CHAPTER 410: CHAPTER 361: HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

The night passed quietly like this.

When Shang Ruyi woke up, she immediately felt a warm breath brush across her face. The excessive warmth made her cheeks a little red and even burning hot. She frowned slightly, lifted her eyelashes, only to find herself still in Yu Wenye’s embrace!

And he, at some point, had already woken up and was looking at her with his head lowered, not moving at all!

As soon as Shang Ruyi looked up, she met his gaze. Those deep eyes had a hint of warmth, even a smile, quietly watching her.

In the instant their eyes met, he lifted the corner of his mouth, and another hot breath brushed across Shang Ruyi’s cheek.

Shang Ruyi’s face turned red all of a sudden.

However, she did not struggle; after all, last night when he held her in his arms, she was awake. It would be a bit pretentious to struggle to avoid it after spending the night like that. She just lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

Yu Wenye’s expression became even more gentle.

He said, "Awake?"

"...Mm."

"There’s no food left in the dining hall."

"Oh."

"I’ve asked them to prepare some more. Do you want to get up now? If you do, I’ll have them bring it over soon."

"Mm."

Despite saying this, after Shang Ruyi responded, he did not get up, still lying on his side, looking down at the person in his arms. His gaze seemed about to turn into invisible hands, gently brushing across Shang Ruyi’s cheek with his breath.

Shang Ruyi only felt a tickling sensation on her face.

She spoke, her voice somehow a bit oddly hoarse: "You, you’re not getting up?"

Yu Wenye said, "I want to look for a while longer."

"..."

Clearly, even though they have been together day and night recently, despite any distance between them, why must he take another look at this time?

Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but look up at him again.

And with this glance, she realized the meaning behind his words.

It seemed that ever since his last military expedition from the Eastern Capital, they hadn’t been this close. Moreover, he seemed to understand that after some special periods had passed, Shang Ruyi might not necessarily want to be close to him like this again.

After all, when they first got married, even on their wedding night, they slept in separate beds.

Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi completely woke up.

She quietly slipped out of his embrace, removed the hand that was always around her waist, then slowly got up, dressed, and washed. Once everything was settled, Yu Wenye finally got up.

The tender, slightly romantic atmosphere between them faded away completely.

When he gave the order, someone indeed brought in breakfast shortly after.

The food was similar to before, except for the addition of some scrambled eggs. As soon as Shang Ruyi saw it, she softly said, "Why is there this? Eating this in a temple doesn’t seem right, does it?"

Although she wasn’t a devout Buddhist, she vaguely remembered that according to the Buddhist scriptures, eggs were considered non-vegetarian.

Eating non-vegetarian food in a temple might be disrespectful to the God Buddha.

Yu Wenye said, "I had it brought in from outside. Also, I asked the abbot. In Han Buddhism’s monasteries, if there are young monks, they are usually allowed to eat eggs while they are growing, so it does not break their precepts."

"I see, that’s good then."

Only then did Shang Ruyi relax, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating.

Truth be told, they had been lodging in this temple for several days, and moreover, Shang Ruyi was originally someone who enjoyed rich flavors, so eating vegetarian food all the time was indeed a bit unbearable. She picked up a chopstick of golden, fluffy scrambled eggs, brought it to her mouth, and was immediately captivated by the savory scent of the oil, feeling entirely at ease, even letting out a soft sigh.

Sitting opposite her, Yu Wenye glanced at her, seemingly with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

After a few bites, noticing he hadn’t picked up his chopsticks, Shang Ruyi asked, "Hey, why aren’t you eating?"

Yu Wenye said, "You go ahead."

"..."

Shang Ruyi paused for a moment.

He meant that he would eat whatever was left after she finished.

She thought for a moment, then put down her bowl, picked up the plate of scrambled eggs, dished half into her bowl, and intended to give the rest to him. Yu Wenye immediately said, "No need, you—"

Shang Ruyi said, "If we’re going to eat, let’s eat together. Why eat leftovers?"

"..."

"Besides, you just had a confrontation with the people of Wanggang Village yesterday, always eating vegetarian isn’t good for your health either."

"..."

Seeing her somewhat forcefully arranging his meal like this, taking on the role of managing the household, Yu Wenye looked at her for a moment and, with a slight smile on his lips, complied, "Alright."

And upon seeing his smile, Shang Ruyi’s cheeks again felt hot.

Only then did she realize that what she had just done was essentially managing the household affairs.

She felt as if she had fallen into a trap, but this was something she had consciously done, making her feel a bit wronged with no one to complain to, so she just lowered her head and silently took another bite of the egg.

Yu Wenye, just like her, took a bite and nodded with a smile: "It’s my first time realizing scrambled eggs can be so fragrant."

