Chapter 293 You just like her!

Is it worth it?

Upon hearing these three words, Yuwen Ye's face immediately darkened.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and his grim expression made the stench even more intense, almost suffocating.

So, Shang Ruyi stared at him, almost breathless, and when she couldn't get an answer, she asked again, word by word, "Is it worth it?"

Yuwen Ye said, "She is the Empress, and she watched me grow up since I was a child. It's not a matter of whether it's worth it for me to go and save her."

Shang Ruyi said, "She's a woman too!"

"...!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye's chest heaved violently, as if pierced by something. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "What are you saying?"

Shang Ruyi stared intently into his eyes, unblinking: "I'm talking about your heart!"

"..."

You like her!

Yuwen Ye roared, "Are you crazy? She's the Empress! In this world, besides the Emperor, who dares—dares to like the Empress!"

This answer made Shang Ruyi chuckle.

This laugh made Yuwen Ye's eyes flicker even more intensely. She slowly said, "Even gods and Buddhas can't control you, let alone His Majesty the Emperor?"

"..."

"Besides,"

She slowly walked up to Yuwen Ye, smelling the increasingly strong stench of blood emanating from him, as if torturing herself, and said clearly, "Whether you dare to like someone is one thing; whether you actually like someone is another."

"..."

"You love her, you love the Empress of the Daye Dynasty!"

These words were almost shouted out by Shang Ruyi with all her might. Her voice wasn't very loud, but in this closed, empty room, it was like a thunderclap, making the two people's ears ring, as if they had really been struck by lightning, their limbs and bodies shattered.

After a long while, she saw Yuwen Ye's suddenly pale face slowly turn to one side.

Shang Ruyi was utterly despondent.

Having already gotten the answer from his undeniable actions, why torture myself by asking him for an answer I already knew? Am I still clinging to some illusion?

But at this point, what illusions can still deceive oneself?

She finally understood why, even though she and Yuwen Ye had been intimate and consummated their marriage, she always felt a sense of unease. But it wasn't a feeling of ease; rather, it was a feeling of helplessness, a sense of being adrift and disoriented.

Now, she finally understands.

Because Yuwen Ye has someone else in his heart.

She had always believed this person was Princess Xinyue, even though later Yuwen Ye told her personally that he only considered the princess a younger sister. Recalling the way Yuwen Ye had always looked at the princess, she realized it wasn't the look of someone who was in love.

Except for once.

That one and only time became a long-standing puzzle in Shang Ruyi's heart. It was in Yanmen County, when they were leaving the government office and preparing to get into the carriage, that she saw a kind of burning passion in Yuwen Ye's eyes that she had never seen before. It was a rare sight in his usually cold and stern eyes.

At the time, she thought he was looking at Princess Crescent Moon, but now she realizes the truth.

He was looking at Empress Jiang, who was beside Princess Xinyue.

She had never seen Yuwen Ye and Empress Jiang face each other before, and therefore did not know that beneath his cold exterior lay such tender, even passionate, emotions. He had deceived everyone, including himself, who was closest to him. But when faced with life and death, his choice could not be hidden.

Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi chuckled again. As she chuckled, her eyes immediately turned red from the burning sensation welling up in her heart: "Actually, I don't need your answer at all. I was really foolish before. The answer was right in front of me, but I insisted on being blinded by a leaf. But now, I can see clearly, and I can even see clearly what I couldn't see before."

Several deep wrinkles appeared between Yuwen Ye's brows.

He slowly turned his head to look at Shang Ruyi, especially at her red-rimmed eyes, which seemed to hold a hint of contradiction and struggle. After a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice, "It's not what you think."

Shang Ruyi smiled sadly, her eyes glistening with tears.

"I can't think of any other reason why a man would risk his life to shield someone from an arrow with his own body!"

"..."

"Wang Gangzhai and Liang Shide's men had a prior agreement that this attack on Luoyang must not alert the Yuwen family. He is utterly loyal to Xiao Yuansui and would not openly disobey Xiao Yuansui's orders. Therefore, he is not aiming at you, but at the Empress!"

"..."

"Those three arrows, you took them for her!"

The more Shang Ruyi talked, the more ridiculous she felt.

She recalled that in Xingluo Warehouse, because she guessed that Hua Ziying might be hiding in the shadows and want to make a move against Yuwen Ye, she deliberately stood in front of him and even spread her arms out just before the arrows were shot, wanting to protect him.

