Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 341: How Could I Let Them Humiliate You?
He reached out to take back his dart.
But Song Lianhe grabbed it tightly. "It’s mine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive! I found it, so it’s mine!"
Without another word, she tucked the dart into her satchel.
Seeing how much she treasured it, Zhou Cangyan felt somewhat pleased. The oppressive mood that had weighed on him finally lifted a bit. Without the grim, vicious aura clouding his features, he was a strikingly handsome and refined man.
He glanced at her. "Where are you going?"
Knowing she couldn’t hide it from him, Song Lianhe lifted her chin. "To settle a score with Zhuang Qiaoyue."
"For whom?"
"Ah Jun!" she quickly explained. "He’s the little beggar I rescued. He’s with me now, so he’s my person. Now that he’s been bullied, I have to get justice for him!"
The man’s gaze lowered, a subtle glint in their depths. He murmured, as if to himself, "Ah, so he’s *your* person..."
"That’s right!"
Song Lianhe was still fuming, but her reaction seemed overly intense on behalf of someone she had just met.
’No matter how righteous a person is, there’s no need to personally storm the mansion of a Second-Grade Official in the Court just to stand up for someone else!’
’Unless...’
’She’s taken a fancy to the boy.’
’A strong fancy, at that.’
’Yes, that would explain it.’
"Heh..."
Zhou Cangyan let out an almost inaudible laugh and shot her a contemptuous look from his pale eyes. "You’re going to march on the Zhuang Mansion and demand justice for him based on his word alone? Is my Princess Consort some kind of Nine Heavens Lady descended to Earth, dedicated to righting all the world’s wrongs? Truly, your courage is commendable!"
"..."
Song Lianhe understood. He was calling her a reckless brute.
*Tsk.* ’He’s really underestimating me.’
"How could I be that stupid? Of course I can do it without anyone being the wiser..."
He cut her off, his voice suddenly cold. "This is Ling’an City. The eyes of the Heavenly Family are everywhere. What could possibly be done here without anyone knowing?"
Song Lianhe faltered, her brow furrowing slightly. Then she nodded in agreement. "The kind of person who could build a vast underground network would naturally guard his own doorstep to the teeth."
"But..." She looked up at him, fuming. "I just can’t swallow this!"
She and Zhuang Qiaoyue had been at odds for a long time. It was only because she had suddenly left Ling’an—"abducted" to Sui Ning City by the man before her—that things had paused. Now, with this business about Ah Jun, there was no way she could just let it go!
’Half a year! He was in that sunless place for a full six months! Subjected to all kinds of torture every day. It’s only by sheer luck that the boy didn’t die!’
’And all of this happened just because Ah Jun bumped into her on the street?’
’Zhuang Qiaoyue had probably long forgotten there was even someone locked away in her dungeon!’
’If Ah Jun hadn’t escaped on his own, he might never have seen the light of day again!’
Zhou Cangyan stood with his hands clasped, watching her quietly for a long moment before saying, "Then go."
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Huh?"
Song Lianhe froze. "But didn’t you just say..."
Zhou Cangyan’s tall, handsome figure was ahead of her. He said lazily, "Since you are my Princess Consort, it’s not right for you to be bullied by others."
"You..."
She stood frozen on the spot, staring after him as if seeing a ghost from a past life.
’It was as if... she was seeing the man who had once cherished and doted on her.’
He glanced back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "Are you coming or not?"
Song Lianhe snapped back to reality and hurried to catch up. "Uh, well, it wasn’t exactly bullying, nothing that serious..."
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Scared?"
’Scared?’
’Not a chance!’
Song Lianhe immediately lifted her chin, her bravado returning in full force. "Then I’ll have to trouble Your Highness to lead the way!"
---
「The Minister of Industry’s Mansion.」
Zhuang Mingfang and his family were still eating when a servant hurried in to announce, "Master, Prince Qing is here!"
"Prince Qing? What is he doing here?"
Zhuang Mingfang was also taken aback. He had no dealings with Prince Qing, so why would the Prince suddenly show up at the Minister’s Mansion?
’If Prince Ling finds out about this, I’ll never be able to explain it!’
