It wasn't like before, when he would simply accept whatever happened to him.
He used to accept the way people treated him, even if it was from a stepmother or anyone else. His status didn't mean much, it was just a name with no respect. But now, he had decided that this was his second chance.
In this second chance, he would change completely. He would stand tall, determined to do what he said.
He wouldn't tolerate any injustice anymore.if someone treated him well, he would be kind and fair in return. But if someone treated him badly, he would make sure to give them back ten times worse.
This was the new him, someone ready to stand up for himself and those who showed him respect.
Ye Xian leaned forward and asked, "So... were you satisfied with my body? Did I please you well?"
She shyly answered, "Yes… you satisfied me. I was happy with you."
Ye Xian smiled, then asked again, "Then you must have seen my body clearly, right?"
She nodded.
He asked, "Was my body to your liking? Did I have any ugly mark or something you didn't like? Please tell me this clearly."
She looked at him and felt puzzled but instantly collected her thoughts before blushing again and answering softly.
'Do you think I would falter at this point? You bastard, just watch how I'll handle this situation before I ruin what's left of your already ruined life.'
"Your chest was broad and clean. It was pleasing to see. Your skin was smooth like jade. Your arms were strong…"
She said all this while looking down, clearly embarrassed.
Ye Xian laughed, and then turned to the crowd.
"As you all heard, this woman said my body was clean. In a way, 'not a single mark or scar'. But let me remind you all: two days ago, I was not in the Ye clan, and the day before yesterday I rested at an inn near the city walls. The next day I was ambushed during a mission and almost killed. I was seriously wounded and I still have scars on my chest."
Ye Xian looked at Sheng Qinhua and then at the woman in green hanfu dress who was visibly confused and startled.
"If we truly spent the night together," he said slowly.
"surely, you would have seen these."
With a slow and deliberate motion, he pulled open his robe down the middle, exposing his toned chest.
A gasp spread through the room. Eyes widened in shock.
"What is he doing?!"
"Has he lost his mind?!"
Ye Xian remained calm, his expression as still as a calm lake. His robe fell away, revealing two cross-shaped scars, faint but clear. The mark of his death and resurrection. His eyes locked onto the woman's, intense and unyielding.
"You said we spent the night together," Ye Xian continued, his voice steady but strong.
"So tell me, did you see these scars while we were... intimate?"
Whispers quickly spread, some mocking, others quietly amused.
The woman's face lost all color. She gasped, her breath caught in her throat, as if the ground beneath her had suddenly disappeared.
"You called my body 'clean' and 'pleasing to the eye,'" Ye Xian continued, his voice colder now.
"But these scars are big and noticeable. If we truly spent the night together, how could you have missed them?"
The woman froze, her hands shaking as she held onto her dress, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"She's lying!"
"Shameless! "
"What a pathetic scheme!"
Ye Xian silenced the crowd with a single, unwavering stare. His voice rang out, sharp and clear, cutting through the noise.
"These scars aren't just from any injury," he said, his voice calm but unyielding.
"They were caused by an ambush."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in.
"I was on a academy mission when two assassins attacked me. I fought them off alone, barely holding my own, until a passing Taoist intervened. He took down the attackers and left healing elixirs and, telling me to stay silent if possible and offer him a little help if needed in the future."
'A convenient lie,' Ye Xian thought, 'but one that serves the truth better than the reality of my death and resurrection.'
The room fell silent, the tension thick in the air.
Ye Tian, who had been silent until then, gave a small nod. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Go. Check his story."
The Ye Clan guards quickly mounted their horses and rode out to the valley outside the city. Everyone's eyes shifted between Ye Xian and the woman, whose earlier confidence was now gone.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was trapped, with no way out.
After half a stick of incense had burned, the guards returned. Their leader dismounted and approached Ye Tian.
"Patriarch Ye," the leader reported, "Young Master Ye Xian is telling the truth. He stayed at an inn near the city wall, and we also found the bodies of the two men, both decapitated.
It seems someone reached the scene before us and tried to remove evidence that could identify them. Based on their condition, they died yesterday evening , the same evening Young Master Ye Xian was attacked."
The room filled with gasps of shock.
Ye Xian reached into his spatial pouch, his movements deliberate and calculated. With a heavy thud, he threw two severed heads onto the floor before the patriarch's seat.
