Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 382: This Is as Far as I Can Help You

Chapter 382: Chapter 382: This Is as Far as I Can Help You

Song Lianhe initially thought Zhou Cangyan was joking. It wasn’t until she was shoved into the carriage that she realized he was serious!

She glared at the man sitting across from her, her eyes practically shooting fire.

"Sigh. Sister He, glaring at me won’t do you any good. Few people dare to defy Biwu’s orders! Besides, he’s only doing this for your own good. Yu State is a long and perilous journey away. There’s no telling what dangers you’ll face. He couldn’t bear to see you suffer."

Huai Xu, driving the carriage, kept looking back at her and trying to console her. "But look on the bright side. This shows he has feelings and a sense of loyalty toward you. He’s not the heartless, ungrateful man you think he is!"

Song Lianhe huddled in a corner of the carriage, so angry she could only roll her eyes.

’How did I never realize this guy was so chatty?’

’I remember how gentle and refined he was when we first met, a perfect gentleman. He’s like a completely different person from the motormouth before me now!’

Seeing that Huai Xu had no intention of letting her go, Song Lianhe paused in thought. Then, with her hands tied behind her back, she began to tap lightly on the carriage wall. The soft, rhythmic sound echoed, one tap after another.

Before long, a small, faintly blue snake crawled out unhurriedly.

Song Lianhe was overjoyed to see Little Lan. She hadn’t even known where it was hiding. All she knew was that she had used this same tapping method to feed it in her room, so she had decided to give it a try.

She looked at Little Lan’s mouth. Although it seemed like a lot to ask of a snake, she was desperate enough to try anything.

"Little Lan, help me bite through this rope."

Her voice was a mere whisper, drowned out by the sound of the galloping carriage.

At first, Little Lan just slithered around in a few circles, flicking its tongue out from time to time. But then, it actually began to crawl up her arm, bit by bit, until it reached her wrist...

"Good boy! Little Lan, you’re amazing!"

It was hard to believe. She was actually communicating with a snake—and it was working!

’This sort of thing probably only happens in novels. Is there anything an author can’t dream up?’

Little Lan had indeed understood her, but the rope binding her wrist looked even thicker than the snake itself. ’How long will it take to bite through that?’

Song Lianhe couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged.

But to her surprise, before she could even let out a sigh, the rope on her wrist came undone! Her hands were no longer bound; she was free.

Song Lianhe was stunned. Looking at her freed hands, she immediately turned to look for Little Lan.

"Little Lan!"

Little Lan was lying on the floor of the carriage, motionless, as if it were dead.

Panicked, Song Lianhe quickly scooped it up into her palm. "Little Lan, Little Lan..."

Little Lan only managed to lift its head weakly and glance in her direction before collapsing again.

It was clear the snake had completely exhausted its energy.

A pang of heartache shot through Song Lianhe.

When she looked at the severed rope, she broke out in a cold sweat.

’Good heavens. It must have used its venom to corrode and dissolve the rope!’

’If it had been off by just a little, my wrist would have been a goner.’

There was no time to dwell on it. She wrapped Little Lan around her wrist, and the bracelet from Mrs. E was perfect for holding the little snake in place.

She glanced at Huai Xu, who was still driving, then gritted her teeth and tumbled right out of the moving carriage.

Luckily, the carriage hit a bump and slowed down at that exact moment. She only rolled twice before getting her footing, escaping with just a few scrapes.

Huai Xu was still chattering away, completely oblivious to the fact that his passenger had long since escaped.

She didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the carriage was completely out of sight.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu slowly pulled on the reins. He glanced back over his shoulder and smiled wryly. "Sister He, this is as far as I can help you."

Song Lianhe was familiar with the layout of Ling’an City; after all, it was where her body’s original owner had grown up.

She gathered her skirts and quickened her pace, hoping to catch up to Zhou Cangyan’s entourage.

In truth, she didn’t know why she was so persistent. Even if he didn’t remember anything that had passed between them, she still wanted to be by his side.

’Sigh, I’ve always known a love-addled brain is a dangerous thing!’

