Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?-Chapter 777 - 591: Oh—What Does it Mean?

Almost instinctively, Shang Ruyi shook her head.

Empress Dowager Jiang looked at her gently and said, "So, whom do you blame?"

Shang Ruyi said, "I blame no one."

Empress Dowager Jiang said, "But I can tell, you are hurting."

"..."

"I’m very sorry to have hurt you, but I am a mother, and I must protect my daughter."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi was slightly taken aback.

She did not blame Empress Dowager Jiang’s "selfishness." In fact, she could imagine that if she were in her position, she wouldn’t be too kind to her daughter’s rival either. She could not guarantee that she could treat herself as gently and kindly as she had in the past.

People are just people, and selfishness is instinctual.

But there is another survival instinct in humans, which is to become numb when intense pain arrives.

So it was only when Empress Dowager Jiang uttered that sentence that Shang Ruyi suddenly realized—she was indeed in pain.

It turned out that after enduring the torment of waiting all night, when Yu Wenye returned to her side and whispered in her ear that he would take Chu Ruoyan as his concubine, what she felt was the intense pain of her heart being torn apart—it wasn’t an illusion, it was real.

This pain had persisted until now.

It was because the pain was so intense that she had become numb, had lost her response, and that made her think she had calmly and rationally accepted it all.

But in fact, no.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a while before she looked up at Empress Dowager Jiang again, but this time, her gaze did not meet those eyes as gentle as water, but instead went to her neck. Although that hideous scar was neatly concealed by clothing, Shang Ruyi still remembered the shock and pain in her heart when she first saw it, and could even imagine the despair and pain she felt when she cut her own throat.

Shang Ruyi softly said, "When you were hurting, did you ever speak about it?"

Empress Dowager Jiang silently shook her head.

Shang Ruyi said, "Then I won’t speak either."

Empress Dowager Jiang looked at her for a moment, then sighed softly and said, "I don’t speak because I know it’s useless."

"..."

"But I just told you, you all are different from us."

"..."

"Ruyi, sometimes you have to speak out."

"..."

"He and he are not the same."

As soon as these words were spoken, a sound of heavy footsteps emerged, yet it was not of one person, but of many, coming out from the Taiji Palace not far away. Both of them held their breath, and Empress Dowager Jiang lifted her head, looking towards the main entrance of the side hall.

But Shang Ruyi did not turn back.

She sat there quietly until she distinguished his footsteps from that chaotic, disordered array, as if he paused at the entrance of the Taiji Palace, exchanged some words with someone, then turned around.

Pausing again for a moment.

Then slowly walked towards the side hall.

In the end, she saw Empress Dowager Jiang lift her head, with those gentle eyes reflecting the sunlight streaming in through the door, and in that sunlight, that tall silhouette, though just a small point, pierced into her heart like a needle.

That familiar voice gently said, "Empress Dowager..."

Empress Dowager Jiang slowly stood up, gave Shang Ruyi one last look, then took Chu Chengfei’s hand and walked to the entrance. There, she could see some of the civil and military officials in the Taiji Palace starting to retreat. Some walked down the hall without looking side to side, while others paused briefly, but the gazes they cast towards Empress Dowager Jiang and Chu Chengfei carried more powerlessness and guilt, eventually only able to sigh and turn away.

Like the surging currents of the world, moving forward without any obstruction.

Leaving only them behind.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Jiang smiled a little.

Looking at her smile, although Yu Wenye was full of concern, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows. From childhood to now, the person he most wanted to protect was this gentle yet profoundly lonely woman before him. Although many things have changed, past feelings do not change.

He softly said, "Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled faintly at him, soothingly saying, "I’m fine."

"..."

Yu Wenye was silent for a while, ultimately letting out a slight sigh, then said, "I have already arranged for someone to wait at the palace gate to escort you to Yanchun Palace. As for the luggage—"

Empress Dowager Jiang, smiling, said, "Fei’er and I going to Yanchun Palace only require a couple of garment pieces and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Everything else can be left in this palace."

As she spoke, she smiled lightly again, saying, "We’ve nothing else to take with us."

This sentence, naturally, was of release.

But to others, it only sounded infinitely poignant.

She was once the most noble woman of the Da Ye Dynasty, her companion also the supreme Emperor of Da Ye Dynasty. But now, as they leave the imperial palace, they can take nothing with them, as if having walked this prosperous and bustling world, they depart only with emptiness.

The absurdity and desolation of the human world, fully revealed here.

