Chapter 174 Let's make up, okay?
The procession, from the initial departure of the coffin to the funeral procession, followed by a temporary resting place at Banyan Temple, took three whole days.
When the final memorial service ended, the day they stayed at Banyan Temple happened to be New Year's Eve. However, none of them had any interest in celebrating the festival. They simply ate a fairly substantial vegetarian meal in silence and then returned to the laymen's quarters behind the temple to rest.
Since it was a monks' quarters, it was naturally very simple. After Shang Ruyi finished bathing, she went into the room and saw that it was spacious, divided into two rooms, separated only by a gauze curtain. There was only one bed, which was placed against the wall in the inner room. The outer room only had two low tables and a few blankets, and there were no other decorations.
Shang Ruyi immediately frowned—
How are they supposed to sleep?
However, when she looked around again, she found that Yuwen Ye was nowhere to be seen. Logically speaking, he should have gone to bathe and change clothes first and then returned to his room. Why was he nowhere to be seen?
Did he go to sleep in another room?
However, just now when we were eating vegetarian food, the abbot of Banyan Temple came over and said that there were not enough rooms in the Buddhist community, so even Aunt Hui and Jinyun had to squeeze into one room. As husband and wife, it was even more impossible for Yuwen Ye and me to be separated.
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, but didn't dare to lie down first. After all, given what had happened that night, she really didn't want to show any sign of distress in front of Yuwen Ye again.
So she put on a coat, pushed open the door, and went out.
Everyone was exhausted from the past few days of work, so they closed the doors and went to bed early. The only sounds in the entire Buddhist temple were the chirping of insects and birds, which made the night seem even more tranquil. Even her soft footsteps sounded a bit abrupt.
Shang Ruyi walked around the courtyard twice, and just as she reached the main gate of the Buddhist Lodge, she heard two voices coming from the long bluestone path outside—
"So, the last time you saw him was when he came to stay for the night six months ago?"
"yes."
"Where did they go after that?"
"Please forgive us, Second Young Master, but the Eldest Young Master has always been elusive and lives alone, so we shouldn't inquire about him casually."
"All alone..."
The voices belonged to Yuwen Ye and Abbot Duhai of Banyan Temple. Their tone of voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and it didn't sound like a private conversation. However, when Shang Ruyi heard these words, she subconsciously stopped in her tracks. After thinking for a moment, she immediately turned around and went back to her room.
Even with the door closed and the brazier near the bed close, she still felt a chill creeping up from the soles of her feet.
Just as she was feeling somewhat dazed, the door to her dormitory was pushed open.
Looking up, I saw Yuwen Ye walk in, bathed in the cool moonlight, and he seemed to be carrying a cloth bag that was a little muddy.
Shang Ruyi immediately became a little nervous, sitting on the edge of the bed, her back stiff as she stared at him.
Yuwen Ye was also looking at her.
After a long pause, a faint, cold smile appeared on his face as he said, "You can sleep soundly."
After saying that, he did not go into the inner room, but went to sit down at a low table in the outer room. He poured the cloth bag in his hand onto the table, and a bag of pebbles rolled out and covered the entire tabletop with a clatter.
Shang Ruyi was taken aback—what was going on?
At this moment, she couldn't lie down to sleep, nor could she go out to look, so she could only sit by the bed and watch through the curtains as Yuwen Ye, disregarding the mud on the stones, gathered them together or scattered them, arranging them into various shapes, then moving a few more, looking at them again, and moving a few more.
It's like children playing a game.
After fiddling with her for a while, seemingly sensing Shang Ruyi's gaze, he turned his head and looked at her weary face, still unwilling to lie down. For some reason, his expression darkened further, and he sneered, "What, you'd only feel at ease if someone tied me up?"
No, it's not.
Shang Ruyi probably knew he was referring to that night. Although it was clearly his fault, for some reason, bringing it up now made it seem like she was arrogant and presumptuous. She didn't want things to get too tense with him, after all, Guan Yunmu had just passed away, and her mother had been very good to her.
So she took a blanket from the bed, went outside, and handed it to him.
"If you're cold, put this on."
"..."
Yuwen Ye only glanced at her, said nothing, grabbed the blanket, and coldly placed it at his feet.
After doing all this, Shang Ruyi did not turn around and leave. Instead, she remained standing beside him, looking at the various shapes formed by the pebbles on the table. Yuwen Ye was silent for a while, then said, "Aren't you going back to sleep?"
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "I will not apologize to you for what happened that day, because I did nothing wrong."
"snort."
"But I want to make up with you."
"..."
Yuwen Ye's breath hitched, and he looked up at her again, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
After a long pause, he asked, "Why?"
Shang Ruyi slowly sat down on the blanket, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "You once said that we are in a transaction, not adversaries. Continuing to be hostile will not benefit either of us. In any case, in the eyes of outsiders, we are still husband and wife, aren't we?"
