Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 153: Who the Hell Is the Son of a Bitch?
The imperial guards who had been knocked down immediately scrambled to their feet. After a furtive glance at Cao Jin, they all retreated in an orderly manner.
"My girl, come, let your grandfather have a look..." Upon seeing Song Lianhe, all the ferocity from when he’d kicked the guard vanished from Lin Yuanzhong. Tears streamed down his weathered cheeks. "You’ve grown up, a fine young woman now... Good, so good! If your mother could see you, she would be overjoyed..."
"Grand... Grandfather..."
Looking at the old man before her, Song Lianhe couldn’t help but think of her own grandfather.
The old man who had spent his life deep in the mountains, dedicating most of it to traditional Chinese medicine.
"Yes! Yes!"
Lin Yuanzhong affirmed, wiping endlessly at his tears.
He glanced up and only then noticed the man standing behind Song Lianhe.
His brow furrowed at once. "Prince Qing?"
Zhou Cangyan immediately offered a salute. "Greetings, Marquis Lin."
Lin Yuanzhong said nothing, but his sharp gaze swept over the prince, sizing him up from head to toe.
The tall, cold-faced man didn’t flinch, openly allowing the scrutiny.
"Holy Emperor!"
Lin Yuanzhong suddenly raised his voice. He stood his ground, tilting his head back to glare at the man on the high platform. "Forgive this subject’s ignorance, but I am at a loss as to what crime my precious granddaughter has committed that she must be thrown into the dungeons!"
"Er, well..."
To be honest, Emperor Cheng Xiao was terrified of Marquis Xuan Chang. As a young man on a military campaign with the Marquis, he had violated military regulations and received several dozen solid lashes in public from the Old Marquis himself!
To this day, the memory alone was enough to make the old wounds ache.
Marquis Xuan Chang was famously upright and incorruptible. He showed deference to no one, be they emperor, general, or common street vendor; he lived by the principle of justice alone.
But every man has a weakness, and Lin Yuanzhong was no exception. His sole vulnerability was his granddaughter. If anyone dared to lay a hand on her, he would fight them to the death without a second thought.
Emperor Cheng Xiao was filled with regret. He had only intended to frighten Song Lianhe, not truly harm her. Who could have imagined that Marquis Lin would suddenly appear!
Now he’d been caught red-handed. He wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this one, even if his body were covered in mouths.
"Er, well..."
Just then, Fang Xiu silently returned to stand behind Chun De.
Chun De lowered her gaze, turned to Emperor Cheng Xiao, and said, "Holy Emperor, your consort is weary. I shall take my leave first."
Emperor Cheng Xiao’s face fell. He wanted her to stay and help him deal with Lin Yuanzhong, but after having repeatedly told her to return to her palace, he was too proud to ask her to remain.
"Holy Emperor!"
Lin Yuanzhong boomed, "I must ask the Holy Emperor to enlighten this old subject! My granddaughter has always been a timid child. What crime could she have possibly committed to warrant mobilizing the imperial guard and being thrown into the dungeons?"
"This..."
Emperor Cheng Xiao looked to Lu Shunfu for help. The eunuch quickly stepped in, "Marquis Lin, you have rushed all the way back to the Capital City. You must be exhausted from your travels. Perhaps..."
Lin Yuanzhong sneered. "I am speaking with the Holy Emperor! What business is it of a eunuch like you?"
"..."
Publicly rebuffed, Lu Shunfu’s face turned grim, but he didn’t dare voice his anger.
This was Marquis Lin, a man who had helped the previous emperor secure the throne. He was someone who had been close enough to the late Emperor to get drunk and share a bed with him!
Never mind a mere court eunuch; was there anyone the Marquis hadn’t cursed out before? Even the Holy Emperor himself had to yield to him somewhat.
So, even after being insulted, Lu Shunfu had to force a smile.
"Holy Emperor, this old subject has only one treasure left in this world. If she has been wronged in any way, I will gladly risk being sliced to ribbons myself to tear the son of a bitch who bullied my darling granddaughter limb from limb!"
Hearing Lin Yuanzhong’s bold and fiercely protective declaration, Song Lianhe’s eyes immediately reddened.
Her own grandfather and Lin Yuanzhong had very different personalities—one was boisterous, the other reserved—but their hearts, so determined to protect her, were one and the same.
