Chapter 243 I Lied to the Emperor
"His Majesty,"
After a moment of silence, Shang Ruyi looked into those slender phoenix eyes, which seemed somewhat lost, yet also as if they were intently waiting for an answer, and solemnly said, "Of course Ruyi cares about him."
"..."
"He is Ruyi's husband."
Chu Yang's expression shifted slightly.
After saying those words, Shang Ruyi's heart seemed even more resolute than before.
Because she knew even more clearly in her heart that she did choose him, but not at this moment, nor after experiencing that life-or-death ordeal in Xingluocang.
She had already made her choice the moment she first saw him and agreed to the marriage.
Choices are life.
only--
She looked up at the man in front of her again.
If her infatuation with Yuwen Ye began with her initial amazement at first sight, then Chu Yang, the supreme ruler with unparalleled power and wealth, also possessed a handsomeness that was enough to amaze her, or rather, to attract any woman. She was not entirely unaware of the things he said to her and the things he did.
In the past, she never thought that her choices would affect him.
But now, she can't help but think about it.
Even if she still couldn't influence him enough, she couldn't help but think about what his future would hold.
What will his life be like?
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi raised her head and said cautiously yet urgently, "Your Majesty—"
Before she could finish speaking, she felt a sudden gust of wind brush against her face. Looking closely, she saw that Chu Yang's expression had suddenly changed, and he coldly threw away the oil-paper umbrella in his hand.
With a wave of her long sleeves, a gust of wind swept up rain and snow, which suddenly hit her face.
Shang Ruyi subconsciously closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, the exquisite oil-paper umbrella had already floated into the air. It hesitated for only a moment before gently drifting down and landing right at her feet. Chu Yang had already turned around and boarded the carriage without looking back.
"His Majesty!"
Before Shang Ruyi could say anything more, Eunuch Yu had already come over and blocked her way.
"Young Madam, His Majesty is returning to the palace."
"..."
"It's getting late, young mistress, please head back soon."
After saying that, a faint worry seemed to appear on his chubby face, but he didn't say anything more. He just sighed and turned to walk to the carriage. A moment later, the coachman shouted and the large carriage slowly moved forward.
Inside the curtains and closed car doors, there was no sound.
Shang Ruyi stood motionless. The wind and snow intensified, and the coachman behind her finally couldn't contain himself and let out a soft murmur: "Young Madam?"
At this moment, Shang Ruyi slowly turned her head around.
Under the gloomy sky, her face was filled with contradiction and struggle, but in the instant she faced outsiders, all her emotions were suppressed, and she said calmly, "Let's go."
She returned to the carriage, and after a short while, she arrived at the Yuwen residence.
The family had been waiting all day, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when she returned. Shang Ruyi spoke a few words to Jin Yun and asked her to comfort the servants before taking Tu She'er and the others back to their room.
After taking a shower and washing away the chill that had seeped into her bones, she returned to her room and asked Changwan, who was making her bed, "Has the stuff been delivered?"
Changwan hurriedly turned to her and said, "Young Madam, the clothes have all been taken inside."
Have you seen the young master?
"No. The people from the Dali Temple wouldn't let me in at all. I had to use money to bribe the people inside before they would let the clothes in."
"Did you ask anything?"
"I asked around, and they said that the second young master was not imprisoned or tortured, so he probably didn't suffer any hardship."
Shang Ruyi's eye twitched slightly.
She didn't quite agree with Chang Wan's statement that she "didn't suffer much." In the Dali Temple, to torture someone, it wasn't necessarily necessary to imprison or use torture. They had many ways to make people suffer. Moreover, the person involved in the interrogation of this case was Wang Shaoji.
The two families have always been political enemies, and Wang Shaoji has done countless things to harm the Yuwen family, both openly and secretly. This time, Yuwen Ye has fallen into his hands, so he can't just sit idly by.
For example, today—
She remained silent for a moment, but did not voice her thoughts. She simply nodded and said, "You've worked hard. Go and rest."
Chang Wan said, "Yes."
After she left, only Shang Ruyi and Tu She'er remained in the bedroom. Tu She'er immediately went to her side and said anxiously, "Miss, the Emperor and Empress both summoned you to the palace today. What do they want you to do here? Is it about the young master?"
Shang Ruyi looked down at her and said softly, "Mm."
Tushe'er hurriedly asked, "What is it? Will they release the son-in-law?"
Shang Ruyi thought for a while longer and said, "Perhaps it will be soon—at least, there should be a result by now."
"What's the meaning?"
