Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 154: Let’s Just Forget About This Marriage
Overjoyed, Lin Yuanzhong turned back to Emperor Cheng Xiao and said, "Holy Emperor, my granddaughter is unwilling to marry Prince Ling. As I see it, we should just call off this marriage. Afterward, this old subject will be sure to prepare a grand gift for Prince Ling."
Emperor Cheng Xiao, still seated, almost choked with rage.
"Marquis Lin, this matter..."
"The matter is settled!" Lin Yuanzhong declared with a grand wave of his hand, immediately dropping to one knee. "This old subject thanks you for your profound grace!"
Seeing the Emperor’s stifled expression, Song Lianhe felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction!
She followed his lead, dropping to her knees with a thud. "Holy Emperor, you are truly a brilliant sovereign! This humble daughter thanks the Holy Emperor!"
With that, she promptly performed three full kowtows.
The smile playing on Zhou Cangyan’s lips deepened.
Cao Ying and her mother, who had retreated to one side, could only watch the scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Years ago, Lin Yuanzhong had chased Cao Yuexue from the Imperial Study Room all the way to East Yang Gate, pointing at his nose and scolding him the entire way. Cao Yuexue had returned home and promptly fallen ill from pure rage.
One could only imagine that Marquis Lin’s confrontational power was beyond compare. Thanks to his old friendship with the previous emperor, the current Holy Emperor couldn’t reprimand him even if he wanted to!
Among all the civil and military officials of the court, only Marquis Lin could behave in such a manner.
It was fortunate he had arrived in time; otherwise, today’s events would have been truly difficult to resolve.
Watching the grandfather and granddaughter pair thank him so profusely, Emperor Cheng Xiao’s expression turned grim. He clutched his chest, so enraged he couldn’t utter a single word.
Lu Shunfu hurriedly said, "Holy Emperor, you must take care of your imperial health! Allow this old servant to help you inside to rest."
"Oh, right!" Lin Yuanzhong boomed. "Holy Emperor, you should go inside. Don’t worry about me. I’ll take my granddaughter home in a moment."
Lin Yuanzhong had no sons, so he had raised his daughter as if she were one. He treated his maternal granddaughter as his own flesh and blood—like a direct granddaughter, or even a grandson. He had promised long ago that everything in the Marquis Mansion would one day be hers. If not for the fact that Song Xingfeng was still alive, which meant he couldn’t go too far, he would have made Song Lianhe change her surname to Lin in a heartbeat!
Emperor Cheng Xiao truly couldn’t bear to look at the pair for another second. He simply raised a finger and pointed at Zhou Cangyan. Lu Shunfu instantly understood the gesture and shot a look at Cao Jin, signaling him to take the man away.
Cao Jin gave an expressionless nod, then turned and stepped forward. "Forgive the offense."
Zhou Cangyan glanced at him and held out his arms.
Cao Jin seemed to roll his eyes before raising a hand to summon two guards. They flanked Zhou Cangyan, carefully supported him, and led him away.
Seeing this, Song Lianhe immediately grabbed Lin Yuanzhong’s arm. "Grandfather," she said urgently, "you can’t let them take him away!"
"Oh?" Lin Yuanzhong glanced over and asked nonchalantly, "That’s a matter for the Royal Family. It has nothing to do with us. My girl, you’d best not get involved."
"No, that’s not it..." Desperate to save him, Song Lianhe blurted out, "He’s my future husband! He’s not an outsider. I can’t just abandon him!"
"Your future husband?" Lin Yuanzhong eyed her with suspicion. "You used to be head over heels for Zhou Ziyin, and now you’re saying Zhou Biwu is your betrothed... My girl, you’re not just using him to make that Zhou Ziyin whelp jealous, are you? If that’s the case, then let me advise you to drop the idea! You might not know this, but this Zhou Biwu..."
"Grandfather~" she whined. "What are you saying! Why would I do something so childish? Who does he think he is? You think he’s worth me risking my own reputation just to play hard to get?"
Lin Yuanzhong studied her for a long moment. "Tell your grandfather the truth," he said. "Are you really giving up? I’m not a big fan of Zhou Ziyin, but if he’s the one my girl truly likes, then I’ll have no objections! I’ll tie him up and drag him here myself, force him to complete the wedding vows with you!"
