Chapter 139
Chapter 139
[Isn’t the Villain Tempting? Not Really – 9]
Hidden beneath her wide sleeves, Zhou Shuhui’s fingers curled tight without her realizing it.
Yu Sixian, meanwhile, said coolly, “She’s no kin or friend of mine. What the hell do I care if she lives or dies?”
Zhou Shuhui did not miss the fleeting softness in his eyes when he looked at the little girl.
In that instant, amid the disbelief and resentment that threatened to drown her, she finally understood where her earlier hostility had come from.
She had been replaced.
Someone else had taken the original heroine’s place in Yu Sixian’s heart-the place reserved for his unattainable first love, the indelible mark upon his heart.
But she was supposed to be the heroine!
How could this have happened?!
Zhou Shuhui felt as if her entire world had collapsed around her.
Her longing to meet Yu Sixian and spend the rest of her life warming his heart had rested upon one simple premise: she was the heroine, and they would love each other in return. Now another little girl had appeared out of nowhere and taken the role that rightfully belonged to the heroine. What did that make her?!
Something vicious flashed across Zhou Shuhui’s face. The change was brief, but it did not escape Yu Sixian’s notice. A dangerous light flickered in his eyes. Then he smiled, his voice turning gentle. “Little girl, it’s time you answered my question.”
He held a folding fan in one hand, its tip propped lazily beneath his chin. His teasing tone made the words sound almost like a joke. “How do you know my name? How did you know this carriage was mine? You’d better answer properly. If you try to dodge the question, I’m afraid I won’t be nearly so pleasant.”
Having read every last scene involving Yu Sixian, Zhou Shuhui understood his temperament better than anyone. She remembered how his carriage had rolled straight past her without even slowing and knew he would not care in the slightest if another life stained his hands.
Only now did fear belatedly take hold of her.
This was Yu Sixian!
He could slaughter everyone under heaven for the woman he loved. He could order an entire city massacred without blinking. He could cherish you in the palm of his hand-but only if you were the one who held his heart!
Zhou Shuhui had assumed everything would unfold as naturally as breathing. She had loved Yu Sixian long before they met, and he was supposed to fall in love with her at first sight. Yet reality looked nothing like the story she had imagined. There had been no love at first sight, and Yu Sixian even had a delicate little flower beside him now.
Regret suddenly welled within her, but she did not dare defy him. She certainly could not tell the truth. Was she supposed to say he was the villain in a novel, that he would betray the whole world for her, only to die by her hand in the end?
Yu Sixian would probably kill her on the spot.
Since the truth was impossible, she had no choice but to lie. The only question was how-and that would require finesse.
Thoughts raced through Zhou Shuhui’s mind. An idea soon came to her. Mimicking five-year-old Zhou Shuyao’s expression, she put on an innocent face. “I heard my father mention you. He said Prince Su’s heir, Yu Sixian, traveled in a carriage drawn by four black horses, with a string of silver bells hanging from it. When I saw the carriage just now, I remembered what he had said.”
Yu Sixian had noticed at once that her clothes were too fine for an ordinary child. Her features promised future beauty, and her teeth were white and even-another luxury no commoner’s daughter was likely to possess.
Thus, her claim that her father had mentioned him did not surprise him. He merely arched a brow. “Who is your father?”
Zhou Shuhui thought of her dead father, and genuine grief crossed her face. “He has passed away.” When Yu Sixian’s gaze sharpened in inquiry, she gave him her father’s name as well.
Yu Sixian never forgot anything he saw or heard. Naturally, he remembered the order he had issued not long ago.
In truth, he had hurried south because Great General He Zhenkui had used the investigation into Father Zhou’s death as cover to destroy, in a single sweep, the vast smuggling network Prince Su’s residence had spent years constructing. As the young master behind that network, Yu Sixian knew the sooner he withdrew, the safer he would be. Now the girl before him had revealed that her father was the very man whose death he had ordered-the source of all the upheaval. Interest crept into his expression.
Nor had he overlooked the strangeness of a child traveling alone. Compassion softened his features as he said, “Come to think of it, I once met your father. Who could have imagined that, after our hasty parting, the next news I received of him would be his death?”
