Chapter 120 A Sweet and Charming Voice
"..."
Yuwen Ye's expression gradually darkened, and he said calmly, "It's nothing, you misheard."
After saying that, he turned around and ordered everyone, "Return to the city!"
After tidying up a bit, Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi sat in the carriage, while the rest of the group lined up to protect the carriage as they headed towards Luoyang City, which was not far away.
Having spent most of the past two days on horseback, Shang Ruyi finally managed to sit down and rest for a while, but her body felt even stiffer in the carriage than when she was riding a horse.
Because the carriage was small, the two people sitting inside were practically shoulder to shoulder and elbow to elbow.
But she—she was asleep and unaware last night, and it was fine when Yuwen Ye carried her to bed, but now that she's awake, she really doesn't want any more physical contact with him.
However, sitting so quietly and stiffly, the atmosphere in the small carriage was inevitably a bit awkward.
After thinking for a while, Shang Ruyi spoke first, asking the question that had been lingering in her mind all night—
"You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"..."
The person next to her remained motionless, but Shang Ruyi felt as if his eyelashes fluttered.
She turned to look at Yuwen Ye, whose face remained calm, and asked again, "You predicted this outcome from the beginning, didn't you?"
Yuwen Ye then looked down at her: "It wasn't something I expected."
"That is—"
"I can only let this matter end with this result."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly and then asked, "Then why did you bring so many people with you on this trip?"
After asking that question, she smiled to herself.
What else could it be? At that point, I had already laid out all the terms of the deal in front of him. What else could he possibly want?
So he said, "Never mind, forget I asked."
Seeing her smile, Yuwen Ye frowned slightly and said coldly, "Do you think you're very smart?"
These words were clearly provocative, but Shang Ruyi couldn't refute them. After all, ever since she learned of her uncle's exile yesterday, none of her actions had been considered clever.
She smiled bitterly and said, "You don't need to be so sarcastic. I know I'm not smart. But I'm a person, and who can escape the control of emotions? Can you really remain indifferent when your most important family member is in trouble?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her for a while longer, his gaze still that of someone looking at a fool.
After a long pause, he turned his head and said calmly, "If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have needed to lead a team of men to accompany you so far in the middle of the night."
Shang Ruyi said earnestly, "No matter what, I still want to thank you."
"oh?"
"At least, I got to meet my uncle and aunt, and I also met my brother."
Mentioning Shen Wuzheng, Shang Ruyi's smile deepened. The happiest thing about this trip for her was seeing her elder brother. Although the two only met briefly, she was relieved to know that he was safe and sound and that he had taken care of the Shen couple along the way.
Seeing the smile that was almost overflowing from her eyes and brows, Yuwen Ye frowned again.
Just then, the carriage stopped.
Yuwen Ye was about to say something, but the shock made him stop. He then heard voices outside; it was the soldiers guarding the city who had stopped them.
"Stop!"
Mu Xian, sitting in the hood of the car, immediately asked, "What are you doing?"
Yuwen Ye lifted a corner of the curtain with both hands and looked outside. He saw a group of city guards standing in front of him. One of the captains stood in front of the carriage and said, "Martial law has been imposed in the city. Now, if you want to enter or leave the city, you need to provide travel documents. If you don't have them, you can't enter the city!"
"Martial law?"
Upon hearing those two words, everyone was startled.
No wonder they stood by the roadside for so long and hardly saw any pedestrians; it turns out that Luoyang City was under martial law.
Yuwen Ye immediately reached out and lifted the curtain, looking at the soldier: "Why is martial law in effect?"
The soldiers guarding the city all recognized him. When they saw the second son of the Duke of Sheng, they were all startled and hurriedly said, "Young Master Yuwen—you, what are you doing outside the city?"
Yuwen Ye said calmly, "I don't need to explain my whereabouts to you."
The soldiers exchanged glances, their faces darkening.
The leading soldier said, "Hehe, well, I'm afraid you, Young Master Yuwen, need to explain this. You were just ordered to return to Luoyang a few days ago, weren't you? Why are you suddenly going outside the city? Is there some confidential matter at hand?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi, who had been sitting silently in the carriage, also frowned.
This time, the emperor summoned all the families of the generals sent to Liaoxi back to Luoyang in order to control them and monitor their movements. Now that they have left the city for no reason and are about to return, it is bound to cause trouble.
As expected, Yuwen Ye's expression darkened.
He thought for a moment and said, "I took my men out of the city to hunt."
The soldier asked, "Hunting? Where is the prey?"
Yuwen Ye gave Mu Xian a wink, and Mu Xian immediately jumped off the carriage, walked to the back of the carriage, and lifted the curtain. It turned out that there was a small partition at the back of the carriage, on which were piled a deer, seven or eight wild rabbits, and two golden pheasants.
It turned out that although they had chased after the Shen couple yesterday, Yuwen Ye had specifically instructed the two servants left outside the city to guard the carriage to hunt for some things overnight, even if they might not be useful, just in case.
Unexpectedly, it came in handy now.
The soldier glanced at the animals, then looked around at the people, and said, "So many people, and you only managed to hunt these things?"
Mu Xian said coldly, "Why don't you take action and show me?"
The soldier, stumped by his words, couldn't say anything more, only saying, "Please forgive us. Although you are out hunting, the orders from above are that no one can enter or leave without proper documentation. Please forgive us, Young Master Yuwen."
Upon hearing this, anger rose on everyone's faces.
They were just out of town hunting, so where would they get the documents? Wouldn't this leave them with no way to advance or retreat?
Mu Xian immediately flew into a rage, grabbed the soldier by the collar and pulled him close: "Are you looking for a beating?"
His action alarmed the surrounding soldiers, who immediately drew their swords and rushed forward. Yuwen Ye's men, unable to tolerate such humiliation, also prepared to attack.
Just as the two sides were about to fight, suddenly, a voice, neither too loud nor too soft, sweet yet with a touch of naivety, drifted over—
"Stop it, all of you."
Upon hearing the sound, before anyone else could react, Shang Ruyi, sitting in the carriage, stiffened, her hands on her knees immediately gripping the hem of her clothes in a spasm-like manner.
The sound is—
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