Second Marriage

Chapter 31.3

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 31 Part 3

Outside the gate, when Huo Mingwu got on his horse, he saw that Ye Shen’s carriage had already left.

He sat on the horse and coldly whipped the reins to urge the horse onward.

He reckoned he must think of a way to make Xiao Youning have less contact with Ye Shen. It was true that Ye Shen was in the palace all the time, but if there was a chance that he really did do something to Xiao Youning under the moonlight and surrounded by flowers1… he needed to die miserably!

However, Huo Mingwu had no idea that as soon as his horse galloped out of the alley, Ye Shen’s carriage slowly returned from the other end of the alley to the lantern with the word Xiao.

Ye Shen got off the carriage. Jian Yin watched him with a dumbfounded look on his face. His master did not even announce himself and just entered the gates calmly again.

Xiao Youning had returned to the main room and was about to sit down. She was trying to figure out the purpose of Fifth Master Ye’s gift today, when she heard that Ye Shen had arrived.

Yuan Guo was surprised and wondered aloud, “Did the Daoist Priest leave something behind?”

She was told to go out first. When she reached the door, she saw Ye Shen walking over quickly, his wide sleeves flying through the courtyard.

“Daoist Priest.” Yuan Guo bowed and wanted to announce his arrival, but she was pinched by the expressionless Jian Yin on the side of her neck.

Yuan Guo’s cry caused Xiao Youning to look out, but the light in front of her was blocked by the young man coming in while the rest of the light was blocked by Ye Shen closing the door.

She was startled. She supported herself up using the round table and called out to him in confusion. “Daoist Priest?”

Ye Shen stood upright and his heart was tranquil before the confession.

He said, “My surname is Ye, and I am the fifth in my family.”

Xiao Youning’s world became silent. It was so silent that she could not hear any sounds. She could not even hear the quarrel between Yuan Guo and Jian Yin outside the door.

She tilted her head, and amidst his serious expression, she slowly questioned, “You… What did you say?”

Her heart was pounding. She clearly understood what he meant, but she still insisted on asking a question as if he didn’t make any sense. Why did she ask this? Her mind was in so much disarray that it was becoming mushy and she could not think about it at all.

Right now, only his words declaring his identity remained in her mind for a long time.

Ye Shen knew that she would not be able to accept it for a while. He looked back at her with determination and still firmly and clearly stated: “My surname is Ye, my first name is Shen, and I am fifth in the Ye Family.”

As he told her again, all the emotions finally exploded with a buzz in Xiao Youning’s mind and forced her to take a step back unconsciously.

But there was no room for her to step back. She bumped into the round table and felt a pain at the back of her waist as she was about to fall into shambles.

The plain wide sleeves appeared before her eyes in time. It wrapped around her arm, and under the plain cloth was his strong hands holding her.

His familiar scent gushed into her senses, and they were very close to each other. What she saw in her state of panic were the arches of his thick eyebrows, and under it, his dark eyes with an intensity that could not be concealed.

His extremely frigid features made her pull away from his arms and take a step to the side.

Ye Shen did not try to forcefully pull her and withdrew his hands instead. He stood up properly again, and saw her slightly pale face when he went over. She looked like a frightened little animal, and even looking at her watery eyes made him feel very guilty.

“Youning, I have no intention of concealing my identity. I should have explained it to you when I saw that you misunderstood, but I kept my silence when I thought of the trouble that would come. It’s my fault, but there wasn’t any scheming when it came to you.”

He had turned around to explain everything. He was afraid that she might erase even the slightest affection she had for him.

A man with a determined heart would still be wrong if he was wrong. He came with a sincere attitude and continued to explain. “I was wrong and you should be upset. I deserve it. But you can’t use how I deceived you to raise more doubts and put other accusations on me for no reason. This was the only mistake I have made.”

Xiao Youning was really overwhelmed by him.

It was rumored that Fifth Master Ye was cold-blooded and cruel. He had access to the imperial prison and was a sharp blade the Emperor wielded. Today, such a man was in front of her saying that he should not be accused of other crimes because he had only deceived her about his identity.

It sounded like he was begging her for forgiveness.

She suddenly shuddered again and felt that this idea was ridiculous. She was an orphan girl with no one to rely on. How could she have the ability to convict others? Not to mention that he was Fifth Master Ye. The sudden change in Ye Shen’s attitude made her more uncomfortable and even flustered.

What exactly did he mean?