Chapter 948 I Miss You...

Seeing that Shang Ruyi seemed lost in thought, Tushe'er asked softly, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"

"Well?"

Shang Ruyi snapped out of her daze and immediately shook her head to cover it up: "It's nothing."

Tushe'er blinked. After all, she had been with Shang Ruyi since childhood and they knew each other very well. She had clearly seen the deep sadness welling up in Shang Ruyi's eyes, but since she said "it's nothing," she didn't press further. She simply said softly, "These past two days, the Princess Consort has been preoccupied with the Emperor's affairs and hasn't had a proper rest. Why don't you take a nap? I'll take the young prince out to play."

Shang Ruyi paused for a moment, then nodded: "Mm."

So, Tushe'er picked up Xiaoyuanzi, who was shaking a rattle drum loudly, and went outside. Shang Ruyi smiled as she watched her son's happy face. The smile on her face slowly faded only after they left Qianqiu Palace.

A deeper sorrow than before welled up in my heart.

She knew she shouldn't think about him, not only because it was over between them, or rather, it never even started, but also because she should be more careful and cautious than ever before. Thinking about him, or even just remembering him, was a very dangerous thing for her.

Shang Ruyi got up and went to the inner hall. Feeling exhausted, she threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

It has been almost half a month since Yuwen Ye left.

The pillows, blankets, and even the few pieces of clothing he left behind—his presence was almost completely gone, as if a large part of his heart was empty, and the Thousand Autumns Palace felt so desolate.

Half-asleep, Shang Ruyi murmured, "I miss you..."

...

Time flies, and it's already April. The weather has been fine since spring began, and the flowers in the inner courtyard are blooming in waves, attracting bees and butterflies to dance around, creating a lively scene.

But at this moment, Shang Ruyi calmed down and set out her writing implements to practice calligraphy.

Before she got married, she loved writing because it calmed her mind. But since getting married, she has hardly had a peaceful day. She was either dealing with the storms of the court or going out to war with Yuwen Ye. Naturally, she couldn't calm her mind. Her calligraphy had been neglected for many years, so much so that when she picked up the pen today, it felt quite rusty.

After finally finishing writing one, she examined it while silently reciting: "How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same robes with you..."

Just then, Tushe'er brought over some tea and said with a smile, "Miss's handwriting is much better than before."

Shang Ruyi knew she was just flattering her, so she deliberately asked, "What's good about it?"

"Um……"

Tushe'er rolled her eyes and said, "Miss's handwriting is much stronger than before."

Shang Ruyi laughed and scolded, "That's called vigorous and powerful, not strong and energetic. You shouldn't talk nonsense if you don't understand, lest you become a laughing stock. Besides, isn't my calligraphy also called strong and energetic?"

Tushe'er, having been exposed by her, could only stick out her tongue.

Shang Ruyi told her to put the calligraphy aside, then rotated her somewhat stiff wrists, spread out another sheet of snow-white Xuan paper, and began to write another poem with soft brushstrokes—

The grasshoppers' wings flutter and swarm. May your descendants be numerous and prosperous.

The grasshoppers' wings chirp and twitter. May your descendants be numerous and abundant.

The grasshoppers' wings flutter and sing. May your descendants thrive and multiply.

...

Just as she was getting into the swing of writing, she suddenly heard a series of footsteps outside, as if someone was walking into the courtyard.

Shang Ruyi looked up and saw that Tu She'er had immediately gone out. She returned a short while later with a helpless smile on her pretty face. She said, "Your Highness, go out and see. Someone has brought gifts again."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi frowned and said, "What am I supposed to see? Hurry up and cancel the order!"

Tushe'er said with a wry smile, "I dare not refuse the gifts from the old lady of the Duke of Qiao and the lady of the Marquis of Pingnan."

"..."

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi didn't say anything more. She put down her pen, got up, and went outside. She saw two eunuchs who had helped carry the things over standing under the eaves, smiling and bowing to Shang Ruyi: "Your Highness."

Shang Ruyi nodded and saw that the table next to her was full of gifts.

There were several bolts of brocade, seemingly rare new and fresh in color, a pair of phoenix hairpins neatly arranged in a brocade box, a finely carved white jade Guanyin statue, and several baskets of tangerines emitting a faint sweet fragrance.

Shang Ruyi couldn't help but say, "How come there are so many?"

One of the eunuchs said with a smile, "The two ladies originally intended to come and pay their respects to the Princess, but upon hearing that the Princess has been feeling unwell these past few days, they decided not to come and disturb her. They only sent us to deliver the gifts. If the Princess has no further instructions, we will take our leave."

Shang Ruyi immediately gave a wink.

Tushe'er, who was standing nearby, had already prepared a wad of money. He went over and gave it to the two eunuchs. The two eunuchs kowtowed and left happily.

Shang Ruyi looked back at the food on the table and sighed deeply.

Tushe'er laughed and said, "Your Highness, they really know how to come up with ideas."

Although Shang Ruyi hasn't left her house these days, not only Chu Ruoyan has come to visit, but also these people who bring gifts.

Since Yuwen Ye led his troops into battle and learned that the emperor had bestowed the name "Yuan Gan" upon Xiao Yuanzi, the court officials had keenly sensed something amiss and were all starting to stir. Unfortunately, Yuwen Ye had left Chang'an, and no matter how hard they tried, it was not appropriate for outsiders to directly enter the palace to pay their respects to Princess Qin. Although some people did send gifts, Shang Ruyi returned all of them, citing the prince's absence and the difficulty in handling them.

These people then began to think of other ways.

As a result, the ladies who had dealings with Shang Ruyi, or even those who had only met her once, began to frequent Qianqiu Palace. Even several concubines from Yuwen Yuan's harem would occasionally come over to sit, play with Xiao Yuanzi, and exchange intimate words. They also began to send gifts to Shang Ruyi.

Shang Ruyi could no longer return these gifts.

After all, too much clarity leaves no room for fish. No matter how capable Yuwen Ye is in warfare, he still needs someone in the court to speak for him. This kind of courting isn't just about him currying favor with others, but also about others currying favor with him. Shang Ruyi had previously returned all those lavish gifts because she didn't want to make it too obvious, but the exchange of gifts between ladies doesn't need to be so rigid.

This can be seen as her expressing her stance.

However, since it was neither a festival nor a special occasion, and there was no reason for her to accept gifts without giving them away, Princess Qin couldn't accept them for nothing. So, after receiving the gifts, she would always take out something from the storeroom that was more valuable than the gifts from others, as a return gift.

Over time, she suffered quite a loss.

So seeing this today, I was filled with resentment, but since the goods had already been delivered, I couldn't return them. I could only instruct Tushe'er, "Call Woxue and the others to come and move all these things into the storeroom. Also, bring the order slip over, and I'll see what I can get back."

Tushe'er smiled and agreed, then turned and left.

It was quite a while before Wo Xue and Chang Wan finally arrived. Shang Ruyi wrote two more sheets of paper and put them aside, asking, "Why did it take so long?"