Chapter 586 Concubine
Without disturbing anyone, Shang Ruyi returned to her room.
She closed the door, and only a slight night breeze blew across the candlestick on the table, causing the candlelight to flicker. Yet, the air was still filled with his scent, and even the lingering sensuality in his body made her heart pound.
But it seems like nothing is the same anymore.
Shang Ruyi walked over and blew out the already flickering candlelight, plunging everything into complete darkness. Yet, she remained clear-headed and walked back to the inner room, where she sat on the bed.
Some things have become clearer in front of me.
Just now, it was Eunuch Yu who arrived.
He wasn't originally meant to serve the eldest princess. If the eldest princess wanted to summon Yuwen Ye to the palace, it shouldn't be him who came. But he said that since the Empress Dowager was with the eldest princess, it was reasonable for him to deliver the message.
But—he said, Eunuch Cao went to invite Lin Shi'an.
Imperial Physician, Lin Shi'an.
On such a late night, if the eunuch serving the eldest princess went to summon the imperial physician, there was only one possibility—something had happened to the eldest princess.
That's why the Empress Dowager stayed by her side and sent her trusted eunuch, Yu, to invite Yuwen Ye.
When the eldest princess had an accident, the imperial physician was summoned, indicating that it was either an illness or an injury.
But the eldest princess shouldn't be ill, because if she were sick, she wouldn't be able to leave the palace so quietly to invite someone. All the people from the Imperial Medical Bureau should be waiting in the palace. Even if she really came to invite Yuwen Ye to the palace to accompany her, she could have explained things clearly, but Eunuch Yu seemed to be keeping quiet about it.
Therefore, it's not an illness, but an injury.
But in the palace, and now that the Empress Dowager has returned, who could possibly harm the Eldest Princess?
No one can hurt her except herself.
She is hurting herself.
Or perhaps she was herself—
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi suddenly shivered. It was just a cold night, but she suddenly felt a chill seep into her bones, and the chill seemed to pierce her heart, freezing her whole body.
She slowly lay down on the bed. The familiar, soft mattress gave her a comforting feeling, but it still wasn't enough.
She thought for a moment, then reached out and pulled the bedding over to her, hugging it to her chest.
There was still a trace of his presence on it.
His taste.
It seems he's still by my side.
Although now, the person has already gone far away...
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And so, in a state of half-obsession, half-dreamlike chaos, time passed little by little.
Before dawn, the sounds of people moving around could already be heard.
Shang Ruyi also knew what day it was. The entire household had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and they, as the masters, were bound by countless honors. Not to mention getting up late, some of them probably had trouble sleeping all night.
However, Shang Ruyi quietly curled up on the bed.
The faint morning light shone through the window, making the somewhat empty room seem even more desolate. Even her faint breaths and heartbeats seemed so clear at that moment.
Little by little, and then little by little.
It seemed to be obediently waiting for something.
But what is she waiting for?
Today, everyone is waiting for the final and most shocking verdict in the imperial court. She should have known the outcome long ago, so why is she still waiting at this time?
Despite thinking this, she still didn't move, and as her heartbeat grew clearer, another voice rang out, becoming clearer and clearer.
It was the sound of familiar footsteps.
From afar, we walked along the path outside, entered the courtyard, crossed the courtyard, climbed the steps, and finally stopped at the entrance.
But she didn't really stay, because the next moment she heard the door being pushed open, a long and hoarse creak, as if it had brought the emotions of the night to a final end.
Immediately following was the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps were neither light nor heavy, but after the door closed, they seemed more real and closer than before, almost striking her heart with each step. Gradually, even her heartbeat began to grow heavier with the rhythm of the footsteps.
Finally, it stopped beside the bed.
It is Yuwen Ye.
Even with her eyes closed and her body curled up facing the wall, his familiar aura silently spread out as always, enveloping her without her realizing it.
However, it was different from the embrace we shared last night.
Last night's embrace was real; as our skin touched, we could feel each other's heartbeats and body temperature. Even though she was in pain, she could still draw real warmth from the pain.
But at this moment—
The familiar aura drew closer, causing her to tremble involuntarily.
Just as her skin trembled and her breathing became erratic, almost to the point of collapse, a warm, large hand, with that familiar rough, heavy texture, slowly reached out, gently stroking her cheek, and brushing a stray strand of hair away from her ear and behind it.
Then, Shang Ruyi felt him sit down on the edge of the bed.
Breath and body temperature drew closer once again.
Yet, she still couldn't feel the reality, even though his hand remained on her cheek, the back of his hand slowly tracing along her ear, caressing her slightly cool cheek, all the way to her chin.
Finally, just like last night, he reached out and pinched her chin.
With a slight effort, I tried to make her turn her head.
But Shang Ruyi remained motionless.
The hand froze for a moment.
She is awake.
Of course he knew.
He even knew that she wasn't asleep at all.
She clearly didn't listen; she was waiting—but not only for him, but also for the news he would bring back.
After a moment of silence, he tightened his fingers slightly, not to turn her face around, but to gently struggle with his knuckles, making a cracking sound as if he were struggling invisibly.
After a while, the hand finally withdrew.
Then, she placed her hands on the bed, and a warmer breath slowly approached from either side of her body. It was the chest that had embraced her all night that leaned down and covered her.
Just like last night, I wanted to hold her in my arms again.
But he didn't do that.
He simply looked at the woman beneath him in this dim light—last night, in the same posture, so close, skin to skin. He knew perfectly well that he had never truly known her thoughts, so he always tried to find out when she was at her most vulnerable.
But even when she was at her most vulnerable, when the two of them were closest and could only rely on each other, she still refused to give herself up.
So, what about now?
Yuwen Ye took a deep breath, and that breath, like a flame, once again swept across his "territory".
Shang Ruyi, shivering slightly from the burn and almost unable to hold on, opened her eyes to look at him, and heard a deep, hoarse voice in her ear—
"After today's court assembly, I will take Chu Ruoyan as my concubine."
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