CHAPTER 511: CHAPTER 376: AN OLD MARRIED COUPLE

Chen Yi was dumbfounded.

Even if he had a hundred brains, he wouldn’t have thought that Zhou Yitang would show up now.

What kind of mess is this? Of all times, right at the moment when everything should stay calm, he’s here clutching two "first wives" and appearing before his wife from a past life.

Just a moment ago, Chen Yi was smugly joking about "double blessings," but now he stood frozen like a statue.

The two women in his arms also turned their gazes forward.

Seeing that familiar one-armed figure, a cold wind swept past, and Yin Weiyin shivered involuntarily.

She didn’t understand why she was suddenly so scared.

After all, wasn’t she the... legitimate first wife?

So why did she suddenly feel like a mistress caught in the act?

Dong Gong Ruoshu, upon seeing the Sword Armor, was momentarily stunned. She then hastily broke free from Chen Yi’s grasp and bolted back to Yuan Chun Hall.

With one person gone from his embrace, Chen Yi let go of Yin Weiyin as well. The rush of blood from the Yuchun Ointment’s effect was instantly cooled by her icy gaze.

Although the effects of the Yuchun Ointment were indeed hard to endure, with enough willpower, they could be suppressed for three to four hours. Hence, what seemed like a lust-driven decision to drag the two women outside was in fact 30% real and 70% an act.

The battlefield of demons, blood-stained sands—after finally having a stroke of genius and sacrificing himself to diffuse a crisis, now it had all...

Chen Yi suddenly felt dizzy and staggered back a few steps, almost collapsing to the ground.

Zhou Yitang’s face was expressionless as she gazed steadily at him.

On this cold winter night, the one-armed woman stood silently, the distant hills shrouded in dark shadows. The stillness was overwhelming; under the sparse and faint stars, the mountain contours were blurred by frost. The biting cold not only flowed through the forests but seeped into people’s hearts.

She kept silently watching Chen Yi, her expression devoid of any emotion.

For a moment, Chen Yi didn’t know what to say. A storm of emotions churned in his heart, many flavors sinking into him like bitter salt brining his soul. A lifetime together in their past lives, only to meet again in this ill-fated moment.

Always claiming that her place was reserved for her, asking her to devote herself to him, exhausting countless schemes—Chen Yi bitterly smiled, his lips trembling as he softly said:

"Master, I—"

"Master Zhou, you’re here too?"

Yin Tingxue’s head popped out from who knows where.

"They’ve all been bickering about who gets to be the first wife, but Chen Yi hasn’t agreed to any of them."

With these words, the icy atmosphere had a faint break in tension.

Chen Yi snapped back to reality, his mind racing at full speed.

This was the imperial palace. Zhou Yitang, even if she was still at the First Rank, couldn’t possibly have tracked him all the way here. Her appearance must not have been premeditated but rather coincidental.

And the little fox had the Heavenly Ear Technique. She could hear Zhou Yitang’s thoughts. If she was helping him out now, it meant... Zhou Yitang didn’t actually know what had happened, only that she had seen him come out holding two women, catching bits and pieces of what he was saying.

Offhand comments count for anything?

Even oaths Chen Yi had sworn sometimes didn’t hold up; there’s no way casual remarks would matter to him!

His thoughts clicked into place, and Chen Yi’s tense heart gradually relaxed. A gentle smile appeared on his face.

Zhou Yitang looked at Yin Tingxue, then at Chen Yi, and asked in confusion:

"You were just about to apologize?"

"No, there’s nothing for us to apologize for," he replied.

"...Then what were you about to say?"

"I said..."

Chen Yi spoke, pulling the female crown into his arms, exhaling warm breath as he said:

"Right, you’ve come at just the right time!"

"He... was poisoned by Yuchun Ointment..." Yin Tingxue gestured and explained.

Zhou Yitang glanced at his unusually flushed face. Indeed, it seemed like the symptoms of being poisoned. In this way, it wasn’t a lie.