Though surprised, he quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks to personally greet Zhou Cangyan.
Lady Zhuang and Zhuang Qiaoyue followed behind, both mother and daughter feeling uneasy.
Zhuang Mingfang belonged to Prince Ling’s faction, Lady Zhuang was on good terms with Mrs. Liu of the General Mansion, and Zhuang Qiaoyue even claimed to be a close friend to Song Xilan. The entire family was closely tied to Prince Ling.
Zhou Cangyan, on the other hand, was a rather unique figure in Ling’an. He had come from garrisoning the border, had no ties with any faction, and had his military authority revoked by the Holy Emperor. Now, he was just a Prince with no real power. He was a presence that the various factions in Court had no desire to befriend, yet couldn’t afford to ignore.
Zhuang Mingfang, accompanied by his wife and daughter, went to the main gate to receive him.
Zhou Cangyan was already standing at the entrance, and beside him was a beautiful, delicate woman radiating a murderous aura.
Zhou Cangyan turned his head to look at her, the corner of his lip twitching into a slight smirk.
"This humble official greets Your Highness, Prince Qing!"
The three of them bowed. Zhou Cangyan walked forward and glanced at him expressionlessly. "I have come to visit unannounced. I hope Minister Zhuang will forgive my impertinence."
Song Lianhe walked by his side. As she passed Zhuang Qiaoyue, her sharp gaze looked as if it could burn two holes right through her.
Zhuang Qiaoyue felt a sudden chill. She quietly looked up and her eyes met Song Lianhe’s.
Startled, she immediately lowered her gaze, not daring to look again.
’I wonder who this woman with Prince Qing is,’ she thought. ’How dare she act so wantonly in the Zhuang Mansion!’
’But... aren’t they saying Prince Qing isn’t interested in women?’
’Before he returned to Ling’an and handed over his military authority, people had tried to gift him beautiful women, but he’d thrown them right out the gates of his mansion! And according to those beauties, Zhou Cangyan is a walking devil!’
’This is the first time I’ve ever seen him with a woman.’
"Your Highness, you honor this humble official too much! Your esteemed presence brings light to my humble home. It is truly my good fortune..."
Zhou Cangyan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He rubbed his Bone Ring a few times. "Alright, that’s enough of that. Let’s skip the formalities."
Zhuang Fangming gave a dry laugh and quickly asked, "Er, may I ask what business brings Your Highness to my humble residence so late at night?"
"I have no business here myself. My Princess Consort, however, was looking for you. She doesn’t know the way, so I brought her."
"P-Princess Consort?!"
Zhuang Fangming stared in shock at the woman beside him. "This humble official has not heard that Your Highness has taken a wife..."
The Holy Emperor had just issued the edict, so of course he wouldn’t know.
Song Lianhe sneered. "Hah. So according to Mr. Fang, our Prince Qing needs to ask for your permission before he gets married?"
’Our Prince Qing?’
Zhou Cangyan lowered his gaze and pressed his lips together. A ripple seemed to pass through the depths of his eyes, and his entire posture became even more relaxed.
"You all chat. I’ll take a look around."
When a Prince said he wanted to stroll through his garden, how could Zhuang Fangming dare to refuse? He hurriedly ordered his butler to attend to him.
Since the "Princess Consort" said she had business, they couldn’t very well leave, so they had no choice but to remain in the courtyard, bracing themselves.
Zhuang Fangming was a notorious fence-sitter. In the original novel, he had done plenty to kick Zhou Cangyan while he was down after his military defeat.
Looking at this "main beam" of a man, Song Lianhe couldn’t resist the urge to provoke him.
Zhou Cangyan glanced at her from the corner of his eye but said nothing.
Zhuang Fangming hurriedly said, "Oh, no! This humble official wouldn’t dare! Not even if you lent me a hundred bits of courage! I pray Your Highness, Prince Qing, sees this clearly!"
Lady Zhuang also chimed in, "P-Princess Consort, you’ve misunderstood my husband."
From the first moment she saw Song Lianhe, Zhuang Qiaoyue had felt an inexplicable sense of disgust. It became even harder to suppress her anger after hearing Song Lianhe deliberately accuse her father.
