Chapter 644 Between you and me, it is ultimately still a transaction!
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was startled. The tenderness she had felt in her dream and the warmth from the chest beside her vanished instantly. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Yuwen Ye.
In the dim light, she couldn't see the expression on Yuwen Ye's face, but she could clearly hear him clenching his teeth.
It looked like it wanted to crush something to pieces.
When she asked again, "What did you say?", Yuwen Ye's arms, which had been tightly embracing her, were now completely devoid of tenderness and affection. They were as cold and hard as ice, and he pulled them away without hesitation, leaving a distance between them as if some invisible person was blocking their way.
Yuwen Ye's gaze, however, was even colder and more ruthless as it passed through this invisible person.
He sneered, "Or perhaps I should ask it this way."
"..."
"Shang Ruyi, if you knew—that he wouldn't fail—who would you choose?"
"...!?"
These words struck Shang Ruyi's heart like a sudden, heavy blow. Her heart skipped a beat, and when she spoke, her voice was dry and unfamiliar: "What do you mean?"
"..."
"Is it wrong for me to keep my brother in my heart?"
"..."
"I just want you to send more men to protect my brother, is that so difficult?"
“Brother, yes, your brother.”
Mentioning Shen Wuzheng, Yuwen Ye gritted his teeth and lightly licked the unseen wound on the corner of his lips. Although it had healed in the past few days, the salty, bloody taste lingered in his heart all day, as if it were blood flowing from the crack in his heart.
The act of licking his wound gave his already cold and hard face a somewhat ferocious look: "Not only your brother, but also your family. Those are the most important people to you, even if—"
He paused here, not because he couldn't continue, but because something he had been suppressing for so long finally burst forth at this moment.
He stared at Shang Ruyi and sneered, "Am I useful to you?"
"..."
"Can it protect your family, those you care about?"
"..."
"If I couldn't do all this, if I—were not Yuwen Yuan's son, would you not have chosen me in the first place?"
"...!"
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's mind went blank.
She stared at Yuwen Ye in disbelief. Those words, spoken through gritted teeth as if struggling to burst forth from the deepest pain, echoed in her ears like thunder, leaving her mind blank.
Why would he ask that?
Could it be that he knew—
No! He couldn't possibly know!
This matter, or rather her choice, was entirely her own decision from beginning to end. She hadn't told anyone, not even her uncle. They only knew that she refused to marry Yuwen Qian, and that she had chosen a husband for herself without her consent in order not to damage the marriage relationship between the two families. How could Yuwen Ye possibly know that?
unless--
At that moment, a domineering yet radiant face suddenly flashed through her mind.
Could it be—her!
The thought of a certain possibility suddenly sent a chill down Shang Ruyi's spine. It was as if she had been thrown into a frozen wasteland, and in an instant, even the blood in her body was frozen solid, and her heart was sealed off.
Her dramatic change in expression was clearly reflected in Yuwen Ye's eyes.
She is indeed...
At this moment, he felt utterly ironic, especially when he recalled returning to the room and seeing her curled up on the bed, trembling with fear from a nightmare, and how his heart ached for her, how he rushed to bed without even taking off his clothes, gently pulling her into his arms; even when he heard her calling out another man's name in her sleep, how he was burning with rage, yet still suppressed all his anger because of her dazed cry of "Feng Chen," trying to forget everything—
It's so ironic!
Before Shang Ruyi could react, Yuwen Ye immediately got up and got out of bed.
As soon as he left, the icy air around them surged up like a tide, making it hard to breathe. Shang Ruyi stared wide-eyed at Yuwen Ye's face in the dim light. His face, usually cold and stern, was now devoid of warmth, as if he had no life left. His eyes were filled with a mocking smile.
However, the mockery didn't seem to be directed at her.
Instead, it was directed at himself.
"Feng Chen..."
Shang Ruyi was so terrified by the possibility she had just thought of that she was almost unable to react, but she still instinctively called out his name.
The next moment, Yuwen Ye's cold, hollow voice rang out: "No need."
"..."
"You should still call me Yuwen Ye."
"..."
"In the end, it's still just a transaction between us!"
After saying that, he turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out without looking back.
This startled Shang Ruyi.
Although her mind was in turmoil, she instinctively felt that she couldn't let him leave like this.
Not only that, she wanted him to send troops to protect Shen Wuzheng.
