Reborn As The Wicked Little Sister-in-Law - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Sneaking Out of the Manor

The streets of the capital were bustling with life—crowds of people and an unending symphony of street vendors hawking their wares.

In a corner of the East District, a horse-drawn cart used for transporting vegetables was stationary. The lid of a large basket on the cart was pushed open, and a petite, dark-skinned man climbed out.

This was none other than Lü Guiyan. She had risen early to intercept the vegetable delivery boy on his route, hiding in the basket while they were unloading to smuggle herself out of the manor.

Today, her goal was to find Zou Shengsheng. According to the original plot, the male lead, Mu Yan, would become obsessed with Zou Shengsheng after their chance encounter in the Shangjing Woods. He would eventually order his servants to purchase flowers from her, implying that Zou Shengsheng herself must deliver them to the manor.

In the early stages of the story, Zou Shengsheng rarely visited the capital. Lü Guiyan had to seize this opportunity to build a good relationship with her.

To prevent being recognized by acquaintances, Lü Guiyan had intentionally darkened her skin with makeup, donned male clothing, and even forced her voice into a coarse growl. With this disguise, she felt foolproof.

As she walked along Panlan Street, she looked up and spotted that “flowery peacock” Jing Hongyi, folding fan in hand, walking toward her with a face full of spring breezes.

She had forgotten that this guy loved nothing more than wandering the streets to look at beauties. It would be embarrassing to be recognized. However, looking at her current makeup and attire, she figured even her own mother wouldn’t know her.

Lü Guiyan shed her timid posture and strutted past Jing Hongyi with a swagger.

When she wasn’t recognized, she felt a surge of pride—only for it to last for a mere second. Jing Hongyi spun around and blocked her path.

“It’s only been a few days. How did you change from white snow into black charcoal?”

Lü Guiyan refused to admit it, answering in a deep, booming voice, “Little pretty boy, you’ve got the wrong person.”

“You can say this young master doesn’t love women, but you cannot question my eyesight. You are Lü Guiyan, the little lady from the Pingyang Marquis Manor. We met behind the rockery at Yunhua Garden in the Shangjing Woods.”

Damn. He could recognize her even like this? His eyesight was too good. Since the gig was up, she stopped pretending. After all, she had planned to ask him to teach her to write; she might as well bring it up now.

“Impressive. To think you’d recognize me. I always thought you were just a useless playboy, but you actually have real talent. You’ll surely be a role model for the noble scions of the capital in the future.”

Basking in the praise, Jing Hongyi couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. “I’m already a role model for them now.”

Right, a role model for what not to do.

“Is that so? No wonder I felt Mr. Jing had such an extraordinary aura, a far cry from those rich boys who only know how to eat, drink, and play.”

“Alright, enough of that. You despised me the other day, yet you’re praising me today. Tell me, do you want me to help you keep this hidden from the Wei family?”

Jing Hongyi changed his tune so quickly that Lü Guiyan blanked for a second before catching up to his rhythm.

“Master Jing, you really do see everything. My little schemes have nowhere to hide from your ‘fiery eyes’.”

Pride written all over his face, Jing Hongyi snapped open his fan. “It seems you have something more important than hiding this from the Weis. Speak up, and let’s see if this young master can help you.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’; this is a simple task for someone like you. You are handsome, brilliant, skilled in martial arts, wealthy, and from a noble family. You could flip the capital upside down and not find a second person as divine as you.”

This string of flattery hit Jing Hongyi right in his sweet spot. Even though he knew she wasn’t being sincere, he was delighted nonetheless.

“You have good taste. So, between Mu Yan and me, who do you choose?”

“Huh?”

No way. This guy was still hung up on that question from the other day. She had already compromised her conscience once; doing it again wouldn’t hurt.

Lü Guiyan smiled sincerely, enunciating every word: “Of… course… it’s you.”

