The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 006

Lin Yanran sat down directly, looking at her and saying, “I actually have something to tell you. Please sit down.”

Qin Mingyue gave her a deep look, then gracefully moved to the table and slowly sat down.

Her ankle was injured, yet she showed no signs of a limp when walking, and her posture at the table was utterly elegant and dignified.

Lin Yanran was momentarily lost in thought, then slightly averted her face. She reached out to serve Qin Mingyue some porridge, and added a steamed bun and some small dishes.

The market in Fenghuang Town not only had various kinds of steamed buns, rice porridge, fried dough sticks, and oil pancakes, but also tofu pudding, and noodle soup.

Thinking that Qin Mingyue was still taking medicine, she chose nutritious and light foods, buying a little of each.

“Eat,” she said, picking up her own bowl and starting to eat first.

After a while, she felt Qin Mingyue pick up her chopsticks and bowl too. Her heart settled, and she ate with even more gusto. She had suffered through a sleepless night, waking up with her whole body aching and her clothes drenched in sweat, as if she’d been pulled out of water. She was also starving.

So she ate very intently.

Qin Mingyue only drank less than half a bowl of plain porridge before putting down her bowl and chopsticks.

The scumbag, utterly wicked and having done countless bad deeds, sat across from her eating with a clear conscience, and even with joyful satisfaction.

Qin Mingyue found it utterly disgusting to watch and lost her appetite completely.

Lin Yanran had actually been secretly observing her from the corner of her eye and immediately noticed the change in her expression.

She also put down her bowl and chopsticks, looking at the half-finished bowl of porridge and the untouched vegetable bun. A sense of unease settled in her heart.

The first day she held Qin Mingyue, she had noticed how thin she was and how extremely weak her body was. If she only ate a few bites each meal, how could her injuries heal?

“Is it that this food isn’t to your liking?”

Qin Mingyue did not answer this question, but instead asked, “What do you have to say?”

Lin Yanran’s spirits lifted, and she asked, “Now that your pheromones are suppressed, will your body’s exotic fragrance stop spreading?”

Qin Mingyue looked at her, saying nothing, but in her heart, she had already condemned Lin Yanran to death. This scumbag had indeed revealed her true colors, wanting to use her exotic fragrance for manipulation.

Lin Yanran continued, “Then, can you take out the pill you’re wearing and let me see it?”

Qin Mingyue’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, as if looking at a dead person. She had endured everything before, but now she couldn’t suppress her anger: “Get out!”

Her mother was still in the cold palace, and as her child, she couldn’t rush back to save her. This pill and dagger were personal items her mother had left her. Even if she died, she would not let this scumbag take them!

Lin Yanran hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from her. She paused, then slowly explained.

“Don’t get angry yet; listen to me finish.”

“I actually have some knowledge of pharmacology. Perhaps I can formulate a pill to suppress your pheromones, one that’s even better and more stable than the one you’re currently wearing.”

After saying this, she added seriously.

“I’m very confident.”

Last night, she had rummaged through Liu Zhenzhen’s pharmacy for a long time, examined medical texts and notes, and combined that with Qin Mingyue’s pill and Liu Zhenzhen’s Cooling Pill. She felt she might genuinely be able to develop an inhibitor.

Initially, she only wanted to alleviate the pain of her and Qin Mingyue’s pheromone eruption, but now, after a night of contemplation, that initial intention had grown to include an ultimate thirst for academic knowledge. It was this relentless curiosity that had always motivated her to achieve impressive accomplishments in agriculture and pharmacology.

Now, she was eager for knowledge, desperately wanting to find the formula for an inhibitor.

Qin Mingyue’s sullen eyes were fixed on her face, as if to pierce through her.

“Do you think I’ll believe your tricks?”

Her tone was filled with deep, bone-piercing hatred and profound contempt, leaving no room for negotiation.

Lin Yanran sighed inwardly. As expected, Qin Mingyue didn’t believe her at all.

She looked at her earnestly, her tone very serious: “Qin Mingyue, I know you hate me. Instead of letting hatred gnaw at your heart, why don’t you temporarily set aside your hatred and let me help you?”

“I’m not tricking you, nor am I lying to deceive you. I genuinely want to formulate an inhibitory pill to spare you all future troubles.”

“But I need the formula for the pill on you.”

“Please, consider my proposal.”

After saying that, she stood up and walked out. She guessed she might hit a wall with Qin Mingyue, but time waits for no one, so she decided to look for other opportunities.

Coming to the corridor, the black dog ran out of the woodshed and lay down in front of her with its front paws together, wagging its tail and begging for mercy.