Yu Wenye also remained silent for a while, but did not offer any counsel, nor did he initiate further conversation. It seemed that at this moment, he could more deeply understand Empress Dowager Jiang’s intention, preferring to take away a complete son, leaving behind a protected daughter, even if it meant bringing nothing with them. Thus he softly said, "I understand."

"..."

"I shall escort the Empress Dowager out of the palace."

"No need."

Empress Dowager Jiang shook her head, looked back at Shang Ruyi, and said, "I want to walk this path alone. As for you—you should think carefully about how you will walk the road ahead."

"..."

"Feng Chen."

"Here."

"The scenery I wish to see, I’m afraid I won’t be able to, but I hope you can create it. Do not disappoint this land."

"I will."

"And also, Ruoyan—"

"..."

"Regarding her... I cannot ask you to accept her, but I hope you can treat her kindly."

"..."

Yu Wenye was silent for a long time, so long that Shang Ruyi, who unconsciously held her breath, was almost suffocating before she heard him reply in a deep voice, "Yes."

Her hand on her knee slightly tightened.

This word also stirred a ripple of bitter smile in Empress Dowager Jiang’s eyes.

She understood that what Yu Wenye agreed to was responsibility.

She had indeed found the most solid protection for her children. As the country was broken and the home lost, the things that Chu Ruoyan could obtain also meant that she couldn’t obtain other things.

The world is always fair.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Jiang sighed softly in her heart and said, "My daughter was spoiled, also very willful, but she was never a bad person. I think you know this too."

"Yes."

"So, the road ahead—"

"I understand,"

Yu Wenye interrupted her words, but he did not immediately say anything else; instead, he raised his head and looked deeply into the grand hall. Although it was a silent glance, even if Shang Ruyi had her back to him, she felt a chill down her spine, as if that gaze was about to pierce through her.

Then, she heard his cold voice say, "She has always been sincere to me."

"..."

"And without any exploitation."

"..."

"Though I cannot reciprocate her feelings, in the future, no matter what happens, I will remember today and will protect her and the Empress Dowager."

"..."

Empress Dowager Jiang looked at him, her heart slightly startled.

She certainly understood that this child was an upright person, so the responsibilities and obligations in his words were clear; but within these words, there was also a palpable sense of resignation, how could she not hear it?

She had thought it was her arrangements that caused Shang Ruyi to harbor resentment, so she deliberately brought her to this side hall, hoping to resolve the discontent in her heart.

Now, she somewhat understood—the real rift seemed not only to be in Shang Ruyi’s heart.

But this was something she could no longer resolve.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Jiang smiled, lightly said "Take care," and walked past Yu Wenye. Her figure was slender, and even such heavy footsteps only stirred a gentle breeze, as if carrying away the last trace of the Da Ye Dynasty from this world.

In an instant, the entire Daxing Palace seemed empty.

Shang Ruyi’s heart also felt somewhat hollow.

After a long silence, she finally heaved a long sigh.

Just now, she intentionally stayed in the hall without leaving, wanting to give the two one last meeting, one last chance to say goodbye—after all, after today, regardless of Empress Dowager Jiang’s wishes, with Chu Chengfei’s sensitive status, Yu Wenquan was unlikely to allow him to leave Yanchun Palace to meet anyone again, so their chances to meet again were extremely slim.

She had once minded this relationship, but now, she wished to give this affair a perfect, or at least a quiet, ending.

After all, there were still many things she had to face in the future.

Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi took a deep breath, as if wanting to fill the hollow feeling in her heart, at least giving herself a bit of strength.

She still had things she wanted to say to Yu Wenye.

So she slowly stood up, only to see Yu Wenye still standing at the doorway of the side hall, but unexpectedly, he did not look outward toward the main hall to see the last trace of Empress Dowager Jiang’s figure; instead, he was fixedly looking at her.

Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but pause—

How long had he been watching?

Could it be since Empress Dowager Jiang left, he had been watching her? And why didn’t he speak?

For a moment, her thoughts were also a bit chaotic, clearly having approached the gate of the side hall, yet at this moment felt an invisible force seemed to block her path, and Yu Wenye, too, obstinately stood outside the door, motionless, his dark eyes staring at her.

Between the two, only a door apart, even now, with the door wide open, it still inexplicably felt like there was an invisible, insurmountable chasm between them.

Shang Ruyi’s steps halted at the doorway.

She looked at those deep, stern eyes, still fixedly staring at her, as if wishing to see through her very soul.

Then she heard him speak, in a deep voice, "What does ’Oh’ mean?"