Reborn As The Wicked Little Sister-in-Law - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Has Wei Chengyan Gone Mad

He Yu clutched her face with both hands, tears of pain streaming down. “You—”

“You what? You spend all day snapping at people like a rabid dog. I didn’t dig up your ancestral grave, and I didn’t steal your money or your man, so why do you keep biting me? You call me lowly, but how noble are you? If you’re so high and mighty, why are you still a maid serving others? A person of your ‘stature’ should be eating delicacies, traveling in an eight-man litter, and drawing crowds wherever you go. When you take medicine, do you throw the pill away and eat the wrapping paper? Or did the midwife drop your brain in a bucket of water when you were born? You have to hurl a few insults at me every time we meet just to feel comfortable. People who don’t know us would think we have some blood feud. Honestly, I tried to ignore you, but you just get more out of hand every time. Today you even pushed me into the river, trying to kill me. Did you think my silence was a sign of surrender? You thought wrong. That was my generosity, not wanting to bicker with you. Don’t think for a second I’m a soft persimmon you can squeeze as you please. If your master wasn’t here today, it wouldn’t have ended with just three slaps.”

This rapid-fire barrage left He Yu speechless and unable to retaliate. Everyone in the clinic was stunned by Lü Guiyan’s eloquence and fiery temper.

Specifically, Jing Ruoyun, who was standing in the corner, was terrified. She had been calculating how to spread rumors about Lü Guiyan and her brother, but seeing Lü Guiyan slap and scold someone without pausing for breath made her second-guess everything.

The people in the Pingyang Marquis’s family are all ruthless. If she finds out I’m the one behind the rumors, she’ll probably skin me alive. Can’t provoke her! Definitely can’t provoke her!!

Mu Yan, Zou Shengsheng, and Jing Hongyi stood frozen. None of them expected the seemingly weak and easily bullied Lü Guiyan to be so spicy when provoked. Jing Hongyi, however, found himself quite liking this side of her.

Beside them, Wei Chengyan was slack-jawed. Every word Lü Guiyan had said before the slapping incident echoed in her ears. Because Lü Guiyan had been so attentive and fawning lately, Wei Chengyan had felt suspicious; she hadn’t stopped He Yu earlier because she wanted to see how long Lü Guiyan could endure. She thought Lü Guiyan would be like before—unskilled with words, only able to go home crying to her father to handle He Yu.

To her surprise, Lü Guiyan took her revenge on the spot and scolded He Yu into silence. When did she change from a delicate, pretentious girl to this bold and spicy character?

Amidst the shock, Lin Feng quietly poured a cup of tea and offered it to Lü Guiyan.

Lü Guiyan declined, “Thank you, Sister Lin Feng, but I’m not thirsty.” She looked around at the open-mouthed crowd, picked up her wet clothes, and said, “I have things to do. I’m leaving.”

Lü Guiyan swaggered out of the clinic and headed toward the Fangtong Bookstore. The streets were bustling with life, and she hummed a cheerful tune as she walked. After a while, Jing Hongyi caught up with her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be escorting Miss Zou out of the city?”

Jing Hongyi ruffled his hair awkwardly, lacking his usual confidence. “I couldn’t win against Mu Yan.”

“So what? If he escorts her, you escort her too. Zou Zou is still single, and the road doesn’t belong to the Mu family. If you can’t out-argue him, just follow her shamelessly! Zou Zou has a soft heart; if you escort her back today, she’ll remember that kindness for a lifetime.”

Lü Guiyan, staying true to her goal of disrupting the original plot, tried her best to persuade him.

“But I—”

“I know. You don’t dare. You’re afraid. You’re weak. You don’t even have the courage to try.”

The “provocation method” worked on Jing Hongyi, but it also stabbed him right in the heart. “Your tongue is truly poisonous. I’ve helped you, taught you to read and write—I’m basically half your master. Can’t you say something nice to comfort me?”

