Chapter 327: Chapter 298: Can’t Bear Not Understanding Him
"Your Majesty..."
Just as these words left her lips, a flash of cold light severed her voice.
Chu Yang grasped her hand, slowly stretching it out. As his long arm extended, the Longquan Treasure Sword had already thrust forward. The thin and flexible blade barely wavered before the force poured into it straightened it instantly, and the sword emitted a resonant dragon’s roar.
This shook Shang Ruyi to her core.
The returning force of the sword also numbed her palm. If not for Chu Yang’s warm hand covering hers, gripping the hilt tightly, the sword would have almost slipped from her hand.
At this moment, as if sensing her inner turmoil, Chu Yang’s voice once again sounded by her ear—
"Be careful!"
At that instant, his voice was clear and sober, as if the effects of the wine had been scattered by the sword’s dance. What remained was the proud spirit and burning warmth exuding from the person behind her. He tightened his grip around Shang Ruyi’s waist, merging their bodies into one.
With a twist of the wrist and a bend of the arm, the shimmering sword traced a rainbow in the air, swirling above their heads. Chu Yang held Shang Ruyi as he leaned back, his waist strong and flexible, his upper body almost parallel to the ground, yet steady as a rock, supporting Shang Ruyi. The sword skimmed their faces like a shimmering stream.
Shang Ruyi felt dazed, as if submerged at the bottom of a lake, watching the shimmering water surface above.
In the next moment, Chu Yang suddenly turned, spinning her around. Their sleeves entwined, like a pair of fluttering butterflies, and as the butterflies flapped their wings, a cold flash emerged, captured by their four hands. Soon, the butterflies separated, and Chu Yang’s wrist spun continuously. The sword in his hand transformed into dozens of cold flashes, sometimes round as the moon, sometimes fanned out. With his erratic steps, the cold light danced, displaying a bizarre yet magnificent tableau before Shang Ruyi’s eyes.
She completely lost her ability to respond, only able to follow Chu Yang’s steps, continuously moving and stopping.
Though his steps seemed chaotic, they were orderly within the chaos. Sometimes, it seemed they were on the brink of collapse, yet he would reverse the situation, pulling her from the brink of disaster.
Gradually, Shang Ruyi seemed to grasp his footwork and technique.
Gradually, she followed him, at times wielding her sword wildly, at times restraining herself and collecting her energy. Together, they silently achieved a kind of harmony, bodies like flying loons, swords like a long dragon, in this serene and beautiful garden, tranquil as water, yet energy stirring the mountains and rivers!
When the dance ended, Shang Ruyi turned around, standing face to face with Chu Yang.
The long sword was held between them, across their gaze.
After all, her physical strength had just recovered. Even with someone supporting her the entire time, this sword dance left Shang Ruyi feeling slightly weak and short of breath. Her breath exhaled onto the cold, glimmering sword blade, forming a mist.
But the other side of the blade was bright as a mirror.
In the mirror, there was a pair of narrow phoenix eyes filled with joy.
At this moment, Chu Yang was filled with joy and vitality, a kind of ecstasy like that of someone long trapped in a desert suddenly finding a spring. That kind of yearning and realized happiness was beyond words.
Facing such a gaze, Shang Ruyi’s heart raced like thunder.
She always thought she didn’t understand him, or at least, shouldn’t understand him.
She knew she was a reasonably smart person, so avoiding harm was not wisdom but instinct, like looking at a cliff, where nobody would jump.
But after this sword dance, facing such ecstatic eyes, she couldn’t help but want to understand him.
He was too lonely...
However, just as the two of them were looking at each other, a light cough sounded beside them. Shang Ruyi felt as if struck by lightning and snapped back to reality. Eunuch Yu was next to them all along.
He wasn’t spying; he had followed them for a "mission."
Shang Ruyi’s expression changed, and Chu Yang’s brow furrowed.
He turned to look at Eunuch Yu, a trace of anger on his face, but before he could explode, Shang Ruyi softly said, "Your Majesty, Ruyi and Eunuch Yu have actually come to report an important matter."
Chu Yang let out a deep breath, his anger not fully dissipated, and said, "Whatever it is, report it in tomorrow’s court meeting."
Eunuch Yu beside them looked even more pained.
In fact, on this journey, Shang Ruyi had learned from him the current state of Jiangdu Palace. When they first arrived in Jiangdu, Chu Yang still held court daily. Later, it became every other day, and now, he hadn’t held court for several days.
Because even when the court was held, the reports were nothing but which place had raised troops or where another rebel army appeared. Each message brought another sword hanging over Chu Yang’s head, and now, he simply closed his eyes to avoid seeing those blades, leaving only the gentle scenery of Jiangnan, which was the life he wanted when he moved south.
But the sword already at his neck was something he couldn’t ignore.
