Chapter 769 Are you feeling unwell?
Seeing her like a cat with its fur standing on end, Yuwen Ye laughed as he pulled her back onto the bed with a little force, saying, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
Shang Ruyi had already woken up by this time and immediately glared at him.
Shen Tu Tai was leading troops into battle. It is important to know that there are no small matters when it comes to commanding troops. Moreover, his attack on Songzhou was clearly a preparation for the future attack on Luoyang, the eastern capital, by the Prince of Qin. The implications were self-evident, and he could not be careless. It was only after hearing that Yuwen Cheng was causing trouble that Shang Ruyi became so nervous.
How could it be a small matter?
Seeing her resolute expression, as if she absolutely had to know even if she couldn't do anything about it, Yuwen Ye smiled, leaned against the headboard, and pulled her even closer into his arms, saying, "It's really nothing serious. If it were anyone else making a fuss, Shentu Tai wouldn't need to write to me. It's just because it's the third brother—"
At this point, his eyes turned cold.
This time, when Shen Tu Tai led the troops into battle, Yuwen Ye secured immense power for him, freeing him from the control of Chang'an. No military supervisor was even appointed – of course, Yuwen Cheng's presence was the primary "supervisor." However, since the last battle at Cangbai Mountain, when Shen Tu Tai, in order to save Shan Tong'er, forcibly seized Yuwen Cheng's weapon from the bloodthirsty Yuwen Cheng, this shocking act shattered Yuwen Cheng's spirit. After that, whenever Yuwen Cheng encountered Shen Tu Tai again, even though he outwardly maintained his arrogant and domineering demeanor as the Prince of Qi, Yuwen Ye knew very well that deep down, he still harbored an instinctive fear of Shen Tu Tai.
Yuwen Ye recommended Shen Tu Tai to lead the expedition to Songzhou because he anticipated that Yuwen Yuan would want him to make some contributions in the next battle in order to erase the defeat of the Prince of Qi in losing Taiyuan. Therefore, he chose Shen Tu Tai.
Unexpectedly, before the battle even began, Yuwen Cheng still managed to cause trouble.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What exactly happened?"
Yuwen Ye let out a deep breath and said, "During the march, Yan Jie suddenly proposed to divide the troops to go to Xingluocang to strengthen the defense of this place, and then join forces with Shentu Tai to besiege Songzhou."
Shang Ruyi frowned upon hearing this.
First, she had experienced the Battle of Xingluocang and knew that the place was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even after Liang Shide occupied Luoyang for so long, he still couldn't take it, which showed how strong the city's defenses were. Furthermore, the people like Yan Buhuai that Yuwen Ye left there had followed him through thick and thin and were exceptionally resolute. If he really wanted them to send troops, he could do so with just one order, without having to divide his forces to do such a thing.
Moreover, their purpose in this trip was to attack the two prefectures of Song and Xu. They should have been single-minded and taken them in one fell swoop. With Yuwen Cheng dividing his troops, it was hard to say what kind of trouble he would cause.
The affairs of commanding troops cannot tolerate the slightest mistake.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but say angrily, "This is utter nonsense!"
After she finished scolding him, she looked at Yuwen Ye with a strange emotion in her eyes and asked softly, "So, what are you going to do?"
Yuwen Ye said, "I wrote to Shen Tu Tai, telling him not to heed the Prince of Qi's suggestion and to attack Songzhou according to the previous plan. If there are any problems, I will cover for him in front of the Emperor. Moreover, I also sent a letter to Yan Buhuai, telling him to continue to defend Xingluo Granary and not to listen to anyone except my orders."
After saying that, he looked down at Shang Ruyi in his arms and smiled, saying, "It's nothing serious, you don't need to worry."
As he spoke, his warm breath sprayed onto Shang Ruyi's cheek, making her already somewhat messy hair sway. Scratching her ears and cheeks caused a ticklish sensation, and Shang Ruyi couldn't help but shrink her neck and look up at him again.
