Chapter 451 Someone wants to burn you alive?
"Thank you for your concern, brother."
Shang Ruyi gazed quietly into those clear, bright eyes. Even now, after so many things had happened, she still couldn't see through this person, but when it came to what needed to be done, she was clearer than anyone else.
She said, "But I won't take him with me."
Yuwen Qian frowned, stepped forward, and looked down at her: "Do you know what you're doing?"
Shang Ruyi also frowned slightly.
Yuwen Qian was too close to her. The distance and the way he looked down at her created an invisible sense of pressure. If it were an ordinary person, or if their will were not strong enough, they might have had no choice but to retreat at this moment.
It is not possible to discuss it as desired.
She simply lowered her head and said in a low voice, "I know."
Yuwen Qian gently shook his head and said, "Before you went to war with Feng Chen, Father personally instructed you that he was entrusting Feng Chen to you. But now you insist on leaving Feng Chen in Fufeng. There are no good doctors or medicines here. If—how will you explain this to Father?"
Shang Ruyi said, "But I also said that before I left Daxing City, there were no more good medicines there."
"..."
"Even if I travel day and night to get back, I might face the same result as Fufeng."
"..."
"and,"
Shang Ruyi raised her head and looked at Yuwen Qian, saying, "Before Fengchen went to war, Father said—Fufeng, he entrusted to Fengchen, and Fengchen, he entrusted to me."
"..."
"I haven't forgotten those words, not a single one."
Upon hearing the last few words, a glint of light flashed deep within Yuwen Qian's almost transparent eyes.
He said, "So, you really insist on keeping Feng Chen here?"
"yes,"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and then said, "As my elder brother said before, I have protected my husband very well. If I could protect him in that situation, then I can certainly do better next time."
Yuwen Qian asked, "Then, Feng Chen, you have three more days. What are you going to do during these three days?"
"..."
What can you do?
"..."
Shang Ruyi glanced at him but didn't say anything. She just turned to look at Yuwen Ye on the bed, who had finally regained normal breathing. By this time, it was already dark, and the room was completely dark since there hadn't been any candles lit yet. But Shang Ruyi could still see that his face was pale with a bluish tinge, and his bloodless lips clearly showed the severity of his illness to her.
What should I do?
What I can do is probably—
Just as the two were in silence, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. They instinctively exchanged a glance and walked outside at the same time.
As soon as I stepped outside, I heard Dai Junliang's urgent voice—
"No! You can't go!"
The sun had already set, and it was pitch black, but the courtyard was crowded with people, and many of them were carrying lanterns, so the place was brightly lit. The two of them suddenly walked out of the somewhat dim room and were so brightly lit that they almost couldn't open their eyes.
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly before she could see that the courtyard was still full of people, just like before. Standing in the center of the courtyard was an unfamiliar face. Judging from his figure and clothing, he seemed to be a spy sent out of the city to gather information. He was standing there panting. Song Yu and Ma Xu were about to leave with their men when Dai Junliang stopped them.
He said urgently, "Lord Song, General Ma, you can't go out!"
Before he could finish speaking, Ma Xu shoved him away hard, nearly causing him to fall to the ground.
Ma Xu cursed and said, "What I do is none of your business, you little brigade commander! You think you're so important, wielding your authority like a tiger?"
Dai Junliang frowned as he looked at him, unable to say a word for a moment.
Shang Ruyi was about to speak, but hesitated for a moment. After all, she was just a general's wife accompanying the army. Without Yuwen Ye's presence, she would have no way to say anything in the army.
Fortunately, at that moment, a deep, gentle voice came from behind her—
"What happened?"
It was Yuwen Qian, and he followed him out of the room.
Upon seeing him, both Song Yu and Ma Xu hesitated. They stopped in their tracks and bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Young Master."
"Young Master, enemy activity has appeared on the other side. We must prepare for battle."
"Enemy situation?"
Yuwen Qian raised an eyebrow slightly: "What enemy situation?"
Upon seeing this, the soldier standing in the center of the courtyard stepped forward, clasped his hands in salute, and said, "I am a spy planted by the general on the banks of the Xiaolin River, ordered to monitor the movements of the Longxi army camp on the opposite bank. Just at dusk, a cloud of dust rose more than ten miles away on the opposite bank. Our investigation revealed that Xue Xian's main force of more than 100,000 men has arrived on the west bank and joined up with his remaining troops."
"...!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's heart sank.
Xue Xian's main force has arrived.
In the previous battle, the 130,000 vanguard troops killed more than 80,000 soldiers of Fufeng. Although they encountered Yuwen Ye and suffered two defeats, those two defeats were minor, with losses of only more than 10,000 men. Now, his two forces have joined together, numbering more than 200,000.
But the combined forces of Fufeng number less than 80,000...
