The courtyard fell quiet once again.
Liu Ruoxi lowered her head and resumed washing clothes, acting as if nothing had just happened.
Yet, surprisingly, a faint trace of warmth blossomed in her heart. Especially when Ye Xuan severed that man’s arm with a single wave of his hand. At that moment, though Ye Xuan hadn’t spoken a single word, he had exuded pure masculinity.
"What, not even going to say thank you?" Ye Xuan’s voice suddenly rang out.
Liu Ruoxi stopped what she was doing and said coolly, "You’d better think about what you have to face next. The person you offended is likely a young master of the Gongsun family. Given your status and position, I’m afraid you’re in deep trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Yes, regretting it now?"
Ye Xuan shook his head. "If there’s one thing I’m not afraid of, it’s trouble. The more trouble there is, the more energized I get."
"Ye Xuan, is there something wrong with your head?"
Ye Xuan chuckled. "Don’t you think trouble is actually a form of motivation? Its appearance constantly reminds you that you must grow stronger. Otherwise, it will swallow you whole."
Liu Ruoxi didn’t answer; she simply went back to washing clothes.
In her hands, she held Ye Xuan’s underwear. In the past, she had been extremely averse to this, even finding it disgusting. But in this moment, the fabric didn’t seem quite so thorny anymore.
After a long while, she finally asked, "Why did you step in to help me? Haven’t you been bullying and insulting me this whole time too?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Say it or don’t. Either way, I won’t be grateful to you. I, Liu Ruoxi, am not the type to forgive and forget just because someone slaps me in the face and then offers me a piece of candy. Like I said before, one day, I will definitely kill you."
Ye Xuan smiled, then explained, "How I bully or insult you is between you and me. But no one else is allowed to lay a single finger on you. Whoever bullies you must pay the price! At the end of the day, you are my, Ye Xuan’s, fiancée. When others strike you, they are striking my face."
Having said that, Ye Xuan didn’t care about Liu Ruoxi’s reaction or attitude. He pulled up a chair, sat in the courtyard, and quietly waited for trouble to arrive. He knew that someone would definitely come looking for trouble soon.
While waiting, he turned to Hua, who had been standing to the side the entire time. "Hua, brew me a cup of tea."
"Yes." Hua turned and went to the main hall to make the tea.
The tea was ready. Ye Xuan had only taken a few sips when an angry voice roared from the doorway.
"This is absolutely outrageous! Last time, when he broke the arm of my capable assistant, I endured it. But this time, he actually severed Tu’Er’s hand! This is utter lawlessness. I definitely won’t let him off this time. Gongsun Yanran, get out of my way!"
The voice belonged to Gongsun Qingyue. Only then did Ye Xuan realize Gongsun Tu’s identity. So he was Gongsun Qingyue’s son.
Shortly after the voice faded, Gongsun Qingyue stormed inside. Following closely behind him were Gongsun Yanran, Gongsun Xin, Gongsun Fangru, and several others. Even Gongsun Tu, whose arm had been severed by Ye Xuan, was there. His severed hand had already been reattached, with stitches covering his arm. Although he couldn’t move it yet, after nourishing and nurturing it with Spirit Medicine for a period of time, he would regain its mobility.
Gongsun Qingyue snorted coldly. Upon entering and seeing Ye Xuan still drinking tea, his fury boiled over. "You little brat, you’re still drinking tea! Tu’Er, he’s the one who cut off your right hand, isn’t he?"
Before Ye Xuan could speak, Gongsun Yanran interjected, "Qingyue, Xin, you can’t just listen to Gongsun Tu’s one-sided story. We need to figure out exactly what happened. Xuan’Er is definitely not someone who would attack people unprovoked."
But Gongsun Qingyue said coldly, "Let my son speak first."
"Father, it was him! I didn’t expect him to possess a mid-grade Ghost-tier weapon. Caught off guard, my arm was cut off. Otherwise, how could he possibly hurt me!"
Murderous intent flickered in Gongsun Tu’s eyes. Having his hand severed by Ye Xuan was an absolute humiliation.
Gongsun Qingyue gnashed his teeth as he interrogated Ye Xuan, "Ye Xuan, do you dare admit it?"
Ye Xuan took a sip of tea and said calmly, "I cut it off. What about it?"
As Ye Xuan’s words fell, Gongsun Fangru sneered, "Ye Xuan, you are entirely too unruly. You are just an illegitimate child. For the Gongsun family to acknowledge your status is already a tremendous honor for you. Yet, instead of cherishing it, you actually commit fratricide! This is an absolute taboo in the Gongsun family! You truly are a bastard who was brought into this world by a mother but never raised by one."
Gongsun Fangru’s words greatly displeased Ye Xuan. He said coldly, "You bitch, if you say one more word, believe it or not, I’ll smash your mouth to pieces!"
Ye Xuan had long since found this Gongsun Fangru to be an eyesore! She had to stick her nose into absolutely everything and join the commotion!
"Oh, threatening me now? You illegitimate child, you really are... you really are..." Gongsun Fangru was so furious that she didn’t even know how to curse at Ye Xuan anymore.
At this moment, Gongsun Xin’s voice rang out. "Enough. Father sent us to figure out what happened, so let’s focus on asking about the incident first."
Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yanran spoke to Ye Xuan, "Xuan’Er, don’t be afraid. Tell Mom what exactly happened. Why did you cut off his hand? Was this all a misunderstanding?"
Ye Xuan replied indifferently, "It wasn’t a misunderstanding. I fully intended to cut off his hand."
Ye Xuan’s words made even Gongsun Xin frown. Those words were a bit too arrogant.
Gongsun Qingyue couldn’t tolerate it at all. Releasing a terrifying aura from his entire body, he bellowed, "You brat, I’ll cripple you right now!"
But before he could make a move, Gongsun Xin grabbed his shoulder.
"Xin, why are you still defending this brat? Didn’t you see how arrogant he is? If we don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll really turn the Gongsun family upside down."
"Wait until I’m finished asking," Gongsun Xin said, speaking once more. "Ye Xuan, why did you cut off his hand?"
Ye Xuan pointed to the side, at Liu Ruoxi, who was washing clothes. "He slapped her in the face. Tell me, should I have cut off his hand or not?"
Gongsun Xin took a look, and his face instantly twitched.
That profile, that silhouette... Wasn’t this the young lady of the Liu family, Liu Ruoxi? Why was she washing clothes?
Gongsun Xin recognized Liu Ruoxi, but Gongsun Qingyue and the others did not.
Gongsun Qingyue spoke coldly, "She is just a servant. Let alone my son slapping her, even if he killed her, so what? What crime would that be? For you to defend this servant so fiercely, could it be that you’re sleeping with her? Ye Xuan, you really are a country bumpkin, accustomed to acting like a wild animal. You don’t understand honor or shame at all, actually fooling around with a servant! Moreover, don’t forget that you have a fiancée. Your fiancée, Liu Ruoxi, lives right here, doesn’t she? By doing this, aren’t you making her lose face? She is a young lady of the Liu family. Even if you don’t give her face, you must give the Liu family face! You country bumpkin, you don’t know the first thing about how to conduct yourself in society! Since that’s the case, let me properly educate you today."
Just as Gongsun Qingyue was about to strike, Ye Xuan spoke up once again.
His voice was flat as he said, "She is Liu Ruoxi."
GASP!
The moment this sentence was spoken, apart from Gongsun Yanran and Gongsun Xin, everyone else was completely dumbfounded.
This woman was Liu Ruoxi? Who the hell was he trying to fool?