Yuwen Ye asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi paused for a moment, then said softly, "I thought you would go."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing the flicker in her eyes, clearly still shaken, his smile deepened. He reached out and smoothed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as he slowly said, "I said I would stay with you, and of course I won't go back on my word. This is our first child, and no matter what, I still want to be there for him at birth."
The slight coolness before falling asleep, and the unpleasantness of the argument between the two of them during the day, which was insignificant to begin with, seemed to vanish at that moment.
Shang Ruyi felt a warm feeling in her heart, but she snuggled even deeper into his arms.
She only let out a soft "hmm" when she was pressed tightly against his body without any gap between them.
Then she added, "Actually, you don't need to worry about this too much. I can take good care of myself. After you left today, I still had She'er accompany me for a walk on the Thousand Steps Corridor. After we came back, I took a nap, read a book, and ate two bowls of rice for dinner."
Yuwen Ye laughed and said, "It's not just two bowls of rice. You also ate a plate of rouge goose breast, a bowl of perch sashimi, and a bowl of sweet soup."
Shang Ruyi was taken aback. How did he know everything?
He then realized that Tusheer must have asked him about what he had eaten after he came back.
While inwardly cursing She'er as a "traitor," Shang Ruyi blushed at her own good appetite and stammered, "What business is it of yours what I've eaten? What I mean is, if the war requires it, you don't necessarily have to stay by my side. The important things are more important."
Yuwen Ye said, "I know, but don't worry, it's nothing serious."
"..."
"Actually, Shen Tu Tai was being too cautious this time. This was probably the first time he had led troops on a campaign alone after he submitted to me, and he also encountered Yan Jie's mischief. He was worried that something might happen and I wouldn't be able to explain it to my father, so he did this."
After saying that, he gave a cold laugh: "In the past, these messages would not have been sent back."
Shang Ruyi nodded and said "Oh".
She remembered Shen Tu Tai's great reputation, not only for his fighting prowess but also for his fiery temper. The reason he joined Wanggang Village in the first place was because he was disobedient in the army and even killed his superior. Given his personality, he certainly wouldn't be polite to anyone in the army. Now, because he has Yuwen Ye as his master, even if he doesn't consider himself, he has to consider the situation of Yuwen Ye, who has shown him kindness, which is why he has changed his previous hot-tempered behavior.
Furthermore, with Shan Tong'er, Nie Chong, and other brothers by his side, he was even less able to act recklessly.
It seems that what Yuwen Qian said during the day was not wrong.
Humans are constantly cultivating themselves.
Thinking of Yuwen Qian, Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Yuwen Ye and saw him yawn slightly, a rare hint of weariness appearing between his brows. He then lay down beside Shang Ruyi, one arm still around her, the other tucking the blanket around her, saying, "Alright, it's late, hurry—"
"Wait a moment."
Shang Ruyi said, "I have something to tell you."
Yuwen Ye lifted his eyelids to look at her. Perhaps because he was lying down and smelling the faint, sweet fragrance emanating from Shang Ruyi, which made him feel intoxicated and sleepy, the weariness in his eyes deepened. He said in a low voice, "What is it?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I ran into the Crown Prince when I went for a walk in the Thousand Steps Corridor today."
"...!"
Almost instantly, the weariness in Yuwen Ye's eyes vanished as if burned by fire, his gaze immediately sharpening as he looked at Shang Ruyi: "Him? You—"
After a moment's hesitation, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down: "What did he do to you, to him?"
Although Yuwen Ye tried his best to control his emotions, being so close, Shang Ruyi still felt his heart skip a beat for a moment, and his breathing became rapid. She didn't know why he was suddenly so nervous—perhaps it was because Yu Mingyue and Aunt Hui had almost actually harmed her with the hawthorn cake incident, so much so that he couldn't remain calm whenever he heard about encountering their people.
But what can the Crown Prince do to me?
Shang Ruyi found his question laughable, so she immediately asked, "What can he do?"
