Nonsense! She’s Not a Bad Woman! - Chapter 81

Qiao Wanyan paused briefly at the doorway before stepping inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced toward the inner chamber, but the view was blocked by a folding screen. She couldn’t tell whether Liu Yanran had woken up or was still unconscious.

If she had woken, had she already said something she shouldn’t to the Crown Prince?

And if she hadn’t… how was Qiao Wanyan supposed to bluff her way through now?

Her gaze lingered on He Zhiyu’s calm and steady expression. It was impossible to read what he was truly thinking, and her mind spun furiously, calculating her options.

“Your servant greets Your Highness.” Qiao Wanyan curtsied with graceful composure.

“I wonder, what business brings Your Highness here so late at night?”

Her tone was distant yet courteous. He Zhiyu’s deep eyes darkened, and he cut straight to the point. “Why is Liu Yanran here? And why did you just claim she never came?”

In the haze of half-consciousness, Liu Yanran felt a sharp ache in her neck and shoulders. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings and the voices nearby. In an instant, she was fully awake.

There was a noise from behind the screen. Moments later, Liu Yanran stumbled out from behind it.

Seeing the Crown Prince standing there was like glimpsing a lifeline. She rushed toward him desperately, pleading for help.

But Jingyuan’s sword flashed out in a heartbeat, barring her path.

Startled, Liu Yanran froze. The blade gleamed with an icy chill that made her skin prickle. Forcing herself to stay calm, she retreated a step.

“Your Highness, save me! Qiao Wanyan—she wants to kill me!”

Qiao Wanyan’s expression remained serene, almost puzzled. “Oh? Then tell me—why would I want to kill you?”

Liu Yanran’s brows furrowed tightly. She couldn’t understand how Qiao Wanyan could still appear so composed, as though she truly were an innocent, harmless girl who had never done anything wrong.

The calmer Qiao Wanyan seemed, the more flustered Liu Yanran became.

She longed to rip off that false mask and let the Crown Prince see what a venomous, terrifying person this woman truly was. Only then would he loathe her—perhaps even rid the world of her once and for all.

A character from within the pages of a book, with a mind of her own… wasn’t that horrifying?

Just the thought of it sent a chill down Liu Yanran’s spine.

She wasn’t foolish enough to make the same mistake twice. A moment ago, she had almost exposed her secret—that she was someone from another world. Qiao Wanyan had nearly silenced her because of it.

These ancient people weren’t her kind. If she confessed too much, they would never understand.

Telling them she was a transmigrator? That all of them were merely characters in a novel, and that she knew each of their fates?

They wouldn’t revere her as some divine being—they’d dismiss her as a lunatic.

Even Yi Huan, with her pure and gentle heart, hadn’t been told. How much less could she trust these calculating minds around her?

Especially He Zhiyu—the male lead of the book, the Crown Prince, the future ruler. His thoughts ran deep, shadowed and dangerous. Of all people, she had to guard against him most.

If he decided to imprison her, wouldn’t that be a death sentence?

“You’re malicious by nature,” Liu Yanran accused sharply. “You couldn’t stand to see Yi Huan with a friend, so you tricked me into coming here—just so you could kill me!”

As if suddenly recalling something, she tilted her chin slightly upward, addressing the Crown Prince. “Your Highness, look! There are still blood marks on my neck. I nearly died just now!”

He Zhiyu’s gaze flicked over her. Sure enough, faint bloodstains marred her skin. Judging by the marks, they were likely caused by a hairpin.

Such a fragile spot—if just a little more force was applied, Liu Yanran would already be a corpse.

Liu Yanran immediately dragged Qiao Yihuan into the matter.
“Your Highness, though Yihuan and I haven’t known each other long, it feels like fate. We’re closer than sisters. Yet Qiao Wanyan, just because she couldn’t stand Yihuan having a new friend, struck so viciously and ruthlessly. If someone like her stays at Yihuan’s side, won’t that doom Yihuan to endless misery?”

He Zhiyu cherished Yihuan deeply. And to Liu Yanran, Yihuan was her lifeline.

As long as she invoked Yihuan’s name, as long as she made He Zhiyu believe Qiao Wanyan posed a danger to Yihuan, he would never stand idly by!

Ziyuan nearly burst with fury. “Nonsense! My young lady would never do that—you’re spouting lies!”

Liu Yanran shot back, “Lies? When I first came to find Yihuan, you wouldn’t even let me live in the Minister’s estate. Yihuan is the young miss of the house, yet she had no say in her own home. She was forced to send me off to a country manor to live with her mother. Wasn’t that your young lady’s doing? Are you saying your young lady never bullied Yihuan in the household?”

She pressed on, her voice quivering but stubborn.
“Your Highness, even the servants in that estate dared to give Yihuan the cold shoulder. And all of this—every bit of it—was because of Qiao Wanyan’s instigation and indulgence! You can’t just abandon Yihuan!”

Qiao Wanyan silently watched as Liu Yanran desperately dragged everything onto Qiao Yihuan, and her thoughts gradually fell into place.

Notice—Liu Yanran hadn’t dared mention the so-called twenty-third century. She hadn’t dared bring up “modern people” or “this is all just a story in a book.”

Of course she didn’t dare.

Qiao Wanyan’s lips curved.
“I’ve seen plenty of sycophants like you. You grew up in Yongzhou, and by chance met my good-tempered elder sister. Unwilling to let the opportunity slip, you abandoned your family to cling to her all the way to the capital.”

“You knew my sister was the daughter of the Minister, and so you dreamed of wealth and status through her. But how could our Qiao family allow someone like you into our home? Did you think everyone in our family was as soft-hearted as my sister, unable to refuse you?”

“My sister letting you stay at the manor was already giving you face. But you, ungrateful as ever, came into my rooms to provoke me directly. Tell me—why should I tolerate you?”

Liu Yanran’s face went pale. “You—you’re lying!”

But clashing head-on in an argument, explaining point by point, was no different from conceding defeat.

The key was to hold fast to her own narrative—even sling mud in return. The more the other panicked, the more they would stumble into her rhythm, flustered and defenseless.

And once panic set in, who could still think rationally?

Qiao Wanyan stepped forward, forcing Liu Yanran back, her eyes sharp.
“Lying? Then explain—how is it that you’d only known my sister for a short while, yet dared abandon your father and younger brother to run all the way to the capital alone? Tell me, would any proper young lady do that for the sake of a mere friendship?”

Liu Yanran’s lips moved soundlessly. For once, she had no words.

Qiao Wanyan pressed her advantage.
“I don’t know what you truly intend by staying at my sister’s side. But I do know this—keeping someone like you near her will one day bring her disaster!”

“You accuse me of trying to kill you. If I had truly wanted you dead, would you still be standing here? Why would I stop halfway, leaving a hidden danger for myself?”

Her words pierced straight through Liu Yanran’s chest, stabbing deeper than any blade. She couldn’t argue back.

Qiao Wanyan’s voice was calm, almost lazy.
“I only wanted to teach you a lesson, to make you retreat on your own. Yet you dare slander me before His Highness? Someone as base as you… truly makes me shudder.”