Shang Ruyi slightly frowned.
Once again, she heard so bizarre and incomprehensible words from Yu Mingyue, and almost instinctually felt that they were not anything good.
So she asked, "What are you talking about?"
At that mont, a familiar voice ca from behind: "What are you talking about?"
Shang Ruyi imdiately turned around, only to see a refined and elegant figure bathed in moonlight, slowly approaching from afar, none other than Shen Wuzheng who had just silenced Yu Mingyue in the hall.
Upon seeing him, Yu Mingyue’s expression turned even uglier.
Shang Ruyi was sowhat surprised: "Brother, why are you here?"
Shen Wuzheng was known to be a very courteous person, besides, he had a good tolerance for alcohol and was not one to indulge in drinking. Normally, he should have stayed in the hall throughout, so why was he here at this ti?
Watching Shen Wuzheng walk over and stop in front of her, he first examined her from head to toe, ensuring his younger sister was not in any distress, then relaxed and exhaled a breath of relief before turning his gaze towards Yu Mingyue, his eyes imdiately becoming cold—
"I have sothing to ask her."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was montarily stunned but quickly recalled that earlier when she was worried about Shen Wuzheng’s abnormal behavior, even Yu Wenye ntioned that Shen Wuzheng was overly reactive tonight.
It seed he was here to resolve that issue.
At this point, Shang Ruyi hesitated a bit. Though she wanted to stay and listen to what Shen Wuzheng had to say, both of them had just reprimanded Yu Mingyue in the hall, and standing here now in front of an out of breath and very unwelcoming Yu Mingyue seed like they were bullying her.
Sure enough, Shen Wuzheng kindly said, "Little sister, you should head back. I noticed Prince Qin was also glancing towards the gate just now."
"Then I’ll leave first."
"Mm, go on."
Shen Wuzheng nodded gracefully, watching Shang Ruyi as she turned and left, her silhouette vanishing into the night, only then did he turn his icy gaze back to Yu Mingyue, even colder and sharper than when he rebuked her in the hall; Yu Mingyue feared Shen Wuzheng instinctively, especially when her plan failed to eliminate him, making her apprehensive.
Would Shen Wuzheng take action against her?
As her subconscious urged her to step back, she heard Shen Wuzheng speak calmly, "Rest assured, this is the Imperial Palace, no one will commit murder here, and I will not lay a hand on a woman."
Yu Mingyue instantly let out a sigh of relief.
But she soon stiffened her neck defiantly, coldly saying, "Then what do you want to ask ?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "The place you ca from—"
Seeing Yu Mingyue’s expression darken imdiately, he thought for a mont and altered his words: "Your—hotown."
Yu Mingyue sneered, "My ’hotown’, what does that have to do with you."
Shen Wuzheng earnestly replied, "It has nothing to do with . But I wish to understand your hotown."
On the other side, Shang Ruyi returned to Bai Fu Hall.
The atmosphere was more lively than when she left, with so of the more spirited guests, especially the military generals, well in their cups, so even linked arms raising their goblets singing loudly; the tune they humd was sowhat familiar to Shang Ruyi, as though it was the song Yu Wenye beat the drums to when she went to assassinate the Western Turkic envoy.
What was it called? The Battle Music?
As she thought about it, she walked along the edges slowly towards the front of the hall, only to see Yu Wenquan at the forefront, laughing heartily at the generals, stroking his beard; and Yu Wenye sitting below, his face redder than usual, evidently having been plied with drinks during the brief absence, yet he still retained control, slightly closing his eyes, tapping the rim of his bowl to the rhythm of the song sung by the generals, perfectly in sync and precise.
Once the song finished, those military generals burst into bold laughter, so holding their cups high, offering toasts to His Majesty the Emperor, Yu Wenquan drank with a smile, while so civil servants clearly disfavored the rough manner but had to tolerate it since it was a Taiyuan victory feast.
Shang Ruyi returned to her seat and sat down.
Yu Wenye imdiately sensed a fragrant warm body lean beside him, turned to see, and said, "You’re back."
"Mm."
"Where did you go?"
"Just took a walk outside."
"Did you run into your brother? I saw him heading out as well just now."
Shang Ruyi leaned close to his ear, softly saying, "He went to see Yu Mingyue."
Upon hearing this, Yu Wenye’s eyes cleared up sharply, he pondered for a mont, and said, "Seems like he still has unresolved matters in his heart, no wonder he reacted like that earlier."
Shang Ruyi nodded too, but wondered what Shen Wuzheng would say to Yu Mingyue while remaining at Chengqing Gate.
However, she didn’t have much ti to think, because the two of them were too close. Yu Wenye’s breath carried a strong sll of alcohol. Although she wasn’t unfamiliar with such a scent normally and didn’t feel anything about it, today she found it surprisingly unpleasant. Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but cover her nose and lean back.