To keep Jing Hongyi from straying too far from the main plot, Lü Guiyan had to go against her conscience.

“You are the eldest son of the Nanyang Earl’s mansion, handsome and dashing, and the richest man in the capital. No one could resist you! Don’t always feel like you’ll lose to Mu Yan. Mu Yan is only slightly more literate, slightly better at martial arts, slightly more handsome, has a slightly higher government post, and is slightly more popular with the girls than you.”

Jing Hongyi started off grinning at the first half of her speech, but his face slowly collapsed as she continued. His heart was bleeding, nearly causing internal injuries. He finally gritted out, “You really… know how to talk.”

Lü Guiyan smiled brightly. “Thank you for the compliment.” Then she changed the subject. “By the way, after today, rumors about us might spread through the capital.”

Jing Hongyi’s expression turned serious. “I came to talk to you about that. There are many women rumored to be with me, so I don’t care, but what about you?”

Even if Jing Ruoyun didn’t spread the word, so many people at Nanyuan Bridge saw Jing Hongyi hand his coat to Lü Guiyan; people would surely gossip. Lü Guiyan’s plan was originally to ruin her own reputation anyway, and seeing that Jing Hongyi likely wouldn’t be affected, she wasn’t worried.

“I’m fine too. I believe that a clean person stays clean.”

Jing Hongyi gave a helpless, cold laugh and told her just not to listen to it. He escorted her to the bookstore before leaving to chase after Mu Yan and Zou Shengsheng.

Lü Guiyan wandered the bookstore for a while and bought five books, two of which were male-oriented novels intended for Jing Hongyi. By the time she finished and returned to the manor, it was dark. It was then she realized she hadn’t eaten dinner, and the manor’s mealtime had long since passed.

“Sigh, I guess I’m going hungry tonight.”

Before even entering Muhe Courtyard, she saw from the outside that the place was brightly lit. Her heart jumped: Is someone raiding my room? Is the yard on fire?

She approached warily, peeking in. Several lanterns had been placed along the path from the gate to the main house. Huahua squeezed through the crack in the door, and Lü Guiyan picked him up and walked inside. The lamps on the corridor that were usually left unlit were all glowing tonight, and the candles in the main room were flickering brightly.

Lü Guiyan was full of questions. She lived alone—who lit the lights for her? She walked in and saw Xiao Tan resting under the corridor.

“Xiao Tan? You haven’t left?” To avoid implicating her later, Lü Guiyan had ordered her back to Lanxin Courtyard yesterday.

“Auntie Biyu said that from now on, my job is to take care of you. I’m not allowed back in Lanxin Courtyard,” Xiao Tan explained with a helpless shrug.

I see. If that was the case, there was no point in pushing her away. She’d have to find time to talk to Concubine Lan about it.

Lü Guiyan looked around. Muhe Courtyard had a lot of trees and felt gloomy during the day and terrifying at night. But with these lanterns lit, she felt less afraid. Perhaps she could get a good night’s sleep.

“You lit all these lanterns? Thank you for the hard work.”

Xiao Tan shook her head. “I didn’t want to. Lighting so many is exhausting. I’m not stupid—why would I go looking for extra work?”

“Then who…?”

“You might not believe it, but the person who told me to light them was…” Xiao Tan leaned in close, her expression solemn. Just as she was about to speak—

“Wei Chengyan?”

Xiao Tan’s eyes widened, and she gave Lü Guiyan a thumbs-up. “Ninth Concubine, you’re a regular fortune teller! Half an hour ago, the Heir was walking past our gate and said it was too dark and looked ‘unlucky,’ so she told me to light all the lanterns. I’m just a weak girl, climbing up and down… I’m exhausted.”

Lü Guiyan only heard the part about Wei Chengyan; the rest of Xiao Tan’s complaining faded into a background buzz like a mosquito.

Has Wei Chengyan gone mad?