Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 139: What Did I Ever See in You?

Seeing this, Song Xingfeng couldn’t possibly let him take his daughter. He immediately stepped forward. "Prince Ling..."

"There is no need to say more, General!"

Zhou Junlin was also extremely frustrated, his face devoid of its usual cool elegance. With a dark expression, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

"Your Highness!"

A wave of panic hit Song Xilan. She rose, gathered her skirts, and hurried after him.

’I came to the Ministry of Justice to save my mother. Who knew things would turn out like this? Not only did I fail to rescue Mother, but now they’ve arrested Song Lianhe!’

’If this hadn’t blown up, there might have been a chance to turn things around. But now that Zhou Junlin and Song Lianhe have clashed, the very nature of this affair has changed completely.’

At that moment, Cao Jin lowered his gaze and said to Jing Ye, "Let’s go."

As he passed Zhen Yongming, he gave a slight bow. "Lord Zhen, I’ll take my leave."

Zhen Yongming cupped his hands in salute. "Commander Cao, I won’t see you out."

Everyone else was gone, leaving only Song Xingfeng. Of everyone present, he was arguably the most aggrieved. Suppressing his fury, he turned to look back at Zhen Yongming. "I will not let this matter rest!"

He then turned and strode away.

"They... they just left like that?" Jing Ye asked in disbelief.

"What else were they going to do? Raid the Ministry of Justice?" Zhen Yongming stroked his thin mustache and let out a dry, mirthless chuckle. "If anything, we ought to thank that County Princess."

After the uproar, Jing Ye reappeared at the Supervision Department.

"...And just like that, the County Princess was taken away by Prince Ling."

He reported the events as they had happened.

The man resting with his eyes closed suddenly snapped them open. A pair of utterly placid eyes were slowly consumed by a savage light.

After a long moment, an expression finally broke across the man’s face—a face that was at once as cold as ice and dazzlingly beautiful.

"She said... no one has her back?"

"Yes, that’s what the County Princess said."

Unlike the callow youth he appeared to be before others, the Jing Ye who stood before Zhou Cangyan now was composed and mature, his gaze firm.

Zhou Cangyan rose abruptly. "Tell Zhen Yongming that I have business to attend to and am leaving ahead of schedule."

Jing Ye cupped his fist. "Yes, sir."

"Zhou Junlin! If you’ve got the balls to arrest me, then have the balls to kill me!"

Song Lianhe was no stranger to the private prison in the Ling Prince Mansion. Not long after marrying Zhou Junlin, the original owner of her body had been sent here first, and then to the dungeon.

’I just never thought I’d be revisiting an old haunt.’

’I’m not the original owner, so while I don’t feel that much hatred, my emotions are still affected.’

She crossed her arms and sat cross-legged on a raised earthen platform in the corner. Despite the wound on her face and her bandaged, clumsy hands, her voice was full and strong as she started cursing. "Zhou Junlin, you don’t dare show your face because you know you’re in the wrong, don’t you? Heh, who would’ve thought? The great Prince Ling, famed for being a perfect gentleman, is actually a coward hiding in his shell! How about this big sister here makes a shell for you? I guarantee it’ll be warm in the winter and cool in the summer, not to mention portable and easy to carry! His Highness Prince Ling can wear it on his back wherever he goes. The second things don’t look right, WHOOSH! You can dive right inside and pretend you can’t hear a thing anyone says!"

Outside the cell, Gu Ha’s face darkened. His hand was on the hilt of his shortsword, and for a moment, he hesitated.

’To dare insult the Prince like this... in all of Ling’an City, she has to be the first!’

’Should I kill her?’

’No, that would only bring trouble for the Master.’

’After all, she’s a County Princess with a noble title. So even though the Master was angry and impulsively detained her, he was in a bind the moment they left the Ministry of Justice.’

’Where could he take her?’

’He couldn’t just take her directly to the Heavenly Prison, could he?’

Zhou Junlin was in an impossible position. Adding to that, Song Lianhe had been provoking and insulting him the entire way, so in a fit of rage, he had brought her back to his mansion.

Who would have thought that even here, she wouldn’t give it a rest!

Gu Ha glanced back at his master. Zhou Junlin was so furious that a cold aura radiated from him, and his eyes were murderous.

"Your Highness..."

Song Xilan started to say a few words of persuasion, but Zhou Junlin suddenly strode toward the cell. "Open the door!"

"Yes, sir."

The guard opened the door, and the cursing from within grew clearer.

"...You go on and get married, dote on Song Xilan like she’s the apple of your eye—who’s stopping you? But you’re wrong to try and save Mrs. Liu! She encouraged her confidants to humiliate my mother, then made sure there were no witnesses left to testify, thinking everything would be swept under the rug? She can keep dreaming! I’ll say it right here and now: Mrs. Liu crossed a line that I, as a daughter, cannot forgive. It’s her or me!! You want to save her? Fine! Then kill me—"

Song Xilan bit her lip, glaring into the cell with disgust.

’Song Lianhe is dead set on killing my mother!’

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Junlin’s steps slowed, and his brow gradually furrowed.

"Your Highness, don’t listen to her nonsense!"

Song Xilan spoke up at once, desperate to keep Zhou Junlin from being swayed by her.

"She has always been disrespectful to my mother! From the day Mother entered the mansion, she has treated her like a thorn in her side. No matter what we do, she finds a way to make us the villains! I just never imagined she would go so far as to want my mother dead!"

Song Xilan’s body trembled slightly. Though she looked fragile and delicate, the way she straightened her spine as if to face the challenge head-on was both heart-wrenching and captivating.

But as Zhou Junlin looked at her, he didn’t offer comfort as he usually would. He only said, "I understand."

He walked past her and into the cell.

Song Xilan froze, her vacant gaze fixed on the floor at her feet.

’It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was never like this!’

Inside the cell, Song Lianhe took a sip of water and resumed her tirade.

"I must have been blind to have ever fallen for you. Following you around, catering to your every whim..." Song Lianhe shuddered in disgust. "Tsk, tsk. Now that I think about it, I feel..."

"You feel what?"

The other voice, appearing suddenly in the cell, made her jump.

At some point, Zhou Junlin had appeared outside the cell, dressed in a white shirt. With his hands held behind his back and his eyes glinting with suppressed anger, he asked again, "You feel what?"

Song Lianhe wasn’t actually crazy, nor had she lost her mind.

Her goal in provoking Zhou Junlin was simply to foil Song Xingfeng and Song Xilan’s plans, which was why she had thrown a tantrum at the Ministry of Justice to muddy the waters.

’Now that I’ve been arrested, does Mrs. Liu still think she can get out?!’

’In her dreams!’

’But now she was on Zhou Junlin’s turf. Provoking him further would be suicidal.’

’The torture methods used in the Ling Prince Mansion’s dungeons in the original novel were still vivid in her memory.’

So, Song Lianhe was quick to back down. She turned her head away and refused to look at him.

Seeing her ignore him completely, Zhou Junlin grew even angrier. "Speak! Weren’t you having a grand time cursing me just a moment ago? I’m here now, right in front of you. Why have you gone silent?"

Song Lianhe just huffed and remained silent.

"I command you! Speak!"

Song Lianhe grew annoyed. She turned her head and snapped impatiently, "Say what? You heard it all already, didn’t you? You might have some masochistic desire to hear it again, but I’m not in the habit of repeating myself! In any case, my opinion of you..." She looked him up and down with disdain. "...is nothing special."

Her contempt, mixed with undisguised disdain, was a sharp blow to Zhou Junlin’s pride.

No one had ever dared to treat him this way!

And for that person to be Song Lianhe was absolutely unforgivable!