"Ugh!"
"What’s wrong?"
Seeing her like this, Yu Wenye didn’t understand and moved closer to her, only to have Shang Ruyi extend her hand to his shoulder and softly say, "You sll bad."
Yu Wenye frowned slightly, both annoyed and amused, "When you drink, don’t you sll the sa?"
After saying this, he deliberately leaned closer to her again.
He wasn’t wrong. When she drank a few more cups, she had the sa kind of breath, but for so reason, she was particularly sensitive to it today and felt very uncomfortable. Seeing Yu Wenye approaching, not only his breath but also the sll of the many drunken people in the hall seed to surge toward her like a tide. Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a strange dizziness and leaned back.
"Ruyi!"
Yu Wenye was shocked, but luckily he was quick enough to catch her.
And Shang Ruyi, not knowing what was happening, felt an intense spinning sensation even as Yu Wenye held her waist to help stabilize her. It took quite a while before she could barely steady herself. Yu Wenquan, who was above the hall, had already noticed the unusual situation and imdiately asked, "What’s wrong with Ruyi?"
Although her chest was tight, since the Emperor spoke, how could Shang Ruyi dare to be negligent? She quickly tried to rise.
But just as she was about to move, another wave of dizziness hit, her legs went weak, and she almost fell. Fortunately, Yu Wenye was watching her the whole ti and quickly reached out to support her, softly saying, "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
At this point, Shang Ruyi could not care about the crowd, and she could only lean on his shoulder, softly saying, "I think I’m a bit drunk."
Looking at her complexion, Yu Wenye imdiately said, "Father, Ruyi can’t handle her drink."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Yu Wenquan looked at Shang Ruyi with concern and said, "Summon the Imperial Physician."
Shang Ruyi imdiately lifted her head, "Father, your child doesn’t need it."
Actually, she wasn’t feeling that bad, just a bit dizzy. It seed that she drank those few glasses too quickly, and after she went out, she t Yu Mingyue. The two of them spoke in the wind for quite a while and drank so cold wind, which made her feel this uncomfortable. Tonight was a celebration banquet, and if the Imperial Physician was called because of her slight discomfort, it would surely dampen everyone’s spirits. So she said, "Your child is fine, just going back to drink so sour soup will do."
Seeing her like this, Yu Wenquan understood that this sensible and considerate daughter-in-law didn’t want the night banquet to end on a sour note, and his affection for her deepened. He then said, "In that case, you should go back to rest first. Feng Chen, accompany your wife back."
Yu Wenye was about to agree, but Shang Ruyi quickly refused, insisting on going back alone.
Seeing her insist, the two didn’t want to argue further, as the banquet was still ongoing, and the surrounding people hadn’t noticed anything peculiar on this side with Princess Qin. If they made a fuss, tonight’s banquet might really end unpleasantly.
So, Shang Ruyi quietly withdrew on her own.
However, when she stood up to leave, she unconsciously raised her head and noticed Yu Wenqian sitting opposite, frowning and staring at her intently.
That expression... seed a bit different from his usual self.
But now, Shang Ruyi couldn’t worry about others’ expressions and turned around to leave. Exiting Bai Fu Hall through the side door, she had only walked a few steps when she saw Tushere, who had been waiting outside. Seeing her co out early, Tushere was startled and quickly approached with concern. With the chilly wind blowing, Shang Ruyi wasn’t feeling as uncomfortable. She only told her that she was a bit drunk, and Tushere didn’t ask more. She quickly escorted her back to Qianqiu Palace.
After she got back, drank so sobering soup, and had a simple wash, Shang Ruyi went to bed.
While serving her to sleep, Tushere couldn’t help but ask, "Princess, aren’t you waiting for Prince Qin to rest together?"
Shang Ruyi’s heart skipped a beat, but she rembered that before the banquet, she had already agreed with Yu Wenye that he would go to Jinyu Garden tonight—after all, they had been apart for so long, and Chu Ruoyan must miss him too.
She gently shook her head, "No need."
So Tushere tucked her in, extinguished a few candles in the inner hall, and withdrew.
Shang Ruyi lay alone in bed, and usually, after drinking a bit, she would find it easiest to fall asleep. But for so reason, as soon as she lay down tonight, her eyelids felt heavy, but her mind beca clear.
In her ears, she could faintly hear the words Yu Mingyue spoke in front of Chengqing Gate—
n and won should be one husband and one wife, staying together for a lifeti!
No concubines, no concubines!
This is called being a couple for a lifeti, do you understand?!
Normally, Shang Ruyi would find those words inexplicable and sowhat silly, but tonight, these words seed to be deeply etched in her heart.
One pair for a lifeti...
She couldn’t help but slightly move her lips, following the voice in her ear, almost dreamily whispering, "One lifeti, one pair."
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