Just as Shang Ruyi felt that even though the lights were on, there was still an inescapable shadow looming over them, making it almost impossible for them to breathe, Yuwen Qian calmly asked, "Then, what are your plans?"
"...!?"
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him in astonishment.
Ma Xu's face lit up with joy, and he immediately stepped forward, saying to Yuwen Qian, "Young Master is right. It is our duty to guard Fufeng. Although Xue Xian's main force has arrived, they came in haste and are clearly not fully settled yet, which is why dust is billowing on the other side of the river. I think we should take advantage of their unstable foothold and send troops out immediately!"
Dai Junliang, standing nearby, became anxious: "General Ma, the enemy's two forces have joined together, numbering nearly 300,000, while we have less than 80,000 troops in the city. How are we supposed to fight them?"
"You bastard!"
Upon seeing him, Ma Xu was filled with rage. Pointing at Dai Junliang, he cursed, "You're spreading rumors and sowing discord in the army again! The General was misled by you before, and now you still want to spout this nonsense!"
Dai Junliang also panicked and shouted, "I didn't!"
"..."
"Before the General fell ill, he gave very clear instructions: hold the city firmly and do not engage in battle. General Ma—the General originally intended to imprison you, but now that the city is short of generals, since you have been released, please follow the General's orders and do not act on your own initiative, lest—"
"What did you say?!"
When Ma Xu heard Dai Junliang mention in front of everyone that he had been tied up and imprisoned by Yuwen Ye, he was immediately enraged and reached for the sword at his waist.
This time, Dai Junliang also panicked.
With red eyes, he said, "I absolutely cannot let you disobey military orders and send our brothers to their deaths again!"
"Dai! Jun! Liang!"
Ma Xu gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage, and drew his sword to slash at Dai Junliang. The people around gasped in shock. This time, the first to intervene was Song Yu, who was standing next to Ma Xu. He quickly grabbed the man and whispered, "What are you doing? The young master is here!"
After hearing what he said, Ma Xu was furious, but he could only swallow his anger.
He looked at Yuwen Qian with red eyes: "What are your plans, Young Master?!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi stood aside, watching quietly.
She could tell that Ma Xu was eager to go into battle because Dai Junliang had just touched on his sore spots. His previous defeat had resulted in the deaths of 80,000 soldiers in Fufeng. If the court questioned him, he would likely be executed. Therefore, he was eager to go into battle and make a name for himself in order to save his life.
But what will Yuwen Qian do?
Shang Ruyi turned to look at him again.
Bathed in the bright lights of the surroundings, Yuwen Qian's bluish-gray eyes appeared even more transparent, their depths and expressions unreadable. He calmly pondered for a moment, then said, "General Ma, facing a formidable enemy, still fights bravely and fearlessly; indeed—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ma Xu was overjoyed: "Thank you, young master!"
Yuwen Qian calmly replied, "However, in war, one cannot only think about winning."
"..."
"We must also be prepared to lose."
"..."
"Especially now, Xue Xian can afford to lose, but Fufeng has less than 80,000 soldiers left, which he cannot afford to lose."
"..."
"Therefore, your matter of going to war should be put on hold for now. We should follow the General's previous instructions—to fortify the city and not to go to war."
As he spoke, he looked at Dai Junliang and asked, "Did Feng Chen give you these two sentences?"
Dai Junliang was taken aback and was about to say something when Shang Ruyi said, "That's basically it."
Yuwen Qian glanced at her.
But he didn't say much, just waved his hand and said, "Then, please return to your positions and do what you're supposed to do."
Ma Xu's face was already very ugly, but he couldn't say anything at this moment. He could only stomp his foot angrily, turn around and leave. Seeing this, Song Yu also bowed to Yuwen Qian and followed him.
However, just as they were leaving, Shang Ruyi walked up to Yin Changyue and Dai Junliang. The two hurriedly bowed to her, and Shang Ruyi asked calmly, "Have you investigated the fire just now?"
"...!?"
Both of them looked surprised.
Yin Changyue said in a low voice, "Madam, wasn't it because of you—wasn't it because Doctor He accidentally set the curtains on fire while burning incense that caused the fire?"
Shang Ruyi's brow furrowed slightly.
Wo Xue, standing nearby, immediately said, "No, that's not it. We smelled something was wrong with the smoke and immediately put out the burning paper tube. The fire came in from outside; someone wants to—"
Shang Ruyi turned and glanced at her, and seeing this, Wo Xue could only shut her mouth.
Just then, a deep voice sounded behind Shang Ruyi—
Is what she said true?
Shang Ruyi turned around and saw that Yuwen Qian had walked up behind her at some point. His face was still covered by the cotton veil, but his eyes, which were exposed, seemed to be particularly deep at this moment. His pupils, which could not reveal joy or anger, seemed to be filled with a layer of gloom.
He said, "Someone wants to burn you all alive?"
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