The carriage silently passed through the bustling market and returned to Yuwen Mansion.
Just as it was about to turn into the alley, they heard a commotion ahead. Tushere, who was outside the carriage, exclaid in surprise, "Why are there so many people?"
Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi imdiately lifted the curtain to look ahead.
Indeed, they saw throngs of people at the gateway of Yuwen Mansion. Although, as the Grand Chancellor, Yu Wenquan’s Duke Mansion was always filled with guests, it was peculiar that Yuwen Mansion’s gate was tightly shut today, similar to the situation at Shen Mansion.
Seeing this, the two exchanged a glance.
Yu Wenye imdiately instructed the coachman, "Turn around, go back through the side door."
The coachman didn’t dare to delay and quickly turned the carriage’s head, detouring through another path. Inside the carriage, the two of them listened to the receding cacophony, growing even more silent.
After a while, Shang Ruyi let out a bitter smile, seemingly speaking to himself or murmuring, "Nowhere, nowhere to escape."
Yu Wenye said nothing.
He simply lifted the curtain slightly again, looking at the eager crowd behind. This scene reminded him of when he t Yu—not often had he and the aunt constantly ntioned between him and Shang Ruyi t, and they were not familiar. Yet in the limited encounters, he could see she was a genuinely naive woman. Perhaps she’d suffered life’s hardships, but never emotional ones, evidently well-protected by her husband and son.
Quite different from Guan Yunmu.
But earlier, when he entered the Shen Family’s backyard, he saw another side of Mrs. Shen. While still kind and amiable, there was a familiar steel in her eyes, the kind one amasses upon enduring hardships and adversities.
After pondering for a mont, he realized it was similar to Shang Ruyi.
Once Mrs. Shen invited him to sit, she got straight to the point, "Second Young Master, my husband decided on this himself, but for whom, and who stands to profit from it? I’m sure not only I, but also my children, and you, the Second Young Master, have long understood."
"...Yes."
"I know so things shouldn’t be said out loud, especially when they concern the court’s important matters, but right now, I cannot concern myself with propriety. For , nothing is as important as my husband returning alive."
"..."
"So, please convey a ssage to Duke Sheng for —"
"..."
"The Duke Mansion must ensure my husband’s life is safeguarded!"
Her final words were so low, thinking carefully, Yu Wenye seed not to hear her voice but felt the weight of her words from deep within. He understood it was a woman’s wholehearted plea, regardless of the state, regardless of the world, her heart and protection lie solely with that one person.
In truth, she and Guan Yunmu were similar...
With this thought, Yu Wenye lowered the curtain, dimming the light inside the carriage, and looked down at Shang Ruyi, whose face seed shrouded in the sa gloom, her eyes filled with an even deeper shadow.
And her...?
The last ti, to save the exiled Shen Shiyan and his wife, she promised him she would no longer obstruct his etings with Princess Xinyue. Moreover, she would even facilitate their private encounters. At that mont, even though he hadn’t figured out his feelings, Yu Wenye was inexplicably enraged by her magnanimity.
Yet, he couldn’t hold her accountable.
After all, he was the one who proposed rely being a couple in na and rejected her. Therefore, neither his indifference nor her "magnanimity" could be deed wrong.
But now?
The question she left unanswered, how would she choose?
Would it be as before, or—
|
Entering through the side door, although the atmosphere in the mansion was not as bleak as Shen Mansion’s, it was still heavy, with busy servants moving silently, not daring to speak much.
After a while, they were nearing their room.
Suddenly, Yu Wenye asked, "You’re still not asking ?"
"Hmm?"
Shang Ruyi reacted quickly but said nothing, only looked at him quietly. Yu Wenye gazed down into her clear eyes and said, "You haven’t asked all along the way, what your aunt just said to ."
"..."
"Don’t you want to know?"
Shang Ruyi’s eyes flickered, gently shaking her head, "I don’t ask."
Yu Wenye frowned slightly, "Why not?"
Shang Ruyi lowered her head again, her clear eyes seemingly enveloped in a shadow, and she softly said, "People only ask at two tis, one of which is when they don’t know the answer."
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