SBCEJM -Chapter 20 A Walking Source of Infection—Don’t Come Near Me!

On Vermilion Bird Street, the carriage of the Annan Marquis Manor fled in disgrace, practically tucking its tail between its legs. Behind it, explosive laughter rang out like countless slaps smashing against the carriage walls.

Feng Zexuan dusted off nonexistent dirt from her sleeves and turned to meet her brother’s gaze, filled with helpless affection and indulgence.

In the wheelchair, Feng Zekai still had a faint blush lingering at the tips of his ears. Dressed in a goose-yellow dress, he looked as delicate and beautiful as a young lady.

“Come on, ‘little sister.’” Feng Zexuan bent down, her warm breath brushing against his ear as she lowered her voice teasingly.

“‘Big brother’ will take you to the Linglong Pavilion and buy you a few pieces of jewelry to calm your nerves.”

Feng Zekai did not know whether to laugh or cry. He raised a hand, wanting to knock her on the head, but with so many people around, he could only squeeze out a fake scolding through gritted teeth:

“Nonsense! Have some dignity!”

Feng Zexuan chuckled and pushed the wheelchair toward the three-story building at the corner of the street with practiced ease.

Above the entrance, the three gilded characters “Linglong Pavilion” glittered brilliantly beneath the sunlight, bold and majestic.

With one hand, she effortlessly lifted both the wheelchair and its occupant over the high threshold.

Warm air carrying the scent of precious sandalwood and cosmetics rushed toward them. Around them echoed the soft clinking of jade ornaments and the hushed chatter of noblewomen.

Before they could even take in the interior, a shrill and venomous female voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

“Qi Yanran! So what if your business is thriving? Even if you sit atop mountains of gold and silver, you’re still doomed to live as a lonely widow! Your dead husband would rather abandon wife and child than stay with you—he ran off with some fox spirit outside!”

The words crashed into the hall like a boulder hurled into still water.

The dazzling room instantly froze into silence, and every gaze turned toward the center of the hall.

Following the crowd’s line of sight, Feng Zexuan saw a richly dressed woman in a dark purple embroidered jacket covered in gold patterns. Her hair glittered with jewels, and her thin lips twisted sharply as she pointed at the woman behind the counter and cursed furiously.

The woman being scolded appeared around thirty years old. She wore a simple moon-white brocade robe with only light makeup, her temperament calm and serene like still water.

She tightly gripped an account book in her hands, the whitened knuckles betraying her inner turmoil.

“Zhang Lizhu, don’t slander him!”

Qi Yanran stood tall without bending in the slightest, her voice clear yet restrained.

“My husband fell off a cliff ten years ago trying to save me. His body has never been found. What right do you have to tarnish his name like this?!”

【Oho, starting off this explosive already? Isn’t this Qi Yanran, the richest woman in the capital? Then this shrew must be…】

【Ding! Fresh gossip incoming! Host, this woman is Zhang Lizhu, wife of Vice Minister Wang from the Ministry of War. She and Qi Yanran used to be close friends, but later became enemies because she grew jealous of Qi Yanran’s booming business and talented husband.】

Zhang Lizhu let out a mocking sneer, her eyes slithering over Qi Yanran like a venomous snake.

“Fell off a cliff? Who saw it happen? Ten years with neither a living person nor a corpse in sight—more likely he ran away with your money and is enjoying himself in some warm bed somewhere, having long forgotten you, you yellow-faced hag!”

【Ah, so it’s the classic fake-sisterhood-turns-toxic plotline. Miserable people really can’t stand seeing others happy. Pure psychological distortion.】 Feng Zexuan concluded.

Meanwhile, Feng Zekai, sitting in the wheelchair, had already completely forgotten the humiliation of being harassed earlier.

In fact, he now felt this women’s outfit had been worth it. Following his sister around and getting firsthand gossip like this was simply too enjoyable.

【System, investigate this Zhang Lizhu. Just looking at her bitter-housewife face, her marriage must be a disaster.】

【Ding! Deep scan in progress… Oh ho! This one’s juicy! Her husband, Vice Minister Wang, used her dowry to keep eight mistresses outside the city! Three of them are even distant cousins from her maternal family!】

【PFFT! Good lord, he practically assembled a full mahjong table—with substitutes included!】

【And that’s not all! Vice Minister Wang spends his days buried in brothels and has long since contracted a filthy disease… which he then passed on to Zhang Lizhu through marital relations!】

【Holy crap! A walking source of infection?!】

Feng Zexuan’s pupils shook violently.

