CWTGD Chapter 2 - Kill her if you want but why do you say she is ugly

 Song Tangning never expected Xiao Yan to turn so suddenly. One moment he was all smiles, and the next he was threatening her life.

As she was pulled up by her arm, she felt as if disaster was imminent. Song Tangning struggled to remain calm. She couldn’t die yet; she hadn’t made the Song family pay for their wrongdoings or discovered why they had treated her so badly.

She clung desperately to the carriage shaft, her whole body being torn and pained. “Lord Xiao, I didn’t deceive you. I truly only recognized you just now. I’ve only seen you once in the palace before and am not well-acquainted with you, which is why I didn’t recognize you immediately.”

“I’m not a bad person. I really did get lost. Today is my mother’s death anniversary, and the people at Lingyun Temple have seen me…” The girl was dragged away, continually grasping the ground and begging for mercy.

At first, she managed to argue calmly, shouting for him to verify her story. But seeing his cold demeanor, she gradually broke down and cried hysterically.

The rain and mist made visibility poor, with torrents of mud splashing everywhere. Xiao Yan looked on with indifference, his expression distant and weary. His dark fox fur coat kept him completely dry, while she appeared to be a drowned rat, covered in mud and soaked to the bone.

As Cang Lang dragged her to the edge of the cliff and prepared to throw her off, a red string suddenly fell from her neck, tangled in the mud-caked fur cloak.

“Wait.” Song Tangning clung desperately to a broken branch, sobbing uncontrollably.

Xiao Yan squinted, holding an umbrella as he approached the cliff’s edge. He crouched down and yanked the red string from her neck, along with a broken piece of jade attached to it. The jade was grayish-green and lacked the clarity of fine jade, its shape resembling a snake’s tail, with uneven lines and serpentine patterns.

“Where did this jade come from?” Xiao Yan’s gaze dropped, his eyes sharp and penetrating.

Tangning, teary-eyed, responded, “I… I’ve worn this jade since I was young…” Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes. “Since you were young?”

Tangning, her eyes red from crying, hesitated, knowing that lying would be futile. “I’ve had this jade around my neck since I was a child. My mother said it was a precious gift from a kind aunt. She said it was her most valuable heirloom and instructed me never to give it to anyone.” Her hands trembled as the broken branch swayed in the rain, her cries becoming more desperate. “I… I didn’t deceive you. I really didn’t. Please believe me… I…”

Ah!!

The branch she was clinging to gave way suddenly, and Song Tangning fell, screaming as she plummeted. Just when she thought she was doomed, a large hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back up.

She fell into an embrace chilled by frost, with someone holding her chin. Xiao Yan looked at her muddy, blood-streaked face closely, but his mind drifted back to a long time ago—when a round, chubby child, soft and delicate like a glutinous rice dumpling, followed him around.

“What’s this, so ugly?” Song Tangning’s face ached from the grip, and the combination of mud and blood made it hard for her to breathe. The person in front of her had hair as black as clouds and a fur coat that remained dry, while she was in a wretched state, as if she had been tossed around in the water like a drowned chicken.

The terror of narrowly escaping death, the panic of not being able to celebrate life’s second chance, and the unfulfilled grievances and fears from a past life were all unleashed by Xiao Yan’s disdainful comment of “ugly.”

If he wanted to kill her then kill her, why did he have to call her ugly?!

Her eyes turned red with fury as she pushed Xiao Yan away. “What if I’m ugly? Did my ugliness cost you anything? Did I offend you with my appearance?” Tangning shouted, “I just stumbled into this place. I merely took a wrong turn…”

“You wield power and kill as if it’s entertainment, deciding people’s fates with ease. But I’ve never wronged you. If you didn’t want to save me, just let me fall to my death. Why did you pull me up just to push me down again? Why must you continue to torment me…”

“What did I do wrong…?”

“What did I do wrong?!!” Overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, she almost forgot who she was facing. Tears streamed down Song Tangning’s face.

