Chapter 1298 The Price
Not only the three of them, but Yuwen Yuan also noticed that several musicians sitting behind the screen had also knelt down in a panic. A gust of wind suddenly rose outside the hall, carrying what sounded like many footsteps, and swept across the entire hall, as if surrounding them.
Standing to one side of the main hall, Eunuch Yu remained silent, but the faint candlelight illuminated his aged face, making everything appear so pale, cold, lonely, and helpless.
"Heh, hehehehe..."
Yuwen Yuan chuckled twice before realizing that his hand, which had been pounding on the table, was in excruciating pain. He wondered if he had hurt his little finger by using too much force.
He withdrew his hand, rubbing his numb little finger as he looked at the three people kneeling before him. The firelight shone brightly, illuminating Shang Ruyi's hair. A flash of golden light caught his eye, and Yuwen Yuan subconsciously held his breath, frowning as he looked more closely.
Immediately, his breathing became heavy.
A wave of helplessness washed over him in an instant. After a long silence, Yuwen Yuan finally sighed, "Let him in."
"..."
"At this point, would he still care about being disrespectful in front of the emperor?"
Eunuch Yu hesitated for a moment but did not move. He just looked at Shang Ruyi, who was kneeling on the ground, still looking at Yuwen Yuan's red eyes. For some reason, she felt a little uneasy. She thought she would need some time to persuade the Emperor Gaozu, but she did not expect that he seemed to have accepted everything very quickly.
"Father."
"I only have this one son left, don't I?"
"..."
What else can I do?
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then turned around and nodded gently to Eunuch Yu. Eunuch Yu then turned and walked out with his back hunched.
A moment later, the main hall doors were opened.
A night wind suddenly rushed into the Liangyi Hall, causing the lights on the surrounding candlesticks to dim, plunging the entire hall into darkness. But when the heavy footsteps, carrying the stench of blood and iron, slowly reached the center of the hall, it was as if a stabilizing force had appeared, and all the wind quieted down again. The candlelight slowly rose and flickered as it burned.
The firelight illuminated the face, stained with someone's blood, making it appear both fierce and heroic.
Yuwen Ye knelt before the emperor above the main hall and said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"
Yuwen Yuan stared at him with a gloomy expression for a long time before saying, "You... fine."
Yuwen Ye remained calm and said, "Your subject fought a bloody battle tonight to punish the wicked and cleanse the court of corrupt officials. I did not expect to disturb Your Majesty's presence. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"Punish the wicked? The wicked?"
Hearing these words made Yuwen Yuan's breathing quicken. He reached out to hold onto the table, trying to get up, but Yuwen Ye's words and the bloody facts before him had drained all his strength. He could only curl up to barely keep breathing. Seeing this, Eunuch Yu hurriedly stepped forward, knelt down, and rubbed his back to help him catch his breath.
It was an unknown amount of time before Yuwen Yuan finally caught his breath.
He looked up at Yuwen Ye, his eyes bloodshot and almost bleeding, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Evil wretch?! You're saying your brother is an evil wretch?"
"..."
"Is this how you view your brothers?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye asked expressionlessly, "Does Father know what the last thing my third brother said to me was?"
Upon hearing the word "finally," Yuwen Yuan's facial features twitched again.
Yuwen Ye calmly said, "He said that the imperial family has no brothers."
"..."
"Therefore, it is not my fault."
"you--"
Yuwen Yuan was so enraged that his bloodshot eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets. He tried even harder to get up, but a sudden headache felt like an axe splitting his skull open. The excruciating pain almost dragged him into a dark hell in an instant. For a while, he could hardly breathe and could only use his rough hands to grip the edge of the table tightly, his fingernails scratching several white marks on the surface.
He gritted his teeth and said, "All of you, step back!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the musicians behind the screen hurriedly got up and scrambled away. Shen Shiyan and Pei Xu exchanged a glance and understood that what was being discussed here was a matter concerning the "imperial family," and naturally, it was not for outsiders like them to hear. So they also got up and left.
However, before leaving, Shen Shiyan glanced down at Shang Ruyi one last time.
She knelt beside Yuwen Ye, motionless.
Seeing that everyone had left, Yuwen Yuan narrowed his eyes and glared at her dangerously: "Aren't you leaving?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Father, I am also a member of the imperial family. I am your daughter-in-law."
Upon hearing her words, a cold glint flashed in Yuwen Yuan's eyes. He endured the splitting headache and laughed, tears almost welling up in his eyes: "Yes, daughter-in-law, you are truly my good daughter-in-law!"
"..."
