Chapter 182: Chapter 179: You Guessed Right Before
Ever since she started following the Emperor on the northern expedition, traveling all the way to the Northern Border, being attacked by the Turkic forces and retreating to Yanmen City, then rescued and returned to the Eastern Capital, and later receiving the news of Guan Yunmu’s death, Shang Ruyi hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for months.
But that night was the first time in months that she slept so peacefully.
Yet upon waking, she felt engulfed in darkness and found it hard to breathe, startling her into sitting up in bed, only to realize that the blanket she had meticulously covered herself with had somehow been pulled over her head, enveloping her completely.
No wonder she felt suffocated and restless even though she slept heavily.
Covered in a sheen of sweat, Shang Ruyi peevishly pushed the blanket aside and wiped her forehead with her hand. Turning her head, she found the room brightly lit, indicating it was likely past 7 AM.
She hurriedly intended to call for someone, but stopped herself, turning her head once more to see that Yu Wenye’s bed was unoccupied. Had he left early in the morning?
Only then did Shang Ruyi call for help, and soon, Tushere and Wo Xue entered, carrying a basin of hot water and towels.
Shang Ruyi inquired, "Where is he?"
Tushere replied, "Miss, the young master got up early, saying that today the Emperor is holding a morning audience, and he must go to the palace to express his gratitude."
"...Oh."
Shang Ruyi suddenly understood.
Since everyone returned to the Eastern Capital following the Emperor’s procession, the Emperor had ceased holding court. One reason might be to handle the previously accumulated affairs, and another could be that so many people perished in the northern expedition, requiring families to conduct funerals. For instance, at the Duke Mansion, they held a seven-day mourning ceremony.
Today was already the second day of the Lunar New Year, so it was indeed time to attend the court.
Wo Xue said, "Young Madam, before leaving, the young master specifically instructed us not to wake the Young Madam up no matter what, as you have been exhausted these few days. He said you should rest as long as you need. Young Madam, he truly cares for you."
"..."
Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but blush a little.
She merely retorted with a "talkative" remark, and proceeded to freshen up by herself. Once she finished grooming, she stepped outside, where the sun was indeed shining bright—although the winter sun lacked power, its brilliant rays still made one feel invigorated.
Just as Shang Ruyi went out, she encountered Aunt Hui.
She greeted her with a bow and respectfully said, "Young Madam."
Shang Ruyi knew that while she had been victorious this time, she was far from matching her in status. Moreover, it wasn’t the time to confront her, so she still spoke politely, "Aunt Hui, up so early to work?"
Aunt Hui smiled meaningfully and said, "It’s not early."
Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but blush—as much as everyone knew how tired she had been lately, waking up at this hour still didn’t reflect the self-awareness of the Young Madam of the Duke Mansion, so she awkwardly brushed it off.
Aunt Hui laughed, "Today is busier than usual."
Shang Ruyi asked, "Is something going on?"
Aunt Hui replied nonchalantly, "Two people are absent from the tea house, one of whom is a steward. These days, all the cups and utensils used need to be brought back; without skilled hands for this task, it’s going to be several times more laborious than usual."
Shang Ruyi was momentarily stunned.
Aunt Hui smiled again and said to her, "Young Madam has been fatigued these past few days; it’s best if you go rest a bit more. I’ll go ahead and get busy."
With that, she turned and left.
Shang Ruyi stood there for a long time, staring at her departing figure in contemplation before she eventually left without returning to her room for rest. Instead, she went to the East Courtyard where she saw Jinyun, who was still sorting through some of Guan Yunmu’s belongings, and Chang Wan, whose face looked haggard.
Although Shang Ruyi had instructed before when she was locked in the woodshed not to mistreat her, being confined in the woodshed during the cold winter clearly made her suffer quite a bit, but Chang Wan didn’t mention a word of it. She simply expressed her gratitude repeatedly to Shang Ruyi for clearing her name, crying and saying, "Young Madam’s kindness, Chang Wan will never forget."
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and said, "Since you are innocent, clearing your name is what people from this mansion ought to do. It is not kindness. You don’t need to thank me so profusely."
After saying that, she looked at Jinyun, "And next—has the Duke arranged anything for you both?"
Both Jinyun and Chang Wan shook their heads.
Seeing them like this, Shang Ruyi’s expression turned slightly more serious.
After conversing for a while, Shang Ruyi returned to her room. Because she was preoccupied, she didn’t even eat lunch and stayed in her room, lost in thought. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s assembly took several times longer than usual, likely due to the backlog of state affairs from the northern expedition. By the time the Duke and Yu Wenye returned to the mansion, it was already past 3:00 PM.
As Yu Wenye pushed the door open, he saw Shang Ruyi sitting by the low table in the center of the room, her body almost draped over it, looking too lazy to move. However, her brows were slightly furrowed, her gaze unfocused, as if lost in deep contemplation.
He slowly walked over until he sat down opposite her, yet she remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to his presence or sounds.
