Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Chapter 5 Part 3

Liu Er pulled her, and the woman quickly stepped back without saying anything. Liu Er turned to Xiao Youning and her maid and smiled. Then, he dragged the woman out and left in a hurry.

“This man is really bad. I don’t know how many grievances she will suffer because of him.” Yuan Guo disdainfully looked at Liu Er’s departing figure. She grabbed the chopsticks and wiped them with a handkerchief before handing them to her. “Young Miss, eat.”

Xiao Youning took the chopsticks, put them down again. She asked, “Is Guard Xie back yet?”

Yuan Guo was shocked and went to look at the room next that was only separated by a wall. “It seems like he’s not? The others went out, but the driver is there?”

Xiao Youning was silent.

And the Liu Er that just left had dragged the woman back to the house. He reached out and slapped her. “What are you shaking for? This old one gave you face for two days, and you don’t know who you are! If you ruin this old one’s things, then I’ll reunite you with your dead man!”

The woman’s mouth was bleeding from the hit. She was  too scared to cry out, and shrunk to a corner.

Liu Er saw her like that and spat at her. “A village woman is really a village woman. Even that young man has softer skin than you.”

No one knew what he was thinking about when he said that, but the corners of his mouth pulled up to a strange smile.

 

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“Young Miss… No, Young Master. It’s not too late to find the Daoist Priest after eating.”

Xiao Youning was supposed to be eating dinner, but suddenly said that she wanted to go next door. Yuan Guo was not persuaded and didn’t know what she was thinking.

Xiao Youning quickened her pace and it took a few steps to reach the main room next door. She knocked on the door anxiously and yelled out a few times, but no one answered. Thus, she just pushed the door open.

There was an oil lamp burning in the room. Ye Shen was sitting down and faced the door. As soon as she opened the door, the flame flickered. The handsome face that Xiao Youning had seen before was partially illuminated. His eyes were clear and bright in the darkness. They made Xiao Youning’s heart jump when she opened the door.

Additionally, this look made her feel like it was familiar.

She was confused for a moment before she quickly entered the room and motioned to Yuan Guo to close the door. She apologized and gave Ye Shen a bow. “Daoist Priest, I apologize for barging in, but the matter is urgent. The people here don’t seem to be quite right. My guard said that he took the horses out to graze, and all the people we went to look for are gone. In short… “

She spoke for a long time, but he kept his eyes on her the entire time without the slightest change in his expression. She finally stopped out of embarrassment.

Then, she realized that the servant beside him was not there. His gaze made her more uncomfortable and she wanted to use the tips of her fingers to twirl the loose strands of hair on her temples.

When she reached up and touched air, she remembered that she was dressed up as a man, so she quickly put her hand down.

“This Daoist Priest, in short, this place is not safe to stay for a long time. It would be better to leave as soon as possible.” She took a deep breath and finished the rest of her words.

Ye Shen had been staring at her and twirling the scarlet beads between his fingers. Eventually, there was a movement.

She suddenly came here to tell him that this place was not suitable to stay at for a long time?

Ye Shen scrutinized the slender figure in front of him and felt that the Young Miss from the Xiao Family… was different from the sharp tongue he saw at the Li Famiy’s gates.

It was really different.

She took advantage of him last time, but this time she was being kind.

“According to what you said, you are already a mud Bodhisattva crossing the river1, so why don’t you run by yourself first? Wouldn’t it be more conspicuous to drag me with you?”

Ye Shen said.

Xiao Youning was shocked.

His voice was very beautiful, but no matter how good it was, it was discounted by his cold voice. Aside from that, his words made people uncomfortable.

His voice was just like the way he looked at people. It was cold and indifferent as it swept past people. He was arrogant and he had an oppressive power that could see through their hearts.

Xiao Youning’s slender fingers curled up and clenched into a fist. She felt inexplicably embarrassed.

But she had to admit that there was some truth in his questions just now. When she came over, there was something else…

“Fire!”

“Quickly catch him. Don’t let him get away!”

The sudden shout interrupted what Xiao Youning wanted to say next. She turned around. The noise outside became more intense. It was like every house had their doors open and everyone was running out. The ground was trampled on and shocked. Its rumble spread to her ears.

Yuan Guo had already grabbed her hand and looked nervously at the door. She was wondering whether they should leave or not.

Ye Shen, who had been sitting, closed his palm and slid the beads into his sleeve. He stood up immediately.

Xiao Youning had not returned to her senses. She realized that her feet were suddenly in the air and there was a fire in front of her.

It was Ye Shen who came behind them without warning and wrapped an arm around her. He lifted Xiao Youning up by the waist and carried her. He opened the door and walked out.

Yuan Guo was appalled for a moment before realizing that the Young Miss had been snatched away and broke out into a run to chase after them.

A carriage charged towards the courtyard’s gate. Xiao Youning was still in a daze when she heard the driver’s shouts. After that, she found herself in the air and was thrown into the carriage.

 

Footnotes

泥菩萨过江过 (nípúsàguòjiāng) – Metaphor that means someone who doesn’t have the ability to protect themself and they do not have the ability to take care of other people’s affairs.