Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 378: Who on Earth Are You?

"Only you..." he said.

After hearing this, Song Lianhe should have been moved, yet she felt nothing at all.

She nodded, a bit dismissively. "Alright, I understand."

Zhou Cangyan stared at her. "If we complete this ceremony today, there’s no turning back. Do you understand?"

Song Lianhe was getting impatient. "So are we doing this or not?"

Xuan Mei and the others looked over, giving the Princess Consort supportive gazes for being so bold.

Zhou Cangyan merely furrowed his brow. He looked at her, his voice dropping even lower. "Alright."

He glanced at Pang Jiliang, who took the cue and immediately cried out, "First bow to Heaven and Earth!"

Song Lianhe took a step back, turned, and bowed to Heaven and Earth with him.

Until the cry of "Ceremony complete," Zhou Cangyan still felt as if he were in a dream.

Just now, while bowing to Heaven and Earth with her, fragmented images had flashed through his mind—of him and her, performing this very same ceremony...

He stared blankly at the woman across from him. She was already signaling Da Xi with her eyes; after the bows to Heaven and Earth, it was time to be escorted to the bridal chamber.

After she was helped away by Da Xi, Zhou Cangyan’s gaze remained on her.

Song Lianhe was escorted into the bridal chamber.

This was Zhou Cangyan’s room, and she was no stranger to it. The first time she transmigrated into the book, she had even occupied it by herself for many days.

After entering, she removed her headdress and cumbersome robes, then called for Da Xi to bring water. After washing up, she went straight to sleep.

A chill touched her neck. She looked down and saw the little blue snake, Little Lan.

The King of Ten Thousand Gu... a creature that could freely travel through one’s Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Though she didn’t know how it managed that, she still treated it with a mixture of respect and fear.

"Let’s make a deal. I have lots of rare poisonous herbs. If you behave, I’ll make sure you have more than enough to eat from now on!"

Little Lan raised its small head, its murky gray eyes staring at her for a long while before it lowered its head again and slowly slithered away.

It seemed the deal was struck. Only then did Song Lianhe dare to relax.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard from outside.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. On this auspicious day, may the Prince and Princess Consort live in blissful harmony and be blessed with a noble son soon."

"Reward them."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

After speaking their auspicious words and receiving their rewards, the maids all dispersed.

CREAK—

The door was pushed open.

Song Lianhe lay on the bed, her hands involuntarily clutching the blanket.

On her last wedding night, Zhou Cangyan had been summoned away by an imperial decree. This time, however, they had to face each other, which was admittedly a bit awkward.

The footsteps paused briefly at the doorway before heading straight to the table.

"If you’re not asleep, get up and eat something."

Song Lianhe’s tightly shut eyes snapped open.

Taking a deep breath, she threw back the covers and sat up. She glanced around the room. Zhou Cangyan had come in carrying a food box and was now opening it, setting out the dishes one by one.

GRUMBLE—

Her stomach shamelessly rumbled in response.

Song Lianhe didn’t hesitate. She slipped on her silk slippers and went to the table to sit down.

He handed her a pair of ivory chopsticks, and Song Lianhe took them naturally, lowering her head to eat.

Zhou Cangyan removed his wedding robes and sat down across from her. He propped his head on one hand and didn’t touch any of the food on the table.

At first, Song Lianhe paid him no mind, but his gaze was too direct. His pale pupils held a constant look of scrutiny, as if trying to burn a hole right through her.

"Who exactly are you?"

The ivory chopsticks in Song Lianhe’s hand froze. She looked up at him.

But he said nothing more.

Zhou Cangyan didn’t pursue the question. Instead, he poured her some tea and slowly pushed it over.

’He’s acting too strangely.’

Song Lianhe narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down. "Have you been possessed?"

He watched her quietly, then said with sudden certainty, "You’ve said those same words before."

Song Lianhe froze. ’Have I? When?’

’Why don’t I remember?’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

A knock came at the door.

Then, the voice of a Shadow Guard: "My Lord, there’s a decree from the palace."

Song Lianhe’s brow furrowed. ’Again?’

The man, who had been staring at her intently, didn’t miss the slightest change in her expression.

’Judging by her expression, she seems... unsurprised.’

The Shadow Guard urged, "My Lord, the one delivering the decree is Eunuch Lu."

Song Lianhe’s delicate brows knitted even tighter, a hint of worry appearing in her eyes.

’Last time, it was to quell the rebellion in Yu State, forcing him to lead his troops out of the city overnight.’

’What about this time?’

Just as Zhou Cangyan was about to stand, Song Lianhe grabbed his hand, almost instinctively.

Zhou Cangyan looked down at her hand, then slowly settled back into his seat.

"My Lord?"

Zhou Cangyan drawled lazily, "Let him wait."

"My Lord, we can’t afford to slight Eunuch Lu!"

Zhou Cangyan’s lips curled into a smirk, his tone flippant. "Tell him that I don’t believe in interrupting a wedding night halfway! If he’s in such a hurry, he can come in here and announce it!"

"...Yes, my lord."

He looked at Song Lianhe again, his gaze falling to her fair, slender hand. Only then did Song Lianhe slowly withdraw it.

"Why don’t you want me to receive the decree?"

"Because..." Song Lianhe opened her mouth, but sure enough, when it came to the main plot, she couldn’t utter a single word.

She looked down with a bitter smile, took a deep breath, and said slowly, "The Holy Emperor knows perfectly well that tonight is our wedding night. For him to issue a decree at this hour, it surely can’t be good news. Since it’s not good news, it’s best to delay it for as long as we can."

’What she said wasn’t unreasonable.’

’Of course, Zhou Cangyan was well aware of this himself. His elder brother was probably unwilling to wait any longer...’

’That’s why he’d try to catch him off guard on his wedding day.’

’But compared to all that, this Princess Consort of mine seems to be full of secrets.’

"Fine," he said, suddenly standing up and starting to take off his clothes.

Song Lianhe froze. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? It’s our wedding night. What do you think?"

"..."

Song Lianhe hesitated for only a moment before quickly overcoming her mental barrier.

’It’s not like we haven’t done it before, and it’s with someone I like. I have no reason to be against it.’

’Besides, with Zhou Cangyan’s looks and physique, I’m definitely the one getting the better end of this deal!’

But the man who had just taken off his outer robe stood frozen in place, his gaze on her shifting constantly, his mood fluctuating along with it.

"Back in the courtyard, why didn’t your tears work?"

Song Lianhe tilted her head up to look at him. ’So he really did overhear me.’

Her expression was quite frank. "Because I wasn’t sure, so I was afraid it might not work."

He frowned. "What do you mean, ’not sure’? How can you be ’not sure’ about something like that?"

Song Lianhe fell silent.

’How can I explain it to him?’

’That my ’uncertainty’ had to do with him?’

’The rules of the book won’t let me reveal the truth.’

Staring at her, Zhou Cangyan’s expression gradually grew cold. Without another word, he threw his outer robe back on, yanked open the door, and left.

Song Lianhe was stunned. ’He’s leaving? Just like that?’

"Hey, why don’t you... ask a few more questions?"

’Maybe with his intelligence, he could figure it out!!’

But to Zhou Cangyan’s ears, her words sounded like a provocation.

"There’s no need!"

With his back to her, he suddenly raised his hand. A powerful gust of palm wind shot forward. If Xuan Mei hadn’t appeared in time to pull her away, she would have been blasted a mile away!

BANG! The door behind her was shattered into pieces.

Looking at the pitiful door, Song Lianhe couldn’t help but shake her head helplessly.

’When it comes to him fighting with himself like this, I’m truly helpless.’