Chapter 982: Chapter 716: Easy to Fall for, Hard to Let Go

On the other side, although she managed to argue back a bit verbally, Shang Ruyi still couldn’t help but feel indignant. She walked for a long time and only calmed down as she was about to return to their room.

She also heard the footsteps behind her come to a stop.

Turning her head, she saw, in the dark night, Lu Xiao’s gentle, watery eyes slightly flickering as she looked at her.

Shang Ruyi immediately snapped back to reality: "You—"

At this moment, Yu Wenye had already walked to the door, just about to push it open, but stopped when he heard them, turning back to glance at them without a word. Instead, Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then turned to him, saying, "I’ll accompany Miss Lu Xiao back to her room first. I’ll return later. Is that alright?"

Yu Wenye glanced at her and nodded.

He added, "Later, I’ll send someone to fetch you."

Shang Ruyi nodded in agreement, then turned with her lips slightly pursed, looking at them with a half-smile, half-not expression, her gaze seeming to carry a hint of envy as she said to Lu Xiao, "Let’s go."

Lu Xiao gave Yu Wenye a courteous bow and followed Shang Ruyi away.

After a short while, they arrived at the room where Lu Xiao was settled.

This house of the Yuwen Family, though ravaged by Wang Shaoqiu and those Western Turkic barbarians, fortunately still had its structure intact. Yu Wenqian not only moved in himself but also instructed others to tidy several rooms. Shen Wuzheng and others were housed there, and now Lu Xiao was placed in the residence as well, as a token of thanks for her assistance.

However, being a temporary arrangement, the room was very simple. Pushing the door open, there was only a bed and a cabinet. Due to insufficient manpower in the residence, not even a brazier was prepared.

Shang Ruyi said, "It’s too cold here; this won’t do. I’ll have someone bring something over for you."

Lu Xiao lightly smiled, "I didn’t say it was cold."

Just as Shang Ruyi was about to turn and leave, she heard this, glanced back at Lu Xiao, who was twisting her slender waist as she walked to the relatively clean bed, and sat down, smiling, "It’s enough that men pamper me. Princess Qin, you don’t have to do this, or I might lose a few years of my life."

This didn’t sound self-pitying, but had a hint of self-defeat.

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi didn’t insist, closed the door, slowly walked into the room, sat by the bed, and watched Lu Xiao lower her gaze, gently stroking the clean, soft bedding. She probably had slept on many exquisite and luxurious beds in her life. Yet in this moment, as she caressed the plain bedding beneath her, there was a hint of cherishing in her actions.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Why do you?"

"Hmm?"

The question was sudden, and Lu Xiao glanced up at her but quickly seemed to understand something, smiling lightly, "Are you asking about me seeking the Han King’s protection?"

Shang Ruyi said, "This morning, when we were at the foot of Shuishen Mountain, you told me you wanted us to protect you for a while. You clearly said that to me."

"..."

"Why did you turn around and go to him then?"

"..."

Instead of answering immediately, Lu Xiao simply smiled at her. After a while, she slowly said, "On our way back, I heard people in the army talking."

"Talking? What did they say?"

"They said that Prince Qin risked life and limb, breaking into the Western Turkic Yatai for Princess Qin."

"..."

"Even the position of Crown Prince, he gave it up willingly."

As she said this, she looked at Shang Ruyi, her smile certainly carrying a seductive charm, yet there was also a clear hint of envy: "A virtuous couple’s deep affection for each other, it’s enviable."

Shang Ruyi’s face flushed slightly.

Her complete emotional understanding with Yu Wenye only occurred during this journey, but hearing people say so still brought some embarrassment.

But upon thinking, she realized something was amiss.

The good relationship between her and Yu Wenye had nothing to do with her seeking protection from Yu Wenqian.

But before she could ask, Lu Xiao had already begun speaking: "Such a love, others can only envy, but I—I hope you face fewer trials."

"..."

"At least, may those trials not be because of me."

"...!?"

Shang Ruyi was stunned, but after pondering, she vaguely understood and looked at Lu Xiao: "You, you mean Feng Chen, Prince Qin, he—he has feelings for you—?"

"No, he doesn’t."

Lu Xiao immediately waved her hand and seriously said: "I just, don’t want there to be even the slightest chance."

"..."

Shang Ruyi fell silent.

Lu Xiao’s words, to some extent, seemed a bit "narcissistic," but looking at her without any shame, self-aware of her beauty, and even more so, honest in it, Shang Ruyi understood that her presumed vanity came from a lifetime of experience, so she wasn’t being coy but rather direct.

She had met countless men and had many who surrendered at her feet, perhaps not lacking couples like Shang Ruyi and Yu Wenye who were originally deeply in love.

She was too beautiful, a beauty like a sharp sword.

She didn’t tempt, the sword didn’t harm, but people would lose themselves, would crash onto the sharp blade themselves.

On the road, she heard about Yu Wenye’s feelings for Shang Ruyi, envied such a love, and thought that if she sought their protection, she would inevitably have some interaction with them. Once she interacted with men, the outcome was often this way. But she didn’t want to cause any friction to this relationship because of her, let alone tarnish Shang Ruyi’s happiness.

