Chapter 133 Empress Dowager

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately panicked: "No, I, that's not what I meant."

Whether he was a palace attendant or a member of the Imperial Guard was not important. What mattered was that Yang Suiyi was a free-spirited and unrestrained person, even arrogant and unruly. His appearance and personality did not seem like someone who would live under someone else's thumb or be subservient to them.

However, as she panicked, Yang Suiyi's smile deepened.

He slowly straightened up, staring at Shang Ruyi, and walked over step by step.

Although he was smiling, the casual and playful look in his eyes was like that of a hunter staring at prey that had fallen into his trap.

Playful, yet adept.

This look made Shang Ruyi very uncomfortable. She almost instinctively knew that she should turn around and leave immediately, getting as far away from this person as possible. However, this person's gaze seemed to have a kind of magic, making it impossible for anyone to escape once it fixed its gaze on them.

Shang Ruyi stood rooted to the spot until he walked right up to her.

When they were only half a step apart, Yang stopped and looked down at her, their faces so close together.

The last rays of the setting sun slipped through the silhouettes of the two figures and disappeared into the distant edge of the grassland. The surroundings seemed to darken all at once, but Yang Suiyi's eyes shone even brighter than before.

A slight smile played on his lips: "Am I a eunuch?"

He didn't touch Shang Ruyi at all, but the originally cold and aloof fragrance emanating from him was now enveloped by an unfamiliar masculine aura and heat, like an invisible hand that imprisoned Shang Ruyi against the thick flagpole behind her, making her almost unable to move.

Looking at him like this, no one would doubt his identity.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "No."

Why not?

I guess not.

Yang Suiyi's smile deepened: "Then, young mistress, guess who I am?"

"..."

This time, Shang Ruyi remained silent for an even longer period before slowly raising her eyes to look at Yang Suiyi and saying seriously, "Since your name is Suiyi, I suppose you want to do whatever you please."

"..."

"So, young master should be the person you want to be."

"..."

Upon hearing this answer, Yang Suiyi's expression of complete control, as if he had everything under control, shattered for a moment. He stared at the young woman in front of him in astonishment, as if he couldn't believe he had heard this answer.

After an unknown amount of time, Shang Ruyi heard him let out a long breath.

Then, when he looked at himself again, the playful smile on Yang Suiyi's face had completely faded, leaving only a look of bewilderment he had never seen before. He looked deeply at Shang Ruyi and said, "Last time, I said I wanted to take the young mistress as a confidante, but she seemed unwilling and kept me at arm's length."

"I--"

"But I still want to say that I would like to consider the young mistress as my confidante."

"..."

Shang Ruyi pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Then, I thank you for your high regard, young master."

At this point, she finally let out a long sigh of relief, as if she had finally been freed from some kind of emotion. When she looked up at Yang Suiyi again, her gaze became more determined, and she said, "Then, please step back, young master. You are too close to me."

Yang Suiyi laughed upon hearing this, but refrained from further teasing. Instead, he genuinely retreated step by step, returning to the flagpole he had previously leaned against. This time, however, he didn't lean against the flagpole. His deep eyes remained fixed on Shang Ruyi, as if trying to discern something from her. After a long while, he finally spoke, "I truly never imagined that there could be a woman like the young mistress in this world. So young, yet possessing such dignified bearing, enough to—"

He paused for a moment, and Shang Ruyi looked at him.

Yang looked at her with a casual smile and said, "Mother, Yi, Tian, ​​Xia."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's expression changed instantly, even more uneasy than when she had heard the somewhat frivolous words before. She said in a deep voice, "Young Master Yang, please be careful with your words!"

Yang casually replied, "My words did not offend the young mistress."

Shang Ruyi said, "That would be too much of an honor for me, and it would also be considered deceiving the emperor. Please, Young Master Yang, refrain from saying such things."

"..."

Yang Suiyi looked at her for a while, then finally nodded gently and smiled, "Okay, I'll listen to you, young mistress."

"..."

"I don't have many friends, and I don't know how to talk to friends. But everything I say is the truth."

"Including your name?"

Yang Suiyi paused for a moment, looked into Shang Ruyi's eyes, and said with a half-smile, "Does the young mistress want to know my real name?"

really.

From the first time she heard the name Yang Suiyi, she knew it wasn't her real name. She just hadn't expected that this "Yang Suiyi," while deceiving her, could do so so openly. Looking up and meeting the other person's smiling eyes, Shang Ruyi pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "No."

Yang casually raised an eyebrow: "Why?"

Shang Ruyi lowered her head and said calmly, "Since you call yourself 'casual,' you must mean you do as you please. I don't want to disturb other people's wishes."

"..."

This time, Yang remained silent for a longer period of time.

He looked at Shang Ruyi and muttered to himself, "I guess I really have been disturbed by you."

Shang Ruyi looked up at him: "What did you say?"

"nothing,"

Yang smiled casually to cover it up, then immediately changed the subject, saying, "By the way, I'm sure the young mistress has already heard about what happened last night."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Yang Suiyi gave her a deep look and said, "The royal tent was actually blown over by the strong wind. All those iron nails and wooden stakes that we thought were still usable have rotted away. I didn't expect that the young mistress could be so shrewd."

Shang Ruyi shook her head: "It's not that I can predict the future; these are just natural laws."

"How so?"

"Times have changed, and people are no longer the same, which is not surprising."

“Everything has changed…” Yang casually repeated these four words, his eyes shining as he looked at Shang Ruyi: “So, what you really want to talk about, Madam, is the Turks? You think this tour of the northern frontier was a mistake?”

Shang Ruyi considered for a moment and said, "That depends on why His Majesty the Emperor is touring the northern frontier."

Yang said casually, "As I said yesterday, His Majesty's grand ambition is to win the hearts of all under heaven and unify the world. This tour of the northern frontier is to revitalize the prestige of the Daye Dynasty in the north and spread the glory and culture of our dynasty beyond the Great Wall to all corners of the land."

As he said this, he stared intently into Shang Ruyi's eyes.

Is there anything wrong with this?