Chapter 320 I'm sorry
Before leaving Jiangdu Palace, Shang Ruyi saw nothing at first glance, but even after closing her eyes, the blood-red scene still stained her entire memory.
Even after that, when they were constantly in darkness, the crimson color never faded.
She felt as if she were drowning in a river of blood, bobbing up and down, almost suffocating, yet unable to escape.
That suffocating, throbbing feeling continued to haunt her, consuming all her senses and strength. She didn't know how long it was before she finally managed to wake up from that blood-soaked nightmare.
But before I even opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was pain.
The indescribable pain, as if every bone in her body had been crushed, caused her to let out a low, painful groan before she could even perceive her surroundings: "Ah..."
Immediately, a pair of arms embraced her.
The hands were warm and strong, and when they lifted her up, there was a deliberate gentleness, as if they were touching a fragile porcelain doll, afraid of hurting her. After being lifted up, she was enveloped in a warm embrace that exuded a familiar scent, and the airtight care made her pain seem to dissipate considerably.
However, a nameless pain seemed to well up silently in my heart.
Shang Ruyi slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of bright, deep eyes that seemed to reflect the pain in her heart and soul.
Yuwen Ye...
Only him.
In fact, just now, before she had fully regained her senses, that familiar aura had already told her who was holding her tightly, but even after opening her eyes and seeing him, Shang Ruyi still felt a little scared.
The two remained silent, facing each other.
The next moment, Shang Ruyi reached out and pushed him away.
But when she raised her hand, she realized that the pain of her whole body being crushed was not a scene from a nightmare, but a real experience. She thought she had raised her hand, but in reality, she had only moved her fingers and wrist. This movement had already exhausted all the strength she had accumulated in the dream, and she collapsed weakly into the arms that were holding her tightly.
...
How could this be? So weak.
Shang Ruyi wanted to look down at herself, but what she saw was Yuwen Ye pressed tightly against her. This seemingly intimate scene deepened the faint pain in her heart.
She said, "Let go..."
When she opened her mouth, she could no longer make a sound, and could only utter those two words in a hoarse, breathy voice. Fortunately, the two of them were close enough that Yuwen Ye could hear her clearly.
Because, the next moment, his expression froze.
Shang Ruyi turned her face to one side and repeated, "Let go."
"..."
Those eyes, so close yet so far, flickered with a light that seemed to be shattered.
However, Yuwen Ye slowly released her—not immediately, but gently supporting her back and the back of her neck, and steadily placed her back on the bed until she was completely settled into the soft bedding. Only then did he remove his hands from her back, and then pulled up the brocade quilt that had fallen to the side and gently covered her with it.
He propped himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
His body temperature and scent vanished in an instant.
For some reason, Shang Ruyi immediately felt a chill, which came from the depths of her heart and spread to her limbs and bones, as if it would freeze her in the next moment.
She silently shrank further into the blankets.
Yuwen Ye looked at her quietly, then reached out and tucked the blanket around her more tightly.
Whether it was a misperception or not, his face also seemed somewhat pale. Not only pale, but his usually cold and stern eyes seemed to be filled with an indescribable sorrow. The two remained silent for a long time—in fact, it was Shang Ruyi who turned her face to the side, while he focused on looking at her.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally spoke, uttering the first words the two exchanged between them—
"sorry."
This time, however, Shang Ruyi did not respond at all. She simply lowered her eyelids blankly, and there was no light in her once bright eyes.
Yuwen Ye didn't say anything more, he just looked at her.
Although he didn't speak, his eyes flickered, and his dry, cracked lips opened and closed several times, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't utter a single word.
After a long while, someone knocked on the door and said softly, "Second Young Master, it's time—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye said, "Understood."
The people outside immediately fell silent.
Yuwen Ye looked down at Shang Ruyi for a while, but ultimately said nothing. He just sighed softly, got up, and left.
However, as he opened the door and walked out, Shang Ruyi slightly raised her eyelashes and vaguely noticed that although he was wearing brand-new clothes, there were several places stained with faint red. When he pushed the door open, the person outside couldn't wait to say, "Second Young Master, it's time to change the dressing."
Yuwen Ye said in a deep voice, "Let's talk about it downstairs."
After saying that, he couldn't help but look back. Seeing that Shang Ruyi was still staring blankly with her eyes lowered, he silently closed the door.
The room immediately fell silent.
