Chapter 670 Why is she even more foolish than me?
The man moved so fast that Shang Ruyi didn't even have time to react before he knocked her to the ground. She turned around in a disheveled state and her face turned pale.
That was Ashina Zhuxie!
His wolf-like eyes appeared somewhat red in the night, staring intently at Lei Yu's pale face, his eyes filled with heartache.
He said in a deep voice, "Lei Yu!"
"..."
At this moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
As Shang Ruyi watched this scene, a thousand thoughts suddenly surged through her mind like the blazing campfire behind her. But a sudden gust of cold wind calmed her down. Without turning around, she could hear the chaotic footsteps and surprised gasps in the wind and knew that people from both sides of the road must have rushed over.
She could more clearly distinguish Ashina Shali's heavy footsteps and Lady Jiayuan's soft cries among the chaotic sounds.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Let her go."
"...!"
Ashina Zhuxie was startled by the deep yet irresistibly powerful voice. He looked up and met Shang Ruyi's calm yet fiery eyes. The next moment, he seemed to sense something and subconsciously wanted to let go, but also subconsciously lingered.
Shang Ruyi said, "Let her go!"
As she spoke, she knelt down beside him and snatched the thunder jade back from Ashina Zhuxie's hands.
In just a brief glance, Ashina Zhuxie understood everything, and he also understood that the other party understood everything. His hands stiffened as he held the person in his arms and watched helplessly as Shang Ruyi carried him away, leaving him with empty hands.
At that moment, a shadow crossed his eyes.
Shang Ruyi immediately hugged Lei Yu tightly and asked, "Lei Yu, are you alright?"
Just then, everyone else rushed up. In the chaos, some people didn't see it, but others saw it clearly. When Shang Ruyi looked up, she met Ashina Shali's gloomy eyes, which were filled with a hint of anger.
Clearly, this Western Turkic Khan was the former.
Lady Jiayuan, who was following closely beside him, had obvious anger on her face and glared fiercely at Ashina Zhuxie, clearly feeling the same way.
However, both of them tried their best to suppress their anger, especially Ashina Shali.
He said in a deep voice, "How could this be?"
Shang Ruyi didn't answer him. At this moment, answering him wasn't important. She carefully lowered her head and held Lei Yu in her arms, gently brushing away the messy hair that was wrapped around her face. She felt that although Lei Yu's breathing was weak, it hadn't stopped. With another soft call from her, Lei Yu's long eyelashes trembled, and she finally opened her eyes again.
"Thunder Jade!"
Shang Ruyi was both surprised and delighted. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Lei Yu gently shake his head at her once again.
Then, she reached out a hand and firmly grasped Shang Ruyi's hand.
"...?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, wondering what she meant, when she heard Lei Yu turn her head and whisper to the concerned Lady Jiayuan and Ashina Shali, "It hurts..."
Upon hearing this, Lady Jiayuan immediately said, "Quickly, quickly bring a stretcher and take the little princess back to her tent. Quickly, quickly invite the doctor over too!"
Ashina Shali didn't speak, but Lady Jiayuan's words became everyone's guiding principle. Everyone immediately obeyed the order. Several people ran to fetch a doctor, while others carried a stretcher over. But just as everyone was about to put Lei Yu on the stretcher, they found that she had closed her eyes again and seemed to have fallen into a coma. Her hand was still tightly gripping Shang Ruyi. Just as the people around were about to separate the two hands, they saw Lei Yu's brows furrowed and she murmured anxiously in her coma.
The man immediately froze.
Ashina Shali frowned, paused for a moment, and then said, "You, go back with her!"
His words were naturally more effective than Lady Jia Yuan's orders, and the people around dared not separate the two of them again. They could only let Shang Ruyi follow beside the stretcher, one hand held tightly, the other hand protecting Lei Yu's somewhat cold body. The group hurriedly walked back to the tent.
This bonfire party, and the competition that determined Shang Ruyi's life or death, ended abruptly.
However, as she was leaving, Shang Ruyi looked back one last time.
Ashina Zhuxie was still standing in the same spot.
The surrounding figures swayed, like a turbulent torrent, but his tall figure stood there stiffly, motionless. In the firelight, some things that had been hidden in the shadows were disheveled and defeated, exposed without any way to escape.
Shang Ruyi bit her lower lip and turned her head away.
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Before long, they returned to the tent.
Shang Ruyi stayed close to Lei Yu, helping her slowly lie back down on the bed. Ashina Shali and Lady Jiayuan stood to the side, both with very unpleasant expressions.
Outside the tent stood other princes and nobles, as well as the prince Zhu Xie.
Lady Jia Yuan stared intently at Lei Yu, who had fallen unconscious again on the bed, and said worriedly, "Lei Yu's archery and horsemanship have always been outstanding, surpassing even many men. How could he be like this today—"
The tent fell silent for a moment after those words were spoken.
