“Brother Lanyi, you don’t believe me?”
Song Shishi’s eyes immediately reddened. She didn’t understand why it had to be Xie Lanyi—of all people—who stood up to protect Tang Qingluo.
“My wife has no misunderstanding of you. You indeed gave me a bowl of bad sweet soup,” Xie Lanyi said, ending the matter in one sentence. Song Shishi had no chance to defend herself.
“I didn’t! Brother Lanyi, why would you say that? I don’t understand. Have you been bewitched by this woman?” Song Shishi couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe that in such a short time, Xie Lanyi would change his attitude toward Tang Qingluo.
But Xie Lanyi didn’t respond to her accusations. He only said, “Miss Song, it is important for a person to know themselves. You and I are not close at all. Please don’t damage my reputation. You should address me as Young Master Xie.”
“Brother Lanyi—”
Song Shishi was truly heartbroken; her pride had been wounded.
“Enough!” A sharp voice thundered from behind. An elderly man, assisted by a young man, walked up.
“Shishi, how far are you going to let yourself lose face? Hurry up and go back.”
“Grandfather, they—they—this is too much!” Song Shishi felt wronged, feeling that they had slandered her without reason, fueling her anger and grievance.
Yet she didn’t realize that from the very beginning, she herself had approached Qian Ge with the dark intent of seeing the Xie family destroyed, using him for her own ends.
Ultimately, Tang Qingluo hadn’t slandered her.
Song Shishi had indeed harbored ill intentions toward Qian Ge and the Xie family.
So she should bear the consequences of this outcome.
But Song Shishi didn’t think that way. She believed what she did was justified.
She felt that, according to the original storyline, these people were supposed to die anyway; she didn’t see herself as harming anyone. Therefore, she felt wronged and sought justice.
But her grandfather didn’t defend her, didn’t prove her innocence. He simply wanted to take her back: “Shishi, go back.”
“I won’t—”
Slap! The sound of a sharp hand striking startled Song Shishi.
She covered her face, staring in disbelief at her grandfather. “Grandfather, even you side with outsiders to bully me! I hate you! I hate all of you!”
Song Shishi gritted her teeth, committing everyone around her to memory. She would not let them off easy; everyone who laughed at her would pay.
Last time, it was only because she had warned them that they escaped death.
Next time, she would watch with her own eyes—they would all die. They would all die. That was the price of not believing her.
Song Shishi ran off, full of resentment. Tang Qingluo, meanwhile, stayed alert.
This woman was not to be underestimated; she would have to be careful from now on.
Tang Qingluo furrowed her brows, but little Xie Wanxuan pulled her down, smoothing her tightly knitted eyebrows with a small hand. “Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, the bad person has been chased away. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
“Yes, next time if the bad person comes again, Sister Ten and I will help Sister-in-law too,” little Xie Wanning added, touching Tang Qingluo’s face.
The two girls were incredibly thoughtful.
Tang Qingluo felt deeply moved, hugging Xie Wanxuan, then Xie Wanning.
Smack, smack.
Tang Qingluo kissed the two little girls repeatedly, her heart melting. “Sister Ten and Sister Eleven are really wonderful. I’m so touched.”
If she ever had children, she wanted a daughter as thoughtful and lovely as them.
As she imagined her future daughter’s appearance, Tang Qingluo’s mind unexpectedly flashed to Xie Lanyi’s face. With a face like that, her daughter was destined to be beautiful.
Wait! What was she thinking? Her daughter with Xie Lanyi! Ugh—ugh—ugh—
Tang Qingluo quickly shoved the chaotic thoughts from her mind.
Xie Lanyi, watching the scene from the side, was first stunned, then a curve of a smile formed on his lips.
[Host, a new mission has been issued: Protect Xie Lanyi, kill 100 enemies. Mission reward: 1 advanced catapult blueprint, title: Hundred-Killer. Mission time: 7 days. Failure will result in host annihilation. Mission countdown begins…]
Hearing this kind of mission again, Tang Qingluo wasn’t surprised.
She had already suspected that any mission related to Xie Lanyi was unavoidable. If she didn’t complete it, her life would be at risk.
Sure enough, the newly issued mission confirmed her suspicion.
This husband really did have a good life.
Tang Qingluo put down Xie Wanning in her arms and glared at Xie Lanyi.
She had finally realized.
Xie Lanyi was born to the biological mother, while she, Tang Qingluo, was the stepmother’s child.
She had to charge forward, fighting for her life, while Xie Lanyi could just follow behind and win effortlessly.
Such unequal treatment—
System, system, let’s unbind. Bind Xie Lanyi instead, Tang Qingluo gritted her teeth, wanting to live an easy life too.
[Host, the condition for unbinding is: only after the previous host’s death can a new host be bound. Are you sure you want to unbind?]
No, no, doing missions is fine.
When it involved her life and death, Tang Qingluo’s attitude immediately became proactive.
..
In the following journey, whenever Tang Qingluo took a break, besides observing her surroundings, she also paid special attention to Song Shishi’s movements.
One day, with a hundred li still to go to Jizhou City, they came across an inn.
“When did this inn open? Last time we came, it wasn’t here. This is convenient! Boss, we don’t need to hunt anymore; there’s ready-made food.”
One of the lower-ranking officers happily entered the inn, set down the luggage, and called for the waiter to order a table full of good dishes.
Qian Ge was also pleased. His men hadn’t eaten well all day, only cold buns.
Now, with a chance to eat properly, he was happy to reward his men.
But Qian Ge didn’t forget his lifesaver. He instructed an officer: “Fatty, order an extra portion. Send it to Madam Xie later.”
“Yes, Boss.” Fatty ran to the kitchen again, ordering extra dishes.
Tang Qingluo saw Qian Ge and the others happily enjoying themselves. She didn’t want to ruin the mood yet. She wanted to confirm her suspicion first.
She called Xie Wenrui over and gave him a task: “Fifth Brother, I didn’t see Song Shishi here. She might be hiding outside. Go find her and see what she’s doing.”
Xie Wenrui didn’t understand why Tang Qingluo wanted him to do this, but trusting her, he asked no questions and went to look for Song Shishi promptly.
Soon, in less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, Xie Wenrui returned, anger clearly on his face.
“Fifth Brother, how is it? What is Song Shishi doing now?”
“She isn’t doing anything. She’s just cursing us the whole time,” Xie Wenrui recounted Song Shishi’s curses word for word to Tang Qingluo. “She said that Sister-in-law was a cannon fodder ex-wife who wouldn’t survive past three episodes, and that Brother was a world-destroying villain.”