Chapter 192 He offended her again.

He had barely finished speaking when he heard a snap.

A tear fell onto the back of his hand. For a moment it seemed to be burning hot, but it immediately became cool.

Looking up again, tears streamed down Shang Ruyi's face.

The tears, crystal clear, spilled from her eyes and fell to her feet, quickly disappearing into the thick map carpet without a trace. Yet, the sound of those tears falling seemed so abrupt amidst the gurgling water, heavy as if it had fallen on one's heart.

For the first time, Chu Yang felt a little flustered.

He hurriedly stood up, instinctively reaching out to comfort the woman before him, but before his hand could touch her, he heard Shang Ruyi's hoarse voice whisper, "Your Majesty, please do not do such things to Ruyi again in the future."

"..."

"And never say such things to Ruyi!"

"...!"

A slight panic began to spread in Chu Yang's heart, gradually turning into a feeling of helplessness and pain.

He realized that he had offended her again.

Last time, when facing "Yang Suiyi," she could leave, and even rebuke him. But when facing the emperor, she couldn't leave, nor could she utter any words of rebuke. She could only express her offense and anger with tears.

This was the first time Chu Yang realized that tears were such a heavy and rich thing.

He looked at Shang Ruyi, who was bowing her head and shedding tears, yet refused to feign any more words. Finally, he sighed, took a step back, and said, "Alright, I promise I will never say these things to you again."

"..."

"I will not offend you again."

Only after hearing his words did Shang Ruyi breathe a sigh of relief. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on her face and then said softly, "Ruyi has lost her composure."

"..."

Chu Yang looked at her with some helplessness, but he seemed to know that even though he could scare her out of her wits with a single sentence, he could never do anything about her. The two of them seemed to be somewhat incompatible.

After a long pause, he gave a bitter laugh.

This seemed to be a rare moment when he smiled bitterly. He turned and walked inside, saying as he went, "From now on, I will only discuss state affairs with you."

Shang Ruyi quickly wiped her face clean, then said in a low voice with a slight nasal tone, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"..."

"Ruyi is but a woman, with limited knowledge and experience; I fear she is incapable of planning for the future with Your Majesty."

"..."

"Matters of national importance should be discussed with the court officials."

Chu Yang had already walked back to where he had been standing. Hearing this, he stopped, turned around and looked at her, saying, "But I want to hear you speak."

...

In comparison, this statement is indeed no longer offensive.

Shang Ruyi, on the contrary, became cautious.

She couldn't understand why Chu Yang would go to all this trouble to bring her into the palace when there were so many knowledgeable officials in the court, and their words were exactly the same as hers. In fact, they were even better at quoting classical texts and knew how to get to the heart of the matter. It was just because he wanted to hear her speak.

What's the difference between her words and other people's words?

Just as she was feeling extremely flustered, Chu Yang looked at her again and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Shang Ruyi asked, "What does Your Majesty wish to say to me?"

"explain,"

Chu Yang smiled slightly and said, "Tell me, what do you think of my national policy?"

"..."

Upon hearing the words "national policy," Shang Ruyi dared not utter a word.

Therefore, Chu Yang's sudden whim was not a momentary madness, nor was it a deep-seated obsession. Rather, it stemmed from his sense of responsibility and expectations for the Daye Dynasty under his rule—he was determined to conquer Liaodong, and Liaodong was merely the beginning.

Shang Ruyi had many things to flatter and many things to advise.

But at this moment, she couldn't speak.

The more silent she became, the more anxiously Chu Yang's gaze focused on her eyes, staring intently at her: "Why won't you speak?"

After saying that, he took another step towards her.

But this step was like stepping into a dangerous trap. Shang Ruyi tensed up. Although she didn't back away immediately, the obvious wariness and fear on her face made Chu Yang's heart sink. He couldn't help but stop, but he also mocked himself inwardly.

When did he start caring about the joys and sorrows of "others"?

However, the woman's fear and resistance seemed to have him completely under her control. He could no longer get closer and could only stare into her eyes and say, "Speak."

"..."

Seeing that he was no longer approaching, Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but she also knew that this was the only thing she could work out with this willful and capricious emperor.

She could no longer disobey him.

After thinking about this for a long time, she said softly, "Does Your Majesty really insist on attacking Liaodong?"

Chu Yang said, "Of course."

Shang Ruyi asked, "Then, where will the provisions come from?"

"..."

This one sentence immediately silenced the entire palace.

Even the sound of the gurgling water at our feet seemed to freeze for a moment.

Chu Yang's breath hitched, but he immediately said, "I am referring to the major event of attacking Liaodong, not the steps involved."

Shang Ruyi said, "However, supplies are more important than any step in the attack."

"..."

"Last time, His Majesty sent Ruyi's eunuch to Liaoxi to oversee the transport of grain. We saw that the grain was transported from Xingluo Granary to Liaoxi, with more than half being lost along the way. However, given the enormous amount of grain stored in Xingluo Granary, this loss was not a major concern."

"..."

"But now, Xingluocang has been occupied by Wanggang's army."

"..."

"Your Majesty wants to attack Liaodong, where can you find so much grain to supply hundreds of thousands of troops?"

Mentioning this, a faint smile appeared on Chu Yang's face as he said, "Feng Chen, aren't we setting off for war tomorrow?"

"..."

"Don't you believe he can defeat Wang Gang's army and recapture Xingluocang?"

These words were like a needle, piercing Shang Ruyi's heart. She suddenly felt a chill in her chest, and even the warmth rising from the soles of her feet could not dispel the coldness of this moment.

She bit her lower lip and said, "No, of course not."

Chu Yang narrowed his eyes slightly: "Then, what is the matter of provisions?"

"But--"

Shang Ruyi's heart grew increasingly flustered. Before she could say anything more, she saw Chu Yang's face slowly darken. Although there was still a faint smile in his slender phoenix eyes, a gloomy look slowly appeared on his face as he said, "If Yuwen Ye cannot defeat Wang Gang's army and ruin my grand plan, then he will be a sinner of my Great Ye Dynasty!"

"..."

"At that time—the law will be merciless!"