Clouds Parting and Moon Shining!
As soon as these four words were spoken, the stationary carriage in the distance, which had been unable to move forward, seed to be struck by an invisible shock, causing the curtains on both sides to tremble slightly.
However, still not a sound could be heard.
Only the maid following them furrowed her brows at the last word and stared at Shang Ruyi, saying, "Madam, I don’t know who you are, but please don’t block the way."
"..."
"Our Miss—we don’t know you at all, and we just want to leave now."
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and instead of letting them pass, she stepped forward step by step.
As she walked, she said in a deep voice, "Really don’t know each other?"
"..."
"But this carriage, I clearly rember seeing it at the Dayan Temple ceremony; it belongs to General Yu of the Left Brave Guard."
"...!"
The maid’s face imdiately darkened upon hearing that she had ntioned their family na.
Shang Ruyi continued to walk forward, gazing at the carriage she had only seen once but emitted an uncomfortably familiar aura, as if it might pierce through her soul. She took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic beating of her heart, and slowly said, "Although you’re clever, leaving no traces along the way, if not for your person dropping that purse in that gorge, and then being seen by when you gathered herbal dicines in Daxing City, I wouldn’t have been able to confirm until now that the one trying to kill us along the way and collecting those herbs to endanger us in Fufeng, was the sa person who won at the poetry eting at the Divine Tired Pavilion."
The maid’s face grew even more strained, gritting her teeth, she said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Madam, please behave yourself."
Shang Ruyi didn’t look at her, still gazing at the tightly closed carriage, and slowly said, "And being able to hide your identity until today is indeed so skill."
"..."
"Probably because of—’foreknowledge.’
"..."
"But it’s also because of this ’foreknowledge’ that I could draw you out."
There was still no movent inside the carriage, but it seed as if a wind, from who knows where, blew the curtains into disarray, as if the person inside the carriage was also wondering—
Why?
Shang Ruyi slowly said, "Even though you haven’t shown yourself on this journey, it’s clear what your actions are for—you’re after my cousin, the eldest son of the Yuwen Family!"
"..."
"So when his third brother is in trouble, you can’t not take action."
"..."
"That’s why I’m sure you’ll bring out the dicine!"
The curtains trembled violently once more, but this ti, it was as if a wind blew from inside, and the maid standing by the window imdiately seed to hear sothing, inclined her ear to listen for a while, then looked up at Shang Ruyi cautiously, saying, "Madam, how could you know that my master would personally co?"
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and said, "Because—of the Taiyuan plague."
"..."
"If you are a person with ’foreknowledge,’ you must be wondering why this ’plague’ would appear, this ’plague’ that shouldn’t have existed or occurred."
"..."
"So, you would definitely co to see."
"..."
"To see whether we were playing tricks or—whether there really are things in this world that even you don’t know about!"
"..."
"But I also understand that even if you do co, you wouldn’t reveal yourself so easily, so—"
Shang Ruyi smiled, her eyes lightly glancing towards the front of the wine shop, where Tushere and Wo Xue had already gotten into a dispute with that young lady, and the sound of their quarrel could be heard even through an old building.
But for now, that dispute no longer mattered.
The maid initially incredulous, after so thought, imdiately showed a frightened expression: "You an, the plague in Taiyuan is—fake?!"
Shang Ruyi said, "Exactly."
The maid was shocked and angry: "You—you actually reported a false epidemic?!"
Shang Ruyi pursed her lips slightly.
This matter was indeed a trap from the beginning—Yu Wenye deliberately sent people out of the city every day to search for people infected with the plague outside the city, and when Yu Wenquan inquired, he was told soone headed east. As a result, when the plague appeared in Taiyuan, there was an apparent trace.
Then, when she sent Jiang Kexing to Luoyang to gather information, she also had soone send a ssage to Taiyuan along the way.
But the letter wasn’t for Yu Wencheng; it was for Huang Gongyi.
The letter instructed him to dispatch a personal soldier familiar to Yu Wenquan to report the occurrence of the plague in Taiyuan, and once everything was settled, if Yu Wenquan blad them, all the responsibility would be borne by them; although Huang Gongyi was apprehensive, having promised Shang Ruyi in the past to fulfill any request after a military archery and riding competition, he could only agree.
Thus, Song Shiyuan brought the news of this fake plague, with the sole purpose of making Yu Wenquan worried.
