Chapter 697 The Crown Prince's Position, What to Do?
The blazing flames flickered before his eyes, but they did not disturb Yuwen Ye's thoughts until a gentle breath approached, pulling him out of the dark abyss.
Turning my head, I saw Shang Ruyi walking up to me.
Under the firelight, her face appeared exceptionally fair and clean after the bloodstains she had stained on the banks of the Cangtou River had been washed away. She was just a little thinner than when she left, and looked even more pitiful.
Yuwen Ye felt a sudden softening in his heart.
However, before he could say anything, Shang Ruyi had already come over and sat down. After thinking for a moment, she moved closer to him, and after a quiet moment, she rested her head on his shoulder. Her soft and fragrant scent immediately enveloped him.
Yuwen Ye was slightly taken aback.
Although this wasn't considered an overly intimate gesture for the couple—after all, they had been closer on horseback just moments before, but no one was watching—now they were in the center of the camp, surrounded by busy figures. They could even see Shen Tu Tai walking over, laughing and scolding as he dragged away Shan Tong'er, who was struggling and trying to get closer.
Normally, Shang Ruyi would not be willing to show such childish behavior in public, especially in the army.
What's wrong?
Thinking of this, he turned his head slightly and pressed his cheek against Shang Ruyi's forehead. When he lowered his eyes, he could see her trembling, long eyelashes, as if they reflected her rapid breathing and uneasy heartbeat.
Yuwen Ye asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi asked, "What about the position of Crown Prince?"
"..."
"When you went on the expedition, Father said that whoever could take Taiyuan would become the crown prince."
"..."
"But you didn't enter Taiyuan City..."
Shan Tong'er had just told him that Yuwen Qian was the one who attacked Taiyuan at the same time as Yuwen Ye, and that they were two forces attacking the city together; but now she understood why General Pasha had offered almost no resistance, yet told Ashina Shali on his return that it was Yuwen Ye who was attacking Taiyuan.
Because Yuwen Ye was always outside the city.
Even at the very end of the war, when Yuwen Qian stormed into the city, Yuwen Ye, in order to capture surrendered soldiers to exchange for him, never entered the city. That's why General Pasha, who had escaped from the city, saw him. After capturing nearly 10,000 surrendered soldiers, he did not linger. After leaving half of his troops behind, he immediately headed north to the Turkic camp under the pretext of "pursuing the fleeing enemy."
So the one who took Taiyuan City was only Yuwen Qian!
All that arduous journey—rescuing Yuwen Cheng at the foot of Cangbai Mountain, venturing into Qi County to subdue Lei Guo, and Nie Chong and others infiltrating Taiyuan City to coordinate with them from within… all of this has only resulted in this outcome. Has this battle been fought in vain?
Thinking about this, Shang Ruyi felt even more conflicted and distressed.
"It's all my fault."
She never wanted to take on too much responsibility, nor was she a self-pitying person. But this time, it was indeed because she was too impulsive. She ran away from Qixian alone and was captured by Ashina Zhuxie. This made Yuwen Ye not even bother to enter Taiyuan City. After capturing the surrendered soldiers, he immediately went north to the Turks to rescue her.
All the hard work along the way was for nothing.
Yuwen Ye did not respond immediately. He only frowned, his eyes, which were fixed on the flames, flickered slightly, as if he was seriously considering whose fault it was.
After a while, he sighed and said, "Never mind, I also bear some responsibility."
"..."
“I shouldn’t have listened to Yu Mingyue’s nonsense and started to doubt you; I shouldn’t have only doubted you but refused to ask you, which made you really believe the news of Shen Wuzheng’s death and do such an impulsive thing.”
"...!"
Upon hearing the name Yu Mingyue, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Just now, Yuwen Ye told her what Yu Mingyue had said to Yuwen Ye privately when she was away, after the plague was completely eradicated, which was when they witnessed the last batch of patients in Anlefang being cured and leaving.
Although he had stolen some of her memories, Yu Mingyue's knowledge and abilities were clearly greater than his own.
Therefore, she should have easily realized her "scheming" from her actions of refusing to marry and remarrying, and used this to provoke Yuwen Ye.
This isn't exactly a sophisticated method, but sometimes, the simpler the method, the more effective it is.
Moreover, Shang Ruyi recalled that when they were discussing Pei Xingyuan's feelings for Lei Yu, Yuwen Ye had said that men also have emotional pride. Not being loved is nothing, but being set aside or chosen for utilitarian reasons is extremely hurtful to a man. Now that she thought about it, his words back then clearly reflected his own feelings.
His own actions, coupled with Yu Mingyue's instigation, have put him in this predicament.
That's why the two of them ended up in this predicament.
Now that the two have opened up to each other and are honest with one another, the predicament is over, but a major mistake has already been made.
