Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1219 Unwilling
It was already late when they returned to the palace. Shang Ruyi coaxed little Yuan Qian, who had not seen her for the whole day and cried loudly out of grievance as soon as they met, for a long time until she coaxed the child to sleep and handed him over to the wet nurse. She was also exhausted. After taking a bath, she staggered back to the bedroom, nestled in Yuwen Ye's arms and fell asleep without even a sound.

I slept until dawn.

When she woke up, she heard some rustling noises outside. It should be Tushe'er and the others getting ready to come in and serve her. Shang Ruyi half-closed her eyes and reached out to touch her side. It was indeed empty. She knew that Yuwen Ye must have left. He had been focusing on the reset of the Twelve Guards these days. He had stayed there for a night just to accompany her to the Shen family. Naturally, he had to go back. It was a pity that she was too sleepy last night and didn't have time to say a few more words to him.

Shang Ruyi sighed with some regret, then sat up and stretched.

Hearing the noise in the bedroom, Tushe'er and Changwan came in immediately. They brought hot water to help Shang Ruyi wash up, and then made the bed and folded the quilt. After Shang Ruyi finished washing up, she sat in front of the dressing table and let Tushe'er comb her hair.

Looking at the shiny bronze mirror, she saw Tusheer standing behind her, smiling with eyes curved and the corners of his mouth curled up.

On the other side, Chang Wan, who had just finished tidying up the bed, passed by and saw her smiling face. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "She'er, what are you so happy about? You haven't stopped laughing since you came back last night."

Tusheer pursed her lips again and looked back at her: "Don't ask."

Changwan looked at her and then at Shang Ruyi.

Shang Ruyi felt somewhat helpless. Tushe'er had never been able to keep secrets. This time, it was good that she didn't speak before him. But seeing how she smiled, even a fool like Changwan would understand that something had happened.

So he coughed lightly and said, "Hurry up and comb my hair. After breakfast, we will get down to business."

When he heard the word "business", Tushe'er's eyes lit up.

"Yes."

She hurriedly and attentively helped Shang Ruyi comb her hair. Although Chang Wan felt it was strange, she did not stop working. After tidying up Shang Ruyi's clothes, she went downstairs to pass on the message to the Shangshi Bureau. After a while, the steaming hot breakfast was served. Shang Ruyi's hair had just been combed, so she got up and sat down, picked up a bowl of fine and thick millet porridge and started to drink it.

Tushe'er and Changwan stood on her two sides respectively. Tushe'er still pursed her lips, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. Changwan obviously saw that something was wrong, but still didn't understand what was going on. She just carefully served the food to Shang Ruyi.

After a while, breakfast was over.

Shang Ruyi wiped his mouth and said, "She'er, clean these up, and then you can go down. Changwan, you stay, I have something to tell you."

Tusheer opened his eyes wide and looked at her: "Ah?"

"Ah what?"

Shang Ruyi glared at her: "What do you want to do here?"

Tusheer looked at her, then at Changwan who looked panicked, and understood that such words should be said in private, not in front of her, so she could only say softly, "I understand."

So he cleared the dishes on the table and left.

This time, Chang Wan also understood that something had indeed happened, and it was directed at her. Seeing Tushe'er leave and the whole hall fall silent, her heartbeat suddenly became violent, and she looked at Shang Ruyi cautiously.

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's not a bad thing."

Chang Wan walked up to her with light steps: "Princess, you have something to tell me. What did I do wrong?"

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "No."

"That is--"

"When I left, I told you to take good care of Sun Xianyue. You did a great job. Yesterday, the King of Qin and I went to the Shen family. Sun Xianyue's injuries have healed well and she can move freely. What reward do you want?"

Chang Wan shook her head and said, "That is my duty. I dare not ask for any reward."

Shang Ruyi looked at her gently for a while, and did not continue to dwell on this topic. He picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip of tea, then slowly said, "Sun Xianyue has recovered and is planning to say goodbye to us."

Chang Wan was slightly startled: "He's leaving?"

"Yes."

"That's it..."

Changwan blinked, but said nothing and remained silent.

Seeing her like this, Shang Ruyi's smile that originally filled her eyes gradually faded. She looked at her gently and said, "Last night, Sun Xianyue said a lot of words of gratitude to me, and also said some words of praise for you."

"..."

This time, Chang Wan finally seemed to sense something. She looked up at Shang Ruyi and said cautiously, "That's just my duty."

Shang Ruyi looked at her with a smile: "He is leaving, don't you have anything to say to him?"

Changwan hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

Shang Ruyi frowned slightly, and a not-so-good premonition came to his mind.

