Reborn As The Wicked Little Sister-in-Law - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: It Turns Out Wei Chengyan is Afraid of Dogs

As dusk approached, the streets of the capital remained a cacophony of voices, brightly lit by lanterns.

Lü Guiyan walked silently behind Wei Chengyan. The two hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the tea house. Despite the crowds moving to and fro, for some reason, Lü Guiyan felt a profound sense of loneliness. Whether it was the isolation of being in this foreign world or the sting of Wei Chengyan’s refusal to speak to her, she couldn’t quite decide.

Irritated, she spotted a discarded skewer of half-eaten candied haws on the road and gave it a sharp kick. The sudden, frightened yelp of a small dog reached her ears.

Looking up, she saw the skewer had struck a small black dog. She hurried over to the trembling creature and noticed an infection on its back where a patch of skin was missing. Its fur was dull and matted. It was clearly a stray.

Lü Guiyan had loved dogs since childhood. She wanted to take this one back with her. But just as she reached out a hand, Wei Chengyan barked a command from behind.

“Don’t touch that dog. It’s filthy.”

“I’ll do as I please!”

The moment her hand brushed the small black dog, the anxious creature nipped her. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep bite; it just wanted her to leave. A tiny bead of blood appeared on her finger.

Wei Chengyan, hiding behind Lü Guiyan, gloated, “Serves you right for getting bitten.”

Lü Guiyan didn’t give up. She took out the handkerchief Zou Shengsheng had used to wipe her face earlier, wrapped it around her hands, and reached out again, cooing to the dog.

“It’s only three or four months old and already a stray; it’s natural to be wary of humans. If you treat it with a sincere heart, it can feel it. In this regard, people are sometimes worse than a cute little puppy.”

Wei Chengyan had a habit of only listening to half of what was said. For instance, out of Lü Guiyan’s long speech, she only registered the part about “people being worse than dogs.”

“Lü Guiyan, you’ve grown quite bold. Now that there’s no one to back you up, you dare to point at the mulberry but curse the locust tree?”

Lü Guiyan: “…”

Did I curse her? When did I curse her? She’s delusional.

After several attempts, the small black dog finally stopped struggling and lay quietly in Lü Guiyan’s arms. Wei Chengyan, feeling ignored once again, couldn’t contain her rage.

“Why have you gone quiet? Because I hit the nail on the head! Hmph, it seems I’ve been too tolerant, allowing you to trample over my bottom line time and time again.”

Lü Guiyan was baffled. Somehow, Wei Chengyan’s words sounded… too domestic, like the complaints of a neglected wife.

“You know perfectly well that I’m afraid of dogs, yet you deliberately want to bring one home in front of me, and you even use the dog to insult me. Lü Guiyan, ask your own conscience: how many times have I actually harmed you?”

That resentful tone was truly something.

“At the spring outing, you pushed me into the water. After returning, your maid pushed me and made me fall. Yesterday, you came over to supervise me drinking a bowl of slow-acting poisonous soup.” Within less than a week, there were two life-threatening incidents. “I really don’t know how you have the face to ask how many times. Do I need to pull out the archives and count them all?”

Wei Chengyan was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she muttered, “None of them were successful, so how can they count as framing?”

“You…”

Fine, so you’re afraid of dogs, are you?

Lü Guiyan turned and walked toward her. The moment Wei Chengyan saw the dog in her arms, her legs went weak with fear, and she couldn’t move.

“Take it away! Get it away right now! Don’t let it near me!”

A triumphant smirk played on Lü Guiyan’s lips. “I’ll take it away on one condition: take me to see Lin Feng.”

“What do you want with her?” Wei Chengyan retreated as she spoke.

Lü Guiyan advanced confidently. “Huahua has an infection. He needs treatment.”

“Huahua?” Wei Chengyan looked at the puppy. “What a terrible name.”

“Then I’ll call him Chengcheng.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“If you don’t take me to Sister Feng, I’ll carry this dog into your courtyard every single day to scare you.”

Naming the dog “Chengcheng” (after Wei Chengyan) was just a slip of the tongue. If she actually did it, knowing Wei Chengyan’s petty nature, she’d probably jump over the wall of Muhe Courtyard in the middle of the night to turn the dog into stew.

