Chapter 493 I'm Sincere
It was Yuwen Qian.
He tilted his head slightly, looked at Shang Ruyi in the corridor, and smiled, "I'm going to become a poet."
A poet...?
In other words, the judging at the poetry competition?
Although Shang Ruyi's heart was pounding a little, she immediately walked down the corridor and stood in front of him, bowing to him and saying, "Big Brother."
Yuwen Qian smiled at her and said, "Sister-in-law, how have you been?"
"I hope you are well, Brother Lao."
"That's good."
Yuwen Qian said, "I heard that you won another great victory later, and I was worried that you would have to risk your life for Feng Chen again. Fortunately, it wasn't you this time."
"..."
In the fiery sunset, Shang Ruyi's earlobes felt slightly hot.
But she tried her best to calm herself down and said softly, "If I had the strength to serve the court and fight on the battlefield, it would be my honor. But this time, it wasn't my turn."
Yuwen Qian didn't say anything immediately, but just lowered his head and looked at her for a while.
Then he laughed and said, "You really are a surprise."
"...!"
That same phrase again.
These words were only spoken by her uncle and sister-in-law, so they weren't exactly offensive. However, because Yuwen Ye had said them to her before, hearing them from someone else made Shang Ruyi feel uneasy.
But faced with the calm and composed Yuwen Qian, she could only suppress her unease.
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Brother, did you participate in the poetry competition that day?"
Yuwen Qian nodded: "Yes."
As he spoke, he smiled again and said, "Your brother's poem is magnificent and broad-minded. It has also deeply engraved that fire battle that I could never forget into my mind. I'm afraid I will never forget it for the rest of my life."
Shang Ruyi said, "It's a pity we still lost. But the poem that won us first place was indeed—"
"That poem is indeed good, but the one that should be considered the best in the Battle of Fufeng is your brother's poem."
"..."
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, then looked up at him: "What does Big Brother mean—"
Yuwen Qian smiled faintly and said, "I forgot to tell you that I actually submitted your brother's poem. However, the other three poets preferred the one by Guanghan Ke, so your brother came in second place."
"..."
"I also regret this."
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
Yuwen Qian actually chose Shen Wuzheng's poem, which means that he did not want to choose the poem that was ostensibly for the poetry competition of the Battle of Fufeng, but in fact, it did not mention the Battle of Fufeng at all.
Did he make that choice?
Seeing Shang Ruyi's somewhat surprised expression, Yuwen Qian's eyes became more peaceful, and the smile on his lips deepened: "Sister-in-law seems to have some doubts about my assessment?"
"ah?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, then quickly shook her head: "No, I didn't."
She paused, looked at Yuwen Qian again, thought for a moment, and finally said, "Thank you, elder brother."
Yuwen Qian smiled and looked at her for a while, then said, "You don't need to think that I made this decision because of your brother's status. The reason I chose his poem is because it moved me."
"..."
"I mean it."
He spoke these words as if they were spoken casually, yet each word seemed to contain a profound meaning.
Just as Shang Ruyi was feeling confused and heavy-hearted, a cold voice suddenly came from beside her: "Big brother, Ruyi, what are you talking about?"
This voice sounded harsher and colder than Yuwen Qian's gentle and peaceful voice just now. But for some reason, Shang Ruyi was not frightened at all. On the contrary, she felt relieved.
However, when she turned her head and met that cold and stern face, she took a deep breath.
Yuwen Ye had returned at some point and was standing at the end of the other corridor, coldly watching them.
Speaking of which, how come these two brothers both came back all at once?
Shang Ruyi was puzzled, but before she could say anything, Yuwen Qian, who was standing in front of her, smiled and said, "Feng Chen, you've come. My sister-in-law and I were talking about the poetry competition that happened half a month ago."
"..."
Yuwen Ye slowly walked over.
He was still wearing the armor he had worn when he entered the city, clearly having just returned home and not having had time to remove it before coming over. The heavy, gleaming armor reflected a dazzling light in the glow of the setting sun, making it almost impossible to look directly at him. As he walked over, his heavy footsteps seemed to tread on people's hearts.
After a while, he walked up to the two of them.
He glanced at Shang Ruyi, then turned to his elder brother and said with a faint smile, "I didn't expect that you, elder brother, would have such a refined interest."
Yuwen Qian smiled.
After laughing, he said nothing more. Shang Ruyi, however, turned to look at Yuwen Ye with some surprise and asked, "Why are you back so soon?"
She originally thought that after returning to the Ministry of War to report on her work, she would have to settle those people and be busy until the evening.
Yuwen Ye's lips twitched slightly, but he still said calmly, "My elder brother is now serving in the Ministry of War. He has already made preparations, so I don't need to hand over everything one by one. Naturally, he can go home sooner."
As she spoke, she looked up at her elder brother and said, "Thanks to you, elder brother."
Yuwen Qian said, "You've been fighting bravely outside, and as your older brother, I can't help you much, but I can still do my part. By the way, what about your health now—"
"Don't worry, brother, I'm fine now."
"That's good."
The two exchanged pleasantries calmly, just like brothers who had been separated for a long time. However, there seemed to be an unspeakable undercurrent surging beneath their calm exterior, causing Shang Ruyi's heartbeat to become unbalanced and disordered.
After saying a few words, Yuwen Ye turned to her and said, "Let's go."
"oh."
Shang Ruyi and the other man bowed to their elder brother and then left together.
Yuwen Qian stood there, silently watching their figures disappear at the end of the corridor, a bright light in his eyes that was extinguished the moment the setting sun behind him finally sank below the horizon.
He turned and left.
A short while later, Shang Ruyi followed Yuwen Ye back to the room.
As soon as he entered, Yuwen Ye remained silent, only waving his hand quietly. Tushe'er and the others who were serving him in the room immediately withdrew. He then entered the inner room and began to remove his armor.
However, the heavy Mingguang armor is difficult to even put on, let alone remove it by a person.
Seeing that his movements were slow and heavy, Shang Ruyi immediately stepped forward: "Let me do it."
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked up at her.
His eyes were still deep and cold, but they revealed no emotion. However, Shang Ruyi sensed that he didn't seem as happy as when they parted ways before. So, she removed his heavy armor piece by piece.
As she removed the last piece of armor from him, Shang Ruyi whispered, "Are you angry?"
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