14. Exposed

Ye Xian gaze flickered briefly toward her, but before he could respond, Ye Feng raised a hand, silencing his wife with a single gesture.

"Enough," Ye Feng said firmly.

Ye Xian thoughts raced as he recalled the events of the previous night. Nothing added up. But his focus was soon redirected back to the woman in green, whose expression now held a twisted look of victory. A knot tightened in his stomach. This wasn't over.

Ye Xian's sharp gaze locked onto her. His voice rang out, cold and precise.

"I have few question for you," he said, his eyes unwavering. "You claim that I was the man you spent the night with. Is that correct?"

The woman's eyes flared with fury, but she held her ground, her defiance apparent.

"Yes! You were the one who promised to accept me, yet you abandoned me like I was nothing more than a toy!" she hissed.

Ye Zeng, sitting beside Ye Feng, commented with a wry grin, "My nephew has a strange taste." His tone was amused but tinged with disapproval as he glanced at the woman dressed in green.

Before he could continue, his wife, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, twisted his ear lightly, a playful smile crossing her lips. "You better watch what you say," she teased, her voice light but sharp with meaning.

Ye Zeng winced but grinned. "I was just commenting on his..." He trailed off, seeing the playful glint in his wife's eyes.

Ye Xian caught the exchange and smirked. "Seems like I'm not the only one with strange tastes today," he quipped, his tone light, yet filled with an undeniable edge.

The laughter that rippled through the hall served to ease the tension, but Ye Xian gaze remained hard, his voice sharp as he focused back on the woman in green.

"We were intimate the last two nights—is that true?" Ye Xian's voice was steady, his gaze unwavering as he questioned the woman before the gathered crowd.

The woman's lips trembled as she met his eyes, feigning grievance. "Yes… Why do you ask? Have you already forgotten?" She let out a shuddering breath, her voice laced with sorrow. "You truly are heartless. Playing with a woman's feelings… Is it because I am poor that you now seek to discard me?"

Murmurs spread through the hall like ripples in still water. Suspicion grew, painting Ye Xian as a scoundrel before the gathered crowd.

Yet he merely chuckled—a deep, unshaken sound, its edge sharp as a blade. His voice carried an amused lilt, but his gaze held a chilling indifference. "So, we explored each other's bodies for the last two nights?" He tilted his head slightly. "Tell me then—was my body to your liking?"

The woman's cheeks burned crimson. Her fingers clutched at the fabric of her dress, and she hesitated before nodding shyly. "Y-Yes… your figure was… very clean and strong…"

Ye Xian smirk deepened, his tone turning measured, deliberate. "Clean and strong, you say?" His voice dropped, drawing the woman further into his snare. "Then you are saying my body was pleasing to your eyes? That I was unblemished?"

The woman's expression flickered with confusion, but she hurriedly nodded, eager to affirm her claim. "Yes! Your body was in perfect health—"

Her words were cut off by hushed whispers among the onlookers.

"It seems a concubine is about to be made…" someone murmured.

Ye Tian, the patriarch of the Ye Clan, observed the exchange in silence, his gaze deep and unreadable. Beside him, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel that Ye Xian had changed. The once unassuming youth now stood before the crowd with unwavering confidence, his voice steady, his composure unshaken despite the weight of the accusation. There was no hesitation, no trace of doubt—only a sharp, commanding presence.

Meanwhile, Ye Xian's stepmother watched from the sidelines, her lips curling into a subtle, malicious smile. A flicker of satisfaction danced in her eyes, as if savoring the unfolding spectacle, waiting for the moment.

Ye Xian, however, paid no heed to the murmurs. Instead, he let the silence linger before speaking again—his tone light, almost playful.

"But if we truly spent the night together," he said slowly, "surely, you would have seen these."

With a slow, purposeful motion, he grasped his robe and tore it open down the center, bearing his well-toned chest.

A collective gasp rippled through the hall. Eyes widened in shock.

"What is he doing?!"

"Has he lost his mind?!"

Yet Ye Xian stood composed, his expression tranquil as still water. The fabric of his robe fell away, revealing two cross-shaped scars, faint yet unmistakable. His gaze locked onto the woman face, piercing and relentless.

Her expression drained color. Her breath hitched as if the very ground beneath her had crumbled.