Chen Yi pressed his temples and, with a look of overwrought lust clouding his mind, rasped:

"Why... are you here?"

"Am I disturbing you?" Zhou Yitang asked.

"No... I just feel that... in the royal city, being near the emperor is like treading on thin ice, and I have no one to rely on,"

Chen Yi’s voice stuttered as if enduring the torment of the poison while barely clinging to his senses:

"Now that you’re here, I can rely on you..."

Zhou Yitang’s gaze became dark and inscrutable.

"I am, after all, still your master."

Chen Yi nodded slightly, glanced at Yuan Chun Hall—the source of trouble—and said softly:

"Let’s... go back."

Yuan Chun Hall was still within view but at a distance. The people inside could see them talking but couldn’t hear what they were saying. Chen Yi thought he’d escort Zhou Yitang out of the palace first, then double back for the banquet.

Zhou Yitang stepped forward and pressed a fingertip to one of his acupoints.

Sword Intent surged through him, and while his blood still boiled, his mind became clearer.

"It’s thanks to others that you’ve been poisoned."

She walked past him toward Yuan Chun Hall:

"I’ll demand an explanation for you."

Moments ago, the weak and vulnerable Chen Zunming’s pupils contracted sharply as he froze in place.

If she really went in to "demand an explanation," everything would be exposed!

At that point, leaving the capital would be out of the question; Zhou Yitang might even, in her rage, join forces with the Empress Dowager and have him locked in some nameless dark room.

"Wait! This is the imperial palace, a dragon’s den and tiger’s lair filled with experts. It’s easy to go in but hard to get out!"

Releasing Yin Weiyin, Chen Yi quickly walked forward and caught up to Zhou Yitang.

Zhou Yitang frowned slightly and turned her face to him, saying:

"It’s just a matter of saying a few words. I won’t attack anyone."

"But what if you provoke the Empress Dowager? If she loses her temper and decides to marry me off to ten or eight old hags, what then?"

Lowering his voice, Chen Yi tried his best to talk her out of it:

"Even if it’s not the Empress Dowager, angering any other woman would still be bad."

Zhou Yitang narrowed her eyes and asked: "What other women?"

Chen Yi nearly froze completely.

At this moment, the little fox stepped in once more to save the day: "That’s right, that’s right! The Empress Dowager, wanting to keep him here, sent a lot of beautiful women his way. But he kept his distance and never showed any interest. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Sister Weiyang."

As she spoke, Yin Tingxue turned to look at Great Yin.

Great Yin reacted quickly, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, that’s true. During the banquet, his heart was always with me."

Her words carried a faint hint of boastfulness.

But precisely because of this, Zhou Yitang was not suspicious.

Although she resided in a guest room in this courtyard, she had observed these people’s personalities thoroughly.

Zhou Yitang stopped in her tracks: "Fine, I’ll leave."

Chen Yi, of course, wouldn’t say "please leave," as that would only complicate things. Taking a deep breath, he softly countered with a question:

"Did you come here for me?"

After a long silence, Zhou Yitang replied:

"The palace suddenly sent me an invitation to a banquet."

"Then it’s for me," Chen Yi said confidently.

Zhou Yitang shot him a cold glance:

"Must you be so self-absorbed?"

"Being with you, I can’t help but be self-absorbed," he responded warmly.

After his words, she didn’t reply, turning instead to leave. Her figure gradually disappeared behind the vermillion palace walls.

Chen Yi finally let out a sigh of relief.

A couple who had been through a lifetime together—Zhou Yitang could tolerate his sarcasm, his questioning, and even his betrayal. But she could never stand his sweet words.

Young lovers in the heat of romance often love to sweet-talk and listen to sweet-talk. For example, Great Yin—if Chen Yi occasionally dropped a poetic line, she would beam with joy. Ten lines would probably have her floating on clouds in the sky.

But Zhou Yitang was different. His sweet words reached her heart, but she didn’t want to hear more of them.

That’s how it is with an old married couple.