Shang Ruyi lowered her head and remained silent for a while before saying: "Maybe it’s because I’ve been eating vegetarian for too long."

Yu Wenye looked at her and smiled: "Probably."

"..."

For some reason, Shang Ruyi’s face grew even warmer.

After finally finishing the meal and looking at the clean bowls and plates on the table, Yu Wenye said: "You have a good appetite. What would you like to eat for lunch? I can have them prepare something, maybe stew an egg for you?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s face couldn’t help but heat up again. But she suppressed the slight, inappropriate flutter in her heart and shook her head, saying: "Better not."

"Why?"

"We’ve been lodgers here for so many days, already disturbing the household, and now cooking another pot of food would be even more trouble for others, wouldn’t it?"

"..."

"Besides, their firewood and rice are probably running low too."

Not to mention the many monks in the temple; just Shantong’er alone, after returning, would eat a considerable amount. Thinking about it makes one anxious. Before, he had the big granary at Wanggang Village to feed him, but now that he’s back at this small monastery, it’s feared that he might eat his master into poverty in just a few days.

Yu Wenye still wore a smile on his face, yet he spoke earnestly: "You don’t need to worry about that."

Shang Ruyi looked at him: "Why?"

Just as she finished speaking, there was the sound of footsteps outside the door.

Soon after, they heard Cheng Qiao outside saying: "Second young master."

As soon as he heard the voice, Yu Wenye’s eyes seemed to light up, and he immediately said: "Come in."

Shang Ruyi quickly turned her head and saw Cheng Qiao pushing the door open to enter. He was clad in a fitted garment, covered in dust, and his face seemed a bit fatigued. But upon seeing them, he immediately perked up and bowed deeply. Yu Wenye asked: "Is everything settled?"

Cheng Qiao replied: "Rest assured, second young master, the grain has been fully transported."

Yu Wenye nodded: "You’ve worked hard."

Cheng Qiao immediately said: "Second young master, you overpraise me."

Yu Wenye waved him off: "Go and rest for now. There’s no need for you to worry about things here anymore."

"Understood."

Cheng Qiao bowed to them once more and then turned to leave.

After he exited the chamber, Shang Ruyi slowly turned her somewhat stiff neck to look at Yu Wenye, her face filled with barely concealed surprise, while Yu Wenye calmly said to her: "The grain has been transported; from today on, what we eat here will naturally come from our own supplies, so you don’t need to worry."

"Grain? Transported over?"

Shang Ruyi’s mind was thrown into confusion — what did he mean by that?

During their stay here, the firewood and rice they consumed were to be settled by paying the monastery with silver coins, preventing the monks from suffering losses and making things more convenient. So why, suddenly, was grain transported over?

What is he plotting by doing this?

Moreover, where did the grain come from? Why was it transported here all of a sudden? What is he planning?

As if discerning the confusion on her face, Yu Wenye calmly explained: "From Xingluo Granary; after entering Yanyue City, I instructed them to dispatch people there, fetching a supply of grain."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.

Right, she almost forgot. Not far from here lies the Xingluo Granary, a place storing enough grain to sustain the world, and Yu Wenye’s supposed expedition to attack Wanggang Village was, in fact, aimed at seizing Xingluo Granary.

Thus now, the grain in that Warehouse City is entirely under his control.

No wonder Cheng Qiao’s figure had been absent these days. Shang Ruyi assumed Yu Wenye had sent him off to Daxing City or on some other mission, but unexpectedly, he had gone to transport grain from Xingluo Granary.

However—

Shang Ruyi’s brow slightly furrowed, and she softly said: "Even if we’ve stayed here a few days, consuming some of the monastery’s grain, settling with silver coins should be sufficient, so why go through the trouble of fetching grain from Xingluo Granary?"

Isn’t this asking for trouble?

Observing her puzzled expression, Yu Wenye gave a faint smile and said: "How much grain do you think he brought over?"

Shang Ruyi was taken aback: "How much?"

Yu Wenye replied: "Fifty carts."

"....!?"

Shang Ruyi widened her eyes in surprise.

Fifty carts of grain?

Wouldn’t that be enough to sustain the entire Yanyue City? Bearing in mind that when Xiao Yuansui withdrew from Xingluo Granary, he only bargained for fifty carts of grain in total.

This time, Yu Wenye brought fifty carts of grain just by himself!

Therefore, this batch of grain is certainly not meant for their consumption.

Remembering how he suddenly told the abbot yesterday that they would stay a few more days, without explaining to anyone; and today, Cheng Qiao transported fifty carts of grain, having set out days ago, it was evident this plan was made before entering Yanyue City. Shang Ruyi had a sudden realization.

She asked: "What exactly are you planning to do?"