Despite being busy these past few days, her mind has been very clear.
Although she only considered being a good daughter-in-law of the Duke's mansion as her greatest support in life, the Duke could not always be by her side to protect her. At home, without the help of her husband Yuwen Ye, she, as the young mistress, would still have a very difficult time.
For example, the fact that she couldn't even mobilize one of Mu Xian's men that day speaks volumes.
"..."
Yuwen Ye looked at her, and his previously calm breathing became rapid.
Even his chest heaved violently a few times.
After a long pause, he smiled faintly, as if both angry and relieved, and said, "You do remember my words very well."
Shang Ruyi recalled how she had used his words to deal with him several times before, sometimes in arguments, sometimes to comfort him, and she couldn't quite say which kind of relationship he was referring to now, but she still said sincerely, "Let's make up, okay?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye stared at her for a while, then suddenly turned his head away and snorted softly, "I haven't fallen out with you."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but smile.
This means making up.
She breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling much more relaxed. She couldn't help but peek at the pebbles on the table and asked softly, "What are you putting here?"
Yuwen Ye didn't turn around to look at her. He fiddled with a few more pebbles and said, "Look, see if you can figure it out."
"..."
Shang Ruyi watched for a while: "Are you... deploying troops?"
Yuwen Ye was taken aback and turned to look at her: "You can understand it?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "I don't understand, but when I was a child, my father would play with pebbles in the yard like this when he had nothing to do."
Yuwen Ye glanced at her for a while, then turned back to continue fiddling with his things without saying anything. Shang Ruyi also watched for a while and murmured, "But the terrain you're setting up isn't the Xingluocang area."
"...!"
This time, Yuwen Ye didn't turn around to look at her. He just paused slightly with his fingers and then said, "Why do you think I would set up the Xingluocang formation?"
At this moment, weariness gradually crept in, and Shang Ruyi felt her eyelids growing heavy, but she still forced herself to answer him: "His Majesty's conferment of an official title upon you at Mother's funeral is clearly not a normal reward, but more like an emergency deployment. Conferring the title during the funeral should give you some time to prepare; in addition, Xingluo Granary is such an important place that it has been occupied by Wanggang Army, so the court will definitely send troops to conquer it. Given the two situations, I guess you might be sent."
Yuwen Ye remained silent for a long time before coldly snorting, "So you're not stupid after all."
He said this, but his movements were much slower than before. Firstly, his thoughts were blocked, and secondly, it seemed that something else was disturbing his mind, making it impossible for him to concentrate on strategizing.
After a long silence, he finally gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "You seem to know His Majesty's character very well."
"..."
"What's going on between you and him—"
Before I could finish speaking, I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulder.
He turned his head and saw that Shang Ruyi had fallen asleep at some point, her head resting on his shoulder.
Suddenly, he froze, and a small pebble he was holding fell to the table with a clatter.
Shang Ruyi was a light sleeper, and she subconsciously frowned, but she was still half asleep when she felt a warm sensation on her ear. Suddenly, she couldn't hear any sound, and a warm feeling enveloped her. She felt a reassuring sense of being embraced, and slowly, she fell into a deep sleep again.
I slept until the next morning.
Shang Ruyi rarely slept so soundly, especially since she could smell sandalwood in her dreams and feel the warmth on her body, and she was even reluctant to wake up.
However, instinct made her slowly open her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, she was startled again and sat up abruptly. She realized that she was sleeping on the bed in the inner room, covered with the blanket she had given to Yuwen Ye the night before.
However, Yuwen Ye was not by his side, and when he turned to look at the outer room, the table was also empty.
Even the pebbles have disappeared.
Having experienced the previous incident at Zhanpinghe Post Station, she knew that she must have fallen asleep next to him and then been carried to bed by him. Although there was no sudden intimacy or unsettling physical contact like the previous nights, she still couldn't help but blush and hold her head in regret.
What, you've fallen asleep again!
Fortunately, Tu She'er and the others quickly came to help her get up. Shang Ruyi didn't dare to be negligent either. Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and it was also the day they were to go home after the funeral. She hurriedly got up and made all the necessary arrangements. After leaving Banyan Temple, Yuwen Yuan and the others were also ready, and the family was about to go home.
Shang Ruyi spotted Yuwen Ye in the crowd at a glance. He was dressed in plain clothes, had a calm expression, and stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.
When the two looked at each other, her face immediately flushed.
She didn't say much and followed the others down the mountain. But when she was boarding the boat at the ferry, looking at the shimmering river, Shang Ruyi suddenly thought of something and her steps faltered.
Just then, a familiar presence approached from behind.
Then I heard Yuwen Ye's calm voice in my ear: "What's wrong?"
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