CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 330: THIS CHILD, IS WARNING ME

On the main road, the sun was shining bright, and the flowers by the roadside were blooming in a vivid array. As the carriage passed, a gust of wind caused the colorful flowers to tremble and sway, like a splendid spring scene.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

However, inside the carriage, it was like winter.

At the moment Shang Ruyi spoke her last words, the entire carriage seemed shrouded in a chilling aura. Even Yu Wenye, robust as he was, felt the cold penetrate his body, and the embrace that held her tightly, his chest against hers, felt icy cold.

He lowered his head, looking at this small girl in front of him, with a pale face and weak breaths, yet stubbornly refusing to back down even a step.

After a while, he said, "What if I disagree?"

The small girl smiled faintly.

But the smile appeared so weak. In fact, holding on until now, Shang Ruyi already felt her strength was at its limit. She could only lie in his arms, her eyes half-closed, and calmly said, "Yu Wenye, you once said that things between us were never decided by one person alone. A deal can’t be made by a single person."

"..."

"This time is no different."

Yu Wenye furrowed his brows, and after a moment of silence, he said, "That’s right."

"..."

"Things between us aren’t decided by one person, so—whether we owe each other or not isn’t up to you alone."

"...!"

Yu Wenye looked at her, his eyes dark as ink, and said, "Do you know, I actually can’t be overly gentle or compromising. So if you want to act unilaterally, I can do the same."

"..."

"This child is gone, not because heaven wants us to owe nothing to each other, but because it’s warning me."

"..."

"Warning me that I should keep you by my side and not let you leave easily again, to protect you, so our next child can be born safely."

Shang Ruyi’s heart trembled, and she opened her eyes, looking at his determined gaze. When he lowered his head to look at her, he exuded a stubborn resolve that was terrifying.

"Let’s see which of us can hold out to the end!"

Looking at his resolute eyes, for some reason, a wave of bitterness surged in Shang Ruyi’s heart.

But at this moment, she had nothing more to say.

She could only, powerlessly, slowly close her eyes, while between her long lashes, cold and bright tears clung, trembling lightly with her breath and heartbeat.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she heard a long sigh near her ear.

Then, the person holding her reached out, gently wrapping her loosely hanging clothes once again and holding her tighter in his arms.

The carriage continued moving slowly in the bright spring light and the suffocating silence.

She didn’t know how long had passed when Shang Ruyi, somewhat groggy, felt a shudder around her, as if the carriage had stopped. But she didn’t have the strength to wake up, only hearing the familiar sound of trickling water by her ear, as if they had returned to the dock where their boat was moored.

So, were they going back to the boat to continue their journey?

She thought muddledly, but the person holding her didn’t immediately leave the carriage, sitting quietly with a composed aura that seemed to carry some hesitation.

At this moment, Mu Xian walked to the window and softly said, "Second young master, we should board the ship now."

"..."

Yu Wenye still didn’t move, as if he had some concern.

Mu Xian sensed something and softly asked, "Second young master, what’s wrong?"

Yu Wenye was silent for a moment, then said, "The news Wang Shaoji and the others proclaimed to the world has already reached Song State, and even Fan Cheng’en knows our whereabouts; it can’t be guaranteed that others won’t know."

Mu Xian paused.

After thinking for a moment, he somewhat regained his composure and said, "Is the second young master referring to people from the Eastern Capital?"

"Yes."

"But we haven’t had any dealings with Liang Shide, nor have we opposed him, will he act against us?"

Yu Wenye said, "I’m a bit worried..."

Half-asleep and half-awake, Shang Ruyi didn’t quite understand what he was worried about.

At this moment, footsteps sounded outside again, and someone walked to the window of the carriage, saying in a deep voice, "Second young master!"

The familiar voice seemed to belong to Cheng Qiao.

His voice was deep and resonant, startling Shang Ruyi into a slight furrow of her brow as if she were about to wake up. Yu Wenye immediately raised his hand to signal him to be quieter. Cheng Qiao, seeing Shang Ruyi with closed eyes, asleep in Yu Wenye’s arms, hurriedly lowered his head: "Please forgive me, second young master."

Yu Wenye said softly, "Why did you get off the boat?"

Cheng Qiao said, "While we were waiting for you on the boat, someone came to tell us something."

"What is it?"

"Liang Shide and Xiao Yuansui from the Eastern Capital have already learned of the second young master’s whereabouts. They have set up men on the canal ahead, seemingly waiting for you."

"Oh?"

Yu Wenye raised an eyebrow slightly, a cold sharpness appearing on his face.

Mu Xian also showed anger: "They really intend to make a move against us!"

Yu Wenye said, "It seems my worry was not unfounded."

Saying this, he looked at Cheng Qiao again: "Who came to report this?"

