Chapter 415 A Sweet Night
A good night's sleep, a gentle spring breeze.
When Shang Ruyi woke up from a warm, itchy, and almost cloying dream, the room was already bright. She opened her eyes, stared at the beam above her head, and it took her a while to regain her senses.
Is it dawn...?
But she was still so tired.
Not only did I not get enough sleep, but it felt as if someone had taken all my bones out and put them back together; I was so weak that I didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
Even so, she still managed to turn her head with all the strength she had gathered over the past half day—
There was absolutely nothing around me!
What about Yuwen Ye?
Shang Ruyi was startled and subconsciously tried to get up, but her weak body dragged her back down. Fortunately, the people outside had heard the commotion in the room and immediately pushed the door open. It was Tu She'er and Chang Wan. The two had prepared hot water and towels. Chang Wan took them and put them aside, while Tu She'er walked to the bedside with a smile and whispered, "Miss, you're finally awake."
"..."
Upon seeing her smiling face, and then looking at Chang Wan, who was busy on the other side, even though she didn't come over, one could clearly see that the tips of her ears were slightly red.
Shang Ruyi's face immediately turned red.
The young couple woke up late, and the wife seemed so weak and unable to move that anyone could guess what had happened. Although such things were normal between husband and wife, it was still embarrassing to be seen by Tu She'er, who had grown up with them since childhood, and Chang Wan, who had previously been assigned to be Yuwen Ye's concubine.
Shang Ruyi gritted her teeth and barely managed to get up.
Tushe'er hurriedly helped her up and get dressed. After she was dressed and washed up, and when she sat down at the dressing table to comb her hair, Shang Ruyi asked, "Where is the young master?"
Chang Wan was tidying up towels and hot water when she heard her ask. She quickly came over and said, "Young Madam, the Second Young Master left before dawn."
"It's not even dawn yet? Where is he going?"
"It seems they're going to court."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Last night, if she remembered correctly, he stayed up almost until dawn...
That is to say, it's almost dawn.
But he woke up before dawn and went to court. Is this man's energy really inexhaustible? Will he never run out?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel her face burning again.
Fortunately, no one noticed her blushing in front of the mirror. However, Tushe'er muttered softly as she combed her long hair, "But the young master left earlier than the Duke and the eldest son."
"Um?"
Shang Ruyi's heart stirred slightly.
If several people in a family are serving as officials in the court at the same time, they should naturally go to court together. This was the case when they were in Luoyang. But today, Yuwen Ye actually left earlier than Yuwen Yuan, who is the Grand Chancellor.
Does he have something else to do?
Is it about this expedition to Fufeng?
To be honest, this matter has been weighing on their minds since last night. Even during the few moments of sound sleep they had, Shang Ruyi was preoccupied with it, not to mention Yuwen Ye. If he really didn't even wait for his father and brother to attend the morning court, it must be because he was dealing with this matter.
I hope everything goes well.
After washing up and having breakfast, Shang Ruyi saw that it was still early and prepared to take Tushe'er out. Chang Wan hesitated and stopped her, saying, "Young Madam, why don't we wait a little longer? Mu Xian went out today. Since he's not here, we can't assign guards to follow and protect you."
Young masters and ladies from prominent families like them usually have guards protecting them when they go out, in addition to their personal maids. This was the case before, but Shang Ruyi did not expect that Mu Xian would not be home today.
So he asked, "Where did he go?"
Chang Wan said, "It seems that the Second Young Master sent him and Cheng Qiao out of the city to take the troops they brought back this time to the military camp to await deployment."
"oh……"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
This time, not only did Yuwen Ye lead several hundred men south to Jiangdu Palace to rescue him, but Cheng Qiao also brought back a group of old palace guards, as well as several thousand men they brought back from Wanggang Village. These were all troops that Yuwen Ye had earned himself, and he certainly wouldn't give them to others, but would keep them by his side for his command. So if he could go on an expedition to Fufeng this time, these people would definitely go with him.
No wonder they sent Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao to make arrangements.
Shang Ruyi nodded and then smiled, "However, it's been many years since I've been back to Daxing City. I'd like to revisit the old place and buy some medicine. I won't go too far, so I don't necessarily need to have guards with me."
"Can--"
“In that case, you can come out with us too. With you and Tushe’er together, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She spoke sincerely and gently, without the arrogance of a young mistress, yet she possessed an air of authority that made her impossible to refuse. Although Changwan was worried about her, she could only agree. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Then, young mistress, let's take a carriage. I'll have them prepare the carriage."
Shang Ruyi nodded: "Okay."
