Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 385: An Inside-Outside Coordination

"Your Highness, are we really just letting Princess Qing go like this?"

Gu Ha watched their departing party, speaking sullenly. His heart was filled with an indescribable melancholy—or perhaps regret, on the Prince’s behalf.

Dressed in a cloak, Zhou Junlin sat on his horse, gazing at the carriage convoy as it receded into the distance. He lifted his head to the faintly dawning sky, then turned his horse around. "Let’s go," he said, his face expressionless.

"Yes..."

Gu Ha nodded to the general guarding the gate, who returned the gesture with a cupped-fist salute.

’These are all Prince Ling’s men, brought in as temporary replacements. He really pulled out all the stops and opened every door for Princess Qing!’

As Zhou Junlin left, he glanced over at the noodle stall. "Gu Ha, clean it up."

Gu Ha replied, "...Yes."

Even after settling into the carriage, Yin Huan was still in a state of disbelief.

"All these supplies... Prince Ling just gave them to us?"

Song Lianhe chuckled. "This isn’t a gift. It’s an investment!"

"An investment?"

Yin Huan didn’t understand the term, but she knew that Zhou Junlin treated Song Lianhe differently from others.

She gave Song Lianhe a meaningful look. "Are you really willing to help him ascend the throne? How do you know King Qing doesn’t want it for himself?"

Song Lianhe spoke slowly. "People call him ’Heavenly Kill Slash.’ They say he cuts men down like weeds, that his life is ruled by a baleful star. If he truly wanted the throne, he never would have entered Ling’an. He would have rebelled in Sui Bei long ago."

’That does make sense,’ Yin Huan thought.

"But following King Qing on this journey is sure to be incredibly dangerous."

"It’ll be fine," Song Lianhe said with conviction. "Prince Ling will protect us."

Ah Jun lifted his round, dark eyes, his gaze holding a hint of grievance. "Yin Huan is right. This isn’t about cooperation at all; he’s clearly after you!" He turned his face away, muttering, "I could tell from the way he looks at you! So what if he’s a prince? He already has a Princess Consort, yet he’s still got his eyes on you..."

Song Lianhe couldn’t help but laugh. ’I hardly think a "wild card" like me can compete with the "fated couple"!’

She lifted the curtain and spoke to E Jintang, who was driving the carriage. "Grandnephew, don’t follow too closely. We just need to stay behind the main army."

"Yes, Granny."

’Knowing Zhou Cangyan’s temper, if he finds out I’m secretly following him, he might just send men to haul me right back to the city.’

The carriage didn’t take the main roads, and the journey was fraught with danger. Fortunately, they had E Jintang. Without a word, he would leap from the carriage and slam his pair of thousand-pound hammers onto the ground, and any bandits would give them a wide berth.

The bolder ones were tormented by poisons prepared by Song Lianhe until they were on their knees begging for mercy. Thus, the journey had its share of scares but no real harm.

"Sishui City is up ahead. Once we pass through it, we’ll be in the territory of Yu State," Ah Jun reported after scouting. "King Qing’s army is currently camped by the Lin Yang River, three li from Yu State."

Song Lianhe sat inside the carriage, gazing up at the two large words, "Sishui City," on the gatehouse. "In that case, let’s enter the city."

Ah Jun said, "Sishui City is Prince Yongdong’s territory. With a major battle imminent, the city is on high alert. How are we supposed to sneak in?"

"No matter how high the alert, a city full of people still needs to eat, and they still need doctors and medicine."

Song Lianhe and her party changed their clothes, dressing as people from the Wu Qi Country.

She then had Yin Huan bring out their travel documents. When opened, they revealed the official seals of both the Nanchen Kingdom and Da Cheng.

’Preparing such things was a trivial matter for Zhou Junlin.’

Holding the documents, she walked with the carriage up to the city gate.

The Sishui City soldiers were rigorously checking everyone entering the city, but with their travel documents, Song Lianhe and her group passed through smoothly.

Once inside the city, she followed Zhou Junlin’s instructions and quickly found a clinic.

"What are His Highness’s orders?"

The man in charge, Manager Meng, was one of Zhou Junlin’s secret agents planted in Sishui City.

Although he ran a clinic, his medical skills were mediocre—neither good nor bad—just enough to avoid attracting too much attention.

"His Highness has instructed you to give me your full cooperation."

Song Lianhe worked quickly. After getting a general understanding of the clinic’s situation, she ordered her three companions to unload the medicinal herbs from the carriage.

As Yin Huan carried some herbs inside, she lowered her voice and said to Song Lianhe, "We’re being watched."

Song Lianhe wasn’t surprised. "It’s certainly suspicious for us to show up in Sishui City at such a perilous time. But we happen to be in the herb business, and once war breaks out, the city’s greatest shortages—besides grain and fodder—will be medicinal supplies."

She added, "Ignore the people outside. Tell Manager Meng that we’ll be hanging out a sign for a free clinic shortly."

"Alright."

Song Lianhe brought a small stool to the entrance of the clinic and sat down, watching the people come and go on the street.

The looming prospect of war was written on everyone’s faces. Their steps were hurried, and it was said the price of rice in the city had recently begun to climb. Once fighting broke out, Sishui City would be the first to suffer, placed directly under the blade’s edge.

Zhou Junlin had said that the men sent by Emperor Cheng Xiao were in even worse shape than the last batch of the old, weak, and infirm. The army had many seriously ill soldiers among them, and he expected quite a few would collapse during the march. Common illnesses were manageable; the real fear was an epidemic.

Ah Jun brought her a cup of water.

"Sister, are you planning to coordinate with King Qing from within the city?"

Song Lianhe took the water, had a sip, and then shook her head. "At the end of the day, they are all subjects of Da Cheng. Infighting only benefits outsiders, and Zhou Cangyan should feel the same way I do. Besides, who’s to say the Nanchen Kingdom isn’t fanning the flames from behind the scenes? After all, there are people from the Nanchen Kingdom in the Court."

If it comes to war between the two kingdoms, it’s the common people who suffer the most. It would be best if this could be resolved without losing a single soldier.

Song Lianhe couldn’t help but click her tongue. ’When did my consciousness become so elevated?’ she mused.

’Actually, Ah Jun wasn’t wrong. This really is a plan to coordinate from the inside.’

She needed to establish herself in Sishui City as quickly as possible to be ready to "coordinate" with his contingencies.

Before long, Manager Meng had everything ready. The moment the sign for the free clinic went up, a crowd started to gather.

Once again using the alias Sun Shangxiang, Song Lianhe sat primly at the clinic’s entrance. She was dressed in the exotic style of a woman from the Wu Qi Country, and though a veil covered her face, it couldn’t conceal her graceful and peerless beauty.

Many people gathered to watch, but few stepped forward for a consultation.

Just then, a woman arrived, supported by another person. Her forehead was beaded with cold sweat, her face was pale, she was trembling as she walked, and her lips were colorless.

After a family member helped her sit down in front of Song Lianhe, Song Lianhe spoke bluntly, "Loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea."

The woman’s son was stunned. "Doctor, you’re incredible! You knew all that without even examining her!"

Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd. It seemed this young woman really knew her stuff!

In truth, Song Lianhe had simply noticed that as the woman approached, she had kept a hand pressed to her lower right abdomen, her expression one of unbearable pain.

’It’s most likely acute appendicitis.’

The woman let out periodic moans, barely able to remain seated.

"Doctor, please, you have to save my mother!"

’He’s a filial son,’ she noted.

Song Lianhe took out her silver needles. After she inserted a few, the woman’s pain actually began to subside!