Chapter 240 Why Fight with Me for Someone?
The roar echoed throughout the empty palace, making Shang Ruyi's bones tremble.
Just then, a soft voice rang out—
"What would Your Majesty like to say to Ruyi?"
The tense atmosphere in the warm dock seemed to be swept away in an instant. Then, the warm spring underground began to flow again, and the sound of the spring water tinkling could be heard again. Even a warm breeze blew from behind, instantly touching Shang Ruyi's heart.
She hurriedly turned around and saw a dignified and beautiful figure slowly walking in from behind the screen.
It's Empress Jiang!
The moment Shang Ruyi saw her, she felt like a drowning person seeing a lifeline. In fact, what she had said to Eunuch Lu earlier was that she hoped Empress Jiang could come. Firstly, Empress Jiang sent someone to summon her to the palace at this time, probably because she wanted to work with her to find a way to rescue Yuwen Ye, and she did want the Empress's help. Secondly, she could sense that this time, meeting Chu Yang with her would not be as easy as the previous times.
Unexpectedly, Empress Jiang actually came.
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then a hint of doubt arose in her mind—
Empress, why did you arrive so quickly?
However, before she could think about it, her soft sigh reached the ears of the person next to her, and Chu Yang's face immediately darkened.
He looked up at his empress and said with a half-smile, "Why is the empress here again?"
At this moment, Empress Jiang had reached the edge of the carpet and stopped there again. She said respectfully, "I heard that Your Majesty sent Ruyi to the palace. I also have some things I want to say to her, so I have taken the liberty of coming here."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yang turned around and walked to the edge of the large bed, still looking as carefree as a hermit, and lazily smiled, "The Empress is still too cautious."
"..."
"Why not do what I did last time? Wait until I send her away, then take her away halfway. Why do you have to come here and try to snatch her from me?"
"Your Majesty's words fill me with trepidation."
"..."
"However, Ruyi is the wife of the Grand General who assists the State; it's a bit much to keep fighting over her—"
She didn't finish her sentence, partly because she couldn't continue, and partly because she was interrupted. Just then, Eunuch Yu hurriedly walked in from outside and stood outside the screen, reporting, "Your Majesty, General Wang Shaoji of the Right Guard and Vice Minister Zhai Ying of the Court of Judicial Review request an audience with Your Majesty."
"oh?"
Chu Yang raised his head and looked at the chubby figure reflected on the screen, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Obviously, this was somewhat unexpected.
After calming down from her earlier panic, Shang Ruyi heard these words and looked back at Empress Jiang. Suddenly, she understood why she had arrived so quickly.
Suddenly, my heart started racing again.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
Chu Yang, surprised, seemed to realize something. He looked at the Empress standing in front of him, then at Shang Ruyi who was still kneeling on the ground. A smile slowly appeared on his lips, and he said, "You've come at the right time."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Let them in."
That eunuch immediately turned and left.
Chu Yang continued, "I sent Wang Shaoji to assist the Dali Temple in handling this case. They came together, presumably to find out some cause and effect. Since the Empress is also here, why don't we sit down and listen together?"
Empress Jiang said, "Then I would be impolite to refuse."
Chu Yang said, "You get up too."
Shang Ruyi composed herself and used her cold, stiff hands to prop herself up. She barely managed to stand up and didn't dare to stand on the carpet any longer. She hurriedly walked to Empress Jiang's side, and the two exchanged a glance but didn't say anything more.
A moment later, footsteps could be heard outside.
Two figures appeared faintly on the tall screen, one tall and one short, one strong and one weak, none other than Wang Shaoji and Zhai Ying. The two of them came forward and bowed to the person behind the screen: "Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
Chu Yang remained reclining on the bed and slowly said, "Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the two men stood up, Chu Yang asked, "What brings you two to the palace?"
Upon hearing this, Zhai Ying immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we have been investigating the case of Yuwen Ye's three defeats, his escape with his troops, and the execution of the supervising officer, as ordered by Your Majesty. We have now made some progress, and the confession is here."
Chu Yang said, "Give it to me."
Immediately, Eunuch Yu, who was waiting at the gate, stepped forward, took a document from Zhai Ying, and carried it in, presenting it to Chu Yang.
