Chapter 695 – A Bit Sweet - Part 3

The next morning,.

Tang Aizhu arrived at the Liu residence.

The Liu Clan head didn’t recognize Lord Yu, but he

did

recognize Sorrow of the Four Poisons and welcomed her with a respectful ceremony.

Tang Aizhu made her intent plain, “My brother is tied up at the moment, so I’ve come to escort Miss Liu.”

Who in the Liu Clan would dare refuse?

Seeing her in person, many in the Liu household felt their faces burn with shame.

They had been slapped not once, but twice, first by Xie Yu, then by this

Tang Yuan

.

Soon after, Tang Aizhu brought Xie Yu to the carriage, and together they departed the Liu estate.

Everyone could only stare in stunned silence as the procession disappeared down the road, still struggling to believe what had just happened.

Becoming in-laws with one of the Four Poisons, this was a stroke of fortune the Liu Clan had never even dared to dream of.

To a small southern clan like theirs, the Four Poisons were like celestial beings, untouchable and divine.

Inside the carriage, Tang Aizhu dropped all pretense. She knelt halfway to the floor, bowing respectfully. “Greetings, Madam.”

She wasn’t stupid. One look at this woman, and she could tell Xie Yu might even outrank Lady Yu in importance.

“No need for such formality.” Xie Yu returned the gesture with quiet dignity. Then she added, gently, “Would you tell me more about him?”

Tang Aizhu, of course, knew exactly what could and couldn’t be said. She sat beside Xie Yu in the carriage and began to share what she could, carefully skirting around the sensitive parts with practiced ease, never letting it show.

The carriage rocked gently as it rolled farther and farther away.

Xie Yu, listening quietly, suddenly asked, “Did he ever accept you?”

Tang Aizhu replied evenly, “I serve the Sect Master loyally.”

Xie Yu blinked at her, clearly unimpressed by the vague answer.

A trace of guilt flickered through Tang Aizhu’s heart, and she gave a nervous smile.

Xie Yu pressed further. “What I meant was, did he sleep with you?”

Tang Aizhu kept her smile, but inwardly, she was screaming. She couldn’t lie to this woman, not to the one he called a

wife

. If the truth ever came out, the consequences would be dire.

But admitting it outright? Equally disastrous.

She was stuck.

Then Xie Yu continued, calmly, “What about Tang Xitu, Tang Nulong, and Tang Leyang? Did any of them sleep with him?”

Tang Aizhu rushed to say, “I don’t know...”

Xie Yu gave a soft, noncommittal, “Oh.”

She said nothing else, simply hugged her sword and leaned against the side of the carriage.

The silence that followed was stifling.

By the time they reached the imperial manor, Xie Yu stepped down, entered the palace, tossed her sword at Li Yuan, and muttered, “I’m tired.”

Li Yuan ordered a hot bath prepared immediately. Soon, a large wooden tub sat in the lavish chamber, steam curling into the air.

Xie Yu removed her embroidered shoes, loosened her robes, and stepped slowly into the tub. Her pale skin disappeared beneath the rising steam until only her head remained above the water.

She tilted her chin and asked lazily, “So, how do you plan on explaining all this to Lady Yu?”

After all, in their past life, they’d done just about everything together. There was nothing left to be shy about now, certainly not with her own husband.

Li Yuan gave a helpless smile. “Honestly, I’ve been worrying this whole time whether you two would even get along.”

Xie Yu’s voice was lazy and teasing, yet edged with a deeper calm. “Relax. We’ve both lived another life. If I still don’t understand the kind of person you are by now, then I’d be the fool. You can’t change. So the only one who can change is me. I’m fine with that. But I imagine juggling so many women’s feelings must be exhausting, no?”

Li Yuan opened his mouth to respond, but froze the moment he heard her say

so many women.

His brain kicked into overdrive.

Xie Yu said coolly, “Aizhu didn’t say it. She couldn’t. But her hesitation? That was enough to tell me everything.”

She glared at him, voice sharp now. “You shameless bastard! You’ve taken four more!”

Li Yuan looked deeply embarrassed. Truth be told, he’d had three reasons for accepting the four maidens.

First, they were useful for shielding him from Lady Yu’s ever-watchful eyes.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Second, he needed people he could trust implicitly. They, in turn, wanted proof of that trust, and there was no better bond, in their world, than becoming lovers.

And third...well, they were beautiful. And he was a man.

With the first two reasons already laid out, why should he deny himself the third?

But none of that would fly with Xie Yu.

To her, love was supposed to be pure, simple, and true.

What he had done, taking in Lady Yu for political convenience, then bedding four maidens for strategic and personal gain, was, in her eyes, unforgivable.

Before Li Yuan could answer, Xie Yu spoke again, changing the subject with perfect timing: “I’m hungry.”

Relieved for the opening, Li Yuan practically bolted out the door to have dinner prepared. After giving his orders, he lingered in the courtyard, pacing back and forth for quite a while, unable to bring himself to go back inside.

Honestly, he was scared.

They had only just begun to repair the shattered bond between them. What if a few wrong words ruined it all? What if Yu’er turned away from him again?

What if she left him...again?

But he was overthinking it.

In this life, the two of them sat down together, face to face, quietly sharing dinner.

After the meal, Xie Yu glanced at the bed and said simply, “It’s cold. I’m going to bed first.”

