Chapter 371 A Very Complicated Relationship
For the next three days, just as Yuwen Ye had said, they began a forced march.
The forced march was different from the ordinary march. Everyone was lightly equipped and moved forward at full speed. They discarded their extra luggage. Even Shang Ruyi got off the carriage, mounted a horse, and rode with everyone else, braving the scorching sun to climb mountains and wade through rivers.
Shen Wuzheng and Tu She'er were very worried, but Shang Ruyi, who had been running around for three days, was tired but in much better spirits.
Although a miscarriage is somewhat harmful to the body, the fetus was not far along, and after all, she was young and in good health. She had recovered a lot after resting on the ship for a while, and now that she was moving around, Shang Ruyi felt as if she had come back to life.
Seeing that even the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Lianguo—who should now be called the Grand Chancellor—was in such a state, some of the people who had been complaining gradually shut up. Although some still couldn't bear the hardship and secretly slipped away, the remaining people had almost all passed the test. They were determined and their marching ability was obviously much higher than that of ordinary people.
Yuwen Ye's forced march was not merely a test for them.
After leaving Yanyue City, they entered Liang Shide's territory. Although they chose a side road to avoid the main force, they still encountered two groups of his men.
However, these two groups were not the main force. When they encountered the first group, they chose to detour and avoid a direct confrontation. When the second group intercepted them, there were only about a thousand people on the other side. Yuwen Ye sensed that the other side had no intention of fighting. Even though he saw that the carriages in their group did not charge, he simply led his troops to charge directly at them. Surprisingly, they did not encounter much resistance and passed through.
After that, they encountered no further obstacles along the way, and Liang Shide's men did not pursue them.
On the fourth day, it started to drizzle.
Although marching in the rain was not easy, no one complained. Instead, it gave the group, who had been exposed to the scorching sun for several days and were almost dehydrated and fainting, a much-needed respite.
Wearing straw hats and raincoats, everyone continued on their way despite the rain.
Under Tushe'er's urging with a dark expression, Shang Ruyi was forced to return to the carriage.
To accompany her, Yuwen Ye also got into the carriage. Shang Ruyi said with some concern, "Won't it upset the people below if you ride in the carriage—especially those from Wanggang Village?"
Yuwen Ye smiled, but did not speak immediately. Instead, he made a soft gesture to her.
Shang Ruyi was startled and immediately shut her mouth.
In the past two days, they have witnessed firsthand the power of Nie Chong's "all-hearing ears." Just as Shan Tong'er said, this person can hear everything. Even in a noisy environment, he can accurately hear what one person is saying in a low voice.
Even when they first encountered Liang Shide's men, he heard the sound of their horses' hooves well in advance, allowing them to prepare and avoid them by taking a detour.
So now, everyone is careful and cautious when speaking to him.
Seeing Shang Ruyi's wary expression, Yuwen Ye smiled again before saying softly, "Those who are truly dissatisfied have already left in the past three days. Besides, as I said, we only have three days of forced march. Once we pass Liang Shide's sphere of influence in Luoyang, there's no need to rush."
"oh."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi lifted the curtain to look at the rain outside, then turned back to look at him and whispered, "Have we passed Luoyang yet?"
To avoid Liang Shide's main force, they took a long detour, and she was not very familiar with the surrounding environment.
Yuwen Ye said, "Once we cross the Yi River, we'll be pretty much out of the Eastern Capital's territory. However, the path we're taking has a mountain road after we cross the river."
Shang Ruyi breathed a long sigh of relief.
She said, "I didn't expect that Liang Shide's men wouldn't keep up with us."
Yuwen Ye lifted a corner of the curtain and glanced back. Behind him, only their troops were silently advancing in the rain. He thought for a moment and said, "It's not that we haven't kept up."
"Um?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, but when she met his deep eyes, she immediately understood and said, "You mean, he doesn't want to come along?"
Yuwen Ye said, "Such a big thing happened at Wanggang Village. He and Xiao Yuansui are allies. It's impossible that he wouldn't care at all or be able to find out any news."
"..."
"Now that Wanggangzhai's power has been reduced by more than half, he has no choice but to reconsider his relationship with us."
"..."
"and--"
"And what?"
Yuwen Ye glanced down at her and said, "Moreover, when I sent Cheng Qiao to transport grain to Xingluo Granary a few days ago, I also had them spread some news, including that the brothers Wang Shaoji and Wang Shaoqiu were going north."
"...!?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately showed a look of astonishment, and her wide eyes unconsciously revealed a trace of panic and fear.
Even though several months had passed and she was far away from Jiangdu Palace, what happened there still haunted her like a nightmare. Even a dream during her light sleep, or a careless remark, would pull her back to that dark night, as if swallowed by a sea of blood.
