Chapter 1305 After the Thunder, the Sun Shines Again
After breakfast, Yuwen Ye took Shang Ruyi out of the palace. Now, they were in charge of everything inside and outside the palace, so they no longer needed the emperor's permission to leave the palace as before. Everything was unimpeded.
As soon as you step out of the palace gate, a carriage is waiting outside.
Shang Ruyi got into the carriage with him. Hearing the driver's shout outside, the carriage swayed and lurched away from the palace gate and headed forward. Along the way, they could hear voices coming from both sides of the road from time to time. Shang Ruyi lifted the curtain and looked at the pedestrians outside. Although it was not as bustling and lively as before, the city had regained some of its former liveliness and prosperity, and even the shops on the street had reopened.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and then glanced back at the person beside her.
Unfortunately, Yuwen Ye was squinting, seemingly resting, and she couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If only she could let him see these scenes, she hoped he could understand that the killing had gone far enough.
Just as she was sighing inwardly, Yuwen Ye's voice suddenly rang out: "What are you sighing about?"
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched slightly, and she immediately looked up at him. She saw that Yuwen Ye had opened his eyes, but he was also looking at her with half-closed eyes and a cold expression.
Shang Ruyi said, "It's nothing, I'm just feeling a bit sentimental looking at the scenery outside."
"We've seen all of this before, what's there to be sentimental about?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at him and said, "Last night there was lightning and thunder. I thought there would be a storm. If that were the case, the city would be full of mud and puddles today, and the people would not be able to walk freely like they do now."
"..."
"But to my surprise, after a night of thunder and lightning, it didn't rain."
"..."
"I'm really lucky."
Yuwen Ye looked at her: "You call this luck?"
Shang Ruyi said, "After thunder comes rain, that's what everyone is used to; but to see the sun shine again after thunder is lucky."
"..."
Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he let out a soft hum and closed his eyes.
Seeing his noncommittal expression, Shang Ruyi sighed inwardly.
The carriage traveled on for a while and finally arrived at the Crown Prince's residence.
From the moment Shang Ruyi entered the alley, she felt the surroundings suddenly become quiet. This was because the alley was entirely within the territory of the Crown Prince's residence, and ordinary people would not dare to approach it easily. Moreover, since Yuwen Ye sealed off this place and the Qi Prince's residence the night before last, not even birds dared to land here. At this moment, apart from rows of warriors standing with their swords at their sides, only their carriage was traveling along the entire long street. The clattering sound of the wheels rolling over the ruts was monotonous yet slightly unsettling.
Finally, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Crown Prince's residence.
The place was already surrounded by soldiers in layers, and two tall figures stood at the entrance, namely Shen Tu Tai and Shi Yu Tao. They were fully armored, with one hand on their hip and the other hand on the sword at their waist. As soon as they saw the King of Qin and the Queen of Qin get off the carriage, they immediately stepped forward to greet them with cupped hands.
"Greetings to the King of Qin, greetings to the Queen."
Yuwen Ye waved his hand dismissively: "How is it here?"
Shen Tu Tai said, "As Your Highness instructed, this subordinate has also brought all the people from the Qi Prince's residence here. Food and tea have been brought in. Before, they were crying out for mercy, but today they are quiet and are just waiting for Your Highness's decision."
Yuwen Ye nodded: "Open the door."
Shang Ruyi's breathing was a little tense, but she still followed closely involuntarily. She saw Shen Tu Tai turn around immediately after receiving the order and personally unlock the iron lock on the gate, and the seal was easily peeled off.
Just as he was about to reach for the door, three loud thuds suddenly echoed down the quiet street.
The sound was very soft, like the sound of a stick tapping the ground.
There were almost no outsiders here besides them, and the other guards didn't have any sticks or anything like that in their hands, so where did the sound come from?
Shang Ruyi subconsciously glanced back, but saw nothing. She then looked at Yuwen Ye and Shen Tu Tai, and found that they had also looked around, but found nothing, and looked surprised.
Did I hear that right?
Yuwen Ye said, "Open the door."