Her hands gripping the wheelchair handles yanked backward instinctively.

Screech—

The siblings retreated several steps in an instant, pressing tightly against the carved entrance doors.

Feng Zekai nearly jumped out of his skin from the sudden movement.

Just as he was about to ask what happened, he witnessed a bizarre scene.

The crowd that had been eagerly watching moments ago suddenly turned deathly pale, as though they had all heard some horrifying secret.

A noblewoman standing closest to Zhang Lizhu dropped the jade bracelet in her hand with a crack. It shattered across the floor, yet she only screamed while stumbling backward.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Heavens… a filthy disease!”

Panic spread like a plague, detonating throughout the entire hall.

The crowd exploded into chaos as people shoved one another aside in terror, scrambling away in every direction. Expensive rosewood display shelves toppled over, and priceless jewelry and jade ornaments crashed to the ground.

The way they looked at Zhang Lizhu had completely changed.

She was no longer merely a foul-mouthed woman.

To them, she had become a walking mass of pestilence radiating stench and contagion.

Feng Zekai’s blood turned cold.

Suddenly, he remembered his father’s warning—

The Emperor had strictly ordered that Feng Zexuan must never discover that others could hear her inner thoughts.

But now it was over.

Judging from the crowd’s reaction, even random passersby could hear them!

Feng Zexuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as her grip on the wheelchair tightened unconsciously.

She was not confused.

Instead, her brows furrowed immediately.

【Something’s wrong… very wrong.】

Her sharp gaze swept across the terrified faces around her.

A ridiculous thought began surfacing uncontrollably in her mind.

【Back on Vermilion Bird Street, when I mocked Lin Yu’s scandal, the whole street erupted. Now here, Zhang Lizhu’s disease gets exposed, and the entire hall panics…】

【Why do both situations feel like… they heard my inner thoughts?】

Listening to the conversation between his sister and the system, Feng Zekai felt his heart climb into his throat.

He subconsciously clenched his sleeves tightly while forcing himself to remain calm on the surface.

With a light cough, he tried to distract her.

“Xuan’er, there are too many people here. Perhaps we should…”

But before he could finish speaking, he saw the change in his sister’s eyes.

The playful amusement had vanished.

In its place was scrutiny and suspicion.

Feng Zekai’s heart sank instantly.

This is bad. She’s starting to suspect something!

In the blink of an eye, the once luxurious and crowded hall had transformed into a bizarre empty vacuum.

Only Zhang Lizhu remained standing there, still frozen in her aggressive stance with hands on her hips.

“Y-you people…”

She was completely dumbfounded.

One moment ago she had been basking in everyone’s attention.

The next, people were staring at her as though she were some horrifying monster.

An immense and inexplicable fear seized her heart.

Those looks—filled with contempt, horror, and even pity—made her blood run cold.

They…

They seemed to know everything!

How was that possible?!

She herself had only recently begun suspecting her husband’s affairs!

Zhang Lizhu no longer cared about humiliating Qi Yanran.

Letting out a sharp scream, she gathered her skirts and fled stumbling out of Linglong Pavilion.

【That’s it? She ran already? We haven’t even finished the gossip yet! The stories about those eight mistresses were getting good too…】

For the moment, Feng Zexuan pushed aside her suspicions and smacked her lips regretfully, still unsatisfied.

At the center of the storm, Qi Yanran slowly straightened her back.

Her husband was the one weakness she could never overcome, which was why Zhang Lizhu’s words had shaken her so easily.

She first stared blankly at the chaotic mess around her before her gaze landed on the Feng siblings by the doorway.

Her expression became complicated—shock, gratitude, and curiosity all mixed together.

As the richest woman in the capital, Qi Yanran had seen countless strange things in life. Even hearing mysterious inner thoughts was something she accepted surprisingly well.

Straightening her slightly disheveled robe, she prepared to step forward and greet them.

But the content of the inhuman voice froze her in place.

Just as Feng Zexuan was about to head deeper inside to browse jewelry, the system notification sounded again in her mind.

【Warning! Warning! SS-rank earth-shattering gossip detected! Related target—Qi Yanran!】

Feng Zexuan’s adrenaline instantly spiked.

SS-rank?!

【Host! That missing husband of hers—the white moonlight she worshipped like a god, the man she’s remained a widow for over ten years waiting for…】

The system paused dramatically before dropping the bombshell in a tone like thunder splitting the heavens:

【He never died at all!】