Chapter 533 Harsh and Ungrateful
Before he could finish speaking, Aunt Hui's voice suddenly came from not far ahead—
"Young Master!"
Her voice was urgent, tinged with a sharp edge, making those three words seem like a knife, abruptly severing Shang Ruyi's words.
Yuwen Qian's breath hitched slightly as he slowly turned his head. He saw Aunt Hui standing at the end of the path. The light from the gate illuminated her face, revealing her furrowed brows and gloomy expression, which seemed to carry a hint of displeasure. All of that displeasure was directed at Shang Ruyi through her gaze.
Shang Ruyi immediately pursed her lips.
Yuwen Qian remained silent for a moment, then a faint smile slowly appeared on his face. He asked, "Aunt Hui, what is it?"
Aunt Hui still looked displeased, but when she was facing him, her expression softened slightly. She said, "Didn't you just say you wanted to take a bath? I've already had hot water prepared. Please hurry over, or the water will get cold."
"Oh, okay."
Yuwen Qian nodded, then turned to look at Shang Ruyi and said gently, "Well then, sister-in-law, I'll be going now."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Brother, you should get some rest."
So the two of them went their separate ways.
But as Shang Ruyi turned to leave, she clearly felt a heavy, sinister gaze sweep across her back like a knife. She instinctively turned around and saw Aunt Hui, who had been accompanying Yuwen Qian, looking back at her again.
That one glance was clearly filled with anger.
Although he knew he had never been liked by her from the beginning, this time his anger seemed to have come a little too far.
This time, Shang Ruyi didn't go out to wait for Yuwen Ye to return. She went back to her room alone and sat quietly. But only her body was quiet. At this moment, her thoughts were even more chaotic than the storm of the previous night.
Yuwen Qian... was originally named Yuwen Sheng?
Because of some incident, he changed his name to Yuwen Qian, ostensibly due to a mistake...
But what is it?
Furthermore, his attitude remained the same as it had been in Fufeng County—frank and open, even telling me without reservation that he had also inquired about the situation in Chang Le Fang and knew what difficulties Yuwen Ye was currently facing.
But what was his purpose in telling himself this?
If it was out of concern—but after he spoke, he didn't offer any advice.
To say it's a declaration of war... doesn't seem like it.
His demeanor was calm, his tone kind and gentle, and his eloquent expression seemed as if he were simply speaking to himself…
But as soon as the thought popped up, it was immediately suppressed by a chill that surged in her heart. Shang Ruyi shook her head vigorously, trying to shake this absurd, self-delusional thought out of her head.
How could that be!
After confirming this, Shang Ruyi felt somewhat ridiculous.
To be honest, although the two of them had spent quite a bit of time together, she still didn't understand this man who had once been engaged to her and was now her uncle at all. But even without understanding him, she was very clear that for a man she had broken off her engagement with and rejected, being able to get along with her so peacefully was already a testament to his good manners, or rather, his spiritual cultivation. Yuwen Qian would never have any feelings of intimacy with her.
so--
Why did he just say those things to me?
Furthermore, what Dong Bizheng said to him at the gate today seemed to have a profound meaning. What else could Yuwen Qian still be unable to let go of...?
Dong Bizheng seems to be bringing up his marriage. Does he have a woman he likes?
But upon thinking this, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a tremor in her heart.
She suddenly realized that she had imagined Yuwen Ye and Chu Ruoyan being together, and she had also imagined Yuwen Ye and Empress Dowager Jiang being together. She could even imagine what kind of woman Yuwen Cheng would marry if he grew up and started to get married in two years.
However, she simply couldn't figure out what kind of woman Yuwen Qian should be with.
She couldn't even imagine that Yuwen Qian would be with a woman.
Yuwen Qian... He seems to never be moved by any woman. He should always be gentle and serene, standing tall in the world yet untouched by worldly affairs.
Shang Ruyi shook her head vigorously again—why was she having such strange thoughts tonight?
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang in my ears: "What's wrong?"
"ah?"
Shang Ruyi was startled and looked up, only to find that Yuwen Ye had returned at some point and was standing in front of her, looking at her with a half-smile.
Shang Ruyi immediately stood up: "Feng Chen, when did you get back?"
Yuwen Ye said, "Just got back. Just got back and I saw you shaking your head like that. What are you thinking about?"
"I--"
Just as Shang Ruyi was about to speak, Chang Wan and Tu She'er brought over hot water. Yuwen Ye had just returned from outside, so even if he didn't take a bath immediately, he needed to wash up. So, Yuwen Ye took off his outer clothes, washed his hands and face, and felt much refreshed before accepting the hot tea from Tu She'er and sitting down opposite Shang Ruyi.
