Mistaken Husband After Blindness

The gentle breeze drifted through the window cracks, carrying with it the scent of green bamboo that mingled with the lingering fragrance of sinking incense from the brazier. It was hard to tell whether the sinking incense had tainted the bamboo's aroma or if the bamboo had diluted the incense's richness.

Just like personal matters, nine out of ten are inextricably linked to the official affairs just discussed.

Po Wu raised his gaze, peering through the thin veil of white smoke that had gathered again, and looked toward the white-robed young man who was smiling with his eyelashes lowered.

The young man's thoughts drifted back to three months prior.

Three months ago, after the eldest son of the Yan Clan had devised a strategy to help the governor of Weixing Prefecture repel the barbarians, he was ambushed by dozens of masked bandits at the border between Weixing and Shangyong Prefectures. Surprisingly, these forty men were able to hold their ground against two hundred elite Yan Clan soldiers, indicating they were no ordinary thieves.

Their goal was not merely to plunder.

The young leader of the assassins was exceptionally skilled in light-footed martial arts, effortlessly bypassing the guards and closing in on the eldest son for a direct attack.

However, for some unknown reason, at the critical moment, the assassin seemed to lose focus, his blade missing its mark. The eldest son, having practiced archery and horsemanship since childhood, managed to hold his ground for a few moments, or the outcome could have been disastrous.

The eldest son was injured, and the assassins proved formidable. They altered their plans and headed to the nearest city, Licheng, to recuperate, enlisting the city lord's help in capturing the remaining fleeing assassins.

While staying at the city lord's residence, one day, a beautiful young woman accidentally wandered into the garden during a conversation between the eldest son and the city lord of Licheng.

The young woman bore a striking resemblance to an old acquaintance whom the eldest son had encountered several times, and he couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

The city lord of Licheng, known for his lascivious nature, noticed the eldest son's "not entirely innocent gaze" and, projecting his own desires, assumed the eldest son had taken an interest. In an attempt to curry favor with the Yan Clan, the city lord secretly plotted to adopt the young woman as his goddaughter and offer her to the young lord.

Coincidentally, their men had discovered traces of the young assassin leader, but after an all-night search, they narrowly missed capturing him.

By chance, the very next day, the young woman's father hurriedly reported to the city lord, claiming that his daughter had been kidnapped by a bandit whose appearance and skills bore a striking resemblance to the young assassin the Yan Clan was pursuing!

Upon hearing this, they summoned the young woman's father for questioning.

Unexpectedly, the man had vanished, and his home had been reduced to ashes, leaving only ruins and no trace of any bodies.

Later, they discovered that the young woman's father was a physician under the city lord of Licheng. He had lost his wife early and raised a daughter who had been living in their hometown until the war forced him to bring her to Licheng a few months prior.

At first glance, the young woman's background seemed unremarkable.

However, her striking resemblance to the eldest son's old acquaintance, combined with her connection to the assassin, raised suspicions.

To make matters more suspicious, her father had disappeared at this critical juncture.

This series of coincidences undoubtedly concealed a deeper mystery.

Thus, the eldest son had a portrait of the young woman drawn and sent people to search the nearby areas, but to no avail.

Until today...

Po Wu pulled himself back from his thoughts and continued, "A minor official claimed that his family encountered a young couple in the mountains. The woman was young and beautiful, and her husband was a young swordsman. They had arrived at Zhuxi a month and a half ago. Subtracting the two weeks of travel time, this aligns perfectly with the time when the physician's daughter was kidnapped."

"A couple..."

Yan Shuheng smiled faintly.

He asked, "I recall the physician said his daughter was kidnapped by an assassin. How did she become someone's wife?"

"Perhaps the bandits coerced her," Po Wu suggested.

"Or maybe she wasn't kidnapped at all—maybe she eloped!"

Two voices spoke simultaneously, one calm and the other lively—Po Wu and Chuan Yun.

Yan Shuheng looked at Chuan Yun with a gentle smile. "If it's as Chuan Yun says, then the young woman's elopement would be a testament to her valuing true love over wealth and power. That would be quite admirable."

