Tushere knew she was inquiring about Yu Wenye, so he smiled and said, "The Second Young Master had to leave on business."
Shang Ruyi blinked her still slightly dreamy eyes and suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable disappointment: "Oh..."
She had thought she would see him when she woke up.
However, naturally, he returned to Taiyuan to tend to important matters, and as a couple engaged to be married tomorrow, it seemed inappropriate to meet at this time.
Thinking this, Shang Ruyi felt her disappointment was somewhat unfounded.
She composed herself and asked, "Then, is there anyone else here?"
Before Tushere could respond, a voice, laced with laughter, suddenly sounded from the doorway—
"Miss Ruyi, I am here to attend to you."
Shang Ruyi quickly looked up, and saw a middle-aged woman smiling as she pushed the door open and came in.
This woman was around forty years old, her skin somewhat coarse, but her features were delicate, suggesting she had been a beauty in her youth; her attire, though simple, exuded an air of refinement, and her face bore a smile, though her smile seemed to carry emotions unrelated to laughter.
She approached the bedside, looked down at Shang Ruyi, and softly said, "Miss Ruyi, are you alright?"
Shang Ruyi cautiously said, "You are——"
Tushere quickly answered from the side, "This is Aunt Hui."
Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a tingling at the back of her neck.
Before her marriage, apart from several elders and sons of the Yuwen family, Yu had specifically mentioned this "Aunt Hui" to her.
This Aunt Hui’s maiden name was Han; she was originally the trusted maid of Duke Sheng’s first wife, Mrs. Dong, who died of childbirth, after which the young eldest son was entirely entrusted to her care.
Years later, Duke Sheng married a second wife, who was Yu Wenye’s mother—Guan Yunmu.
But this Madam Guan was gentle and uncontentious, especially after giving birth to the third son, when she was bedridden, so the household affairs were still managed by Aunt Hui, virtually making her the steward of the Duke Mansion.
Realizing it was her, Shang Ruyi hastily tried to get up to pay her respects.
This Aunt Hui reached out to hold her down, saying, "Miss’s injury has just been treated, so please refrain from moving for now."
Shang Ruyi said, "Then, forgive Ruyi for her rudeness."
She could only lie back down, then cautiously looked up for a glance.
In that glance, she met Aunt Hui’s scrutinizing gaze, and the scrutiny within those eyes made her somewhat uneasy.
The atmosphere, as if for a moment, was frozen.
After a while, Aunt Hui smiled and said, "Ever since the Duke returned from Luoyang, he hasn’t stopped praising Miss Ruyi, saying you are outwardly graceful and wise, remarkably intelligent, and now it appears that the praise is truly warranted."
Shang Ruyi forced a smile and said, "The Duke flatters me."
Aunt Hui said with a smile, "There’s no flattery here; Miss Ruyi is to wed Ye’er tomorrow, becoming one of our own. When family speaks, there’s no such thing as flattery or not."
Shang Ruyi looked at her, then thought for a moment and smiled, "Indeed, when family speaks, there’s no need for beating around the bush."
At this, Aunt Hui’s gaze flickered.
She watched Shang Ruyi for a moment, then turned to look at the evening sky outside the window, and smiled, "However, it’s late today, and there are wedding preparations for tomorrow. Miss Ruyi should rest early."
"We’ll talk tomorrow."
With that, Aunt Hui turned and left.
Shang Ruyi watched her back with a serious expression, keenly sensing that for all that Aunt Hui said during this visit, it was truly for that one sentence—"We’ll talk tomorrow."
But, what exactly did she want to say to her?