Without needing to look closely, Shang Ruyi knew she was in a room that wasn't very spacious. The doors and windows were closed, but there was a faint moisture in the air. Moreover, as her senses returned, she felt a slight, almost imperceptible fluctuation. Therefore, this room must be a cabin, and they were on a ship.
So... they've already left Jiangdu Palace?
They left safely...
Everything that happened there—the beautiful, the broken, the bloody, the cruel—is all in the past…?
Shang Ruyi didn't know whether she was sad or upset, or both. Although she had experienced many things, including life and death, the experience of holding a long sword and watching the blade slice through the emperor's throat, staining her body with blood, was enough to break her heart.
She even wondered why she was still alive.
Wasn't she in excruciating pain, on the verge of death? Why didn't she die?
Thinking of this, a single, scalding tear, without her noticing, dripped from her eye, leaving a silent mark on her pale face before finally falling into her dark hair and disappearing instantly.
Just then, there was another knock on the door.
Tushe'er's voice rang out: "Miss?"
Hearing this voice, Shang Ruyi was finally moved. She slowly raised her head, but her throat was so dry that she couldn't speak. However, Tu She'er had already pushed open the door and carefully walked in. As soon as she saw her, she rushed over with surprise and joy: "Miss! Miss, you're finally awake!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi stared at her with wide eyes, wanting to say something, but still couldn't utter a word.
But Tushe'er didn't need her to say anything. The bitterness of separation had made her lose her usual self-control. She hugged Shang Ruyi and burst into tears, telling her all the grievances she had suffered over the past few days.
It was from her words that Shang Ruyi learned what had happened these past few days.
It turned out that after Wo Xue took her away from the manor that night, the entire manor immediately fell into chaos. No one knew where she had gone, and they also had to face the crisis of Yuwen Ye's serious injury. Tu She'er almost went crazy with worry.
Fortunately, Yuwen Ye quickly escaped danger and clarified everything. He immediately led his troops south.
Upon arriving in Jiangdu City, they found it already under the control of the Imperial Guards. Fearing discovery, they had no choice but to remain hidden, with some staying outside the city to provide backup—Tushe'er was among this group. Yuwen Ye led Mu Xian and others into the city, found his old subordinate, and asked him to devise a plan to enter Jiangdu Palace on the Cold Food Festival to rescue people.
Tushe'er hugged the thin body in her arms even tighter, her tears soaking through Shang Ruyi's shoulders. She cried, "Thank goodness they rescued you. Miss, I'm so glad you're alright."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
Perhaps it was the joy of the reunion that made the girl a little out of control; she hugged her too tightly.
It caused her a lot of pain.
Immediately, Tu She'er herself felt Shang Ruyi's rapid breathing. She quickly let go of her and looked at Shang Ruyi's slightly red eyes. A hint of sorrow appeared on her face as she carefully said, "I... I hurt you, didn't I?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi couldn't speak, she just opened her mouth.
The hoarse, breathy voice made Tushe'er immediately understand. She hurriedly brought her a cup of tea and said as she drank it, "Don't worry, Miss, the kitchen is already heating up the food. Drink some water first to warm yourself up."
A few sips of water did indeed soothe my burning throat quite a bit.
It also brought some life back to Shang Ruyi's face.
She looked up at Tushe'er again, sighed, and said softly, "I'm sorry to have worried you."
"Miss, please don't say that,"
At this point, she gritted her teeth and said bitterly, "Who would have thought that Wo Xue would be such a villain! I only ever kept my guard up against Chang Wan and told her everything, but she just... infuriated me!"
"..."
"This time, once we bring her back, we absolutely cannot let her off easily!"
"...?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback: "Her? You caught her?"
Tushe'er nodded immediately: "Yes!"
Shang Ruyi was increasingly surprised. How could they have captured Wo Xue?
Tushe'er noticed her confusion and said, "I don't know the specifics. I just heard that the young master originally wanted his men to lead them into the inner palace to rescue Miss, but after they went in, they found that only Woxue and the others were there, but Miss, you weren't there."
"..."
Shang Ruyi recalled—right, at that time, Chu Yang took her to the Hall of Light.
Tushe'er said, "I heard that there are many imperial guards in the place where Miss is. The young master was afraid that too many people would arouse suspicion, so he sent Mu Xian with people to the inner palace, while he went alone with his old subordinates to rescue Miss."
At this point, she smiled happily and said, "Fortunately, he rescued the young lady."
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long time before saying, "Oh."
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