Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1180: Still Can’t Sleep
I have never made any mistakes in my life...

you are wrong……

A life without faults...

wrong……

Shang Ruyi was wandering around in this maze-like thought. The love, hatred and grudges of the past were like a long thread, binding her up in a thousand twists and turns, almost making it difficult for her to breathe. Gradually, her breathing became heavier and heavier, as if she was being dragged into a dangerous bottomless abyss.

At this moment, a burst of warmth suddenly came over her, enveloping her whole body and dragging her out of the endless darkness.

"Well……"

She murmured unconsciously, and then she heard a low voice with a bit of deliberate tenderness in her ears: "Ruyi?"

Shang Ruyi slowly opened her eyes and found that it was already late at night and it was pitch black all around. She rubbed her eyes again and barely made out a tall black shadow squatting in front of her. Although she couldn't see the shape clearly, she could clearly see the pair of bright and cold eyes shining in such a night.

A rough big hand gently stroked his face, and the warmth that almost saved his life just now was brought by this hand.

"Feng Chen..."

She opened her mouth softly and was about to stand up when she felt her whole body go limp and she had little strength.

The man squatting in front of her was Yuwen Ye, who had just finished dealing with all matters major and minor in Ziwei Palace and had finally come to Nuanwu to find her. He still had his armor on, but perhaps because they were the only two of them, he did not have the toughness and oppression that he exuded in front of other people. Instead, there was a hint of incredible gentleness in his long breaths.

He reached out and brushed away the messy hair on Shang Ruyi's cheek: "Yes, it's me."

"Is it over?"

"The big things have been dealt with. There are still some small things that need to be considered carefully."

"That city—"

"All defenders have surrendered, everything is going well."

"Where are the people?"

"I have asked Shan Tong'er to take people back to Luocang to get food. They will be back in two days at most. The common people are just short of food. Whoever feeds them will be their people."

This last sentence is extremely simple and crude, but it is thought-provoking and is the most straightforward truth.

Shang Ruyi was more awake. She had been trying to get up while they were talking, but her wrists and arms were weak after trying several times, and she couldn't get up. Yuwen Ye saw her embarrassment and pulled her up from the ground with one hand, saying, "I told you to come here and rest. Who told you to sleep on the ground?"

"Hmm... there is no bed here either. It may have been moved away by Liang Shide."

"Then you won't let anyone move in again?"

Yuwen Ye shook his head helplessly. It was not until she was embedded in his arms that Shang Ruyi realized that her body was a little cold. It was so warm in the warm room, but why did she feel cold after sleeping?

She couldn't help but shiver at the shock of the cold and heat.

Yuwen Ye took off his wind cloak and wrapped it around her while saying, "I heard that Liang Shide has been staying here since the beginning of autumn. He has people keep the fire burning every day - dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver are consumed every day. But when the city was captured just now, the palace servant in charge of burning the fire ran away, and no one added charcoal, so it got cold here."

Shang Ruyi said: "No wonder."

She sighed, then smiled and said, "Extravagance is really no harm except for wasting money."

Yuwen Ye said: "The biggest disadvantage is that it costs money."

After saying that, he lifted her up and carried her sideways. Shang Ruyi did not struggle. After all, she had already felt that she had no strength left. Now she had to leave Nuanwu. She thought it would be difficult for her to walk such a long way. So she nestled in his arms obediently and whispered, "Where are we going now?"

Yuwen Ye said, "Go to the emperor's house."

"Ah."

Shang Ruyi didn't ask any more questions and obediently put her arms around his neck.

When they walked out, it was naturally pitch black outside, with only a few lights in the distance. There must be people guarding the palace gates all night to prevent any more accidents. Yuwen Ye just held her in his arms, walking in the night, passing through one palace gate after another, and walking through one long alley after another.

The journey was quiet. He did not ask her what she had just seen or thought in Nuanwu, and Shang Ruyi did not explain the dried tear marks in the corners of her eyes. The wind was very strong that night, but Yuwen Ye's thick cloak and chest protected her at the same time, and no cold wind blew on her. Until they left Xuanren Gate and got on the carriage, the two did not separate, just listening to each other's breathing and heartbeats, as if this long night was not so unbearable.

The carriage drove for a while and finally stopped in front of the Gong family's door.

Shang Ruyi was visiting the official residence for the first time, and she felt very unfamiliar. However, in the dark and silent night, the house was brightly lit, which inexplicably made her feel a little relieved. After she walked in, she saw all the people in the official residence. Although it was already past three o'clock in the morning, none of them dared to sleep. Even the children were standing in the hall, rubbing their eyes, as if they were being inspected and ready to come forward to pay their respects.

It was Yuwen Ye who waved his hand and said, "Don't be so reserved. It's too late today. You all can go down." Only then did everyone retreat as if they had been pardoned.

