Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 33: Song Xilan Is Digging a Pit, Waiting for Her to Jump In

"Possession"—the thought merely crossed Song Xilan’s mind before she dismissed it.

Although she wasn’t entirely against the idea of supernatural occurrences, Song Lianhe seemed less possessed and more... enlightened, as if she had suddenly awakened with newfound intelligence.

But before Song Xilan could think any further, Mrs. Liu had already started a conflict with Xuan Mei.

When Mrs. Liu saw her own guards get kicked out of the room by Xuan Mei in a matter of moments, she realized Xuan Mei was not someone to be trifled with. So, she pointed at Song Lianhe and started screaming, "You traitorous little thing! Have you really forgotten you’re a member of the General Mansion? We rise and fall together! You caused your father to be reprimanded by the Holy Emperor. What good does that do you?"

Song Lianhe peeked out from behind Heroine Xuan, propped her chin on her hand, and rested her elbow on the table. She watched her mother with a beaming smile. "Heh, it doesn’t do me any good. It just makes me happy. Happy enough to eat an extra bowl of rice."

Mrs. Liu’s face turned livid with rage. She motioned for her guards to rush forward and seize Song Lianhe, but Xuan Mei, without a second word, drew her longsword. Holding the blade, she gave a cold smile. "Come."

’The more I look at this girl, the more I like her,’ Song Lianhe thought. ’I have to find a way to get her from Zhou Cangyan...’

"A moment!"

Someone called out from outside the hall.

Song Lianhe turned to look. It was the steward of the Prince Qing Mansion, Pang Jiliang.

Pang Jiliang was over fifty years old, a tall, wizened man with sunken cheeks and slightly cloudy eyes. His thin eyelids drooped halfway closed. With his hands clasped before him and his body hunched, he took a step forward, bowed to Mrs. Liu, and said coldly, "I am the steward of the Prince Qing Mansion. General’s wife, you have brought people here to cause a scene in our Prince Qing Mansion. For what purpose?"

"I..."

Song Xilan gently tugged on her mother, signaling for her to be quiet. She then stepped forward, gave a graceful curtsy, and briefly explained that they were here to take Song Lianhe home.

Listening from the side, Song Lianhe clicked her tongue in mock admiration. ’When it comes to the art of speaking, you really have to hand it to the female lead.’

’The situation was so tense just a moment ago, but with just a few words, she’s managed to push all the blame onto me.’

Pang Jiliang’s eyelids remained lowered. Only after she finished did he speak. "Going to such great lengths, just to bring the Second Miss back to your mansion?"

"Precisely. There were some misunderstandings earlier. My mother was simply distraught over my father’s longing for his daughter, which is why we came to trouble your mansion. I hope you can forgive us."

Song Xilan’s voice was soft and sweet, enough to melt anyone’s heart. No matter how wrong she was, one couldn’t bear to be harsh with her.

Song Lianhe remembered that the original novel had specifically described the female lead’s voice several times—how one would be utterly captivated by the sound of it alone.

But Pang Jiliang clearly wasn’t falling for it. He wasn’t led astray by the female lead in the slightest.

"This old servant has a question. If the Second Miss were not in our Prince Qing Mansion right now, but in the Imperial Palace instead, would the General’s wife and the Eldest Miss lead a group of people to openly barge into the Imperial Palace and take her away?"

Song Xilan faltered. ’This steward from the Prince Qing Mansion is a sharp one,’ she thought.

Shuang Ye had procured a bunch of grapes from somewhere. Song Lianhe nodded as she ate, giving Pang Jiliang a mental thumbs-up. ’As expected of the Prince Qing Mansion, no one there is a freeloader!’

Pang Jiliang lowered his gaze, his voice measured. "I imagine you wouldn’t dare. If that’s the case, then you must think our Prince Qing Mansion is a pushover!"

"This is completely unreasonable, just twisting words and spouting nonsense! Don’t forget, her surname is Song! She is a daughter of the Song Family! The way you’re all stopping us... what are your true intentions?"

Mrs. Liu flew into a rage out of pure humiliation. First, she had been thoroughly angered by Song Lianhe, then blocked by a female guard, and now even a steward could point his finger and lecture them!

She was, after all, the wife of a dignified Second-Grade Court official, yet she was being cornered by a mere servant. What did that make of the General Mansion’s prestige?

In contrast to her mother’s furious expression, Song Xilan was calm and composed.

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly glimpsed a splash of ice-blue in a corner outside the hall...

Song Xilan paused for a moment. She quickly stepped forward to stop her mother from having another outburst, then positioned herself in the center of the hall. Standing as gracefully as a lotus blossom rising from the water—beautiful and refined—she looked directly at Song Lianhe and said with perfect poise, "Sister, I don’t know why you hold such a grudge against us. I know you have a terrible temper and don’t know how to forgive. The servants in the mansion are subjected to your private punishments for the slightest mistake, to say nothing of the common folk who might accidentally cross you on the street... As your elder sister, I also bear the responsibility for failing to guide you properly."

She spoke with righteous conviction, showing no weakness in front of outsiders. Poised and graceful, she was truly the very model of a noble lady from a prestigious family in Ling’an City.