Chapter 516 You've Always Been With Me
"Because, I'm still here."
Shang Ruyi didn't emphasize these words, but at that moment, in the silent Liangyi Hall, they seemed to explode in the hearts of several people like a thunderclap.
Chu Ruoyan's expression immediately changed.
Shang Ruyi remained calm and said, word by word, "I am Yuwen Ye's lawfully wedded wife, a second-rank noblewoman bestowed by the imperial court, and the wife of General Tian Ce. His Majesty has ordered the Secretariat to draft such an edict. Where does this place me? Where does it place my husband? Where does it place the dignity of the court?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoyan's eyes gradually reddened: "Yes, and you too."
"..."
"You've always been there for me."
At this moment, Chu Chengfei, who was sitting above, saw his sister say those bitter words and immediately slammed his fist on the table in anger. However, he was young and not very strong, so the sound of the slam did not have a deterrent effect, but it still made Shang Ruyi's heart sink.
He said, "I told you long ago, don't bother my elder sister and Brother Fengchen!"
Shang Ruyi looked up at him and chuckled wryly.
Yes, from the first time I saw him in Yanmen County, he was waiting outside the house of the injured Yuwen Ye. At that time, Chu Ruoyan was in the room, heartbroken and crying. This Prince Zhao told her with a straight face not to disturb them, and she, like a defeated chicken, slunk away.
Unexpectedly, her state of mind and his status have undergone tremendous changes compared to before, yet he still says the same thing to her.
Life is unpredictable, but some things seem to be forgotten by time, remaining steadfast in their place.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said seriously, "Your Majesty, the person who disturbed us was not me."
"..."
"As I just said, I am Yuwen Ye's lawfully wedded wife. His Majesty bestowed this marriage upon the Princess, but I, as the legal wife, am still here. Wouldn't that be unfair to the Princess?"
Although Chu Chengfei was young, he was quite perceptive. Upon hearing this, he immediately sneered, "What, do you think that when I bestow a marriage upon my elder sister, I would let her become someone's concubine?"
"..."
"I want you to leave Brother Fengchen!"
"..."
At this moment, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
What they all wanted was to exchange the princess's marriage for the solution to the "defeat" that Shen Shiyan had mentioned; but they never expected that the siblings only wanted to exchange Shen Shiyan's life for their own departure from Yuwen Ye, so as to fulfill the princess's marriage.
They're really being simplistic.
No, even if Chu Chengfei is young and doesn't yet understand the complex power dynamics, Chu Ruoyan has already begun stirring up trouble in the court; she couldn't possibly be unaware of it.
She probably thought she didn't understand.
Therefore, she summoned him alone, excluding Yuwen Ye, and after he had just met Shen Shiyan in the dungeon. She wanted to take advantage of his panic and his weakness of caring for his family to force him to submit.
"Oh……"
Shang Ruyi sneered inwardly again—it's not that easy.
Putting everything else aside, just thinking about how she had just agreed to let Eunuch Cao come to the palace to see the Emperor and the Princess, and how Yuwen Ye hadn't said a word on the way to Hanguang Gate, but the murderous aura emanating from him seemed like he could strangle her at any moment; and then thinking about the anger he had unleashed since she chose the fate of the country last night—Shang Ruyi couldn't help but shrink back.
How dare she?
However, the current situation is not something she can get through just because she understands it.
Even if you understand this in your heart, you still need to find a way to get through this situation without provoking the two of them and being able to escape unscathed.
At that moment, a clear, cool, yet gentle voice suddenly echoed in Shang Ruyi's mind—
Now, the attention of the entire court, including yours, is focused on your father's imprisonment and potential execution. Many have forgotten that what is truly imminent is the impending disaster.
These are the words Shen Wuzheng said to them yesterday.
He offered only one solution to this problem—turn crisis into opportunity.
The word "disaster," or rather, the disaster foreshadowed by the appearance of the comet, is their turning point!
At that moment, Shang Ruyi's mind suddenly began to race, and scene after scene flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern—
Fufeng was engulfed in war;
The Jingguan (a mound of corpses) standing on the banks of the Xiaolin River was a pitiful sight;
She sent Tushe'er with men out of Tongguan before they were able to find the right medicine for Yuwen Ye.
Xue Xian suffered a great defeat;
An empty village;
And also—when a comet appears, disaster strikes…
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath. Although her expression remained calm, the slightly reddened corners of her eyes clearly showed the turmoil in her heart. Even so, when she spoke, her voice was still calm and composed, and it also revealed an undeniable firmness: "Your Majesty, regardless of whether I agree or not, even if I do agree, does Your Majesty think this matter is over?"
Chu Chengfei was taken aback: "Isn't that right?"
"What is the purpose of His Majesty's decree of marriage?"
"No need to ask, of course I want my sister and Brother Fengchen to be a couple in the end."
