Chapter 543 Watertight

Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.

Sure enough—not only Chang Le Fang, but also every move in Yan Zuo Fang could not escape Yuwen Yuan's eyes. He not only knew that Pei Xingyuan was selling expensive medicine in Chang Le Fang, but also that someone was administering medicine in Yan Zuo Fang.

After hearing his question, everyone turned their heads and stared intently at Yuwen Qian.

Facing several pairs of probing eyes, Yuwen Qian remained calm and smiled faintly, then said, "Why does Father ask this?"

Yuwen Yuan said, "What, can't I ask?"

"Of course not,"

Yuwen Qian smiled and said, "However, I don't know who that person is either, so I can't answer you, Father."

Yuwen Yuan's face showed a strange expression.

At this moment, Yuwen Ye said, "Brother, someone is administering medicine in the markets under your jurisdiction, yet you don't know who that person is? Didn't you inquire about their background?"

Yuwen Qian smiled and said, "No."

"Why?"

"Because for me, figuring out who is administering the medication is far less important than curing the disease and saving lives."

"..."

“If someone does something bad in Yanzuofang, I will naturally intervene; but administering medicine to save people is doing a good deed. Since it is a good deed, one should have special privileges and not be questioned, so I will not ask.”

Shang Ruyi's eyes flickered as she asked, "Isn't Big Brother curious about who that person is?"

Yuwen Qian raised an eyebrow slightly, looked up at her, and then smiled, "It seems that you are more curious than I am."

Shang Ruyi said, "Of course."

"..."

"I'm curious about what kind of person could hoard so much medicine, keeping it hidden before, but now taking it out to give to the patients at Yanzuofang."

Yuwen Qian looked at her silently. Although the two remained expressionless, sparks seemed to fly between them.

After a long pause, Yuwen Qian chuckled and said, "I understand what you mean, sister-in-law. But this person is hiding his identity and refusing to reveal his true form, clearly not wanting anyone to know who he is. If I insist on finding out his identity, I'm afraid I'll anger him and he'll refuse to show himself again. If that happens, the patients in the city will have no medicine to cure them. Wouldn't that be my fault?"

"..."

"So for now, I don't want to spend too much time on irrelevant things."

"..."

"I also hope that my father and—"

As he spoke, he glanced at the expressionless Yuwen Ye, then smiled gently and said, "In any case, I hope no one will disturb this person."

"..."

"At this moment, saving lives is the priority."

Shang Ruyi's heart sank slightly.

Her words were meant to shift the blame to Yuwen Yuan, and Yuwen Yuan did indeed ask. Even she and Yuwen Ye spoke up, but unexpectedly, Yuwen Qian skillfully deflected their questions with just a few words.

He even decided with a single sentence whoever investigated the person's true identity would be considered an obstruction to the rescue.

Yuwen Yuan looked at him for a while, then said nothing more.

Although his two sons were one gentle and the other tough, they were actually very similar at heart and had their own plans for doing things. Even as their father, who held great power, he could not necessarily completely control their behavior.

This is certainly a good thing for a father who hopes his son can become independent and successful as soon as possible.

However, the fact that both sons were somewhat uncontrollable made him uneasy.

After a long silence, Yuwen Yuan finally sighed deeply and said, "I was just asking, I won't interfere in your affairs."

After saying that, he turned to look at Yuwen Ye: "So, you won't let anyone investigate Pei Xingyuan's sale of medicine."

Yuwen Ye glanced at Yuwen Qian and said, "Saving lives is the priority."

"..."

This time, the silence lasted longer, until Yuwen Yuan let out a long sigh.

Full of vigor and ambition, even ready to reach the pinnacle of his life, he suddenly felt that he was getting old...

This has never happened before.

He said, "Okay."

After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks again as if he wanted to eat something, but looking at the large bowl of fish and meat on the table, he had no appetite. He remained silent for a while before putting down his chopsticks and saying, "Alright, you've all had a long day, so go back and rest early."

"yes."

After saying that, the three of them stood up and prepared to leave the dining hall.

At this moment, Aunt Hui came in with two maids to clear the cups and dishes off the table. Seeing the remaining dishes, she turned to another maid and said, "Go and tell the kitchen that these dishes should not be made tomorrow."

Yuwen Yuan glanced at the remaining fish and meat on the table and suddenly said, "Tomorrow, make something light."

He had never been particularly interested in food and drink, and rarely suggested what he wanted to eat. When he heard that he wanted something light, Aunt Hui immediately stepped forward and said earnestly, "If the Duke has anything he would like to eat, please let us know in advance. Nowadays, the city gates are only opened once a day at noon, so fresh vegetables from outside the city can only enter the city at that time, which is much less than usual."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan suddenly remembered something.