Moreover, he mentioned the name Wang Shaoji.
Even if this person wasn't the cause of everything, he was still the source of her pain in this nightmare.
Seeing Shang Ruyi's face suddenly turn pale, Yuwen Ye frowned, reached out and supported her shoulder, as if he wanted to say something to comfort her, but at this moment, he couldn't say anything.
Shang Ruyi, on the other hand, took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
When she looked up at Yuwen Ye again, she forced a smile to indicate that she was alright, and then said, "Hearing the name of someone I hate is really uncomfortable."
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her, remained silent for a long while, and then hummed in agreement.
Shang Ruyi then asked, "However, why did you have someone spread this rumor?"
Yuwen Ye said, "It's not really a rumor, but rather a sign. Based on my deduction, Wang Shaoji won't stay in Jiangdu for long; he will definitely head north."
"Why?"
“He is a northerner. His family background, all his power and connections are in the north. Jiangdu is completely unfamiliar to him, and it will be even more difficult for him to deal with the relationship with the southern clans. Moreover, even if he wanted to stay in Jiangdu, all of his imperial guards are northerners, including the troops he takes with him on tours. These people are homesick and cannot stay there indefinitely.”
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi nodded slightly: "Yes, I had heard about it before..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Yuwen Ye understood.
The imperial guards stationed at Jiangdu Palace were different from the old palace guards. They longed to return to the north day and night. Now that the emperor had passed away and there were no more decrees pressing on their heads, they would definitely ask to go north.
She thought for a moment, then said, "Are you spreading this rumor so that Liang Shide will hear it?"
"Um."
"Why?"
Yuwen Ye looked down at her and said, "If Wang Shaoji and his brother Wang Shaoqiu come back, where do you think they will go with hundreds of thousands of troops?"
Shang Ruyi suddenly understood completely and said, "Dongdu! He will return to Dongdu!"
"..."
"And the Eastern Capital has already been occupied by Liang Shide, so they are very likely to clash!"
"good,"
Yuwen Ye said, "Now, Wanggangzhai's power has been greatly reduced, and it may face the return of Wang Shaoji with hundreds of thousands of troops. This is the biggest crisis facing Liang Shide. If he were to harm me now, my father would definitely lead his army eastward to avenge me. In this way, Liang Shide would be attacked from two sides."
"..."
"So, he must have had his reasons for not sending a large army to pursue us this time."
Shang Ruyi nodded, then couldn't help but sigh, saying, "Such a complicated relationship."
"..."
“I thought we would be facing them when we came here, but I didn’t expect that Wang Shaoji’s actions would actually affect our operations.”
Yuwen Ye said, "The world is in chaos now, with heroes rising up from all sides. Forming alliances is very important. Even if you can't unite with other forces, you must be good at using the power of all parties to balance the relationship in order to find your own chance to survive."
Shang Ruyi glanced at him and nodded, "Mm."
As they spoke, amidst the rain and the sound of horses' hooves ahead, the gentle murmur of a river could be heard.
We've reached the Yi River.
Shang Ruyi hurriedly lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside. A river running from north to south lay before them. The river was wide and the water was murky. Although the rain had lessened a bit, after half a day of rain, the river was still turbulent. The wind blew waves that crashed against the banks, creating splashes that were half a person high. This startled the horses near the riverbank, causing them to neigh loudly.
Fortunately, there was a wide stone bridge across the river, so we could cross it.
The people in front dismounted and led their horses, guiding the group across the stone bridge one after another. When it was their turn, because the stone bridge was not very wide, just wide enough for a carriage to pass, they were worried about the risk of the carriage overturning. So they asked Shang Ruyi and Yuwen Ye to get off first and wait for the carriage to pass before they crossed.
So Shang Ruyi got off the carriage.
As soon as she stood still, a light drizzle fell on her, and she immediately felt a chill.
Shang Ruyi instinctively reached out and hugged her own arm.
Just then, an umbrella was placed over their head.
Shang Ruyi looked up and saw that it was Yuwen Ye, who was holding an umbrella and pulled her to his side.
Suddenly, the drizzle was blocked out, and all that could be heard was the soft sound of raindrops falling on the oil-paper umbrella, sometimes near, sometimes far, like a lover's whisper in one's ear.
For some reason, even though she had just been covered in a light drizzle and felt a little cool, she suddenly felt hot again.
Not only was my body hot, but my face was also involuntarily burning.
It seemed to be the body heat from Yuwen Ye's body; the two were too close, and it wafted over, causing Shang Ruyi to subconsciously take a step to the side.
But Yuwen Ye reached out and pulled her back to his side.
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