Chapter 253 You have a lot of confidence in me, don't you?
Recalling that night at the Luokoudu military camp, even though she was injured and bleeding, his breath was still hot, his arms were still strong, and when he kissed her, his powerful and domineering breath made it hard for her to breathe.
Does he still need to drink deer blood?
Just as Shang Ruyi was blushing as she recalled everything, Yuwen Ye said again, "If you want me to eat, then I—"
Having said that, he picked up his chopsticks.
"don't want!"
Shang Ruyi almost instinctively spoke up to stop her.
But after she finished speaking, she immediately came to her senses. Her obstruction seemed more like a compliment. Especially when she looked up, she saw the smile in Yuwen Ye's eyes that he couldn't hide. She blushed even more and hurriedly picked up the dishes that had been placed on his plate and put them back in front of her. She also moved the plate of small pastries further away from him.
She said softly, "You're not allowed to eat it."
Yuwen Ye smiled as he looked at her, readily agreeing and not trying to "compete" with her. After a while, he smiled and said in a low voice, "You seem to have a lot of confidence in me."
"..."
Shang Ruyi bit her lower lip, her face already flushed red to the roots of her neck.
She's not stupid.
Tonight, in a way, is her... first time. Before she got married, her aunt had told her that the first time would be painful and uncomfortable. If she couldn't bear it, she should advise her husband to cherish his health and not let him do whatever he wanted.
Yu Shi also specifically instructed that Yuwen Ye looked like a strong and hot-tempered young man, so they should be extra careful.
As for Yuwen Ye... on that night at Luokou Ferry, even though he was so badly injured, he still managed to make her lose her mind and even become infatuated. Now that his injuries have healed and he has recovered his strength after resting for so many days, if she were to give him some deer blood, wouldn't that be—taking her life?
So, despite her shyness, she was determined to stop Yuwen Ye from "adding fuel to the fire."
She never expected that Yuwen Ye, who was usually so aloof, would say such vulgar things to tease her.
Fortunately, at that moment, the waiter came in again and brought a plate of braised chicken tongue.
Taking advantage of the interruption, Shang Ruyi picked up a piece of herbal tongue and placed it on his plate, saying softly, "You, you eat this."
Seeing her shy expression, Yuwen Ye's eyes and brows were already brimming with smiles, but he knew he couldn't tease her any further, or the young woman's face would turn bright red. So he obediently picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
The delicious taste of the food and the sweet thoughts of the two seemed to complement each other perfectly at this moment. Even without saying a word, their occasional glances intertwined their feelings, and even the air seemed to soften.
Yuwen Ye's gaze slowly moved down from her face, eventually settling on her hands.
In fact, ever since he learned about Shang Ruyi's finger injury on their wedding night, he would occasionally notice that her little finger would twist unusually when she held chopsticks. She probably didn't want people to see the abnormality in her finger bones, so she deliberately hid her little finger in her palm.
Yuwen Ye asked, "When did you injure your finger?"
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
Although it was agreed beforehand that she would tell him her secret on the last day of the one-month period, and perhaps all her secrets as well, her heart still raced a little when she actually heard him speak.
This, after all, is different from the feelings she harbors for someone.
Yuwen Ye seemed to understand her sensitivity, and the first thing he asked was about her little finger.
It was also the most obvious of all her secrets. Was he trying to use it as an entry point into her heart?
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi looked up at him, then looked down at her twisted little fingertips. After a long silence, she finally whispered, "When I was eight years old."
Eight years old?
Yuwen Ye said, "Ten years ago? Back then—"
Shang Ruyi's expression grew increasingly somber. After a moment of silence, she said softly, "My father passed away that winter."
Yuwen Ye slowly frowned.
Before marrying Shang Ruyi, they naturally needed to find out about her family background. In fact, they didn't need to. Before Shang Ruohong passed away, he and Yuwen Yuan were close friends. Yuwen Yuan knew about his family's affairs, if not every detail.
Ten years ago, Shang Ruohong died of a serious illness. In the years prior, he had been unemployed for a long time due to health reasons. Especially in the year before his death, Chu Yang ascended the throne, and a new batch of ministers, those he trusted, were replaced, further diminishing Shang Ruohong's favor.
It was at that time that this once powerful general, who single-handedly facilitated the division of the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates and solved a major threat to the Daye Dynasty, passed away in despair.
This matter is certainly a major one.
