Mistaken Husband After Blindness

The spot where her lips had touched felt as though it had been wrapped in fine silk, tightening at both ends. Yan Shuheng's fingers curled slightly, frozen in mid-air for a long moment before slowly lowering.

He quickly regained his composure, taking the chestnut that Zhuyuan had peeled for him and handing one back to her.

This time, both of them were in sync—her lips no longer brushed against his fingers, and he maintained a proper distance.

Si's cheeks were stuffed full of chestnuts, puffing up like a greedy little squirrel. Yan Shuheng couldn't resist feeding her another one, but just as the chestnut touched her lips, he pulled it away. "Eating too many chestnuts can cause indigestion. Let me take you out to find some street food."

Si swallowed the chestnut and took a sip of tea before realizing she hadn't answered him yet.

She grabbed his arm.

"Actually, I think my former husband was good."

Yan Shuheng's expression remained unchanged. He lowered his gaze, placing the chestnut back on the plate, and stood up with a resigned smile to wash his hands. Unintentionally or not, he rubbed the spot where her lips had touched a little longer.

Then, from behind him, she spoke earnestly, "But my current husband is even better."

The sound of running water suddenly stopped.

The young man silently dried his hands and smiled as lightly as a passing breeze. "My lady, you certainly know how to balance things well."

By the time they left the house, night was falling.

Zhuxi was a small town, remote and surrounded by mountains and forests, with little fertile land. The ambitious noble families of the new city had no interest in claiming territory here, so the town remained a lively, unrestrained place, with vendors hawking their wares along the streets and the aroma of local snacks filling the air.

The two of them walked side by side, not riding horses.

After strolling down most of the street, Yan Shuheng noticed that Si hadn't shown interest in any of the food.

He smiled and asked, "Nothing catches your eye?"

Si swallowed secretly and asked, "Husband, how much is your salary now?"

Yan Shuheng thought for a moment. "One tael of silver per month."

Having lived as a nobleman for so long, he was far removed from the struggles of ordinary people and had little understanding of their lives.

Seeing Si's slight surprise, Yan Shuheng initially thought he had underestimated, but then she exclaimed, "That much! Then I want to try the candied haws, grilled beef, and fermented milk."

In the few months since she had regained her memory, she had never been so extravagant. Feeling like a poor person suddenly struck with wealth, she hesitated, "Is that okay? Won't it bankrupt you?"

Her timid demeanor resembled a rabbit seeing food outside its burrow but too afraid to venture out for fear of predators.

Yan Shuheng clasped his hands behind his back, watching her leisurely. "Eat as much as you want. I won't go broke."

With his assurance, Si didn't hold back.

She ended up sampling every snack that caught her interest along the street until her stomach was full.

Yan Shuheng leaned down and gently wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth.

"You're like a mouse that fell into a rice jar."

Normally, Si wouldn't tolerate being teased like this, but this time she wasn't upset. Instead, she smiled sweetly and said, "The snacks my husband buys for me always taste better than others."

As she spoke, Si suddenly realized something.

Apart from the few months of hardship at Zheng Wu's house, she had never truly experienced the struggles of ordinary life.

This became even more apparent after Aunt Li and Zhuyuan appeared—she seemed very accustomed to being waited on.

Perhaps she had been a child from a wealthy family in the past, but if so, why hadn't her family come looking for her? Maybe there was no one left, or perhaps she hadn't been important to them.

Overthinking was pointless. Without her memories, she couldn't uncover her past, so it was better to focus on the present.

Si gathered her thoughts as they passed near a crowd. From the chatter, she gathered that a street performance was underway.

Yan Shuheng stopped and explained the performance to Si.

Si listened intently, recalling that she had heard somewhere that many noble families nowadays looked down on street performances, considering them vulgar and disrespectful to traditional rites and music.

But her husband seemed thoroughly enjoying it, explaining the acts—tightrope walking, sword swallowing, fire walking, and pole climbing—with great enthusiasm. This only reinforced Si's belief that Jiang Hui was not from a high-ranking noble family.

She listened attentively, becoming engrossed herself.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Bravo!"

"That fire trick was amazing!"

Even through the white silk veil, Si could see a faint flash of light, making her eyes water.

At that moment, a long neigh drowned out the noise of the crowd. The sound of hooves clattering followed, and the lively atmosphere turned chaotic. Something seemed to have collapsed, and the spectators scrambled in panic.

Before Si could grasp what was happening, a loud crash sounded beside her. Someone shoved her hard, and she lost her balance, falling straight to the ground.

"Husband!"

In her panic, she grabbed a corner of his robe, and in the next moment, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. The world spun as she was pulled into a firm embrace. The young man stumbled back a few steps, his breath uneven as he asked, "Are you all right?"

Yan Shuheng guided Si to the side, avoiding the chaos. Seeing that Po Wu had subdued the panicked horse, he explained, "Someone brought a horse to watch the performance. The horse got spooked by the fire and went out of control, but it's been taken care of now."

Si, still shaken, stepped out of his arms.

Remembering how he had stumbled, she quickly asked, "Husband, are you hurt?"

"Young Master, are you hurt?!"

At the same time, a nervous man nearby spoke up, almost in unison with her.

Despite the chaos, Si heard him clearly—

He had said, "Young Master."

The title immediately reminded her of the Yan family's young master. She pricked up her ears, hoping to hear more, but the man who had spoken only asked that one question before falling silent.

