Chapter 169: Sixth Husband (Part Two)
Chapter 169: Sixth Husband (Part Two)
"Greetings to First Brother-in-law. I’m Ah Xiang’s sixth husband, Zhang Xuan."
The silence that followed these words was too terrifying for Xiang Ling to not worry about her future which suddenly got surrounded by uncertainty. She didn’t dare to look at anyone from her family and just kept her gaze focused on the man who decided to return to her life after disappearing for two long months and chose to create trouble for her with his arrival.
"Who are you again?"
The question, that finally broke the long silence, came from Wei Guang who moved forward to stand right next to Xiang Ling with his sharp gaze fixed on the stranger who was making such a bold statement.
With a polite smile on his lips, Zhang Xuan replied, "I’m Xiang Ling’s sixth husband, Zhang Xuan. Please accept my greetings, Young Master Wei." This time, everyone heard him loud and clear. There was no longer the possibility of mishearing the same words twice.
Xiang Ling felt it with her entire body as all the questioning and shocked gazes shifted from Zhang Xuan and landed on her. The question they wanted to ask her was clear despite no one voicing it out. Yet, she remained silent as she was just too shocked to say anything at all. Everytime her life as a mortal started sailing smoothly, a much bigger problem than the previous one ended up knocking on her door.
"Xiang’er?"
"Huh?"
Hearing her brother calling her, she turned her shocked eyes toward Hao Ran and just stared at him in a trance. Realizing that she wasn’t going to say anything, he decided to ask the question clearly. "Do you know this man?"
"No."
The answer left her lips even before she realized what she was saying. But as she watched everyone around her visibly relaxing except for Zhang Xuan, she realized that in her anxiety, she chose the worst answer possible.
"Yes..."
As soon as the word left her mouth, she felt everyone returning to their shocked shelves all over again. She felt like using the teleportation spell and disappearing from there to save herself. With every passing second, the situation was becoming harder for her to control.
"What do you mean, Xiang Ling? Do you know him or not?" Xin Cheng was the one who demanded an answer this time, and as she finally dared to look up at him, she found him glaring at her with a deadly expression on his face.
Xiang Ling struggled to find the right words to save herself. The easiest way was for her to deny recognizing Zhang Xuan. In that way, everyone would chase him away considering how much they all had come to trust her in past couple of months, especially her husbands and the servants of the Manor. However, she knew better than to trick Zhang Xuan. It was not only because he’s more powerful than her, but also because of the favor she owed to him. Only if she could have known back then that owing a favor to him would cause her this much trouble.
Being aware that she was testing everyone’s patience by staying quiet, she blabbered out - "What... I’m trying to say is that I can’t recognize him right now... but maybe I used to... know him back in the days... before I lost my memories. You all know that I still haven’t recalled some of my memories."
Here! This was the best solution she could think of to save herself while trying her best to not anger the two important parties involved way too much. She used the one weapon that had been keeping her safe during her time in the Mortal Realm.
She didn’t dare to look at either Xin Cheng or Dao Ming as she was able to feel the intensity of their sharp gazes focused on her. Instead, she turned her pleading gaze toward Zhang Xuan, hoping that the man wouldn’t make things too hard for her. But she was absolutely stupid for believing that he had any thought of helping her out.
Much to her horror, the man came rushing toward her and took hold of her shoulders while looking as if he was overtaken by pure panic.
"Xiao Ling, what happened to you? How did you forget your memories? Have you really forgotten about me, your Ah Xuan?"
Xiang Ling was unable to hold her jaw from dropping at the show that Zhang Xuan put forward for everyone. She was too traumatized by his actions and words to think of a way to get out of the mess. The very next moment, she was very rudely shaken out of her thoughts when Dao Ming suddenly arrived next to them and pushed Zhang Xuan away from her, all the while pulling her safely behind him as if he was there to protect her.
"Keep your hands away from her." The warning was clear in the Spirit Beast King’s tone as he glared at Zhang Xuan who was carrying an expression on his face that said he was being wronged.
Dao Ming then immediately turned his head to look at Xiang Ling and the latter slmost forgot how to breathe for a moment. "What is going on here?" He demanded in a low voice while keeping a tight hold on her hand as if he was worried she would disappear somewhere if he let go.
There was nothing Xiang Ling could have said in response as there were too many people there. So, all she did was to give a little shake of her head while looking at him with questioning eyes. She wanted him to be on her side instead of questioning her. However, it seemed like Zhang Xuan had angered everyone, especially her husbands. Each of her five men were looking at her as if they all just got betrayed.
"Let me explain everything that happened." Zhang Xuan suddenly spoke, bringing everyone’s attention toward him.
Xiang Ling felt her heart beating crazily as dread took over her.
What was he planning to tell everyone?