Chapter 15: Mad Dog

“Uncle Yang, is Xiao Xing alright? What exactly happened?” Su Mu asked as she came to Uncle Yang’s side.

Uncle Yang said while wiping his tears: “It’s all because of my little daughter Xiaomei who insisted on eating candy. After she finished all the ones you brought, she begged Xiao Xing to go out and buy her more. Xiao Xing couldn’t refuse, so he took her and Xie Yi together. Who knew that on the way, my little daughter was jumping around restlessly, pulled on Xiao Xing, causing him to fall and hit his head……”

Xie Yi came out upon hearing the crying. As soon as Uncle Yang saw him, he tearfully expressed his gratitude: “Fortunately, fortunately Xie Yi was there. He helped carry Xiao Xing back and then ran to call for a doctor.”

Xie Yi?

Su Mu looked at him. Xie Yi’s eyes flickered with light, seeming to have been frightened as well.

Uncle Yang held Xie Yi’s hand, tears of gratitude flowing: “You’re such a good child, thank you. If it weren’t for you, who knows how long my Xiao Xing would have been lying on the ground. Xiaomei is too small to lift Xiao Xing.”

As he spoke, Uncle Yang pulled Xiaomei aside and started hitting her. Xiaomei cried loudly.

Su Mu hurriedly tried to persuade him to stop. It took a while before Uncle Yang’s anger subsided. She then followed Uncle Yang into the room, peeking through the door curtain to check on Lin Xiao Xing, before leading Xie Yi back home.

“I never expected something like this to happen,” Su Mu sighed as she closed the door, looking Xie Yi up and down.

Xie Yi felt uneasy under her gaze, thinking his actions had been seen through, exposing his intentions.

Today at Lin Xiao Xing’s house, he had listened to him talk about how much he admired Su Mu, apparently having fallen in love at first sight half a year ago when they first met.

But while it was love at first sight, he also despised Su Mu for having nothing at the time and refused to marry her. It wasn’t until he saw Su Mu rise from a lowly servant to the manager of the outer residence in the Yan family that he started having thoughts. But then Yan Jiyue snatched her first.

Now that Su Mu was divorced and about to take the imperial examinations, both father and son’s thoughts were stirring again, and they had even decided to find a matchmaker in a few days.

Xie Yi pretended to be deaf and dumb beside them, seemingly not understanding, but in reality, he was both annoyed and jealous internally.

He knew he shouldn’t be jealous, and had no reason to be jealous.

But jealousy is jealousy, without reason or justification.

Just then, Lin Xiaomei begged Lin Xiao Xing to go out and buy candy, so he went along.

It had rained, and the bluestone slabs were slippery. A round green apricot rolled to Xie Yi’s feet. With a vengeful mindset, Xie Yi timed it perfectly and kicked it under Lin Xiao Xing’s feet.

What followed then happened naturally.

Because he was far from Lin Xiao Xing, and there was no one around except for the mischievous Lin Xiaomei who kept playing with Lin Xiao Xing, even when Lin Xiao Xing fell, Xie Yi could keep himself completely uninvolved.

And incidentally be a good person.

Everything went so smoothly. Compared to when he took revenge on those men who tried to frame him under the hands of the slave trader, Xie Yi’s methods now were extremely amateur. He had become so skilled that it had reached the point of numbness.

Thinking back to the years when Xie Yi’s family was still living peacefully in the desert, Xie Yi was already liked by many women because of his good looks, including a very powerful woman named Tang Ta.

Tang Ta was already over 30 years old and had just lost her original husband. She immediately started showing interest in him.

He had no intention initially, but because she was rich and powerful, and marrying her would make him the primary husband, and she had no children, his parents were very pleased.

Naturally, marriage matters had to be decided by parents. Even if Xie Yi didn’t like it, he had no right to refuse.

However, Xie Yi had a younger brother, one year younger, named Xie Miaorong. Although not as beautiful as Xie Yi, he had always been jealous of Xie Yi’s good looks and popularity among women.

Therefore, whenever Xie Yi showed any interest in a woman, Xie Miaorong would always intervene, secretly seducing her, to demonstrate that his charm was no less than his brother’s.

Xie Yi knew well Xie Miaorong’s competitive nature, so he used his usual tactics, expressing great satisfaction with Tang Ta’s wealth and power, and that marrying her as the primary husband would mean getting whatever he wanted in the future.

