Chapter 179 You guessed right before

Almost from the moment she began accompanying the emperor on his northern tour, all the way to the northern frontier, when they were ambushed by the Turks and forced to retreat to Yanmen City, and then rescued and returned to the Eastern Capital, only to receive news of Guan Yunmu's death, Shang Ruyi hadn't had a single good night's sleep in the past few months.

That night was the first time in months that she slept so peacefully.

But when she woke up again, she felt that everything was pitch black and she could not breathe. She was so frightened that she jumped out of bed and realized that the blanket that she had covered herself with when she went to sleep had been pulled up over her head and covered her completely.

No wonder I felt stuffy and hot last night, even though I slept soundly.

Sweating profusely, Shang Ruyi pushed the blanket away in annoyance, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and turned her head to find the room brightly lit, indicating that it was probably past Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

She hurriedly tried to call for help, but stopped herself as soon as she opened her mouth. When she turned her head, she found that Yuwen Ye's bed was empty. Had he left early in the morning?

Shang Ruyi then called for help, and soon, Tu She'er and Wo Xue came in carrying a basin of hot water and towels.

Shang Ruyi asked, "Where is he?"

Tushe'er said, "Miss, the young master got up early this morning, saying that the emperor is holding court today and he wants to go to the palace to express his gratitude."

"……oh."

Shang Ruyi suddenly realized.

Since everyone followed the emperor back to Luoyang, the emperor has suspended court sessions. This is likely because he needs some time to deal with the backlog of affairs, and also because so many people were injured or killed during the northern tour, and each family has to hold funerals upon their return. For example, the Duke's Mansion held a funeral that lasted for seven whole days.

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and it's time to go to court.

Wo Xue said, "Young Madam, before he left, the young master specifically instructed us that you have been exhausted these past few days and that we must not wake you up, so that you can sleep as long as you can. Young Madam, the young master truly cares for you."

"..."

Shang Ruyi couldn't help but blush.

She only scolded him for being too talkative, and then went to wash and dress herself. When she finished dressing, she went out. Sure enough, the sun was shining brightly outside. Although the winter sun was not very powerful, the bright light still made people feel refreshed.

As soon as Shang Ruyi went out, she ran into Aunt Hui.

She bowed to her and said respectfully, "Young Madam."

Shang Ruyi knew that she had won this time, but she was far from being able to stand up to her. Moreover, it was not yet time to confront her. So she still politely said, "Aunt Hui, are you up so early to get busy?"

Aunt Hui smiled knowingly and said, "It's getting late."

Shang Ruyi couldn't help but blush—even though everyone knew she had been very tired these days, sleeping until this late really didn't reflect her status as the young mistress of the Duke's mansion, so she could only mumble and get by.

Aunt Hui smiled and said, "Today is even busier than usual."

Shang Ruyi asked, "Is there something you need?"

Aunt Hui said indifferently, "The tea room is short two people, one of whom is in charge. The cups and utensils used in the past few days need to be collected. Without an experienced person to do this, it will take several times more work than usual."

Shang Ruyi was taken aback.

Aunt Hui smiled and said to her, "Young Madam, you must be tired these past few days. Why don't you go and rest some more? I'll go and get back to my work now."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Shang Ruyi stood there staring at her back for a long time before leaving thoughtfully. However, she did not go back to her room to rest immediately, but went to the East Courtyard, where she saw Jin Yun, who was still packing up some of Guan Yunmu's belongings, and Chang Wan, who looked haggard.

Although Shang Ruyi had instructed her not to mistreat her when she was locked in the woodshed, being locked in the woodshed in the dead of winter must have been quite painful for her. But Changwan didn't mention it at all. She just kept thanking Shang Ruyi for clearing her name and said while crying, "I will never forget the kindness of the young mistress."

Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and said, "Since you are innocent, it is the duty of the people in this mansion to clear your name. It is not a favor, so you don't need to do this."

After speaking, he looked at Jinyun and asked, "Next—does the Duke have any plans for you?"

Jin Yun and Chang Wan both shook their heads.

Seeing their reaction, Shang Ruyi's expression became slightly more serious.

They talked for a while longer before Shang Ruyi returned to her room. Because she was preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't even eat lunch and just sat in the room in a daze. The emperor's court session that day was several times longer than usual, probably because too much official business had piled up during the previous northern tour. By the time the Duke and Yuwen Ye returned to their residence, it was already past Shenshi (3-5 PM).

As soon as Yuwen Ye pushed open the door, he saw Shang Ruyi sitting by a low table in the center of the room, with most of her body slumped over it, looking too lazy to move. However, her brows were slightly furrowed and her gaze was unfocused, as if she was deep in thought about something.

He slowly walked over and sat down opposite her, but she remained motionless, as if she couldn't hear or see anything.