Chuan Yun realized his slip of the tongue. By suggesting the young woman had eloped, he was indirectly implying she had rejected the young lord. He quickly tried to recover, "I was just joking! The young lord comes from one of the most prominent families in Great Zhou, renowned throughout Luoyang since his youth. Just a few months ago, he achieved a legendary victory against the barbarians with a smaller force, earning widespread fame! Now, he's about to be promoted to Chief Secretary. Countless noblewomen admire him—if that young woman chose someone else, she must be blind!"

Yan Shuheng listened patiently to this offhand flattery, offering only a faint smile before instructing Po Wu, "First, send a few men disguised as refugees to scout the area for any ambushes, but make sure not to alert anyone."

Po Wu accepted the order and left.

No sooner had he left than Chuan Yun tattled, "Young lord, that ice block seemed to be secretly smirking as he left!"

Yan Shuheng replied gently, "Yes, I saw it. Not only that, but I also saw you smirking, Chuan Yun."

Chuan Yun had tried to stir the pot but ended up burning himself. Meeting the young lord's gentle yet warning gaze, he froze for a moment before hastily grabbing a rabbit and darting out of the room. "Young lord must be mistaken! I—I'm going to bathe the rabbit!"

Yan Shuheng simply smiled.

The breeze entered through the window, causing the candle flame to flicker, casting shifting shadows that made the young man's expression seem inscrutable.

He stared at the white moths fluttering around the candle stand for a long while before smiling softly. He picked up a folding fan and gently waved it to shoo the moths away from the flame. However, the stubborn insects insisted on flying back toward the light.

Yan Shuheng chuckled helplessly, then bent down and blew out the candle.

The room was instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint outline of the young man's tall, graceful figure visible.

The wind grew stronger, and the rustling of bamboo leaves became as rapid as a downpour, blending with the sound of rain that had begun to fall. The wind carried the rain, sweeping it all the way to a small mountain courtyard dozens of miles away.

Si lay on her bed, listening to the night rain falling on a thousand mountains, her thoughts drifting back to that night in Licheng two months ago.

That night, she crouched barefoot beneath the window, hidden among the firewood. The rain wasn't heavy, but the thin walls of the dilapidated house couldn't muffle the voices inside, allowing her to overhear most of the conversation between a man and a woman.

From that moment, her peaceful life was shattered.

Earlier that day, she had gone to the city lord's residence to deliver herbs to her father but had taken a wrong turn and accidentally wandered into a garden, where she encountered the city lord and a young nobleman engaged in conversation.

The young nobleman had a gentle and refined appearance, and from his attire and demeanor, it was clear he was from a prominent family. Si immediately guessed that this was the eldest son of the Yan Clan, who was recuperating at the city lord's residence, as her father had mentioned.

Their eyes met briefly, and the young nobleman offered a warm smile, nodding slightly in her direction.

The meaning behind that gentle smile was hard to decipher.

In a society where the divide between nobles and commoners was stark, a young woman of humble birth being gazed upon with such significance by a nobleman was never a good sign.

Especially with the city lord, known for his lecherous tendencies, standing nearby.

Si reasoned that nobles valued their reputations and were unlikely to cause her trouble in public, so she feigned panic and seized the opportunity to escape.

That evening, her father, Zheng Wu, returned home unexpectedly, saying that the city lord's wife had taken a liking to her and wanted to adopt her as a goddaughter.

Si felt uneasy but remained silent.

Zheng Wu patiently explained that the status of a goddaughter could serve as a protective shield—with the city lord's backing, they could arrange a good marriage for her early on. Otherwise, given her beauty, if her future husband's family was weak, she might fall prey to unscrupulous men.

Before this, Si had nearly been targeted by a group of spoiled noble youths due to her looks. To prevent this, her father had specially prepared an herbal paste to disguise her with a fake birthmark, which she applied to her forehead whenever she went out.

Zheng Wu and his lover, Yun Niang, were Si's only family. They had always treated her well and had even shielded her from harassment by noble youths on several occasions, so she trusted them deeply.

Thinking that her father might gain favor with the city lord through this connection, she agreed.

Yet, her instincts told her something was amiss.

That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Yun Niang arrived unexpectedly in the middle of the night and mentioned Si's name in conversation with Zheng Wu. Si grew suspicious and hid beneath their window to eavesdrop, only to discover their true intentions.