In that instant, she pictured her grandfather’s tall, thin frame as he stood before the family of a deceased patient, allowing them to curse and humiliate him, his back so hunched he seemed to age in a moment...
Song Lianhe suddenly burst into tears.
Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow and immediately glanced over at her. But before he could say a word, Lin Yuanzhong had already pulled her close, his hands gripping her shoulders and his eyes red with alarm. "Sweetheart, were you wronged? Did someone bully you? Tell your grandfather, quick! Which bastard was it? I’ll bleed him dry!"
Emperor Cheng Xiao’s temples throbbed violently. Lu Shunfu rushed forward to help him to his seat.
"Grandfather..."
Song Lianhe looked up, her vision blurred by tears. But the feeling of having found her rock, her champion, made her smile. "I’m just so happy to see you."
She was being completely honest, but in Lin Yuanzhong’s eyes, for his granddaughter to show such restraint meant she must have suffered a terrible injustice!
He ground his teeth with an audible GRIND. Unable to bear it for another second, he snatched the sword from the belt of a nearby imperial guard!
"Was it that brat, Zhou Ziyin?"
He was still unaware of the recent events in Ling’an City, so he naturally assumed this all had something to do with Prince Ling.
"He betrayed you, didn’t he? Your grandfather will go drag him here right now!"
"Ah, Grandfather, no, no!"
Song Lianhe hurriedly held him back. "My engagement with him has been broken! The one I am engaged to now is Prince Qing..."
"Prince Qing?"
Lin Yuanzhong froze, his gaze falling upon Zhou Cangyan once more with a very peculiar expression.
Emperor Cheng Xiao’s brow knitted together as he hastily interjected, "This matter is a result of Our own lack of foresight. After all, Cheng Hong and Ziyin were childhood sweethearts. Their bond, built over so many years, is profound..."
Song Lianhe couldn’t hold back and immediately retorted, "Holy Emperor, I have told you many times that I truly do not like Prince Ling anymore! I want nothing to do with him! How can you possibly speak of a ’profound bond’?"
Stealing a few glances at the Emperor, she added in a low voice, "You’re the one who keeps insisting on pushing us back together..."
Zhou Cangyan gazed at her, pressing his lips together as their corners curled into an irrepressible smile.
"What? You’re saying you..."
Lin Yuanzhong stood there, stunned.
The Emperor was deeply embarrassed. To save his master’s face, Lu Shunfu quickly chimed in, "County Princess, you misspeak. Your adoration for Prince Ling is known to everyone within the Imperial City and beyond. For you to suddenly declare your dislike for him will only lead people to assume you are throwing a childish tantrum. The Holy Emperor is acting for your own good. He wishes to fulfill your heart’s desire and prevent you from future regrets, which would only create another miserable couple. You should be thanking His Majesty for his grace!"
After hearing this, Emperor Cheng Xiao shot Song Lianhe a look, as if to say she truly didn’t know what was good for her.
’She had to hand it to him. When it came to twisting the truth, Eunuch Lu was truly in a class of his own!’
Lin Yuanzhong turned a deaf ear to all of this. He pulled Song Lianhe closer again. "My dear granddaughter, did you say... you don’t like Prince Ling anymore? Is that truly what you said?"
"It’s true!"
Song Lianhe said decisively, "I chased him for so many years, and he never liked me back. That proves we’re simply not meant to be! I’d have to be an idiot to keep pursuing him!"
"Hahaha! Wonderful! That’s wonderful!"
Lin Yuanzhong was so overjoyed he threw his head back and roared with laughter, as if releasing years of pent-up frustration in one go.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Prince Ling. On the contrary, he held the prince in high regard—except when it came to the matter with Song Lianhe.
You can’t force a melon off the vine and expect it to be sweet. As protective as he was of his own, he couldn’t exactly hold a sword to the boy’s throat and force him to comply, could he?
Unfortunately, Song Lianhe had been completely fixated on the prince, enduring endless scorn and ridicule for it. Each instance had been like a needle piercing the hearts of the Marquis and his wife.
But now, finally, the girl had come to her senses. For him, this was more satisfying than winning a dozen battles!
"A true daughter of the Lin family! We know when to hold on and when to let go!"
