Chapter 170: Sixth Husband (Part Three)
Chapter 170: Sixth Husband (Part Three)
"I met Xiao Ling at the temple outside the city around four months ago. It was early morning when I saw her in the back courtyard of the temple. She was there playing with the bunnies, looking so pure and innocent. I was unable to help myself and ended up falling in love with her at that very moment..."
Every word leaving Zhang Xuan’s mouth was causing goosebumps to arise on Xiang Ling’s body. She could hardly believe that someone like him was able to think of this much nonsense. However, this was the mere beginning.
"... mustering up some courage, I dared to speak to her. We talked about a lot of things and she told me how she came to the temple to pray for the good health of her husbands. At first, I felt dejected knowing that she was already married. But when she told me that she was looking for another husband, I immediately proposed to her."
Xiang Ling felt Dao Ming’s hold on her wrist becoming tighter as Zhang Xuan continued to tell his ridiculous story. His hold became so tight that she feared he was about to snap her wrist into two. Yet, she didn’t dare to move her hand at all, and just bore with the pain.
"She told me that if I married her, I would need to live with her family here in the Chen Manor. Since I’m just a lone merchant, I had no issues with this condition. The two of us exchanged wedding vows in the temple before I left with the promise to come here and find her once I have wrapped up my business in my hometown. And... here I am." With the completion of his well thought story, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze toward her and gave her a really warm smile full of love.
Xiang Ling almost cried out in pain when Dao Ming’s hold on her wrist tightened even further when he too noticed the look Zhang Xuan gave her. Though she succeeded in holding herself back from crying out loud, Dao Ming still noticed her discomfort and loosened his hold enough for her to relax.
Everyone remained silent after that, lost in their own thoughts. Xiang Ling also stayed silent and didn’t dare to even breath loud enough to grasp anyone’s attention. After certain long moments of silence had passed, Zuan Hu was the one who broke the silence.
"Xiang Mei Mei, can you really not recall anything about what this Young Master has just said?" The woman asked while looking at Xiang Ling with judgement free eyes. It seemed like she was the only one there who wasn’t angry at Xiang Ling.
Not wasting any time, Xiang Ling quickly shook her head in denial. "I have no memories of my visit to the temple except when Fu Xiao and the other servants found me in the mountains after the accident." She spoke in the softest voice she could make.
"Accident? Did something happen to Xiao Ling? Are you alright?" Zhang Xuan wasted no time as he once again tried to come close to Xiang Ling while acting all worried. However, he would have barely taken a step or two in her direction before a sword came to rest against his throat, halting him in his tracks.
Since Xiang Ling’s eyes were trained on Zhang Xuan’s face, she didn’t notice the sharpness that passed through his beautiful emerald eyes as soon as the sharp edge of the sword come as close as brushing against the tender skin of his throat.
"Don’t overstep your limits. Until proven, you are but a stranger to her." The coldness in Xin Cheng’s words carried just as much warning as his sword that was still stopping Zhang Xuan from taking another step in Xiang Ling’s direction.
"Third Brother-in-law, please lower your sword." Hao Ran requested while he tried to not panic at the sudden shift in the situation. The last thing they wanted was a dead body at the entrance of their manor. Surprisingly, Xin Cheng gave Hao Ran some face and lowered his sword.
Taking in a deep breath, Hao Ran shifted his gaze toward Zhang Xuan and spoke, "Young Master Zhang, let me apologize first. As you can see, my sister encountered some troubles during her visit to the temple and ended up in an accident which caused her to lose her memories temporarily. While she has recovered most of her memories during the past couple of months, there were still a few things she still can not recall, and one of such mrmories is her visit to the temple."
He stopped for a moment before continuing, "What you just told us, about your first meeting with my sister and the two of you taking wedding vows in the temple, is just but your words. I’m afraid that unless you can prove your words with any evidence, we can not accept-"
"I have the proof you want." Zhang Xuan didn’t allow Hao Ran to finish speaking and immediately took out something from his sleeve. Moving toward Hao Ran, he handed the item to him.
A moment passed before Hao Ran collected himself from the shock he received and raised his hand to show the item to everyone present there. There in his hand, was the golden pendant that Chen Xiang Ling received on her eighteenth birthday nearly a year ago from her parents.
Xiang Ling almost cursed out loud. After Fu Xiao told her how important the pendant was, she stored it in the Summer Cottage. Little did she knew that someone would steal it from there.
Realizing the loophole that had suddenly appeared in the story, she turned her gaze toward Fu Xiao only to find the young woman looking back at her with a questioning gaze. Very swiftly, she gave a shake of her head, and fortunately, Fu Xiao was smart enough to understand what she needed to do.
Moving forward, she spoke, "I just recalled something."