning averted her gaze from that fair face. “We’ll depart in three days. We may face many dangers along the way.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll protect you,” Shen Wan said, raising her small fist excitedly. “I, He Wan, cold and emotionless, incredibly strong, my mission is to protect the Princess.”

He Qingning chuckled, taking a sip of tea. “Protect yourself too. I hope we can reach the end together.” If at first she had valued Shen Wan’s skills and intelligence, wanting to bring this mysterious and capable woman into her camp, now she seemed to have some different, vague thoughts.

“Princess, give me a day. I have so many shops in the imperial city to arrange.”

“Go ahead.”

He Qingning recalled the list of shops she had received, silently calculating the daily number of people coming and going. Her lips trembled. Shen Wan was indeed formidable; saying she counted silver until her hands cramped was no exaggeration.

Meanwhile, in the prince’s mansion, Shen Shi was helping the steward inventory Shen Wan’s dowry. Seeing the empty boxes with only some rags left, her face turned green.

“Steward, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? Is this really my sister’s dowry?” Shen Shi couldn’t believe it. She had been eyeing Shen Wan’s dowry for a long time.

Shen Wan was the legitimate daughter of the General’s household. Both the General and his wife doted on her immensely. They had prepared a substantial dowry for her early on, and when the Emperor decreed the marriage, even more was added. It had made Shen Shi incredibly envious.

Now that Shen Wan was dead, she came as a sister to inventory her belongings, naturally intending to claim the dowry. She never imagined that so many boxes would contain only useless items.

“Second Miss Shen, these are indeed the Princess Consort’s dowry, without mistake. Since the Princess Consort entered the prince’s mansion, these things have been kept in an empty room in her courtyard, untouched by anyone.”

“What about Hong Zhu? I remember she was my sister’s personal maid. Could she have taken advantage of my sister’s passing to steal the dowry?” Shen Shi asked, unwilling to give up.

The steward shook his head. “I personally sent Hong Zhu away. She was crying bitterly and only took her own clothes. She didn’t touch a single coin or item belonging to the prince’s mansion.”

Shen Shi bit her lip. “I remember my sister had some shops under her name. Where are the account books?” Those shops were in excellent locations, with enviable monthly incomes.

The steward also remembered this and quickly found the account books.

Shen Shi hastily took them and began flipping through. When she saw records of the shops being sold to others, she nearly bit her teeth to pieces. Her left hand clenched tightly, nails digging into her palm. Her eyes turned red. That wastrel Shen Wan had actually sold off all the shops under her name.

Such prime locations, and she… she actually sold them!! If Father were still alive, he’d surely regret giving such excellent shops to Shen Wan.

Then, as she flipped to the back and saw the records of each expenditure, she almost tore the account book to shreds.

May 6th: Hearing of over a dozen young beggars living pitifully in a dilapidated temple, feeling compassionate, instructed Hong Zhu to sell some of the dowry, totaling 1,000 taels of silver, to renovate the temple and provide for the young beggars’ food, clothing, shelter, and transport, hoping to give them a good start.

May 13th: Heard of a widow and orphan who came to the imperial city seeking her husband, contracting severe colds on the journey. Upon reaching the city, they learned from her husband’s friend that he had died in an accident six months ago. The friend’s family was destitute and couldn’t help. Out of pity, again had Hong Zhu sell a small portion of the dowry to purchase a small house for the widow and orphan. The child being extremely intelligent and potentially talented, spent more silver to send him to an academy, paying for ten years of tuition.

May 20th…

Shen Shi finished reading all the account books, nearly coughing blood from anger. The steward, seeing Shen Shi’s unpredictable expression, was somewhat surprised. Second Miss Shen’s complexion didn’t look good at all. What exactly was written in those account books?

Shen Shi’s heart was screaming furiously. That Shen Wan was undoubtedly a spendthrift. Instead of doing anything useful, she had sold off all her dowry and shops to help those poor people. According to the accounts, by the time of Shen Wan’s death, there was truly nothing left.

Shen Wan, she really did it.

It was infuriating!!!

Shen Shi was still clever enough to send people to verify the events recorded in the account books. In the end, she found everything matched exactly with the records. The recently renovated dilapidated temple was real, as was the widow and orphan who had come to the imperial city seeking someone. The child was indeed intelligent and had already entered school, much favored by the academy’s teachers. She had even secretly inquired and confirmed that a mysterious person had indeed paid ten years of tuition for that child.

How aggravating.

