Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 27: They’ll Say I’m Having an Affair With You
Soon, they arrived at the Prince Qing Mansion.
Zhou Cangyan disembarked first. When the person inside didn’t move, he tapped impatiently on the carriage wall twice. "Get out."
Song Lianhe dawdled before finally pushing the door open and emerging. To be honest, Zhou Cangyan really knew how to live well. His carriage was incredibly stable—the most comfortable one Song Lianhe had ever ridden in! She had just started to feel drowsy when they arrived.
Zhou Cangyan rarely rode in carriages, and when he did, he was alone. His long legs made getting in and out easy, so he never needed a mounting stool. For Song Lianhe, however, it was a bit inconvenient. She instinctively lifted her skirts, about to jump down.
"Miss! Your dress, your dress!"
Shuang Ye frantically reminded her to put her skirts down.
Song Lianhe didn’t care in the slightest. "Don’t worry, I’m wearing something underneath!"
"Ah! Miss, what are you saying?!"
Shuang Ye was both anxious and exasperated. ’Listen to that! Is that something a highborn lady should say?’
Just as Zhou Cangyan turned back, he saw her about to leap from the carriage. The look in his normally cold and steady eyes changed in an instant. He strode forward, grabbed her by her slender waist, and lifted her down as if she were a child.
Before she could even get her footing, he scolded her. "Don’t you ever do something so dangerous again!"
’This is considered dangerous?’
Then again, recalling that little pebble she once tripped on, perhaps a height like this was indeed fraught with peril for her.
The Shadow Guards standing watch by the carriage took in their master’s every reaction.
’What happened to getting rid of both mother and child?’
’Does he not want to get rid of the child? Or is it the mother he’s sparing?’
"Miss!"
Shuang Ye rushed forward to support her, unable to hold back. "Prince Qing is right to scold you. You’re still injured, how could you do something so dangerous?"
"Yes, yes, you’re right. I should have just been carried in, carriage and all."
"Miss!"
"Just kidding. Heh."
Chao Junyu hurried over, walking obediently on her other side.
The boy periodically sized up the Prince Qing Mansion with a curious yet cautious gaze, his delicate brow slowly furrowing.
After Song Lianhe was settled in, Zhou Cangyan immediately sent someone to check on her injuries.
He had been on military campaigns for years and had suffered countless injuries, large and small, so he always kept a military physician by his side.
The military physician was an expert at treating external wounds. Song Lianhe lay prone on a couch, grimacing in pain at first, but she gritted her teeth and endured it. ’That Song Xingfeng really doesn’t hold back,’ she thought. ’I’ll remember this.’
After the military physician came out, he clasped his hands in a salute to the man standing in the corridor and reported, "Second Miss Song’s injuries are all superficial; they haven’t reached bone or sinew. It seems the National Guardian General was showing mercy."
’Mercy?’
Zhou Cangyan sneered.
Just then, the door behind him creaked open, and the military physician withdrew.
Shuang Ye helped Song Lianhe out. Her face was pale, and she was still draped in his black cloak.
As Shuang Ye helped her out, Zhou Cangyan glanced at her. "Why aren’t you resting inside? What are you doing out here?"
"Prince Qing, I’m just going to move in like this? Is that appropriate?" Noticing the coldness in his eyes, she quickly explained, "I’m not worried about my own reputation. It’s already what it is—there’s really no room for it to sink any lower. I’m mainly concerned about you, Prince Qing. After all, if you get involved with me..."
She trailed off, figuring he would understand.
But Zhou Cangyan just kept staring at her, his handsome features rigid. "And?"
"...Er, I’m afraid there will be rumors that are unfavorable to you."
"Oh?"
Song Lianhe froze.
’What’s with the "Oh?" Why are you looking so inquisitive? Did you not understand me?!’
She took a deep breath and smiled. "For example, they’ll say I’m a femme fatale, that one Prince Ling wasn’t enough, so now I’m involved with the great Prince Qing. Or they’ll say you and Prince Ling are at odds because of me—that perhaps you’ve been plotting this for a long time. Or maybe they’ll say you have... peculiar tastes. That you like taking other men’s women, especially your own nephew’s wife..."
’You said you didn’t understand, right?’
’Well, I’m here to educate you.’
Listening from the side, Shuang Ye’s face turned shades of red and pale. ’Can someone please shut my miss’s mouth!’
Zhou Cangyan’s expression, however, remained unchanged.
Only after Song Lianhe had rattled off a whole string of reasons in one breath did he slowly lower his gaze and nod. "I see."
He looked up, sizing her up. "A femme fatale... That does seem to fit."