Shang Ruyi asked with concern, "I heard that there was a fight in Chang Le Fang today. How is it now?"
"They've already appeased them,"
After Yuwen Ye finished speaking, he looked at her in surprise: "How did you know?"
"Big brother, he told me."
"..."
Upon hearing this, perhaps it was because Chang Wan, who was standing nearby, had taken away Yuwen Ye's clothes and stirred up a gust of wind that made the candlelight on the table flicker, reflecting on Yuwen Ye's face and making his expression darken.
Yuwen Ye slowly put down his teacup and lowered his eyelashes: "You... met with him?"
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "I was just about to go to the door to see if you were back when I ran into him on the way."
"oh."
Yuwen Ye's expression softened slightly.
Shang Ruyi continued, "Moreover, the Duke of Shenwu also came today."
Yuwen Ye looked up at her and said, "Dong Bizheng? He's here to see my elder brother?"
"yes."
What did they say—?
He stopped there, probably knowing that even if they said something, Shang Ruyi wouldn't know. Shang Ruyi, however, said softly, "When I went to wait for you, I saw my elder brother seeing the Duke off. I heard the Duke seem to be urging his marriage."
"My elder brother's wedding?"
"Yes. And from the tone of his voice, it seems... he already has someone like that."
"...?"
Yuwen Ye frowned slightly.
Shang Ruyi looked at him and said softly, "Feng Chen, you seemed to have mentioned before that Yu Dingxing's daughter, what's her name—"
"Mingzhu,"
Yuwen Ye said, "Yu Mingzhu."
Shang Ruyi nodded immediately, then asked, "Is this Miss Yu really engaged?"
To be honest, she couldn't imagine Yuwen Qian spending his life with a woman, but if there had to be such a woman, she would have a strange feeling in her heart. It seemed that Yu Dingxing's daughter was the most likely candidate. However, during their last conversation, Yuwen Qian directly denied the possibility.
Hearing her ask this, Yuwen Ye said, "I specifically asked around when I came back this time, and it is indeed as my elder brother said. That Miss Yu is already engaged to the eldest son of Su Ji, the governor of Kuozhou."
Shang Ruyi said softly, "Then, is it possible that she—"
At this point, she hesitated, because it was something that ordinary women, especially girls from families with some prestige, would rarely do. If she hadn't had that experience, even if she was attracted to Yuwen Ye at first sight, she would never have broken off the engagement.
Seemingly sensing her worries, Yuwen Ye looked up at her.
A hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, he said, "I am not familiar with this Miss Yu, and I do not know her character or personality. However—"
"But what?"
"If my brother is really interested, there might be a possibility between them."
"Why?"
"Because I've heard that Yu Dingxing is a mean and ungrateful man who loves to curry favor with the powerful. If Father succeeds this time, there's no guarantee he won't do something to make his daughter break off the engagement."
"oh!"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
This time, Yuwen Yuan captured Daxing City without losing a single soldier because of Yu Dingxing's defection. Although as a member of the Yuwen family, he would naturally regard this as a great achievement, Shang Ruyi could not help but take a step back and examine this man's actions. To the Daye Dynasty and to Chu Yang, Yu Dingxing was a complete traitor and rebel. It would not be wrong to say that he had climbed the social ladder by currying favor with the powerful.
But how can we talk about being mean and ungrateful?
Upon hearing Shang Ruyi's question, Yuwen Ye replied, "I am not familiar with this person; I only heard about him from people in the city—and more than one person has given him this assessment."
"I see..."
Shang Ruyi sighed inwardly.
Speaking of which, she then recalled the first time she saw Yu Dingxing outside Dayan Temple. At that time, she did not know his identity, but she felt that his cheeks were sunken and his lips were thin, which did indeed give him a somewhat aloof appearance.
Unexpectedly, this was also how others viewed him.
Speaking of which, why did Yuwen Qian get to know this person and persuade him to take over Daxing City?
There seem to be some unsolvable mysteries surrounding this person.
Especially... outside Dayan Temple, that elusive figure that made him lose his mind seemed to appear frequently beside Yu Dingxing.
What exactly is he—
Thinking about this made Shang Ruyi's mind even more chaotic, a kind of confusion that she couldn't sort out no matter how she thought about it these days. She could only sigh and put it aside for the time being, as usual.
Looking up at Yuwen Ye as he sipped his tea, deep in thought with a furrowed brow, she realized she hadn't had a chance to ask him about the city's situation upon returning today. So she asked softly, "How was the situation in Chang Le Fang today, aside from those troublemakers?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Yuwen Ye's face darken.
Shang Ruyi's heart sank as well.
"What's wrong?"
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