Shang Ruyi's gaze was drawn to the document as if by an invisible thread.
Chu Yang took it, opened it, glanced at it, and then glanced at it again.
No one knew what was written on it, but his face remained unchanged from beginning to end. Only when he saw the last page did a strange light seem to flash in his slender phoenix eyes.
Shang Ruyi subconsciously held her breath.
After a long pause, Chu Yang said, "Is this the result of your five days of questioning?"
Zhai hurriedly said, "There are still some crucial points. We cannot just listen to Yuwen Ye's one-sided story. We need witness testimonies to reconcile the two sides before we can determine the truth."
At this moment, Wang Shaoji immediately said, "Therefore, we dare to ask Your Majesty to allow us to summon Yuwen Ye's wife to the Dali Temple for questioning."
Shang Ruyi's hands, hanging at her sides, clenched slightly.
Chu Yang glanced at her, a faint smile appearing in his eyes, and then said, "No need to trouble yourself."
Wang Shaoji said, "Your Majesty—"
"She is right here now."
"...!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Shaoji's figure reflected on the screen clearly raised his head and glanced inside, but naturally, he couldn't see anything. Shang Ruyi calmly addressed his figure, saying, "General Wang, it's been a long time."
Upon hearing her voice, the people outside were clearly shaken.
But Wang Shaoji immediately fell silent, then chuckled and said, "Alright, since that's the case, then there are some issues that Yuwen Ye can no longer hide."
After saying that, he said, "Your Majesty, may I take Madam Yuwen to the Dali Temple?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Empress Jiang immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate."
Upon hearing this voice, the two people outside felt their hearts sink again, especially Wang Shaoji, whose face had turned completely gloomy behind the screen. At the last court meeting, Yuwen Ye was likely to be convicted, but because Princess Xinyue suddenly barged into the court and interrupted their discussion, the matter was decided to be retried. He also clearly saw that Empress Jiang was on Princess Xinyue's way there.
That matter was orchestrated by the Empress.
Born into a powerful family, he had known the Yuwen family since childhood. He was aware of the weak blood ties between Yuwen Yuan and the emperor, and that Yuwen Ye had grown up by Empress Jiang's side. He could also see Princess Xinyue's feelings for him. These relationships became the obstacles he faced in overthrowing the Yuwen family and eliminating Yuwen Ye.
Now, it has reappeared.
A sinister look flashed across his face, and then Wang Shaoji immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "So Your Majesty the Empress is here too. We have been impolite."
After saying that, he and Zhai Ying immediately bowed to the inside again.
Empress Jiang calmly said, "Lord Wang is too polite. I greatly admire Lord Wang's tireless efforts in seeking the truth, but how can Madam Yuwen, a mere woman, be allowed to be tried at the Dali Temple?"
Wang Shaoji said, "But the truth cannot be known without investigation."
Shang Ruyi, who was standing to the side, was also thinking quickly—just a moment ago, she almost wanted to agree. After all, she hadn't seen Yuwen Ye for so many days, and she really wanted to see him and know how he was doing.
However, before leaving, Yuwen Ye repeatedly told her not to go out easily, clearly because he didn't want her to get involved in the case.
Furthermore, the entire Yuwen family must be extricated from this case.
If she were to enter the Dali Temple now, would things still be under control?
Thinking about it this way, she almost wanted to refuse, but she couldn't help but hesitate for a moment—what exactly did the document ask?
If the so-called "truth" remains unclear, will Wang Shaoji continue to detain Yuwen Ye at Dali Temple, and how will he treat Yuwen Ye?
If Yuwen Ye tells her not to move, can she really just stay still?
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath and said softly, "If Lord Wang wants to find out the truth, why not do it here?"
Upon hearing this, the entire palace fell silent.
Even Empress Jiang turned to look at her and whispered, "Ruyi?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her and nodded slightly. Empress Jiang, seeing the determination in her eyes, suddenly understood something and fell silent.
Only Chu Yang.
A shadow seemed to flicker across his face.
He asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then looked up at him and said seriously, "The truth cannot be known without investigation."
Chu Yang stared at her for a while, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Then he said, "Ask away."
The two people outside were naturally overjoyed. Zhai Ying immediately asked, "Young Madam, I heard you personally went to the front lines at Xingluo Granary."