Therefore, she wished to distance herself from Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi, seeking protection through her contribution of suggesting a set of military garments to Yu Wenqian.

The more unfortunate a person is, the more they wish to protect the beauty of others.

After contemplating for a while, Shang Ruyi looked at Lu Xiao, her expression complex yet firm, saying: "For this—thank you for considering me. However, you need not do so."

"..."

"I trust him."

Lu Xiao also fell silent for a moment before she said, "Princess, I’m not speaking for myself anymore—people, men, can’t withstand trials."

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "I know."

"..."

"It’s not just men who can’t withstand trials, but women as well."

"...?"

Lu Xiao suddenly widened her eyes, staring blankly at her.

Shang Ruyi gave a faint smile and said, "In fact, it’s easy to be moved. Not to mention that Miss Lu Xiao, with your beauty capable of toppling a kingdom, I think as long as a person is beautiful, whether man or woman, it’s easy to be moved by them."

Lu Xiao squinted her eyes slightly, as if she had seen through something, and said, "What the Princess is saying is—"

Shang Ruyi smiled again.

Yu Wenye didn’t ask, nor did she say, but what she had experienced couldn’t deceive anyone. She told Chu Yang: My heart is like a lamp you haven’t lit, she truly hadn’t fallen for Chu Yang, but that angelic appearance, the stunning first encounter, the constant gentle protection thereafter, and even at Jiangdu Palace, that instinctual Sword Dance... how could she have not been moved at all?

Even when she first met Yu Wenqian at Dayan Temple, the peerlessly handsome face beneath the monk’s robe, it was hard to say her heart didn’t skip a beat.

Wasn’t she captivated by Yu Wenye’s handsomeness at first glance?

A love of beauty is human nature.

Shang Ruyi said, "Being moved is something everyone experiences; it’s easy."

"..."

"The challenge is—settling one’s heart."

"..."

"I don’t think one should stop appreciating beauty after marriage. If even beauty can’t be appreciated, wouldn’t marriage become a shackle on human nature? Besides, I’m not so free as to shoo away every beauty that approaches him every day."

"..."

"It’s just that after being moved, one must understand what they should do."

"..."

"If a man is unmarried and a woman unwed, naturally they can follow their desires, get acquainted and close, and perhaps form a good match. But if one is betrothed, if one has a lover, then they must learn to restrain their heart."

"..."

"Being moved is easy, settling is difficult. I believe I can do it, and I understand him even more."

In Yu Wenye’s eyes, the most perfect woman was Empress Dowager Jiang; she never competed with her over it. A woman who had accompanied the lonely childhood of Yu Wenye, competing was not only senseless but also uninteresting, even if she won.

However, Empress Dowager Jiang’s perfection was no longer related to Yu Wenye.

What was related to him was her own strengths, her own flaws; he enjoyed everything and tolerated everything, and that was their life together.

Accustomed to being scolded by men and insulted by women for half a lifetime, this was the first time Lu Xiao had heard such words. Her beautiful face first showed shock, then a bit of bewilderment, then she fell silent for a long time, lost in thought. Her eyes had a hint of confusion but also a newfound clarity.

She murmured, "Being moved is easy, settling is difficult."

"..."

"Beautifully said."

Saying this, she looked at Shang Ruyi again, smiling as she said, "You seem to know you can make your husband settle."

Shang Ruyi smiled as well, "Yes, after this experience, I believe it even more."

"..."

"It’s not only about having confidence in him but also in myself."

"..."

"So, Miss Lu Xiao, you don’t need to worry about these things. Your beauty has never been a sin; if a man really loses himself because of you and betrays his lover, then it’s his own lack of resolve, nothing to do with you, and it’s not the woman’s fault for being unable to ’keep’ her lover."

Hearing her words, Lu Xiao suddenly let out a long breath.

That feeling was as if a huge stone, long tied to her and weighing on her heart, had been completely lifted. Her expression showed an unprecedented ease; first, she smiled, then looked at Shang Ruyi with a deeper smile, adding a touch of admiration and appreciation, "Princess Qin, truly worthy of being the Princess Qin, no wonder even the late Emperor was so enamored with you, and now even the Prince Qin is willing to temporarily give up the Crown Prince title for your sake."

"..."

"And it’s no wonder that Lord Yu harbors such resentment toward you."

At the mention of the "late Emperor," Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but feel a pain in her heart, but upon hearing Lu Xiao’s last words, she paused slightly, "You can see that?"

Lu Xiao gave a faint smile, "What’s there not to see? Perhaps I can’t see through other things, but a woman’s hatred for another woman is something I’m more familiar with than anything else in my life."

Shang Ruyi slightly raised her eyebrows; she wasn’t surprised by that, thinking of how Lu Xiao had probably lived in such hostility all her life.

However, the hatred Yu Mingyue had for her—

If it were about animosity, she could understand, as the two sides were already like fire and water because of the struggle for the Crown Prince title.

But hatred—?

Logically, shouldn’t it be her hating her instead?