Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 321: That’s Right, Wailing at a Grave, Want to Join?
Xuan Mei leaned against a red pillar with her shortsword, her eyes closed in rest.
Da Xi walked over, carrying a tray with a late-night snack.
"No need to bring it in."
Xuan Mei said without even opening her eyes, "He’s probably not in the mood."
Da Xi was taken aback. "But the Prince is always in a good mood after seeing Princess Consort Ling! Especially after she recovered from the poisoning. It was like she finally saw how good our Prince is and became so gentle and considerate toward him. How could he be in a bad mood?"
Xuan Mei merely lifted a corner of her mouth into a smirk and said nothing more.
She wasn’t one to gossip, especially about her master.
Da Xi was about to ask more when the study door was suddenly pulled open, startling her. "Your Highness..."
Zhou Cangyan was indeed in a foul mood. His face was dark as he strode out of the room.
He had the air of someone looking for a fight.
"Don’t follow me."
Xuan Mei replied, "Yes, sir."
After he left, Da Xi remarked belatedly, "The Prince really is in a bad mood."
’Good thing I didn’t get on his bad side.’
Suddenly thinking of something, Da Xi turned to Xuan Mei and said, "I’m going to bring some food to Yingzi."
"He was incompetent. Let him starve," Xuan Mei said, but she still pulled a bottle of wound salve from her robes and gave it to Da Xi. "Just don’t let him die here."
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—
Late at night, the rhythmic sound of a pestle grinding in a mortar came from the room.
Song Lianhe sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by a pile of herbs, bottles, and jars. She forcefully pounded the herbs in the stone mortar, sweat trickling down her cheeks.
"You want to live happily ever after with her, is that it? Fine, I’ll grant you your wish!"
"You idiot, Zhou Cangyan! She’s the female lead! You’re destined to be sacrificed for her plot! I’m trying to save you! But you... you go and curse me out indirectly!"
"Fine, fine, fine, I’ll leave... I’ll just leave, okay?!"
She pounded and pounded until she angrily threw down the wooden pestle. "Zhou Cangyan, you bastard! Casting aside your loyal wife for someone new! So fickle!"
Outside, a man in black leaned against the door, his arms crossed.
His light brown eyes were slightly narrowed, and he idly toyed with a Willow Leaf Dart between his fingers.
Just then, a black shadow circled swiftly in the air before abruptly landing on his shoulder.
"ARGH!! Nobody gets to live! Everyone just die! AAAAAHHH!!"
Hearing the roar from inside the room, the gray falcon on the man’s shoulder shrank back.
The man tilted his head to look at its pathetic display and said coldly, "You’re actually afraid of her?"
Chun Hua’s eyes went wide as it stared at him, its gaze filled with deep doubt and a hint of mockery—
’Oh? As if *you’re* completely unfazed!’
Zhou Cangyan: "..."
Just then, footsteps sounded from the covered walkway.
Then, a guard came over, muttering and cursing, yawning from time to time. "Is anyone supposed to get any sleep around here?"
Reaching Song Lianhe’s door, he pounded on it forcefully. "Open up! Open the door! Get your ass out here!"
The person inside paid him no mind. "Aaargh! If I ever meddle in your business again, I’m a dog! The author wants to sacrifice you to the heavens, and I promise I’ll be there to toss flowers on your grave!"
"Crazy woman! Are you wailing at a funeral?! What are you screaming about in the middle of the night?! You may not be sleeping, but other people are! Get out here!!"
The door was suddenly pulled open.
The guard froze.
Song Lianhe stood there with dark circles under her eyes, staring at him without blinking.
In the dead of night, she was a truly terrifying sight.
The guard swallowed hard and said angrily, "You... don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you saved the Princess Consort..."
"Princess Consort? Heh heh... Princess Consort? Heh heh..."
Right now, those were the two words she hated hearing the most!
Ha! ’As if I’ve never been a Princess Consort myself!’
She just stared at the guard, walking toward him one step at a time.
"You... you crazy woman... don’t come any closer!"
Perhaps because she looked so frightening at that moment, the guard kept backing away.
"How did you know I was wailing at a funeral?" She stared at him intently and said in a haunting voice, "You’re right. I am. I’m mourning that scumbag..."
After speaking, she tilted her head, a mechanical smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Want to join me?"
"You- you... Don’t come near me! Ahh— You crazy woman, stay away!!"
The guard screamed in terror and scrambled away, stumbling as he ran.
Song Lianhe’s smile vanished. A contemptuous smirk played on her lips as she slammed the door shut with a BANG.
In the garden, Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly and lowered his gaze slightly. Chun Hua’s head was practically shoved in his face, its head tilted as it looked at him, as if it were about to ask: ’She’s talking about you, right? It’s you, isn’t it? Isn’t it?’
Zhou Cangyan closed his eyes for a moment, then raised a hand and flicked the bird aside. "Get lost."
The guard was thoroughly frightened and quickened his pace as he ran back. "Crazy bitch... you dare scare me... Fine, just you wait! Tomorrow I’ll report to the Prince! I’ll tell him you’re insane!!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
In the shadows, Zhou Cangyan frowned, his expression turning frosty.
He lifted his arm and flung the falcon straight off it.
The gray falcon did a somersault in mid-air and, without needing a command, swooped toward the guard with a powerful flap of its wings.
Before the guard could even see what was happening, a shadow rushed toward his face. In the next instant, his mouth was slashed twice—SWISH, SWISH—and two bloody gashes appeared, making him scream endlessly in pain—
Ignoring the commotion he’d caused, the man turned and walked away.
The gray falcon flew back silently and landed on his shoulder.
"...Heh. Since when did you get so fierce?"
"CHIRP."
"You thought he was being too loud, too?"
"CHIRP!"
"Mm, good job then."
"AWK!!"
The disturbance here did not affect the honored guest’s chambers.
Song Xilan sat alone in her room, holding a black cloak in her hands.
She looked at it, raising a hand to stroke it gently.
’Sigh. What a pity. Zhou Cangyan is destined to be the villain, not my fated one.’
The hour was late, and Zhou Junlin had not yet returned to the manor. However, he had already sent a messenger to report that he still had some trivial matters to attend to and would be back later.
Song Xilan knew very well that Zhou Junlin had invested a great deal of effort into the Li Guan Sect. Although Huaxu Square was destroyed, he was still doing everything he could to salvage it.
In an alley behind Huaxu Square, Zhen Niang knelt on the ground, her back ramrod straight, her expression calm.
Her handmaiden, Xi Que, was being held down, but her eyes were frantic. "Your Highness! I did everything myself! It has nothing to do with my mistress!"
"Xi Que."
Zhen Niang spoke faintly, "Be quiet."
"Mistress..."
Zhen Niang raised her head and looked directly at the white-robed man standing before her. In his cold eyes, she saw her own pathetic state.
She lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Your Highness, the fault is all mine. Kill me or torture me as you see fit; I will not utter a single complaint. But my handmaiden, Xi Que, has followed me for many years. Everything she did was on my orders. I beg Your Highness to be merciful and spare her life!"
With that, she kowtowed heavily, her body prostrate on the ground in an act of utmost humility.
"Mistress..."
Xi Que struggled, crying, "Let me stay with you, Mistress! I don’t want to be separated from you..."
Zhen Niang raised her head, gazing unblinkingly at Zhou Junlin.
"I beg for Your Highness’s mercy!"
She then kowtowed heavily once more, the sound echoing in the alley.
"Mistress!"
How could Xi Que bear to see her mistress act so humbly for her sake? She was both furious and frantic. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue—