Calculating by this timing, the herbs they hoarded would only last until this day, so they deliberately sold diluted dicinal soup two days before, almost causing a civilian unrest. anwhile, Pei Xingyuan was injured trying to buy dicine at night, which convinced Yu Wenquan that they no longer had any dicine.
In this way, the only one to rely on to save Yu Wencheng was the "Guanghan Guest" from Yanzuo Square who dispenses dicine.
Knowing that this person has intervened several tis for Yu Wenqian, Shang Ruyi realized that unless he remains hidden behind the scenes forever—which is nearly impossible because soone as shrewd as Yu Wenquan wouldn’t allow such a person to always exist—therefore, this "Guanghan Guest" must bring out the dicine this ti to treat Yu Wencheng, otherwise, he’ll have to face the wrath of Yu Wenquan, a father who has encountered soone refusing to save his son.
It seems they made the right bet.
Even though she knew that the false reporting of the epidemic would also provoke Yu Wenquan’s anger, at the mont, just looking at the carriage in front of her and sensing the overwhelming aura emanating from within, Shang Ruyi still felt that it was all worth it.
She said indifferently, "It’s just having soone co back and say a few words. As long as I achieve what I want, this so-called ’plague’ will disappear imdiately."
"..."
"To draw you out, it was a last resort to resort to this asure."
"..."
"Mainly because, sir—you are well-hidden, yet capable of such formidable actions. If I can’t make you surface, I just can’t be at ease."
Upon hearing these words, the maid’s face was even more filled with anger.
Yet, she couldn’t utter a word.
At this mont, a breeze carried a trace of coldness. When it swept past Shang Ruyi’s side, it seed to pierce right through her, making her shiver uncontrollably. A gentle, smiling voice also followed the wind, whispering in her ear.
"Have you found ? Will you be at ease then?"
Shang Ruyi’s body jolted!
That was a woman’s voice, very young and pleasant. If heard normally, it would surely be enjoyable.
But at this mont, she felt as if every word from the other person turned into invisible blades in the wind, piercing through her body while almost tearing out her soul. She instinctively clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, resisting that suffocating, bone-penetrating pain.
She said in a deep voice, "You—"
Just as she uttered a word, her voice beca hoarse, as if an invisible hand was clutching her throat.
Shang Ruyi’s eyes turned red instantly, yet she refused to back down. Especially at this mont, this familiar feeling, as if her soul was being pulled out of her body, laid all the truths bare before her. Struggling, she finally regained her voice and said deeply, "Of course."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because at least, my counterattack can now have a target!"
"...!"
The curtain of the carriage fluttered slightly, followed by a mont of silence, before a laugh filled with disdain ca from inside.
After the laughter, the voice said, "You two, step back."
These words were naturally directed at the coachman and the maid accompanying the carriage. The coachman said nothing, imdiately lowering the whip and alighting the carriage, retreating to a distance, while the maid hesitated a bit, glanced at the interior, and just when she was about to say sothing, a slender, jade-like hand extended to the window and waved gently.
The maid had nothing to say, only casting another glare at Shang Ruyi, before retreating as well.
In the alley, only Shang Ruyi and the person in the carriage who still refused to show themselves remained.
However, at this mont, the distance between them had shrunk from hundreds of miles, through clouds and mists, to just a few steps away. Yet, Shang Ruyi used all her strength just to suppress the heartbeat-inducing throbbing in her body, unable to take another step forward.
After a while, the voice said, "But even if you know I ca in person today, how would you know I am here?"
"..."
"You haven’t seen . I didn’t reveal my whereabouts when coming here."
Shang Ruyi sneered and said, "You’re too confident, too confident to have actually sat next to our private room."
"...Then, what difference does it make?"
"There is a special fragrance of a daughter lingering on Miss."
"..."
"And though my husband is not averse to female company, he indeed rarely gets close to won. To have caught such a scent from Miss ans the association must be quite intimate."
"..."
"And during this ti, there’s no one else I can think of being so close with him."
The curtain on the carriage slightly wavered again, as if soone inside made a motion, seemingly sniffing their own scent, before silence reigned for another mont, followed by a sigh and a laugh from the other party, "It seems I was careless."
"..."
"However, since you can’t think of anyone else, you might as well guess who I really am."
Shang Ruyi said, "What if I’ve guessed correctly?"
The other party laughed, "What will you do?"
"If I am correct,"
Gazing intently at the carriage, Shang Ruyi said sternly, "Miss Yu, I want you to reveal your origins—the true origins!"
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