He sighed, then asked with apparent concern, “Now that your father is gone, why are you here alone instead of keeping vigil for him as his eldest daughter? Had you not met us, those bandits would surely have harmed you.”
With that, he flicked one hand in a casual gesture. No words were needed. The attendants behind him bowed in acknowledgment, drew their weapons, and entered the dense woods in pursuit of the bandits who had fled moments before.
Speaking of her father’s death stirred real sorrow in Zhou Shuhui. She lowered her head to wipe her tears, then promptly laid all the blame upon Old Madam Zhou. “My grandmother drove me out and left me to fend for myself. My father died, leaving only my younger sister and me. We were already pitiful enough, but Grandmother favors my second and third uncles and our cousins from the other branches. She even planned to divide Father’s estate among them and throw my mother, my sister, and me out with nothing!”
Her expression desolate, she continued through her tears, “When I confronted her, she used her status as my elder to silence me. She said I had no manners and ordered her people to send me to the family estate near the capital for strict discipline. On the way, I overheard her dowry retainers whispering together. They said they would smother me, then tell my mother I had died of an illness! I was terrified, so I slipped away in secret. I never imagined…”
Zhou Shuhui broke down in sobs.
Yu Sixian needed only a few sentences to know she was lying.
Old Madam Zhou came from an eminent clan, and her integrity was acknowledged throughout the capital. Unless she had lost her mind, she would never ruin her own reputation and murder her granddaughter for such a paltry sum.
At the Zhou family’s level, money simply did not matter that much. To Old Madam Zhou and her two surviving sons, the modest property left by the eldest branch could not begin to compare with the political goodwill Father Zhou had left behind upon his death.
Yu Sixian sneered inwardly, though he rather admired the girl’s talent for inventing nonsense on the spot. How could a child of seven or eight have concocted such a story so quickly unless those thoughts had already been festering in her mind?
Clearly, it was true that she and her grandmother were at odds, and that her grandmother had sent her back to the capital. What had actually happened, however, remained anyone’s guess.
Though the Zhou family had declined somewhat in recent years, it was still an eminent house. Old Madam Zhou had raised three fine sons. Father Zhou’s two younger brothers were no ordinary men either. With He Zhenkui’s favor behind them, the family was poised to restore its former prestige.
If Yu Sixian kept this little girl, with all her hatred for Old Madam Zhou and the rest of the family, as a pawn, she might prove useful in ways he could not yet foresee.
Several thoughts passed through his mind, but his expression revealed nothing. The girl traveling with him, meanwhile, listened to Zhou Shuhui’s tale with anger and sympathy chasing each other across her small face. “How could any grandmother be like that? She’s horrible!”
Then she asked anxiously, “Big Sister, if you have nowhere to go, why don’t you travel with us? We can find you somewhere safe to stay, then write to your mother and your maternal grandparents. They can stand up for you!”
Yu Sixian snorted. “And when exactly did I agree to take her in?”
Zhou Shuhui’s heart tightened.
The little girl planted her hands on her hips. “I’m the one taking this big sister in!”
Yu Sixian scoffed. “With what? You’ll still have to rely on me.”
The sight of her puffed-up cheeks made him laugh despite himself. He said nothing more.
Zhou Shuhui had been terrified when Yu Sixian said he would not shelter her. Now that the little girl had persuaded him to let her stay, she ought to have been relieved. For some reason, however, she could not feel happy at all.
Just then, several bloodcurdling screams rang out from the woods. From the voices, they could only have come from the bandits who had tried to kill Zhou Shuhui.
Zhou Shuhui might have had the mind of an adult, but she had been born and raised in the peace of modern China. The most violence she had ever witnessed was a scuffle between troublemakers in middle school. When had she ever seen real bloodshed?
The screams left her heart pounding and her legs trembling. At that moment, one of the bandits stumbled out of the woods in blind panic and bolted toward the road. An attendant raced after him and cut him down with a single stroke.
Blood sprayed through the air. The bandit’s eyes bulged as he died with them wide open.
Zhou Shuhui had no time to turn away. She saw everything, then let out a shriek sharp enough to pierce the eardrums. In the next instant, the little girl covered her eyes.