"yes."
Shen Tu Tai then reached out and pushed—
With a creak, the door opened.
Suddenly, a deathly wind blew out from inside.
Inside the open courtyard behind the gate, a group of people sat on the ground. There were men and women, young and old. Some were dressed in fine clothes, while others were dressed simply. Some seemed to have injuries, while others were completely unharmed. But every face was filled with fear and helplessness. They looked like a flock of lambs being led to slaughter, waiting for the fatal blow to fall.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but frown.
Upon seeing the gate open, those who had been slumped on the ground stood up, their faces full of anticipation. But when they saw that it was the King of Qin and his queen who had entered, along with two fierce-looking generals behind them, they immediately showed expressions of terror and retreated in fear.
Only a few brave souls, seeing no way to retreat, simply knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Yuwen Ye: "Your Highness, Your Highness, spare our lives!"
"Your Highness, spare us! Spare us!"
"We know nothing! We know nothing about what the Crown Prince did!"
"Please forgive us, Your Highness."
Yuwen Ye coldly swept his gaze across each unfamiliar face and said, "You dare to beg for mercy?"
Upon hearing him speak, everyone fell silent, staring at him pitifully, not daring to breathe. Yuwen Ye stepped forward, his voice sharp and stern as he rebuked, "You are all subjects of the Eastern Palace, receiving salaries from the court, and are obligated to uphold the integrity of the Crown Prince. Yet you do not think of repaying your duty, but instead incite the Crown Prince and Prince Qi to plot rebellion and treason! Your crimes are unforgivable!"
Upon hearing the last few words, everyone turned pale and collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Shang Ruyi's breath caught in her throat.
But the next moment, Yuwen Ye took a breath and said, "However, Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. Although the punishment of axe and halberd cannot be abolished in the Spring and Autumn Annals, the heart of compassion can not be ignored even in thunder."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him.
Yuwen Ye, seemingly oblivious, continued, "Moreover, since the Crown Prince is plotting a rebellion, his subordinates are merely serving their master and may not necessarily share his evil intentions. If they are all implicated, it would disrupt the harmony of heaven and earth and further damage Your Majesty's wisdom."
Upon hearing these words, the eyes of the people below lit up, as if they had been walking in darkness for a long time and finally seen the light. They immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down their faces, shouting, "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Qin! Thank you, Your Highness Prince Qin!"
Yuwen Ye then said coldly, "However, while the death penalty may be waived, punishment will not be escaped. All those from the Eastern Palace will be exiled to Lingnan; the former staff of the Qi Prince's Mansion will be exiled to Qianzhong."
Although being exiled to those desolate lands was undoubtedly a miserable experience, compared to the impending doom and potential execution of their families that everyone had been anticipating in recent days, this was already incredibly good news. They all kowtowed repeatedly to Yuwen Ye, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"
Yuwen Ye said coldly, "Take him away."
Shen Tu Tai and Shi Yu Tao, standing behind him, were also somewhat surprised when they heard these words.
Yesterday, they brought 500 men to gather the people from the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Qi's residence together, and sealed off the Crown Prince's residence. They almost thought that Yuwen Ye would kill everyone here, and they were prepared for the massacre. But unexpectedly, he changed his mind overnight and exiled these people instead.
As for the reason—
The two glanced at the Qin Princess standing gently beside Yuwen Ye, and seemed to understand.
They immediately obeyed and led the people out of the mansion.
Shang Ruyi stood at the entrance of the Crown Prince's residence, watching the grateful people who had escaped death walk out. Just as almost everyone had come out and they were about to turn and leave, she saw a somewhat thin figure slowly walk out.
This is a young maid, with disheveled hair and a haggard appearance.
The moment she stepped out the door, a gust of wind suddenly blew by, blowing away the loose hair that fell across her forehead. Shang Ruyi immediately noticed a scar on her forehead, which looked quite fresh, probably not long ago.
As soon as Yuwen Ye saw her, his brows furrowed.
Sensing the change in his expression, the girl held her breath, her foot sinking as she stepped over the threshold, nearly tripping over it.
