"Sullied Lady Xuan Yi," Lord Ye repeated his words. They are easier to get out after saying it once but it does not make it any easier for Yun He who is trying his best to process those words.
"What in the world- Do you even know what those words mean?" Yun He gasped for air after choking on his tea. He patted his chest as he heaved, trying to get the air down the correct tube.
"Yes, I have touched her inappropriately." Lord Ye furrowed his brows as if he was remembering what exactly happened at that time before continuing his words, "against her will."
Yun He slammed his hands onto the table, the teacups shook at the impact but Lord Ye did not appear shaken at his uncle's fury.
"Xiao Ye, what exactly did you do to Lady Xuan Yi?"
A clap of thunder and a flash of lightning appeared across the night sky followed by thundery showers of heavy rain. It all happened quickly, too quickly to be natural. The water in their atmosphere is reacting to the furious water god's emotions who had dropped his smile. His menacing eyes glared at his nephew as he waited for his answers and depending on his answer, he might have to turn his handsome nephew into mincemeat.
Before Lord Ye could answer his uncle, the door of the room burst open and Xuan Yi strode in with angry strides. With her hands on her hips, she glared sternly at the water god.
"What the hell is wrong with you now?" Xuan Yi had been in the dining area when she sensed the unnatural winds and rain. She could feel the angry aura of her friend from above and have rushed in to stop him from trying to generate a typhoon in this small village.
Seeing that Xuan Yi has returned, Yun He went to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Pulling her into a tight embrace, he whimpered as if he was the one who has been done wrong. "My little kitten is no longer pure! How is this father going to marry you out now?"
Xuan Yi felt her cheeks on fire and she clenched her fist tightly as she processed what her friend has said. No longer pure? Father? Marry out? What is the world is this idiot saying? In front of Lord Ye of all people!
Pushing away Yun He hastily, she took a few steps behind to distance away from her crazy friend. The hurt in Yun He's expression was obvious as he stumbled back from the impact of the push. Looking up, he saw a fuming Xuan Yi with bright red cheeks at the slander of her purity which was totally uncalled for.
"What the hell are you saying?" Xuan Yi choked out in anger. A woman's purity is not something that can be casually talked about over tea and even more so at the woman's face. She did not hear their conversation and she had a feeling that she does not want to know either but she needs some sort of explanation or she is going to rip both of them apart, royalty or not.
Before Yun He could explain, Lord Ye stood up from his seat and with an apologetic look on his expressionless face, he bowed to Xuan Yi. Xuan Yi stood rooted to her spot, flabbergasted at the sudden bow before she went forward to stop him. Who has ever heard of a prince bowing to their subjects?
"Your Highness, please stop this…" Xuan Yi wanted to pull Lord Ye from his bowing position but she did not dare to touch him without his permission and so her hands paused just before touching his sleeve, wavering. She could not help but frown at how troublesome the second prince is. Why does he always do things that cause her problems? What would people think of her when they saw or heard that their precious second prince bowed down to her? What if they suddenly storm into her demon palace and demand that she should be thrown into the abyss and never allowed to step out?
"I am sorry for that time, Lady Xuan Yi." Lord Ye slowly and reluctantly returned to a normal standing position and looked at Xuan Yi. She stared back into his pitch-black eyes and tilted her head sideways, not understanding where he is coming from.
Sensing her confusion, he explained. "For touching you inappropriately back at the gardens, near the fountain."
Seeing that her eyes widen in shock, Lord Ye is satisfied that she finally remembered and continued. "Back then, I did not even offer an apology. It was rude of me but you were too breath-taking that I could not react in time before you fled. I would like to offer my sincere apologies and take responsibility for my actions."
Xuan Yi wanted to smack him to wake him up from this madness. She shook her head with an annoyed look on her face as she backed away from him. Taking a deep breath to calm herself and hold herself back from strangling one of the most powerful immortals, the second prince of the heavenly realm before she gave one of the most forced smiles in her entire life.