Yu Wenye softly asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Shang Ruyi, still engrossed in her own thoughts, muttered to herself, "I’m thinking, at times, one must follow a rhythm when doing things. It’s easy to deal with the wrongdoers, but if no one is left to do the work afterward, it may cause more harm than not dealing with them at all..."
Yu Wenye furrowed his brows, "Hmm?"
At that moment, Shang Ruyi finally snapped back to her senses, straightening up quickly, "Ah? You’re back?"
"What, I can’t come back?"
"No, no, it’s not that,"
Shang Ruyi smiled wryly, she too had lost her focus for a moment, and inadvertently offended him with a casual remark. She quickly smiled and said, "I thought you would stay in the palace for a little longer."
Yu Wenye said coolly, "Once things are handled, why wouldn’t I come back?"
Shang Ruyi hurriedly asked, "When you went to the court to express your gratitude today, was there any issue? Did the Emperor say anything?"
"..."
Yu Wenye didn’t answer her immediately; instead, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he raised his head to give her a look, "Why are you so concerned about what the Emperor said?"
Shang Ruyi froze.
Even if she wasn’t titled as his "wife," she was still the Young Madam of the Duke Mansion. After such a long absence, the father and son were finally attending the court again, and it took so long for them to return. Wasn’t she supposed to be concerned about what arrangements the Emperor had made?
Moreover—just yesterday, their relationship had seemingly eased up quite a bit. So why, when she asked about their court matters, did he react like a hedgehog pricked, bristling all his quills?
Shang Ruyi was at a loss, but a faint sense of displeasure also rose within her heart.
So she said blandly, "Then, I won’t ask anymore."
Both of them remained silent, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat oppressive.
But when she stopped asking, Yu Wenye’s expression surprisingly softened. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Why aren’t you eating lunch?"
Shang Ruyi was startled again. She looked up at him, he had just returned, how did he know she hadn’t eaten lunch?
She thought for a moment and softly said, "I have no appetite."
"Even without an appetite, you need to eat. In this cold weather, how can you manage without eating?"
After speaking, without waiting for her to say anything, he turned and instructed someone to send a message to the kitchen to deliver some food to their room. The kitchen had never been inactive, and soon enough, some hot soup and dishes were brought over.
Strangely enough, although she hadn’t had much appetite before, seeing this simple meal suddenly made her feel a bit genuinely hungry. Shang Ruyi obediently picked up the bowl and chopsticks, ate a few bites, and her appetite increased. She ended up eating over half a bowl of rice soaked in hot soup, and even swept away a plate of sour and spicy cold vegetables.
Watching her eat with such relish, Yu Wenye snorted coldly, "Who just said they had no appetite?"
Shang Ruyi blushed slightly and mumbled, "I don’t know why, but eating with fewer people seems to taste better than dining in the hall."
"..."
Yu Wenye glanced at her, his gaze seemingly brighter.
However, his face remained unchanged. While continuing to eat his meal, he said blandly, "I won’t always be here to eat with you, but fortunately, there aren’t such strict rules at home. As long as Father isn’t around, you can have the kitchen send meals here. No one will say anything."
Seeing he hadn’t finished eating, Shang Ruyi ladled herself another half bowl of soup, drinking it slowly and said, "Mm."
Feeling the atmosphere had improved again, Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and decided to phrase her question differently, so she softly said, "Speaking of which, being appointed as the Assistant General means you’ll be even busier than before. You’ll probably have even less time to come home for meals in the future, right."
"..."
Yu Wenye exhaled deeply and said, "Not the future."
"Hm?"
"At this morning’s court session, His Majesty has already decreed that I am to lead twenty thousand troops to reclaim Xingluo Granary—departing in three days."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s eyes instantly widened in surprise.
In fact, she wasn’t surprised that the Emperor would assign Yu Wenye to Xingluo Granary. After all, when he was appointed, she had already anticipated it, and when Yu Wenye was arranging those stones in his cell at Ban Yan Temple, they both were quite clear that this matter was most likely to fall upon him.
What shocked Shang Ruyi was that the Emperor only allowed him to mobilize twenty thousand troops?!
One must know, the Wanggang Army previously led tens of thousands, and after they occupied Xingluo Granary and opened the granaries to relieve disaster victims from all directions, those joining them numbered in the tens of thousands, easily bringing the Wanggang Army to over a hundred thousand.
And considering Xingluo Granary’s strategic terrain—easy to defend, hard to attack, the previous loss to the court was due to lax defense and because most soldiers were deployed to conquer Liaodong; with the Wanggang Army now holding it, they wouldn’t be any less vigilant. To reclaim Xingluo Granary from such a substantial force with only twenty thousand soldiers, the challenge is obvious!
As Shang Ruyi furrowed her brows tight in thought, Yu Wenye added another piece of information—
"Oh, there’s one more thing."
"What is it?"
Looking at her, Yu Wenye’s eyes flickered, and he said, "You guessed it right earlier."
"Hm?"
"The one who has captured Xingluo Granary, holding the Wanggang Army ready there for a showdown with the court, is none other than Xiao Yuansui!"