Chang Wan immediately turned and left. Tu She'er watched her back for a while before whispering, "Sigh, I really misjudged her. Actually, she's a nice person."
Shang Ruyi laughed again, glanced at her, and said, "You're still saying that now."
Tushe'er said angrily, "This servant was tricked by that Woxue and still has a stomachache!"
"..."
Mentioning Wo Xue, Shang Ruyi's expression hardened again.
Of those who returned with them from Jiangdu Palace, Eunuch Yu had already returned to the Empress Dowager's side, and Cheng Qiao and the others had all been incorporated into Yuwen Ye's command. The only one left was Wo Xue.
Actually, she had considered bringing Wo Xue back to serve her before, but Tu She'er was the first to object. She herself also considered that the Duke's mansion was not hers to decide, and Yuwen Yuan was a military commander who cared most about the loyalty of his subordinates. The saying goes, "Once disloyal, never trusted again." The best arrangement for Wo Xue was to be imprisoned or sold. It was indeed not easy to bring her back.
It seems this matter can only be discussed later.
At this moment, Tushe'er asked again, "By the way, Miss, you just said you were going out to buy medicine. What kind of medicine? Are you feeling unwell?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "It's just some calming and soothing medicine."
"To calm the mind and soothe the nerves?"
Although Tushe'er didn't understand pharmacology, she could still understand those words. After thinking for a moment, she immediately understood and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Oh, it must be that the young master hasn't been sleeping well these days with Miss—"
Shang Ruyi blushed again and pinched her.
Fortunately, Chang Wan returned at this moment and said that the carriage outside was ready, so Shang Ruyi led them out the door.
Although it was a return visit, it had been ten years since she left, and many of the sights were no longer as she remembered them. Moreover, her memories of the place were actually quite vague.
In the end, she could only barely make out the wooden frames with lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival that hadn't been taken down yet on both sides of the long street. When she was a child, her father had brought her here to see the lanterns. He would lift her up high and let her take down the riddles hanging on the wooden frames, and then guide her with a smile to guess the answers.
Furthermore, in order to gain the approval of the elders in the clan, her mother, who was the wife of an official, personally took care of the household chores and took her out to buy groceries when she was young. At that time, she only thought that she could go out to play and ran around happily, making her mother chase after her in a sweat.
besides……
The more Shang Ruyi looked, the more blurred her vision became.
Even though ten years have passed, all the grievances and irreparable regrets have been healed by my gentle uncle and lovely aunt, as well as my loving brother, during these ten years. But in my heart, there is still a little bit of bitterness that I can hardly say.
But just then, a point of light suddenly flashed across her vision.
That single point, though fleeting, was like a ray of moonlight in the night, instantly piercing the darkness and snapping her back to reality. She hurriedly said, "Stop the car!"
The carriage stopped immediately.
Tushe'er and Changwan, who were following beside the carriage, hurriedly went to the window. Tushe'er asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi peeked out and looked back: "That was just now—"
Chang Wan glanced back and said, "That's a small pharmacy. Young Madam, aren't we supposed to go to the largest pharmacy in town, Changsheng Pharmacy, to buy medicine?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go take a look."
Tushe'er and Changwan exchanged a glance, not knowing what to say. They could only hurry over and help her down from the carriage, then accompany her back for a while until they arrived at the small pharmacy. The entrance was narrow, and the people coming and going were mostly poor folks dressed in simple clothes. But strangely, just as they approached, they saw a fairly respectable-looking carriage drive away from the entrance, and the pharmacy owner even personally saw it off with a smile at the door.
Shang Ruyi walked over and said, "Boss."
The pharmacy owner was a thin middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a long gown that had been washed until it was faded. He looked like he had just made a big sale, and he was all smiles. When he turned around, he saw a well-dressed noblewoman standing in front of him, and he hurriedly bowed and smiled obsequiously, "Madam, is there anything you would like to buy?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at the carriage that had already driven away and asked, "What was that carriage doing?"
The shop owner smiled and said, "They are also regular customers of our shop."
"A regular customer? Is it a regular customer?"
"Not really. He looks unfamiliar, but he immediately took care of a big business deal for me."
"A big deal? What did they buy?"
Although the shop owner felt it was somewhat inappropriate for a stranger to ask him about business on their first meeting, the man was dressed smartly and accompanied by two beautiful maids, clearly indicating that he was rich and noble. So he could only smile and reply, "They bought some talc, magnolia bark, and atractylodes."
Talc, Magnolia officinalis, and Atractylodes lancea...
Upon hearing the names of these medicinal herbs, Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
She then asked, "How much did they buy?"
The shop owner smiled happily and said, "My shop didn't have much stock left, they've all been bought up."
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