Chapter 517 High-Stakes Gamble
She finally heard the words she wanted, but Shang Ruyi still suppressed the violent pounding of her heart and kept her expression calm, even though she could almost hear her heart pounding and her blood rushing.
She said, "Your Highness, don't you believe me?"
Chu Ruoyan raised her chin, her arrogance revealing a hint of stubbornness: "I don't believe it."
Shang Ruyi asked, "If a disaster were to truly befall us, what would the Eldest Princess do?"
"..."
Chu Ruoyan was speechless.
She had originally intended to forcefully end the conversation, completely unprepared for Shang Ruyi's words, which were both gentle and firm, leading her to this point, and now this sentence awaited her, leaving her utterly at a loss for words. Just as she was at a loss, Shang Ruyi continued, "If a disaster truly befalls, then the prophecy of a comet appearing and calamity arising will not be false."
"..."
"Then, the solution that my uncle risked his life to offer was not a deception of the emperor, but rather a sincere act of concern for His Majesty."
"..."
"In that case, Your Majesty need not kill him, right?"
When she said this, she completely disregarded the proper etiquette between ruler and subject, looking directly into Chu Chengfei's eyes. The young emperor, who already lacked sufficient prestige and courage, was intimidated by Shang Ruyi's relentless pressure and couldn't help but feel a little timid, subconsciously letting out an "uh."
Shang Ruyi immediately replied, "Okay!"
Before the other person could react, she continued, "If we don't kill him, we don't need to pardon him, and His Majesty won't need to use this joyous occasion of bestowing a marriage to dispel the ominous signs in the palace, right?"
The more Chu Ruoyan listened, the more her brows furrowed.
After a moment, she finally made sense of it and sneered, looking at Shang Ruyi and saying, "Interesting. Are you trying to pin all your hopes on a disaster?"
"..."
"For your own sake, you actually wish for disaster to befall you?"
With that label on her, Shang Ruyi's aura deepened, and Chu Chengfei immediately frowned, glaring angrily at her.
Shang Ruyi thought about it calmly and shook her head, saying, "This humble woman dares not hope for such a thing."
"..."
"My hope is that there will be no more strife in the world and no more suffering for the people. Therefore, I will not ignore the existence of disasters, but will face the possibility of disasters head-on. If we cannot prevent them from happening, we will do our best to guide and resolve them."
"..."
"I believe even more that there is no one in this court who wants to harm Your Majesty; they are all thinking of the country and its people."
"..."
“But if Your Majesty and the Princess disregard this for the sake of a marriage, it would surely chill the hearts of all the officials.”
Chu Ruoyan frowned.
She originally wanted to pin a accusation on Shang Ruyi, making it much easier to force her to submit; but unexpectedly, Shang Ruyi also delivered a passionate speech, saying that there would be no more strife in the world and no more suffering for the people, leaving her with no room to say anything more.
At this point, Chu Ruoyan had no time to argue with her anymore.
So, the princess took a deep breath, stared intently at Shang Ruyi, and said, "Very well, Madam Shang. I don't know where you get your confidence from, but since you want to use this disaster to cleanse your uncle's sins—such a vicious idea, I will not let you get away with it."
"..."
Let's make a bet!
"..."
"The appearance of a comet signifies impending disaster; this prophecy is utterly unbelievable!"
Shang Ruyi stared at her with red eyes, a half-smile on her face, and said, "If a calamity were to befall you, what would Your Majesty and the Princess do?"
Chu Ruoyan said, "Then, I will pardon your uncle!"
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi's eyes brightened even more, but she did not agree immediately. Instead, she thought for a moment and then said in a deep voice, "No, it's not a pardon!"
Chu Ruoyan was taken aback.
Chu Chengfei was also dumbfounded—Shang Ruyi had gone through all this trouble just to save her uncle's life, hadn't she?
Why not even grant a pardon?
Just as the two were dumbfounded, Shang Ruyi calmly said, "Pardon is when a criminal is originally guilty, but His Majesty is kind-hearted and grants leniency and pardons him. However, if disaster really occurs, my uncle risked his life to offer a solution that was only for the sake of His Majesty's country and people. This is not a crime, but a merit."
"..."
"Therefore, at that time, I request Your Majesty to declare my uncle innocent in front of all civil and military officials—"
She was about to say, "His proposed solution is also correct," but after a moment's thought, she swallowed the words. Chu Chengfei, however, was already somewhat bewildered by these twists and turns, and could only look blankly at his sister whom he completely trusted.
Chu Ruoyan frowned her willow-like brows, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded gently at him.
Chu Chengfei said, "Okay!"
"but,"
Chu Ruoyan immediately added, "Natural and man-made disasters are inevitable. We need to set a time limit; we can't just say that if disasters occur after several decades, we should attribute them all to celestial phenomena."
