Chapter 850 He also needs some wine

His footsteps were heavy, and his breathing was rapid.

He was led by that scalding hot hand, which seemed to be struggling to control its strength, yet was also being restrained by reason. He walked for an unknown amount of time until a glimmer of light finally appeared in the pitch-black night ahead.

They were going back to the front hall.

Although she hadn't gotten close yet, the lively and noisy sounds rushed up to her, like air desperately needed by someone who had just been suffocating. Shang Ruyi took a deep breath before she finally came to her senses.

It was as if they had suddenly returned to the human world from the demon realm.

At this moment, she clearly felt her hand being gripped tighter and tighter, her knuckles almost trembling. She bit her lower lip to endure the pain and turned to look at her. Yuwen Ye's gloomy face was finally illuminated by the faint light coming from the front.

Those eyes remained gloomy, even revealing a hint of violence.

"Feng Chen..."

Shang Ruyi spoke with a trembling voice. Seeing that his eyes were still fixed on her, she thought for a moment, then turned to face him and said softly, "I didn't come here on purpose."

"..."

"I never expected to run into him here."

"..."

"I noticed She'er and Yuanzi hadn't returned, and I was worried that the girl had run off somewhere else, so I went there to look for her. I never expected—"

Even though she couldn't feel the pain of her fingers being crushed, she knew that Yuwen Ye was angry. After all, her meeting with Yuwen Qian in the Thousand Steps Corridor had angered him. He had even clearly reminded her that the seemingly refined and elegant Crown Prince, their elder brother, was not as they saw him or as they thought.

Although I listened and believed it, I still seemed to harbor a bit of "prejudice" in my heart.

This prejudice meant that she had always been wary of the Crown Prince and her elder brother, not Yuwen Qian himself. But just now, Shang Ruyi dared not think about what would have happened to her if Yuwen Ye had not arrived in time.

And all of this, even if it wasn't something they brought upon themselves, they stumbled upon it.

It's understandable that he's angry.

So she blurted out all these words, both to explain and to appease his anger. But before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly released her hand, then grabbed her waist and pulled her forcefully into his arms.

"—!"

Caught off guard, Shang Ruyi almost bumped into his arms, her heart sinking again.

Then, he heard his somewhat hoarse, even trembling voice above his head: "You're alright, that's good."

"...?"

Shang Ruyi was momentarily taken aback.

Of course I'm fine.

They had just spoken. Yuwen Ye had led her here by the hand, and he could feel her skin and body temperature. Everything was so clear to him that she was alright, but his words at this moment seemed to carry a sense of relief.

This was an emotion that Yuwen Ye had almost never experienced before.

Shang Ruyi lifted her head from his embrace, somewhat bewildered and still a little shaken, and whispered, "I'm fine."

Upon hearing this "guarantee," Yuwen Ye's breathing seemed to calm down a bit.

His iron grip loosened a little, and he looked down at Shang Ruyi before saying, "Someone knocked something over in the side hall just now, which almost scared Yuanzi into crying, so Tushe'er took him to the other side and came back a while later. I guessed you and she took the wrong turn, and since you hadn't returned for a long time, I was worried—so I came to find you."

That's why he went to the lake.

None of this was surprising. What was surprising was that this time, his anger wasn't directed at him.

Shang Ruyi knew, of course, that Yuwen Ye was not a good-tempered person. Beneath the elegant and talented exterior of a noble young master, he was actually willful, prone to anger, and would get upset if she had to deal with people he didn't like. That was why she was so eager to explain just now, but she didn't expect that this time, although he was angry, it wasn't at her.

On the contrary, he spoke with a certain caution, as if—

It was as if they were afraid that they had just been hurt.

Recalling what he had said by the lake earlier about "encountering a water calamity," Shang Ruyi seemed to vaguely sense something. She took a deep breath and said clearly again, as if to assure him, "I'm fine."

This time, illuminated by the lights ahead, she could clearly see that the gloom in Yuwen Ye's eyes had lessened somewhat.

Only a few.

But before they could say anything more, they were interrupted by a sound that was getting closer and closer. Although almost all the civil and military officials were present at the Crown Prince's wedding banquet tonight, the two princes were the most eye-catching. Yuwen Ye had been gone for a short while, and the people at the banquet quickly noticed. Several of them had already gone to the front and started asking where the Prince of Qin and his wife had gone.

Yuwen Ye took a deep breath and then said, "Let's go back first. We can talk about it when we get back to the palace."

Shang Ruyi nodded slightly.

Looking back now, what just happened wasn't actually that scary. Even if Yuwen Qian had really forced her into the lake, she wasn't a landlubber. At worst, she would just have to get back to shore in a bit of a mess. Besides, there were so many people coming and going at the Crown Prince's banquet tonight. The two of them had to keep their voices down when they spoke. If they had been a little louder, they might have attracted someone to help them.

However, Yuwen Qian was so unfamiliar to her that she was somewhat lost in thought.

This made Yuwen Ye even more uneasy.

Shang Ruyi vaguely guessed that it must be related to the "water calamity" he mentioned, and these words were obviously not appropriate to be said in the Crown Prince's residence, but rather at the Crown Prince's wedding banquet.

The two of them walked towards the lights and noise, just as a few people who were already a little drunk at the wedding banquet came looking for them. In particular, Pei Xingyuan was having a good time drinking with the people around him. Holding a wine cup in his hand, he came forward and saw Yuwen Ye and said happily, "Your Highness Prince Qin is back!"

Several generals stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Highness cannot escape this cup."

"Yes, we've been waiting for this for so long."

"Your Highness used to have a huge capacity for alcohol, so why won't you drink with us today?"

Shang Ruyi was a little worried about his mood, but she saw him curl the corners of his lips and say with a faint smile, "I just don't want to drink too much tonight. After all, it's my brother's big day. You should all take it easy."

Once he said that, he relented.

Judging from his appearance, it seems that he also needs some alcohol at this moment.

Seeing that His Highness the Prince of Qin had agreed, everyone immediately smiled and surrounded him, helping him back to his previous seat. Pei Xingyuan even turned back to Shang Ruyi and said with a smile, "Your Highness, may I borrow His Highness for a moment?"

Shang Ruyi simply smiled and nodded gently.

Looking back at the road behind me, the night was even deeper. In the thick, inky darkness, everything that had happened and everything that hadn't happened yet was covered up. But some faint emotions were growing stronger in the darkness.