"You claimed we spent the night together," Ye Xian continued, his voice like tempered steel. "Then tell me—did you see these scars while we indulged in such… intimacy?"

Whispers ignited like wildfire, some filled with ridicule, others with quiet amusement.

The woman's lips quivered. "I—I…"

Ye Xian smirk held no warmth. "Just moments ago, you described my body as 'clean' and 'pleasing to the eye." His voice grew colder. "Yet these scars are neither small nor forgettable. If you had truly been with me, how could you have missed them?"

The woman stiffened, her hands trembling as she gripped her dress as though it could shield her from the weight of the moment.

"She's lying!"

"Shameless! What a pathetic scheme!"

Ye Xian silenced the clamor with a single, unyielding glance. His voice rang out, sharp and deliberate, cutting through the noise like a blade through silk. "These scars are not the mark of mere injury," he began, his tone calm but unrelenting. "They are the result of an ambush outside the city the night before yesterday."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the room, the crowd hanging on his every syllable. "I was returning late that night when two assassins struck from the shadows, their blades aimed at my life. Alone, I fought back, barely holding my ground—until a passing Taoist intervened. With swift precision, he struck down my attackers and left behind healing elixirs, demanding only that I remain silent and offer aid in the future."

A hush settled over the hall, thick with tension.

Ye Tian, who had remained silent until now, gave a slight nod. With a flick of his wrist, he commanded, "Go. Verify his words."

The Ye Clan guards swiftly mounted their horses and rode out, heading toward the valley outside the city. All eyes shifted between Ye Xian and the woman, whose earlier bravado had utterly shattered.

She opened her mouth, but no words came. The noose had tightened. There was no escape.

Dozen of minutes dragged by before the guards returned. Their leader dismounted swiftly, his expression grim.

"Patriarch Ye," he reported. "Young Master Ye Xian speaks the truth. We found the bodies of the two men. One was beheaded, the other's face was so mangled it was unrecognizable. Judging by their state, they perished two nights ago—the very night Young Master Ye Xian was attacked."

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

The woman in green wavered on her feet, her deceit unraveling before the crowd. Her lips trembled, her voice reduced to a frail whisper. "I… I…"

Ye Xian let the silence stretch before, with a slow, almost lazy smile, asking, "Tell me now—who put you up to this?"

Terror flickered in her eyes. She clutched her hands together as if she could will herself out of existence.

"I… I lied," she stammered, her voice breaking. "I did it for money. Di Ye… He promised me gold if I could ruin Young Master Ye Xian's reputation."

Outrage swept through the hall.

Ye Xian gaze shifted to Di Ye, whose earlier arrogance had crumbled into sheer panic.

"I… I didn't mean to," Di Ye stammered, sweat beading his brow.

Ye Xian voice was like ice. "You didn't mean to? And yet, you accepted the gold and carried out the task." His words held the weight of judgment. "Who ordered you? Speak the truth, and your punishment may be less severe."

Di Ye's body trembled violently. His eyes darted around, seeking an escape that did not exist.

"I—I didn't see his face. He was masked. But he paid me to frame you, Young Master Ye Xian… He wanted you to be humiliated before everyone."

Ye Xian's eyes darkened. "And this man—who was he?"

Di Ye swallowed hard, forcing out a name. "It was… the Young Master of the Lu Clan."

Silence.

The name hung in the air like a death knell. Expressions shifted from shock to understanding, then to cold fury.

Ye Tian voice, low and unwavering, sliced through the silence. A hidden anger burned beneath his calm exterior, as if memories of old wounds had been reopened. "So, the Lu Clan seeks to manipulate this gathering and disgrace my nephew." His gaze sharpened. "We will deal with this accordingly."

With a single gesture, he issued his command. "Guards, take them away."

"N-No, please! Mercy! I was only following orders!" Di Ye pleaded, his voice hoarse with terror.

Ye Xian remained unmoved, his expression as cold and impassive as before. "You made your choice," he said, voice like tempered steel. "Now, you will face the consequences."

The guards moved swiftly, seizing the disgraced pair. They struggled, their cries for mercy piercing the air, but no one spoke in their defense. Their fates had already been sealed.

As they were dragged from the hall, their screams faded into the distance.