"The way of a wife is to respect her husband and be harmonious with her relatives, to be friendly with her uncles and brothers, and to value harmony among her sisters and brothers. When the family is peaceful, it will prosper; when there is quarreling, it will decline."
"..."
"What...what did you do?"
"..."
"When brothers fight, why don't you quell the dispute? When brothers fight, why don't you stop the conflict? When brothers quarrel, why don't you offer advice and guidance?"
"..."
"Now, brothers are killing each other, fratricide, what is your crime?"
At this point, he was so enraged that he became somewhat dazed, and he suddenly looked up and ordered, "Men, give her to me—"
"Father!"
Since entering the main hall, Yuwen Ye's voice had remained calm and composed. He was probably still remembering Shang Ruyi's hint to him outside, so he was deliberately suppressing his temper and emotions.
But at that moment, he suddenly interrupted the emperor, his voice as loud as a muffled thunderclap.
Yuwen Yuan was startled and stared at him with wide eyes.
Yuwen Ye knelt on the ground, his back straight like a javelin deeply embedded in the earth, and said calmly yet heavily, "In this world, no one can harm Ruyi."
Yuwen Yuan's lips twitched: "No one?"
"yes."
Even I cannot?
"yes!"
Yuwen Yuan gritted his teeth: "You killed two of my sons, yet I can't even punish your wife?"
"..."
"The Crown Prince and Prince Qi have both perished, and blood has flowed like rivers inside and outside Xuanwu Gate. You've caused such a huge upheaval, yet you won't even pay the slightest price?"
Shang Ruyi broke out in a cold sweat.
She suddenly understood. Yuwen Yuan was furious because of the deaths of his two sons, but he only had this one son left. If he really punished him, it would be a dead end for him, leaving him with no successor. He could not do that no matter what—in fact, he simply could not do it.
However, with the deaths of his two sons, he couldn't help but be angry and take his anger out on others.
Therefore, punishing those around Yuwen Ye—himself—is the best way, and even, it is also an explanation to the world.
Shang Ruyi then realized why Yuwen Yuan had so quickly calmed his outward anger and allowed Yuwen Ye to come in for an audience: because he had already decided whose life he would use to pay the price for tonight's bloody battle; and how foolish and dangerous it was for her to walk into this Liangyi Hall.
Just as she was filled with immense fear, and the biting cold from her cold sweat made her tremble, she suddenly felt a figure flash in front of her. It was Yuwen Ye, who knelt on the ground and took two steps forward, blocking her way.
Shang Ruyi couldn't see his expression, but she could feel that his shoulders were as broad as mountains, giving her a sense of security the moment she saw them.
“Father, she is not a price to pay, she is my wife.”
"..."
"I have come this far through hardship and triumph. No one in this world is closer to me than her, and no one should stand by my side and enjoy everything I have. If I am able to achieve great things after tonight, it will be half because I have the world in my heart, and the other half because I want to share an even greater world with her!"
"..."
"Therefore, I will not allow anyone to harm her!"
Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her back.
Although Yuwen Ye usually appears taciturn, they spend every day together, and she knows that he is not truly inarticulate. On the contrary, when it is his turn to speak, he never backs down and can even deliver a sharp and eloquent rebuttal, leaving the other person speechless.
But these are all important matters.
Between the two of them, he wasn't particularly smooth-talking, and the few sweet words he uttered were delivered in a stiff and domineering manner. If it weren't for his understanding nature, he would never have been able to resist those "sweet words."
But she never expected that he would say these words in front of the emperor at this time.
This wasn't some sweet talk.
Yet it seems to surpass all the sweet words and romantic phrases in the world.
Those words stirred up boundless tenderness and strength in her heart, and Shang Ruyi suddenly felt her whole body swell up. She clenched her hands tightly on the ground, then loosened them, then clenched them again.
Just then, an even larger shadow appeared in front of them.
Looking up, they saw Yuwen Yuan slowly standing up. He was wearing a long robe with long sleeves that trailed on the ground. Only when he stood up did they see that he had been holding a long sword in his hand all along.
At this moment, the scabbard of the longsword dragged on the ground, making a screeching sound as he walked step by step.
Shang Ruyi's heart gradually rose to her throat.
Yuwen Yuan finally stood before Yuwen Ye. He looked down at his son and then at his daughter-in-law, whom he had once described as "a fine son and a fine wife." Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, drew his long sword with a sharp sound, and the gleaming blade drew a white arc in the dimly lit Liangyi Hall, instantly placing it against Yuwen Ye's neck.
"Father!"
Shang Ruyi was shocked and immediately reached out to grab his sword!
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