“It’s all right, it’s all right,” the girl soothed. “Just don’t think about it.”
Zhou Shuhui spun away, gulping for air. She glanced at Yu Sixian’s indifferent face, then at the little girl crouching beside her with worry in her eyes. “Aren’t you afraid?” she demanded in disbelief.
The girl shook her head. “No.”
“Someone died!” Zhou Shuhui cried shrilly. “How can you not be afraid?”
“Of course I’m not afraid!” Pride filled the girl’s face. “My father is a great hero. He goes to war, kills the enemy, and protects our home and country. It isn’t as though I’ve never seen a dead body. Things like this don’t scare me!”
She looked puzzled. “That man was evil. He got what he deserved, and his death is a good thing. Why should I be afraid?”
Was this truly the person who had replaced Zhou Shuhui as the heroine?
How could the heroine be so cold-blooded?!
Yu Sixian was cold-blooded himself. Why would he ever love someone just like him?
He was supposed to love a sweet, innocent girl-someone soft and adorable who knew how to act spoiled!
Zhou Shuhui stared blankly at the child. Those few sentences circled through her mind, setting her thoughts in motion.
She said nothing more.
Yu Sixian had no intention of lingering there. He soon climbed back into the carriage, and the little girl took Zhou Shuhui by the hand and brought her along.
Only then did Zhou Shuhui learn that the girl’s name was Bai Lu.
It was a rather peculiar name-the same as one of the solar terms.
Zhou Shuhui remained silent throughout the journey. When they stopped to rest, Bai Lu hopped down from the carriage for some air and invited her to come along. Zhou Shuhui claimed she was tired and stayed inside.
Yu Sixian remained as well.
Once Bai Lu had left, Yu Sixian and Zhou Shuhui were alone in the carriage. Zhou Shuhui pinched the corner of her robe between her fingers. After gathering her emotions, she lowered her lashes, and tears began pattering down her cheeks.
Yu Sixian glanced over impatiently.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Zhou Shuhui sobbed. “But I was truly frightened. I’ve never seen anything like that… Bai Lu is so brave. She’s even younger than me, yet she didn’t flinch when she saw a man die…”
Yu Sixian smiled.
The next instant, he seized Zhou Shuhui by the hair and hurled her down at his feet. “Don’t try your petty tricks on me. I’m not Bai Lu. I won’t show you mercy!”
Yu Sixian might have been young, but he was strong, while Zhou Shuhui was trapped in the body of an eight-year-old girl. She felt as though her scalp were being torn from her skull. Crying out in pain, she sprawled on the floor of the carriage and gasped for breath. Before she could beg for mercy, the icy flat of a dagger pressed against her cheek, its edge gleaming coldly.
Yu Sixian tapped the dagger against her face. Every tap sent a tremor through her body. “This is the first time, and it will be the last. Try it again, and I’ll cut out your tongue before I gouge out your eyes.”
When Zhou Shuhui first transmigrated, she had dreamed of becoming the great villain’s most cherished darling and basking in the singular devotion of a man who would betray the whole world but never betray her. Yet after all that dreaming, she had failed to win either his heart or his devotion. Instead, she had become part of the world he was willing to betray.
The halo around Yu Sixian suddenly seemed far less dazzling. Tears clinging to her lashes, Zhou Shuhui scrambled up from the carriage floor in abject terror and curled into the corner farthest from him.
Yu Sixian sneered at the sight. He put away the dagger, closed his eyes, and settled back to rest.
About half a quarter-hour later, Bai Lu returned. Zhou Shuhui could plainly sense the air around Yu Sixian grow warmer. Jealousy and hatred rose within her almost beyond her control.
She envied Bai Lu and hated her. She envied the special affection Yu Sixian showed the girl and hated her for stealing the place Zhou Shuhui had believed was hers.
She hated herself as well. She could have remained at home as the pampered daughter of an official, but she had insisted on running away. Now she was in Yu Sixian’s hands and had fallen to this miserable state.
But life had to go on.
A move made could not be withdrawn. She had chosen this path herself.