It was starving.

Lin Yanran squatted down and stroked its head, suddenly remembering how the original owner, after drinking, would first beat Qin Mingyue, then beat this black dog—truly utterly wicked.

She stroked the black dog’s head and gently said, “Don’t worry, I won’t hit you again.”

“Are you starving? I put all the food with your mistress. You can go to her later; she’ll definitely feed you.”

The black dog seemed to understand her words. It wagged its tail, its dark eyes moist as if weeping, filled with deep reverence and gratitude.

After she entered the kitchen, the window of the main wing quietly opened. Qin Mingyue gazed fixedly at the black dog in the courtyard, a hint of doubt surfacing on her face.

She had heard everything Lin Yanran said to the black dog and naturally didn’t believe it, yet Lin Yanran’s demeanor and actions made her feel sincerity.

Could it be that what she said about being possessed by a ghost was true?

But she immediately dismissed that thought.

No, this scumbag most likely also reincarnated like herself. She knows my identity, knows I want to kill her to vent my anger, so now she’s changing her ways to confuse me, hoping to save her life this way.

If so, everything made sense.

Qin Mingyue suddenly felt uneasy. If her identity was exposed, staying here would only be more dangerous. She couldn’t wait any longer. Once Liu Zhenzhen’s letter was delivered, she would have to find a way to leave!

The kitchen door suddenly opened, and Lin Yanran came out carrying a tray.

Qin Mingyue hastily closed the window.

A moment later, Lin Yanran walked in and placed a bowl of porridge and a plate of vegetables on the table.

“You’re not feeling well, so you might not have much appetite. I’ve made some fresh food. This is lean pork and winter melon porridge, and sweet and sour lotus root. Would you like to try it?”

Her face was filled with concern, but in Qin Mingyue’s eyes, it only further confirmed her earlier suspicions. She said coldly, “Understood.”

Lin Yanran heard the perfunctory tone and couldn’t help but say, “Even if you hold grudges, you shouldn’t neglect your body. Eat something, so your injuries can heal faster.”

After she left, Qin Mingyue stared at the porridge and vegetables on the table, not moving for a long time.

Suddenly, her vision went black, and the world began to sway. She hastily grabbed the table, wobbling as she sat down.

“Has my body really become this weak?”

She clenched her fingertips, and the hatred in her eyes surged again, her nails digging into her flesh, yet she felt nothing.

••••

Lin Yanran brought the freshly boiled hot water to the woodshed and quickly took a bath.

The sticky, uncomfortable feeling was finally gone. Changing into clean clothes, she felt greatly refreshed.

However, looking at the damp woodshed, she frowned.

The original owner really didn’t know how to live. There wasn’t even a dedicated washroom for bathing. She surveyed the woodshed. It was a single room, with a third of the space piled with dry firewood, and the rest empty.

Suddenly, she noticed the chain she had discarded there and immediately recalled the book’s description: when Qin Mingyue was imprisoned, due to the limited length of the chain, she could only bathe in the woodshed in the middle of the night, using only cold well water.

She was a noble and unparalleled princess, accustomed to luxury and countless servants since childhood. How could she endure such squalor? So, even in the chilly spring, she would secretly draw well water to bathe.

This time, she had been beaten by the original owner and lay on the ground for half a day. Her clothes and hair were dirty. After being marked last night, she had also sweated, so she must have desperately wanted to bathe.

Alas.

Lin Yanran sighed. As she came out, she saw the black dog eating in the courtyard.

The Qin Mingyue described in the book was cruel and murderous, killing relatives and guards. But now, she would show kindness to a dog, personally feeding it.

Lin Yanran pondered this, then returned to the main house to search for money.

“Only this much silver left?!”

She stared at the empty bottom of the box, dumbfounded.

The original owner’s clothes had been pulled out and discarded. In a red lacquered wooden box at the bottom, there were only six small pieces of broken silver and dozens of copper coins.

According to the measurements of this world, all this money combined was only about four taels of silver.

“No way, as soon as I arrived, she gambled all the money away?” Lin Yanran lamented, “So poor!”

Fortunately, yesterday she had found five taels of silver in the original owner’s clothes, which she used to buy a lot of grain, oil, rice, and flour. Now she had three taels and three qian left. So, her current total assets were seven taels and three qian.

She put a little silver in her pocket and went out, just as she met Liu Zhenzhen returning from a house call.

“Lin Yanran, I need to talk to you.”

