Chapter 605 One Night, Warming Up
The moment the words "Chengqian Hall" were heard, the entire palace seemed to fall silent.
The eunuchs seemed to sense something and stopped, cautiously watching the Prince of Qin before them. However, his usually cold face showed no extra expression. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand at them.
Shang Ruyi also smiled and said, "You may go."
The group quickly bowed and then carried the heavy plaque back to the princess's courtyard.
Soon, a flurry of activity erupted from the other side. Someone shouted to hold the ladder steady, while others yelled for caution. Several palace maids cried out in alarm, instantly turning the once quiet twilight into a bustling scene.
After a while, the boiling finally subsided.
Although she didn't see it, Shang Ruyi knew that the plaque must have been replaced.
She stood at the palace gate for a while. The setting sun cast her shadow long and long, almost reaching the feet of Yuwen Ye, who was standing under the eaves. But the two people at the ends of the shadow remained silent until the last ray of sunlight struggled to sink into the ground, and the earth suddenly darkened.
The palace gatekeepers began lighting lamps everywhere.
The flickering lights brought Shang Ruyi back to her senses. She turned and slowly walked back to Qianqiu Palace, where she saw Yuwen Ye still standing under the eaves. The dim light cast a large shadow on his face, but his cold and stern eyes remained as bright as ever.
And just as sharp as ever.
Although he remained silent, Shang Ruyi knew that he must be thinking about the name "Chengqian".
Chengqian...
Chengqian!
Inherit the imperial legacy and rule the world!
Although Yuwen Yuan failed to appoint Yuwen Qian as crown prince, those two words clearly revealed his intentions.
In fact, neither of them was surprised. This time, Yuwen Ye had not only offended Yuwen Qian by pulling him down from the position of crown prince, but also his father, Yuwen Yuan. As the emperor, and a powerful minister who had been in control of the court for a long time before ascending the throne, he was more perceptive, suspicious and wary. Of course, he was not happy that his son had done this to him.
In fact, the conflict between the father and son, which turned into an invisible battle, had actually started long ago.
After all, two tigers cannot share one mountain.
Therefore, although these two words came somewhat suddenly, they were not unexpected, nor would they affect what the two men should do or how they should act upon entering the palace. Shang Ruyi was also concerned that Yuwen Yuan would be speaking in the palace tomorrow about the meritorious officials who had contributed to the control of the plague; she didn't know who would be there, and she needed to be cautious tomorrow.
Just as she was about to say something to Yuwen Ye, suddenly, the sound of a zither rang out.
Both of them subconsciously looked up, following the direction from which the music was coming—none other than the newly renamed Jinyuyuan.
Upon closer listening, the music was melodious and plaintive, a tune played on the Xiao Hu Jia (a type of Chinese stringed instrument).
The sound of the zither is like the sound of the heart. The mournful and plaintive music sounds as if the person playing the zither is shedding tears in their heart. However, her fate has come to this point. Her past glory and perfection have been completely destroyed, and she can't even keep the title of "princess". Although she got her wish and stayed by the side of the man she loved, the emptiness in her heart can probably never be filled.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but sigh softly to herself.
Almost simultaneously, Yuwen Ye also let out a long sigh.
The two of them looked up at each other at the same time. Shang Ruyi hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Do you want to go and keep her company?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye stared at her without moving.
Although there was no change in his expression, the flickering lights in the hall cast a deep shadow on his face, so even the slightest, barely perceptible tremor was clearly visible. Shang Ruyi noticed almost immediately that his brows furrowed.
But his expression remained completely unchanged.
This seemingly illusory impression left Shang Ruyi momentarily unsure whether he was calm or unhappy. But since she had already spoken, she thought for a moment and continued, "I think she must be very sad that the 'Princess Courtyard' plaque has been taken back, and she needs you to keep her company."
"..."
Yuwen Ye remained motionless, continuing to watch her.
After a long while, he slowly said, "That's right. Today is our first day moving into the palace. I should indeed go and keep her company."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's breathing suddenly became heavy.
She then came to her senses. Right, today was the first day for the two of them—the King of Qin and the Queen of Qin—entering the palace.
If, on her very first day in the palace, the Prince of Qin spends his time with his concubine, what will the other palace servants think of her as the Princess Consort of Qin...?
With just this thought, Shang Ruyi suddenly hesitated.
Hesitantly, she whispered, "You, you stay with her and then come back—I'll wait for you."
