Chapter 211 A Good Show
Standing before her was none other than the very same traitor they had rescued when he was a desperate fugitive, who now controlled Xingluocang, commanded tens of thousands of troops, and dominated the region, causing the court endless headaches and even making them wish they could grind him to dust—
Xiao Yuansui!
At this moment, he was completely different from his previous disheveled and wretched appearance.
Shang Ruyi stood motionless at the door, watching the tall figure slowly stand up, walk down the steps one by one, and approach her step by step. The sunlight gradually illuminated the face that should have been familiar, but was actually completely unfamiliar.
The man before her was no longer covered in a messy beard and mud; his previously disheveled hair was now neatly tied back, revealing his originally handsome and bright features. He wore the most ordinary blue cloth robe, but the simple attire only accentuated his noble bearing, making him appear like a jade tree in the wind. Shang Ruyi then noticed that he even seemed somewhat refined and cultured, especially when he smiled, a smile line appearing at the corner of his mouth, making his smile not only warm but also very sincere.
The only familiar thing was his eyes.
Those eyes were too bright.
Back then, he was covered in mud, his hair and beard disheveled, looking as wretched as a beggar, yet he still possessed striking, bright eyes that left a deep impression on Shang Ruyi. Now, as he regained his original appearance, those eyes were not at all obscured by his handsome features; instead, they shone like two luminous pearls adorning a magnificent robe, becoming even more dazzling.
A person with such eyes will certainly not be just another face in the crowd.
Thinking of this, and then of the past, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but sigh.
Although it was just a soft sigh, Xiao Yuansui immediately caught it. He smiled and said, "Young Madam, you don't want to see me?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Not really."
Before leaving home, she could somewhat anticipate that she would run into this person again when she arrived at Xingluocang, but she never expected that their meeting would be like the one last night.
Xiao Yuansui asked, "Then, is the young mistress unhappy about what happened last night?"
Shang Ruyi said calmly, "You wouldn't feel good if someone pointed an arrow at you in the middle of the night, would you?"
Xiao Yuansui smiled and said, "We were impolite."
"..."
"However, the show of force last night was not originally intended to be used against the young mistress."
Shang Ruyi's eyelids twitched: "Then, who is it to be used on?"
Xiao Yuansui's eyes, which held a sharp, restrained glint, curved slightly: "What do you think, young mistress?"
Shang Ruyi's face darkened: "My husband?"
Xiao Yuansui laughed as he walked past Shang Ruyi, until he reached the main gate behind her. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking out – this was a high point in Cangcheng. From here, one could see most of Xingluo Cangcheng, and even Huangtuling. Every time he stood here, he felt a sense of strategic planning and ambition.
He said, "Your husband is not an easy person to deal with."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly, turned to look at his tall back, and said, "But I heard that my husband has been defeated three times in his campaigns against you. You have already won everything, so why do you still care so much about him?"
Xiao Yuansui's broad shoulders twitched slightly.
He turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Shang Ruyi: "Does Madam really think your husband will be defeated so easily?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi felt a lump in her throat.
These words sounded like what she herself was saying. She was willing to risk the crime of deceiving the emperor in front of Chu Yang to fight for an opportunity for Yuwen Ye. She braved the wind and snow to come to this dangerous place, all for him. If she said that she had no confidence in him at all, that would be nonsense!
However, she had no way of explaining the result of losing all three battles.
But perhaps, the person in front of me can give me an explanation.
So she said, "Then, what does Young Master Xiao think?"
Xiao Yuansui smiled faintly and said, "I can tell you clearly that I don't believe Yuwen Ye was defeated so easily."
"..."
"I don't believe that after his three defeats, he really led his troops into exile to evade responsibility!"
"..."
“We sent troops out last night to search for his whereabouts in the vicinity, but we did not expect to encounter the matter of the young mistress, so we invited you into the city.”
Shang Ruyi said, "So, you still haven't found him?"
Xiao Yuansui shook his head: "No."
"..."
"Last night we split into two groups, searching along the upper and lower reaches of the Luo River. Our group found you, but the group downstream still hasn't—"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion erupted outside the gate.
Both of them hurriedly looked up and saw a group of people walking towards them along the main road. The three or four people at the front seemed to be the leaders, but the most conspicuous one was a burly man with a thick beard, who kept cursing and swearing: "What's the use of running all night!"
The person next to him said, "Brother Lu, stop complaining."
"Why can't I complain! What is Yuwen Ye anyway? He just disappeared, and we have to search for him blindly. With that effort, I'd rather transport a few more cartloads of grain to Wanggang Village!"
"That's true."
Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi's heart stirred slightly.
These people soon entered the council hall. When the burly man with the bushy beard saw Xiao Yuansui, he impatiently cupped his hands and said, "Second Brother Xiao."
