Chapter 1188 - 866: Also Not Smart
Shang Ruyi looked at her, a hint of conflicted respect in her eyes. But when she turned to look at Yu Wenye, she saw him slightly frowning, gazing at Lu Xiao as if looking at a fool.
A foolish person.
She thought Yu Wenye would say something, but he remained silent. At this moment, his long-term follower walked in from outside, presented a letter, and softly said, "Your Highness, a letter from Lord Shen Tu."
Shen Tu Tai’s reply?
Shang Ruyi remembered that Yu Wenye had mentioned he would send a letter to Shen Tu Tai, asking him to keep an eye on this eastern military movement, especially to be wary of Yu Wencheng possibly dealing with Shen Wuzheng. Considering the time, Shen Tu Tai should be replying by now.
Yu Wenye received the letter and immediately opened it to read. The hall became somewhat awkward due to the silence. Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and hurriedly turned to Lu Xiao saying, "But, traveling alone on the road, it is quite unsafe."
Lu Xiao smiled faintly, "When has the world ever been peaceful?"
"But traveling alone is always dangerous."
"I have traveled alone before."
"Miss Lu Xiao..."
Shang Ruyi knew she had no right to prevent a woman from returning to the man she loves, yet she continued to persuade. Perhaps Lu Xiao’s charming nature might cause displeasure among most women, but she genuinely felt admiration and pity for her, wishing no harm would come to this beautiful woman.
Though she hadn’t figured out why she felt Lu Xiao might be harmed if she went to Xiao Yuansui in Luoyang.
Just as Shang Ruyi was about to continue persuading Lu Xiao, Yu Wenye interrupted her, saying, "I advise you to stay in our ’Cao Camp.’
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was momentarily stunned.
Lu Xiao looked at him with surprise, especially at the letter in his hand, "What does Prince Qin mean by this?"
Yu Wenye hadn’t paid much attention to her. Even though it was evident he disagreed with her going to Luoyang, he hadn’t spoken. But after reading the letter, he suddenly interjected, clearly there’s an issue with it.
Yu Wenye slowly refolded the letter along its previous creases, saying, "You want to go to Luoyang because Xiao Yuansui is there, right?"
"Of course."
"But now Xiao Yuansui is not in Luoyang. Why go there? To meet Wang Shaoqiu?"
Lu Xiao ignored his mention of Wang Shaoqiu, but as soon as she heard Xiao Yuansui was not in Luoyang, her expression changed, and she hurriedly stepped forward, "Where has he gone?"
Shang Ruyi was also a bit surprised, turning to look at Yu Wenye, questions in her gaze.
Yu Wenye raised the already folded letter with his fingers, saying, "My general wrote to inform me that Xiao Yuansui has led his troops away from Luoyang, with unknown movements."
"..."
"If you go now, you won’t find him, and you might bring trouble to yourself."
"..."
"So I advise you to stay in Chang An for now."
With that, Yu Wenye stood up, looking at her coldly, "Here, you have no chance to harm us."
Lu Xiao stared at him with wide eyes.
Her earlier words were half-confession, half-threat, yet Shang Ruyi never responded to the ’threat’ in her words, only worried about her safety. As for Yu Wenye—this Prince Qin had faced Xiao Yuansui in battle more than once, yet could still allow her to reside peacefully in Chang An. This moment, he was confident she couldn’t harm them; it showed not only an open heart but also self-assurance.
This, she had scarcely encountered in her fragmented life.
For a moment, Lu Xiao was bewildered, she stared at them silently, but Yu, who had been holding the child, sighed and said, "Miss Lu Xiao, if you wish to leave it’s your decision, but I must say—him rescuing you and you escaping to meet him are two different things."
Shen Shiyan nearby stroked his beard, "Madam speaks wisely."
Lu Xiao turned to look at her, but her gaze was more confused.
After a long silence, she finally said, "Fine, I-I’ll stay for now. But I want to make it clear, once I find Xiao Lang’s whereabouts, I will go to him."
In her heart, Shang Ruyi sighed, "We certainly won’t forcefully detain you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao seemed to relax, and then she bowed to them all, saying, "Then, I shall excuse myself."
She turned and walked out, pausing slightly as she passed by Yu, looking down at Little Yuanzi in her arms, who was gazing curiously at her, her lips curving into a slight smile, then walked away without turning back.
Watching her walk away, Shang Ruyi sighed only after she had gone far.
Turning back to Yu, she softly said, "Aunt, please take care of her a little more."
Yu nodded, "Naturally... alas, not wise."
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s heart sank silently, but she didn’t say much. Meanwhile, Yu Wenye put away the letter, looked at the sky, and said, "It’s about time, we should go back now."
Upon hearing this, Shen Shiyan and his wife immediately stood up, Yu instinctively held Little Yuanzi tighter, "Leaving already? Why not stay for a meal?"
Yu Wenye said, "I shouldn’t keep her out for too long. In the evening, the Emperor will bestow some medicinal soup, and if she’s found not in the palace, we’ll all be scolded."
"Is that so."
Upon hearing this, Yu felt both comfort and disappointment, could only hand Little Yuanzi back to Tushere, and reluctantly said to Shang Ruyi, "Well, Princess, take good care of yourself. You must take good care, women lose half their life bearing children, be sure not to tire yourself."
Shang Ruyi smiled, "I know, rest assured Aunt."
Thus, the couple reluctantly escorted them out the door to the carriage. Even as the carriage left the Shen Mansion gates, they kept watching the departing shadow, unwilling to leave.
And sitting in the carriage, Shang Ruyi felt melancholy.
She softly said, "Only a few months apart, they seem to have aged a bit."
Yu Wenye turned to look at her, suddenly said, "When we open our own mansion in the future, we’ll have more time to visit them."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s eyes brightened, "Can we?"
Yu Wenye said, "If we earn merit, there will naturally be rewards."
That is true, Shang Ruyi nodded. And with that, her thoughts quickly shifted from longing for her relatives to looking at Yu Wenye, asking softly, "Where exactly did Xiao Yuansui lead his troops?"
Yu Wenye raised an eyebrow, "Didn’t I just say, his movements are unknown?"
Shang Ruyi quickly said, "I don’t believe it. Shen Tu Tai has always been very reliable, Xiao Yuansui led his army from Luoyang, he couldn’t have failed to gather any information at all."