It wasn't until this moment that Shang Ruyi came to her senses. No wonder she had such a strong sense of unease about the battle of Taiyuan from the very beginning—some of the things she had taken from Yu Mingyue had become her "instinctive" knowledge, such as Yuwen Yuan's upcoming ascension to the throne and his status as the founding emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty; others had become her nightmares when she was ill, and would occasionally reappear in her dreams, such as the crown prince's mutiny and his death, as well as the tragic end of that entire household.
Some of them became her premonitions.
This time, however, even her premonition was of no use to her.
She really is somewhat useless...
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi sighed heavily again. But just as she was really getting into a self-pitying mood, she suddenly felt her hair at the back of her head loosen.
"Well?"
She looked up in surprise, only to see Yuwen Ye raise his hand, pull out a hairpin from her hair, and throw it into the fire in front of her!
Shang Ruyi immediately panicked: "What are you doing?!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly stretched out his long arm and snatched the hairpin back from the flames.
That was fast!
Shang Ruyi was somewhat taken aback, but she was still instinctively startled and hurriedly grabbed Yuwen Ye's hand: "What are you doing! You'll get burned!"
Yuwen Ye smiled faintly and handed the hairpin to her: "No, I'm fine."
Upon closer inspection, there was indeed no burn, only a little bit of ash on her fingertips from touching the firewood. But Shang Ruyi was still shaken and was about to look up and yell at him when she saw Yuwen Ye say, "I'm just telling you, it's okay if you lose it."
"..."
"What's rightfully mine, I'll always get back."
"..."
"This time, we both made mistakes, and we deserve to have fought this battle for nothing."
"..."
"So from now on, I will not doubt you, and you will trust me."
As he spoke, he placed the hairpin, which hadn't even been heated, back into Shang Ruyi's hand, then grasped her small hand, which was a little cold from fright, and clenched it into a fist: "We still have plenty of opportunities!"
Almost instantly, the chill and unease I felt were dispelled by his resolute words and warm presence.
Shang Ruyi nodded heavily.
But there was an unusual silence.
Sensing something amiss, Yuwen Ye looked down at her and saw that Shang Ruyi's brows were slightly furrowed and her eyes were filled with complex emotions. He asked, "What's wrong?"
Just then, the cook brought over some cooked meat soup and some dry biscuits.
They had been traveling across the grasslands all day and were extremely exhausted. Only now, far from the Turkic camp, could they set up camp and get some food. Although he still felt uneasy, Yuwen Ye immediately took the steaming bowl of soup and handed it to Shang Ruyi first.
Shang Ruyi was indeed starving, so she didn't say anything and immediately took a big gulp.
Although it was just a simple meat soup, the simpler the food, the more rustic its flavor. Moreover, everyone was starving at the time. Shang Ruyi took a sip of the hot soup and felt the rich aroma of oil filling the air. A warm current flowed straight into her heart, and her limbs felt warm all over.
Even though she still had some worries on her mind, she couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh.
"It smells so good!"
Yuwen Ye just smiled faintly and didn't say anything. He picked up the dry biscuit, broke it in half, and threw two pieces into her bowl, saying, "Don't eat too fast if you've been hungry for too long. Wait until it softens a bit before you eat."
"Um."
Shang Ruyi nodded obediently and sipped her soup slowly.
In no time, the flatbread softened and filled a full bowl. She slurped it down, feeling warm all over. Yuwen Ye, who was beside her, also finished eating and handed the bowl and chopsticks to the cook who came to clean up.
At this point, apart from this campsite, the surrounding area was pitch black.
Having already been traveling all day, and with the howling wind making it even by the fire feel bone-chilling, Yuwen Ye was about to let her go back to her tent to rest. But as soon as he looked down, he met Shang Ruyi's preoccupied gaze.
He asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi looked at him: "Are you really still going to compete for the crown prince position?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye didn't speak, but his brows furrowed.
This wasn't an expression of not knowing how to answer the question, but rather one of confusion as to why Shang Ruyi would ask it. Shang Ruyi clearly understood this as well, and after a moment of contemplation, she slowly voiced her unease.
"I was just confused at the time. In the nightmare of that serious illness, I dreamed about all of this. I knew that the crown prince of Emperor Gaozu would stage a coup and die. The people in the crown prince's palace, along with his confidants, concubines, and everyone else, would be implicated and killed."
"..."
"But now it dawns on me that I have never known who the Crown Prince really is."
"..."
"What if it wasn't my older brother, but you?"
As she spoke, she looked at Yuwen Ye with a trembling expression: "If it were you, if you really seized the position of Crown Prince, wouldn't everything I saw in my nightmares fall on your head?"
If I choose him, wouldn't I be choosing a dead end?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com