Yuwen Ye asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"

Shang Ruyi was still lost in thought, muttering to herself, "I was thinking, sometimes, you have to have a rhythm to things. Dealing with bad people is actually easy, but if no one does the work afterward, it might be worse than not dealing with them at all..."

Yuwen Ye frowned: "Hmm?"

At this moment, Shang Ruyi finally came to her senses and hurriedly straightened up: "Huh? You, why are you back?"

"What, can't I come back?"

"No, no,"

Shang Ruyi smiled wryly. She hadn't quite caught her breath and had offended him with a casual remark. She quickly smiled and said, "I thought you were going to stay in the palace for a while longer."

Yuwen Ye said calmly, "The matter is settled, why wouldn't I come back?"

Shang Ruyi hurriedly asked, "What was the matter when I went to court to express my gratitude today? Did the Emperor say anything?"

"..."

Yuwen Ye didn't answer her immediately. Instead, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked up at her and asked, "Why are you so concerned about what the Emperor is saying?"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback.

Even if she wasn't his "wife," she was still the young mistress of the Duke's mansion. The emperor had gone to court again after such a long time and it took him so long to return. Shouldn't she be concerned about what the emperor's plans were?

Moreover—their relationship had clearly improved considerably yesterday, so why did he suddenly become like a hedgehog that had been poked, raising all his quills again the moment I asked him about their court attendance?

Shang Ruyi was at a loss, but a sense of unease also rose in her heart.

So he said calmly, "Then, I won't ask anymore."

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat heavy.

But when she stopped asking, Yuwen Ye's expression softened. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Why didn't you eat lunch?"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback again and looked up at him. He had just returned, how did he know that she hadn't eaten lunch?

She thought for a moment and said softly, "I don't have much of an appetite."

"Even if you don't have an appetite, you still have to eat. It's freezing cold, how can a person survive without food?"

After saying that, without waiting for her to say anything more, he turned around and ordered someone to go to the kitchen to send some food to their room. The kitchen had been keeping the fire burning, and soon some hot soup and dishes were brought over.

Strangely enough, even though she had no appetite before, seeing this not-so-lavish meal made her feel a bit hungry. Shang Ruyi obediently picked up her bowl and chopsticks, ate a couple of bites, and her appetite improved. So she ate most of a bowl of rice soaked in hot soup, and also finished off a plate of sour and spicy cold dishes.

Seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, Yuwen Ye snorted coldly, "Who just said they had no appetite?"

Shang Ruyi blushed a little and mumbled, "I don't know why, but when there are fewer people eating, the food tastes better than when we eat in the dining hall."

"..."

Yuwen Ye glanced at her, his gaze seeming to brighten slightly.

But he remained expressionless, continuing to eat his own food while saying calmly, "I won't be eating in the house with you all the time. However, there aren't such strict rules in the house. As long as Dad isn't here, you can have the kitchen staff bring your food here, and no one will say anything."

Seeing that he hadn't finished eating, Shang Ruyi ladled out another half bowl of soup, sipping it slowly as she said, "Mmm."

Sensing that the atmosphere had improved somewhat, Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and decided to ask a different question. She said softly, "Speaking of which, you've been appointed as the Grand General of the State, so you'll definitely be busier than before. You'll probably have less time to go home for meals in the future."

"..."

Yuwen Ye let out a deep breath and said, "Not in the future."

"Um?"

"This morning at court, His Majesty issued an edict ordering me to lead 20,000 troops to reclaim Fuxingluocang—I will depart in three days."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's eyes widened in surprise.

Actually, she wasn't surprised that the emperor would send Yuwen Ye to Xingluocang. After all, she already had a feeling about it when he was conferred the title. And when Yuwen Ye was playing with those stones in his room at Banyan Temple, the two of them had made it very clear that this matter would most likely fall on his shoulders.

Shang Ruyi was astonished that the emperor only allowed him to muster 20,000 troops!

It should be noted that Wang Gang's army had previously led tens of thousands of people. After they occupied Xingluocang, they opened the granary to provide relief to disaster victims from all directions, and tens of thousands of people from all around came to join them. Now, Wang Gang's army is at least over 100,000 strong.

Xingluocang is strategically located, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The reason the court lost Xingluocang before was twofold: firstly, the defense was lax, and secondly, most of the soldiers were transferred away to conquer Liaodong. Now that Wanggang's army has occupied it, they will naturally not be careless. To take back Xingluocang from such a force with only 20,000 troops, the difficulty is unimaginable!

Just as Shang Ruyi was frowning, Yuwen Ye told her something else—

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"What's up?"

Yuwen Ye looked at her, his eyes flickering, and said, "You guessed right before."

"Um?"

"The one who captured Xingluocang and is now leading the Wanggang Army there, ready to fight a major battle against the imperial court, is none other than Xiao Yuansui!"