Mistaken Husband After Blindness

The character "Jiang" came to an abrupt halt.

The woman met a pair of warm yet meaningful eyes.

But at first, she didn’t realize the meaning behind those eyes was a warning. Overwhelmed by the joy of the chance encounter, she failed to notice that Si had called the man beside her "husband." She blurted out, "Madam, why are you here? I saw Jiang Hui just a few days ago in Zhushan!"

Zhushan was nearly a hundred miles away from Zhuxi.

Si’s brows furrowed instantly.

If Jiang Hui was in Zhushan, then who was the man beside her?

She could hear her own frantic heartbeat.

In the midst of this chaos, Yan Shuheng spoke calmly, "You must be mistaken. I’ve been in Zhuxi all along."

The warmth in his eyes suddenly turned sharp.

The woman instinctively froze.

The guard who had been following the young man stepped forward, the blade of his sword glinting slightly as it was partially drawn from its sheath.

It felt as though an invisible knife was pressed against her neck. The woman opened her mouth but couldn’t speak for a long while. Just as she was about to flee, Si called out to her, "Are you Lady Li, who traveled with us before?"

Lady Li, afraid of saying the wrong thing, didn’t dare to answer, nor did she dare not to answer. She glanced nervously at the imposing young man.

He merely smiled and nodded.

Unable to guess his intentions, Lady Li forced herself to say, "So Jiang Hui is here after all. I... must have been mistaken."

Si relaxed and smiled. "I didn’t expect you to remember us after all this time."

Lady Li was someone they had met on the road to Zhuxi. They had traveled together for a while, and the woman had been of great help to Si.

Si groped for Lady Li’s hand and held it. "Last time, you left in such a hurry that I didn’t get a chance to thank you. I’ll be returning to Jiankang with my husband tomorrow, so running into you before we leave is truly a delight."

As she spoke, she felt Lady Li’s hand tremble slightly. Si asked in surprise, "What’s wrong, Lady Li?"

"It’s nothing..." Lady Li glanced at the man beside Si. The young man was looking down at the lady beside him, his eyes devoid of any coldness, filled only with endless tenderness.

When they had traveled together before, Lady Li had marveled at how such a beautiful and helpless young lady could survive in this world without a devoted man by her side.

Now, seeing Si blind and with her husband inexplicably replaced, Lady Li was in disbelief.

The thought of the young lady, unaware in the night, calling out Jiang Hui’s name while being with this man...

Lady Li found it utterly absurd!

Fearing she might bring trouble upon herself, she quickly said, "I’m glad too, but I really have urgent matters to attend to. I must go now."

She let go of Si’s hand, bowed slightly to Yan Shuheng, and hurriedly fled the street.

As soon as she turned into a narrow alley, a dark figure leaped down from the eaves above. The man’s eyes were cold, and he held a sword as he approached her step by step. It was the guard from earlier.

Lady Li’s legs went weak. "Noble sir, I know nothing! Please spare me! I’m just a commoner..."

The guard said nothing, but his steps didn’t falter.

Lady Li saw him reach out and thought he was about to draw his sword. Her mind went blank, and she collapsed to the ground.

A flash of silver light passed before her eyes.

Just as a scream was about to escape her throat, she saw several silver ingots appear in front of her. The sudden turn of events left her even more bewildered.

The cold-faced guard handed her the silver and said calmly, "My lord offers this as a token of gratitude on behalf of his wife."

Lady Li didn’t dare to accept it, waving her hands repeatedly.

The guard gently placed the silver on the ground and asked, "There’s something I’d like to ask you. When and where did you see that Jiang Hui? Please elaborate."

Lady Li replied, "It was in Zhushan city. The man was accompanied by two burly men. That’s all I know."

"Thank you," the guard said before leaping back onto the roof, leaving Lady Li sitting dumbfounded beside the silver.

.

The alley was quiet.

Si was using her umbrella as a cane to feel her way.

Recalling the earlier encounter, she paused the tip of her umbrella. "Husband, Lady Li seemed quite flustered just now. Her voice was trembling... Could she be in some trouble?"

Yan Shuheng’s hand hovered near her arm. "It seems someone was waiting for her at the alley entrance. She must have had urgent matters to attend to."

Si felt reassured. Initially, when she noticed Lady Li’s strange behavior, she couldn’t help but suspect something.

Could Lady Li have been frightened too?

But the man beside her showed no signs of abnormality. Even the strength of the hand supporting her remained steady.

How deep must a person’s composure and thoughts be to remain unshaken when on the verge of being exposed?

Perhaps she was overthinking again.

Si sighed inwardly.

But to be absolutely sure, she decided to test him again once they got home. After all, she had already hinted at it during their boat ride.

The umbrella was quite heavy, and soon Si’s wrist began to ache. She handed the umbrella to the man beside her and said playfully, "Husband, if you have time, could you find me a thin bamboo cane someday?"

Yan Shuheng took the umbrella. "Of course."

They passed through a narrow, uneven alley.

It had rained a few days ago, and the puddles in the alley hadn’t dried yet. Si, unable to see, was completely unaware.

Splash—

Her foot stepped into a puddle, soaking her shoe.

Only then did Yan Shuheng notice. He helped Si sit on the stone steps of a nearby house, then crouched down.

