Second Marriage

Chapter 42.2

Yuan Guo and Jian Yin were standing outside, glaring at each other like they were in a cockfight.

He looked at Yuan Guo and knew what she was thinking. He controlled his expression and ordered Jian Yin, “Go and move the yellow rosewood couch1 under the window to the bookshelf.”

Jian Yin immediately became anxious. “Fifth Master, are you going to sleep on that couch? It’s so short, you can’t even put your feet off the floor!”

Ye Shen glanced at him coldly and it made him shut up. Yuan Guo seemed quite pleased by what she saw and snorted at the unwilling Jian Yin. She ran to the bedroom and slammed the door.

“You damn girl!” Jian Yin was so angry that he really wanted to kick the door.

On the first day of the trip, one slept on the bed and the other on the couch. They were separated between being inside and outside.

Xiao Youning got up the next day and she couldn’t stop laughing when she saw Ye Shen.

Fifth Master Ye’s face that had the features of a flower and looked like the moon2 was bitten by a mosquito twice. One of the bites was right on top of his nose, and couldn’t be more conspicuous.

Jian Yin was also not spared.

They were on the river. The mosquitoes were so poisonous that they were not afraid of the incense repellent. They had to be mosquitos that ate until they were full before they could die.

She laughed at Ye Shen’s face until she was out of breath. On that day, he basically sat at his desk to read a book or a letter, and did not even say much. It was because his face made him feel embarrassed.

Xiao Youning knew that the man was very proud, and was a little annoyed at herself for not being able to stop her laughter. When the sun was about to set and Yuan Guo was forced by Jian Yin to go to the kitchen to carry the food out, she took out an ointment for mosquito bites from a small box and went to him.

She placed some ointment on the tip of his nose when he looked up. “It will disappear in one night.”

Ye Shen pulled her hand. He opened his mouth and gently took a bite from the hand that made fun of him.

Xiao Youning exaggerated a painful ouch. He knew she was faking it, but he still took a closer look at where he had just bitten and asked her if it hurt.

She smiled and teased him. “Oh, it hurts, blow on it.”

He really lowered his head and blew on it for her. It made her laugh, and the embarrassment between the two disappeared. Later that evening during dinner, they helped serve food to each other.

“Sitting here and eating with you like this, it feels like I’ve always done it before. It feels so familiar.” She ate a shrimp he had deshelled and closed her eyes savouring the delicious taste.

Ye Shen also felt that it was magical. They got along so well, like they really had the same tacit understanding and affection as an old husband and wife couple.

The day passed without any surprises. When it was time to sleep, Ye Shen was still aware that he had to go to the short couch in front of the bookshelf, but was unexpectedly stopped by Xiao Youning.

She pulled him into the bedroom, lowered her head and said, “I can sleep on that couch curled up. You’re a grown man. I asked Yuan Guo to build a wall of books between the bed and the couch. If you sleep there and I sleep on the other side, then you won’t be bitten by mosquitoes.”

Ye Shen paused and she did not continue pulling him and instead turned to see him. Her face was more gorgeous than makeup.

“Aren’t you afraid that I will push the books away in the middle of the night?” His voice was low and husky.

Xiao Youning lowered her head again in embarrassment. “Even if you push it away, I don’t know who would be taking advantage of whom. I have been divorced. If my innocence is lost, so will be yours.”

He felt bad at her words. He held her hands tightly and pulled her to the bed. He pressed her down and helped to pull the curtain down like he had done the night before, and went out again by himself.

He didn’t say a word, but he regarded her as a treasure. The respect he gave her could not be expressed in words at all.

Xiao Youning put her arms around herself on the bed. Her eyes moistened unconsciously. Do I really deserve him…

They were moving farther and farther from the capital through the water, but the capital was buzzing even more than before they left.

On the second day after Huijing’s Country Princess title was taken away, Madam Li braced herself to announce the wedding news and the date, which was set to be in August. It was past mid-July, it could be seen with one glance that such a hasty decision was previously decided. Even if Huijing was no longer the County Princess, there was no way to hide it. The Eldest Princess was still at least an Imperial Princess.

As a result, Master Li was secretly ridiculed by his colleagues and didn’t even want to go to the yamen every day. He would look away from Madam Li when he got home. If they said one random word to each other, then they would quarrel like the heavens and earth were turning upside down.

Huijing was so scared for her life that she fell ill and slowly got better when she heard that the marriage was to be held as scheduled. She followed her mother to kowtow to the emperor to admit her mistake several times but even failed to enter the palace gate.

After everyone had seen enough of what had happened between these two families, no one knew why the emperor suddenly ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guards to tear up the seal to Marquis Ningyuan’s Residence. Master Li was alarmed with fear. When the news spread, the Second Branch of the Xiao family became busy scouting around Xiao Youning’s home.

In the end, Second Master Xiao was told by his servant that Xiao Youning had left. When the servant was asked where she was headed to, he was as silent as a gourd. Second Master Xiao was forced to leave in disappointment. At this moment, another stirring news emerged. Old Madam Ye, who had been living at a Daoist Temple for many years, suddenly returned to the Ye Family.

Someone heard that Old Madam Ye had returned to the capital to arrange a marriage for her youngest son.

They were all in an uproar trying to guess which young lady was going to become a wife in the Ye Family that made Old Madam Ye willing to let go of her pure cultivation and return to the capital to make arrangements. Before, when the Ye Residence’s eldest grandson got married, she had not shown up.

The observant ones found excuses to visit the Ye Family to make some inquiries but found nothing. Old Madam Ye’s lips were tightly sealed, and not even the slightest wind could pass through it.

What outsiders did not know was that Old Master Ye had lost his temper on the day Old Madam Ye returned to the capital. He pointed at her nose and scolded, “I can’t believe you want to create such a big war because of that evil creature!”

Old Madam Ye’s lips curved into a fake smile and said, “What is it? Were your eyes stabbed? If you really have the courage, then you can tell everyone what had actually happened.” The sarcasm was like a knife, ruthlessly mutilating Old Master Ye’s thoughts.

Old Master Ye was so angry that he was trembling all over, even his teeth were chattering. The servants watched in trepidation and quickly helped him to sit down.

With the smile still on her lips, Old Madam Ye went forward to gently help him smooth the creases of his lapel. She whispered, “Lord, without the fifth son, the Ye Family can’t keep this glory. What kind of life did he spend in the palace for the Ye Family? How much blood does he have on his hands for the Ye Family? Oh, these are all your sins. Since you enjoy the honor he has given you, then you naturally have to pay the price. There’s no reason that all the honor in the world has to benefit only one person, is there…?”