That voice was all too familiar. Without even turning her head, Ye Xi quickened her pace slightly, pretending not to hear and continuing on her way.
"Xiaoxi,"
But Cao Sheng was relentless and chased after her. Knowing he was no match for Ling Yan and the others, he quickened his steps, overtook the group, and blocked Ye Xi's path.
"Are you walking so fast because you're shy to see me?"
Ugh—
The whole group almost threw up.
"Sorry, Young Master Cao,"
Ye Xi forced a smile:
"If you've taken the wrong medicine, go see a doctor. I'm not a healer."
The ridicule in Ye Xi's eyes was all too obvious. Cao Sheng's face darkened. Remembering the conclusion he had come to after days of wild speculation, he suddenly perked up and declared confidently:
"Xiaoxi, I know you're too shy to admit it. But these days, I've figured it out. You must still have feelings for me in your heart."
"Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that I met you on that remote country road on the outskirts of the capital that day? That road is rarely used. Usually, only horses pass by. You must have found out that Wei and I would go to see off my mother early in the morning and deliberately waited for me there. You were seriously injured at that time but still forced yourself to wait for me. It's obvious that you just can't let me go."
The more Cao Sheng talked, the more confident he became. He even took a few steps closer to Ye Xi with a smile in his eyes and said tenderly:
"Later, I came to give you a warning and told you that the Prince of Yu'an was two - faced. But you didn't show the slightest bit of jealousy. Instead, you questioned my feelings word by word. Such obvious jealousy, and I didn't figure it out until now."
"And..."
No one had expected that Cao Sheng not only had a face as thick as a city wall but was also so blindly confident in himself. Everyone was so shocked that their eyes almost popped out. Seeing that Cao Sheng was getting more and more absurd, as if Ye Xi couldn't wait to marry into his family right away if he continued talking. Ye Xi came to her senses and quickly waved her hand to interrupt his endless fantasies:
"Stop!"
"Young Master Cao,"
They were still outside. Ye Xi tried hard to control her expression and sneered:
"You've said so many of your own delusions. Let me ask you a question."
"Be honest with yourself. Are you more capable than A Yuan in either literature or martial arts? Are you as handsome as A Yuan, in terms of looks or stature? Are you as generous, infatuated, and not a frequent visitor to brothels as A Yuan?"
"Have you ever cherished me like a treasure, never hurt me, and never treated my sincere feelings like dirt like A Yuan?"
"I, I..."
With each question Ye Xi asked, Cao Sheng's face turned a shade paler. By the end, he was so ashamed that he looked around everywhere but didn't dare to meet Ye Xi's eyes. But he still tried to defend himself:
"I was deceived by Ye Jueyao back then. She was shameless and seduced me with despicable means. If I had known about you earlier..."
Cao Sheng suddenly stopped and glanced at Ye Xi even more guiltily.
He saw Ye Xi looking at him with a "just as I thought" expression and mocking him:
"Why don't you continue, Young Master Cao? If you had known about me earlier, what?"
"Never mind, I'll say it for you. If you had known that I had such a face, you definitely wouldn't have agreed to break off the engagement with me. If you had known that I looked like this, you would have surely shown me some genuine feelings."
"Cao Sheng, Cao Sheng. I originally thought you were just a lecher, but I never expected you to be so despicable, selfish, shameless, heartless, and unworthy of your education! Lord Cao, the grand tutor, has been upright and loyal all his life. How could he have such a disgusting grandson like you? You're simply an insult to the Cao family's reputation!"
"You..."
Ye Xi's words left him with no face at all. Cao Sheng's face turned a mix of red and blue with anger. His heart was burning with rage. Seeing that there was no way to save the situation, he said hatefully:
"Then the two of you are a perfect match! The Prince of Yu'an also went to the brothel and hugged the prostitutes, didn't he? You were still engaged when you were being so flirtatious with him. You went to the Prince of Yu'an's mansion every day under the pretext of teaching the young heir. Who knows if the two of you had any improper... "
"Slap!"
A clear slap sounded, and Cao Sheng involuntarily turned his head.
It was the first time they had seen Ye Xi hit someone, and everyone was stunned for a moment. Especially Cao Sheng, who looked at Ye Xi in disbelief and said:
"You, you dare to hit me?"
"Slap!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another crisp slap landed on his other cheek.
But this time, the person who did it was Yi Yuan, who had rushed over after finishing his official business.
Unlike Ye Xi's slap, Yi Yuan showed no mercy. He slapped Cao Sheng so hard that he fell to the ground.
"You, you..."
Coming back to his senses from disbelief, Cao Sheng was so angry that he almost exploded. He pointed at the two of them tremblingly with hatred. Just as he was about to say something harsh, Mian Xiao stepped forward a few steps, grabbed his hand, and gently broke it. With a smile on his face, he said:
"Don't blame me, Young Master Cao. Besides His Majesty and our princess, our prince hates it most when someone can't even control their own fingers and points them around randomly. For your own safety, I'll take the liberty to adjust your position."
"Ah!"
A sudden pain swept through his body. Cao Sheng let out a pig - like scream and finally regained a bit of his sanity from his anger. He remembered that the person in front of him was a god of death he couldn't afford to offend.
Cao Sheng's arrogance suddenly faded. He looked around, hoping to use the onlookers' condemnation to help him get out of this situation.
But as soon as he rolled his eyes, he heard Yi Yuan sneer and say:
"You don't need to look around, Young Master Cao. For your dignity, I've already ordered Lin An to clear the area."
"How about it? Considerate, isn't it?"
Cao Sheng was in so much pain that cold sweat was pouring down his face. He couldn't even speak. He just gritted his teeth and stared at the two of them angrily.
But Yi Yuan didn't really expect him to answer. He just slowly and carefully wiped Ye Xi's hand for her and said lovingly:
"Such things should be left to Ling Yan. Why did you do it yourself? You know how thick - skinned he is. With such a hard slap, look at how red your hand is."
But Ye Xi shook her head. Her eyes were almost overflowing with smiles, and she curved her lips and said:
"It's more gratifying to do it myself."
"Well, that's true..."
Yi Yuan's eyes were full of doting. Suddenly, he lowered his head and kissed the palm of Ye Xi's hand. He naturally leaned closer to her slightly red face, and all the frost in his eyes melted away:
"Then I'll teach you how to hit without it hurting so much."
The gentle breeze, the sweet - scented osmanthus, and the sweet fragrance. With a distance of less than an inch, the two looked into each other's eyes, and an ambiguous atmosphere arose out of nowhere.
Ye Xi blushed involuntarily and gently tugged at Yi Yuan's sleeve, indicating that there were still people around.
Yi Yuan didn't move at all. He glanced obliquely at Cao Sheng, who was lying on the ground with a pale face due to the pain but was also flushed with anger at seeing him being so intimate with his Xiaoxi. His face was a riot of colors and looked extremely ugly. Yi Yuan let out a low laugh. Suddenly, he grabbed Ye Xi's chin and leaned forward to kiss her.
"You two..."
Cao Sheng's heart tightened suddenly. His eyes were blood - shot as he shouted:
"Shameless! Immoral! Mmm..."
The rest of his words were stuffed back by Mian Xiao, who unceremoniously rolled up two handkerchiefs.
Having succeeded in his prank, Yi Yuan smiled wickedly. He gently grabbed Ye Xi's small fist that was still angry at him, gently pulled her, and casually wrapped his arm around her waist, then walked back slowly:
"Wrong, wrong. Don't hit anymore."
"There's news from the Luo family. If you hurt your hand, who will help the Su family catch the adulterers?"