Sure enough, Xie Miaorong couldn’t sit still. He used his charms to steal Tang Ta’s heart, and naturally, the protagonist of the wedding changed from Xie Yi to Xie Miaorong.

With a small trick, Xie Yi had married off his always-competing brother, while regaining his own freedom.

By the time Xie Miaorong came to his senses, it was too late. But before Xie Yi could witness the wedding day, war broke out, and he didn’t know where Xie Miaorong was now.

“It’s good that you’re alright,” Su Mu didn’t know all this was Xie Yi’s doing. Instead, she was worried that Xie Yi had been frightened. Now that he was fine, she felt relieved.

Xie Yi was slightly surprised, but quickly showed his standard harmless smile.

“Sister Mu cares about me?” His voice was as light as a gentle rain.

Su Mu nodded: “Of course, after all……”

“After all what?” Xie Yi curiously asked.

Su Mu shook her head, blushing a little: “Nothing.”

After all, in her previous life, besides dying for her, Xie Yi had lived with her for ten years. Even a pet would have feelings after ten years.

Moreover, during those ten years, only Xie Yi took care of her daily needs, never letting anyone else do it, almost to the point of being meticulous.

Yan Jiyue once sarcastically said in front of her: ‘With that little slut by your side, forget about a husband, not even a needle can get in. Where is there any place for me by your side…… But don’t worry, I don’t want to stand by your side either.’

At that time, she thought it was just Yan Jiyue’s mockery and sarcasm. Now thinking back, and considering Xie Yi’s suicide in her previous life, perhaps it was as Yan Jiyue said.

Xie Yi was using his own way to isolate her from Yan Jiyue.

This method was like a gentle breeze and fine rain, moistening things silently. Those involved couldn’t discern his hidden intentions.

But fortunately, she had been reborn now, and Xie Yi hadn’t fallen in love with her yet. Everything was still in time.

“You’ve been frightened today, you should rest well. I’m going out for a while,” Su Mu changed the subject.

“Sister Mu, I’m fine. Where are you going?” Xie Yi tugged at her sleeve.

Su Mu smiled: “You’ve been shocked, I’m going out to buy a chicken to make some chicken soup for you to drink.”

Xie Yi’s face flushed, but he was reluctant to let go. His tone carried a coyness he had never shown even in front of his parents: “I… I want to go with Sister Mu, is that okay?”

Su Mu sighed helplessly: “Alright.”

Xie Yi happily followed Su Mu to the market. The market was noisy and crowded, with people and live poultry packed tightly, creating a chaotic scene.

Since being sold to Juancheng by the slave trader, Xie Yi had been confined to the back courtyard, dealing with nothing but scheming. He hadn’t seen such a lively scene in a long time. Compared to the desolate small town in the desert, Juancheng was obviously more bustling and had a stronger market atmosphere.

Xie Yi looked at the wide array of goods, his eyes full of curiosity.

“There are many people in the market, hold onto my sleeve tightly, don’t get lost,” Su Mu said softly.

Xie Yi withdrew his curious gaze and looked at the faint concern in Su Mu’s eyes.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a young woman leading her young husband, seemingly also coming to browse the market. The young husband nestled close to his wife-master, his gaze timid yet curious, his hand tightly gripping his wife-master’s sleeve as he whispered, “Wife-master, there are so many people here.”

The wife-master’s expression was smug and satisfied, a sense of being needed making her proud. She wrapped her arm around her young husband, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Xie Yi reflected, was he acting too adaptable?

Su Mu was a woman from Jiangnan, she should also like this kind of gentle Jiangnan male demeanor.

No, that’s not right!

Xie Yi suddenly awoke, what was he doing?

It was one thing to scheme against Lin Xiao Xing because of Su Mu, but now how could he uncontrollably want to cater to her, please her, just because of a casual remark from Su Mu?

Had he gone mad?

Xie Yi swallowed, steadying himself, and tightly held onto her sleeve, saying softly, “I understand.”

Soon after, Xie Yi led her to a small stall run by a farmer selling his own produce.

“Su girl, I heard you got divorced!” Juancheng wasn’t big, you could bump into acquaintances anywhere, and the farmer knew Su Mu.

Su Mu smiled and answered, “Yes.”

