Chapter 1172 - 851: I Will Be Completely Ruined! (2)
However, from the hurried glimpse in Yanyue City where they did not meet, to their encounter at Dayan Temple, and then to that night alone at the Eastern Capital Yuwen Mansion, Yu Wenqian was not only calm and gentle towards her, but his words, eyes, and actions held a certain indescribable ambiguity.
This is what Shang Ruyi has always understood; he wants her to feel that he likes her.
But why?
She looked up at Yu Wenye: "Why is he doing this? What is his goal?"
Yu Wenye took a deep breath and said, "Ordinary women, when they make a mistake and know they will be blamed, will be nervous and frightened. But when her heart is full of fear and guardedness, she is suddenly treated gently — and the person treating her gently is a man of noble lineage, who has devoted himself to cultivation, returned to the mortal world again, looking and possessing a disposition like his,"
At this point, he paused and looked at Shang Ruyi again. Although there was still a smile in his eyes, that smile had grown cold without her knowing.
He said, "What do you think this woman would feel?"
Shang Ruyi felt a chill throughout her body at the sight of the coldness in his eyes, suddenly feeling her hands and feet turn cold. She said, "She would... not know what to do, would fall!"
She herself came from a noble lineage, having been accompanied by the elegant and handsome Shen Wuzheng since childhood, witnessed the dragon-like demeanor of Yu Wenye upon marriage, and later met the stunningly beautiful as an Immortal, Chu Yang; and aside from these people, if one were to just speak of Pei Xingyuan, Xiao Yuansui, Hua Ziyang, even the brothers Wang Shaoji and Wang Shaoqiu whom she extremely disliked, were also remarkably handsome.
Even having seen such a "world," it cannot be denied that Yu Wenqian’s beauty is rare in the world.
Back in Yanyue City, even though Yu Wenqian was masked, she was attracted to his ethereal and cloud-like aura and was deeply impressed; later at the meeting at Dayan Temple, in retrospect, it seemed even more like a premeditated, astonishing debut, every move he made, every breath, even every word of that verse, was filled with deadly allure.
Combined with his strange experiences and gentle demeanor, someone like him wanting a woman to fall for him is almost effortless.
Shang Ruyi just felt waves of chill seeping out from her heart.
"If I really... what then?"
Yu Wenye’s gaze also gradually grew colder, bringing a sternness within the calmness, "He returned to help Father take Chang An bloodlessly, by that time, he was already acquainted with Yu Mingyue, and undoubtedly knew that Father would replace Daye, ascend the throne, and proclaim himself emperor. He and I would become Crown Prince, Prince. And you would be my Princess."
"Yes."
"If a Princess falls in love with the Crown Prince... what do you think that would lead to?"
"..."
The chill seeping out from her heart gradually penetrated her limbs, Shang Ruyi felt frozen all over, as if her blood was about to freeze, and when she spoke, her throat was choked, squeezing out a hoarse voice: "I would be finished."
If she was really the "ordinary woman" Yu Wenye spoke of, if she really believed Yu Wenqian liked her, if she was really attracted by Yu Wenqian, if she really fell into such a gentle trap...
Two people, in cahoots.
Princess Qin of the Dasheng Dynasty, and the Crown Prince, colluding illicitly...
Just thinking about this outcome makes her tremble uncontrollably.
But Yu Wenye looked at her even more calmly, his voice carrying even more cruelty: "It’s not you who would be finished, it’s me."
"..."
"I told you from the start, I want to compete for the Crown Prince position, the only path is through military merit. If my wife has an illicit affair with the Crown Prince — even if not the Crown Prince, with another man, it would be enough to destroy my reputation, even more, make my authority in the army plummet."
"..."
"But he is the Crown Prince, Father would not do anything to him no matter how angry he might be, but for the sake of reputation, even if you are the daughter of an old acquaintance, Father would not keep you around."
"..."
"And with the hatred of a wife taken, the vengeance of a wife killed, how could Father trust me again? He would not dare let me lead troops, fearing I would be hostile to the Crown Prince."
"..."
"In this way, not only would I fail to compete for the Crown Prince position, even as King Qin, I would be forced to be humiliating."
"..."
"This is easier and more thorough than defeating me on the court, on the battlefield."
"..."
"I would be completely ruined!"
After hearing these words, Shang Ruyi’s blood froze into ice.
At that moment, everything from the past flashed through her mind like a lantern parade, each passing scene felt like a knife cutting across her body, with a nonfatal but dense pain assailing her, nearly suffocating her breathing. She suddenly looked up at Yu Wenye, enunciating clearly: "His target, from beginning to end, has always been you!"