She turned and climbed under the covers, shedding her robe and slipping between the sheets without a second thought.

Li Yuan wasn’t about to leave her waiting. He quickly bathed, changed, and joined her under the same quilt.

And yet, lying there beside her, he was nervous, truly nervous.

This was the woman who once would rather die than see him again and

had

actually died. If not for the sheer luck of reincarnation, they would’ve been strangers forever. He would’ve lived with regret for the rest of his days.

Now, as he lay beside her, his nerves were taut, a strange echo of the tension he’d once felt in his past life, when he and the Northern Dipper lived like lovers by day and hunted each other by night.

Then Xie Yu spoke, cutting through the quiet.

“Why were you so late that day? You always make people wait. Don’t you ever feel bad?”

Li Yuan hurried to explain. “Ah...that day, I rushed back from the Western Capital. I killed Sovereign Ye first, but he had allies, so I went after them too. I couldn’t find them...and that delayed me.”

Xie Yu raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t do things halfway, huh?”

Li Yuan chuckled. “Just a small matter. Not nearly as important as you, my dear wife.”

She gave a haughty little

hmph

, turning her face away, but then her voice softened, almost too soft to hear.

“I’ve always known what kind of person you are. But in this life, I won’t leave you again. Take care of me, will you? Keep this naive, lazy wife of yours well-fed. Just...don’t let me eat you out of house and home.”

And just like that, the ice was gone.

The once-cold, untouchable crimson-robed sword immortal had transformed, suddenly playful, tender, a touch mischievous. Like a flower blooming in a field of snow: unexpected, radiant, impossible to ignore.

Li Yuan leaned in and held her from behind, gently wrapping his arms around her.

She didn’t resist. She nestled into him with quiet trust.

That night, snow fell outside as red plum blossoms scattered in the wind.

They shared the same bed, listened to the wintry winds of late December curling around the eaves.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next morning.

Xie Yu was still curled up in his arms.

And Li Yuan, for once, didn’t get up either.

The blankets were warm. Outside, snowflakes drifted lazily past the window.

As the newly instated master of the Tang Sect, especially one still on a grand inspection tour, Li Yuan had more responsibilities than most men could imagine. Across the southern and northern regions, he was quietly shaking the foundations of power, placing allies in key positions to ensure that every new seat of influence was loyal to him.

But here, in the heart of the palace, no one came knocking.

Not a single soul disturbed their peace.

As the only name standing tall on the Mythic Rankings, and the man who had defeated none other than Lady Yu in open combat, Li Yuan’s reputation alone was enough to keep all of Southriver in check.

With Tang Aizhu and Tang Nulong personally guarding the palace gates, no one could get through.

Everything was blocked at the door, including one elaborately dressed middle-aged man.

The Bao Clan patriarch was pacing nervously outside the palace, bowing and scraping as he tried to coax the guards.

“Is the honored lord receiving guests today?” he asked, again and again.

Behind him stood an ox cart, piled high with priceless treasures.

As the head of the Bao Clan, he had naturally been keeping a close eye on the Liu Clan’s affairs.

And when he saw with his own eyes that Liu Long had actually been taken away by Tang Aizhu, his gut sank.

His foolish son was still insisting that this Tang Yuan was really Tang Aizhu’s younger brother. But Patriarch Bao had suddenly realized a far more terrifying possibility.

A possibility so dreadful, it made his blood run cold.

Tang Aizhu, what kind of person was she?

Even

if

she had a younger brother, which she didn’t, would she really leave the palace while serving the new sect master of the Tang Sect, just to take a trip to a minor southern clan like the Liu Clan?

Would she? Could she? No... Absolutely not.

That meant there was only one answer left.

And it was the worst one imaginable.

Heart pounding, Patriarch Bao rushed to Riverview. After inquiring about the destination of the carriage, and confirming that it had indeed entered the palace, his soul practically left his body.

He immediately sold off everything he owned in Riverview, liquidating it all into valuables, and now stood outside the palace gate, begging to be received by Tang Aizhu.

But Tang Aizhu refused to see him.

That alone made his legs start shaking.

Suddenly, he clenched his jaw, and right in front of the palace guards, began slapping himself across the face.

Smack... Smack! SMACK!!!

He didn’t hold back. His slaps were brutal, merciless. Within moments, both cheeks were red and swollen.

Regret consumed him. The phrase

disaster comes from the mouth

had never felt more painfully true.

And yet, Tang Aizhu still didn’t disturb her master and madam.

It wasn’t until midday, when they finally rose, that she spoke. As she was tidying up the crimson-stained bedsheets, she casually mentioned the scene outside.

Li Yuan turned to look at Xie Yu.

She smirked. “You’re done for. He’s figured out who you are. You tried to claim me as Tang Aizhu’s younger brother, but now anyone with half a brain can connect the dots.”

Li Yuan replied, “I was never planning to hide it for long. Just needed a thin veil, that’s all. Besides, Lady Yu gets all her information from the four maids now. Everything’s filtered. Even if she hears something, it won’t be confirmed.”

Xie Yu clenched her tiny fist and gave him a solid punch in the chest.

Li Yuan winced. “Did you

have

to hit that hard?”

Xie Yu let out a haughty little snort and snapped, “You bastard! I was hitting you on Lady Yu’s behalf!”