Blood had long since dried, but the grotesque sight still sent waves of nausea through the assembled crowd.
"I had taken their heads as proof," Ye Xian announced, his voice cutting through the horrified silence.
Several clan members recoiled in disgust, while others leaned forward to get a better look. An elder with sharp eyes examined the heads closely before gasping.
"These... these are the lackeys of Young Master Ye Shen!"
The revelation hit the hall like lightning. Whispers exploded into heated discussions, voices rising in shock and speculation.
"Ye Shen's men?"
"Why would they attack Ye Xian?"
"This changes everything!"
Ye Tian's expression darkened like storm clouds. Without hesitation, he gestured to a guard.
"Summon Ye Shen. Immediately."
The tension in the hall was suffocating as they waited. When Ye Shen finally arrived, he entered with his usual composed demeanor, dressed in fine silk robes that spoke of his favored status.
His handsome features and confident bearing made him the perfect contrast to Ye Xian's more humble appearance.
"Greetings, honored Patriarch. Father, Mother, Uncle Ye Zeng, Aunt," Ye Shen said, bowing respectfully to each in turn.
Ye Tian's voice was ice-cold as he pointed to the severed heads.
"Do you recognize these men?"
Ye Shen's eyes fell upon the gruesome sight, and his face immediately contorted in what appeared to be genuine shock and horror. He took a step back, his hand flying to his chest.
"Yes... yes, these were my followers," he said, his voice trembling with what seemed like sincere distress.
"Two days ago, they disappeared from the Ye clan and... and they stole my pouch of gold. I thought they had simply run away with their theft."
His eyes filled with what looked like righteous anger.
"It seems they met their deserved end. Whoever delivered this punishment to them, I am truly grateful."
Ye Xian watched his half-brother's performance with hidden amazement. 'This bastard is good at acting,' he thought, keeping his expression neutral while internally marveling at Ye Shen's shameless ability to lie so convincingly.
Ye Tian's expression softened slightly as he explained what the two men had attempted to do to Ye Xian. As the patriarch spoke of the ambush and near-murder, Ye Shen's face transformed into a mask of fury that seemed utterly genuine.
"How presumptuous of them!" Ye Shen shouted, his fists clenching at his sides.
"To attack my little brother! If I had known they harbored such treacherous thoughts, I would have skinned them alive myself!"
His voice cracked with what appeared to be genuine emotion and brotherly concern.
Ye Xian was genuinely surprised at the quality of Ye Shen's acting. This man deserved an award for his performance.
Every gesture, every inflection of his voice, every expression on his face painted him as the caring older brother, wronged by his own servants and devastated by the harm that had come to his sibling.
But the woman in green had had enough. The pressure, the lies crumbling around her, the weight of the crowd's judgment. It all became too much.
"I lied!" she suddenly screamed, her voice cracking like breaking glass.
"I did it for money! Di Ye promised me gold if I could ruin Young Master Ye Xian's reputation!"
The confession hit the hall like an earthquake. All eyes turned to Di Ye, who had been trying to blend into the crowd. His face went white as fresh snow, sweat pouring down his forehead like a waterfall.
"I... I didn't mean to," Di Ye stammered, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
Ye Xian's voice dropped to a temperature that could freeze flames.
"You didn't mean to? But you took the gold and carried out the plan."
His tone was harsh, unforgiving.
"Who ordered you to do this? Tell the truth, and your punishment may be lighter."
Di Ye looked around desperately, like a cornered animal searching for an escape that didn't exist. The weight of dozens of angry stares pressed down on him.
"I— He was wearing a black cloak," Di Ye finally gasped.
"He paid me to frame you, Young Master Ye Xian... He wanted to humiliate you in front of everyone."
Ye Xian's eyes darkened like the depths of an abyss.
"And who was this man?"
Di Ye swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. Finally, he spoke the name that would seal his fate: "It was... the Young Master of the Lu Clan."
The name hung in the air like a death sentence. Shock quickly transformed into righteous anger throughout the hall.
Ye Tian's voice was low but carried the weight of absolute authority.
"So, the Lu Clan dared to manipulate this gathering and disgrace my nephew." His gaze sharpened like a blade.
"We will deal with this properly."