Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 196: She Must Help Him

「Sui Ning City, Prince Si Mansion.」

"Thank you, Lord Witch Doctor, thank you so much..."

Song Lianhe waved her hand. "The heavens are merciful. There’s no need for thanks. You may leave now."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Soon, another person came in. "Lord Witch Doctor, please save my son!"

"What are his symptoms? Tell me about them."

Outside, Zhong Shimin leaned against a stone pillar, cradling his sword. The eyes visible above his mask held a deceptively nonchalant gaze.

"Leader, this is a message from Yu State, by carrier pigeon."

His subordinate presented the letter.

Zhong Shimin took it and unfolded it, his eyes scanning the contents. Then, he casually crushed the paper between his fingertips until it was nothing but shreds.

"Let’s go. Time to pay a visit to our Lord Thousand Commander."

Not long after he and his men left, a slender figure appeared outside the door. She gathered her courage to knock several times, but always stopped short.

"Well, well, if it isn’t the traitor who betrayed the Lord Witch Doctor!"

"Da Xi, you nearly caused a disaster for the Lord Witch Doctor, and you still have the nerve to come looking for her?"

"That’s right! Shameless!"

Da Xi’s face went pale. She bit her lip and retorted stubbornly, "Who I’m here to see is none of your concern. Mind your own business!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Before her stood the two maids Song Lianhe had previously punished for bullying her.

In a world governed by the law of the jungle, there was no dignity, only power and submission. Ever since Song Lianhe had publicly demonstrated her "witchcraft," these two had been serving her hand and foot. It was inevitable that they would greet Da Xi with scorn and ridicule.

"We are indebted to the Lord Witch Doctor. Her business is our business!"

"That’s right! A traitor like you thinks you can see the Lord Witch Doctor? Get lost!"

"Scram!"

But at that moment, the door opened.

Song Lianhe stood just inside, watching the two maids shove the slender girl. She raised an eyebrow. "Da Tao, Da Mei, you two may go for now."

The two revered her as a deity. They answered respectfully and withdrew.

Da Xi’s face slowly flushed red. She stood rooted to the spot, looking incredibly awkward. "I... I made some pear tonic." She took out the bamboo tube she had been holding protectively behind her back and, after a moment’s hesitation, thrust it into Song Lianhe’s hands and tried to leave.

"Stop."

Song Lianhe stopped her, glanced down at the bamboo tube, and slowly walked over. She circled the girl once. "Are you doing this to ease your own conscience?"

Da Xi turned her head away, avoiding her gaze.

’Song Lianhe wasn’t a petty person. She knew the girl had tried to approach her several times.’

She picked up the bamboo tube, pulled out the stopper, and took a drink.

"Hmm... Not bad."

Da Xi slowly turned her gaze back, glanced up at her for a moment, then immediately lowered her head again.

A smile touched Song Lianhe’s lips. "Alright, you’re forgiven."

Da Xi froze, thinking she must have misheard. She looked up at her in disbelief.

Sipping the pear tonic, Song Lianhe added, "Oh, by the way, I still need someone to grind herbs..."

"I can do it!"

Da Xi eagerly accepted. Keeping her head down, she entered the room, saw Hui Yimeng at one side, and immediately sat down to help grind herbs.

Song Lianhe smiled, leaning against the doorframe as she watched her.

Embarrassed, Da Xi ducked her head even lower.

Da Xi was deft and quick. In a short while, she had de-thorned the herbs, ground them up, and sorted them properly.

Seeing how familiar she seemed with the herbs, Song Lianhe couldn’t help but ask, "You know about these herbs?"

"I used to help my older sister."

"Your sister? Suya? She knows medicine?"

Da Xi nodded. "When the Young Master was injured, my sister was the one who treated him."

"Ohh..."

Song Lianhe responded faintly, unable to stop the thought from surfacing. ’So they’re childhood sweethearts who knew each other before he was anyone important.’

’This Suya must be Zhou Cangyan’s ’white moonlight’.’

’Heh. Men.’

’No matter how devoted or in love they are later on, there’s always an unforgettable ’white moonlight’ tucked away in their hearts.’

"The herbs are all ground. Is there anything else I can do?"

Da Xi still looked a little awkward.

