Chapter 394 You're Not as Smart as I Think

Shang Ruyi was startled.

Before leaving the main hall, she had wiped away the tear stains on her face to make sure she was in the right place. But she didn't expect that Yuwen Ye would see through her act at a glance—did she still have tear stains on her face?

If that's the case, then weren't we seen by everyone along the way?

She panicked slightly and hurriedly reached out to wipe her face, but as soon as she raised her hand, Yuwen Ye grabbed it and whispered, "No, there's nothing wrong with your face."

"..."

Shang Ruyi was still a little shaken: "Really?"

After all, she was the daughter-in-law of the Duke's mansion. If she were to wander around with tears streaming down her face, especially in the Dayan Temple where all the civil and military officials were gathered today, and if she were seen by someone, she would really be doomed!

Seeing her cautious manner, a smile inexplicably appeared in Yuwen Ye's eyes.

He pursed his lips and nodded: "Mm."

Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then became puzzled. If there was nothing on his face, how did he know?

Just as she looked at Yuwen Ye with a puzzled expression, she saw him looking down at her, his deep gaze seeming to see right through her eyes and into her heart.

He said, "I can tell."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

Seeing that she was clearly flustered, Yuwen Ye gave a faint smile, but said nothing more, only looking down at her gently.

His expression could even be described as pleasant.

But Shang Ruyi's heart was in turmoil. The words she had prepared and thought of to say to him on the way here had all been forgotten. Under his gentle gaze, she felt completely empty.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

As the two stood silently facing each other across the threshold, neither coming out nor going in, in this somewhat awkward situation, a gust of wind suddenly blew from the side.

The wind wasn't particularly fierce, but it suddenly snatched the paper from Shang Ruyi's hand.

"well!"

Shang Ruyi gasped softly, and seeing the paper about to be blown away by the wind, she hurriedly tried to chase after it, but Yuwen Ye reached out and swiftly snatched the paper back from the wind.

However, when he took a closer look and saw the handwriting clearly, his expression immediately darkened.

"This is--"

Shang Ruyi's heartbeat also sank almost simultaneously.

Just a moment ago, the two of them seemed to be two people facing each other, but now, it seems that there is an extra person between them, and the shadow of this person suddenly envelops her whole body, and her eyes immediately dim.

But she didn't show much sadness; she just smiled and said, "It was written by the Empress Dowager."

"..."

"I'll bring it to you."

"..."

Yuwen Ye gave her a deep look, then said nothing more, only lowering his head to stare at those few words. His brows furrowed, his expression grave, as if his entire being was focused on those two sentences, those eight words—

Humans live in this mortal world, their lives filled with nothing but love and hate.

His usually steady hand trembled slightly at this moment, shaking so much that the paper began to rustle.

really……

He would react this way whenever he saw anything related to Empress Dowager Jiang.

Only Empress Dowager Jiang could make him do this.

Although she knew she was no longer sad, and in fact shouldn't be, Shang Ruyi's breathing was still a little disordered. She took a deep breath, as if to cover up her weakness, and then smiled and said, "This is what she wrote. I was going to give it to you, but I didn't expect Feng to give it to you."

"..."

"It seems even God knew—"

Yuwen Ye didn't speak, he just looked at her.

The tenderness that had just been overflowing in his eyes now seemed to have turned to frost.

This time, the chill that rose in her heart quickly calmed Shang Ruyi down, and she finally remembered the speech she had prepared on the way. She smiled and said, "I brought this not only to give it to you, but also to tell you—let's make up."

"..."

"Although I said this once in Crescent Moon City, I want to say it again now."

"..."

"I don't want to have any more grudges with you, and I don't want to fall out with you again."

In fact, she had known this for a long time, but today's reenactment made it even clearer to her. She needed Yuwen Ye; to be a good daughter-in-law of the Duke of Sheng, she couldn't live without him.

No matter how big the conflicts or how many disagreements they had, she needed him to make it work.

"As for your feelings for her—I understand, I completely understand,"

She chuckled softly and said, "Actually, if I were you, I would also do the same to her..."

"..."

"So this time, I understand completely."

"..."

"You can rest assured that from now on, I will no longer interfere in your relationship. Between us, things will remain the same as before. I will fulfill my duties as your wife and as the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Sheng. I will do everything I should do."

"..."

So you—

She rambled on and on, having prepared her words beforehand, confident that she could clearly articulate her stance. But for some reason, she became increasingly flustered towards the end, not because of her words, but because she heard a sharp cracking sound from her knuckles.

She immediately shut her mouth.

Yuwen Ye continued to look at her, his gaze calm as if frozen, but his hands were constantly straining, his knuckles turning white from the effort.

Shang Ruyi's heart sank suddenly.

Just then, as if to rescue her, a long, melodious chime suddenly rang out from the lecture hall not far away.

The sound of the chime was different from the previous one; it rang three times in a row, each one louder and longer than the last. Although she didn't understand Buddhist teachings, she vaguely knew that these three chimes seemed to be a sign that the Dharma assembly was over.

The inner altar ceremony has ended?!

Thinking this, her heart began to race even faster, and she instinctively turned to walk towards the lecture hall: "I'll go take a look—"

Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist!

Shang Ruyi was startled. She turned around and before she could even see Yuwen Ye's deep, cold eyes, she was pulled into the Buddhist hall by a powerful force. She staggered and before she could stand up, she was pushed against the door panel pressed against the wall with a loud bang.

"Hmm!"

Her back slammed against the hard door, causing her pain, but before she could even cry out, a hand forcefully grabbed her shoulder and pressed her against the cold door.

It's as if I'm nailed there.

When he looked up again, he met Yuwen Ye's deep black eyes. At this moment, Yuwen Ye's face no longer concealed his anger, and he even looked at him with a fierce expression. Behind him was a statue of a Bodhisattva who saves all living beings, which made him look like a demon.

Shang Ruyi never knew that he could have this side to him.

She had no idea that she could bring out this side of him.

At that moment, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, causing her heart to ache. But what hurt even more was Yuwen Ye gripping her thin shoulders. His fingers were thick and strong, as if he were about to crush her bones.

But when he spoke, he spoke very softly.

It carried only a profound, chilling ferocity—

"Shang Ruyi, I've only just realized that I also really dislike you."

"..."

"I hate the way you talk to yourself."

"..."

"You think that by saying these things, you're being very magnanimous and generous, befitting a daughter-in-law of a duke's family, and that you can make everything between us seem like it never happened?"

Whether it was because he forced her or because of the excruciating pain in her shoulder, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a surge of anger, completely shattering her previous magnanimous demeanor.

She gritted her teeth and said, "Otherwise what?"

"..."

Yuwen Ye squinted at her.

After a long silence, he suddenly sneered, "It seems that letting you find the answer yourself was indeed unwise—you're not as smart as I thought."

"...!?"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback.

Before she could even get angry or retort, everything went black.

Yuwen Ye lowered his head and bit her lip hard!