"There appears to be a misunderstanding, Lord Ye." Xuan Yi gritted her teeth, not sure if she is angry or helpless. "Please do not say such things to others when they are not true-"
"But what I said is the truth," Lord Ye cut her off. His emotionless face did not show any hint of what he was currently feeling and Xuan Yi did not have any clue as to what exactly is he thinking.
"I will take you as my wife. Lady Xuan Yi does not have to worry, I will only take one wife in my life." Lord Ye told her, his tone serious which made Xuan Yi want to slap him more.
"As I was saying, there is a misunderstanding here. What you did back then does not require you to take any sort of responsibility." Xuan Yi suddenly felt very tired when conversing with Lord Ye and wanted to just ignore everything and sleep. Maybe when she wakes up, he will be gone and her peaceful days will return.
Eyeing Xuan Yi, Yun He could sense that it may have been as what she said. A misunderstanding. If so, then he has to find out what happened between them. Patting Xuan Yi on her shoulder, he gestured his nephew to shut up and take a seat instead. He then waited for Xuan Yi to explain which she did, grateful that she could finally clear this entire mess up.
"I was resting near the fountains near the gardens when he suddenly appeared and that shocked me, making me lose my balance. I fell into the water and felt someone's hand on my waist, hoisting me up. When I was pulled out of the water, I saw that it was Lord Ye who pulled me out. So I gave my thanks and ran to change my clothes," Xuan Yi hastily explained.
Yun He raised his eyebrow at her story before looking at his nephew.
"Touched her inappropriately?" Yun He repeated his nephew's words.
"I touched her waist and her legs," Lord Ye affirmed, his face ever stoic.
Yun He, "sullied her purity?"
Lord Ye, "she was wearing white."
Yun He, "against her will?"
Lord Ye, "she did not give me permission beforehand."
Yun He felt like slapping his nephew but he held back. "What does wearing white have to do with anything?" He groaned at this entire situation.
"Her clothes were translucent," Lord Ye muttered, his eyes lowered as if he was repenting on his actions. Yun He pursed his lips and grimaced. That means that he had seen Xuan Yi's body.
"How am I supposed to give you my permission beforehand?" Xuan Yi rolled her eyes at how ridiculous this is.
"I will take responsibility," Lord Ye is stubborn and refused to back down. Yun He sighed and looked at Xuan Yi with a gaze that says "I want no part in this". He had thought his nephew took advantage of Xuan Yi or something along those lines. If it is something like this, he is not going to say anything. It is not as serious but it cannot be dismissed as nothing happened either. So it is up to the victim, Xuan Yi, to decide if she wants to accept his nephew's proposal.
"I refuse." Xuan Yi stated firmly, leveling a hard glare at Lord Ye.
"May I ask for the reason?" Lord Ye asked, ever so politely. This was within his expectations. After years of observing the lady in front of him, he knows that she would not accept his proposal that easily.
"Because I don't like you." Xuan Yi said simply. There is not much of a reason behind her rejection. She may be cunning and scheming but when it comes to matters of the heart, she prefers it to be simple. Why she does not want to marry him? Because she does not like him.
Hearing her straightforward answer, Lord Ye raised an eyebrow. Although he knows that the people around him are not too fond of his presence, this is the first time someone said it to his face like how Xuan Yi has done. Furrowing his brows, he was lost for words.
Seeing that his nephew has been stunned speechless, Yun He chuckled. Well, if his little kitten were to wed his nephew, he would be very happy for both of them but since she has rejected him, there is nothing for his nephew to do anymore. Clapping his hands together, he grinned at them.
"Now that we have cleared that matter, shall we go back to the case?" Lord Ye nodded reluctantly and Xuan Yi went back to promptly ignoring him.
"So my dear nephew was saying this is not a flood?" Yun He turned towards his nephew who had his eyes lowered on his hands. If he had not known better, he would have thought that his nephew was sulking. Yun He shook his head with a laugh. That cannot be, right?