Chapter 257: Chapter 241: The Best Protection for a Person
When Wang Shaoji and Zhai Ying left the Warm Dock, the drizzling rain and snow had finally stopped. However, the sky remained overcast, and even within the towering palace, the light seemed dimmer than before.
This dim light added even more gloom to the face of the mercurial Chu Yang.
The gloom seemed to cast a shadow over the entire palace, suffocating everyone. Shang Ruyi’s chest felt heavy, and for a while, she didn’t dare to take a breath.
At this moment, the gentle voice of Empress Jiang sounded in her ear—
"Your Majesty."
Every time her voice rang out, it was like a warm spring breeze passing through the gloomy atmosphere, lifting a person’s heavy mood. Instantly, Shang Ruyi could breathe again, and she turned to look at her. She saw Empress Jiang gently saying to Chu Yang, "If Your Majesty has no more business, I would like to leave with Ru Yi. I still have some things to say to her, and if it gets any later, the palace gates will close."
Chu Yang lifted his eyes to look at her.
And then looked over at Shang Ruyi.
Although his face was gloomy, there was an unusual warmth in his eyes, seemingly out of place with the weather. After a moment of silence, he said, "It’s so cold outside, did the Empress walk over here?"
"No, I had someone prepare a canopy."
"Then, let the Empress wait outside for a moment, I have a few words to say to her."
Empress Jiang hesitated, looked again at Shang Ruyi, and finally nodded, "Alright."
Having said that, she turned and left.
Once she left, only two people remained in the vast palace.
Shang Ruyi was not particularly nervous, after all, she had faced such a scenario before. Moreover, compared to the interrogation just moments ago, this was already a situation where she could relax.
But the next moment, Chu Yang stood up and walked over to her step by step.
Instinctively, she wanted to step back, but she knew that here, there was nowhere for her to retreat. She thought for a moment, then stood her ground, watching as Chu Yang came to stand before her. The ethereal cold fragrance he carried once again surrounded her, like an Immortal descending upon the world on a moonlit night.
Shang Ruyi unconsciously held her breath.
Chu Yang looked down at her for a while, then suddenly asked, "Does it hurt?"
"...?"
She had expected to be questioned again about the details of the Battle of the Xingluo Granary, or perhaps to revisit old matters. Shang Ruyi had all her defenses up, but she hadn’t expected these two words to completely disarm her.
Her heart suddenly sank, and though the wound had long since healed and scabbed over, at this moment, she felt a slight tingling sensation. She instinctively moved her shoulder a bit and then looked up at him, only to find his narrow phoenix eyes filled with a trace of pity. His gaze slowly moved from her face to her slightly trembling shoulder.
Shang Ruyi immediately bowed her head, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern."
Chu Yang said, "I am asking you, does it hurt?"
"No, it doesn’t hurt anymore."
"Why didn’t you say so?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then finally said softly, "Your Majesty is already burdened with state affairs, it’s not right to trouble you with such trivial matters."
As her words fell, she saw Chu Yang suddenly reach for her shoulder, seemingly intending to pull down her clothing! Shang Ruyi was startled, quickly stepping back and grabbing tightly onto her clothes.
"Your Majesty!"
Chu Yang’s hand froze in mid-air.
His face showed a trace of pity, then a hint of anger at being rejected, as if there were other emotions swirling within. As the various emotions tangled within him, looking at Shang Ruyi’s wary expression, he seemed to recall the first time she came here, her silk shoes falling, her delicate feet landing in his hands, tears of grievance in her eyes.
His heart conflicted for a moment, but he ultimately repressed his slight anger with a sigh.
Then he smiled and said, "I have offended you again."
Shang Ruyi kept her head down and said softly, "I wouldn’t dare."
"..."
Chu Yang looked at her in silence for a while, finally letting out a sigh as if in resignation, then turned his back on her and said lightly, "You may go."
For Shang Ruyi, his words were like a great pardon, but when it came time to turn and leave, she hesitated and glanced back—on her last departure, she didn’t look back, only at the end did she see this Warm Dock standing alone, solitary and desolate within the resplendent Ziwei Palace. At this moment, looking at his back, she realized that the essence of this Warm Dock was merely a reflection of its owner.
His back was lonelier and more desolate than any place in the world.
Ultimately, Shang Ruyi said nothing and turned to leave.
But at the moment of her departure, an elongated sigh echoed in the empty palace.
|
After leaving the Warm Dock, Shang Ruyi felt dazed. Especially sitting on the canopy swaying for a while, and being swept away by the bone-chilling cold of rain and snow, by the time she finally arrived at the Empress’s Eastern Palace, she felt as if she had turned into an unfeeling ice sculpture.
Fortunately, the place was warmed by a roaring underfloor heating, and Empress Jiang immediately sent over brazier and hand warmer.
