Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 149: How Could the Holy Emperor Be Wrong?
"You don’t know yet, do you?"
Cao Ying was furious. "I have no idea what that Zhou Junlin and Consort Qi told the Holy Emperor, but he’s decided to uphold the marriage contract between you and Zhou Junlin! That means the day after tomorrow, you’ll still be married off to him! As for Prince Qing, he’s just supposed to marry Song Xilan! Since you’re both ’Miss Song,’ no one can say anything!"
"How can that be?" Song Lianhe asked in disbelief. "Didn’t the Holy Emperor already issue an edict? How can he go back on his word like this?!"
"County Princess, please watch what you say," Lady Cao hastily corrected her. "How could the Holy Emperor be at fault? It’s just... the imperial edict never actually specified *which* Miss Song."
As the Imperial Censor, Mr. Cao’s duties involved receiving official memorials, filing impeachments, and drafting court documents. He had noticed the peculiarity in the imperial edict long ago.
’Thinking about it now, how could this have been a simple oversight?’
’The Holy Emperor probably had other intentions all along, and Mrs. Liu’s blunder just happened to give him an excuse to "set things right."’
’As for Song Xilan, if she refused, Mrs. Liu would be prosecuted.’
’Clearly, this was forcing her to choose between becoming Princess Consort Ling and saving her mother.’
’On the surface, marrying Prince Qing would still make her a princess consort, but he had absolutely no chance of ever ascending the throne!’
’And Prince Ling? Everyone knew he was the prince Emperor Cheng Xiao favored most.’
His princess consort could one day become the Empress of Da Cheng!
’This meant Song Xilan’s path to becoming the empress was cut off. At the same time, with her mother’s family being so weak, Prince Qing couldn’t hope to use this marriage to bolster his own power!’
As she pieced it all together, a chill ran through Song Lianhe.
’Could it be that after all my efforts, the outcome is still set in stone?’
’If Zhou Cangyan marries Song Xilan, she has the female lead’s halo. It won’t be long before he falls in love with her! Then, that love will turn to hate, and his descent into villainy will continue...’
’The villain will still end up on his destined path.’
No!
Absolutely not!
’I worked so hard to "reform" him for so long! Why should the female lead get to reap all the rewards? Why does she get to do nothing, and still be the one to drive him down the path of villainy?’
"Lianhe," Cao Ying said, her expression serious, "let me ask you this: if you still want to marry Zhou Junlin, I’ll drop it. But if you don’t, my mother and I will back you to the very end!"
"I can’t!"
Song Lianhe refused without a second thought. "Sister Cao, I know you want to help, but I can’t drag you into this."
"Song Lianhe! I, Cao Ying, am not some coward who clings to life and fears death! How can I just stand by and do nothing when you’re in trouble?"
"But..."
Lady Cao took her hand and said softly, "My dear child, you don’t know how grateful our family is to you. I won’t say more, but as Ying’er said, just follow your heart. We will be your support!"
"Me too!"
Cao Ying’s expression was equally resolute. She had long considered Song Lianhe one of her own; there was no way she would let a friend of hers be bullied.
A warmth spread through Song Lianhe’s heart. She looked at them both and nodded slowly. "Lady Cao, Sister Cao... Cheng Hong will remember the kindness you’ve shown me today!"
She made this promise not as Song Lianhe, but as the County Princess.
Song Lianhe turned her head toward the palace gate. The two massive words for "Chongzheng Hall" on the edifice were sacred and inviolable.
She narrowed her eyes. "In that case, let’s go shake things up."
Inside Chongzheng Hall, lamps burned bright.
Outside, Zhou Cangyan was kneeling on the ground, clad only in a black inner tunic. The dark fabric was matted with blood, and his back was a crisscrossing mess of whip marks.
Lu Shunfu stood to the side, trying to persuade him with a pained expression. "Prince Qing, why must you suffer like this? Just go and admit your mistake to the Holy Emperor. He will be mindful of your bond as brothers and won’t truly hold this against you."
Zhou Cangyan’s hair was tied back, but a few strands had come loose during the punishment, occasionally stirring in the wind.
The man kept his back ramrod straight, his hands resting naturally before him. His light brown eyes revealed a constant, cool indifference.
"What wrong has Biwu committed?"
"Your Highness..."
Zhou Cangyan’s gaze was fixed on the imperial yellow, dragon-patterned door curtain behind Lu Shunfu.