"……oh?"
"I met him and the Duke of Shenwu talking in the Thousand Steps Corridor. They were discussing how to unify the land, houses, and population registration in Guanzhong. But when I arrived, they had already finished talking, and the Duke had left."
"..."
"However, the Crown Prince knew about my construction of a school in the south of the city, and he talked to me for a while..."
Shang Ruyi slowly recounted the suggestions Yuwen Qian had given her during the day. After finishing, she sighed and said, "I thought I was quite shrewd, but I didn't expect to make so many mistakes from the very beginning. If the Crown Prince hadn't told me those things today, I'm afraid we would have spent all the money and accomplished very little, which would only make us a laughingstock."
She kept talking, but didn't notice that Yuwen Ye's gaze had turned cold.
After a long pause, Yuwen Ye suddenly said, "Why didn't you ask me?"
"ah?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback and looked up at him, only to see Yuwen Ye staring at her expressionlessly. Although his face showed no emotion, the fact that he was expressionless was already a sign of his authority. At this moment, although it couldn't be called intimidation, it gave people a clear understanding that he was already unhappy.
Is he unhappy? Why?
Just because I didn't ask him?
Shang Ruyi realized what he meant, but she was also puzzled by his emotions, so she said, "But that money was a gift from my father. Didn't you say it was mine?"
Yuwen Ye said, "I don't care how you spend the money. If you want to build a school, build whatever you want. I'm just asking you, why didn't you discuss it with me, but instead went to discuss it with him?"
Shang Ruyi immediately retorted, "Who consulted with him?"
"..."
“As I just said, it was the Crown Prince who was investigating the houses and land in Chang’an. He found out about my purchase of a house in Chang Le Fang to build an academy and brought it up with me on his own initiative.”
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye's expression softened slightly.
But it didn't improve much.
He still said, "You should discuss this with me."
Seeing that he seemed stubbornly fixated on the fact that she hadn't told him but had instead told Yuwen Qian about it first, Shang Ruyi sighed and said softly, "But this is my own business, and I just wanted to do it well myself. Even if I had to ask—I would definitely ask you last."
Yuwen Ye frowned: "Why?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Because you are the safest."
"The safest?"
These words were clearly simple, but when they were suddenly spoken at this moment, Yuwen Ye couldn't understand them at all. He felt all sleepiness vanish, propped himself up, stared down at Shang Ruyi, and said in a deep voice, "What's the safest? Explain yourself. Do I need to be safe?"
Seeing that he seemed to be getting stuck on his own thoughts, Shang Ruyi also tried to sit up. However, since she was heavily pregnant, even small movements were slower than usual, let alone getting up from bed. Normally, Tu She'er and the others would help her get up, but now she looked clumsy as she tried to sit up. Although Yuwen Ye's brows were already showing a hint of anger, he still instinctively reached out to support her.
I helped her sit up and face me.
Shang Ruyi sat up, stared into his eyes, and said, word by word, "I mean, you are the safest person for me."
"..."
“When I ask for advice, even if I ask myself, I still consider whether it's right or wrong, beneficial or harmful. But only what you say, I don't consider; I completely believe it. That's why I just asked you, and I still don't quite believe it—”
"..."
"In short, you are like the last line of defense in a war."
"..."
"But when you're fighting a war, you don't always send people to breach your last line of defense, so I don't want to come to you for everything. If I can handle something myself, I'd rather do it myself; that's part of my own self-cultivation."
"..."
"Of course, you must be there when I look for you."
After speaking, she seemed a little angry at her own "incompetence" in this matter, being questioned so thoroughly and having to admit it herself. She was also a little angry at Yuwen Ye's "slowness" and couldn't help but glare at him reproachfully.
Then, a strange expression appeared on Yuwen Ye's face.
It looks somewhat ferocious.
