She said, "Ask away."
Yu Wenye said, "Why did you tell them that the ones attacking Kou Junliang’s troops were the Wanggang Army?"
Shang Ruyi suddenly turned her head: "You too—"
Although they were discussing serious matters, for some reason, there seemed to be a different kind of emotion in their gazes. As their eyes met, that emotion seemed to pass from their eyes straight into their hearts.
It was as if something touched Shang Ruyi’s heart.
She hastily turned her head back, somewhat flustered.
The person behind her, after a brief moment of panic, coughed lightly before saying, "Hmm."
So, the testimony he gave to the Ministry of Justice was the same as her answer.
Shang Ruyi only felt her heart pounding fiercely.
These days, aside from worrying about Yu Wenye’s safety, the thing she thought of most was the answer she had riskily given that day. She wasn’t entirely sure, yet she committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, though in her heart there was a bit of anxiety, worrying that perhaps she and he didn’t share such a tacit understanding.
At this moment, she felt both joy and relief in her heart, and there was a certain indescribable emotion stirring, while Yu Wenye behind her asked, "Why didn’t you just tell the truth?"
Shang Ruyi softly said, "Because it was I who led them."
"No matter what Kou Junliang was doing at that time, Jiang Kesong and the others attacking the court’s troops amounts to rebellion, a serious crime, and given that, I would undoubtedly be held accountable."
Saying this, her face flushed slightly.
After a moment of silence, she softly said, "But I thought that you would protect me."
The hands combing through her silky, shiny long hair paused slightly.
But only for a moment, then he continued gently combing, asking, "Are you so confident I will protect you?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Do you remember what you told me on our wedding night?"
"I knew you would forget, but I remember."
"At that time, I wanted to sleep on the couch, but you wouldn’t allow it, insisting that I sleep on the bed. You told me that no matter what our relationship is, you would not take advantage of a woman."
At this, she seemed to return to that cold night, her heart full of anticipation doused with a bucket of cold water, not just cold, but painful as well.
But looking back now, that cold and painful experience seemed to have passed.
With a gentle smile on her lips, she softly said, "Back then, even if ours was just a transaction, even if it was a trivial matter such as sleeping, you still protected me; so now, with our—relationship as it is, I don’t believe you would let me be in danger."
The hands behind her seemed to pause again.
But this time, he didn’t immediately continue. Instead, he slowly leaned down, whispering softly in her ear, "What exactly is ’our relationship’ now?"
Shang Ruyi’s face suddenly blushed bright red.
The words she’d just said were suddenly broken off, feeling that she should somewhat maintain the reserve of a young lady, not expecting that as she swallowed her words, he would counter by asking further.
She tightly shut her mouth, desperately trying to turn her face away.
Yet Yu Wenye seemed unwilling to let her off, slightly tilting his face to gaze at her, so close, already flushed red like the begonia blooming in the spring breeze, so vibrant and charming, with a faint, familiar fragrance emanating from her blush-tinted skin, reminding him of that night.
The night he almost had her.
In an instant, his breathing became somewhat rapid, warm breaths brushing against Shang Ruyi’s cheeks, even causing her to shiver slightly, pulling her neck in.
Yu Wenye took a deep breath, slowly straightening up.
As he moved away, a coolness immediately filled the space he’d just occupied, and Shang Ruyi, whose heart had been pounding so fiercely it seemed as though it would leap out of her chest, felt a sudden inexplicable sense of loss with this chill, also mixed with some surprise.
At that moment, she even thought—
At this thought, she instinctively turned her face, looking up at him.
Her gaze was full of confusion.
But she saw Yu Wenye looking down at her, a half-smile on his face as he said, "There are only a few days left till the one-month period."
As these words came out, Shang Ruyi’s face almost caught on fire!
She certainly hadn’t forgotten that, back at the Luokou Ferry, the doctor had given them both medical advice—a month without sexual relations. Content originally comes from novel⦿fire.net
Although, at that moment, she indeed felt a flutter in her heart and sensed a hint of desire from his warm breath, she never expected Yu Wenye to bring it up so directly.
He remembered this matter.
He was counting the days.
Counting the days left for them.
Just thinking of this, Shang Ruyi was too embarrassed to speak, wishing she could bury her head in her chest. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a weak, low moan from her throat, "Stop talking..."
Perhaps he realized he shouldn’t go too far, so he refrained from saying anything more provocative, simply continuing to comb her hair, giving Shang Ruyi a chance to finally take a breath from that excruciating shyness, slowly raising her head to look at herself in the mirror, her cheeks still flushed, but her long hair neatly combed, falling down her back like a long piece of bright black satin.
Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but say, "Nicely combed, it seems. I didn’t expect you to be able to do a woman’s hair."
Yu Wenye leisurely placed the comb back on the dressing table, saying, "In my heart, I’ve practiced for a long time."
"At the Ministry of Justice, when bored, I would think of interesting things."
"I imagine that between husband and wife there is the joy of painting eyebrows, but your eyebrows—do not need to be painted; any more would be too much. So, I thought, once I get out, I’ll do your hair once."
"In my heart, I practiced how to style your hair. After practicing these ten days or so, I finally perfected it, and I’m out now."
Shang Ruyi’s heart was pounding fiercely. She couldn’t help but turn around, looking up at him, her cheeks still flushed, but her eyes brighter than the brightest stars in the night sky: "Did you think about me for this past over half a month in the Ministry of Justice?"