However, the bigger the event, the easier it is to overshadow the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, even if that ordinary person is his own daughter.
Yuwen Ye said, "Then you—"
Shang Ruyi said, "On the day my father passed away, my eldest brother and several other elders from the same clan kicked me out of the house."
Yuwen Ye immediately frowned: "They... dare?"
Shang Ruyi gave a bitter smile and said, "I heard that they originally hoped that Father would remarry a lady from a prestigious family, but Father went against their wishes and married Mother instead. Therefore, the people in the same clan have always been very dissatisfied with Father."
For some reason, upon hearing these words, a cold glint flashed in Yuwen Ye's eyes.
Shang Ruyi was lost in her dejected mood and didn't notice this. She continued, "Moreover, they disliked my mother for only having me as her daughter, and they treated her coldly. Even when she passed away early, none of them came to mourn her. As soon as my father left, the elders of the Shang family turned against me, and at that time, I had no power to resist at all."
Yuwen Ye suddenly asked, "Could it be that you're homeless on the streets?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
His expression grew increasingly cold, even revealing obvious anger.
After a long pause, he asked, "Where is your uncle?"
Shang Ruyi said, "At that time, he was working in the Construction Department, and his whole family was in the Eastern Capital. When the news of my father's death reached him, he hadn't even had time to leave before I was kicked out of the house."
Yuwen Ye asked, "So, how did you get through those days?"
Shang Ruyi said, “At night, I sleep next to the deserted local temple on the outskirts of the city. During the day, I still go back to the Shang family. Although they always splash cold water on me and set dogs to bite me, those dogs recognize me and have never actually bitten me.”
Yuwen Ye frowned: "Why do you still want to go back?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Because I know that my uncle will definitely come to mourn my father. Only by staying in the Shang family can I see him and have a chance to ask him to take me in. If I leave and wander around, the world is vast, and even if my uncle wants to adopt me, it will be difficult for him to find me. Then I will only be a homeless child. But I don't want to."
Yuwen Ye looked at her with a slight shock.
He hadn't expected that Shang Ruyi, who was only eight years old at the time, would have such keen insight. Although Yuwen Yuan had praised the intelligence of this old friend's daughter several times before their marriage, and he had indeed experienced the extraordinary qualities of this young woman after their marriage, it wasn't until he heard about this past event that he truly understood her exceptional abilities.
However, such precocity is partly due to innate talent and partly due to those experiences.
A hint of tenderness flickered in his eyes, and when he spoke again, his voice was gentler than before. He said, "Later, your uncle came, met you, and adopted you, right?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
"Then, what happened to your hand?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi glanced down at her little finger and said softly, "Those few days were tough, but a few servants were still very kind to me and secretly gave me food. However, the food I got was coveted by beggars on the street, and they would try to snatch it from me. And I—I'm not one to suffer a loss, so I fought with them several times."
"..."
"But, two fists can't fight four hands. Later—"
She paused for a moment, while Yuwen Ye frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your finger was injured around that time?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
The private room fell silent again, but this silence was different from the previous one. Shang Ruyi could clearly feel the anger and coldness emanating from Yuwen Ye.
After a while, he suddenly asked, "Do you remember those people?"
"...?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "What, what are you going to do?"
Hearing her question, Yuwen Ye was also taken aback.
Yes, what is he going to do?
For a fleeting moment, he even imagined himself going to find those people and skinning them alive. But then he thought about it again, and that was over ten years ago. Besides, those were all beggars, and it was uncertain whether they would still be alive today. Going to seek revenge for a child's fight ten years ago was not something a Grand General should do now.
You shouldn't even think about it.
However, a burning anger was simmering within him.
Looking at Shang Ruyi's numb little finger, his brows furrowed, still seething with anger. But Shang Ruyi, seeing his cold gaze, smiled and said, "It's all in the past."
"..."
"Sometimes it's like this: as long as the result is good, no matter how difficult the process is, you won't feel too bad when you look back on it."
"..."
"At least for now, I feel great."
Yuwen Ye looked at her for a while, said nothing, but reached out and gently took her hand that was on the table.
Then, he pinched her numb little fingertip.
Although she knew there was no sensation there, for some reason, Shang Ruyi felt a tingling sensation travel from her hand all the way to her heart, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Yuwen Ye said, "It's alright now."
Shang Ruyi nodded slightly.
Then she said, "So, is it my turn?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com