Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 256: This Woman’s Conduct is Frivolous
Zhou Cangyan stood before the window, hands clasped, and watched her expressionlessly. "When have I ever used my status as a Prince to oppress you?"
"When? Hah!" Song Lianhe was getting agitated now. She put her hands on her hips and paced back and forth. "When *haven’t* you? You were the one who requested an imperial decree for our marriage without a word to me, weren’t you? You were the one who had me taken to Sui Ning City without a word, too, right? And then, you were the one who was going to abandon me in Sui Ning City all by myself, weren’t you?!"
She stopped, marched over to him, and jutted her chin out, hands still on her hips. "If you weren’t a Prince, just some commoner, would you dare do any of this?"
’He’s clearly enjoying the perks of his status but refuses to admit it?’
’What a phony.’
The man stared at her and suddenly spoke. "I would."
"You..."
"Even if I weren’t a Prince, no one would dare stop me from doing what I want."
"..."
Song Lianhe pressed her lips together and took a deep breath.
’Fine, fine, fine. You’re the villain, so you’re always right.’
She took a few steps back and said, "Fine. Let’s talk about Zhou Junlin and Song Xilan, then. What are your plans? Aren’t we leaving this place yet?"
She was worried about her maternal grandparents and wanted to leave here as soon as possible.
The man looked at her, as if trying to discern how much of her eagerness to leave was genuine.
"We leave at dawn the day after tomorrow," he said.
"The day after tomorrow?" She frowned.
’That’s still a bit late.’
But to him, her undisguised reaction looked like pure reluctance to leave.
The corner of his lip curled, and he let out a barely audible chuckle.
Song Lianhe thought she must have misheard. When she looked up at him again, he was back to his usual cold, unapproachable demeanor.
"But why is Zhou Junlin here? Shouldn’t he be in Yu State? Emperor Cheng Xiao is gravely ill. He should have rushed back to the Imperial Palace the moment he received the decree. What’s he doing sightseeing with Song Xilan? Isn’t he afraid his opponents in the Court will impeach him? And also, he..."
"Enough."
The man cut her off with a sudden, cold voice.
Song Lianhe flinched, looking at him in confusion.
Meeting her stunned gaze, Zhou Cangyan suppressed the strange fire rising in his heart and said in a frigid tone, "You’re so concerned about his affairs. Why don’t you go ask him yourself?"
With that, he pushed the door open and walked straight out.
"It’s not that I’m asking..."
Song Lianhe stood stunned in the room, her expression impossible to describe.
’I was just doing a normal analysis of the plot. How did I manage to piss him off again?’
’Don’t you main characters ever consider the feelings of the side characters?’
After Zhou Cangyan left, Xuan Mei vaulted in through the window. "The area is crawling with Prince Ling’s spies."
"Sigh, I figured as much." She turned and looked at Xuan Mei in confusion. "Shouldn’t he be rushing back to the Imperial Palace? Why is he at Li Zong Pass? Could it be... he’s discovered Zhou Cangyan’s identity?"
Xuan Mei shook her head. "He’s here to investigate a case."
"What case?"
She racked her brain. There was no investigation plotline in the original novel; the male and female leads never even appeared here!
"E Xianwang, the Governor of Li Zong Pass, was found dead last night in a carriage outside the city with his wife’s younger sister. All the gold, silver, and valuables in the carriage were stolen."
Song Lianhe immediately picked up on a few key words. "With his wife’s younger sister? Was it... an elopement?"
As the master of a city, a Governor is absolutely forbidden from abandoning his post. To be carrying all those things, he must have been eloping. Unfortunately, they ran into robbers and were plundered.
But even for a Governor, it wouldn’t be worth Zhou Junlin coming all this way himself, unless...
"He was carrying something else important!"
Xuan Mei nodded.
’Based on my past life’s experience from binge-watching dramas and reading novels, could it be...’
She and Xuan Mei said in unison: "The Defense Map!"
Song Lianhe’s mind sharpened. ’Of course it’s the Defense Map, that old plot device!’
