Chapter 258 Do you believe me, or do you not care?

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was completely stunned.

Yuwen Ye, standing behind her, suddenly hardened his expression and his eyes darkened.

Shang Ruyi said, "You, how could you—"

Yuwen Cheng sneered, "Second sister-in-law, if you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Actually, you saw me last time, didn't you? That's why you deliberately came to test me after you got home. But I lied, and you actually believed me."

"..."

Shang Ruyi felt cold all over.

It turned out that when she left after meeting Chu Yang here last time, she saw a familiar figure that was indeed Yuwen Cheng. However, it was just a fleeting glimpse, and she doubted that she had seen it wrong. Later, when she went home to visit him again, the boy deliberately concealed the truth and mentioned Yuwen Qian in his conversation. So she didn't ask any further questions and just assumed that she had imagined it.

Unexpectedly, Yuwen Cheng kept this secret to himself all along.

At this moment, his words, sharp as swords, pierced right between the two of them!

However, before she could explain, Yuwen Cheng continued, "By the way, I've seen it more than once."

"..."

"While you were imprisoned in Dali Temple, they met at the street corner near our house. His Majesty the Emperor disguised himself and hid, afraid of being recognized, and even held an umbrella for your sister-in-law himself."

Then, he looked at Shang Ruyi with a grin and said, "Second sister-in-law, His Majesty the Emperor treats you so well, why don't you just ask him to release your second brother from the Dali Temple?"

"..."

At this moment, Shang Ruyi's entire body was ice-cold.

She wanted to turn around and explain something to Yuwen Ye, but when she met his cold, stern eyes, she couldn't utter a single word.

Yuwen Cheng coughed twice more, then looked up at his second brother and chuckled, "Second brother, don't be angry. Don't you often go to the palace too? Now that your sister-in-law has done this, you two are even."

Yuwen Ye looked at him coldly.

After a long pause, he asked, "Are you finished?"

Yuwen Cheng was taken aback. He had thought that even if these words couldn't make up for the beating he had just received, they should at least save face for his usually arrogant second brother. However, he didn't expect that the second brother would remain calm and not lose his composure at all.

At this moment, Yuwen Ye walked forward expressionlessly, grabbed him from the ground, and Yuwen Cheng struggled twice but could not break free. He could only resentfully let him do as he pleased.

Yuwen Ye turned around and said to the pale-faced Shang Ruyi in a calm, even voice, "Go home."

He instructed his attendants to take the old beggar to the clinic, then to the school to inquire about the situation, before returning to the Yuwen residence with the two men.

Upon entering the house, he threw Yuwen Cheng into the woodshed and locked it.

The servants watched as the second young master dragged the third young master back with blood streaming from his mouth and nose and locked him in the woodshed. No one dared to speak, while Yuwen Ye stood coldly in the courtyard.

Before long, the people who went to the school returned and found out that since Yuwen Yuan took office in Taiyuan, Yuwen Cheng had been attending school sporadically. The teacher had reprimanded him several times, but Yuwen Cheng, along with several sons of officials, beat the teacher seriously and threatened his family. From then on, he stopped going to school and just wandered around the streets every day.

This has been going on for over a month now.

After listening to these words with a cold expression, Yuwen Ye remained silent for a long time before instructing Mu Xian: "Send someone to visit the gentleman. In addition to compensating for the medical expenses, send some generous gifts. Under no circumstances should you neglect him."

Mu Xian accepted the order and left.

Yuwen Ye turned back to look at the locked woodshed and said in a deep voice, "For the next three days, you are not allowed to send him food, water, blankets, or clothes."

The crowd had no choice but to agree and leave.

Shang Ruyi listened with some concern to Yuwen Cheng's groans coming from the woodshed. After thinking for a moment, she said softly, "It's all my fault."

"..."

"I had asked him about his homework before, but later—"

Later, she left the Eastern Capital for Luokou Ferry because of the battle at Xingluocang, where she stayed for several days. After returning to the Eastern Capital, Yuwen Ye was imprisoned in the Dali Temple. She was worried about him day and night and naturally had no way to take care of Yuwen Cheng, which is why he acted so recklessly.

Yuwen Ye glanced at her and said indifferently, "It's his own fault for being so useless; it has nothing to do with you."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Shang Ruyi stood there, her hands and feet ice-cold, unable to come to her senses for a long time.

Although Yuwen Ye's words were meant to exonerate her, the phrase "it has nothing to do with you" sounded so cold, even distancing.

She remained silent for a while before slowly returning to her room. She saw Yuwen Ye standing in the center of the room, taking off his outer garment. Chang Wan hurriedly took it and hung it on a rack to the side. Shang Ruyi was also about to take off her clothes, but she felt cold after taking them off halfway. The room was also cold. Even though Wo Xue and the others immediately brought a brazier to warm the room, she still felt as if she were in an ice cave and had to put them back on.