Behind that curtain, Emperor Cheng Xiao’s face was dark, his eyes wide with fury as he roared, "You go ask him! Does he intend to defy an imperial edict?!"
"Holy Emperor!"
Chun De’s heart ached for the young man kneeling outside. She was about to plead for him again when Emperor Cheng Xiao cut her off with a roar. "Empress! You heard what he just said!"
"Holy Emperor, Biwu was merely acting on impulse..."
"He casts aside all propriety and ethics for a woman, and he thinks he’s in the right? Song Xingfeng is this dynasty’s National Guardian General! How can his wife be insulted so casually? I don’t know if he did this deliberately to establish his authority in the Court, or if he simply holds the laws of Da Cheng in contempt!"
"Holy Emperor! Biwu never had such intentions! He’s your own younger brother—can you not trust him?"
Emperor Cheng Xiao pointed to a stack of memorials on the table and raged, "This is Song Xingfeng’s petition for a formal inquiry! His wife was humiliated, he has completely lost face, and he almost lost the son he was finally blessed with in his old age! How do you expect him to marry off his daughter now? He is begging me to rescind my decree—am I supposed to break a loyal subject’s heart instead?"
"The whole affair started because of that Mrs. Liu! What fault is it of Biwu’s?"
"His fault lies in his arrogance and his utter disregard for the law!"
The argument inside could be heard clearly from the courtyard.
Emperor Cheng Xiao was deliberately letting Zhou Cangyan hear every word. Now that he had thoroughly offended the Song family, he could give up any hope of them marrying their daughter to him!
Besides, did he really think he, the Emperor, was unaware of Zhou Cangyan’s true intentions in marrying Song Lianhe?
In the imperial family, there are no fathers and sons, no brothers, no affection. Once someone is identified as a threat, all means will be employed to eliminate them.
After Zhou Cangyan surrendered his military authority, Emperor Cheng Xiao had originally intended to spare him and let him live out his days as an idle prince.
His mistake was wanting to marry Song Lianhe.
Compared to Song Xingfeng, the National Guardian General, the Old Marquis Lin Zhongyuan was the true powerhouse general for defending against foreign threats. The eighty thousand "Mystic Armor Masters" under his command were brave, battle-hardened, and strictly disciplined. They were the final line of defense for Da Cheng, a testament to their critical importance.
And because the Old Marquis had devoted his life to serving the nation and its people, never acting for personal gain, Emperor Cheng Xiao had no legitimate reason or excuse to reclaim those eighty thousand Mystic Armor Masters.
Even if he did, he would face the awkward predicament of having no one capable of leading them.
After all, not just anyone could command the Mystic Armor Masters.
Just yesterday, news had arrived that the Old Marquis had caught a chill and was in poor health. Consequently, the matter of the Mystic Armor Masters’ command was raised again. Assistant Minister Su Huaqing even submitted a memorial suggesting that since the Old Marquis was of advanced age, had always disliked factionalism, and only had one granddaughter, Song Lianhe, who didn’t even share his surname, it would be best to let the Old Marquis himself appoint his successor.
Absurd as the suggestion was, it reminded Emperor Cheng Xiao that Song Lianhe might be the key to where those eighty thousand Mystic Armor Masters ended up. That made it even more imperative that he not marry her to Prince Qing!
Zhou Cangyan had traded his military authority to Emperor Cheng Xiao in exchange for this marriage, a move that had, in truth, put the Emperor in a dilemma.
The man had surrendered his military power; if the Holy Emperor then refused his request to marry a woman, what would become of his imperial prestige?
But what if one could trade a mere fifty thousand border troops for control of the entire Mystic Armor Master division?
What a brilliant scheme Zhou Cangyan had cooked up!
Now, with this opportunity presented by the incident with Mrs. Liu, Emperor Cheng Xiao was naturally going to crush his ambitions once and for all.
That was why the Ministry of Justice had been stalling on releasing her.
But for all his careful calculations, he had failed to account for Song Lianhe. Who could have known she would suddenly lose her mind, provoke Zhou Junlin, and be dragged back to his estate?
For something like this to happen right after Zhou Cangyan received the marriage edict, Emperor Cheng Xiao owed him an explanation, both by reason and by custom.
The entire court was watching. If Emperor Cheng Xiao didn’t hold Prince Ling accountable, he would have to release Zhou Cangyan, and the incident could be written off as a private squabble among the younger generation. That way, he could also obscure the facts surrounding the marriage decree.
In short, Emperor Cheng Xiao would absolutely never marry Song Lianhe to Zhou Cangyan!
