Reborn As The Wicked Little Sister-in-Law - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: What Kind of Person is Wei Chengyan

“You…”

Wei Chengyan stood as still as a wooden chicken, pointing at the water cup, then shifted her gaze toward the innocent-looking Lyu Guiyan.

Was it intentional, or an accident? “What’s wrong with you?” Lyu Guiyan asked with concern.

“Noth… nothing.” Wei Chengyan’s lips trembled; even her voice was shaking.

“That’s not right. Your expression right now looks like you’ve just eaten something… unpleasant.”

Wei Chengyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Your description is… quite apt.”

No, I have to go take the antidote immediately, or it’ll be too late to work.

“Then you rest, I’m heading back.” With that, she fled the Muhe Courtyard at lightning speed.

Lyu Guiyan thought Wei Chengyan was acting bizarrely. Wandering around in the middle of the night? No one would believe that excuse—she was definitely up to no good. Recalling the Heir’s expression after drinking the water, Lyu Guiyan immediately opened the teapot and sniffed it. Her brow furrowed. “I can’t smell a thing, but there’s definitely a problem.”

Lyu Guiyan hauled the unconscious Xiaotan back to her small bed, then returned to her own couch. She couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.

Qiyun, do you think she came here at midnight to harm me?

It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Or did you think she suddenly grew a conscience and came to see if you kicked off your blankets?

Qiyun’s words caused Lyu Guiyan’s heart to sink halfway. She thought about how she had helped Wei Chengyan earlier that evening, even dragging Concubine Lan into the mess, only to be repaid like this. But on second thought, she had snuck out of the manor herself; it really had nothing to do with Wei Chengyan, so the Heir shouldn’t have been punished for it anyway.

If they were even now, there was no need to feel heartbroken. They were enemies from the start; they were never meant to walk the same path. Lyu Guiyan’s spirits remained low, and she stayed wide awake until dawn.

As the horizon turned the color of a fish’s belly, she rose wearily, sporting a pair of dark “panda eyes.” It had been a long time since she had watched the sunrise. The warm, gentle light slowly rose, bathing everything in a soft glow. But in Lyu Guiyan’s eyes, there was no joy.

She wondered: was Wei Chengyan’s extreme mindset innate, or was she pushed to it by her family?

In the original novel, the author described Wei Chengyan’s malice in great detail, gave a few glimpses of the pressure from the Marquis’s manor, but never once described what her original intentions were. Lyu Guiyan remembered reading character reviews about Wei Chengyan before coming here; opinions were polarized.

One group believed she was inherently good, driven to extremes by the people in the manor. With no love from parents, friends, or siblings, she never received love and thus never learned how to love others correctly.

Another group believed she was inherently evil. At age five, she caused the death of her wet nurse; at eight, she threw the Third Concubine’s newborn infant onto the ground. Every subsequent act of persecution was followed by her calmly claiming others owed her. In reality, no one owed her anything—not Mu Yan, and certainly not Heyu or the “Five-Six-Seven” trio she eventually used as scapegoats. They had all initially hoped she would thrive and properly inherit the Marquis’s title.

Lyu Guiyan used to find these debates hilarious. It was just a fictional character—what was the point? Just a persona under a writer’s pen. But after experiencing two previous lives, she had felt the grief of parting and the inner thoughts of the original hosts. In those moments, she felt like a living human being, not a character on paper.

Thus, Lyu Guiyan fell into a dilemma. Which type of person was Wei Chengyan?

People always say humans are inherently good, but in Lyu Guiyan’s view, human nature is like a blind box; it can’t be measured simply by “good” or “evil.” There is room for neutrality. Perhaps Wei Chengyan’s character started in the middle, and the scales eventually tipped toward evil.

If she were given the right guidance, would things…

The thought startled Lyu Guiyan. She shook her head vigorously to drive the idea away.

“What am I thinking? Trying to save her? Lyu Guiyan, has your brain short-circuited?”

It was a terrifying thought. She couldn’t let herself think that way.

“Don’t go playing the saint. Don’t forget the life of a decadent, wealthy woman is waiting for you.”

Treat it all as a game. It’s just a game.

This was just a trial. In the real world, it was just a mediocre novel. It wasn’t real! Lyu Guiyan slapped her cheeks a few times to wake herself up. Once she regained her composure, it was time to take action.

Returning to the main room, she found Xiaotan still sleeping. Breakfast would be delivered in fifteen minutes; it wouldn’t be good if the Head Maid saw Xiaotan being lazy. Lyu Guiyan woke her up and told her to get ready to apply her medicine.

Xiaotan’s eyes were misty with sleep. “Ninth Concubine, you’ve woken me from a beautiful dream.”

“What dream?” Lyu Guiyan opened the wooden wardrobe to find clothes.

“I dreamed I was in love with the God of War, and he was willing to endure the ‘Bone-Stripping Punishment’ for me. We became an ordinary couple; he wrote poetry while I cooked. We wandered through deserts and picked up shells by the sea. Then someone found me and said I was the long-lost child of the richest man in the capital, coming to inherit billions—and I was woken up just as I started to enjoy it.”

Lyu Guiyan’s jaw nearly dropped. Life really boils down to two things: finding “the one” and finding fortune.

“Your dream is quite the romance novel mashup. Impressive.”

“What’s a ‘romance novel’? What’s a ‘mashup’?”

Lyu Guiyan found a light blue dress; the color reminded her of the seaside. “Uh… just something I made up. Get up quickly. If the Head Maid sees you slacking, Biyu will fine you.”

Xiaotan loved money more than life itself. You could punish her with anything, but not her salary. She scrambled out of bed and began styling Lyu Guiyan’s hair.

After breakfast, Lyu Guiyan headed to the Yulan Courtyard to find Concubines Five, Six, and Seven. When Xiaotan heard this, her expression turned solemn.

“What is it? Are you still angry with them?” Lyu Guiyan asked.

“No, it’s just… you’ve been visiting them a lot lately. To any observer, it looks suspicious. I’m afraid someone in the manor will see through you before you even gain the Heir’s trust.”

“Let them see through me then.”

Lyu Guiyan didn’t care. Out of the thirteen concubines in the manor, they all ended up dead—either as scapegoats, poisoned, or framed. They only had a few years left to live; what was the point of all the scheming?

She arrived at Yulan Courtyard just as Heyu was coming out. The two collided. Heyu disliked Lyu Guiyan the most and felt better only after sniping at her.

“Oh~ if it isn’t the Ninth Concubine who’s afraid of getting lost after three steps. Why are you here today? Did you crawl over?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Lyu Guiyan always felt uncomfortable hearing Heyu speak. It was like the sound of fingernails scratching a chalkboard. Cringe.

“I flew over,” she replied, walking straight past her, too lazy to argue.

Heyu turned red with anger. “Only because you helped the Heir yesterday will I let this slide!”

Lyu Guiyan ignored her. Inside the room, the “Five-Six-Seven” trio saw her and knew she was there to play cards.

The Sixth Concubine said, “I specifically prayed to the God of Wealth last night. Don’t think you’re winning today!”

“The God of Wealth?” Oh~ they actually believed me. They didn’t realize it was just nonsense she’d made up. Damn, if I knew they were this easy to fool, I would have made the story even weirder.

“I’m not afraid. I went out yesterday and prayed to the most fortune-attracting deity of all.”

Qiyun, help me cheat~

Can’t you rely on actual skill?

What’s that? I’ve never had any.

Why play fair when you have a cheat code? It would be against the laws of nature.