Chapter 173 Don't worry, there won't be a next time.

"you--"

Shang Ruyi wanted to say something, but due to excessive surprise and nervousness, her voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible when she opened her mouth.

The only sound they could hear was the other person's sudden, heavy breathing.

The scalding breath sprayed onto her face, and the body covering her was constantly transmitting heat to her. Shang Ruyi felt like a piece of red-hot coal, and in an instant, even the string of reason was burned off.

She asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing...?"

She managed to squeeze out a few words, but the faint sound, in the almost impenetrable distance between them, had an unusual stickiness to it. Though it was as thin as a spider's thread, it connected all their senses and emotions. Shang Ruyi's own heartbeat began to become erratic, and even more erratic was the force of the heartbeat emanating from the chest pressed tightly against hers, almost colliding with her heartbeat, making them more and more synchronized despite their erratic state.

But the eyes in front of me were cold.

Not only was he cold, but when he met her panic and helplessness, there was not a glimmer of light in his deep eyes; he just stared at her intently.

That kind of focus, there's a bottomless abyss deep in her eyes, and her soul and thoughts could be sucked away by that bottomless abyss at any moment.

Shang Ruyi became even more confused.

"You, let me go..."

She instinctively struggled for a moment, and with that movement, her face became even hotter.

She then recalled that last night, also in this place, with almost the same temperature and the same atmosphere, the only difference being the positions of the two people. She was struggling, and the person holding her captive was equally silent and sullen.

Even though we weren't actually holding hands, there was a feeling of being entangled by something unseen.

This time, however, he immediately let go of her hands.

Not only did he release her, but before Shang Ruyi could react, he immediately rolled off her and lay down on his side on the bed.

Suddenly, I felt a chill.

Especially her wrists—Shang Ruyi subconsciously raised her hands to look at them. There were no finger marks left after being gripped tightly, but there was a distinct sticky feeling on both wrists. She didn't know how long he had been holding her wrists to cause so much sweat.

Shang Ruyi was still a little dazed, but her body reacted immediately. She sat up and moved back a little with both hands on the bed to get further away from him. But the bed was only so big, and she was sleeping on the outer edge. After moving a couple of times, her whole body leaned back slightly and she almost fell off.

"ah--!"

She had barely let out a soft gasp when that familiar hand, its palm covered in sweat, reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her back.

Shang Ruyi leaned over and almost fell onto Yuwen Ye again.

Those eyes continued to stare at her coldly, as if watching a butterfly caught in a spider's web struggling helplessly, appearing powerless and ridiculous.

Her face flushed, she gritted her teeth and reached out to support herself, hurriedly sitting up straight and not daring to move again.

She gasped, "Why...why did you get into my bed?!"

Yuwen Ye's eyelids drooped, his long eyelashes covering his dark pupils. Even at such close range, it was impossible to see what emotions were in his eyes. Only his voice remained indifferent: "They brought me back to rest. With someone watching over me, of course I can only go to—your bed."

The words "your bed" were uttered with a hint of gritted teeth, for some reason.

Shang Ruyi's face turned even redder, and she said urgently, "But, but now that the person is gone, you can finally go downstairs!"

Yuwen Ye raised his eyelids and glanced at her.

He got up, walked past her, and got off the bed. As soon as he left, the scalding, almost boiling temperature on the bed disappeared instantly. Shang Ruyi even felt a cold wind blow past her, instantly taking away all the warmth from her body and heart.

Yuwen Ye, with his back to her, said, "I'm too tired."

"ah?"

"I was so tired that I fell asleep before they left."

"..."

At this point, Shang Ruyi was at a loss for words.

Yes, it was he who was grieving the loss of his loved ones.

He had been working tirelessly for the past few days, and after recovering from a serious illness, he still had to deal with all sorts of people coming and going in the court, keeping him busy until the middle of the night.

It seems unreasonable to blame him for falling asleep because he was too tired.

But—he was the one who ruined their relationship, sleeping in her bed without her knowledge; not only did he sleep in her bed, but he also spent the whole night with her; not only did he sleep in her bed, but when they woke up in the morning, he was still on top of her—

In particular, all of this happened the night after he had just met Princess Crescent Moon.

Shang Ruyi grew angrier the more she thought about it, but the other party's indifferent attitude made her anger seem somewhat unreasonable.

She bit her lower lip and after a long while whispered, "Don't do this again next time."

"..."

"Even if you're exhausted, you can wake me up."

"..."

"I'm awake, I can leave, I don't need to be with you, with you—"

At this point, she could barely continue, and Yuwen Ye, who was standing by the bed with his back to her, tidying his clothes, also stopped what he was doing.