But she couldn't give up halfway after promising to do something, and she couldn't make assumptions if some things weren't made clear, so she waved to Chang Wan, who came closer. Shang Ruyi lowered her voice and whispered in a tone that only the two of them could hear: "You don't have anything to say to him, but he has something to say to you. It's just that it's inconvenient for him to go to the palace, so he asked me to convey it on his behalf."

Changwan's face suddenly turned red, she lowered her head, and the two exposed ears were red to the tips.

She seemed to have guessed something.

Shang Ruyi said softly: "He sincerely asked me to marry you. If you are willing, he wants to marry you and protect you for the rest of your life." "..."

"Because you are someone close to me, he asked me first. I have no opinion on him, but this matter still depends on your personal wishes. If you are willing, the King of Qin and I will also be happy to help you make a beautiful marriage."

"..."

"So, what do you think?"

"..."

Chang Wan remained silent and lowered her head even more. Shang Ruyi saw her cheeks turn from red to white, wondering what she was thinking.

After waiting for a while, seeing that she still didn't answer, Shang Ruyi said softly: "You have no other family, so I will take care of things for you. You have suffered a lot over the years with me. As long as you are willing, the King of Qin and I will definitely let you marry in style--"

Before she finished her words, she heard Chang Wan say, "I don't want to."

"That's it..."

Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment, and then he replied unconsciously: "Well, whatever, I'll go and reply to him."

After saying this, she fell silent, and she felt that the entire Qianqiu Palace suddenly became quiet, and the air became dull. Shang Ruyi took a deep breath to wake herself up a little, and looked at Chang Wan again. She was clutching a corner of her clothes with both hands, almost tearing the dress, and her fingertips were white.

What she said just now was correct...

She said she didn’t want to...

Shang Ruyi thought about it, and finally said: "Are you really unwilling?"

Hearing this, Chang Wan trembled slightly, raised her head and looked at Shang Ruyi, with a trace of panic in her eyes: "Princess...Princess, do you want me to marry him?"

Seeing that she had misunderstood, Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Of course not. I said, everything depends on your wishes. As long as you don't want to, I will never force you."

"..."

"Neither will he."

After hearing this, Chang Wan breathed a sigh of relief, and Shang Ruyi finally confirmed that she was indeed unwilling.

It's just that it's a little strange - no matter from the perspective of the two people's talents, appearance, character, and family background, this can be considered a good marriage with equal status, otherwise Tushe'er would not have been so noisy to help Sun Xianyue speak up last night, but for some reason Changwan was unwilling and refused so bluntly.

Could it be that she has someone else in her heart or has other plans?

Shang Ruyi was really curious, so she said, "Don't worry, I don't mean to force you, but I want to know the reason. You don't like Sun Xianyue?"

Chang Wan shook her head: "Mr. Sun is both talented and handsome, and he is well-educated. I admire him very much."

Shang Ruyi nodded and said, "What kind of person is he--"

"He is also gentle and considerate. I was ordered to take care of him. Although he has some inconveniences, he rarely orders me around. He is also very kind to other people in the Shen Mansion."

"..."

"Moreover, he put righteousness first and risked his life to save the Pei family. This servant admires him even more."

Hearing her say this, Shang Ruyi smiled and asked, "Then why don't you want to marry him?"

"..."

Chang Wan fell silent again, but this time it was not because she had nothing to say or had finished her words, but because she was thinking about what to say. Shang Ruyi also waited for her quietly. After a long while, she finally heard her say, "I don't want to get married."

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi slightly widened her eyes: "Don't want to get married?"

"Yes."

"Don't you want to marry him, or——"

"I don't want to get married."

This statement is very clear.

Shang Ruyi was stunned, looking at the beautiful woman in surprise - although the palace maids were all selected and most of them had good looks, she was the maid chosen by Guan Yunmu for Yuwen Ye after all, and her appearance was even more outstanding. Such a woman actually said that she didn't want to get married.

Shang Ruyi thought for a long time, and just as she was about to say something, Chang Wan spoke first, saying, "Princess, if you want to talk about the past, I didn't know anything at that time. I obeyed Madam Guan, no, it was Queen Taimu's arrangement. I didn't dare to have any second thoughts, and I never had any second thoughts."

Shang Ruyi said softly: "Yes."

Chang Wan added: "But after I followed the princess, I had no other thoughts. Now I just want to follow the princess and serve her."

At this point, she paused, as if she had made up her mind, and then said softly: "I just want to be with Sheer and serve the princess well until we grow old."

"..."

When Shang Ruyi heard this, he was a little dazed at first, and suddenly he realized something: "Ah?"