Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 370: You Never Said You Would Run Away From the Wedding
"Utter nonsense!"
Song Xilan directed all her fury at Song Lianhe, showing no intention of letting the matter drop. Yet, she didn’t spare a single glance for the corpse that Nanny Tian was cradling as she wept inconsolably.
Zhou Cangyan stroked the Bone Ring on his finger and casually averted his gaze.
"This is Ziyin’s family affair. The Princess Consort and I shouldn’t impose any longer." He looked up at Song Lianhe. "What, you want to stay here and wear mourning clothes? Aren’t you going to hurry back to the Prince Mansion with me?"
Song Lianhe had been about to retort, but upon hearing his words, she wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible.
"No way."
Zhou Cangyan glanced at her, then turned and walked away.
"Don’t you leave!"
A vicious glint flashed in Song Xilan’s eyes. She lunged, her fingers splayed, clawing straight for Song Lianhe’s face—
’This devastatingly beautiful face should have been ruined long ago, then it wouldn’t have bewitched so many people!’
Without even turning his head, Zhou Cangyan pulled Song Lianhe straight into his embrace. The wide sleeve of his robe billowed up, shielding her from above and completely enveloping her.
Song Xilan’s hands met with empty air. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at his protective stance. She stood frozen, at a loss, muttering, "You... how can you shield her like this...? I... my mother is dead... It’s my mother who died!"
Watching him shield the woman in his arms, Song Xilan had a sinking feeling. ’If I don’t fight for him now, Song Lianhe will beat me to it yet again!’
"You can’t leave! You..."
"Princess Consort, that is enough."
Zhou Junlin stepped forward. As he slowly met her gaze, his eyes held a hint of unfamiliarity.
"Do you really intend to make a bigger scene out of this?"
"Your Highness, I..."
Zhou Junlin gave her no chance to explain. "Gu Ha, you stay and handle the aftermath."
"Yes, Your Highness."
He turned and left.
"Your Highness..."
Song Xilan reached for his hand but only managed to grab the hem of his sleeve. Zhou Junlin glanced down and discreetly pulled it free.
Gu Ha immediately ordered his men to carry away Mrs. Liu’s body.
"No! My Lady! My Lady!"
Nanny Tian’s grief was genuine; after all, they had been together since they were children. She had been at Mrs. Liu’s side ever since she was just the young daughter of a Sixth-Grade Camp Thousand Commander. Now that she was the General’s wife, Nanny Tian was one of the few people who had truly cared for her.
Nanny Tian blocked the men, refusing to let them take Mrs. Liu’s body. "Where are you taking her? She is the lady of the General Mansion! Her funeral procession must leave through the main gate, and she must be buried in the Song Family’s ancestral tomb!"
The men were unyielding, so Nanny Tian rushed over to plead with Song Xilan.
She dropped to her knees with a THUD. "Young Miss! Please say something! Her Ladyship was still the General’s wife, a woman of immense status! How can you allow others to treat her like this?"
Song Xilan tore her gaze away from Zhou Junlin’s retreating back and glanced at the body being carried away. Only after the men had left the room did she say slowly, "Nanny, you know Father. If he found out about the things Mother did, what do you suppose he would do?"
"But she’s already dead! They were husband and wife for years; there was still a bond between them. Surely he wouldn’t want to become the subject of gossip, would he? Why not just let the matter rest? Besides, you are an esteemed Princess Consort now. Even if the General doesn’t consider his own reputation, what about yours? What about Prince Ling? And what about the honor of the Royal Family?!"
Song Xilan’s expression changed. "Nanny Tian, you’re getting out of line!"
Nanny Tian had thrown all caution to the wind. She spoke sharply, "Young Miss, this old servant is merely a slave who only knows loyalty to her master. My lady is dead. No matter how she died, it must have fulfilled many people’s wishes, I’m sure! This old servant only wishes for her to be buried in the Song Family’s ancestral tomb. She and the General were husband and wife for nearly twenty years. To share a bed in life and a tomb in death—for her, that would be a fitting final rest."
