Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 214: There’s Something You Might Not Know

Chapter 214: Chapter 214: There’s Something You Might Not Know

It was like witnessing a miracle. Before the expectant eyes of the crowd, Song Lianhe personally planted the sweet potato seedling.

In truth, sweet potatoes were very resilient and not difficult to care for. They just needed to be fertilized and watered as Song Lianhe had taught.

All that was left was to wait.

Meanwhile, after Zhong Shimin returned, he had already learned of the deal between Song Lianhe and Kui Lang.

After Song Lianhe returned to her room from the former flower garden—now a vegetable patch—Da Mei quickly brought her a basin of water to wash her hands.

"...The horses of Wu Qi Country are strong and well-fed, invincible on the battlefield! Back then, when Emperor Cheng Xiao, Zhou Yang, was able to achieve a decisive victory and ascend the throne, the Wu Qi warhorses were indispensable."

Song Lianhe looked up at the man standing outside her window and said, "Exactly! We’re talking about two hundred warhorses! How could we just let that Fengming Gang snatch them away for free!"

"Your method isn’t entirely unworkable. It’s just..." The man raised his eyes, his gaze utterly indifferent. "There’s something you probably don’t know."

"What is it?"

"The leader of the Fengming Gang, Kong Yu, is immune to all poisons."

Song Lianhe froze for a moment, a vague sense of foreboding creeping over her. "S-So what does that mean?"

"It means he’s not a fool. He’ll know the one who can provide the antidote is the one who administered the poison. It’s a simple principle. And he’s an extremely vengeful person. If he finds you, I’m afraid he’ll kill you to vent his anger, even if it means forgoing the antidote."

Song Lianhe swayed, quickly grabbing a pillar to steady herself.

"That... that impulsive a personality?"

She asked hurriedly, "Then what do we do now? Can we still stop our caravan?"

Zhong Shimin, still with his arms crossed, maintained a leisurely and carefree posture. "Since they set out yesterday morning... hmm, by this hour, the poison has likely already spread throughout the Fengming Gang."

Song Lianhe’s voice changed. "You mean... the ones seeking revenge should be on their way?"

Zhong Shimin nodded.

Seeing how calm he remained, Song Lianhe immediately pushed the door open, went outside, and walked around to face him. "If you fought him... who’s stronger?"

Zhong Shimin looked down at her. "It would end in mutual destruction."

’The implication of those words was clear: either he stands by and does nothing, or they both die.’ Song Lianhe’s confidence vanished.

’No matter how much I fear death, I’ll never trade someone else’s life for my own!’

’Don’t panic,’ she told herself. ’We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Worrying is useless.’

Staring at her pale, frightened face, Zhong Shimin’s lips curled into a smirk. He stopped teasing her and subconsciously raised a hand to pat her head. "Don’t worry, I won’t let you die."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Song Lianhe immediately followed. "Didn’t you say it would end in mutual destruction? What are you going to do?"

"On the Genosa River, he is undoubtedly the Overlord. But off the Genosa River, that’s another story." He added, "One-on-one might lead to mutual destruction, but what about all of Tiger Beak?"

His words were a sudden revelation!

Song Lianhe understood at once.

"You’re going to gang up on him!"

Zhong Shimin stopped and slowly looked back. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No, no!" Song Lianhe waved her hands frantically. "That’s exactly how you should deal with villains!"

Zhong Shimin looked away and continued walking. "At least, you did one thing right?"

"Which was?"

"Forcing him off the Genosa River."

"What do you mean?"

Zhong Shimin said, "Caravans frequently meet with disaster on the Genosa River, which is extremely detrimental to trade among the Three Kingdoms. The Young Master has wanted to eliminate the Fengming Gang for a long time, but outsiders simply can’t penetrate the core of the Genosa River region. On top of that, Kong Yu is cunning by nature. We’ve set several traps for him, but he’s always managed to escape."

Song Lianhe was confused. "Then why don’t the Three Kingdoms join forces? If they teamed up, their chances of success would be huge!"

Zhong Shimin stopped and turned to face her. "Legend has it that the Fengming Gang possesses a countless treasure, a fortune that could rival that of any one of the Three Kingdoms."

"So... they all want it for themselves? But... none of them have the ability to take it alone! So until one of them does, they all just stand by and do nothing! Which just benefits the Fengming Gang!"

’It’s a vicious cycle!’

’In the end, it’s all because of selfishness and greed.’

Zhong Shimin’s lips curled. "However, I’m quite surprised the Young Master agreed to let you take the initiative."

"What do you mean? Doesn’t Mr. Luo want the Fengming Gang’s treasure?"

"Possessing wealth that could rival a nation’s is naturally a good thing, but what would follow is the other two kingdoms joining forces against us. Once Da Cheng finds out, how could they let it go? With Da Cheng in the front, and Wu Qi and Nanchen at the back, we would become a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others, before we could even enjoy our newfound fortune."

The color drained from Song Lianhe’s face. "Then... d-didn’t I just make things worse?"

’But why didn’t Old Man Luo tell me any of this?!’

Sensing her confusion, Zhong Shimin said, "But how much better is Sui Bei’s current situation? The Young Master must have thought it through and decided to take the initiative and risk it all."

He paused. "Perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?"

’Perhaps this was the Young Master’s decision.’

But he didn’t say it aloud. Instead, he asked, "Have you seen Chun Hua recently?"

His question jogged Song Lianhe’s memory. "Oh, that’s right."

She hadn’t seen her since giving her the Blood Jade.

Zhong Shimin pressed his lips together, then said slowly, "Kong Yu will come for you within the next two days."

Song Lianhe immediately rubbed her arms. "Could you not say it in such a creepy way? It’s like a death countdown... Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! I am going to live a long and happy life, thank you very much!"

He said, "The sweet potatoes are in the mansion. We can’t let him get inside the Prince Mansion. We have to lure him out. He’ll be more likely to let his guard down that way."

"S-So I’m the bait?"

He nodded. "We’ll have to trouble the Young Madam, then."

Zhong Shimin rarely addressed her this way. Coming from him, those two words held not a shred of respect, but sounded more like... teasing? Sarcasm?

’In any case, he’s never once treated me like a proper Young Madam!’

’But in the face of life and death, such things are trivial!’

Right now, Song Lianhe was focused on whether they could take down Kong Yu. That was the most important thing!

She asked cautiously, "Are you... confident?"

"I don’t believe anything in this world is foolproof."

Song Lianhe: "..."

’I’m doomed.’

He glanced at her, his expression gradually softening. "But we are all staking our lives on this."

Song Lianhe stared at him, stunned.

He averted his gaze, turned, and walked away. "Nothing will happen to you."

Watching his retreating back, a warmth spread through Song Lianhe’s heart.

’Who would have thought? He’s cold on the outside but warm on the inside.’

Soon, she slapped her cheeks, forcing herself to rally!

’There’s a tough fight ahead in the next two days. I need to go back to my room and mix up some more self-defense poisons. "Immune to all poisons" is a relative term. Maybe the one hundred and first poison will work! I refuse to believe it won’t!’

’See that?’

’This is how a career woman is forged!’

Her fighting spirit rekindled, Song Lianhe was once again like a proud rooster, always ready for a fight!