Shang Ruyi's heart stirred again.
Along the way, she heard people in the city address Xiao Yuansui as either "Big Manager" or "Big Brother," but this person called him "Second Brother," as if in his eyes there should be an even bigger person above Xiao Yuansui.
Xiao Yuansui, however, remained calm and politely bowed to him, saying, "Brother Lu Yong, you're back."
Lu Yong sneered, "You've been running around all night for nothing, your shoes are all worn out. Are you going to keep looking barefoot if you don't come back?"
Xiao Yuansui did not respond to this.
Lu Yong turned his head again and saw Shang Ruyi standing to the side. His eyes lit up and he said, "I heard you captured Yuwen Ye's wife. Is that her?"
Xiao Yuansui nodded: "Yes."
"Very good!"
Lu Yong grinned maliciously and rushed forward, reaching out to grab her. Shang Ruyi was so frightened that she quickly took a few steps back, but Xiao Yuansui stepped in front of her and said in a deep voice, "Brother Lu, what are you trying to do?"
Lu Yong sneered, "Didn't you want to capture Yuwen Ye? Now that his wife is in our hands, things are much easier. Hang her up on the mountain and bleed her dry. Let Yuwen Ye see that if he doesn't come out, he's a cowardly bastard!"
Xiao Yuansui's face darkened: "That won't do!"
"What's wrong with that?"
Lu Yong sneered and said, "Could it be that Second Brother is planning to use her—hehe, that's fine too. We brothers haven't touched a woman in a long time, especially a delicate and beautiful official's wife, and the wife of that good-for-nothing Yuwen Ye..."
As he spoke more and more vulgarly, the people following him burst into laughter, uttering obscene words; a few others, finding it unbearable, frowned and showed expressions of disgust.
Xiao Yuansui's brows gradually furrowed.
Just then, a figure flashed before his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was Shang Ruyi who suddenly stepped out from behind him, stood beside him, and coldly stared at Lu Yong.
Xiao Yuansui was probably taken aback by her audacity, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "You—"
Lu Yong leered, "What, you're willing?"
Shang Ruyi looked him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze and said, "You are from Wanggang Village?"
Lu Yong replied, "That's right, I am Lu Yong, the fourth leader of Wanggang Village."
Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "I don't believe it."
"You don't believe me? Hahaha, who do you think I am? Do you need to believe me?"
"Not only do I not believe it, but no one in the world will believe it either,"
Shang Ruyi sneered, "I've heard that the rules of Wanggang Village are not to kill the old, weak, women and children. Now you want to use me to bleed them dry, and you say it so shamelessly. Are you the Wanggang Army, or the Wanggang Army's—rebels?"
The moment the word "rebels" was uttered, the atmosphere in the hall froze, and even Xiao Yuansui's expression changed.
Lu Yong flew into a rage and shouted, "If you dare to talk nonsense, I'll kill you!"
After saying that, he slashed down hard at Shang Ruyi with his palm.
Just as his hand was still some distance from Shang Ruyi's head, a hand suddenly came across and blocked his arm. Looking up, he saw Xiao Yuansui, whose expression was cold and stern. He said in a deep voice, "Brother Lu, if you just said those words, that's fine. But if you really break the rules of the village, don't blame me for punishing you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yong's face became even more ferocious: "You dare to punish me? Xiao Yuansui, I am the fourth leader of Wanggang Village, and I joined the village two years earlier than you. What right do you have to punish me? Besides, those bullshit village rules were all set up by you after you arrived, using sweet words to trick the chief into making them. Without you, we would kill and rape as we pleased, having a great time!"
Hearing these words, Xiao Yuansui's expression turned even colder. He said, "Although you joined the stronghold earlier than me, the chief gave me this position, so you have to accept it. As for the stronghold rules, without such rules, how could so many people be united in their allegiance to the stronghold, and how could Wanggang Army have the momentum it has today?"
"So you're saying that all the territory Wang Gang's army has captured is your doing?"
"you--"
Seeing that their argument was getting more and more heated, Shang Ruyi calmly took a step back, and then another.
Finally, everyone around her rushed forward, some arguing, some trying to mediate, while she was left unattended, retreating to a corner of the lobby to coldly watch the spectacle unfold before her.
Just then, Xiao Yuansui, who was in the crowd, suddenly seemed to sense something and turned around to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, he seemed to understand something.
After calming down and thinking it over, he immediately put on a friendly expression and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, what you're saying is wrong. I'm from Wanggang Village, and everything I've conquered naturally belongs to Wanggang Village. Aren't you just making us feel distant?"
"Yeah?"
Lu Yong snorted coldly, glanced at Shang Ruyi, and said, "I have something to say, and you must agree to it!"
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