Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 51: From Nephew to Older Brother

"You, stop right there!"

Song Xingfeng had once been a commander who led entire armies, yet here he was, fuming at his own daughter.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist.

Song Lianhe frowned. Turning her head, she met Zhou Junlin’s deep, cold gaze. "This prince orders you to apologize to Xilan."

Song Lianhe’s gaze shifted from his face to the top of his head.

The protagonist’s halo above him grew ever brighter, telling her that this was a critical scene. ’It’s Zhou Junlin’s time to shine!’

Sure enough, Song Xilan was looking at him with hearts in her eyes, full of worship and adoration.

’So, the Villainess once again becomes a stepping stone on the main couple’s path to love.’

Watching the halo above Zhou Junlin’s head glow brighter and seeing the smug look on Mrs. Liu’s face, Song Lianhe’s own expression grew colder and colder.

She took a deep breath and suddenly called out, "Brother Junlin."

Zhou Junlin froze, stunned by her use of the word "Brother."

Thanks to their connection through the Lady of Xuan Chang, the two were practically childhood sweethearts. When they were little, Song Lianhe loved to follow him around. Though she was several years younger, she never called him ’brother’. Instead, she’d join the adults in teasingly calling him "nephew."

It wasn’t until she was eleven or twelve, when the first stirrings of love began, that she consciously started calling him "Brother Junlin."

But in that brief moment of his distraction, Song Xilan’s expression changed. When she looked at Song Lianhe again, her face was a mask of undisguised gravity and defensiveness.

Song Lianhe paid them no mind and said slowly, "I am a young woman, and I have my pride. I am your fiancée, betrothed to you by the Holy Emperor himself, yet you treat me worse than a servant! Brother Junlin, do you truly despise me this much?"

Zhou Junlin was momentarily speechless, his hand holding her wrist frozen in mid-air.

"I’ve said it before, if you want to dissolve our engagement, I have no objections. I would even go with you to petition the Holy Emperor. If the Holy Emperor were to place blame, I would willingly share the punishment with you! Since you detest me, just let me go. Why must you humiliate me like this?"

She lifted her hand, indicating with her eyes.

Following her gaze, he saw the wrist he was gripping. It was bright red.

Zhou Junlin froze, immediately letting go. A flash of regret crossed his face. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Even though he disliked Song Lianhe, he still felt a moment of guilt.

Even Song Xingfeng frowned deeply. No matter how bad Song Lianhe was, she was still his daughter. Seeing his own child treated with such contempt by her fiancé left a sour taste in his mouth.

Before he could get the two words "I’m sorry" out, Mrs. Liu’s shrill voice cut in. "This humble one never knew the Second Miss was so sharp-tongued, able to twist black into white! We were talking about you humiliating and beating Nanny Tian, so how did this suddenly become about Prince Ling? Don’t think you can muddle the issue and get away with it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Junlin’s eyes suddenly cleared.

His first instinct was to look at Song Xilan. She was pressing her lips together tightly, not saying a word, but no matter how well she concealed it, he could still see her disappointment.

His heart tightened. While silently blaming himself, he shifted all the fault back onto Song Lianhe!

’Just like a few days ago, when she was pointedly ignoring me to get my attention, this is just another one of her petty tricks!’

However, when he met Song Lianhe’s quiet gaze, he was taken aback once more.

She didn’t fly into a rage from embarrassment after being exposed, as she had before. Instead, she was very docile, just staring at him intently without offering a single word of defense.

This change, on the contrary, puzzled Zhou Junlin.

’She...’

"Forget it," Song Lianhe said suddenly.

Just as Zhou Junlin’s full attention was on her, she decisively looked away. Her voice deliberately dropped a few degrees, the distance in it sounding a little forced, like a young lady afraid of having her innermost thoughts discovered.

"If Your Highness says it’s my fault, then it’s my fault. Thinking it over, I was indeed wrong. I was wrong to make things difficult for Nanny Tian. Even if she was disrespectful to me in my own courtyard, even if I was paraded through the estate by the servants, I shouldn’t have laid a hand on her to teach her a lesson;"

Nanny Tian was shocked and cried out that she was wronged. "This servant..."

Zhou Junlin’s face instantly turned cold. "Paraded through the estate?"

Song Xingfeng was also stunned. He looked towards Mrs. Liu, who wore a panicked expression. "My lord, don’t listen to her nonsense..."

Song Lianhe’s voice remained quiet yet firm. "I knew that Nanny Tian was my sister’s governess and that they are very close. Even for my sister’s sake, I should have acted as if nothing happened... I can only blame my own inability to swallow my pride..."