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and said, "Of course."
"..."
"I heard from the old ministers in the court that when a comet appeared in the sky, they spent two days searching for a way to avert it. Although they found one, they didn't use it. Two days later, Emperor Wen passed away. In other words, it was only four days in total. And now we are—"
Chu Ruoyan said coldly, "It's already the third day."
"..."
"In other words, if no disaster occurs by tomorrow, Madam Shang—"
"I concede."
"So, this document you have—"
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly and looked down at the imperial decree of marriage that had not yet been copied. Although her fingertips trembled slightly, she still subconsciously gripped the document tightly, as if using this action to give herself some strength.
Victory is found in the midst of danger.
Moreover, what they demand is not an ordinary victory, nor even a great victory like the one against Xue Xian's army in Fufeng County, but a real one that may determine the fate of the nation.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi calmed herself down, raised her head to look at the still somewhat dazed Emperor and the Princess, who seemed to have bet everything and was acting like a gambler. She said in a deep voice, "If I lose, Your Majesty can have this decree read aloud at the court meeting tomorrow."
"Okay, it's a deal!"
"It's a deal!"
As she finished speaking the last word, Shang Ruyi felt as if a muffled thunder rumbled through the thick clouds above her head. But when she looked at the people in front of her, it seemed that no one had heard the soul-shaking sound. It wasn't until she left the Liangyi Hall, exited the palace, and walked out of the Hanguang Gate that she finally managed to regain her senses from the rumbling.
But when I looked up, my mind went blank again.
The carriage that brought her here is still parked outside Hanguang Gate.
Outside the carriage, a familiar, tall and upright figure leaned against the carriage wall. A breeze blew across his lowered eyelashes, but his expression was cold and stern, like an unyielding iceberg standing in the wind, without a tremor or even a fluctuation of emotion.
Until he raised his head and looked at Shang Ruyi who was slowly approaching, his cold and calm eyes were finally stirred by the wind.
Shang Ruyi was somewhat surprised: "You, you're still here?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye didn't speak immediately. He just looked down at her pale face, which hadn't yet returned to normal. After a while, he said, "Let's go."
After saying that, he turned around and pushed open the car door.
"...?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback. She thought that since Yuwen Ye was waiting here, he would definitely ask her a question, even if it was just a single sentence.
Unexpectedly, he didn't utter a single word.
But Shang Ruyi didn't say much. She just looked at him and obediently got into the carriage. Soon, the carriage carried the two silent people back to the Yuwen residence.
By this time, it was already late.
Upon returning to the manor, before the two could even go to their room, Xue Daotong, who had been waiting for them, came forward to greet them, saying that the Duke was waiting for them in the study to discuss matters. Shang Ruyi knew that this was a hurdle they would have to overcome, so she followed Yuwen Ye, whose face was grave, inside.
Upon entering the study, one sees Yuwen Yuan sitting upright in front of them. Judging from his somber expression, he must have already received news that they had been to the Ministry of Justice prison and even met with the Emperor in the palace.
Shang Ruyi immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Father."
Yuwen Yuan didn't speak immediately, but just looked at her with his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed. His deep-set eyes were hidden under his high brow bones, making it impossible to see his gaze. One could only feel a daunting aura surrounding him.
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
After a long while, he finally said, "You have entered the palace to meet the Emperor today."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly replied, "Yes, it was a palace eunuch who summoned Ruyi to the palace."
Yuwen Yuan looked at her quietly for a while. Shang Ruyi thought he was going to ask something else, but after a long time, she only heard him let out a deep breath.
Then, he turned to look at Yuwen Ye, who hadn't uttered a single word the entire way.
Yuwen Yuan asked, "And you, have you made your decision?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi's heart pounded even harder as she cautiously looked at him.
After a long silence, Yuwen Ye finally slowly raised his head. His cold, stern eyes remained calm and undisturbed as he said in a deep voice, "Not yet."
"...?!"
"...?!"
Not only Shang Ruyi, but Yuwen Yuan also showed a surprised expression. Both of them stared at him with wide eyes. After a long while, Yuwen Yuan slowly said in a deep voice, "You still haven't made a decision?"
"..."
Why are you so indecisive?
Although Shang Ruyi had guessed that Yuwen Yuan, as the Grand Chancellor, would definitely have planted his spies in the palace, and that everything she said and did in the palace had already reached his ears before she even returned home, she was still somewhat surprised.
Even more surprising was Yuwen Ye's "indecisiveness".
But he showed no shame whatsoever; instead, his expression became even calmer and more stern.
He said, "Perhaps it's because I've never been a good son to the Duke of Sheng—"
Yuwen Yuan frowned, but before he could speak, Yuwen Ye said calmly, "However, the Duke's mansion already has the best daughter-in-law."
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