His tall frame seemed slightly tense, as if it might collapse at any moment.

After a long pause, he gave a cold reply, turned back and gave her a cold look, and said, "Don't worry, there won't be a next time—do you think anyone really wants to do this?"

After saying that, he didn't even wash up in the room, and walked out without looking back.

The temperature inside the room instantly froze.

Shang Ruyi sat stiffly on the bed for a long time without moving, until Tu She'er and Wo Xue, who came to serve them, entered the room and asked softly, "Miss, why did the young master go outside to wash up?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long time before slowly calming down. She got out of bed and said calmly, "Stop talking. Hurry up and wash up. There are still many things to do outside."

Next, they worked non-stop for two more days, finally getting through the busiest and most difficult days.

In the past few days, the second young master of the Duke's mansion and his young mistress have been of one mind and one heart. Although the couple is not old, they are exceptionally steady and have made the funeral very dignified. In particular, during the funeral, Yuwen Ye was promoted by the emperor to the rank of second-grade general, which became a popular topic of conversation in the Eastern Capital.

However, the people in the mansion had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Aside from dealing with guests who came to pay their respects, the young couple hardly spoke a word to each other in private.

Even when resting at night, they would stagger their times, and almost never stayed in the same room for more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Although it was strange, everyone was too busy with household affairs to discuss anything. After a few days of hectic activity, the day of the funeral arrived in the blink of an eye.

The night before, Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi stayed up all night keeping vigil. It wasn't until dawn that Shang Ruyi was finally helped to a chair and closed her eyes for a short while.

But before I could fall asleep, I heard a commotion outside.

She subconsciously opened her eyes and hurriedly got up, only to see a tall, familiar figure walking in from outside with a gust of cold wind. Immediately, the servants and some guests all rushed forward.

"Duke!"

"Duke, you're finally back!"

"Madam, we've finally been waiting for you, Duke..."

With a series of sobs, Yuwen Yuan pushed through the crowd and slowly walked into the mourning hall.

His face was deathly pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was clear that he had traveled day and night from western Liaoning back, and he hadn't even had time to shake off the mud on his boots and trousers. He walked step by step to the memorial tablet, and the heavy sound of his footsteps seemed to step into his own heart.

Looking at the words on the memorial tablet that encapsulated a woman's entire life, his gaze repeatedly lingering on the characters "Yun Mu," he choked up for a long while before finally saying in a hoarse voice, "I'm back..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Cheng, who was standing to the side, threw himself into his arms, crying.

"Father!"

Yuwen Yuan stumbled from the child's impact, his towering frame swaying as if on the verge of collapse. Shang Ruyi, seeing Yuwen Cheng crying with tears streaming down his face, his sobs almost piercing Yuwen Yuan's heart, immediately stepped forward and gently pulled Yuwen Cheng back, saying, "Third brother, don't be like this."

As she spoke, she looked up at Yuwen Yuan and said, "Father, you're finally back. Mother can finally rest easy."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan glanced at her with reddened eyes.

After much struggle, the tears were ultimately swallowed back.

He gave a deep "hmm".

At this moment, Yuwen Ye also heard the news and came over from the side hall. When he saw this scene, his eyes reddened, but he walked forward very calmly and said softly, "Father has just returned. Go take a bath and change your clothes first. The coffin will be lifted in an hour."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Ruyi turned around and instructed, "Quickly have someone prepare hot water and hot soup for Father. There's no time for a meal, so bring up a few plates of vegetarian snacks. Be quick."

Although they each spoke their own mind, they worked together seamlessly and quickly arranged everything that followed.

Although Yuwen Yuan was overwhelmed with grief, he was also comforted by the scene and nodded with tears in his eyes: "Alright, I'll follow your arrangements."

After he finished speaking, several maids immediately came forward to help him down.

The two people left in the lobby exchanged a glance, then subconsciously looked away.

Soon, Yuwen Yuan bathed and changed his clothes, and it was time to carry out the funeral procession. His two sons led the way, carrying the coffin, while Shang Ruyi followed behind, helping Yuwen Yuan walk forward step by step.

Just as he stepped out of the mansion, he suddenly looked up at the front of the house, as if he wanted to say something.

However, glancing back at Shang Ruyi beside him, he swallowed back what he was about to say. Sensing his inner turmoil, Shang Ruyi supported him and whispered in his ear, "Father, Second Brother tried many methods, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan was slightly startled.

After a long silence, he nodded, sighed, and said, "Let's go."