Chapter 767 Intimacy...
It was Yuwen Qian!
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment, and almost instinctively took a step back, even wanting to turn around and leave.
But immediately, reason prevailed over her momentary instincts and unease. She knew clearly that the person in front of her was not only her uncle, but also the Crown Prince of the Great Sheng Dynasty. No matter how antagonistic their relationship was, she absolutely could not show any wariness or hostility on her face, nor could she reveal the slightest trace of it.
Shang Ruyi immediately stopped and respectfully bowed to the Crown Prince before her: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Yuwen Qian's smile froze.
The next moment, he still had a smile on his face, slowly stood up and said to Shang Ruyi, "I hope I haven't disturbed your elegant mood of reciting poetry."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
The line she just mentioned—if it can be considered poetry—actually came from who-knows-where. It seemed to be just a verse about the spring scenery in the garden and the joy people felt when facing such vibrant spring light. But for some reason, she felt that this line of poetry should not be heard by a man, let alone Yuwen Qian.
His explicit statement made Shang Ruyi feel somewhat embarrassed.
So he could only change the subject, saying casually, "I wonder what brings His Highness the Crown Prince here."
Yuwen Qian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at Shang Ruyi, who was dressed in red. He rarely saw her in such a bright and eye-catching color. Far from being gaudy, it accentuated her fair skin and rounded figure, giving her an unprecedented radiance, as if she were the embodiment of the vibrant spring scenery around her. Yuwen Qian's gaze lingered on her for a moment before he quickly looked away before Shang Ruyi felt uncomfortable. He then looked around, taking in the delightful and lush spring scenery around him.
Then he smiled and said, "Coming to the garden, of course, is to see the spring scenery."
Shang Ruyi said, "It seems Your Highness is also in a good mood, then I—"
Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Qian's eyes flickered, and he suddenly turned to look at her, smiling gently, "Sister-in-law, you always talk about etiquette and rules, but when there are no outsiders, I still hope that we can just be family, regardless of the difference in rank between ruler and subject."
"..."
Shang Ruyi looked into his eyes, which seemed to have gentleness etched into his very bones, and after a moment of silence, finally said, "Big Brother."
Yuwen Qian smiled and nodded.
Shang Ruyi said, "Then I won't disturb your elegant time, brother—"
She originally intended to leave politely, but before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Qian added, "By the way, I heard that your wife bought a house in Chang Le Fang these days, and it's almost finished being renovated, is that right?"
Shang Ruyi stopped abruptly.
She looked up at Yuwen Qian and said softly, "How did you know about this, brother?"
Yuwen Qian smiled, lowered his head to dust off his clothes, took a step back and sat back in the chair, and said, "Our Great Sheng has only been established for a few months. Apart from the war against foreign invaders, the most important thing is to take stock of the household registration and the land under our rule. These days I have been following the decree of my father to take stock of the land, houses and population in Guanzhong. Chang'an is naturally the first step."
"..."
"Just now, my uncle, the Duke of Shenwu, also came to the palace to discuss the next steps with me."
"..."
Shang Ruyi paused for a moment, then a hint of embarrassment crept into her heart.
In fact, the moment she saw Yuwen Qian, she already knew that the familiar figure who had just walked out of the Thousand Steps Corridor was Duke Shenwu, Dong Bizheng, who was Yuwen Qian's uncle. She seemed to have accidentally stumbled upon their meeting, so she was cautious in her words and actions when facing Yuwen Qian, and did not say a word. However, she did not expect that the other party would bring it up on his own initiative.
It seemed to be telling her that there was nothing shameful about their meeting.
Her caution was somewhat amusing.
Shang Ruyi felt awkward inside, but maintained a calm smile on her face and said, "So the Duke also came to the palace just now. If I had known, I should have come to see him."
Yuwen Qian laughed and said, "It's better not to see him."
"ah?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback again.
Her words were, of course, just polite words. After all, everyone knew that the Dong and Guan families were vying for power in Yuwen Yuan's household, and she was, after all, Guan Yunmu's daughter-in-law. She had never been close to the Dong family, so avoiding them would naturally prevent awkwardness. But she still had to say the polite things, so why did Yuwen Qian do the opposite?
