Jia Lian stared at the person before him with handsome, delicate features, a ripple of emotion stirring in his heart. Could it be that the heavens, seeing how miserable his life had become, granted him beauty in his final moments—a dream before death?

A beauty… Jia Lian gazed at Ye Xiangwan with infatuation. How long had it been? How long since he had last laid eyes on someone so beautiful? Ever since being exiled to the frontier, he had lived on the edge of life and death. Out there, even filling his stomach was a challenge—let alone enjoying the sight of a beauty.

In a daze, Jia Lian reached out to touch Ye Xiangwan’s face. Ye Xiangwan, confused by the hand suddenly approaching him, instinctively leaned back.

“Big bro, what are you doing?”

“A beauty…” Though Jia Lian was born with flirtatious peach blossom eyes, they now gleamed with lecherous intent as he leered at Ye Xiangwan. Since I’m already dead, I might as well indulge in this dream. At least it won’t be a total waste.

“Ugh!” Ye Xiangwan listened to Jia Lian’s mumbling and noticed the creepy, perverted glint in his eyes. Narrowing his own eyes, he flipped Jia Lian’s outstretched arm behind his back and pinned him down with his knee pressing hard against Jia Lian’s spine.

“Who are you calling a beauty, you brain-dead perv?!”

“Aaaah!!!” Jia Lian screamed in agony as a sharp pain shot through his arm, making him feel like it was being torn apart.

“It hurts! Let go!”

“Are you awake yet?” Ye Xiangwan didn’t ease up; instead, he barked louder.

Jia Lian, jolted fully awake by the intense pain, no longer cared about anything else. He quickly nodded.

“I’m awake! I’m awake! Warrior, please let go—my arm is about to snap—ow ow ow!”

Only then did Ye Xiangwan release him, watching as Jia Lian instantly scooted away, curling up by the wall on the bed, clutching his arm and hissing in pain. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ye Xiangwan rubbed his nose. He had forgotten just how strong he had become.

“Your arm okay?”

Jia Lian shot him a glare. “Thanks to you, it’s not yet broken.”

Hearing that, Ye Xiangwan puffed out his chest proudly, lifting his chin to glare right back.

“Then don’t blame me! Who told you to try to get handsy with me?”

Jia Lian rolled his eyes and couldn’t be bothered to argue. Instead, he lowered his gaze and began silently pondering his current situation. That pain earlier had been all too real—it had jolted him out of what he thought was just a dream.

Looking around at everything so familiar, Jia Lian’s eyes welled with tears. If this is a dream, he thought, then I never want to wake up.

Seeing Jia Lian’s reddening eyes and the tears threatening to fall, Ye Xiangwan began to worry. Did I hit him too hard? Did I knock something loose?

He scooted closer cautiously. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Who are you? What are you doing in my bedroom?” Jia Lian asked sharply, glaring as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

Ye Xiangwan said, “You probably won’t believe me if I explain it myself. I’ll call someone in. Qinghe! Hongzhu! You two, come in!”

Qinghe? Hongzhu? Jia Lian rummaged through his memory and finally recalled that they were once his personal maids. But after he married Wang Xifeng, she had sent them off to be married themselves.

Soon, the door was pushed open and Qinghe and Hongzhu entered the room. Upon seeing Jia Lian awake, both their eyes turned red with emotion.

“Second Master, you’re awake? Amitabha, the heavens have truly blessed us. Just like Taoist Tianquan said—you really did wake up!”

“Taoist Tianquan? Who’s Taoist Tianquan?” Jia Lian frowned at them. “What on earth is going on?”

Hongzhu explained, “Second Master, have you forgotten? You had a severe fever and we called for the imperial physicians. Though the fever subsided, for some reason, you never woke up. The Matriarch and the Master tried everything—medicine, doctors—but nothing worked. In desperation, the Matriarch invited Taoist Tianquan, who said your fate was unique, and only someone with a matching birth chart could suppress misfortune and bring good luck.”

Qinghe added, “The master said that the Second Master would only wake if someone with the right fate came and married you in a cleansing ritual. He was right—the Second Mistress is clearly a blessed individual.”

She looked at Ye Xiangwan with a sweet, cheerful smile.

“What? Cleansing? Me and him? And Second Mistress?” Jia Lian looked at Ye Xiangwan in disbelief.

Ye Xiangwan waved at Jia Lian with a grin like a lucky cat. “Hello, Second Master.”

“Gah!” Jia Lian suddenly couldn’t breathe, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. This was too absurd! Too ridiculous! How could he possibly have married a man?! He must be dreaming!

“Second Master?” Hongzhu and Qinghe rushed to his side in panic. “Second Master, what’s wrong?”

Ye Xiangwan remained calm. “He probably can’t handle the fact that I’m his Second Mistress. But it’s fine—he’ll get used to it. Qinghe, go inform the Matriarch that the Second Master has woken up. Hongzhu, go tell the Master and Madam as well.”

“Yes.” The two maids nodded, glanced at Jia Lian—now tucked into bed by Ye Xiangwan with the blanket carefully pulled up—then looked at each other with helpless expressions. They bowed and withdrew.

“Tsk, just look at you.” Ye Xiangwan lightly patted Jia Lian’s face. “Your mental resilience is seriously lacking. So what if you married a man? You fainted over that? I’m the one who got married, and I didn’t pass out. You really are weak.”

Jia Lian’s pale face now had a healthy flush from the patting, making him look much more lively.