"yes."
When did you arrive?
"The fifteenth day of the first lunar month."
"So it was the Lantern Festival? On such a big holiday, why didn't you stay at home? Why did you go there?"
“The war has made no progress, and the clothes my husband brought are too thin to keep out the cold. I am going to deliver clothes to him.”
"No other reason?"
Shang Ruyi said calmly, "Does a wife need a reason to bring her husband winter clothes?"
Zhai Ying was momentarily speechless, but after thinking for a moment, he continued, "If you were delivering winter clothes, why did you take the military supervisor Kou Yunliang hostage with a knife in the military camp at Luokou Ferry? Moreover, after you appeared, Wang Gang's men launched a surprise attack on the military camp, killing many people. How do you explain that?"
Shang Ruyi composed herself and immediately said, "I took Kou Yunliang hostage with a knife because he tried to attack me first. I was only forced to resist. In fact, I only took him hostage to protect myself and did not actually harm him. As for the Wanggang army's surprise attack—that's the enemy's business. How could a weak woman like me know when the enemy would attack or how many people they would kill?"
Listening to her eloquent and forceful words, Empress Jiang turned to look at her, her eyes flashing with admiration.
At this moment, Chu Yang lazily said, "If you're going to interrogate, then interrogate properly. I sent you here to interrogate Yuwen Ye's case, not Yuwen Shao's case."
The person outside immediately replied, "Yes."
Wang Shaoji lowered his head and gave a signal to the person next to him. Zhai Ying nodded and immediately continued, "Young Madam, do you know that Yuwen Ye gave Wang Gang's army fifty carts of grain?"
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I know."
“This is because he colluded with the rebels and secretly exchanged gifts.”
No.
"Then, why did he hand over the imperial grain to Wang Gang's men?"
"Because at that time, the two sides were locked in a standoff at Xingluocang, and the strength of the two sides was vastly different. Yuwen Ye only had a dozen or so personal guards besides me, while Wang Gang's army had more than a hundred men. If we insisted on fighting, we would not return, and it was difficult to say what the fate of Xingluocang would be. However, the Wang Gang army knew that the situation was hopeless and had the intention to retreat. They only wanted to take some grain from Xingluocang to keep them warm through the winter."
"So, Yuwen Ye gave the grain to the rebels?"
"……yes."
"Do you know that this is a heinous crime of treason!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "My husband did not collude with the enemy. Those grains were a sacrifice he made to help the court reclaim Xingluo Granary."
Wang Shaoji immediately sneered, "The grain also belongs to the imperial court, so what kind of sacrifice is it?"
Shang Ruyi said, "My husband sacrificed his reputation, and perhaps even his life. He risked serious punishment to bring Xingluo Granary back to the court. After all, it was the foundation of the court's survival, and also—"
At this point, she glanced back gently and said, "It is also the foundation of His Majesty's great cause."
A flicker suddenly appeared in Chu Yang's originally cold eyes.
The two people standing outside the screen seemed to have noticed something as well. Wang Shaoji immediately said, "Your Majesty, she is just making excuses!"
Chu Yang remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Whether it is sophistry or not, I will decide for myself. You may continue asking questions."
The two people outside exchanged a glance, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
Zhai Ying then asked, "Very well, young mistress, I have one last question. Please listen carefully."
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said, "Please ask, sir."
Zhai Yingdao said, "When the General was being tried at Dali Temple, he said that Kou Yunliang led his troops to ambush him near Luokou Ferry, and that he preemptively shot and killed his men with arrows, and even—injured you."
Chu Yang's breathing suddenly stopped.
Although it was only a pause in breathing, it seemed so vivid in the empty hall that Shang Ruyi couldn't help but glance at him.
But after meeting his fleeting gaze for just a moment, she immediately lowered her head again, avoiding his eyes.
Then he said, "Yes."
Zhai Yingdao said, "Originally, you were at your wits' end, but Kou Yunliang's men were scattered by a group of troops, which gave you a glimmer of hope. Is that right?"
"yes."
"So, whose troops would dare to attack the imperial forces at that time?"
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched.
Instantly, the entire palace fell silent, and all eyes were focused on her.
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