Fortunately, at that moment, Shang Ruyi reached out and helped her up. The maid immediately knelt down in fear: "Your Highness, this servant has offended you unintentionally. Please forgive me."
Shang Ruyi stepped forward and silently stood between her and Yuwen Ye, saying gently, "The journey to Lingnan is long and arduous, so please take good care of yourself."
After saying that, he took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and stuffed it into her hand.
The maid couldn't believe it for a moment. She hurriedly looked up at Shang Ruyi and met her eyes, which were full of concern and tenderness. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she took the silver and kowtowed heavily before turning and leaving.
Only after watching her figure disappear into the distance at the end of the long street did Shang Ruyi breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, Yuwen Ye's voice sounded softly behind her: "You think I would kill her?"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
She turned to look at Yuwen Ye and saw that although he was cold, he did not exude any murderous intent. She felt that her caution just now had been a bit excessive, so she said softly, "No, it's not."
"..."
"I just think that she is so young and should live a good life—like Wo Xue back then."
"snort."
Yuwen Ye didn't speak, but lightly flicked his sleeve and walked down the steps to leave.
Shang Ruyi followed them down, and just as the two were about to get into the carriage, suddenly, the three very soft clattering sounds rang out again. The two instinctively turned their heads and were immediately taken aback.
Two figures appeared on this long street, slowly walking past the East Palace gate, chanting as they went: "The vast天地 (heaven and earth) have no end, the sun and moon cycle endlessly..."
Written before the ending
The first daughter-in-law of a prominent family (actually, I prefer the first edition's title, "I Became the Daughter-in-Law of Emperor Gaozu") ends here.
Thank you everyone for following along.
So, did I not make it too angsty? This book is pretty sweet, isn't it?
I saw some readers in the comments section thinking that the story would continue, but it won't. Both versions of the book's title focus on Ruyi's role as a daughter-in-law. Once Yuan Ge's political career ends, her role as a daughter-in-law will also be over.
The impetus for writing this book is different from that for my previous stories. My earlier books were all about a woman living in ancient society in my mind, and I wanted to tell a story about her, whether tragic or joyful. But this book is for critique. And the target of that critique, I believe everyone has guessed, is Yu Mingyue, or rather, the soul that traveled from modern times to ancient times and entered Yu Mingyue's body.
This person is basically covered in flaws I dislike: arrogance, acerbity, misogyny, and so on. Don't be surprised why I would criticize a contemporary like this; it's because I've indeed found too many people around me who are benefiting from the times, riding the coattails of the system to mock the "backwardness" of the ancients—it's like sitting in a speedboat and mocking Pan Zhanle for swimming too slowly.
The problem lies in the system, not the people.
The idea of "backward people" only exists within the same historical context and system.
In the same living environment, I don't think people from ancient times who relied almost entirely on modern tools would have fared worse than modern people, because machines only execute tasks, but miracles are created by the warmth of human hands.
Of course, I'm not criticizing industrialization; ultimately, I just believe that people shouldn't be too arrogant.
This book should be one of the few in my works with a happy ending, and it's even "double virginity" (both characters are virgins). To be honest, I don't really like forced double virginity stories that ignore the characters and historical context. A character should be behaving as they would in their own time. My writing and ideas don't try to please anyone; they only care about the characters' authenticity and the story's completeness. This time, however, it's a double virginity story because—the real-life figures based on these two characters might actually have been virgins in history, and their relationship was sickeningly sweet. As their stepmother, I could only create some obstacles for them, but even that was just adding a little chili to the syrup—a bit of SM.
In short, although this book was written for criticism, it was very enjoyable to write. The only problem was that there were too many war scenes that gave me a headache. On the one hand, I had to follow the historical timeline, but on the other hand, I couldn't write it as a complete documentary. So I could only ramble on. If you find any inconsistencies with historical facts, please don't blame me. Erfeng is invincible, and I'm just a writer of lowly romance novels.
That's all.
Wishing everyone a happy life, and that, like Ruyi, you may find your soulmate at first sight.
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