She warmed up for quite a while before finally coming back to her senses.
Looking at Empress Jiang who was seated at the top, gazing warmly at her, Shang Ruyi softly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Empress Jiang gently replied, "There is no need for formality between you and this palace."
"..."
"Actually, the reason I summoned you to the palace today was to discuss the Ministry of Justice’s case with you, to see if I could be of any help. However, it seems there’s no need for that now."
Shang Ruyi looked at her: "Do you mean to say, Your Majesty, that this case can be concluded?"
Empress Jiang smiled and said, "It should be."
Shang Ruyi’s heart immediately skipped a beat, but upon further thought, she felt a bit hesitant.
Those things she had just answered, whether they could match what Yu Wenye had been questioned about in the Ministry of Justice, was still unknown. After all, none of them knew what exactly Yu Wenye had said, nor what was written in the document Chu Yang held.
Could this case really be concluded?
Seeing Shang Ruyi still appearing somewhat incredulous, Empress Jiang smiled and said, "Your injury should not have been suffered in vain."
"...!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi instinctively looked at her shoulder.
She immediately remembered that moment in the Warm Dock when Chu Yang reached out, almost touching her injured spot.
Her face turned pale, yet then turned slightly red.
Seeing her complex expression, Empress Jiang merely gave a faint smile, without asking much, only adding, "I heard you replying fluently earlier. Did you clarify things before you returned to the city?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "We did not."
Empress Jiang frowned slightly: "Feng Chen didn’t coordinate the stories with you?"
In truth, this was a precarious statement, almost suggesting they had deliberately aligned their stories to prepare for the Ministry of Justice’s inquiry. But Shang Ruyi understood that Empress Jiang had no intention of eliciting confessions, so she quietly said, "Second Brother said that fighting is their business, interrogation is his business, and that I shouldn’t ask too much. Therefore, we did not—"
"Oh?"
Empress Jiang seemed somewhat surprised, raising her eyebrows slightly.
After pondering for a moment, she appeared to have realized something, with a trace of sentiment in her eyes, even letting out a soft sigh before smiling and saying, "He didn’t want you to get involved."
"..."
"The best way to protect someone is to ensure they know nothing at all."
Saying this, she seemed to feel even more sentimental, looking at Shang Ruyi for a considerable time before smiling and saying, "He treats you very well indeed."
This remark flowed into Shang Ruyi’s ears like a warm current, sweetly filling her heart. Even the chills that had seeped into her bones melted away at that moment. Recalling her night with Yu Wenye at Luokou Ferry, Shang Ruyi felt a touch of warmth spreading within her, warming her entire body.
She couldn’t help but blush.
After a while, she lowered her head, speaking somewhat bashfully: "Your Majesty seems to understand him better than I do."
Seeing her blushing face, Empress Jiang chuckled.
After laughing, a trace of loneliness seemed to flicker across her face, and she said indifferently, "People like them, no matter how well you understand them, it’s useless."
"..."
"Because what they want to do is solely their own business, no matter whether others care or understand, it has no meaning at all, and cannot influence them in the slightest."
Shang Ruyi’s brow furrowed slightly.
She suddenly realized that Empress Jiang was talking about—"them."
Him, and who else?
As if perceiving her inner confusion, Empress Jiang smiled lightly and said, "When I married His Majesty as Prince Jin, I was two years younger than you are now, and much less mature."
"..."
This was something that Shang Ruyi dared not respond to.
Although when Jiang Xinyue married Prince Jin Chu Yang she was still just a child, the story of this perfectly matched couple had been circulated for a long time. Even after she grew up, she heard how the late Emperor and Empress searched among the daughters of the noble families for a suitable bride for Prince Jin but found none pleasing enough, except for Jiang Xinyue, who was virtuous and intelligent, and was named Princess Jin.
So, where did the talk of—or lack of—maturity come from?
After pondering for half a day, Shang Ruyi quietly said, "Your Majesty is too modest."
Empress Jiang gave a faint smile, with seemingly a bit of bitterness in that smile, saying, "No, you don’t understand."
"..."
"Though I was not much older than you at that time, I was two years older than His Majesty. The late Emperor chose me as his spouse, hoping I could accompany him, advise and guide him, and correct his mistakes."
"..."
"It’s just a pity..."
At this point, a tinge of melancholy appeared in her eyes.
Seeing her like this, Shang Ruyi dared not utter another word.
For the result was already apparent, Chu Yang was a clever person, arguably more clever than anyone could imagine, but because of his cleverness, he was also willful and self-reliant. The counsel of ordinary people was hard for him to heed, and Empress Jiang’s words, at best, only served to comfort him, but to say they could correct or influence him, not in the slightest.
Empress Jiang remained silent for a while, then suddenly looked at Shang Ruyi, smiling, "You are luckier than I."