After they returned to Jingzhou, the stronghold of Prince Su’s power, Yu Sixian went to discuss affairs with his father. Bai Lu, meanwhile, ordered servants to bring brush and ink and specifically invited over a literate gentleman. Pulling Zhou Shuhui down beside her, she said, “You talk, and this gentleman will write. Tell him everything you told us, and we’ll make several copies. Then we can send letters straight to Pingcheng and the capital. Your mother and your maternal grandparents need to know what your grandmother has been doing behind their backs. We’ll expose her hypocrisy and get back everything that belongs to you!”
Zhou Shuhui was speechless.
If they truly wrote all that down, would her lies not be exposed at once?
Her scalp prickled. She forced herself to explain, “She is my own grandmother, after all, and I’m her junior…”
“That’s exactly why it’s even worse that she tried to kill you!” Bai Lu answered without hesitation. “Hurry up, Sister Shuhui. What are you waiting for?”
Zhou Shuhui had never expected Bai Lu not only to think unlike any normal child, but to leap into action the moment she had an idea. Afraid her lies would unravel, how could Zhou Shuhui possibly dictate the letter?
After Zhou Shuhui refused several times, Bai Lu smiled. She had the gentleman escorted out, then turned back with cold eyes. “You lying little fraud. Not one word you’ve said from beginning to end was true!”
Zhou Shuhui’s face changed abruptly.
“You had the nerve to run away alone and climb down from the second floor instead of waiting helplessly for death. That proves you aren’t stupid and that you have courage. If your grandmother truly wanted to kill you and steal the estate your father left behind, why wouldn’t you dare fight back?”
Bai Lu’s voice was icy. “The plan I gave you is the simplest and most effective solution. Why do you keep evading me? Or should I have someone take you back to Pingcheng so you can beat the grievance drum and file a complaint? The men the Great General sent to investigate your father’s death haven’t left yet. If you step forward and accuse her now, he will certainly see that justice is done!”
Zhou Shuhui had not expected the girl to be as clever as she was fierce. Alarm stirred within her, but then she remembered that she had lived for more than twenty years. How could she let a genuine little girl intimidate her?
She snorted. “I don’t owe you an explanation!”
“There! You’ve finally shown your true colors!”
Disdain covered Bai Lu’s face. She spat several times on the ground. “But don’t forget-you ate my food and used my things the entire way here. Before, I wasn’t sure whether you were a good person, so I was willing to share. Now that I know what you are, why should I give you anything? Get out this instant! If you can slander your own grandmother that way, you could turn around and sell me someday without even blinking!”
With that, she ordered the servants to throw Zhou Shuhui out.
This struck Zhou Shuhui exactly where she was most vulnerable.
During the journey, Bai Lu had already explained how dangerous it was to travel alone. Zhou Shuhui had no money, no way to earn a living, and not even household-registration papers to prove her identity. Anyone could carry her off, and she might die without ever learning how or why.
Now that Bai Lu was driving her away, where could Zhou Shuhui possibly go?
Shame and fury warred within her.
She was ashamed that a woman in her twenties had truly been cornered by a little girl.
She was furious that running away had reduced her to this. Forget rising to glory as the villain’s cherished darling-her very survival was now in question.
Zhou Shuhui hardened her heart, abandoned her pride, and began to cry. She apologized to Bai Lu and poured out her hardships and sorrows, only for Bai Lu to spit directly at her before she could finish.
Hands on her hips, Bai Lu crackled like a string of firecrackers. “You must think I’m blind! You fooled me once, and now you want to fool me again? You lying fraud-do you take me for an idiot?”
Zhou Shuhui was speechless.
That wretched brat!
Yesterday she had called her Big Sister. Today she was calling her a lying fraud!
Looking pitiful, Zhou Shuhui sobbed, “I’m alone out there. I’ll face all kinds of danger. I might die…”
“What the hell do I care if you live or die?”
Bai Lu showed no mercy. “You think I’ll feel sorry for you again? Ha! Don’t make me laugh!”
Zhou Shuhui was speechless.
She nearly choked with rage. “How can you be so vicious when you’re this young? This is a human life we’re talking about! If I truly die, how much sin do you think you’ll bear?”
“It would be a shame if a good person died. But there’s nothing regrettable about the death of a liar who slanders her own grandmother! Letting you go would be an act of virtue!”