Xie Yuantang was held tightly in Si Tu Yan’s embrace, completely unharmed.
In contrast, Si Tu Yan had slammed his entire shoulder and back against the carriage wall due to inertia, letting out a muffled groan before coming to a stop.
Even then, his first reaction after stopping wasn’t to check his own injury, but to look down and ask Xie Yuantang anxiously: “Did my wife get hurt?”
As he asked, he pulled her arms to examine them carefully.
“I’m fine.”
Xie Yuantang’s small face was scrunched up with worry as she looked at his shoulder: “Did you hit it? Does it hurt?”
She had felt his entire body tense up in that instant, the force so great that she couldn’t break free at all.
Xie Yuantang climbed up and extended her slender little finger to poke his shoulder. The moment she touched it, she heard Si Tu Yan let out a low cry.
He had indeed been hurt.
Xie Yuantang’s expression darkened. Seeing this, Si Tu Yan whispered: “It only hurts a little, I can bear it.”
“Bear what bear?”
Xie Yuantang was somewhat angry and was about to push open the carriage door to ask what had happened when she heard an arrogantly provocative voice from outside.
“Well now! Isn’t this Fifth Brother’s carriage!”
Hearing this voice, Si Tu Yan immediately became tense.
Seeing his reaction, Xie Yuantang had already guessed the identity of the newcomer.
At the same time, Qu Pei knocked on the carriage door and said: “Your Highness, Imperial Consort, are you injured?”
“We’re fine.”
Xie Yuantang’s childish voice clearly carried from inside the carriage: “Who is that rude and ill-mannered fellow outside? Chamberlain, please drive him away.”
Upon hearing this, Si Tu Ye, who was riding on horseback, immediately frowned.
Yu Long beside him angrily shouted: “Where did this ignorant little girl come from? Does she have a death wish?”
“Please calm your anger, Young Duke. Inside the carriage are His Highness the Fifth Prince and the Little Imperial Consort.”
After saying this, Qu Pei replied to Xie Yuantang through the carriage door: “Reporting to Little Imperial Consort, we have encountered the Fourth Prince and the Young Duke of the Duke’s residence.”
Having said this, he had already descended from the carriage and bowed to Si Tu Ye and Yu Long: “This servant pays respects to the Fourth Prince, and greets the Young Duke.”
“Rise.”
Si Tu Ye didn’t look at Qu Pei, but stared at the carriage door instead, sneering: “Fifth Brother, Fourth Brother has come to see you out of kindness. Aren’t you going to come out and greet me?”
“Could it be that His Highness the Fifth Prince is afraid?”
Yu Long laughed loudly and said to his subordinates: “I heard that His Highness the Fifth Prince wet his pants last year. Could it be that he’s already scared himself into wetting his pants inside the carriage?”
Inside the carriage, Xie Yuantang’s small face was so dark it seemed about to drip water.
She raised her hand to push open the carriage door, but just as she lifted it, Si Tu Yan stopped her: “Don’t, wife.”
Si Tu Yan’s face was pale, clearly very wary of Si Tu Ye: “Don’t go out. Fourth Brother is very fierce, his blows hurt terribly.”
He could endure it himself, but his wife was so small and thin, and Fourth Brother’s fists were so big – they could kill her.
Hearing this, Xie Yuantang’s expression grew even darker: “He’s hit you before?”
Si Tu Yan stiffened, hesitating before whispering: “He used to hit me… Later… I avoided him, so he stopped.”
Hearing this, Xie Yuantang pressed her lips together and raised her hand to push open the carriage door.
Just as Si Tu Yan was about to pull her back, he heard Xie Yuantang say: “Husband could avoid him before, but will you have me avoid him with you from now on? After avoiding him, who else will we avoid? Avoid them for a lifetime?”
Si Tu Yan was momentarily stunned.
Xie Yuantang swung the door open decisively, turning back to extend her hand toward Si Tu Yan. “Si Tu Yan, don’t be afraid, don’t hide. Stand tall and face this openly.”
