Chapter 419 Purpose Beyond Victory and Defeat
At this moment, Shang Ruyi's thoughts were thrown into chaos.
Could it be that Yuwen Qian's "good match" means he has already fallen in love with a woman from another family?
Just thinking about it, Shang Ruyi immediately felt strange. This person had just put down his Buddhist beads at Dayan Temple yesterday. Could he really find a good match in this mortal world so quickly?
Although she didn't know him very well, Shang Ruyi's subconscious answer was no.
even--
She couldn't imagine what kind of woman could be a match for him...
Are there women like this in this world?
Just as Shang Ruyi was looking surprised and her thoughts were in disarray, Yuwen Yuan on the other side heard the words "good match" and his eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to look at his eldest son and said with anticipation, "Qian'er, is it true?"
But Yuwen Qian simply smiled calmly.
He said, "I don't know where my second brother's so-called good match comes from."
Yuwen Ye said, "When I left court today, I saw a carriage waiting for my elder brother outside the palace gate. The people in the carriage—I couldn't see them clearly, but it seemed to be the Yu family's carriage."
"..."
"I heard that the Left Valiant Guard General has a beloved daughter named Mingzhu, who is both beautiful and talented."
"..."
"I wonder who's in the carriage—"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan's eyes brightened even more. When he turned to look at Yuwen Qian, he was almost overjoyed. However, Yuwen Qian remained calm and smiled faintly, saying, "It seems that my second brother is worrying about my marriage."
"..."
"Unfortunately, my second brother probably doesn't know that this Miss Yu is already engaged to the eldest son of Su Ji, the governor of Kuozhou. If I were to steal her away, I'm afraid it would ruin the friendship between Father and Uncle Su."
"..."
"Therefore, I'm afraid there's no such fate between me and Miss Yu."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Ruyi's face turned completely red.
Although she knew she shouldn't, at this moment her unease, even guilt, truly weighed on her heart like a heavy stone. In truth, Yuwen Ye wasn't exactly "stealing her love" in their marriage, and there was no affection between her and Yuwen Qian. But what he said last night was true: in the eyes of the world, Shang Ruyi had abandoned Yuwen Qian.
Therefore, discussing his "good match" or marriage again feels like stabbing himself in the heart.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed—why did Yuwen Ye have to bring this up when she was still alive!
She turned her head away and glared at him angrily.
Yuwen Ye remained calm and simply said, "In that case, I was being presumptuous. I apologize to my elder brother."
Yuwen Qian smiled faintly and said, "Good or bad fortune depends on timing. I have only just put down my Buddhist scriptures, so I don't think my destiny will come so quickly."
"..."
"If it comes too quickly, I'm afraid it won't be a good match."
His words were somewhat mysterious, which startled Yuwen Yuan, who was his father.
After all, it was already a great honor for the eldest son, who had been immersed in Buddhism and practicing for many years, to put down his Buddhist scriptures and return to the Duke's mansion. We must not force him to retreat from the secular world again just because of urging him to get married.
He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "That's true, we'll talk about it later."
After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks again, smiled and said, "Alright, we've been talking for so long that the food is getting cold. Let's eat first, and we can talk about it after we finish eating."
So everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks and started eating, and the matter seemed to be forgotten.
However, Shang Ruyi did not.
After lunch, everyone sat and drank tea for a while before returning to their rooms to rest. As soon as she entered the room, she immediately looked up at Yuwen Ye.
His gaze was intense, as if he wanted to find some answer in his face.
Yuwen Ye met her gaze indifferently, poured himself a cup of tea, and sat down at the low table while drinking it. As soon as he sat down, Shang Ruyi sat down next to him, still staring intently into his eyes.
Yuwen Ye finally asked, "What?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Why did you say those things just now?"
"What did you say?"
"It's—a perfect match. Why did you say those things?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly: "Shouldn't I have said that?"
Shang Ruyi stared into his eyes, her pupils deepening, and said, "You've never been one to believe everything you hear. Even if you really saw the Yu family's carriage waiting for you, you should have found out who the people in the carriage were, and even more importantly, what the Yu family's eldest daughter was like, before you spoke."
"..."
"But you spoke rashly without understanding anything, which is not your style."
"..."