Lin Yanran also happened to need to talk to her, so she followed her into the courtyard. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenzhen bolted the courtyard gate, put down her medicine box, and stood with her hands on her hips, saying, “Lin Yanran, your secret’s out!”

Lin Yanran paused: “What secret?”

She secretly wondered if the original owner had done something else she didn’t know about.

Liu Zhenzhen’s eyes circled her face, then she sharply raised her voice.

“Your poisoning of Zhang Zhen, Li Qing, and Zhu Shiyu has been exposed!”

“I advise you to confess immediately, or I’ll hand you over to the local guard station, and then you’ll have plenty of suffering to endure!”

Lin Yanran suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

So it was about that. She wasn’t afraid of that.

She eyed Liu Zhenzhen. The woman stood with her hands on her hips, her willow brows raised, and a faint blush on her cheeks. She looked like nothing more than a paper tiger, fierce in appearance but weak in reality.

Interesting.

If she really intended to hand her over to the local guard, she wouldn’t have closed the door to question her. Moreover, given her mannerisms, she clearly disapproved of her three dissolute friends’ actions.

Her mind settled. She put on a look of shock, surprise, confusion, and bewilderment, and eagerly asked, “What? You mean my friends were poisoned? Who did it? Tell me quickly, I want to report it to the authorities!”

Liu Zhenzhen eyed her suspiciously: “If not you, then who? I asked their Kunze, and they all said they fell unconscious after drinking at your house.”

Then she turned fierce again: “Tell me the truth quickly! Did you drug them, or did they take pills you brought from some disreputable place? If you give me this medicine for safekeeping, I won’t pursue it. Otherwise, I’ll go tell the local guard.”

Hmm?

Lin Yanran immediately caught the implication. Liu Zhenzhen’s intimidation was actually aimed at getting the formula for the knockout drops she had made.

This was also someone obsessed with pharmacological research.

She understood very well how attractive a formula could be to someone so eager for knowledge. An idea immediately formed in her mind.

She pretended to ponder for a moment, then let out an “Oh” of realization: “Oh, Doctor Liu, you want that kind of powder?”

Liu Zhenzhen instantly fell for it, eagerly stepping forward: “What kind of powder? Is it on you? Hand it over quickly.”

Lin Yanran smiled at her. Liu Zhenzhen then realized her impoliteness, took a step back, blushed, and lightly coughed: “This medicine can cause hallucinations. You’d best give it to me for safekeeping, otherwise, the local guard will definitely convict you of poisoning others!”

Lin Yanran estimated the timing was right and said nonchalantly, “What hallucinogen? It’s just a little aphrodisiac. Even if you report me to the authorities, I’m not afraid. Anyway, I didn’t make it; someone else gave it to me.”

When Liu Zhenzhen heard the words “aphrodisiac,” her face flushed even more. She glared fiercely at Lin Yanran, but her heart was itching with curiosity. She couldn’t help but say, “But it’s true that you caused Zhang Zhen and the others to fall unconscious. If the local guard knew…”

“So what if they know? They ate it voluntarily, and they brought the medicine themselves,” Lin Yanran interrupted her.

Liu Zhenzhen was stunned: “The medicine is with Zhang Zhen and them?”

Lin Yanran said, “They all finished it. But if Doctor Liu is interested, I can help you inquire about it. Someone in the market always sells it. But—”

“But what?”

“I need Doctor Liu’s Cooling Pill.”

“You wish!”

“Just one will do. I can pay for it. As long as Doctor Liu sells me one, I’ll immediately help Doctor Liu find out about that medicine.”

Liu Zhenzhen stared at her for a while, then picked up her medicine box with a cold expression. Lin Yanran stood in the courtyard waiting, and sure enough, after a short while, Liu Zhenzhen came out with a white jade porcelain bottle, handing it over with a look of indignation.

Lin Yanran was about to take it when Liu Zhenzhen pulled it back.

“I only have one left. I can give it to you, but you must find that hallucinogen quickly.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yanran took the porcelain bottle, her heart settling.

Thinking about her next plans, she couldn’t help but say, “Doctor Liu, I am short on funds right now. Can I postpone paying your medical fees?”

“Yes, but you have to write an IOU.”

“Then, Doctor Liu, could you lend me some silver? I’ll write an IOU for that too.”

Liu Zhenzhen’s expression was displeased: “How much do you want to borrow?”

Lin Yanran thought for a moment and said, “Fifty taels, or a hundred taels, either is fine.”

This was not just taking an inch, it was taking a mile!

Liu Zhenzhen’s anger immediately erupted: “Get out!”