"..."
Shang Ruyi's throat tightened slightly. She glanced at Chu Ruoyan opposite her again, but didn't say much. She only said, "For this, can my uncle's crime be pardoned?"
"good."
"Then, why was my uncle convicted?"
"Because he is talking nonsense, a criminal is deceiving the emperor!"
"Very well, even if my uncle is truly talking nonsense, why did he come before Your Majesty to spout such nonsense? And why did Your Majesty allow him to come to the Liangyi Hall to spout nonsense?"
"...!"
At this point, Chu Chengfei's throat suddenly felt like it was being choked, and he couldn't say anything more. Shang Ruyi, however, smiled calmly and said, "It's because—a comet appears, and disaster strikes."
"..."
"Your Majesty consulted these veteran ministers because you were seeking a solution. My uncle risked his life to advise Your Majesty for the same reason, didn't he?"
"..."
"Now that Your Majesty's requested marriage has been arranged and my wife's uncle has been pardoned, does Your Majesty consider the prophecy and the foretold calamity to be resolved?"
This time, Chu Chengfei gasped in shock.
He suddenly realized that they had done so much, inviting the general's wife into the palace alone and showing her the documents that had not yet been issued as decrees. Even though everything was done, his greatest fear had not been resolved!
Chu Chengfei stammered, "This, this—"
Seeing that Shang Ruyi was leading the conversation and the emperor's thoughts, Chu Ruoyan immediately frowned and said coldly, "I've already said it, all this talk about comets appearing and calamities arising, all this celestial omens, is completely false! Your Majesty, you don't need to believe in these things!"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her, then continued speaking to Chu Chengfei, who was still in a daze, "Your Majesty, I dare not refute what the Princess said, after all, my knowledge and learning are limited. However—as the founder of the Daye Dynasty, Emperor Wen's knowledge and understanding are probably beyond our reach."
At the mention of Emperor Wen, both Chu Chengfei and Chu Ruoyan's expressions changed.
Others are fine, but that was their grandfather, the founding emperor of the Daye Dynasty. His affairs are not something they, as his juniors, can easily refute.
Before the two could react, Shang Ruyi continued, "Even Emperor Wen, when faced with the astrological phenomenon of a comet appearing in the world, had to seek a way to resolve it. Does the Princess think that Emperor Wen's actions are absurd?"
"..."
Chu Ruoyan's tongue suddenly stiffened.
Even though she had just spoken eloquently, dismissing the appearance of the comet as worthless, Shang Ruyi brought up Emperor Wen, and she dared not argue anymore. After all, even though she was the eldest princess and could influence the emperor's younger brother, she could not criticize the founding emperor of the Daye Dynasty, her own grandfather!
Seeing her speechless, Shang Ruyi seized the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty should also know that Emperor Wen did not have time to use the averting method. Three days after the comet appeared, Emperor Wen—"
"..."
"This is the misfortune of the Daye Dynasty."
"..."
"Now that this celestial phenomenon has appeared once again, how can Your Majesty take it lightly? If you truly let it go unchecked—Your Majesty, think carefully, what will the consequences be?!"
Her increasingly somber words caused Chu Chengfei's face to grow paler and paler.
Seeing that the siblings were rendered speechless by her words, and that Emperor Chu Chengfei was terrified by the fact that Emperor Wen had failed to resolve the situation and would die three days later, Shang Ruyi suddenly changed the subject and said, "And this may be the least severe calamity that this comet's appearance foreshadows."
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoyan's face darkened. She glanced at her still somewhat flustered younger brother and immediately said, "His Majesty's life or death concerns the fate of the nation. How can you say this is the lightest calamity?!"
Shang Ruyi said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have studied the classics left by the late Empress Du. Empress Du and Emperor Wen are known as the Two Saints. The two saints most admired the saying in the pre-Qin classics: 'The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important.'"
"..."
"If the calamity foretold by the appearance of the comet involves Your Majesty, it is indeed a great disaster, but for the people and the nation, it is the least of your worries."
The more she spoke, the uglier Chu Chengfei's expression became.
Chu Ruoyan was already somewhat confused. She originally thought that she had the upper hand in today's conversation, from the moment Shang Ruyi met Shen Shiyan until she produced the marriage decree. However, she did not expect that a few words would allow Shang Ruyi to turn everything around, and now she had the entire topic under her control.
Chu Ruoyan panicked, and a surge of arrogance immediately arose within her.
She was, after all, a princess, a golden branch and jade leaf, pampered and spoiled. When had she ever been rebuked and refuted like this? So she sneered, "You're making things more and more ridiculous. It's just a comet appearing in the world. Nobody knows whether disaster will come or not. How come you make it sound like people are bound to die and disaster is bound to strike?"
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's eyes lit up immediately—
That's exactly what she was waiting for!
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