Si Tu Yan stared blankly at the small hand held out before him.
How tiny it was—likely not even half the size of his own palm, as if the slightest pressure from him could snap it.
Yet it held such strength, pulling him forward with unwavering resolve through every step.
Xie Yuantang’s voice was clear enough not only for Si Tu Yan to hear, but also for Si Tu Ye, Yu Long, Qu Pei, and the others.
Qu Pei’s eyes flickered subtly as he cast a meaningful glance toward Xie Yuantang.
Si Tu Ye, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the small figure before him.
Instead of stepping down from the carriage, Xie Yuantang pulled Si Tu Yan up to sit beside her in the driver’s seat.
She sat with one leg bent and the other stretched out—her stature notably small, her face still marked by whip scars—yet she seemed entirely unbothered, exuding an air of carefree fearlessness.
The double buns atop her head were slightly askew, tilted in a playful, messy manner, with a few unruly strands of hair escaping.
Her large, dark eyes fixed on Si Tu Ye as she spoke in a soft, sweet voice—yet her words nearly made him fall off his horse.
“Xie Yuantang greets Fourth Imperial Brother. Did Imperial Brother deliberately stop our carriage on my return-home day because your conscience suddenly stirred, remembering you still owe my husband and me a wedding gift, and you’ve come to deliver it?”
“A… wedding gift?”
Si Tu Ye was taken aback, and even Yu Long and the others beside him froze.
None of them had ever regarded this ludicrous Chong Xi ritual as a real marriage—why would they have prepared any wedding gift?
But their earlier commotion of startling the horses and blocking the carriage had already drawn the attention of nearby commoners. Now, with Xie Yuantang’s clear voice carrying, onlookers turned their gazes toward Si Tu Ye.
Under public scrutiny, how could Si Tu Ye possibly admit he wasn’t here to deliver money—but to cause trouble?
Mounted on his horse, Si Tu Ye found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place.
He glared furiously at Xie Yuantang, grinding his teeth in silent fury. What a sharp-tongued little girl—this was the first time he’d ever been publicly shamed into compliance!
“Huh? Does that mean Fourth Imperial Brother isn’t here to give a wedding gift?”
Seeing Si Tu Ye remain silent, Xie Yuantang covered her mouth in feigned surprise.
“Could it be… could it be that Fourth Imperial Brother intentionally rammed into our carriage just now?”
“Wah… Fourth Imperial Brother, did Tangtang do something wrong? If I did, just tell me, and I’ll change, okay? Wuwuwu…”
The nine-year-old girl covered her mouth with her small hands, her large eyes filled with panic and fear as she wept pitifully, her sobs restrained yet heart-wrenching.
Instantly, the surrounding onlookers shifted their attention to Si Tu Ye.
“Look how pitiful the Little Imperial Consort is! How can a grown man bully a child like this?”
“Exactly! Charging at them with such a big horse—if the Little Imperial Consort hadn’t been lucky, she’d be dead or crippled by now!”
“Tsk tsk, the Little Imperial Consort has such a hard life. Bullied like that in the Xie family, forced into a Chong Xi to save the Fifth Prince, and instead of gratitude, the imperial family treats her like this.”
The murmurs grew louder until Yu Long snapped impatiently, “Shut your mouths, all of you!”
“Sss—”
Someone in the crowd gasped softly and whispered, “Stop talking, stop talking. That’s the Fourth Prince! He’s backed by Consort Yu and the Duke’s estate!”
Hearing this, Si Tu Ye scowled darkly at Xie Yuantang. “Sister-in-law, do not twist the truth. When did I deliberately startle the horses? It was merely an accident.”
“Then…”
Xie Yuantang parted her fingers covering her small face, revealing large eyes dark as grapes. “So Fourth Imperial Brother has truly come to deliver wedding gifts?”
Si Tu Ye: “…”
So either he bears the ill reputation or obediently pays up?