Then, she heard a cold, detached voice not far away say, "I'm fine. No need to make a fuss."

That must be the young master.

But his tone was icy, quite different from the gentle nobleman she had met before.

However, what did it matter to her?

Si quickly lowered her head, tugging at her husband's robe, and whispered, "Husband, let's go."

The man beside her paused briefly before replying, "All right."

The two of them walked away together, leaving the anxious man utterly confused.

He was an advisor to the mayor of Zhuxi and had once hosted the Yan family's young master on behalf of the mayor. Tonight, while out with his family to enjoy the street performances, he had not only witnessed the commotion but also seen the young master carefully shielding a woman in his arms—a woman who wore her hair in a married style and called him "husband."

But as far as he knew, this young nobleman was unmarried. Where had this wife come from?

No, that wasn't the strangest part.

When he had asked if the young master was hurt, the man had nodded faintly, his gaze still kind but silent. His bodyguard had answered on his behalf and subtly signaled for him to stay quiet.

As for the woman, she had been concerned about her husband's well-being, but the moment she heard "Young Master," her face had paled, and she had immediately dragged the man beside her away.

It seemed she was afraid of the Yan family's young master.

But wasn't the man she called "husband" the young master himself?

As he pondered this, the stoic bodyguard said, "The young master prefers to keep a low profile. Please act as if you never saw us today."

With that, Po Wu clasped his hands in a brief salute and hurried after the couple.

Once they turned into the second alley, Si patted her chest in relief and said, "Husband, did you hear that earlier?"

Yan Shuheng smiled and asked, "Hear what?"

Si replied, "The young master, of course. I never thought someone so aloof and refined would come to watch street performances. I guess even those who dine on delicacies crave some coarse fare now and then."

The man beside her fell silent for a moment before saying leisurely, "So you were avoiding him. Are you afraid of him?"

"Not really. He's not the mayor of Licheng," Si said, slowing her pace and releasing the hem of his robe.

He matched her stride, walking in sync with her. "Then why run? He's not going to eat you."

Si thought he was being rather dense. "I may not have much interaction with the young master, but he has seen me before. After we eloped, Zheng Wu reported it to the authorities. It's better to avoid trouble. Besides, I've been harassed by noblemen in Licheng before. Once bitten, twice shy."

"Do you dislike noblemen?" he asked.

Si replied, "Not entirely. There are surely some noblemen with good character, but there are also those who are despicable. When people have power, they're more likely to abuse it. It's not that I dislike the nobility—it's those who misuse their power that I can't stand."

He pressed further, "So you despise power? What if you were the one holding that power?"

Si shook her head like a rattle drum. "That's too hypothetical. I don't like power struggles. Even if I gained power, I'd lose it from exhaustion. But,"

She recalled the old lecherous lord of Licheng and his squinting eyes that seemed to strip people of their clothes. Her tone turned colder: "Only with power can one have freedom. Think about how I used to apply ointment on my forehead before going out, fearing the attention of the powerful—wasn’t it because I was weak and easily bullied?"

Yan Shuheng listened attentively, his gaze fixed on her, shimmering like fragments of gold and jade. He looked at her and smiled, saying, "On this point, I share the same view as you, Madam."

The small incident that night had dampened their spirits, so they didn’t continue their stroll outside. After returning to the small courtyard, Si went to freshen up. When she came out, he had already left again.

She muttered to herself, "Why is he even less at home now than when we were in the mountains? Does he sleep in the trees at night?"

Fortunately, Jiang Hui wasn’t a promiscuous man. He had openly admitted his feelings for her, and even when they lived under the same roof, he had never overstepped proper boundaries. Otherwise, she might have suspected that he had another family, treating her as an outsider or keeping someone else outside.

The night deepened quickly.

Si lay on the bed, her eyes closed but not yet asleep, her thoughts wandering aimlessly.

As she clutched the thin blanket, she suddenly remembered how she had grabbed Jiang Hui’s sleeve when she was about to fall earlier. At that moment, she had nearly pulled off his outer robe. He had been wearing a wide-sleeved robe, hadn’t he?

But he had always worn neat, narrow-sleeved clothes before.

Wouldn’t a martial artist find a long robe cumbersome?

Back in the mountain cottage, Jiang Hui had been unwavering in his routine, rising early every morning to practice his sword under the large tree in front of the courtyard. But after they came down from the mountains, he only returned once every two or three days, seemingly busier than before, and she hadn’t heard the sound of his sword practice since.

Perhaps he had more matters to attend to now.

Or maybe he had returned daily before to reassure her, especially since she had just lost her sight and they had only recently married.

That wasn’t something worth suspecting.

What felt most unfamiliar to her was the change in his temperament. The Jiang Hui of the past could be described as an ice block—reserved, taciturn, and always emotionally detached.

But now, he smiled often!

It had become normal for him to speak more than ten words at a time, and his tone was calm and gentle, no longer as stiff as before.

And during the chaos earlier, when he had held her, his embrace was strong and his movements swift, but not as lightning-fast as before.

Before she lost her sight, there had been a time when she nearly fell off her horse, but Jiang Hui had caught her in one fluid motion, swift and seamless.

Now, it felt like he was a different person.

Yet his voice hadn’t changed much, and when he had brought her down from the mountains, Aunt Li had been there too.

She was blind, but Aunt Li wasn’t.

Unless he was skilled at imitating someone else’s voice to the point of perfection and had also threatened Aunt Li.

Threatened…

Si suddenly remembered something.