But the reason this ferocity was strange was that it didn't look like anger or ferocity. Instead, it seemed like he was trying to suppress some expression and was desperately controlling the muscles on his face, to the point that the corners of his mouth started to twitch, which made it look somewhat ferocious.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but feel a little worried, and asked softly, "What's wrong with you?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye remained silent.
In fact, because the two were so close, Shang Ruyi could hear that his heartbeat and breathing seemed to have stopped.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but worry, so she quickly moved closer to him and reached out to touch his cheek. She then discovered that the skin her fingertips touched was burning hot, like a burning flame. She recoiled from the heat and became even more worried: "What's wrong with you?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye remained silent.
He just stared intently at Shang Ruyi, and after an unknown amount of time in silence, he finally took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress some fire in his heart. Then he exhaled a long breath and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I'm fine. Go to sleep."
After saying that, he reached out and put his arm around Shang Ruyi, gently pressing her back onto the bed.
Shang Ruyi could only obediently be held down.
Although she was being held down, her mind was still racing. Besides, the two of them were so close that even if Yuwen Ye stepped back a little, how far could he go on a bed? Moreover, even if she didn't understand why he had such a "ferocious" expression, Shang Ruyi was not unfamiliar with the burning breath and eyes that seemed ready to ignite at any moment beneath that expression.
Even though it's been a while since we last saw each other.
Because she was already three months pregnant, coupled with the previous long journey and the battlefield, and being the eldest grandson on whom Yuwen Yuan placed high hopes, this pregnancy was given extra attention. Su Qinglan, who was still unmarried, blushed and clearly reminded Prince Qin and Princess Qin that in order to ensure a smooth delivery, it would be best to have separate rooms for the next few months. If that was not possible, she asked Prince Qin to be mindful of moderation.
Everyone knows what moderation means.
Yuwen Ye is a man with strong desires, a fact he never hides. Shang Ruyi understands this better than anyone else, having been knocked unconscious by him more than once. At the beginning of her pregnancy, she had considered asking him to visit Jin Yu Yuan more often, but Yuwen Ye broke his promise of visiting twice a month and stayed overnight at Qianqiu Palace every night. Now that Chu Ruoyan is under house arrest, he doesn't need to go there at all, but stays by her side.
Is he capable of doing this?
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or to feel schadenfreude. She watched as he deliberately closed his eyes after lying down, but his brows remained furrowed, even forming a vertical line. She couldn't help but wriggle closer to Yuwen Ye and whisper in his ear, "Are you... feeling unwell?"
Yuwen Ye suddenly opened his eyes.
His hot breath, like flames, suddenly sprayed onto Shang Ruyi's face, making her shiver and almost back away. But Yuwen Ye did not let go of the hand that was holding her. At this moment, he only exerted a little force and pressed her vest into his arms.
"Hmm!"
At this point, Shang Ruyi also panicked a little.
She admitted that she was just playing a prank to tease him, but she didn't really mean to start a fire. Besides, with such a big belly... what difference would it make if she started a fire?
Thinking of this, she couldn't break free. She could only open her eyes wide and cautiously look at the man whose eyes were blazing with fire. She was like a rabbit that had unintentionally provoked a tiger. Now she was under the tiger's claws, powerless to resist, and could only try to please him.
Seeing her like this, Yuwen Ye gritted his teeth.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Don't mess with me."
"..."
"Go to sleep!"
After saying that, he took a deep breath, turned around and extinguished the candlestick by the bed, and still held Shang Ruyi in his arms.
The entire inner hall was plunged into darkness.
In the pitch black, her ears were much sharper than usual, especially since they were so close together. Shang Ruyi listened to his breathing and heartbeat, which had finally calmed down after a long time, as if the flames in her heart had finally been extinguished. She silently curled the corners of her lips.
After a long while, whether it was another prank or she suddenly remembered something, Shang Ruyi's voice rang out again in the darkness, softly saying, "By the way, the Crown Prince also said today that the Duke of Shenwu wants to lead troops again."
After a long silence, Yuwen Ye, in the darkness, said, "Oh."
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