Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 380: We Are All Characters in This Book?
"He’s taking the Princess Qing with him to Yu State?"
"Yes. The guests at the Prince Qing Mansion have all left. They are packing now and will likely depart in about an hour."
Zhou Junlin waved his hand, and Gu Ha withdrew.
When Gu Ha reached the doorway, he bowed respectfully to the person who had been standing outside the whole time. "Princess Consort."
Song Xilan stood outside, her face a mask of shock and complex emotions.
As an "awakened" character in the book, she was familiar with the plot.
But everything that was happening now had derailed from the original trajectory, and even she couldn’t predict the outcome.
The last time Zhou Cangyan went to Yu State was on his wedding day with Song Lianhe. Back then, he had feigned illness and stayed in his tent, refusing visitors, and had not directly addressed the matter of suppressing the rebellion.
But he had only been back in the city for a few short days before being dispatched to Yu State for a second time. The Holy Emperor’s intentions were obvious—
if he died on the battlefield, he could at least win the honorable title of one who gave his life for his country.
This was the final "dignity" that the high and mighty Emperor was granting Zhou Cangyan.
As one of only two "awakened" people in the entire novel, Song Xilan was suddenly overcome by a sense of powerlessness. The characters in the book were all puppets of the author, their very thoughts bestowed upon them. She was gradually becoming unable to tell if any of this was what she truly wanted.
The door opened, and Zhou Junlin walked out.
Song Xilan looked up, her expression bewildered, and murmured, "Your Highness..."
Zhou Junlin watched her for a long moment before speaking slowly. "You heard everything? My Imperial Uncle is taking the Princess Qing on his campaign."
Song Xilan nodded numbly.
Zhou Junlin lowered his gaze, his tone shifting. "These past few nights, the Princess Consort has been having nightmares, always talking about a book..."
He stared at her without blinking as he spoke.
Just as he expected, Song Xilan’s expression changed drastically, her eyes filled with terror.
"What book? I don’t know!"
The corners of Zhou Junlin’s lips curled up as he took a small step forward. "You also mentioned... characters in this book..."
"Ah! I don’t know! I don’t know anything!"
Song Xilan reacted violently, covering her ears and backing away continuously.
Zhou Junlin had no intention of letting it go and continued to close in on her. "This book... what does it have to do with us?"
"I can’t tell you! I don’t know anything, so stop asking!"
She hurriedly turned to leave but was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. "So, what is this ’world of the novel’? And what do we have to do with it?"
"I don’t know! I don’t know!"
Song Xilan avoided his sharp gaze, flinching away. "Stop asking, just stop asking..."
"Heh." Zhou Junlin suddenly let out a soft laugh. He then slowly backed away, staring at her. "Could it be that... all of us... are just people in this book?"
Song Xilan snapped her head up and stared at him in utter shock...
—
「In the back alley of the Prince Qing Mansion.」
A plain sedan chair was waiting.
Zhou Cangyan approached it. "Your Majesty."
Fang Xiu lifted the curtain. Empress Chun De was seated inside, and her eyes reddened the moment she saw Zhou Cangyan. "This journey of yours..." She lowered her gaze, choking up. It took her a long moment to finally say, "Once you leave, don’t come back."
Zhou Cangyan lowered his eyes and chuckled softly. "Your Majesty must also take care."
Empress Chun De could no longer hold back her tears. She raised a handkerchief to dab at her eyes. "In the end, I have wronged your mother."
"What does this have to do with Your Majesty?" Zhou Cangyan said slowly. "This is a matter between me and the Zhou Family."
"You..." Empress Chun De looked at him. "He is your elder brother, after all."
Zhou Cangyan smiled faintly. "Has he ever treated me as a brother?"
"But..."
"Your Majesty."
Zhou Cangyan said suddenly, "Your Majesty is the head of the imperial harem. That will not change, no matter what."
Empress Chun De looked at him with tears in her eyes, wanting to say more but holding back.
He took another step back and clasped his hands in a bow. "Biwu bids Your Majesty farewell."
Fang Xiu glanced at her mistress. "Your Majesty, we’ve been out for too long. We should return to the palace."
"Forget it, just forget it..."
Empress Chun De waved her hand dismissively. Fang Xiu lowered the curtain, curtsied to Zhou Cangyan, and then ordered the chair bearers to leave.
Only after the sedan chair had traveled some distance did Empress Chun De’s voice drift out from within.
"Do you think... he will be considerate of..."
Fang Xiu knew what her mistress was about to ask. She moved closer to the sedan and whispered, "Whatever Prince Qing intends to do, it has nothing to do with Your Majesty. It’s best you don’t worry about it. Besides, didn’t His Highness just promise you that no matter what happens in the future, you will always be the head of the imperial harem? Your Majesty’s position is unshakeable!"
"Yes..." Empress Chun De took a deep breath and murmured, "In the end, he won’t harm my son and me."
Fang Xiu lowered her voice. "Actually, this is a good thing for Your Majesty. Though you have no interest in the position of Crown Prince, others don’t think the same! Take Prince Ling and Prince Hang, for example—they won’t let our Prince Wei off the hook!"
Fang Xiu whispered, "It’s about time someone stepped up to teach them a lesson. In the future, if our Prince Wei is interested, it’s not impossible for him to contend for it."
Silence fell inside the sedan chair.
Fang Xiu stepped aside and gave a quiet order, "Faster."
The bearers replied, "Yes."
—
Song Lianhe had far too many things to pack. Her own clothes weren’t the problem; it was the sheer amount of medicinal ingredients.
"Bring all the ’Seven Dragon Balls’!"
"What Seven Dragon Balls?" Da Xi asked, confused.
Only then did Song Lianhe remember that her ’Seven Dragon Balls’ weren’t known here. She quickly clarified, "The colored medicinal pills. Those are essential medicines for a military campaign!"
"Yes!"
Da Xi immediately went to prepare them.
"Sister..."
Ah Jun also hurried in, holding a pile of medical gauze. "Should we bring these too?"
"Bring them all! Those have been sterilized. Make sure they are sealed tightly."
"Okay!"
Song Lianhe continued packing in her room, giving detailed instructions for every preparation, from small items like ointments for bruises and sprains to a full set of instruments for "surgery."
She hadn’t been in the Prince Mansion for long this time, and she had just rented a shop in Ling’an City. She had originally planned to make another wave of silver, but who would have thought she’d be setting out with the army?
"Sister Mei!"
"Mm."
Xuan Mei suddenly appeared behind her.
Song Lianhe handed Xuan Mei a letter she had just hastily written. "Deliver this to Miss Cao Ying of the Scholar Mansion." She then gave Xuan Mei the key to the shop she had just rented. "Give this to her as well. Tell her an immortal sent me a message in a dream, instructing me to seek her out. I’ve explained everything in detail in the letter. Once she reads it, all her doubts will be dispelled. If she wants to escape her past, she can take over my shop. I’ll write to her from the road about future supplies and the other details of running the business."
"Yes."
Xuan Mei never questioned her orders. She took the letter and key, then used her Qinggong to depart.
Song Lianhe thought for a moment, then called out tentatively, "Xuan Qi?"
Suddenly, the upper half of a figure appeared outside the window. "Princess Qing."
Song Lianhe pressed her lips together to hide a smile.
’I knew it.’
’Zhou Cangyan never said much, but he was always thoughtful. Even if he didn’t love her, now that he had promised to marry her, he would give her the very best.’
Her smile faded. Time was short. She immediately gave an order: "I’ll have to trouble you to make another trip for me, to the General Mansion. There’s a maid there named Shuang Ye..."