Just as she was somewhat surprised, she saw Yuwen Qian smile and say, "That old man complains about everything all day long. Sister-in-law, you are six months pregnant now, and it is most important that you are in a good mood. You should not always listen to these resentful words."
"..."
This time, Shang Ruyi was speechless.
She had just felt that Yuwen Qian's words, "It's better not to see him," were not only not polite at all, but even had a strange sense of intimacy. Only close people can be so casual with each other, and Shang Ruyi would not dare to be close to him, let alone be. So she just took his words as a slip of the tongue.
But now, he was actually complaining to himself about his uncle's resentment.
This was truly a close relationship, even closer than the one between him and his uncle.
Shang Ruyi stared at him, momentarily speechless, while Yuwen Qian seemed oblivious to her odd behavior and continued with a smile, "This old man is used to the battlefield. He's fought several major battles in the past two years, but he hasn't been given the opportunity to lead troops. Now he's being asked to do household registration in Chang'an. He's filled with resentment."
"..."
How could Shang Ruyi possibly respond to that?
But Yuwen Qian stopped there, seemingly waiting for her to speak.
After hesitating and remaining silent for a long time, Shang Ruyi finally started to think, but an awkward smile couldn't be suppressed on her slightly twitching lips. She said softly, "Old people are all like that. As they get older, they inevitably become stubborn. My uncle is the same..."
"..."
"Sometimes, you should try to persuade them if you can, and if you can't, just go along with them."
Yuwen Qian looked at her again: "Does your sister-in-law mean that I should find an opportunity to send my uncle to the battlefield?"
"..."
This time, Shang Ruyi really couldn't respond to those words.
Fortunately, Yuwen Qian seemed to have finally come to his senses. He shouldn't have said these things to her, let alone said so much, and even sincerely asked her for advice. Seeing Shang Ruyi's embarrassed look, he just smiled and said, "Speaking of houses and land in Chang'an, although the house my sister-in-law bought is not big, it is, after all, the property of the Princess of Qin. The people below still have to report it truthfully."
After saying that, he looked at Shang Ruyi and said, "I think you plan to turn that place into a school, is that right?"
Finally, let's get back to the "real business".
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, but then she felt that even though this matter seemed to be something that the two of them shouldn't discuss, looking at Yuwen Qian's appearance, he actually intended to "talk" with her. However, there was nothing shameful about her buying a house and building a school, and the money she used was all the money that Yuwen Yuan had previously rewarded her with. So, it was neither her responsibility nor the Crown Prince's.
So she walked calmly to the opposite side of Yuwen Qian and sat down on a chair some distance away from him.
Tushe'er stood quietly to the side, neither too close nor too far.
Shang Ruyi said, "Brother, you are truly sharp-witted and perceptive."
Yuwen Qian laughed and said, "It's not that I'm particularly sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, but after the school was completed, most of the students were girls, which caused quite a stir in Chang'an. I also heard that my sister-in-law not only built the school herself and reduced tuition fees for many students, but also extended her kindness to some poor female students in private schools throughout the city."
"..."
"Now, many people in the city know about this and praise the Queen Consort of Qin as a living bodhisattva."
Hearing him say that, Shang Ruyi felt a little embarrassed.
She entrusted these matters to Jiang Kesheng. Although she had instructed him beforehand not to be too ostentatious, she also had to reveal her identity as the Princess Consort of Qin when necessary, so as not to cause trouble for the people below who were greedy and fearless.
I never expected it to turn out like this.
Shang Ruyi could only laugh awkwardly, "I'm not some living bodhisattva, it's just—"
She originally thought that it was because she listened to Yu Mingyue's words that women hundreds of years later would have more choices in life because they were more educated than they are now, so she followed Shen Wuzheng's advice and followed the example of Empress Du to open more schools for girls and encourage girls to study.
However, she also understood that it would be somewhat awkward to mention Yu Mingyue in front of Yuwen Qian.