Seeing this, Changwan withdrew.

At this moment, the romantic atmosphere and emotions that had been lingering between the two for several days had completely vanished.

She looked up at Yuwen Ye and said softly, "Second Brother..."

Yuwen Ye looked down at her.

His gaze remained cold and stern, even more profound than before, revealing no trace of emotion.

Shang Ruyi didn't know what to say to begin with, and at this moment, she felt even more empty inside.

Faced with her silence, Yuwen Ye said, "If you haven't figured out how to explain, you don't have to say anything."

Shang Ruyi asked, "Do you believe me, or do you not care?"

"..."

Yuwen Ye frowned slightly, and seeing his indifferent expression, Shang Ruyi gave a bitter smile and said, "Even if you really don't care, I... I still have to explain."

Yuwen Ye said, "You speak."

Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said, "I did meet him at Tinghe Tower, but it wasn't a private meeting. Eunuch Yu and Wang Shaoji were both there. I didn't do anything to wrong you."

"..."

"What he told me was also the battle of Xingluocang. It was on that day that I learned you had lost all three battles. After leaving Tinghelou and returning home, I received that painting. Because I was worried about you, I left the city that night."

"..."

"Everything I said is true."

Yuwen Ye looked at her for a while and said, "I know what you said is true, but just like at Tinghe Tower, you are still hiding something."

Shang Ruyi's eyes flickered slightly.

Yuwen Ye looked into her eyes, his sharp gaze like a knife, almost cutting her skin: "He specially arranged to meet you at Tinghe Tower, not in the palace. Could it be just to tell you about my battle at Xingluocang?"

Shang Ruyi's lips trembled slightly.

Observing this subtle change, Yuwen Ye said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, he should have told you about his intention to kill me."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared at him.

She was not only astonished that Yuwen Ye could perceive Chu Yang's thoughts, but she was even more surprised that the emperor had murderous intentions towards her. Anyone who knew about such a thing would be terrified and even live in constant fear, but Yuwen Ye said it so casually, as if he didn't care at all.

He said calmly, "Even after I won a great victory, he still imprisoned me in the Dali Temple for interrogation. At that time, I lost all three battles. How could he not have thought of freezing me to death? I guess he not only wanted to kill me, but he may have even considered how to deal with the people around me after he killed me."

"..."

"However, you're hiding these things not because you're afraid of scaring me, but because you're protecting him."

"I--"

"Why are you protecting him? Do you think he can't kill me, but I would—"

At this point, Shang Ruyi's heart almost broke. An unprecedented sense of fear welled up within her, like a man-eating monster crawling out of her own heart and about to devour her.

Even Yuwen Ye himself didn't continue speaking.

For a moment, the two fell into an unspeakable silence.

Seeing Shang Ruyi's silent and astonished expression, Yuwen Ye lowered his eyelashes, completely concealing the dark light in his deep eyes. These things were indeed not difficult for him to understand, and he didn't even have the interest to ask any more questions.

However, there was still a void in his heart, which made him unable to resist speaking again.

"Yan Jie said he met you nearby. When was that?"

Shang Ruyi looked up at him, wondering why he had suddenly asked this question again, but still answered honestly, "I told you before that Wang Shaoji and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had asked me about the battle at Xingluocang, to see if it matched your testimony."

"On the same day?"

"yes."

A cold glint suddenly flashed in Yuwen Ye's eyes as he asked, "They questioned you in the palace, so why did he come out of the palace to see you?"

"...!"

Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes flickered.

But she still answered, "He came to deliver something to me."

What should I give as a gift?

"Deliver...medicine for the wounds."

Yuwen Ye frowned, his gaze immediately falling on Shang Ruyi's slightly twitching thin shoulders, and then he understood.

At this moment, what is there that is not understood?

She was brought into the palace, perhaps only to inquire about the battle at Xingluocang, but during the inquiry, it was learned that she had been wounded by an arrow, so he immediately left the palace to bring her medicine.

Even more so, because it was raining, the emperor himself held an umbrella for her.

How is this any different from the meticulously prepared, one-of-a-kind Woven Feather Fairy Shoes?

The emperor may not want the world to know his thoughts, but he never intended to hide them either.

Thinking of this, Yuwen Ye's face slowly darkened.

Suddenly, a feeling that was hard to tell whether it was anger or jealousy surged up and almost engulfed him. When he looked at Shang Ruyi, his eyes were full of complex and unfathomable emotions.

After a long while, he said, "Then you use—"

He abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence. Shang Ruyi stared at him with wide eyes. Yuwen Ye said indifferently, "Whether it's useful or not doesn't matter."

Shang Ruyi said, "I—"

Before she could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by Chang Wan's anxious voice: "Second Young Master, Young Madam, someone from the palace has arrived!"