Cheng Qiao said, "It was a stranger, a middle-aged man. He left after saying those words, and we couldn’t stop him. We can only wait for the second young master to return and inform him of everything."

Yu Wenye didn’t dwell further on the person’s identity, he just thought for a moment and then said, "The person probably wanted to tell us that it’s best not to take the water route anymore. This section of the canal is quite narrow and shallow; our boat could easily fall into their trap. Once trapped on the canal, there wouldn’t even be a chance to escape."

Mu Xian said, "So, should we take the land route instead?"

Yu Wenye said, "I had that plan in mind; after passing through Song State, we would disembark and take the land route. Except—"

At this point, he instinctively looked down at the person in his arms.

The road is much bumpier than traveling by boat. For others, it’s manageable, but for Shang Ruyi, whose health is frail, such traveling hardships might have a negative impact on her.

But now, there’s no room for choice.

Yu Wenye thought for a moment, then said, "Get on the boat immediately, bring everyone and everything off, we need to switch to the land route."

The two responded immediately, "Yes."

After saying this, they turned and left.

The curtain on the window softly fell, blocking out the sunlight that originally shone on the face, and in the dim light, Shang Ruyi slowly opened her eyes.

Though silent, Yu Wenye seemed to sense something and looked down at her.

Their eyes met again.

This time, both were very calm, completely devoid of the previous confrontation, even on the brink of a split. Yu Wenye looked at her for a while, then asked softly, "Did you hear everything?"

Shang Ruyi gently nodded.

Yu Wenye said, "The road ahead might be difficult."

Shang Ruyi said, "I can endure it."

"..."

For some reason, such simple words made Yu Wenye’s eyes deepen.

In contrast, Shang Ruyi, having only lightly rested for the journey, did not regain much strength, but she was clearer than before. She even raised her head to look at the sunlight filtering through the crack in the curtain, then said, "The person who came with the message, were they from the Lei Family?"

"...!"

Yu Wenye looked into her bright and clear eyes, feeling his heart skip a beat.

Yet his face remained calm, and he nodded, "They should be."

Shang Ruyi’s gaze flickered, her nose inexplicably feeling a bit sour, but there was no extra energy to dwell on past sorrows or nostalgia for old friends at this time. She raised her head to look at Yu Wenye again and softly said, "But why do Liang Shide and Xiao Yuansui want to block our path?"

"..."

"They can’t possibly be like Fan Cheng’en, can they?"

Yu Wenye shook his head, "They are rebels themselves, avenging the Emperor isn’t their agenda."

Shang Ruyi continued, "Then, is it because of Xiao Yuansui—"

Yu Wenye sneered and said, "I have old scores to settle with him sooner or later. But, Liang Shide shouldn’t be someone who would send troops just to settle old scores for him."

"..."

"When they gather, it’s probably still for profit first."

At this point, Shang Ruyi’s mind became clearer.

She thought for a moment and said, "Is it still because of my father—"

She left the sentence hanging, but even unfinished, both understood. Yu Wenye looked at her and said, "If I’m not wrong, it’s likely related to the matter of your father’s rebellion."

Shang Ruyi’s brows furrowed.

Although Duke Sheng’s rebellion was indeed a significant event, in the grand scheme of things, with rebel armies rising everywhere, Duke Sheng’s insurgence was just one of the larger forces, not yet at a level to command the attention of the entire world.

Why should it cause such a big reaction?

Just as Shang Ruyi strained her mind to think, suddenly, her furrowed brows were gently smoothed out.

She was startled and looked up, seeing Yu Wenye’s hand reaching out to rub her tightly knit brows, smoothing the creases. He said in a low voice, "You shouldn’t worry too much about these matters."

"..."

"The road ahead won’t be easy, you should focus on recovering your health."

"..."

Even though they had spoken so far, he still maintained his demeanor, even moved so intimately, Shang Ruyi bit her lower lip and immediately struggled to break free from his embrace.

But Yu Wenye’s hands tightly held her.

Shang Ruyi said, "You—"

Yu Wenye didn’t continue on this topic, and instead said, "After passing through Song State, ahead is Bianzhou. Going further, it’s the Eastern Capital, where Liang Shide and Xiao Yuansui have likely stationed their troops along that road."

Shang Ruyi didn’t want to pay attention to him, but since this route also affected her safety, she took a few breaths before saying seriously, "We aren’t taking the water route, so can’t we avoid them?"

Yu Wenye said, "Xiao Yuansui is a very cautious and meticulous person. Even if he doesn’t know someone has come to inform us, he might still guess that I would switch to the land route after Song State."

"..."

"If I’m not wrong, besides setting troops along the canal, they might also block the roads."

"..."

"So, even switching to the land route, we may not ensure absolute safety."

Shang Ruyi’s attention was drawn by him, she couldn’t help but look up at him, "Then—"