Hearing her words, Yuwen Ye didn't say anything immediately. He simply lowered his head, his long eyelashes covering his dark eyes, completely obscuring his expression. Even the expression on his face, clearly outlined by shadows, remained unchanged. After a while, he dusted off his clothes and said, "I really should go and keep her company."
"..."
"However, I'm already very tired from moving all this stuff in today, and I won't be coming back after I leave."
"..."
"You should get some rest tonight."
After saying that, he turned and walked away.
"etc!"
Seeing that Yuwen Ye was about to walk out of the palace gate, Shang Ruyi hurriedly spoke up, but Yuwen Ye seemed not to hear her and continued to walk forward. Shang Ruyi became anxious and hurriedly came down the steps, her steps were a little messy, and she finally caught up with him.
She said, "Wait a minute!"
Only then did Yuwen Ye stop, but he didn't look at her. His gaze remained coldly fixed on the night sky, which was almost completely shrouded in darkness. He asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi gasped for breath twice, then looked at him again. Although she hesitated, she still said, "You, don't go."
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked down at her. Although he was facing away from Qianqiu Palace and the light behind him was not enough to illuminate his face, Shang Ruyi could clearly see that there seemed to be a glimmer of light in his eyes, which even the deepest gloom could not hide.
He said, "What did you say?"
Another night breeze blew by, even carrying a bit of chill, but Shang Ruyi felt her cheeks and even the roots of her ears burning. She lowered her head and whispered, "Aren't you tired?"
"..."
"Since you're tired, then—stop going back and forth like this."
"..."
"I'll go see her tomorrow night instead."
"..."
Yuwen Ye remained silent, his head bowed, silently watching her. Although Shang Ruyi did not look up to meet his gaze, she could almost feel the shifting emotions in his eyes—sometimes intense, sometimes icy—making it difficult to discern, perhaps even he himself couldn't distinguish between anger and indifference.
After a long while, she felt the tall figure in front of her slowly turn around to face her.
He said, "That's what you said."
Shang Ruyi bit her lower lip and nodded gently.
Although she knew in her heart how she should interact with Chu Ruoyan, and understood Chu Ruoyan's awkward situation and lonely feelings, at this moment, only Yuwen Ye could offer her some comfort. However, in her own heart—
She couldn't be so generous and forgiving as to disregard even herself.
Moreover, she vaguely sensed that Yuwen Ye seemed somewhat unhappy about her "generosity and tolerance," but there seemed to be a deeper resentment within him, the reason for which she had not yet figured out, and Yuwen Ye did not intend to tell her.
Regardless, today is their first day in the palace.
The King of Qin still needs to be by the side of the Queen of Qin.
Seeing her nod, the frost in Yuwen Ye's cold eyes melted slightly, but it didn't completely disappear. He simply turned around and walked into the Thousand Autumns Palace.
By this time, Tushe'er and the others had already made the bed and lit the incense burner.
Neither of them said anything more. They simply washed up and went to bed to rest—after all, tomorrow's banquet hosted by Yuwen Yuan was the first major event for their two sons, who had just been granted the title of prince, upon entering the palace, and its significance was certainly extraordinary.
We need to conserve some energy to deal with it.
However, despite being so busy and preoccupied with worries all day, she was indeed exhausted and found it difficult to fall asleep after getting into bed. Shang Ruyi kept her eyes closed, but she could still hear the clear and orderly breathing of the person next to her—even though the bed was more than twice the size of the one at home, and the two of them seemed to have left a large space between them, almost enough for one person to lie down, Shang Ruyi could still hear clearly.
Clearly, Yuwen Ye wasn't asleep either.
The plaintive melody of the little erhu played intermittently for a while before finally stopping.
But then came the sound of pattering rain.
It's raining.
It was early October, the season when each autumn rain brought a chill. Shang Ruyi was covered with a thin quilt, but she was always afraid of the cold. Soon, the dampness and coolness of the rain in the air made her hands and feet icy cold. She curled up in the quilt, but it didn't help.
The sound of rain urged her to sleep, but the chill prevented her from getting a good night's rest.
In a hazy state, she felt a familiar, warm breath approaching, first touching her, then seemingly embracing her—but the movement was stiff, not only stiff, but also as if it was holding something in a stalemate. Finally, she heard a soft sigh in her ear, as if giving up, and then the warm breath enveloped her, as if a gentle spring breeze had suddenly blown in from the dead of winter, or as if she had been suddenly placed in the warmth of spring.
Instantly, Shang Ruyi softened completely, let out a comfortable sigh, and buried herself even deeper in that warm breath.
Overnight, spring returned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com