“Second sister-in-law, do you need something?”Ye Siyun stood up and walked over to them.
Shen Jia smiled and said, “Siyun, you’d better be careful. Now that your eldest brother is crippled, Mu Mianmian has started flirting around. If you’re not paying attention, she’ll bring shame to your brother and the Ye family.”
Ye Siying was born the same year as Ye Siyun, only a month younger. Clinging to Shen Jia’s arm, she puffed out her cheeks angrily.
“That’s right, big sister. Our family split because of Mu Mianmian. She’s a jinx. If she hadn’t stirred things up, we wouldn’t have split, and our family wouldn’t have fallen to this state!”
“Shut up! Don’t you dare bad-mouth my sister-in-law!”
Hearing them call her brother “crippled” and Mu Mianmian a “jinx” over and over, Ye Siyun exploded with anger, wishing she could tear their mouths apart.
“My sister-in-law is not a jinx—you are!”
“Ye Siyun, don’t be so ungrateful!”
“Forget it, don’t bother with her. She’ll have plenty of time to cry later.”
The two were startled by her reaction.
Seeing that they couldn’t provoke her, they cursed under their breath and hurried away.
Ye Siyun returned, fuming.
“What happened?” Mu Mianmian asked, thinking she had been bullied.
“Nothing.”
Seeing the concern in Mu Mianmian’s eyes, Ye Siyun gradually calmed down.
She didn’t want to repeat those words and upset her brother and sister-in-law. She wasn’t stupid—everything the second and third branches had done along the way was outrageous.
If it weren’t for Mu Mianmian, she didn’t even know what she would have done.
She had already sworn silently to treat her sister-in-law well and would never believe their slander.
“Sister-in-law, you should rest,” Chen Shan said as he came over after wiping down Lord Ye and changing his clothes.“Miss Mu, I wanted to wipe down Big Brother Ye as well, but he wouldn’t let me.”
The Night Prince was terrifyingly stern. Even lying there doing nothing, the powerful aura around him made people afraid. One cold glance from him was enough to make Chen Shan retreat.
“It’s fine. You go rest first,” Mu Mianmian said, taking the wooden basin from him and walking over to the man.“I’ll help you wipe up.”
The weather was hot, and he had been lying down the whole time. His back was soaked with sweat and terribly uncomfortable.
Chen Shan could have helped, but Ye Siming wasn’t used to being touched by others.
“…Alright.”
After all, Mu Mianmian had already stripped him before. Letting her do it felt more acceptable.
They were out in the open with many people around, so he didn’t fully undress.
Mu Mianmian wrung out the towel and slipped it into his collar. She leaned forward, their posture extremely intimate.
When Ye Siming lifted his eyes, he saw her pale, delicate neck. She was too close—close enough that he could smell the faint, youthful fragrance on her body.
She was sweating too, but it smelled sweet.
“Help me sit up instead,” Ye Siming said in a low voice. His gaze darkened as he felt uncomfortable. His hands gripped the edges of the stretcher tightly, his ears unknowingly turning red.
Mu Mianmian paused.“Alright. That’ll be more convenient.”
He sat up and removed his outer robe, leaving only a snow-white inner garment. He looked clean and composed now, no longer as disheveled as before.
Ye Siming took off his clothes himself, long fingers tugging at the collar with elegant movements.
Only then did Mu Mianmian look at him carefully. She realized how handsome he was—fair-skinned, sharp features, brows and eyes like a painting, his temperament cold and noble.
He looked strikingly similar to her fiancé from her previous life.
Except for the tattoo beneath his eye.
The mark of penal tattooing—branding him as a criminal, something that could never be washed away.
It didn’t ruin his looks, but it was an eyesore.
A traitor to the state?
Mu Mianmian continued wiping him down, thinking that one day, she would help him remove it.
“I can do it myself,” Ye Siming said. He felt he could move now and didn’t want to trouble anyone—especially a delicate young girl like her.
“You can’t reach your back. Let me do it,” Mu Mianmian replied.
After realizing how much he resembled her deceased fiancé, she felt an even stronger urge to help him.
In her past life, her fiancé had died because of her. Even though this man wasn’t him, helping him eased the regret in her heart.
“I said I don’t need—”
Ye Siming grabbed her soft wrist.
Unexpectedly, with that pull, she lost her balance and fell straight into his arms.
Warm, soft, fragrant.
Ye Siming’s mind went blank with a loud buzz. Instinctively, he pushed her away.
It was his first time… holding a woman.