Also, she wanted to explain what she had just said; there was some misunderstanding between them—or perhaps it wasn't really a "misunderstanding," because she knew that was indeed her initial intention, but later…
Just as she rushed to the door, about to chase after him, Lei Guo's voice suddenly rang out from outside: "Your Highness, there's an urgent report—what's wrong?"
"—!"
Shang Ruyi stopped abruptly.
It wasn't that she was afraid to see Lei Guo, but the wind from the door opening blew open her thin clothes, especially her chest, exposing a large area of her fair skin. She then realized that she was only wearing her underwear. If she had chased after him recklessly, she would have been utterly humiliated in front of others!
Thinking of this, she quickly took a step back and covered her chest with her hands.
Outside, Lei Guo was still speaking, but his previously urgent tone had become cautious: "Your Highness, you look terrible. Are you... are you feeling unwell, or—"
"It's nothing."
Yuwen Ye's icy voice rang out once again.
He had regained his usual calm and composure, but his tone was harsher than usual, as if he had instantly donned a suit of armor, even his voice was shrouded in mist: "You just said you had some urgent news?"
"It's about the Western Turks' movements. The other deputy generals have all gone to the main hall."
"Walk."
"yes."
Soon, the two of them disappeared outside the door.
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but not completely. After letting out that sigh, she immediately took another deep breath, turned around, and walked back to the bedside.
On the bed, the bedding was in disarray, and her clothes were still hanging by the bedside, their hems trailing on the floor.
Although there wasn't much more intimacy, just seeing this scene still made her instinctively recall the tenderness and affection that greeted her when she woke up from the nightmare. She just didn't expect that with just a few words, everything seemed to have changed dramatically.
If everything is truly because of—
Thinking of this, she didn't hesitate any longer and immediately grabbed her clothes to put them on. However, in her haste, she forgot to light the lamp, and the sashes got tangled together. She struggled for a long time but still couldn't get them on properly. Fortunately, Wo Xue had already gotten up and came over to check when she heard the commotion. She saw Shang Ruyi struggling with her clothes and sweating profusely. She quickly went over to help her get dressed and gave her a quick wash.
After managing to tidy herself up, Shang Ruyi hurriedly headed towards the main hall.
It was still dark, but because Qi County was in a special period, the lights in the county government office had been burning almost all night. Following the lights, Shang Ruyi quickly arrived at the council hall from the previous day. The place had naturally been cleaned up long ago, but the large crater that Yuwen Ye had smashed in the floor had not yet been repaired. In fact, because the morning air was so cold and clean, Shang Ruyi could even faintly smell a faint stench of blood in the hall as she approached.
The smell made her pause in her tracks.
Just then, Yuwen Ye's deep voice came from inside—
"The Western Turkic reinforcements are almost at Shouyang County?"
"yes!"
Shang Ruyi subconsciously took a deep breath.
Receiving Yang?
Although she wasn't very familiar with the place, she had spent some time in Taiyuan, and Yuwen Ye often looked at maps to familiarize himself with the terrain, so she wasn't completely ignorant of the surrounding prefectures and counties.
Shouyang County is a county town located right next to the eastern part of Taiyuan.
This place is not large, but it has special strategic significance. Just as Qi County is the grain route of Taihang, Shouyang County is rich in water and grass, making it an essential fodder field for Yuwen Yuan to raise cavalry in Taiyuan.
The Western Turkic reinforcements are almost at Shouyang, meaning they are only a day away from Taiyuan.
And there, too, was a grassland.
More importantly, it seems that it is still there—
At this moment, Lei Guo said, "Given the speed of the Turkic cavalry, if they replenish their fodder in Shouyang, they can reach Taiyuan in less than a day. However, the group of troops we plan to infiltrate Taiyuan only set off at dawn, and they will not arrive in Taiyuan until after noon at the earliest. Even if they successfully infiltrate, the reinforcements of the Western Turks will have already been completed."
"..."
"So, do we still have a chance of winning this time with our inside-outside cooperation?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye did not speak immediately, and the air was filled with anxiety.
After a long while, he said, "The reinforcements from the Western Turks will not reach Taiyuan within a day."
"...!?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was startled. Shen Tu Tai immediately said, "Your Highness, with their speed—"
"I know,"
Yuwen Ye calmly said, "The Turkic cavalry are indeed very fast, but that's only when they have no obstacles in their path."
"Does Your Highness mean that someone will try to stop them?"
"yes."
Who is it?
Yuwen Ye took a deep breath and slowly said, "Of course, it is my imperial brother."
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