Song Lianhe’s eyes glinted. She walked up with a wide smile, linked her arm with Da Xi’s, and began leading her outside. "Then you can keep me company for a walk."

"Huh? But..."

"But nothing! If anything happens, Leader Zhong will take care of it. What’s there to be afraid of?"

’As the saying goes, it helps to have friends in high places. With a powerful protector like Zhong Shimin around, it would be a waste not to take advantage of it, right?’

Song Lianhe had already explored the entire Prince Si Mansion in the past two days. Perhaps because she had saved Cheng Xidian, Luo Fubang hadn’t made things difficult for her anymore, seemingly turning a blind eye.

Now, Song Lianhe just wanted to go for a walk outside and see the place where Zhou Cangyan grew up.

Da Xi followed her nervously. "Things are different now. The city is full of refugees. It’s better to be careful."

"I know, I know~"

Having been captured and locked up in this place for so long, Song Lianhe was finally getting a chance to stretch her legs. Even the air she breathed felt fresh.

Da Xi often went into the city to make purchases, so she led them down a shortcut, and soon the marketplace came into view.

But what she saw along the way silenced Song Lianhe.

"As you can see, these are all refugees who fled from Yu State." Da Xi looked at the refugees huddled in the alley and sighed. "There was a severe drought in Sui Bei this year, and the harvest was drastically reduced. We can barely take care of ourselves, so any help we can offer them is just a drop in the bucket. These are the refugees who were let into the city a while ago. As for the many who couldn’t get in, they can only resign themselves to their fate."

"Miss... please be kind, give my child something to eat~"

A woman holding a child of two or three painfully extended a hand toward Song Lianhe.

Just as Song Lianhe was about to reach for her purse, Da Xi stopped her.

She gestured to their surroundings. Only then did Song Lianhe notice that all the sallow-faced, emaciated refugees were staring at her, their eyes filled with an urgent, reckless desperation...

"Giving alms here is no different from throwing a sheep to a pack of wolves."

Song Lianhe silently lowered her hand.

"The Warlord may have ordered that anyone who disturbs the city’s order will be executed without pardon, but when people are about to starve to death, who’s really going to care about such commands?"

As the two walked out of the deep alley, Song Lianhe’s heart remained heavy.

She couldn’t forget the child in the woman’s arms, its big, dark eyes staring right at her...

Ultimately, Song Lianhe couldn’t bear her guilty conscience. She walked up to a stall selling steamed buns. "Vendor, I’ll take all of these."

"You got it!"

The vendor was very happy.

Grain was scarce in the city now, and prices had skyrocketed. According to Da Xi, they were more than three times what they used to be.

Song Lianhe didn’t have enough silver on her, so she looked at Da Xi...

"I... I don’t have any silver..."

Da Xi’s gaze was shifty.

Song Lianhe said nothing, just stared at her and blinked.

"I told you, I don’t have any!"

A moment later, Song Lianhe stood with Da Xi a short distance away, watching the vendor and his assistant carry a basket of steamed buns into the alley.

"Ah! Give them to me! Give them to me! Quick!"

"Give them to me!!"

Before long, the vendor and his assistant came scrambling out, their clothes torn to shreds, looking utterly wretched.

Meanwhile, the refugees in the alley were still fighting over the buns like wild animals, some even coming to blows.

On the way back, Song Lianhe couldn’t lift her spirits at all, her mind replaying the scenes she had just witnessed.

The plot of the original novel had mentioned this: war in Yu State, drought in Sui Bei, and countless refugees dying in battle or from starvation.

Back then, reading about it hadn’t left much of an impression; it was like reading a distant historical account. But to experience it firsthand... the shock was indescribable.

But to help them, she had to solve the problem at its root: grain.

There were only two ways to obtain grain: one, grow it; two, buy it.

Therefore, the pressing questions were: how to grow it? And how to buy it?

Her Medical Clinic was now thriving, raking in money hand over fist. As for silver, Song Lianhe wasn’t short on it, so she could procure grain immediately.

But that was just a stopgap measure. The most important thing was to become self-sufficient.

Spring planting was still more than half a year away, and the harvest would take another full year after that. Sui Bei had fifty thousand troops, and Zhou Cangyan was bound to launch his rebellion during that time...

Song Lianhe stopped dead in her tracks, startling Da Xi.

’No. I have to help him!’