"Today I met Wang Shaoji and Zhai Ying in the palace."
Tushe'er blinked. Although she knew Wang Shaoji was a bad person, the name Zhai Ying was still unfamiliar to her. So, Shang Ruyi briefly explained that Yuwen Ye's case had been handed over to the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for trial.
As Tushe'er listened, a look of fear appeared on her face: "They actually interrogated Miss in front of the Emperor and Empress!"
"..."
"So, what did they ask? And how did you answer, Miss?"
Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Shang Ruyi's eyes.
She said, "They asked me who those people were when I left Xingluocang with Yuwen Ye and was blocked by Kou Yunliang's men. They said that a group of people attacked the imperial troops led by Kou Yunliang, causing chaos and saving us."
After returning from the Battle of Xingluocang, Shang Ruyi told Tushe'er about the battle intermittently. Although she omitted many details of her capture and imprisonment in the city, she naturally had to tell her about such an important event.
Tushe'er immediately said, "So, Miss said it was Jiang Kesheng and his men?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "No."
"No?"
Tushe'er's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "What did the young lady mean?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I said, I don't know."
"..."
"But it looks like he's one of Wang Gangjun's men."
"ah!?"
This surprised Tusheer even more: "Why?"
"..."
“Didn’t Miss arrange for Jiang Kesheng and the others to wait for you at Luokou Ferry? Besides, it was clearly them who did this. Miss, you told me before, so why did you say it was Wang Gang’s men? This, this isn’t—”
Shang Ruyi looked at her and said calmly, "I lied to the people of the Dali Temple—no, I lied to the Emperor and the Empress."
"...!"
Tushe'er gasped.
Although she is usually carefree and often does some bold things, deceiving the emperor and empress, especially in the case of Yuwen Ye's trial, is a crime of deceiving the emperor! Regardless of the final outcome of this case, once discovered, she will be beheaded!
Tushe'er was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. When she spoke again, her voice was so low that it seemed to be squeezed out of her throat. She whispered, "Miss, why did you do this?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Tu She'er's heart was pounding like a drum, making it impossible for her to calm down. After thinking for a moment, she said, "By the way, Miss just said that Wang Shaoji and that Shaoqing, they got the young master's confession from him, and they need other people's testimonies to corroborate it in order to prove that the young master is telling the truth, right?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Tushe'er hurriedly asked, "Then, what was the son-in-law's testimony? Did they say it?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head.
Tushe'er gasped again.
She said in disbelief, "So, Miss lied without knowing how the young master answered that question?"
"Um."
"Miss, you, you—are you out of your mind?!"
"..."
"What if, what if the son-in-law doesn't give them this answer?"
"..."
"Then, Miss, won't you be going to—"
Tushe'er's eyes were red, and she gripped Shang Ruyi's hands, which were resting on her knees, tightly. Compared to her excitement and fear, the person who had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and might really be beheaded was as calm as an ice sculpture, with no tremor in her hands.
Shang Ruyi looked down at her and said, "Maybe."
Tushe'er became even more anxious: "Miss, why are you lying?"
"..."
Why tell this lie?
Seeing her anxious expression, Shang Ruyi became even calmer. In fact, seeing her red eyes and frightened appearance like a startled little rabbit, she even laughed.
She laughed and asked, "Why do you think that is?"
Tushe'er immediately shook his head, somewhat angrily.
She wasn't afraid of anything else. Since she had decided to follow this master, she would not back down even if it meant going through fire and water. She was willing to step forward and clear away any obstacles or difficulties that lay ahead for her.
But she couldn't imagine that Shang Ruyi would put herself in such danger.
She said indignantly, "This servant doesn't know why. This servant only knows that the young master doesn't allow the young lady to go out, just to keep the young lady away from trouble. Why does the young lady have to go and get involved in this mess herself?"
"..."
"Miss, you've put yourself in danger; you've brought trouble upon yourself!"
"Putting yourself in danger? Getting yourself into trouble?"
Shang Ruyi repeated these words, and after a long while, she smiled faintly and said, "Not necessarily."
Tushe'er was taken aback again: "What do you mean?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "I'm not telling you now, so you won't overthink things and annoy people. Anyway, I've already told this lie, and whether the testimony matches up or not, there will be a result in the end."
Upon hearing the result, Tusheer perked up again, but also became even more nervous.
She asked, "When will we have a result?"
Shang Ruyi did the math and said, "Even if Wang Shaoji delays further, at most five or six more days, and this case should be adjudicated and a result should be reached."
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