She was originally the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Song family, her mother being the eldest daughter of the deceased Taifu Rong Qian'an. Duke Rong had two daughters: the eldest married Song Xi, the second son of the Song National Duke’s house, and the younger daughter married the King of Cheng.

Song Xi and his wife had died young, leaving only Song Tangning, though she lacked her biological parents’ protection. As the only daughter of the Song family’s second branch, with an overprotective aunt as the King of Cheng’s consort and the favor of Taifu Rong, even the emperor had shown her considerable affection. In the capital, her status was extremely esteemed.

She had been betrothed to Lu Zhi Nian, the eldest son of the Lu family, who was also related to the empress’s family, and had the protection of her elder brother Song Jinxiu and her cousin Xie Yin from the King of Cheng’s household. Her life had been carefree until the appearance of Song Shulan disrupted everything.

Half a year ago, her third uncle, Song Qian, returned from Anzhou with a pitiful girl. Initially, Song Tangning thought the girl was just a distant relative being kind to her. However, a few days later, her third uncle revealed that the girl was a past indiscretion of her father, Song Xi.

Tangning couldn’t accept that her father, who had been so loving towards her mother, had another woman. Yet, her uncle admitted the affair, and her third uncle claimed he had seen her father with the woman. Even her grandmother, moved by Song Shulan’s tears, persuaded Tangning to accept her as her sister, sharing the same blood.

Grandma Song advised her to keep the girl in the household and provide her with food. Her elder brother assured her that as his only sister, he would never let Song Shulan surpass her. Young and naive, Tangning followed their advice, keeping Song Shulan in the house and hiding her true identity, telling others only that Song Shulan’s birth mother had been a loyal servant of her mother who had stayed outside the capital due to illness.

A concubine's daughter pretending to be a legitimate daughter—she became the second Miss Song.

Song Tangning originally thought it was just an additional presence in the household she disliked. Little did she expect that Song Shulan would take away her brother’s affection, her cousin’s attention, and her childhood sweetheart fiancé.

Meanwhile, she was disfigured, her leg ruined, and trapped in a dark, desolate courtyard like a worm struggling to survive, ultimately strangled to death.

“Why does everyone have to bully me? Why?”

“What did I do wrong to deserve this…” Song Tangning’s heart, which had been holding on, finally broke. Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the rain and blood, her eyes filled with despair.

Clearly, she was Song Jinxiu’s sister. Clearly, she was Lu Zhi Nian’s childhood sweetheart. Clearly, Xie Yin was her cousin who had cared for her since childhood. She had done everything, and she had never harmed anyone.

So why did they always protect Song Shulan and blame her?

They said she was unreasonable, not tolerant enough, that Song Shulan’s past was pitiable and difficult, and blamed her for enjoying wealth while failing to understand Song Shulan’s suffering.

But she wasn’t the one who made Song Shulan a concubine’s daughter. All those things she coveted were originally hers. It was Song Shulan who took everything from her and ruined her life.

They protected Song Shulan with kindness while accusing her of being cruel-hearted. But what did she do wrong?

The girl’s voice was filled with desperate sobs, as if trapped in a hopeless, inescapable situation. From hoarse cries to low, despairing whimpers, she huddled on the ground, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I just want to live… I just want to live…”

“Why, why does everyone have to bully me…” The excruciating pain made her gasp for breath, as if she had fallen into a nightmare, crying out in despair, “Brother, it hurts so much…”

“Mother… help me…” Xiao Yan’s breath faltered, as if his heart was being squeezed.

He bent down to reach out, but his touch caused Song Tangning, already stretched to her limit, to collapse like a broken string. Her cries ceased abruptly, and she fell sideways.

Xiao Yan’s long arms caught her, enveloping her in his embrace, her fox fur coat now covered in mud. Seeing her eyes shut as she fainted, Xiao Yan carried her and said to Cang Lang, “Return to the estate!”

========

T/N: And that was the last time he ever called her ugly in his entire life.

Daily updates continue as usual but you can read ahead to chapter 100 here

Prev Chapter Chapter List Next Chapter