"Ugh, Grandfather! Why don’t you believe me? I’ve really turned over a new leaf!"
Song Lianhe rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Just then, Cao Ying and her mother approached. "Greetings, Marquis Lin."
"Ah, Lady Cao!"
Lin Yuanzhong treated her with great respect, especially since he had learned on the way here that Lady Cao had come to the palace with her daughter just to help Lianhe. This made him feel even more grateful.
"Lady Cao, for what you did today, I thank you."
To receive a "thank you" from Lin Yuanzhong was worth more than a mountain of gold and silver.
Lady Cao was flattered. "I am unworthy of such thanks. In truth, it is the County Princess who has done the Cao Family a great service. When we heard she was in trouble, we merely hoped to offer what little help we could."
"Oh?" Marquis Lin was quite surprised.
’When did Lianhe ever do them a favor?’
Just then, Cao Ying rushed forward to back Song Lianhe up. "Lord, every word Lianhe just said is true! She really doesn’t like Prince Ling anymore! It’s her and Prince Qing who are the real deal!"
Lady Cao quietly scolded her daughter for her lack of manners.
Song Lianhe spread her hands. "See? I wasn’t trying to trick you!"
"Prince Qing?" Lin Yuanzhong’s expression grew serious. He scrutinized his granddaughter, and after careful consideration, he asked, "My girl, are you certain it’s Prince Qing?"
Song Lianhe, not thinking too much about his tone, nodded. "Of course I’m sure. The Holy Emperor had actually already decreed our marriage. If that wife of Mrs. Liu’s cousin hadn’t come to my estate to cause a scene and tried to destroy my mother’s memorial tablet..."
"What did you just say?!"
After Lin Yuanzhong heard the whole story, he was instantly consumed by uncontrollable rage. With a loud CRACK, he split a nearby stone table with a single palm strike. "Song Xingfeng! You filthy bastard!"
"Grandfather, Grandfather, calm down!" Song Lianhe rushed to soothe the old man. "Zhou Cangyan already got revenge for me! He dragged Mrs. Liu to my mother’s grave and nearly took her life! But that’s also why the Holy Emperor..."
Lin Yuanzhong froze for a second, his eyes narrowing. Of course, he understood the intricate politics at play perfectly well.
"In any case, Grandfather, you have to save him. This matter had nothing to do with him. He was only implicated because of me."
Gritting his teeth, Lin Yuanzhong suddenly let out a cold sneer. "My dear granddaughter, you go on home. Leave the rest to me!"
From her grandfather’s furious, teeth-gritting expression, it was clear that someone was about to suffer.
Lin Yuanzhong then turned to Lady Cao. "I must trouble you, my lady."
Lady Cao nodded. "I will see the County Princess safely back to the Marquis Mansion."
"Thank you." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
「In the carriage on the way back.」
Cao Ying, sitting next to Song Lianhe, couldn’t help but sigh. "Prince Qing is so good to you! He took so many lashes but didn’t even knit his brow!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Cao said, "Prince Qing is a veteran of the battlefield who has faced life and death countless times. An injury like this is nothing to him. The man administering the corporal punishment, however... there was definitely something off about him."
’Even Lady Cao could see it, so there’s no way the Emperor missed it,’ Song Lianhe thought. ’And yet, he still insisted on punishing Zhou Cangyan. It seems he’s already wary of him.’
’Sigh... I wonder if Grandfather will be able to get him out.’
Seeing her worried expression, Cao Ying teased, "What’s wrong? Worried about him? Song Lianhe, when did you and Prince Qing... you know..."
"Don’t get the wrong idea! With Prince Qing, it’s a matter of repaying a debt of gratitude!"
"Hehe, are you repaying a debt of gratitude, or are you planning to repay him with yourself?"
Song Lianhe saw Cao Ying’s expression, which screamed, ’I’m totally shipping this couple,’ and couldn’t help but shake her head. ’Her thinking is still too shallow,’ she mused. ’She can only see things in terms of romance.’
’In the novel, Zhou Cangyan was a character who could go toe-to-toe with the male protagonist,’ she reflected. ’Now that I’ve done him this favor, he’ll surely remember it. In the future, when he goes on a rampage to build his power, he’ll at least take our past connection into account and won’t drag me down with him.’