"Climb on. I’ll carry you."

Si hesitated. This level of care from her husband was so overwhelming that she didn’t know how to respond. She carefully climbed onto his back. "Husband... didn’t you just recover from an injury? Are you sure you can manage?"

He paused. "It’s fine."

Despite his reassurance, Si remained tense, afraid that relaxing might aggravate his injury.

She clung tightly to his shoulders and seized the opportunity to praise him. "This is the first time you’ve carried me, husband. It turns out a gentler version of you is much better. It’s my fault for making you think I preferred a cold and distant man. You’ve been suppressing your true nature to please me, and it must have been exhausting. From now on, you don’t have to hold back around me. You’re my husband, and no matter what your personality is like, I’ll always love you."

"If it makes you happy, I don’t mind the effort."

He chuckled, lowering his body slightly. His strong arms hooked under Si’s knees, lifting her legs higher. She realized her position was a bit awkward.

The feeling of her chest pressing against his back was also strange.

As they passed a particularly uneven stretch of road, Si, afraid of falling, instinctively tightened her legs and clung to him.

Yan Shuheng stopped.

Si felt him pause and asked anxiously, "Husband, did I hurt your injury?"

"It’s fine."

Yan Shuheng’s voice was faint.

Si felt even more guilty. "How about this, husband? Could you bring the horse here, and we’ll ride instead, alright?"

Yan Shuheng stopped walking. "Alright."

He carried Si to where the horse was tied, helped her onto it, and then led the horse at a leisurely pace.

Po Wu followed silently behind, noticing that Yan Shuheng had been frowning the entire way. His gaze fell on the injury.

It had been touched, but the wound had long since healed. The lady’s grip was through his clothes, so it shouldn’t have been too painful.

Moreover, the lord had always been indifferent to pain.

Perhaps he was frowning for another reason.

After all, the injury had been inflicted by an assassin.

And the lady, who had once been involved with that assassin, had also caught the lord’s attention before losing her memory.

Po Wu glanced at the lady on the horse, then at the man walking beside her, chatting and laughing. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether Yan Shuheng was truly indifferent or if he had some hidden motive.

Did he really not care about her past with the assassin?

.

After some effort, they finally returned to their small courtyard.

As soon as they entered, Yan Shuheng didn’t forget to assert his innocence. "Now that we’re not outside, may I prove my innocence?"

Only then did Si remember this matter.

Throughout the journey, he had been so considerate that she had almost decided to trust him.

His initiative made him seem even more forthright.

But Si reminded herself not to let her emotions cloud her judgment.

She needed to investigate thoroughly, to convince herself completely, so she could return to Jiankang with him without any lingering doubts.

But... how should she investigate?

She couldn’t very well strip off his clothes and run her hands over his chest inch by inch, could she?

It was possible, but it might lead to unintended consequences.

Si listed a series of thoughts in her mind, then said magnanimously and gently, "Since you insist on proving your innocence, I’ll oblige you, so you don’t feel uneasy."

She was quite considerate.

Yan Shuheng lowered his head, his hands clasped behind his back. The sunlight from behind cast his tall figure in shadow, completely enveloping the lady in front of him.

The shadow was a part of him.

At this moment, a part of him was intimately intertwined with her.

But their hearts and bodies remained distant.

Yan Shuheng lowered his gaze, his eyes moving from her smooth black hair to her delicate nose.

He smiled. "You can investigate however you like."

His smile held not only teasing but also a hint of coldness. He reached to undo the front of his robe, ready to peel back not only the fabric but also the layers of pretense and suspicion between them.

The situation was spiraling into an irreversible direction.

Si felt a chill before her eyes.

The silk cloth that had been covering them was abruptly removed.

The blindfold, much like her clothing, had served as a shield—a shell that concealed her thoughts and emotions.

To have it torn away in such a moment made her feel as though she had been stripped bare, exposed under his gaze.

She felt utterly defenseless.

Just as she was wondering why he had done this, her hand was seized. The young man guided her hand forward.

Her fingertips brushed against something warm and smooth.

He had pulled her hand into the opening of his robe.

Her soft fingers pressed against the firm contours of his chest, tracing the sharp line of his collarbone. Si's fingers instinctively curled.

She tried to pull away, but he held her tighter.

"Didn’t you want to investigate?" His voice was laced with temptation.

Si lowered her head, puzzled by his sudden initiative.

Was his claim of self-defense merely a pretense? Was his true intention to draw her closer?

No, she could handle a casual embrace, but skin-to-skin contact was dangerous—at least for now. Si clenched her hand into a fist and protested, "Undressing in broad daylight is indecent. If I want to investigate, there are other ways. You’re still injured, and I can’t see. I might accidentally hurt you. Even if you don’t mind the pain, I don’t want to cause you any."

The first part was an excuse, but the latter was genuine concern. Yan Shuheng looked down, his gaze piercing into her eyes.

The worry in her eyes was unmistakably sincere.

Fine. Yan Shuheng released her hand.

"In that case, I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to investigate and how to proceed."

To make it easier for her, he took a step forward.

Almost simultaneously, Si also stepped forward.

Yan Shuheng didn’t have time to react or retreat, and the two collided head-on.

It was like a soft cloud crashing into a cliff.