Shang Ruyi squatted by the bed, holding a handkerchief in one hand, gently wiping the mud and rainwater from Lei Yu's cheeks. Even without turning around, she could feel the sharp gaze behind her piercing her back, as if it wanted to pierce her body.
If Lei Yu hadn't stubbornly held onto his hand before he lost consciousness, he would probably be riddled with arrows by now.
Lady Jiayuan seemed to regret her slip of the tongue and hurriedly turned to look outside, muttering, "Where's the doctor? Why haven't we called him yet?"
Those outside seemed flustered upon hearing the noise. After a short while, a maidservant entered and said cautiously, "Madam, there are many people tonight, and it's very chaotic. I just went to the doctor's tent, but I haven't found him yet, and I'm afraid he hasn't had time to return."
Lady Jia Yuan said, "Go look again, and bring the person to me quickly!"
"yes!"
The maid dared not delay and could only hurriedly run out again.
At this moment, another maid brought in a basin of hot water from outside and placed it by the bedside. Just as she was about to take a handkerchief to moisten it and wipe Lei Yu, Shang Ruyi said softly, "Let me do it."
The maid hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Lady Jiayuan again.
Lady Jiayuan frowned, but simply waved her hand, and the maid bowed and left.
Shang Ruyi took her handkerchief, soaked it in the water, swung it around in one hand, squeezed it until it was moist, and then continued to wipe Lei Yu's face—her face was still somewhat pale, her eyes were tightly closed, and her brows were always slightly furrowed, as if even in her unconscious state, she was still worried about the life and death of the people around her, making her restless.
Shang Ruyi reached out and gently rubbed her temples.
Just as she started to rub it in, Lei Yu frowned again. Shang Ruyi sighed inwardly and could only continue wiping her ears and neck with the damp handkerchief.
Although her clothes were dirty, she would take them off and wash them after she woke up. After wiping her face, Shang Ruyi took the hand that was tightly gripping her wrist.
Ashina Shali, who had remained silent, coldly observed Shang Ruyi's calm demeanor, then looked at Lei Yu's pale, unconscious face. His expression turned ashen, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
He said coldly, "She risked her life for you, and you're just so calm?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained motionless, and didn't even turn around.
But her heart felt as if it had been stabbed hard, without drawing blood, yet the pain made her tremble all over.
In fact, she knew that Lei Yu's actions could not be hidden from Ashina Shali—this Western Turkic Khan was older than them, and having quelled the rebellions of various Western Turkic tribes and ascended to the throne, he had experienced countless battles and witnessed countless power struggles. This little trick could not possibly escape his notice.
Lei Yu fell from power because he wanted to save himself.
Because the outcome of this competition, regardless of winning or losing, would be a devastating blow to Shang Ruyi, she told Lei Yu that she would rather die than lose.
But just now, when she saw Lei Yu's stubborn desire to win against her and save her life, she did panic and even wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of the archery competition to escape.
But when I calmed down and thought about it, I realized how foolish I had been.
Not to mention that his horse was not strong enough to return to the Central Plains, not to mention the lack of food and stamina, this place was still within the territory of the Turkic camp, surrounded by Turkic people skilled in riding and archery. How could he possibly escape alone with just his horse in front of so many people?
So just now, Lei Yu saw through her intention, and her third arrow missed.
While shooting off course, she herself fell from her horse—thus, Ashina Shali and Lady Jiayuan were only concerned with the safety of this little princess and had no time to deal with Shang Ruyi.
At least, we can salvage this moment.
Thinking of this, a surge of bittersweet emotion welled up in her heart, and Shang Ruyi's eyes immediately filled with tears.
I'm already stupid enough, why is she even stupider than me?
The problem is that although Lei Yu's fall from his horse seems serious, people skilled in riding and archery have fallen from horses countless times since childhood and have developed a set of methods for self-rescue after falling from a horse. Just now, after Lei Yu fell from his horse, he rolled several times on the ground, which was an instinctive self-rescue, which could avoid being trampled by the horse's hooves and avoid falling directly to the ground and getting injured.
In fact, Lei Yu did not have any obvious external injuries.
If that's the case, why did she fall into a coma?
Shang Ruyi wiped her face, ears and neck, and checked her pulse. It turned out that she was not faking fainting, but had really fainted.
How could her body be so weak?
Thinking this, Shang Ruyi became increasingly puzzled, but faced with Ashina Shali's mocking questioning, she could only grit her teeth and remain silent. She gently took Lei Yu's hand and wiped the dirt from the back of her hand and wrist.
But at that moment, Shang Ruyi's fingers inadvertently touched her pulse point.
"...!"
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