But Guan Ao, as the head of the family, naturally could not leave. He personally took Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi to the dining hall, where a table of steaming hot food had been set. Guan Ao said, "It's just simple food, please don't dislike it, King Qin and Queen."

Shang Ruyi originally wanted to say a few words to get closer, but when she smelled the aroma of the food, she began to feel weak again. She realized that her weakness in Ziwei Palace was due to painful memories, and about nine points were the result of not eating or drinking for most of the day, so she could only say simply: "Where."

After the two of them sat down, Yuwen Ye did not start eating immediately, but asked: "Where are the others?"

In order to appease the people in the city, in addition to occupying the Ziwei Palace and controlling several city gates and checkpoints, other soldiers were stationed outside the city to avoid disturbing the people, but some people were not allowed to leave the city.

Guan Ao immediately said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Master Pei and the other two are here. You can see them anytime."

Yuwen Ye nodded and said, "Let's eat first."

Guanao responded and left.

As soon as he left, they were the only two left in the huge dining hall. Yuwen Ye turned around and looked at Shang Ruyi's eager expression. A little smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he said, "Eat quickly. I know you must be starving."

Shang Ruyi didn't say a word, just picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started eating.

After taking a few sips of hot soup and filling his stomach with food, Shang Ruyi immediately felt that his empty chest was not so empty anymore. Even his depressed mood seemed to have dissipated a lot, as if the coldness in his body had been dispelled by the hot soup.

After the feeling of hunger disappeared, my mind also recovered.

Shang Ruyi continued to eat his meal in small bites and asked, "How many people did you leave in the city?"

Yuwen Ye said: "Less than three thousand."

In other words, almost all of the 20,000 soldiers were stationed outside the city.

According to their previous estimates, there were not many troops left in Luoyang. Now that the situation was settled, there was no need to worry about any counterattack. However, after no longer having to worry about the enemy, they naturally had to start worrying about their own side. For example, the only person who fought with them in Ziwei Palace today was Yuwen Cheng.

Shang Ruyi asked, "Where is the King of Qi?"

Yuwen Ye said: "His army is already stationed outside the city. Now the situation in the city is under control. If I don't let his army come, he can't move."

Shang Ruyi said: "Then, our people——"

When she said this, her voice was very low, and it was obvious that her words were not meant to be heard.

Hearing her hesitant tone, Yuwen Ye immediately understood what she was worried about. Soldiers marched and fought for military pay and rewards after victory, so some generals let their soldiers plunder civilians for a few days after capturing a city, because they might not be able to come up with so much money to reward their soldiers, but they still wanted people to work for them, so they could only sacrifice the civilians.

But Yuwen Ye and she both promised at the altar today that they would not harm anyone after entering the city.

So, how should they reward the soldiers who followed them in their battles?
You can’t—

Meeting Shang Ruyi's flashing eyes, a smile flashed across Yuwen Ye's eyes. Although Shang Ruyi is not a good warrior female general now, she is familiar with military affairs, and most of the time she and he are almost one and the same.

He picked up some food and put it on her plate, and said softly, "I will take care of this matter, don't worry."

Solve? How is he going to solve it?

In fact, before entering the city, Shang Ruyi had set his sights on the treasury, but Yuwen Cheng also wanted to open the treasury, so they could only stop him on the grounds that no one could enter the treasury without the emperor's permission. But this reason also stopped themselves. Now that there was no income, the biggest problem was how to reward the soldiers, especially those who had just surrendered and followed them to Luoyang.

Seeing that Yuwen Ye was mysterious and unwilling to speak, Shang Ruyi knew that she couldn't ask him and could only suppress her curiosity.

After a while, both of them were satisfied with the meal and drink.

A look at the sky outside showed that it was already past the hour of Yin. Shang Ruyi was not so sleepy now because he had already had a nap in Nuanwu. However, Yuwen Ye had been busy all day without closing his eyes. At this time, his eyes were red.

Shang Ruyi said softly: "Go and have a rest for a while."

Yuwen Ye put his hand over his mouth and yawned softly. There was a little moisture in his eyes, but his gaze was still very sharp and clear. He said, "You can't sleep now."

Still can’t sleep?

Shang Ruyi was greatly surprised—the situation in the city had temporarily stabilized, was there anything else he could do?
Just as I was wondering, I heard a deep voice outside the dining hall: "Your Highness Prince Qin, Princess, can you spare some time to see me?"

Upon hearing the voice, the two looked at each other, and immediately became alert. Yuwen Ye stood up and walked over to open the door of the dining hall, and indeed saw a handsome young man standing outside the door.

As soon as she saw him open the door, she immediately bowed.

It’s Jiang Wei.