Speaking seriously, Ye Xinyan going to the construction site is truly not economical. On this trip, she brought four maids, Song Ping’s Household, and moreover, eight guards from Duke An’s Mansion.
Such expenses could only be afforded by Duke An’s Mansion. If it were any other business, keeping so many idle people would be a guaranteed loss.
Once they left the boundaries of the capital city, Ye Xinyan came out of the carriage and started riding a horse to continue the journey.
This scorching summer, although they started early to avoid the midday sun, sitting inside the carriage was still very hot in May.
Fortunately, when Ye Xinyan was in Yuyuan Prefecture, she managed several businesses, and to facilitate travel, she had already learned to ride a horse, which now proved convenient.
She wore a light veil cap and rode a black horse that had been prepared in advance, traveling side by side with Jiang Yifan.
Speaking of riding side by side with Ye Xinyan, Jiang Yifan had never had such privilege before.
At this time, the track had already been laid up to the borders of Jiangbei Prefecture, and the construction site was about 200 li from the capital. This meant that he could walk alongside Ye Xinyan for almost a day, which was certainly a rare benefit.
However, just when the benefit was in front of him, Jiang Yifan noticed that Ah Yan seemed quite off today. Even through the veil, he could sense Ah Yan’s stern aura, which was unmistakably directing his way.
With this thought, Jiang Yifan started to sweat a little.
Ah Yan was going to be out for a long time this time, and if she held displeasure towards him and stayed away for half a year... how could he spend these six months peacefully?
"Ah Yan, why do I feel like you’re a bit unhappy?" Jiang Yifan asked cautiously.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm, as if. You’re seeing things."
Jiang Yifan instantly froze upon hearing that tone. Was it really possible that he saw wrong? Hardly.
"Ah Yan, did I do something wrong? Tell me, so I can change for the better," he said. His wife wasn’t ordinary; lowering himself to win her favor was appropriate.
Ahem, ahem, ahem... Shi Yu’s forehead also started to sweat.
Eldest Son, even if you are trying to appease Miss Ye, could you avoid these people? The young ones, though slightly distanced from you two, can still hear what you are saying.
Fortunately, he was smart enough to give Shi Shu a look, and the few of them rode their horses further away, dragging along the guards from Duke An’s Mansion.
These guards from Duke An’s Mansion were routinely with Ye Xinyan, and they were happy to see the son-in-law appeasing the family Miss. Moreover, since the Miss hadn’t spoken, they hadn’t even thought about avoiding this situation.
But looking at the smiling faces of Shi Yu and his brothers, and then at Miss Ye and Lord Jiang... better to leave it be. If Miss Ye and the son-in-law had a serious conflict, it wouldn’t turn out well for them anyway.
Hence, those leading in front, those tailing at the back, and even the protected three carriages, were all distanced from Ye Xinyan and Jiang Yifan.
Jiang Yifan asked once more, and Ye Xinyan finally replied listlessly: "Two days before I left, Grandfather was praising you with all his might. He said he had initially misjudged you, not realizing you were actually so deeply hidden."
Uh, is she angry because of this? It shouldn’t be.
"Well, Ah Yan, I didn’t intentionally hide; it’s just that there wasn’t any opportunity to show," Jiang Yifan explained somewhat weakly, feeling powerless.
Ye Xinyan glanced at him through the veil cap, saying: "You didn’t have the chance to show with your wife and in-laws? Then who are you planning to save the chance for?"
Jiang Yifan blinked; why did this feel a bit unreasonable? Wasn’t he showing off to her and the Qi family from the very first moment he began to like her?
If we’re settling scores after the fact, shouldn’t this be about Ah Yan’s own matters? Even if referring to the previous Miss Ye, alright, she was his ex-wife. But he truly did not want to judge, nor had the energy to.
If he mentioned that he couldn’t communicate with that Miss Ye, would Ah Yan become angrier?
He lowered his voice and said: "Ah Yan, are you blaming me for not being sincere with people?"
"Did you treat your wife sincerely? Or did you not even consider her as your wife?"
Ye Xinyan shot him another sideways glance. Hmph! You are such a scheming man!
Not to mention the original Miss Ye being defeated by you, if it comes to playing mind games, even if I had three or five people alongside me, we’d probably not match you.
Jiang Yifan heard Ye Xinyan’s harsh question, blinked again, paused, and looked around. His perceptive servant had long ducked away, along with the guards from Duke An’s Mansion.
"Ah Yan, whether you believe it or not, I really wanted to consider her as my wife back then. Although I deeply disliked the forced marriage, since the circumstances ultimately decided that I married her, I didn’t plan on treating her as an outsider. At that time, I thought women were just there to assist in managing household affairs, and as long as there was no poor character, it was bearable..."
At this point, Jiang Yifan stopped talking, not continuing. After all, she was his ex-wife, no matter the truth, it wasn’t pleasant for a man to speak ill of her.
He was reluctant to recall those three years. Heaven knows how restrained and rational he was; facing such wrongs, he constrained himself from erupting.
This was his first open conversation with Ah Yan, without hiding or evasions. He even felt thankful for them cultivating this seemingly idyllic journey where Ah Yan uttered such attention-grabbing words.
Being able to speak was good, clearing the misunderstandings from his heart, allowing them to live without grudge between them in the future.
"Ah Yan, don’t you also have memories? Why don’t you recall what kind of situation I was facing at that time? You should be aware of it too."
Well... Ye Xinyan’s aura and grievances immediately reduced significantly.
Though she was aware, she didn’t want to recall. Especially the blood-soaked scenario where Miss Ye beat two maids to death, is enough to cause nightmares.
"You must promise me; you won’t hide anything from me in the future," she insisted, already letting go, and lowering her stance. She didn’t mind giving him a chance for reform despite his prior misconduct.
Well, it wasn’t that serious. But before marriage, shouldn’t the engaged couple exchange such a promise? He even knew that she once lived in the past and present; there were many things she had casually told him.
Yet, Jiang Yifan didn’t immediately respond.
Ye Xinyan instantly became furious, glaring, "What more do you have to say? I ask you this, and you’re hesitating? How can I trust you?"
Jiang Yifan was also helpless; he smiled, gently stated: "Ah Yan, your request is a bit stringent. This, anything ... It’s truly hard to ensure. I promise you, everything I do in the future will be for your good, alright?"
Ye Xinyan sneered: "No matter which world, people often like to treat others with their own preferences. The usual excuse is for the other person’s good. Just because you think it’s good for me, do you expect me to be happy with a way I don’t like?"