Even now, neither she nor Yuwen Ye can guess how much Yu Mingyue told Yuwen Qian about her origins and what she knew, or how much Yuwen Qian knew in return. But one thing is clear: after Yu Mingyue revealed certain aspects of the future and revealed the path he would take, he was unwilling to sit idly by and wait for his fate. Therefore, he abandoned his years of cultivation, returned to the Yuwen family, and inherited everything before him.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi twirled her tongue, lowered her head and gently stroked her high, swollen belly, saying, "Consider it accumulating some good fortune for this child."
"..."
Yuwen Qian's eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
After a long while, he smiled, but there seemed to be a complex emotion in his smile that was hard to describe. He said, "Yes."
After saying that, he added, "However, even if you are doing this to accumulate good fortune for this child, you don't need to spend too much. Moreover, if you want to encourage girls to pursue their studies, simple methods are unlikely to achieve the results you want."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi looked at him in surprise: "Why?"
Yuwen Qian said, "Putting aside the students that your sister-in-law is going to enroll in the school she built herself, just consider the female students you are supporting at your private schools all over the city. I'm afraid you haven't thought this through."
Shang Ruyi hadn't expected him to say that. She had been fully focused on dealing with him and being wary of him, but now she was completely focused on her doubts. She even leaned towards Yuwen Qian and asked seriously, "Brother, what makes you say that?"
Yuwen Qian laughed and said, "Things that come too easily in this world are not cherished."
"...?"
“Sister-in-law, you have fully sponsored those students, not only covering their tuition and books, but also their extracurricular tea and travel expenses, and even some of their lodging money. These latter items alone are a great benefit to some people.”
"..."
"Maybe some people are just there for these benefits, and they're willing to join the class just to make up the numbers?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately frowned.
Yes, she hadn't thought of that before. She was only focused on sponsoring students, especially female students, so that they could study and succeed without distractions. She forgot that there is also a greedy side to human nature.
After thinking for a while, she murmured, "What my elder brother said makes sense."
Yuwen Qian said, "That's only one aspect."
Shang Ruyi looked at him: "Anything else?"
Yuwen Qian nodded and said, "The amount of money you've sponsored for the students is not small, but you can't always send people to supervise those below you. There are too many ways to manipulate things in between."
Shang Ruyi's brows furrowed even more deeply as she asked, "For example?"
Yuwen Qian said, "For example, the school manager can falsify the number of enrolled students to embezzle money."
"Receiving a salary without working"
You know?
"Yes, I heard my father say when I was a child that there were such bad habits in the army. But you can rest assured, brother. I asked Jiang Kesheng to investigate the family situation of the students I am helping. There are no people who have fraudulently claimed the positions."
Jiang Kesheng still has several hundred men under her command, which are just the right amount of people for Yuwen Yuan to handle this matter.
Yuwen Qian hadn't expected her to know such a thing, and that she had made preparations in advance. His smile deepened, and even the appreciation in his smile deepened. He nodded, but then said, "However, there is one more thing. I wonder if you have any ideas about it, sister-in-law."
"What's up?"
“If these female students have brothers at home, you should probably be wary of them. Otherwise, their parents might use their daughters to gain admission but send their own sons to school while the daughters go home to work.”
"..."
"If you send someone to investigate, just have these female students come beforehand to make it look like it is."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's expression darkened slightly.
Yes, she hadn't expected that this was possible.
But thinking about it, those poor families who can't afford tuition will naturally try to seize such an opportunity. However, most people value their sons more, and it's not impossible for them to use their daughters as a stepping stone to get their sons a chance to study.
Shang Ruyi murmured, "Brother is right. It seems I need to send someone down to investigate again."
He chuckled again, saying, "Big brother is wise indeed. I was too careless."
Yuwen Qian shook his head and said gently, "Sister-in-law, it's not that you're careless. It's just that you think too highly of people. But that's a good thing, because only a kind-hearted person can look at and treat others with such kindness."
"..."
"As for this matter, my sister-in-law only needs to change the way she helps people to avoid a lot of trouble."
"oh?"
At this moment, Shang Ruyi couldn't care less about anything else and only asked, "How can it be changed? Please enlighten me, elder brother."
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