Chapter 128 She just...missed him a little.
"What's wrong?"
Lei Yu immediately turned his head and looked north along Shang Ruyi's line of sight. He saw a vast expanse of grassland, and the horizon in the distance, which almost blended into the gray sky, was empty.
She turned to look at Shang Ruyi: "There's nothing there."
"..."
What did you see?
Shang Ruyi frowned, rubbed her eyes, looked for a while, and murmured, "I think I just saw a few people."
"people?"
Lei Yu turned his head again and saw a few grass clippings being swept up by the wind, whistling and flying into the sky. The grassland was still a vast expanse of white, with no human figures in sight.
Lei Yu said, "You must have seen wrong."
"..."
"The Turkic camp is hundreds of miles away from here, so they shouldn't be able to send anyone over so quickly; besides, if they really had an army coming, our people would have already discovered it by now."
Hearing her say that, Shang Ruyi thought about it and agreed, then smiled and said, "Maybe I'm seeing things."
As they continued on their journey, they indeed encountered few people. It wasn't until evening that they finally reached their destination, which was indeed the vast flat land with the sweet water well that Shang Ruyi remembered. In fact, the iron nails and wooden stakes left from when they set up the huge tent during their last northern expedition were still there.
So they set up tents on the spot and quickly settled down.
Meanwhile, a chorus of complaints had already filled the air. If it were just the officials, it wouldn't be so bad, but this time the emperor was also taking some of their families on his tour. Most of the noble ladies and young women from aristocratic families had never lived in such a harsh environment before. The ground was uneven, rats were often seen, there were no ornate houses, only simple tents to shelter them from the wind and rain. In particular, winter came earlier on the grasslands than in the Central Plains, and at night, even the blankets were icy cold without a brazier.
The complaints around me didn't gradually subside until late at night.
However, although the complaints had subsided, Shang Ruyi still couldn't sleep. She had worried about too many things along the way, and even though she had settled down, she was afraid that trouble was still ahead.
After all, Yuwen Ye hasn't arrived yet.
I wonder where he is now? Is he with Princess Crescent Moon?
What are they doing right now?
Just thinking about it made her feel increasingly suffocated, so she got up, dressed, and prepared to go out for some fresh air.
But just as she lifted the tent flap, she saw Tushe'er and Mu Xian sitting around the fire in front of the tent, whispering to each other—they had become familiar with each other along the way.
Tushe'er complained, "Where has your young master gone? When will he be back?"
Mu Xian laughed and said, "What do you mean by 'our young master'? Isn't he your son-in-law?"
Tushe'er pouted: "What son-in-law would abandon his wife and disappear without a trace!"
"..."
Mu Xian seemed somewhat guilty and awkwardly looked away, just in time to see Shang Ruyi standing at the tent entrance. He hurriedly asked, "Young Madam, why are you up?"
Tushe'er also hurried forward: "Miss, what do you need?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk."
Tushe'er said, "It's so cold, what's the point of walking? You should hurry back to your tent and sleep, lest you catch a cold."
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but roll her eyes at her.
Mu, who was standing to the side, chuckled and said, "I know. Is the young mistress thinking about the days she spent on the grasslands and can't sleep, so she wants to come out and revisit those places?"
Shang Ruyi rolled her eyes at Tu She'er again: "Look at you, you've been with me for nothing."
Tushe'er ignored her mockery, hurriedly ran into the tent, grabbed a blanket, and insisted on draping it over her, saying, "It's windy here, be careful not to catch a cold."
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but laugh.
She obediently wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and sat down by the fire. The heat of the flames finally warmed her somewhat chilly heart. She took a deep breath and looked around. In fact, it was so late that the scenery had long since faded, but the brilliant Milky Way above her head was just as it had been more than ten years ago, as if the time that had passed was only a moment.
Mu Xian asked, "Young Madam, is this place the same as before?"
Shang Ruyi said, "How could it be any different?"
"..."
"It's different; there have always only been people."
Looking into her eyes, which remained somewhat cold even as she gazed at the flames, Tu She'er said softly, "Miss, are you missing Master Shang? Don't be too sad."
Shang Ruyi gave a bitter smile to herself.
Her father has been gone for so many years, and the overwhelming grief that almost crushed her back then has long since subsided.
She just missed him a little.
Sensing that her emotions were affecting those around her and making them feel down, Shang Ruyi smiled and stood up, saying, "Alright, I'm going to take a walk over there. You all go about your business."
Tushe'er immediately said, "I'll go with you."
Shang Ruyi said, "I want to take a walk by myself. Don't follow me. Go to sleep early."
"But--"
Tushe'er hesitated, but Mu Xian advised, "Madam, it's getting late. Let me stay with you to avoid any danger."
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "With such a large camp and Imperial Guards patrolling nearby, what danger could there be? I want to be alone for a while, so please don't follow me."
Hearing her say that, the two of them didn't know what else to say. Tushe'er could only repeatedly tell her to be careful before letting Shang Ruyi leave the camp alone.
As soon as I stepped outside, I felt a gust of cold wind that almost blew the blanket off me.
Shang Ruyi quickly wrapped the blanket tightly around her arms.
Although it was cold, the cold wind actually made her mind clearer than before. Stepping on the dry grass, accompanied by the rustling sound, she unknowingly walked to the edge of the camp. There was no fence yet, only a few thick flagpoles standing on the ground, the north wind making the flags flutter.
Shang Ruyi slowly walked to a flagpole and leaned against it. When she looked back, countless campfires were still burning in the camp, dyeing a large part of the sky above her head orange-red.
This reminded her of the time when she lived in the Turkic tent as a child, and she often saw similar scenes.
At that time, her father would even take her to the Turks' evening drinking parties. These parties had no rules; they were just a group of people carrying wine jars, drinking heavily, and singing loudly.
The song traveled even further than the firelight.
Before she knew it, the songs from her memory flowed from her lips, and she sang softly, as if she had returned to that time.
But just as she was singing to herself, she suddenly heard footsteps beside her.
Shang Ruyi immediately shut her mouth.
"who?"
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