Shang Ruyi turned to see Eunuch Yu desperately signaling her with his eyes. Apparently, at this moment, it was up to her. So Shang Ruyi looked at Chu Yang again, finding that though his expression wasn’t pleasant, he wasn’t truly furious either.
Thus, she cautiously said, "The Imperial Guard in the city has fought with the Old Palace Guard. Many people were killed or injured, implicating many innocent civilians."
"..."
"No matter which side they’re from, they’re all ultimately Your Majesty’s people. Their fighting does not look good on Your Majesty’s reputation."
"The Imperial Guard? And the Old Palace Guards?"
Chu Yang was obviously a bit surprised, frowned and said, "How did they start fighting?"
Just as Shang Ruyi was about to say something, a tall figure suddenly appeared behind Eunuch Yu, loudly declaring, "Your humble servant greets the Emperor!"
Eunuch Yu was caught off guard and shuddered in surprise.
Turning back to see, it was Wang Shaoji who had walked up behind him at some point. Eunuch Yu frowned slightly but quickly forced a smile, saying, "Why has General Wang come?"
Wang Shaoji gave him a cold glance and said, "I have come to meet with Your Majesty. May I trouble Eunuch to announce my arrival."
Having already come this far, talking about announcing seemed utterly redundant.
Eunuch Yu could only smile apologetically, saying, "I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare."
Upon seeing him, Shang Ruyi also furrowed her brow, but she quickly realized her inappropriate position, hurriedly released the long sword in her hand, and retreated several steps, finally putting some distance between herself and Chu Yang.
However, this scene had already been noticed by Wang Shaoji.
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing more, still respectfully bowing before Chu Yang. By this time, Chu Yang’s drunkenness had somewhat dissipated; he merely frowned, glanced at Shang Ruyi, then sheathed the long sword, turning to Wang Shaoji: "You’ve come just in time. Why did your men get into a fight with the Old Palace Guards?"
Wang Shaoji kept his head down, his expression gloomy as he gritted his teeth.
The incident had just occurred, and he had rushed to the palace the moment he got the news, not expecting Chu Yang to already know. The informant was self-evident.
This woman had been causing trouble for him since her appearance!
Though he was thus cursing inwardly, Wang Shaoji’s face showed no emotion. He respectfully addressed Chu Yang: "Your humble servant intended to report this matter to the Emperor. The Old Palace Guards acted arrogantly and disrespectfully, attacked and injured several Imperial Guards. This is intolerable! I implore Your Majesty to punish them severely to serve as a warning to others."
Eunuch Yu, listening to the side, frowned.
Although he brought Shang Ruyi to report, his goal was for the Emperor to stop the incident, find out the truth, and then punish the wrongdoers. Yet Wang Shaoji immediately demanded punishment of the Old Palace Guards, without distinguishing right from wrong, clearly covering up for his own.
It would be one thing if he were just covering for them, but if he punished these people without understanding the causes, wouldn’t the Emperor’s prestige in Jiangdu be completely lost?
But these were official matters, and Eunuch Yu, being a eunuch, could not intervene lightly, even if he was concerned about the major affairs.
He could only anxiously look at Chu Yang, then at Shang Ruyi.
As expected, upon hearing this, Chu Yang’s face darkened: "Is there such a thing?"
"Yes."
"Unbelievable. Issue an order immediately to arrest all those people and throw them into prison!"
Wang Shaoji’s face brightened with delight, and he promptly accepted the order and was about to leave when Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this may not be an appropriate way to handle it."
Chu Yang turned to look at her, while Wang Shaoji immediately said, "Young Madam Yu Wen, this is a serious matter unrelated to you, you’d better not interfere!"
Chu Yang said, "You, be silent!"
Wang Shaoji could only close his mouth.
Chu Yang looked down at Shang Ruyi and said, "What do you want to say?"
Shang Ruyi was still somewhat out of breath, her forehead and nose tip covered with beads of sweat. But at this moment, she had no time to worry about etiquette and spoke softly, "Ruyi had no intention of overstepping, but General Wang’s words just now were somewhat biased."
"Oh? Why?"
"The Old Palace Guards are the Imperial Palace Guards here, and the responsibility of the Imperial Guards is also to guard the Imperial City. There is essentially no difference between them, and there is no issue of hierarchy; their fight cannot be construed as insubordination."
"..."
"Moreover, the truth of the situation has not yet been clarified. To punish the Old Palace Guards directly would inevitably cause injustice."
Chu Yang gave her a thoughtful look.
Seeing this situation, Wang Shaoji immediately said, "Your Majesty, Young Madam Yu Wen’s words are even more biased. The Old Palace Guards only guard Jiangdu Palace, whereas the Imperial Guards safeguard not only the Imperial City but also Your Majesty’s safety. Is there really no distinction in importance? Or does she mean to imply that the safety of Jiangdu Palace is more significant than Your Majesty’s safety in her mind?!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yang’s gaze immediately turned cold.
Shang Ruyi quickly said, "I did not mean that!"