Wei Chengyan gradually regained her composure. “Lin Feng has studied medicine for over a decade to treat people, not dogs.”

“Oh, is that so?” Lü Guiyan mused for a moment before flashing a wicked grin.

Inside Ping’yi Clinic in the East District, the renowned physician Lin Feng was staring with focused intensity—and hidden fury—at the small black dog lying on the wooden table. She pulled Wei Chengyan aside.

“I have practiced medicine for years and seen countless patients, but a dog is a first. I treat humans, not animals.”

Wei Chengyan kept a cold face. “Understood. You’re afraid your skills are too poor to cure a dog. I’ll take them to another clinic. I’ll be sure to mention we came from Ping’yi Clinic first.”

Being rumored as a doctor who couldn’t treat a simple ailment would ruin the clinic’s reputation.

“You… fine! I’ll treat it!” Lin Feng was so angry her head felt dizzy. She spoke through gritted teeth.

Since there were still patients in the hall and she didn’t want them to see her treating a dog, she carried it to the backyard. After an examination, she told Lü Guiyan it was just a surface wound; a few days of ointment and rest would fix it.

Lü Guiyan was overjoyed and reflexively moved to give Wei Chengyan a hug.

“Stop! You’ve touched that dog. Don’t you dare lunged at me.”

“Tch~ fine, no hug then.” It’s not like I’m dying to hug you either.

By the time Huahua’s wound was treated, it was already dark. Meanwhile, the Pingyang Marquis Manor was in total chaos. The Marquis was pacing anxiously back and forth at the main gate. He stopped and questioned the three concubines once more.

“You’re saying you looked all day and couldn’t find Xiao Jiu?”

“Yes, yes,” the three replied in unison.

They hadn’t actually told the Marquis that Lü Guiyan was missing; they had been pulled from their peaceful dinner to the front gate. Now, they were being interrogated until their throats were dry.

“We went to find Ninth Sister this morning and saw she wasn’t in Muhe Courtyard. Except for Lanxin Courtyard and Canglan Hall, we checked every courtyard, the garden, and the back hill. She was nowhere to be found,” the Fifth Concubine droned, her voice devoid of emotion.

“After informing Sister Lan, we went back to our own courtyards,” the Sixth Concubine added in the same tone.

Concubine Lan looked frantic. “Yes, after my sisters told me, I sent people to search. To verify their claim that someone from the Heir’s courtyard had taken Xiao Jiu, I even sent people to search there in secret. There was still no sign of her.”

At this point, Concubine Lan’s eyes welled with tears, looking utterly pitiful. Her weeping made the Marquis’s heart melt.

He Yu defended herself: “Marquis, our courtyard has no reason to hide the Ninth Concubine.”

Whenever Concubine Lan cried, the Marquis sided with her unconditionally. Hearing He Yu’s refusal to admit it, his anger boiled over. “Who said you were hiding her? Didn’t you hear the three concubines say someone with ‘ill intentions’ from your courtyard abducted her? And you still try to argue!”

Inner thoughts of 5, 6, and 7: We never said that.

Concubine Lan sobbed into the Marquis’s chest, her eyes red. “Marquis, please don’t be harsh with He Yu. Their courtyard has many people; she can’t monitor everyone. Today’s matter isn’t her fault.”

“You’re making things up! You’re deliberately slandering our courtyard!” He Yu cried.

Concubine Lan leaned weakly against the Marquis, not daring to speak. The Marquis was furious; if he hadn’t been holding a beauty in his arms, he would have stepped forward to slap He Yu.

“Then tell me, who is missing from your courtyard today?”

He Yu’s voice dropped. She stammered, “The… the Heir… is missing.”

“Ha! So I was right! The person with ‘ill intentions’ isn’t a servant, it’s the master of the house! Speak! Where did she take Xiao Jiu?”

He Yu trembled. “No, the Heir didn’t—”

Before she could finish, a servant stationed at the corner came running toward the gate, panting. “They’re back! The Heir and the Ninth Concubine have returned together!”

As Wei Chengyan and Lü Guiyan approached, they saw the large crowd standing at the gate, each with a different expression on their face.

“What happened to all of you?”