All of this was observed by the people of Wanggangzhai.

And now, the person she risked her life to protect is risking her life to protect someone else tonight.

If they knew that Yuwen Ye had blocked all three of Hua Ziying's arrows tonight, would they see themselves as a joke?

Seeing Shang Ruyi's mocking smile, Yuwen Ye's gaze grew even more serious.

He took a deep breath and said, "Shang Ruyi, I—"

"Alright, you don't need to say anymore," Shang Ruyi took a deep breath, as if closing a floodgate, shutting off the sarcastic smile on her face. She glanced at Yuwen Ye again and said weakly, "If I continue, I feel like I'll really be ashamed of myself."

Yuwen Ye looked at her intently.

Shang Ruyi said, "Fortunately, fortunately, I haven't reached the point of being unable to extricate myself from my feelings for you. Knowing all this now is a blessing in disguise."

Yuwen Ye frowned: "Ruyi—"

Shang Ruyi looked up at him again, then took a step back, moving away from the pungent smell of blood emanating from him. But she could clearly see that drops of blood were falling from his back, blooming into several glaring blood flowers on the ground. She said, "Hurry up and have someone come and take a look. Your wound seems to have reopened."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

As soon as she turned around, her wrist was grabbed by a hot and strong hand.

It was Yuwen Ye. He grabbed her, but made no further move, not even uttering a word. He simply gripped her slender wrist tightly, as if with that force he could keep her there.

With some effort, Shang Ruyi finally managed to pull her hand out of his grasp, and then said, "I'll go and call someone for you."

After saying that, he walked out without looking back.

She didn't see that Yuwen Ye, standing behind her, seemed to be about to step forward and stop her, but the three arrow wounds on his back completely burst open, and blood stained his entire back red. The action of grabbing her wrist exhausted his last bit of strength, and as he watched her leave, Yuwen Ye collapsed heavily.

There was another period of chaos at the village.

But Shang Ruyi no longer cared. She left the chaotic footsteps and anxious emotions behind and slowly walked back to her room alone with heavy steps. At this time, it was still dark, and the candlestick that Tushe'er had lit earlier had only a last bit of wax left, with a faint light on the wick as if it were struggling to survive.

However, they couldn't struggle for long.

When Shang Ruyi walked to the table and sat down heavily, the wind stirred by her clothes suddenly extinguished the faint spark.

Suddenly, the entire room was plunged into darkness.

She didn't light any more candles, but instead let herself wallow in the darkness. Perhaps only in this way could she avoid facing the blindness of these past days and the foolishness of misplaced affection.

How could she be so blind and so stupid?

Could it be the price to pay?

She chose this path in life, a path that allows her to protect herself and her beloved family, so she must pay a price that is almost equal to her life.

So, is this kind of heartache worth it?

Shang Ruyi couldn't help but laugh again. The more she laughed, the funnier it became. She even felt a little breathless, nodding repeatedly and saying, "It's worth it, it's worth it..."

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. From the very beginning, she traded breaking off the engagement and remarrying for everything she has now. Originally, it was a transaction of money and goods, but she was foolish enough to invest too much emotion, which is why she has ended up with these days of self-delusion and ridiculous results.

But in the end, it was still worth it.

She is still alive, and her uncle and aunt, whom she cares about most, as well as Wu Zheng, are now being protected. What's wrong with that for her?

As for feelings, just take them back.

The more she thought about it, the calmer she became.

However, she was so cold that the cold started from her chest and spread to her limbs, almost freezing her to the bone.

She turned her head and looked around, trying to find something warm, but she couldn't see anything. When she looked down, she found a pot of tea on the table in front of her, in addition to the food that Tushe'er had just brought, which had gone cold. She reached out and touched it, and it was still warm.

She quickly poured herself a glass and drank it down.

The warm tea flowed down immediately, not enough to warm her limbs and body, but it made her feel a little more comfortable. She smiled and gripped the teacup tightly, repeatedly telling herself: it was all worth it.

It's worth it, it's worth it...

These two words were like incantations, persuading her while gradually plunging her mind into a daze. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and thinking that she had been almost sleepless for two days and two nights, she finally gave up struggling, slowly closed her eyes, and let herself be swallowed up by the tidal wave of weariness.

However, just before she lost consciousness, she seemed to hear footsteps.

Very gently, I walked right up to her...