As it turned out, the man she had called "father" was not her real family but a stranger who had found her!

He had always seen her as a valuable commodity, initially planning to offer her to the city lord at the right moment. However, when the eldest son of the Yan Clan passed through the area to recuperate, he changed his plan, intending to have her catch the attention of both the nobleman and the city lord to ensure success.

Coincidentally, the herbal paste she used to disguise herself had run out that day. Yun Niang had rushed over, saying that Zheng Wu urgently needed a particular herb and asked Si to deliver it. The herb was specially prepared by Zheng Wu and wasn't available in the city lord's residence. Si, not wanting her father to face the city lord's wrath, thought it would be safe to deliver the herb as long as her father covered for her. Despite her caution, she ended up crossing paths with the nobles.

The nobleman and she had never met before.

With just a distant glance and not a single word exchanged, the lustful city lord had projected his own desires, assuming the nobleman had taken an interest.

Si suspected that the city lord's wife's offer to adopt her was likely orchestrated by Zheng Wu, both to deceive her and to deepen the ties between the city lord's household and the Yan Clan, thereby benefiting Zheng Wu. After all, offering a beauty was one thing, but offering a goddaughter was entirely different.

If she agreed, it would likely be only a matter of days before she was sent to the bed of the eldest son of the Yan Clan, Yan Shuheng.

Previously, Zheng Wu had repeatedly praised Yan Shuheng in front of her, describing him as gentle and refined, a distinguished scholar of great repute.

However, that night, she had overheard Zheng Wu telling Yun Niang—Yan Shuheng was nothing but a hypocrite. Despite his young age, he had risen to a high position, relying on his family's influence and ruthless tactics.

But whether he was a true gentleman or a hypocrite, it had nothing to do with Si. She wasn’t foolish. Those in positions of power often cherished their reputations; how could they be so easily swayed by beauty and lose their senses?

Zheng Wu had anticipated this as well.

He said that Yan Shuheng might not be interested, but the lustful city lord would never let such a tempting morsel slip through his fingers.

In any case, they could use her to curry favor with the powerful.

But who was the city lord of Licheng? A man of excess, indulgent in luxury and lust, known for his cruelty. It was said that every month, the city lord’s mansion would take in several new concubines, each with her own unique charm. Yet, over the years, the number of concubines in his household had remained at twenty. Those who disappeared were either given away after falling out of favor or had met tragic ends due to his abuse.

"Boom—"

A loud crash startled Si, and she instinctively grabbed her dagger before realizing it was just thunder.

She exhaled softly, tightening her grip on the dagger, forcing herself to pull away from those terrifying memories.

Though she was still uneasy, the situation was different now.

Even if she were to hit a wall elsewhere, it would be her own doing. Her life and fate were hers alone. She would rather destroy them herself than let others exploit her trust and treat her as a plaything to be handed over to a cruel and lustful old man!

The rain suddenly intensified, the wind and rain howling from all directions. Though it sounded like the wailing of ghosts and wolves, it oddly brought her a sense of comfort, as if all danger had been shut out.

Before Jiang Hui left, he had said that if there was news this time, he would soon take Si back to his hometown, where she could live a peaceful life.

When Si asked where his hometown was, Jiang Hui hesitated, saying it was a long story and that he would explain in detail when he returned.

The prospect of a peaceful life was incredibly tempting for Si. She silently prayed that he would succeed in his mission this time.

With this faint hope, Si managed to steady her nerves. She sheathed her dagger and lay down, listening to the rain all night before finally falling asleep at dawn, still clutching the dagger.

Three days passed, and Jiang Hui still hadn’t returned.

Though he had said he would be away for a few days, Si couldn’t help but feel anxious. Still, she had to maintain a calm front to reassure Aunt Li.

At noon, Aunt Li went to the foot of the mountain to gather firewood. When she returned, she mentioned that some neighbors had seen a few refugees arriving sporadically from outside the mountains.

The woman patted her chest, still shaken, and said, "I heard those refugees only picked some fruit. They didn’t steal food or hurt anyone.

"But I also heard from a neighbor that those refugees said something about Yan Shuheng capturing an accomplice of the assassins!"

Si suddenly stood up.

"What? The assassin was captured?"