The journey to Yu State was bound to be perilous. Any sensible person would be trying to get as far away as possible, especially since Zhou Cangyan had already arranged a safe haven for her!

’But not me. My love-addled brain has conquered all common sense. Self-preservation? What’s that? Doesn’t exist!’ 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’When I get back, I’m definitely going to award myself a silk banner with a single word on it: "Reckless"!’

"Sister!"

Hearing that voice, Song Lianhe felt as if she were looking at her savior.

"Ah Jun!"

"Sister! Sister!"

Ah Jun rode up on a horse, jumped down excitedly at the sight of her, and threw his arms around her without a second thought. "Sister! I thought you were going to leave me behind!"

The boy’s aggrieved voice was tinged with tears.

"How could I do that?"

Song Lianhe patted his head and suddenly asked, "What about King Qing? Has he already departed?"

"Mhm." Ah Jun couldn’t help but say angrily, "He doesn’t care about you at all, Sister. You should just leave him!"

Song Lianhe was confused. "Why would you say that?"

"I went to ask him about you, and he completely ignored me! He doesn’t care about you at all!" Ah Jun’s cheeks puffed out in anger just talking about it.

Time was short, so Song Lianhe didn’t bother explaining much.

"Ah Jun, quick, take me after him."

"Why are you chasing him, Sister? He ignores you, so isn’t it better that he’s gone? You can live a free and happy life now!"

Song Lianhe shook her head with a wry smile. "I thought so, too."

But now that they were truly separated, all she felt was panic and self-reproach.

"Please, just take me to him."

"Sister..."

Seeing her insistence, Ah Jun, however reluctant, wouldn’t disobey her order. He swung himself onto the horse, pulled her up behind him, and they galloped straight for the city gates.

Who would have thought that before the two of them even reached the city gates, they would be stopped.

"Granny! Where are you two going? Why didn’t you take Jintang with you?"

E Jintang looked at Song Lianhe, his face a mask of anxiety.

Yin Huan stood behind him, crossing her arms with a sigh of resignation. "When he woke up and heard you had all left, he insisted on following. I couldn’t stop him."

Song Lianhe quickly explained, "I’m going to Yu State with King Qing. It’s a long and dangerous journey, and there will certainly be a battle. You two should stay here safely in Ling’an."

"No way!" E Jintang shook his head vehemently. "My mother told me to follow Granny and the Prince from now on."

’In the original story, E Jintang was a valiant general who performed great deeds for Zhou Junlin! With his help, Zhou Cangyan would be unstoppable.’

’But after spending so much time with him, Song Lianhe found she couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t bear to use him, and even less to see him get caught up in all this. She would rather he remain as carefree as he was now.’

Seeing her frown, E Jintang quickly turned to Yin Huan. "Little Nine, quickly, help me convince Granny! And... that thing with the Gu... I really didn’t know anything about it. Please don’t be angry with me, Granny."

Song Lianhe shook her head. "Granny isn’t angry..."

"Let him go."

Yin Huan said suddenly.

Song Lianhe looked at her. Of course, Yin Huan knew exactly what she was thinking.

"All I know is that life is short, so you should do what makes you happy in the moment." Yin Huan glanced at E Jintang and smiled. "And right now, all he wants is to be by your side and the Prince’s."

E Jintang nodded enthusiastically. "Little Nine gets me!"

Ah Jun also chimed in, "Sister, it would be good to have Brother Jintang with us. He’s incredibly strong; he can protect you!"

Yin Huan clicked her tongue. "You sure know how to make use of people!"

Ah Jun ignored her. He didn’t care what she said; in his eyes, no one was more important than his sister.

Song Lianhe mulled it over for a moment, her gaze sweeping down the long street, and then said abruptly, "If that’s the case, then we’ll all go together."

Only then did E Jintang’s face break into a smile.

Song Lianhe added, "The first troops Emperor Cheng Xiao sent were all old, weak, sick, or disabled. He’s not going to suddenly grow a conscience this time, either. Their party won’t be moving fast, so we might as well use this time to make some preparations."

The three of them looked at her. "What kind of preparations?"