"Why exactly?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her for a while, then slowly placed the teacup on the table and said, "Alright, you're not as stupid as I thought yesterday."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was about to get angry, but before she could lash out, she saw a cold glint flash in Yuwen Ye's eyes as he calmly said, "What I just said was actually just to test his relationship with Yu Dingxing—besides, I did see the Yu family's carriage waiting for him. It seems that their relationship has not broken down."
"..."
"Since the relationship has not broken down, there is only one reason for their conflicting behavior—whether I lead the troops or not has different meanings for them."
"..."
"And the greatest significance of a war is only one thing—"
"That's the result!"
Shang Ruyi's emotions were immediately stirred by him, and she forgot her anger just now. She hurriedly said, "But there are only two outcomes to a war—one is that you win a great victory and become a new favorite in the court; the other is that you lose."
"..."
"So, whether they recommend you or not, their goal lies in these two outcomes, right?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her, a faint hint of joy flashing in his eyes before fading away. He said, "So, reading less Buddhist scriptures is good for you. Your mind is much sharper than yesterday."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi frowned again.
Yuwen Ye continued, "However, there's something I don't understand either."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly asked, "What?"
Yuwen Ye said, "If they recommend me because they hope I will fail, then not recommending me might be because they hope I won't have to go through the dangers of war. In that case, they won't be able to achieve a successful victory. But the difference between the two outcomes is not significant, and it's not worth their completely contradictory actions."
"..."
"Yu Dingxing insists on recommending me, I'm afraid he has other motives besides the outcome of this battle."
Hearing him say that, Shang Ruyi's heart sank.
Indeed, Yuwen Ye was much clearer-headed than she was. She only saw the two outcomes of the war: victory or defeat, but Yuwen Ye clearly saw much more.
but--
What exactly is the reason?
The greatest threat in this war comes from Xue Xian, whom Yuwen Yuan described as "unrivaled in bravery." But is this man's threat enough to warrant such a strong reaction from Yu Dingxing in court? Moreover, as a military general, Yu Dingxing should understand the principle that military tactics are unpredictable. Even if Xue Xian is truly invincible, he may not be able to win every battle. If Yuwen Ye manages to win this war, wouldn't it be a net loss for him?
What exactly is his purpose?
Just as Shang Ruyi was frowning and almost lost in thought, Yuwen Ye's somewhat cool voice rang in her ears again: "However, what I just said was indeed because—as your brother, I hope that you can truly put down your Buddhist scriptures and form a worldly bond with people in the mortal world."
"……Um?"
Why are we suddenly bringing this up again?
Shang Ruyi was taken aback and looked up at him.
Yuwen Ye turned his face away, not looking at her, and said indifferently, "In that case, you don't need to talk to him about those verses that only monks and nuns say anymore."
To respond to him, a verse...?
Shang Ruyi stared at him blankly for a while before suddenly snapping out of her daze.
He was referring to the verse he recited with Yuwen Qian in that Buddhist hall yesterday?!
He actually remembers?
Shang Ruyi felt both amused and annoyed, and said, "When I was reciting the verses with him, I didn't even know who he was."
Yuwen Ye glanced at her and said, "Oh."
He was the one who provoked her, yet he acted completely indifferent. Shang Ruyi became even more annoyed and grabbed his collar, making him turn to face her: "Yuwen Ye, you're being unreasonable!"
"..."
"At that time, I had no idea who he was. I was just curious about his identity, so I answered that verse with him."
"..."
"Besides, you heard our verses clearly, but yesterday you were alone with the Princess, and when I asked you what you said, you wouldn't tell me."
"..."
"She also offered to help you today."
"..."
"I haven't suspected you and her much, so why are you suspecting me instead?"
"..."
For some reason, upon hearing her words, Yuwen Ye's already deep gaze deepened even further. He looked at her, a half-smile on his face, and said, "You don't doubt us."
"..."
"So you don't mind at all, is that right?"
"..."
For some reason, there was a hint of danger in his voice when he said those words.
Strangely, she had argued with him because of his relationship with Princess Xinyue and Empress Dowager Jiang, which led to his cold words and even the suggestion of "divorce". So, he should not want her to mind.
But why was his expression anything but kind when I said that?
And one more thing—it seems like he's about to get angry?
She suddenly sensed something, gripped his clothes tighter, and pulled Yuwen Ye down to look into the depths of his eyes.
Shang Ruyi said, "Do you want me to mind?"
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