Nanny Tian kowtowed to her, sobbing uncontrollably.
* * *
On the carriage, Song Lianhe kept her head down, not saying a word.
Zhou Cangyan’s eyes were half-closed, and the hands resting on his knees would periodically tighten, then relax.
Outside, the sky began to brighten. Song Lianhe lifted the curtain and glanced out, a complex and indescribable emotion welling up in her heart.
"...Why did you run away?"
He was still fixated on getting an answer.
The Shadow Guard driving the carriage glanced back, instinctively leaning in, trying to press his ear closer to the wall.
Song Lianhe dropped the curtain and looked at him, her expression calm.
"What do you think?"
Outside the carriage, the Shadow Guard was speechless.
Zhou Cangyan raised an eyebrow, looking as if he was so exasperated he had to laugh.
"So, you made a mistake, and I’m supposed to make excuses for you?"
"I did nothing wrong!" Song Lianhe tilted her chin up, her face stern. "I was tortured by Zhang Yu to within an inch of my life. I almost died. And what was the result? Song Xilan came to demand I be handed over, and you agreed without a second thought. I told you then, if you gave in to her, I would..."
Zhou Cangyan ground his teeth, enunciating each word. "You didn’t say you would run away from the wedding."
"Did something like that really need to be spelled out? I was furious, I was desperate! Couldn’t you see that?"
Zhou Cangyan’s eyes narrowed, and it seemed he was using all his willpower to suppress his anger and keep from exploding on the spot.
"If you hadn’t handed me over to her, would I have gotten angry enough to sneak him out in retaliation?! Then I wouldn’t have been pushed into that hidden passage..."
The thought of all those snakes in the passage made her shiver, and her face paled slightly. There had been more than ten venomous ones among them; a single careless bite and she would have been dead!
Normally, Song Lianhe wasn’t afraid of snakes. Growing up with her grandparents in the mountains, she had certainly seen her fair share of venomous snakes and scorpions.
But after that ordeal, the sight of a snake would probably haunt her for the rest of her life.
Zhou Cangyan looked at her, and the image of her wielding a machete, covered in blood, flashed through his mind...
His heart gave an inexplicable lurch. It was one of the few images he never wanted to recall.
"I will make it up to you."
Hearing him say that, Song Lianhe really wanted to snap back, ’Who needs it!’
But she swallowed the words before they could escape her lips.
’A promise from the magnificent Prince Qing himself, why should I refuse? It’s not like I have a grudge against a life of luxury!’
"Fine. I’ll hold you to that!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
Song Lianhe suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, "What about my grandnephew and Yin Huan? How are they?"
"They’re at the Prince Mansion."
"That’s good," Song Lianhe said apologetically. "This had nothing to do with them. I’m the one who dragged them into this mess."
Zhou Cangyan scoffed. "So you do realize that."
He continued, "The Gu in E Jintang hasn’t been fully purged. He wasn’t very sharp to begin with, and now he’s in a constant stupor. Yin Huan has been watching over him; she’s much quieter than she was before."
Song Lianhe pursed her lips. ’For some reason, he seems to be talking a lot more than usual.’
’It’s as if... he’s deliberately trying to make me feel guilty.’
The wheels crunched over the dirt road, the gravel grinding underneath.
The sky was almost completely light.
The carriage stopped.
Song Lianhe sat in the carriage, unmoving. Zhou Cangyan’s eyes were closed, perhaps in a light nap, and he remained perfectly still as well.
The Shadow Guard outside grew restless and said in a low voice, "My Lord, we have arrived."
Zhou Cangyan slowly opened his eyes and looked at her, a subtle warning in his gaze.
Song Lianhe took a deep breath, then suddenly rose, pushed open the door, and jumped down.
’This was the path she had chosen. She would have to see it through to the end, even if it meant crawling on her knees.’