“Mhm~ I like that answer. Very well, whatever you ask of me, as long as it’s within my power, I shall grant it.”

Lü Guiyan was glad she had painted herself black; otherwise, Jing Hongyi would surely have seen her speechless expression.

“I want you to teach me how to write.”

“That request hardly warrants so many lies.”

Lü Guiyan was momentarily caught in an awkward spot, thinking to herself: He did that on purpose just to gross me out.

On the surface, she chirped, “You know my status; I can’t leave the manor often, so…”

“So you want me to sneak into your courtyard in the middle of the night to teach you?”

It was an absurd suggestion, yet this rake seemed to get more excited as he spoke. This made Lü Guiyan suspect the rumors about Jing Hongyi enjoying late-night trysts with married women were actually true.

“That won’t be necessary. I wouldn’t want to ruin Master Jing’s reputation. I meant we should fix a time and place to meet.”

“Oh~ I see. That works too. I love helping others.”

Jing Hongyi’s tone was thick with disappointment, and his face slumped.

“One lesson every three days at Cuiyun Restaurant. The time is set for a quarter past noon. I’ll see you in three days.”

Having lost interest, he asked dejectedly, “So, are you dressed like this specifically to find me, or do you have other business?”

“Other business. Uh… I mean, I was mainly looking for you.”

Since she needed a favor, she had to bow her head appropriately. Jing Hongyi rolled his eyes. “What are you planning to do?”

“Just walking around, seeing the outside world. I’m bored to death staying in that manor every day.”

If Jing Hongyi knew she was going to the Wuxuan Marquis Manor to find Zou Shengsheng, he’d probably get another adrenaline shot—or worse, ruin the encounter between the leads. For safety, she chose to keep him in the dark.

“Then do you want to go to a brothel with me?”

“What? A brothel!”

Lü Guiyan’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect Jing Hongyi to drop all pretenses of dignity in front of her. Was this the difference in how he treated married versus unmarried women? It was huge.

Ahem. “I’m not going. What if you sell me?”

Lü Guiyan didn’t want to waste time; she began walking as she spoke. Jing Hongyi followed closely. “What are you thinking? I just think with your outfit today, if we appear together in a place full of beauties, they’ll surely throw themselves at me to get away from you.”

Oh, so I’m the ugly foil.

“Still not going. They’d realize I’m a woman in a heartbeat. If that Heir back at the manor found out, she’d skin me alive.”

Jing Hongyi didn’t want to give up. “It’s fine, she won’t know. I’ll protect you.”

Lü Guiyan covered her ears, ignoring his nagging, and strode forward. Seeing that she wasn’t paying attention, Jing Hongyi gave up after following her for a while.

After shaking him off, Lü Guiyan changed direction toward the Mu residence. Because Jing Hongyi had delayed her, she had to pick up the pace.

She ran all the way, finally appearing just as Zou Shengsheng was moving her last pot of flowers. Having not run a long distance in decades, this nearly killed her—plus, with the injury on her leg, this sprint would surely aggravate the wound.

Lü Guiyan was exhausted and drenched in sweat. When Zou Shengsheng saw her, she asked with concern, “Miss Lü, are you alright?”

No way. Recognized again instantly.

“I’m fine… just my legs turned to jelly.”

Zou Shengsheng took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from Lü Guiyan’s brow. “Are you running from someone?”

“No, I came to see you.”

Zou Shengsheng hadn’t expected someone to tire themselves out so much just to see her. Her heart fluttered with joy, mixed with pity for the sweating girl. “Why did you come looking for me, Miss Lü?”

Lü Guiyan leaned against the carriage, gasping for air. “It’s nothing… I just wanted to see you.”

Would that sound too weird? “I came to apologize on behalf of the Heir. She wasn’t in a good mood that day; she didn’t mean to snap at you.”

A flicker of disappointment passed through Zou Shengsheng’s eyes. So it was for the female Heir, not because she wanted to be friends.