Chapter 328 Shang Ruyi, I Didn't Disregard Your Life or Death
The moment their eyes met, Yuwen Ye saw that those once bright and clear eyes seemed to be gleaming with a long-lost light.
But immediately, she lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.
Something seemed to stir slightly within Yuwen Ye, but he remained calm, only looking down at Shang Ruyi's lowered eyelashes, and said softly, "What are you going to do?"
"..."
"You want to show off again?"
"..."
Have you forgotten what I said?
Shang Ruyi lowered her head, feeling weak and powerless. The little strength she had just managed to muster to reach the door seemed to vanish the moment she faced him.
She gasped for breath and looked like she was about to fall, but Yuwen Ye reached out and caught her around the waist, pulling her into his arms.
Then he bent down and picked her up horizontally.
"you--"
Shang Ruyi wanted to say something, but the emotions she had just suppressed made her voice hoarse. She uttered just one word, which was already trembling uncontrollably, and she completely exposed her pounding feelings to him.
She immediately bit her lower lip, stopping herself from saying anything more.
Yuwen Ye looked down at her, his cold yet clear eyes seeming to see through everything.
But he didn't say much, he just turned around and walked out, instructing as he went, "Get the prescription and the medicine."
Mu Xian and Tu She'er immediately came to their senses and hurriedly found the shopkeeper who was so frightened that his legs went weak. After they got the prescription and the medicine, and even gave him extra money as an apology, they rushed out. By then, Yuwen Ye had already carefully put Shang Ruyi back into the carriage. No one dared to delay any longer, so they quickly mounted their horses and drove out of Songzhou City.
Soon, the carriage left the long-lost noise and bustle behind.
The two people inside the carriage remained silent.
This silence was different from the one before. They could both sense a strange emotion brewing in the quiet space. But Yuwen Ye had something on his mind. He lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside for a while, then frowned and pondered for a long time.
When she turned around again, she met Shang Ruyi's flickering gaze.
It had been a long time since she had looked at him on her own initiative.
Yuwen Ye looked at her and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi's lips trembled slightly, but she didn't speak; her face remained somewhat pale.
Yuwen Ye thought for a moment and said, "It's fake."
Shang Ruyi's breathing quickened, and she looked at him again.
Yuwen Ye said, "If you ask me whether I would really risk my life to incite my father to massacre the city, then I can tell you that it's not true."
"..."
“I never blink when I go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, but I have no plans to kill civilians for the time being.”
"..."
"There won't be any in the future."
Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then said, "Then, what makes you think that Lord Fan will believe you?"
Yuwen Ye turned his head again, lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside, and said calmly, "Whether he believes me or not is not important. This is a gamble, a gamble on whether he is a good official who loves the people like his own children."
"..."
"However, he revealed the outcome from the very beginning."
"..."
"In order not to harm innocent civilians outside, he did not rush in when we were not paying attention. Instead, he first evacuated the civilians, even at the cost of missing the opportunity to give us a chance to be on guard. Such a good official who loves the people like his own children would not risk the massacre of the city to arrest a criminal."
He spoke so casually, as if he were merely discussing the cool weather outside.
But this was clearly a gamble that put their lives at stake!
Shang Ruyi looked at his seemingly always confident and calm eyes, but at this moment, Yuwen Ye's gaze seemed to be rippling slightly as if stirred by a passing breeze.
He murmured, "But there's something I don't understand."
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "He wanted to capture me to avenge the 'regicide,' but he didn't hold it against you for the Duke's uprising, right?"
Yuwen Ye turned to look at her.
Their eyes met, and the deep thoughts in their gazes seemed to be exactly the same.
This almost perfect collision made Shang Ruyi's heart skip a beat. She quickly lowered her head to avoid his gaze, but Yuwen Ye's face seemed to be rippling with emotion again, and those ripples, reflected in the sunlight, were actually smiling, even somewhat warm.
He slowly turned to face Shang Ruyi and whispered, "Ruyi—"
Shang Ruyi turned her face toward the window on the other side.
Even now, the low-grade fever continues to torment her. The recent events and ordeal have left her feeling quite weak, and she can barely sit up by resting her forehead against the window.
But the next moment, Yuwen Ye reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"you--"
Shang Ruyi frowned, about to say something, but when she looked up, she met Yuwen Ye's eyes. He looked at her deeply, and his gaze, which was always sharp and almost invincible, seemed to see through her body and into her heart.
Shang Ruyi's throat tightened, and she couldn't say anything more.
Yuwen Ye held her in his arms and said solemnly, "I didn't finish what I was saying last night."
"..."
“I didn’t know about my father’s uprising. Before I went south to rescue you, I sent him a letter informing him of the changes here. I also asked him to wait until I had rescued you before taking any action, so as to avoid any unnecessary consequences.”
"..."
"Later, when I arrived in Jiangdu, news came that he had still raised an army."
"..."
"However, I think there must be more to this story than meets the eye, especially judging from what Fan Chengen just said. I'm even more convinced of that."
He let out a long sigh of relief and then said softly, "I didn't lie to you."
"..."
"Shang Ruyi, I did not disregard your life or death."
These words struck Shang Ruyi's heart. She clearly didn't want to hear them, and didn't want to be affected by their words anymore, but at this moment, her heartbeat still became heavy involuntarily.
She couldn't help but recall the despair she felt the moment she learned of the Duke of Sheng's uprising at Jiangdu Palace.
So it wasn't...
As he said, he did not disregard his own life or death—in fact, this has always been his way of doing things. Even when there was no emotional connection or further involvement with someone, he would not allow himself to be wronged; in fact, he would tell himself frankly that he had earned the respect of someone because of his will and integrity.
He was always honest with her about important matters.
Even—they owe each other nothing.
But feelings weren't a big deal to him.
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