Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 244: The Madam Cannot Live Without Me
After the meal, Zhou Cangyan helped Song Lianhe upstairs to rest.
The moment the door closed, Song Lianhe immediately jumped away from him. "Let’s be frank, Your Highness. You don’t need to sacrifice this much, do you?"
Zhou Cangyan indolently flicked his sleeves, walked to the table and sat down, glanced at the teapot, and then looked up at her.
Song Lianhe immediately took the hint. She hurried over to pour him some tea, then respectfully presented it to him.
"Your Highness, please."
"Good girl."
He took the cup, had a sip, and set it down before suddenly asking, "Can you make the sounds?"
"S-sounds?"
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a cool, pale glow on the man’s skin. Though he was bathed in light, he exuded not a trace of gentle warmth.
His pale eyes stared at her unblinkingly. "The kind you make when a man and a woman are intimate."
Song Lianhe’s face instantly flushed red.
"Do we really have to be so thorough about this?!"
’If I’d known we had to be this convincing, I would have pushed for a simpler cover story! I would’ve even accepted Zhou Cangyan pretending to be my father!’
Seeing her mix of shyness and resistance, Zhou Cangyan lowered his gaze and spoke unhurriedly. "Or perhaps I’ve misunderstood. The Princess Consort actually wants to... turn this act into reality?" Ignoring her shock, he let a small smile play on his lips. "In that case, I suppose I could reluctantly oblige..."
Song Lianhe’s expression sharpened, and she immediately adopted a serious tone. "What kind would Your Highness prefer? High-pitched? Reserved? Or maybe something with explosive power? Or perhaps suppressed and repressed, with some sobbing thrown in? You name it, Your Highness!"
’For a young woman, she’s utterly shameless,’ he thought. ’To speak so frankly about such intimate matters without even blushing! If I wasn’t certain that night in the ruined temple was her first, I’d almost suspect she was an expert in these things.’
Zhou Cangyan stood up. "I like it when a woman whimpers for mercy."
Then, he pushed the door open and left.
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
’So that’s his kink!’
Song Lianhe shook her head in disdain.
But then, as if recalling something, her expression faltered for a moment.
’I like it when a woman whimpers for mercy...’
A sudden chill ran down Song Lianhe’s spine.
’How is that possible?!’
Zhou Cangyan was gone the entire day.
As he had requested, Song Lianhe would occasionally make a few whimpering noises in the room to provide him with cover.
At first, she was quite self-conscious, but she eventually let go of her inhibitions, occasionally throwing in a few flirtatious remarks to make it sound as if they were both in the room together.
The day passed without incident. At first, she thought Zhou Cangyan was just overreacting, but when she suddenly pulled the door open to get some fresh air, she looked up to see two or three suspicious-looking people in the hallway.
Judging by their expressions, they weren’t your average eavesdroppers. Their eyes darted about as they pretended to be passing by or sweeping the floors.
Song Lianhe calmly closed the door.
"Sister Mei! Looks like we’re really being watched!"
"As the gateway to Da Cheng, this place attracts all sorts of characters. But do you know who you’ll find the most of?" Xuan Mei said, standing by the window with her sword in her arms, peering at the situation outside through a crack.
"Uh, merchants?"
Xuan Mei glanced back at her. "Spies."
Song Lianhe’s expression grew grim.
Spies. Also known as secret agents and informants for the government.
"Once you enter the city, you’ll be watched, no matter who you are. I imagine our master has his reasons for being so high-profile."
"So, where did your master disappear to all day?"
"The master has important business to attend to. Young Madam needn’t worry. It is enough to know that he is safe."
Song Lianhe was long used to Xuan Mei’s formal replies. She waved a hand dismissively. "Can you stop calling me ’Young Madam’? We’re not in Sui Ning City anymore."
Xuan Mei nodded. "Since we have entered the pass, it is indeed correct to switch to ’Princess Consort’."
Song Lianhe: "..."
’Sigh. She used to be such an adorable girl. How did she become so stuffy!’
「Zhou Cangyan returned late that night.」
He slipped in through the window, and as he turned, his eyes met those of Chun Hua, who was standing on the table.
Chun Hua tilted its head, looking at him with one talon still raised mid-step.
It looked a little surprised.
’Strange,’ he thought, ’that I can actually read emotion on a peregrine falcon.’
Zhou Cangyan’s gaze was icy, but Chun Hua was practically dying of curiosity. It looked at him, then tilted its head to look at the soundly sleeping woman, then back at him, then back at the woman, then...
SMACK.
The man smacked it on the head, grabbed it by the wings, pushed open the window, and tossed it out before shutting the window again.
The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless.
THUD.
Something landed on the ground, making a muffled sound.
In the locust tree outside the inn, Xuan Mei slowly opened her eyes, glanced at Chun Hua scrambling up from the ground, then closed them again.
Chun Hua raised its head and let out a long series of "COO-ROO COO-ROO" calls toward a certain window on the second floor. Though it was impossible to know what it was saying, it was surely cursing up a storm.
"Mmm~ Ah... You rascal, slow down..."
Just then, a woman’s coquettish voice drifted out.
The rather old bed began to CREAK and SQUEAK incessantly.
Chun Hua instantly perked up, craning its neck and pressing itself flat against the wall.
Xuan Mei, her eyes still closed, took a deep breath, plucked a leaf, and flicked it out with a SWISH.
Startled, Chun Hua took off with a flutter of wings and flew away.
"Ah... what was that noise?"
"Just some bird... Ignore it..."
On the second floor, inside the guest room, Song Lianhe was having a dream.
In the dream, she had returned to her own world. She was lying in her rented apartment, reading a novel.
She was both the dreamer and an observer, sharing the eyes of her dream-self, her gaze able to capture every single word she was reading—
Sitting in the largest tavern in Li Zong Pass, Zhou Cangyan appeared to be lost in thought. He toyed with the cup in his hand, his piercingly cold gaze suddenly wavering as he caught sight of someone.
She was a woman named Zhen Niang, and her every move carried some of Song Xilan’s charm. This was especially true when she smiled gently; the resemblance was striking... In order to protect Zhen Niang, Zhou Cangyan took a sword to the gut, even though he had long known that Zhen Niang belonged to Zhou Junlin.
Then, the scene shifted. Zhou Cangyan was leaning against a wall outside the tavern, one hand clamped to his left side where blood had already soaked through his robes.
Just then, a tearful Zhen Niang came forward, professing how moved she was, looking for all the world as if she were about to offer herself to him in return.
The man, as handsome as a figure in a painting, sat there as if he felt no pain, a handkerchief clutched in his hand.
It was Song Xilan’s.
Only when he saw the bloodstains on the handkerchief did his expression begin to darken.
Suddenly, as if sensing he was being watched from across a void, he snapped his head up. His gaze locked precisely onto Song Lianhe’s, his eyes flashing with a sinister, bone-deep chill...
Song Lianhe let out a frightened cry and shot upright in bed. She was drenched in sweat, her heart still pounding furiously.
"A nightmare?"
The sudden voice in the room made her jump again.
"Zhou Cangyan?"
Seeing it was him, Song Lianhe breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"
"Your room?"
The man rose and stepped out of the shadows. He slowly ambled to the bedside, braced his hands on the edge of the frame, and leaned in low. "Has my lady forgotten? You can’t be without me. I am, after all... supposed to attend to you day and night. Therefore, this ought to be *our* room."
