Chapter 1246 Half, Half
At this moment, everyone's attention was on Yuwen Yuan. Seeing his strong reaction to the hairpin in Shang Ruyi's hand, they all looked over.
Yuwen Cheng didn't seem to recognize the thing and felt confused. He frowned impatiently, while Yuwen Qian's eyes flickered slightly, as if he remembered something. He turned his face away with a complicated expression.
The moment Yuwen Yuan saw the golden hairpin, a tenderness flashed in his eyes.
This tenderness seemed somewhat out of place in such a tense atmosphere. Even Yuwen Yuan himself sensed it and immediately lowered his head to take a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the tenderness that suddenly welled up in his heart.
But when he looked up again, his expression had softened considerably.
He just frowned as he watched Yuan Gan, tears streaming down his face, fiddling with the gold hairpin in his hand. Shang Ruyi carefully reminded him not to break it. Then he looked at Yuwen Ye, who looked down at his son with a complex emotion in his eyes.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the entire hall became strange.
Although Yuwen Cheng did not recognize the gold hairpin, he immediately realized from Yuwen Yuan's expression that Shang Ruyi was trying to ease the atmosphere. He immediately said coldly, "Father, this matter needs to be decided."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yuwen Qian said, "Third brother, Father has his own decision."
Yuwen Cheng frowned as he looked at him, and even Yu Mingyue whispered "Your Highness the Crown Prince," but Yuwen Qian seemed not to see or hear it, and only said to Yuwen Yuan: "Whatever decision Father Emperor makes, your subjects will obey the decree."
Yuwen Ye also glanced at him.
After an unknown amount of time, Yuwen Yuan finally sighed and said, "This matter... I can consider it."
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The family dinner ended in a less than pleasant manner, but thankfully without a complete breakdown in relations. However, towards the end, everyone was sullen and unhappy, and even when they drank, they drank in silence. As a result, the dinner ended before 9 PM.
Everyone then left the palace and dispersed.
Only after they were seated in the carriage did Yuwen Ye take the hairpin from Yuan Gan, who was curled up in his arms, his eyelids drooping with sleep, and put it back in Shang Ruyi's hair. The carriage began to sway and move forward, and soon Yuan Gan fell asleep. But the two of them sat quietly, their eyes shining like lamps in the dim light.
After a moment of silence, Shang Ruyi finally couldn't help but speak first: "Father, will you agree?"
Yuwen Ye gently shook his head.
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched, and he continued, "Even if he agrees, it won't be such a simple agreement. Just like when I insisted on having Shangdang and Puban before I would go to Luoyang, he will definitely give me even more demanding conditions."
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but smile bitterly: "When will this back and forth ever end?"
When she said this, she was unaware that Shen Wuzheng had already told everyone at the entrance of the Prince of Qin's mansion that someone had to break the deadlock. However, she also vaguely sensed that Yuwen Ye had indeed angered the emperor this time. If the conflict between the father and son intensified, she couldn't even imagine how it would end.
The carriage shattered the recent tranquility on the main road and quickly returned to the Qin Prince's residence. By the time they handed Yuan Gan, who was sleeping like a pig and could not be woken up no matter how much they shook him, to the wet nurse to take him away, and the two of them went to bathe and wash up before returning to their bedchamber, it was already completely dark.
Only one lamp remained in the vast bedchamber, its dim light flickering and inviting sleep. But when Shang Ruyi got into bed and snuggled into Yuwen Ye's arms, the strong heartbeat emanating from his chest did not seem like she was about to fall asleep.
Actually, she is too.
Feeling Yuwen Ye's hand gently pull her close and stroke her back, as if to soothe her frightened mood from the day, Shang Ruyi quietly leaned against him.
Even after a long time, they could still hear each other's conscious breathing.
Yuwen Ye looked down at her: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Shang Ruyi also looked up at him: "When you made this request to Father Emperor, did you really want to go to Luoyang, or—did you just want to provoke Father Emperor?"
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly.
Shang Ruyi said, "No matter how I think about it, I feel that with Father Emperor's temperament, he would never agree to give you these two places. Your request will only make him angry."
"..."
“And you know Father better than I do, so you couldn’t possibly not know this outcome.”
"..."
"So, you just want to make him angry, right?"
Seeing her eyes, which were already succumbing to weariness yet still trying her best to remain clear-headed, Yuwen Ye smiled slightly, his hand still gently stroking her soft back, and said, "Half, half."
"What's the meaning?"
“I do want to make him angry—because this needs to be broken.”
"..."
"If this impasse isn't broken, I, the King of Qin, will never surpass the Crown Prince, and I will never sit on that dragon throne!"
"...!"
Although the couple had been working toward this goal for a long time, this was the first time that Yuwen Ye had openly expressed his thoughts and desires, or rather, the first time he had frankly stated his desires.
Shang Ruyi's heartbeat also suddenly became rapid.
She said, "Oh."
Yuwen Ye said, "Brotherly love and respect, fatherly kindness and filial piety—if no one can restrain themselves and no one breaks this deadlock, I will never be able to break through these two constraints. But—I don't want to leave behind a reputation that will last for generations."
Shang Ruyi said, "I understand."
So, starting with the burning of the treasury in Luoyang, Yuwen Ye was actually trying to provoke Yuwen Yuan. He wanted the other party to make the first move against him so that he would have a legitimate reason to "resist" and ultimately seize power.
But he didn't expect that Yuwen Yuan would not only tolerate everything, but even suggest that he go to Luoyang, to that prosperous and wealthy place, to be an emperor in name only; and his father's show of weakness did indeed soften Yuwen Ye's great ambition to some extent, making him really consider the possibility of retreating to Luoyang.
Shang Ruyi then asked, "And what about the other half?"
"The other half..."
At this point, Yuwen Ye's sharp eyes dimmed slightly, and he said, "I can't deny it, Father is indeed getting old. I can scheme against everything, but I can't help it with him..."
He didn't finish his sentence, and Shang Ruyi nodded in time, signaling him not to continue.
Yuwen Ye said, "Therefore, I want these two places."
"..."
"If he really agrees, then I will go to Luoyang."
"..."
"After he passes away, with these two places as stepping stones, I can return to Chang'an at any time!"
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