He Xiyan inadvertently heard about this matter as well. Learning that Shen Wan had donated all her dowry, he was also quite surprised.

Seeing Shen Shi’s unhappy expression, he couldn’t help but ask the reason.

Shen Shi only lowered her head and said, “I never imagined sister was so kind, helping so many people, yet in the end had no good outcome herself. Your Highness, I’m just angry. Angry that sister didn’t take better care of herself.”

He Xiyan felt somewhat uncomfortable. How could the Princess Consort not have taken care of herself? It was because he drank that bowl of blood that her life was taken away. Otherwise, there was no explanation for how a perfectly healthy person could suddenly pass away.

……

“Little radishes!”

“Sister Wan Wan?”

Shen Wan hushed them, speaking softly, “Remember, from now on there’s no Sister Wan Wan, only Sister Wan Wan. You should know who I am, right?”

Looking at these children’s reddened eyes, they surely knew who she was and had probably cried for her.

“I’m about to do something big, but I still have important things in the imperial city. I’ll need your help to watch over them for me.”

“Sister Wan Wan, don’t worry. We’ll definitely keep a good eye on the shops you care about. We absolutely won’t let them lose money.”

“Sister Wan Wan loves counting silver the most. Every time we see you sitting in the temple counting silver, you’re always so happy. Seeing you happy makes us happy too.”

188: Pfft, his host’s silver-counting habit had truly left an impression on these children.

His host was really greedy. Even knowing she couldn’t take this money with her, she still couldn’t help being obsessed with it. He was truly curious where she had spent all that money. Surely she hadn’t raised some little spirit?

After settling matters, Shen Wan donned a bamboo hat and left under the reluctant gazes of the children.

She went to a certain cloth shop where a woman, upon seeing the token she produced, quickly invited her inside. Not long after, she emerged and went to many other places.

He Qingning was fully aware of Shen Wan’s movements. She truly didn’t understand how Shen Wan, hidden in the prince’s mansion’s back courtyard, had accomplished so much in such a short time. She must have gone out every night without sleeping, picking up people. And those she picked up weren’t fools; they had all been put to use. It was precisely because she knew these things that she had decided to bring Shen Wan onto her ship.

Having arranged everything, Shen Wan returned to He Qingning’s mansion.

She collapsed directly onto the bed. He Qingning, sitting nearby flipping through a book, said, “Boss Shen, you’ve been quite busy?”

“It’s alright. After all, it’s a business I’ve built up with my own sweat and tears. I have to take care of it even if it makes me cry,” Shen Wan said, lifting her eyelids. She had talked so much today that her mouth was parched.

He Qingning poured a cup of water and brought it over. “Get up and drink some water to moisten your throat.”

Shen Wan sat up like a carp flipping, cupping the glass with both hands and looking at He Qingning with eyes full of laughter. “Princess, you’re truly a considerate girl. Whoever marr… ahem! Whoever you marry in the future will surely be happy.”

Shen Wan thought: It will definitely be her!!!

If He Qingning dared to like any other little spirit, she’d punch that spirit’s head in!

“Rest well for a day. We leave the day after tomorrow,” He Qingning said, accustomed to Shen Wan’s flattery. Seeing her finish the water in one gulp, she simply brought over the teapot and refilled her cup.

Shen Wan drank several cups in a row until the teapot was empty. She still held out her cup expectantly.

He Qingning put the teapot aside, smiling, “You’ve gotten quite used to ordering me around.”

“It’s rare to drink tea personally poured by the Princess.”

He Qingning glanced at Shen Wan’s bulging stomach. “You’re full of water. Will you still eat later?”

“Yes.”

If the Princess would feed her, she’d be willing to eat until she burst.

He Qingning noticed that Shen Wan’s gaze towards her was becoming increasingly unrestrained. The meaning within made her somewhat flustered.

She put away her smile and patted Shen Wan’s face. “When we return to the palace later, put on a stern face.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Wan’s face became stern, the cold light in her eyes truly intimidating.

He Qingning brought Shen Wan back to the palace. Along the way, Shen Wan remained extremely serious. People passing by had already grown accustomed to the cold palace maid by the Princess’s side. They had heard she was a skilled fighter, and they all knew about the Princess’s impending travels. They didn’t mind; the Emperor doting on a princess was inconsequential to them.

Upon returning to He Qingning’s palace, He Qingning suddenly noticed something was off with Shen Wan. She quickly dismissed everyone before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“I drank too much water. I… I can’t hold it anymore!!”

He Qingning: “……”

188: “……” Image.