No one responded.
The entire Shen Mansion was so quiet that only the sound of the wind remained.
After a long ti, the sound of footsteps ca, followed by the sound of the latch being drawn. As soon as the door opened, Shang Ruyi imdiately stepped forward, "Uncle—"
But she stopped before finishing her sentence.
The one who ca to open the door was the steward of the mansion, Uncle Chen.
This elderly man looked much more haggard than before; tears were still evident on his face. As soon as he saw Shang Ruyi, he began to cry again, "Miss Ruyi, you’ve co."
Shang Ruyi quickly asked, "Uncle Chen, where is my uncle? And my aunt?"
Uncle Chen said, "Miss, you already know."
"Yes, where are they?"
"They have all left."
"What?!"
Shang Ruyi had been about to walk inside, but upon hearing this, she stopped imdiately and stared at Uncle Chen, dumbfounded. Yu Wenye also ca up, saying gravely, "Mr. and Mrs. Shen have already been—"
Uncle Chen nodded and said in a trembling voice, "What happened yesterday, the officers took our lord away without even giving him ti to pack a few clothes."
Shang Ruyi’s heart instantly plunged into an ice cavern.
It turned out to be true—Shen Shiyan had really been exiled.
And it happened so quickly, there wasn’t even ti for a word to be said.
Yet Yu Wenye remained composed, glancing again at the inner courtyard of the mansion, which was evidently now much quieter. He said, "I heard that the Emperor’s decree was to exile only Mr. Shen, and no one in the family was implicated. So why did Mrs. Shen—"
At this ntion, Shang Ruyi rembered that Wang Shaoji had also brought it up, that this ti so many were exiled, but only Shen Shiyan alone was punished, and his kin were not implicated.
If it weren’t so, how could she have stayed out of it until today, only to find out everything?
Uncle Chen was even more grief-stricken as he ntioned this: "It is true that we were not implicated, but madam—she couldn’t bear to let the lord suffer alone, and insisted on following him."
"Ah?"
"So, she packed a few clothes and things and went with him."
"..."
"Before leaving, she told us to watch over the house and not to tell the young lady. If the young lady found out, she told us to tell her, not to worry, she would take good care of the lord."
Shang Ruyi’s tears flowed like a dam breaking.
Her aunt Yu was usually a playful and sowhat unreliable elder, but in this mont, she disregarded the vast distances, the dangers of life and death, determined to follow her uncle loyally, even to the point of not telling her to avoid implicating her.
Shang Ruyi cried, "Why didn’t you tell until now!"
Uncle Chen was also in tears, saying, "Miss, please don’t be too sad. Madam arranged everything before leaving, dismissed the other people, leaving only a few of us including Gao Feng to guard the house. Miss doesn’t need to worry about us, just, just live well with your husband."
Shang Ruyi was crying so hard she could hardly breathe.
The people who cared for her most in this world were the Shen Shiyan couple; they were her only relatives. Now they had been exiled to Lingnan, already a barren land, not to ntion the hardships they would face along the way.
How could she "live well" while her uncle and aunt were tornted by such a fate?
|
By the ti they left the Shen family and returned to the Yuwen family, darkness had already fallen.
On the way, Shang Ruyi did not cry again, but also did not utter a single word, her whole being silent and wooden, like a clay figure who had its soul snatched away, led back to the room by Yu Wenye, she just stood numbly in the middle of the room.
Yu Wenye gave her a glance, wanting to say sothing, but there were too many matters that needed his attention.
Unfortunately, yesterday he was too caught up with issues concerning Princess Xinyue and hadn’t had the chance to attend to changes in court. But the Emperor dismissing so many officials at once would certainly create a huge impact in court and among the populace, and most importantly, concerning the Pei family—
Ties between the two families were deep; he had to look into Pei Xingyuan’s situation sohow.
He turned to leave, planning to send soone to the Pei family to inquire.
But just as he was about to turn around and leave, Shang Ruyi’s low, hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind him—
"I, I have sothing I want to ask you."
That voice, numb yet trembling, like a plea from soone on the brink of despair. Hearing it, Yu Wenye halted his steps imdiately, turning to look at her.
The room was yet to be lit, under the dim light, Shang Ruyi stood there, devoid of any vitality.
He instinctively furrowed his brow.
Although Shang Ruyi’s words were not yet finished, he seed to already know what she wanted to say.
Only to see Shang Ruyi’s face pale as paper, her eyes eting his as though frozen with frost, not cold, but devoid of perception and warmth, she said word by word, "I, I want to ask you for a few people."
Yu Wenye said gravely, "What do you want to do?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I want to rescue them."
"..."
As expected, just as he had thought.
Yu Wenye watched her utter these words almost numbly, seemingly unaware of how rebellious they were. He took a deep breath and said, "Do you know what the consequences are if you do this?"
Shang Ruyi looked at him, after a long while she said, "I want to rescue them."
"..."
She no longer had the strength to listen to his words, to discern the so-called "consequences."
She only wanted to save them.
Exile, those lightly spoken words, were a pile of the bones of countless exiled souls. Not to ntion that Lingnan’s mountains were high, its roads far, and its environnt harsh. Those who were exiled there lived lives worse than death. In truth, only few reached Lingnan; most of the exiled died tornted along the way!
Her uncle and aunt were her most important relatives, she must save them!
Yu Wenye said, "Do you think I would agree to let you commit such a rebellious act?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi looked at him silently for a long ti, then suddenly said, "I can make a trade with you."
"What?"
Yu Wenye furrowed his brow, "What do you want to trade with ?"
When Shang Ruyi spoke, her voice carried an inexplicable tremor. She even had a hint of hopeful and supplicating expression as she walked up to him, gazing up into his eyes, "From now on, if you want to et Princess Xinyue, I will never stand in your way."
"..."
"Not only will I not stand in your way, but if you need, I will help cover it up, ensuring that no one finds out about your relationship."
"..."
"What do you think? As long as you agree—"
Before she finished her sentence, she suddenly felt a strong oppressive force coming over her. In an instant, it was as if her neck was gripped, and the words she wanted to say were forcibly swallowed.
Under the dim light, Yu Wenye was seen slightly squinting his eyes, looking at her coldly.
"What did you say?"
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