The farmer looked at Xie Yi and spoke frankly: “Is this your new husband? Not bad, not bad, beautiful! But he looks too thin, might not be good for childbearing!”

You’re the one not good for childbearing!

Your whole family is not good for childbearing!

Xie Yi glared fiercely at the farmer from behind Su Mu.

Su Mu hurriedly paid and left, afraid that the loose-lipped farmer might offend Xie Yi.

“Don’t take what that brother said to heart,” Su Mu carefully observed Xie Yi’s expression.

He lowered his eyebrows, looking somewhat gloomy: “Sister Mu.”

“Hm?”

Xie Yi bit his pale lips, seeming to find it difficult to speak: “Sister Mu, I… I am very good at childbearing.”

In a female-dominated country, a man’s ability to bear children was the second most important thing after chastity.

That loose-tongued man, how dare he disparage him at first sight, and in front of Su Mu no less!

Although he looked thin, but without clothes he was still… still quite well-built, not like Yan Jiyue, who one could tell was thin as a rake even with clothes on.

Moreover, his father had once had someone feel his bones and tell his fortune, saying he would have many women and much fortune in the future.

Su Mu laughed awkwardly: “Um, I know. That brother just talks like that normally, I apologize on his behalf.”

Xie Yi shook his head.

It wasn’t Su Mu who had made the mistake, why should she apologize?

Moreover, Su Mu had already nearly emptied herself for him. Although he was born ruthless, he still had a tiny bit of conscience, and all of this insignificant conscience was poured onto her alone.

Su Mu was the only person he didn’t want to speculate about maliciously or scheme against.

After returning home, Su Mu boiled water and added firewood, while Xie Yi plucked the chicken’s feathers. Half an hour later, a pot of fresh, rich, and fragrant old rooster soup was ready.

Xie Yi ladled out a bowl and first gave it to Su Mu to taste: “Sister Mu, try it.” He was quite confident in his cooking skills.

Su Mu took a sip, and the rich bone broth flavor spread in her mouth. The chicken was cooked tender but not tough, melting in the mouth. She couldn’t help but praise: “It’s delicious.”

Seeing Su Mu’s satisfied expression, Xie Yi hadn’t even tasted the soup, but his body seemed to warm up.

“There’s still a lot in the pot, I’ll go get another bowl for Sister Mu.”

“No need, in a while, scoop out a basin, I’ll take it to Uncle Yang. Lin Xiao Xing is still recovering and should have some chicken soup to nourish him.”

Xie Yi’s heart suddenly turned cold: “…Alright.”

“Young Master, the things you asked this slave to investigate, this slave has found out,” Xiao Ping knelt at Yan Jiyue’s feet and said.

Ever since the news of the divorce spread, a large group of unrelated relatives of the Yan family swarmed in, trying to get a piece of the pie.

Fortunately, Su Mu had given him a heads up earlier, letting him and his father find the amnesiac Yan Ting, which saved the Yan family from being divided.

The relatives’ intentions to divide the family property were thwarted, and they returned disappointed. Yan Jiyue remained the illustrious eldest young master of the Yan family.

He reclined obliquely on the soft couch, coldly surveying Xiao Ping kneeling at his feet: “Speak.”

“This slave has found out that Xie Yi was previously sold by a slave trader to Scholar Li’s mansion. Scholar Li greatly favored him.”

Yan Jiyue sneered: “A fox can’t change its nature no matter where it goes, always reeking of lust, seducing women at every turn. Continue.”

Xiao Ping hurriedly said: “Precisely because of Scholar Li’s favor, Xie Yi suffered jealousy and abuse from Scholar Li’s husband. I heard… I heard from the servants in their household that Scholar Li’s husband even resorted to private punishment.”

Yan Jiyue’s phoenix eyes curved coldly and distantly: “What private punishment?”

“Branding.”

“What character?”

Xiao Ping bit his lip: “……Lewd.”

He really hadn’t expected that while he thought his young master’s methods were cruel enough when he was willful, Scholar Li’s husband’s methods were even more vicious.

To actually carve such a character on a young man’s body, it’s fortunate that Xie Yi was illiterate and didn’t understand what that character meant.

If he knew the meaning of that character… he would probably go mad.

“……Lewd?” The insulting word rolled off Yan Jiyue’s tongue, like a black snake crawling out of a cold, dark cave, flicking its scarlet, poisonous tongue: “Interesting.”