Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 31: From Childhood to Adulthood, No One Has Ever Protected Me

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: From Childhood to Adulthood, No One Has Ever Protected Me

"These are all gifts from the Holy Emperor!"

She sidled closer, looking incredibly smug. "Prince, why don’t you pick something you like? I’ll give it to you!"

Zhou Cangyan glanced sideways at her, a short laugh escaping him. "To me?"

"That’s right! I’ve been imposing on you for days. It’s about time I showed my... er, gratitude. Gratitude... And isn’t this perfect timing? The Holy Emperor bestowed so many wonderful things upon me, so I can just pass on the favor."

The Shadow Guard, trailing behind Zhou Cangyan, couldn’t help but blurt out, "Second Miss, you... certainly are a shrewd one."

Song Lianhe immediately corrected him, "It’s called returning a favor!"

The Shadow Guard conceded the point.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Cangyan didn’t refuse. Instead, he actually began to consider it.

Seeing this, Song Lianhe cursed herself for being so careless. ’I should have hidden the obviously valuable items before letting him pick!’

Suddenly, a cool sensation brushed against her neck. When she reached up to feel for it, the Jade Pendant she always wore was gone.

When she looked up, there it was—the Jade Pendant, resting in Zhou Cangyan’s hand.

"This will do."

Without even asking if she was willing, he closed his large hand around the Jade Pendant, securing it in his palm.

"But..."

He shot her a sidelong glance and sneered, "You object?"

Song Lianhe paused in thought, then abruptly lifted her lovely face and offered him a faint, genuine smile. "That day, you brought me out of the General Mansion without asking for a reason. In my entire life, no one has ever protected me like that."

He raised an eyebrow, watching her without a word as his cool, indifferent eyes reflected her radiant smile.

"So, a true show of gratitude naturally calls for a cherished gift! If you don’t find it beneath you, Prince, then I gift this Jade Pendant to you!"

This rare, seemingly sincere display of hers was actually quite moving.

At least, the Shadow Guard was.

Zhou Cangyan tightened his grip on the Jade Pendant, which was still warm from her skin, and gently caressed it with his thumb.

Song Lianhe, never one to make a losing bargain, immediately added, "Since you’ve accepted my gift of gratitude, Prince, I’m afraid I’ll have to continue imposing on you in the future."

His deep, cool gaze settled on her.

The Shadow Guard snapped back to reality. ’What a brazen calculation! He could practically hear the beads of her abacus clacking away.’

’With a mere Jade Pendant, she expects the Prince to be at her beck and call?’

’Impossible!’

And yet, the man before him parted his thin lips and said, "Alright."

The Shadow Guard’s expression faltered, and he looked at his master with concern.

In fact, before Emperor Cheng Xiao had departed, he had made a few things clear, both explicitly and implicitly. Since Song Lianhe and Song Xingfeng were, after all, father and daughter, and the Prince had already stood up for her, it was time to stop making a fuss. She should be sent back and the issue handled as a family matter. This would de-escalate the situation and prevent a rift from forming between the Emperor and his subject.

Offending the Holy Emperor over Song Lianhe was clearly not worth it.

As if to prove the Shadow Guard’s fears correct, a large, imposing retinue from the General Mansion arrived that very evening, announcing they had come to escort Song Lianhe home.

Zhou Cangyan happened to be out. Song Lianhe was in the middle of teaching Ah Yu the nine-by-nine multiplication table. She’d discovered the boy had a remarkably sharp mind and a real knack for numbers. ’He could be my future CFO,’ she mused. Just then, Shuang Ye rushed in with a report.

"My father?"

"No, the General is still bedridden. The visitors are the Second Madam and the Eldest Miss."

"That mother-daughter pair again?" Song Lianhe wasn’t flustered in the slightest, letting out a soft laugh. "Now that’s strange. Aunt Liu should be wishing I’d never return, so why would she come to get me personally?"

Ah Yu, who had already heard from Shuang Ye about her troubled history with the General Mansion, immediately asked with concern, "Miss, are you going to go back?"

Song Lianhe didn’t answer him right away. Instead, she said, "Keep practicing. I’ll quiz you later." Then she beckoned to Shuang Ye. "Come on, let’s go see what this is about."

The moment Song Lianhe pushed open the door, she saw a slender figure standing outside.

A woman holding a longsword turned around, startling Song Lianhe.

"Xuan Mei. Under orders to protect the Second Miss."

Xuan Mei was a woman of few words. Dressed all in black with a cold, aloof expression, her long hair was tied back with a single red ribbon. She perfectly matched Song Lianhe’s image of a "female knight."

"Was this the Prince’s doing? Thank you, but you don’t need to trouble yourself. This is the Prince Qing Mansion. I doubt they would dare start anything here."

Xuan Mei paid her no mind, giving her no chance to refuse. Cradling her treasured sword, she turned decisively. "Follow." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"..."

’She’s just like her master, the Prince,’ Song Lianhe grumbled to herself.