He looked up at Yuwen Ye, who was about to leave with Shang Ruyi, and said, "Ye'er, stay a moment, I have something to ask you."

Yuwen Ye stopped immediately.

Shang Ruyi glanced back, knowing she shouldn't stay any longer, and then turned and walked out of the dining hall.

By this time, it was completely dark outside. Except for the dining hall, which was still brightly lit, the rest of the Duke's mansion had been swallowed up by the night. Her vision was not able to adjust to the darkness outside for a moment, and her steps faltered.

Until a figure slowly walked up to her side.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

Yuwen Qian's gentle voice sounded even more tender than usual in the night. When he looked up, he met a pair of beautiful eyes that were clear and bright even in the darkness, making one forget the mundane world upon seeing them.

However, the thought that the person administering the medicine at Yanzuofang was the "Guanghan Guest" who had harmed them several times along the way, and that the gentle voice he spoke in the dining hall just now, the watertight words he uttered, and the faint smile that appeared in his clear eyes, were all concealing that person's identity, sent a chill down Shang Ruyi's spine.

She smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. I'm fine."

After saying that, he walked forward.

She had only taken two steps when she heard Yuwen Qian say, "Sister-in-law, I found something today and I want to give it to you."

"...?"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback.

He found something and wants to give it to me?

What is it?

She turned her head, but her puzzled expression froze when she saw Yuwen Qian's outstretched hand.

In his palm lay a small silver hairpin.

Seeing Shang Ruyi's eyes widen, then fall silent, her face flushing red and then pale, as if she didn't know how to deal with it, Yuwen Qian still smiled calmly and said, "There were a lot of people today, and this thing was almost trampled on. Luckily, I saw it and picked it up."

"..."

"Sister-in-law, please have someone keep it safe so it doesn't get lost again."

After saying that, he gently handed it to Shang Ruyi.

Even though the night was deep, it couldn't hide the embarrassment on Shang Ruyi's face. She took a deep breath and immediately reached out to take the silver hairpin. Then she forced a smile and said, "Thank you, brother. I will remind you."

Yuwen Qian smiled and nodded, then walked past her.

Silently clutching the silver hairpin in her hand, Shang Ruyi watched his figure gradually disappear into the night, her eyes growing even darker.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Ye, who was still in the dining hall, sat back down in front of his seat. The cups and saucers on the table had been cleared away. Yuwen Yuan had two more cups of tea brought over. After taking a sip, he said, "I may not ask about the affairs of your two markets, but there is one thing I must ask you."

Yuwen Ye immediately asked, "Father, may I ask?"

Yuwen Yuan said, "I had already ordered that the city gates should only be opened at noon each day until the plague is eradicated. But I heard that you have been sending your own people out of the city these past two days, with three groups of people today alone. What exactly are you doing?"

Yuwen Ye said, "My son sent people out of the city to search for patients in the villages outside the city."

"Didn't I already send the Left and Right Guards out of the city to handle this matter before?"

“In the past two days, General Zuo Xiaowei did bring back a lot of people from outside the city. However, my son also asked those people and heard that some of the people who remained in their villages did not enter the city or stay. Instead, they left the villages and went to other places—some even went east.”

"..."

“My son was worried that these people would spread the disease again, so he kept sending more people to search.”

"Eastward...?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan frowned slightly.

A vague sense of unease seemed to flicker in his heart, but at this moment, a greater unease was right in front of him, and he had no time to pay attention to that unfounded unease.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright. But rules are rules, and you can't cause too much of a commotion. If you still can't find them in the next two days, we'll recall all your people."

"..."

"After all, if Luoyang were to learn of the plague raging in Daxing City, they might seize the opportunity to advance. I don't want that at this time—"

Yuwen Ye immediately replied, "Your son understands."

Yuwen Yuan waved his hand, and Yuwen Ye bowed to him before getting up and leaving.

By this time, the night had grown even darker.

Yuwen Ye returned to his room, carrying the chill of the night wind and the weight of his thoughts. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Shang Ruyi sitting at the table, her fingers twirling a silver hairpin, lost in thought.

Yuwen Ye walked over, glanced down, and said, "This is—"

Shang Ruyi looked up at him: "This was just given to me by my older brother."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye's eyes flashed with a hint of displeasure, but before he could say anything, Shang Ruyi had already presented the hairpin to him and said softly, "Do you recognize it?"

"..."

Yuwen Ye glanced at her, then examined the hairpin more closely, and suddenly seemed to remember something: "This seems to be—"

Before they could finish speaking, Tushe'er and Changwan came in with hot water and towels to help the two of them wash up.

Upon seeing the hairpin in Shang Ruyi's hand, Tu She'er immediately said, "Miss, isn't that Wo Xue's hairpin? She just realized it was missing and has been looking for it for a long time."