“Oops, sorry,” Ye Xiangwan said, quickly withdrawing his hand. “Forgot I’m a bit strong now. Gotta get used to this strength sooner rather than later.”

Footsteps sounded from outside, getting closer in a hurry. Ye Xiangwan turned and saw Ningbi rushing in, frowning at her anxious state. “Why so panicked?”

Still catching her breath, Ningbi ignored his question and asked, “Where’s the Second Master?” The moment she spotted Jia Lian on the bed, she ran over, her voice shrill and mournful. “Second Master!”

“Are you wailing at a funeral?” Ye Xiangwan scolded, frowning. “Get out.”

Ningbi bit her lip and looked up at him. “Didn’t they say the Second Master was awake? Are you telling me Qinghe and Hongzhu lied? Or was this your idea, Second Mistress?”

Ye Xiangwan’s expression darkened further, clear displeasure flashing in his eyes. “Get out.”

Unbelievable. Give someone an inch and they take a mile! Ye Xiangwan got out of bed and slowly walked toward her.

Seeing the irritation in Ye Xiangwan’s eyes, Ningbi was startled and backed away step by step. “Second Mistress…”

The rest of her words were swallowed.

Ye Xiangwan said coldly, “And who are you to question me? You think it’s your place? I’ve let it slide because you’re a girl, but if there’s a next time, I won’t be so polite. Now get out.”

Ningbi bit her lip, eyes welling up with tears. She turned and ran off, sobbing quietly.

With nowhere to vent his frustration, Ye Xiangwan turned to the bed, reached out, and pinched Jia Lian’s philtrum hard.

This damn guy, going around charming all the girls—no wonder they’re still hung up on him and act like they’re answering to a second master!

“Ow!”

Jia Lian was jolted awake by the pain. He glared at Ye Xiangwan, clutching his mouth, pointing at him but unable to speak a word.

Ye Xiangwan crossed his arms and glared right back. “What are you looking at? You really are useless—getting scared into fainting!”

Jia Lian took a deep breath, lowered his hand, and snapped angrily, “You damn brat! Don’t think that just because you married into the household, you’re really the Second Mistress! I am the Second Master of the Rongguo Estate. Now that you’re married, you’re under my authority!”

In his past life, he hadn’t been able to deal with Wang Xifeng—but did that mean he’d let this male wife walk all over him? He might be gentle and considerate toward women, but men? They didn’t get that kind of treatment.

“Bullshit!” Ye Xiangwan spat at him. “I married into this house, and whether I’m the Second Mistress or not isn’t up to you!”

He didn’t particularly enjoy being called the “Second Mistress,” but this was the current situation. As the saying goes—wrap yourself in the tiger’s skin when needed; it could save your neck.

Jia Lian wiped the spit off his face, his expression fluctuating between pale and livid. “Where did this wild brat come from, acting all unruly in my home? Absolutely lawless!”

He flung off the blanket, got out of bed, rolled up his sleeves, and raised a fist to strike.

Ye Xiangwan sneered and instantly grabbed his wrist, applying slight pressure.

Jia Lian let out a sharp cry of pain. Ye Xiangwan immediately covered his mouth, muffling the scream.

“Ha! With that scrawny body of yours, you think you can teach me a lesson?”

Jia Lian felt like the bones in his wrist were about to snap. He broke out in a cold sweat, his face turning ghostly pale.

“L-let go… Let go…”

Ye Xiangwan scoffed and released his hand.

Jia Lian clutched his wrist, blowing on it with gritted teeth. He glared at Ye Xiangwan in fury. This brat looks even weaker than me—how does he have this kind of strength? What rotten luck! How did I end up with this feral beast as a ‘wife’? What kind of Second Mistress did the Matriarch pick for me?!

“You… you… just wait and see!”

He dropped his hand, turned to the wardrobe, and pulled out clothes without looking, putting them on in a rush before storming toward the door.

“Stop.”

Ye Xiangwan called out lazily.

Jia Lian froze mid-step, turning back to look at him warily.

“What now? I’m warning you, I’m the Second Master of the Rongguo Estate. If you dare lay a hand on me again, I swear I’ll call the servants!”

Ye Xiangwan looked down and nudged a pair of shoes toward him.

“I was just going to say—you forgot your shoes.”

Jia Lian’s face turned red, then pale, then red again. In the end, fuming, he snatched up the shoes, slipped them on, and stormed out the door.

Ye Xiangwan didn’t bother to follow or stop him. He figured Jia Lian was either going to see Jia She or the old matriarch. As for trying to rally people against him—he doubted Jia Lian would do that. A nobleman like him cared too much about appearances to embarrass himself like that.

And sure enough, Ye Xiangwan was right. Jia Lian didn’t call for backup—he still had his pride. He went straight to see Lady Jia.

“Grandmother, I want to divorce… that person.”

As soon as he stepped in, he dropped to his knees.

Lady Wang’s eyes flickered, and she calmly lowered her gaze, watching him silently.

Lady Jia signaled to Yuanyang with a glance. Yuanyang understood and led the servant girls out of the room.

“You just woke up and already you’re causing trouble?” Lady Jia frowned. “I know making you marry a man was unfair, but your illness was too severe to delay.”

Jia Lian said, “When I was gravely ill, I understood that Grandmother did this to save me, and I never blamed you. But now that I’m awake, isn’t there no reason for him to stay any longer?”