Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 187: Can’t I Even Say I’m Hungry?

"Guards! Take her to the dungeons!"

At Luo Fubang’s command, guards entered and moved to seize Song Lianhe.

"Hold on!"

Song Lianhe took a step forward and looked Luo Fubang straight in the eye. "I just want to ask one thing: who actually calls the shots in this family? You haven’t even tried to verify her claims. How do you know Nanny Gui is telling the truth?"

Nanny Gui sneered. "Why would I lie to the master?"

"Because Cheng Xidian is your adopted daughter, because Cheng Xidian has a crush on my husband, and because you want to use your daughter to solidify your own position!"

"Pure nonsense!!"

Song Lianhe ignored her and continued, "You’re nothing more than a wet nurse. To put it nicely, you rendered my husband the service of raising him. But in truth, any woman with milk can be a mother—it didn’t have to be you! You know this perfectly well. So, to ensure you can continue living comfortably in the Luo Family, you naturally need an extra layer of insurance! That’s why you turned your attention to your adopted daughter. If she could marry the Young Master and become the Young Master’s Wife, you would be the biggest beneficiary! You’d be both the Young Master’s wet nurse and the Young Master’s Wife’s godmother! You would be second only to one person and above tens of thousands!"

"You... you..."

"Let’s be even more treasonous. What if you have an illegitimate son? After Old Man Luo passes on, the Young Master will become the Warlord. Then you’ll be able to have whatever you want! And if you were vicious enough, you could poison the Young Master in secret. Cheng Xidian is no match for your schemes, so wouldn’t Sui Ning City fall right into your hands? Then you’d pass it on to your illegitimate son... Tsk, tsk. I’m afraid Sui Ning City would have a new name and a new master."

Nanny Gui was so angry she clutched her chest, her face livid. "You—you’re just spouting nonsense... This is slander! You’re sowing discord!"

Song Lianhe said with a straight face, "It’s all true. This isn’t slander! These rumors have been circulating all over Ling’an for ages. You don’t live in Ling’an, so how would you know it isn’t true?"

At this, Luo Fubang slowly raised his eyes to look at her.

"You still claim this isn’t slander? Let’s not even get into whether it’s true or false. How would people in Ling’an know about the affairs of our Sui Ning City? And to say the rumors are ’all over the place’..."

It was only then that Nanny Gui began to sense something was amiss. Her expression shifted.

As it turned out, Song Lianhe laughed brightly. "That’s right, I made it all up. I just invented the whole story a moment ago. But if I were to stick to my story and refuse to admit it, let me ask you, Nanny Gui—short of killing yourself to prove your integrity, how could you possibly prove that what I said isn’t true?"

"You can talk until the sky falls, but you’re just trying to cover up your own disgraceful acts!"

"And how do we know you aren’t relentlessly targeting me just to secure a better future for your adopted daughter? Oh, wait, I forgot. It must be for Nanny Gui’s long-lost... il-le-gi-ti-mate... son."

Nanny Gui was Zhou Cangyan’s wet nurse and the head steward of this hall!

She had once vowed to never marry in order to repay the Luo Family’s kindness, a pledge that won her widespread praise and an extremely high status in Sui Ning City. Other than the master himself, who didn’t treat her with the utmost respect upon seeing her?

’But this Song Lianhe... she actually dared... dared to spread such a crude and unspeakable rumor!’

"You’ve sullied my name! I’ll have your life for this today!"

Song Lianhe laughed. "Oh? So the nanny is angry now? Is it because your own reputation was tarnished? But when you slander others, you don’t so much as blink, spouting baseless accusations without a second thought. It’s a good thing it’s me you’re dealing with today. I won’t indulge someone like you who rests on their laurels and throws their seniority around. What if you had targeted someone more sensitive and thin-skinned? Unable to defend herself, wouldn’t she have already bashed her head against a pillar and died right here? And even then, Nanny, you’d probably just say, ’See? She had a guilty conscience...’"

Nanny Gui was so enraged she could barely stand. Her eyes were practically shooting fire, and she looked as if she wanted to rip Song Lianhe to shreds with her bare hands!

"As for me, I grew up in Ling’an. I’m not from Sui Bei, so I’m not familiar with the rules here. However, I have read a few classic texts. I understand the principle of appointing people based on their merits, not their connections."

These words were a direct slap in Luo Fubang’s face.

Song Lianhe wasn’t trying to guilt-trip him; from her two interactions with Nanny Gui, she could see that the woman was narrow-minded and short-sighted.

’She refused to believe Luo Fubang couldn’t see it himself!’

’Nanny Gui was only acting so high and mighty because she was taking advantage of the Luo Family’s lack of a mistress.’

’To the Luo men, grandfather and grandson, as long as she didn’t commit any major taboos, they would just turn a blind eye to her womanly little schemes.’

’But her mistake was provoking me!’

Nanny Gui suddenly dropped to her knees. "Master~! Did you hear her? She’s trying to drive me to my death! I vowed to remain unmarried for life, but she... she’s talking about an illegitimate son... If such a rumor spreads, how will I ever have the face to go on living?"

Luo Fubang kept his gaze lowered, an expression he had held for a while now. He seemed to be listening to their argument, yet at the same time, not listening at all.

"How amusing. If a middle-aged woman like you can’t bear to live, what am I supposed to do? I’m in the prime of my youth, and you’ve humiliated me like this."

"Song Lianhe, you—"

Song Lianhe ignored her, turning to Luo Fubang with a hard tone. "And you, Old Man Luo! I show you respect only because you are my husband’s grandfather. But I, Song Lianhe, am no fool. My respect has to be earned! If you’re going to be unreasonable and just play favorites, then I see no reason to acknowledge you as his grandfather at all. It’s not as if I don’t have powerful family of my own. My Marquis Lin is a man of unimpeachable integrity!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

With a glance at Nanny Gui, she sneered, "Hah. Those kinds of shady characters and monsters couldn’t even get near him, let alone deceive him! Not like certain people who are easily swayed, have no mind of their own, and just like to gloss over problems!"

Luo Fubang, who had been maintaining the unfathomable calm of a meditating monk, instantly lost his composure. Her few words had him jumping to his feet in anger. "Make yourself clear! Who are you calling easily swayed? Who has no mind of their own?!"

"I’m talking about whoever answers."

Song Lianhe turned on her heel. "I’m hungry. I’m going to find something to eat."

"Stay right there—"

Song Lianhe stopped, took a deep breath, then spun around with her hands on her hips. Her eyes went wide, like a fierce little doe.

"What? It’s one thing to falsely accuse me, but are you going to starve me to death too?"

"..."

’At his age, and as the Warlord of Sui Bei, how could someone dare to yell at him like this?!’

"You people dragged me here! I was unconscious in a carriage for five days, and the moment I wake up, I’m interrogated like a criminal without even a sip of water! Is it wrong for me to say I’m hungry? Even criminals on death row get a final meal!!"

"..."

Luo Fubang was so angry he could only glare at her, speechless. But Song Lianhe wasn’t afraid, and she glared right back!

Luo Fubang suddenly spun around, flinging his sleeves. "Go, go, go! Get out of here!"

"Master!"

Nanny Gui stood frozen. ’He’s just letting her go?!’

Song Lianhe turned in a huff. After a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder and yelled, "So where’s the food?!"

Luo Fubang, equally exasperated, shot back, "Go find a maid! You won’t starve to death!"