"He left Li Zong Pass with the Defense Map... That’s... treason!"
"Last night, the Master was, in fact, investigating this very matter."
Song Lianhe froze and looked at Xuan Mei. Seeing her staring straight ahead, she realized she’d been overthinking things.
’Why would Xuan Mei intentionally be explaining where Zhou Cangyan was last night?’
Song Lianhe said, "If even Zhou Junlin is here, this must be a major issue."
"Correct."
"In that case, does this mean we have to wait until they find the Defense Map before we can leave?"
’I don’t care how they fight, but it can’t delay my return to Ling’an!’
Song Lianhe’s face was clouded with worry. Seeing her silence, Xuan Mei glanced at her, paused for a moment, and said, "Marquis Xuan Chang and his wife are both safe and sound."
Song Lianhe was shocked and snapped her head toward her.
Xuan Mei said calmly, "Young Madam’s motive for wanting to rush back to Ling’an City is very easy to guess."
"So... Zhou Cangyan knows too?"
"The Master has known from the very beginning."
Song Lianhe slumped into a seat, deflated. ’If he knew, why didn’t he just tell me earlier? Did he have to watch me run around like a panicked badger in a field?’
"Why do I get the feeling that I can never escape the palm of his hand, no matter what I do?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
’It’s like the Five Finger Mountain that trapped the Monkey King. No matter how happily you hop around on top, in the end, you’ll still be crushed so thoroughly you can never get up again.’
The look Xuan Mei gave her held a rare trace of sympathy, as if to say: ’You’ve finally figured it out.’
「In a private room at the other end of the hallway.」
Zhou Junlin sat at a desk, his eyes slightly downcast, his expression shifting and uncertain.
"...From what your subordinate could see, she and that man are indeed intimate. Furthermore, the woman’s behavior is frivolous and her speech is vulgar. Although she bears some resemblance to Song Lianhe, your subordinate can conclude that they are absolutely not the same person. This woman is even more annoying than that Song Lianhe."
He didn’t understand why the Prince would connect this woman with Song Lianhe.
Clearly, the man seated above had not heard the latter part of his report.
"Intimate behavior..."
The man lifted the teacup to his lips, only to realize the tea had long gone cold.
He set the cup down, his dark eyes lifting slightly. "Did you see it with your own eyes?"
"Er..."
Gu Ha wasn’t sure if the Prince was asking what he thought he was asking. He answered with some difficulty, "I did not."
"Then it isn’t so."
Zhou Junlin stood up and walked before him. "Since when," he said, word by word, "do you dare to fool me with such unverified matters?"
Gu Ha’s heart went cold, and he immediately dropped to his knees. "Your subordinate knows his mistake!"
Zhou Junlin appeared impassive, but Gu Ha could feel the Prince’s towering rage.
Zhou Junlin waved his hand, and Gu Ha rose and retreated.
He walked slowly to the window, his fingers twisting the leaves of a potted plant on the table.
’Intimate behavior...’
His fingers suddenly tightened, and the innocent leaf was decapitated from its stem.
Just then, the attendant’s solicitous voice drifted in from the hallway. "Madam, are you heading out?"
"I’ll have to trouble you to clean my room, Xiao Er. This is for you."
"Aiya! Thank you for the tip, Madam!"
By the time Zhou Junlin realized what he was doing, he had already pushed the door open.
Song Lianhe looked at the man standing in the corridor, her beautiful eyes narrowing. Without a word, she turned to leave with a flick of her sleeve.
But just as she was about to descend the stairs, her way was blocked.
Song Lianhe lifted her chin. With her face caked in heavy, garish makeup, she asked frostily, "What is the meaning of this, young master?"
"I merely wish to ask, what is your relationship with that man?"
Song Lianhe’s heart skipped a beat. ’Is he suspicious of Zhou Cangyan?’
She immediately looked at him defensively. "What does that have to do with you, young master?"
Zhou Junlin leaned forward, backing her against the edge of the staircase. From her angle, she could just see the firm line of his jaw. His cold, dark eyes stared at her intently as he slowly uttered a single word: "Curious."
