Chapter 358: Chapter 320 Sorry
The last glance before leaving Jiangdu Palace, although she saw nothing, even when she closed her eyes, Shang Ruyi still had her entire memory stained crimson by that bloody scene.
After that, even when she was trapped in darkness, that bloody hue never faded away.
In fact, it was as if she was drowning in a river of blood, rising and falling, almost suffocating, yet never able to escape.
And that suffocating feeling of rising and falling kept entangling her, devouring all her senses and strength. It was unknown how long it took her to barely wake up from that bloody nightmare.
But before she even opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was pain.
Indescribable pain, as if all the bones in her body had been crushed, making her utter a painful moan before she could even sense everything around her: "Ah..."
Immediately, a pair of arms embraced her.
These hands were warm and strong, holding her with a deliberate gentleness, as if touching a fragile porcelain doll, fearing it would hurt her. After being lifted, she was enveloped in a familiar warm embrace, which seemed to dispel the pain in her body quite a bit.
Yet, in her heart, there seemed to be a nameless pain silently welling up.
Shang Ruyi slowly opened her eyes.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she met a pair of bright, deep eyes that seemed to be imbued with the pain she felt both physically and emotionally.
Yu Wenye...
It could only be him.
Actually, just moments ago, before fully regaining her senses, the familiar aura had already told her who was holding her tightly, but even upon opening her eyes and seeing him, Shang Ruyi still shivered slightly.
The two of them remained silent, facing each other.
The next moment, Shang Ruyi reached out to push him away.
But as she lifted her hand, she realized that the pain of having her body crushed wasn’t merely a nightmare—it was real. She thought she had lifted her hand, but in fact, she only managed to move her fingers and wrist, and even this small movement consumed all the strength she had accumulated in the dream, making her collapse back into the arms that held her tightly.
...
How could she be so weak?
Shang Ruyi wanted to look down at herself, but what she saw was the close proximity she shared with Yu Wenye, and this seemingly intimate scene intensified the vague pain in her heart.
She said, "Let go..."
When she spoke, her voice couldn’t come out, and she could only utter those two words in a hoarse whisper, but fortunately, they were close enough for Yu Wenye to hear.
Because, the next moment, his expression froze slightly.
And Shang Ruyi turned her head to one side, repeating once again, "Let go."
"..."
In those eyes so close, a fragmented light seemed to flicker.
Yet, Yu Wenye slowly released her—not abruptly, but gently supporting her back and neck, placing her steadily back onto the bed. Only once she was securely nestled in the soft bedding did he withdraw his hand from her back, pulling up the nearby quilt to lightly cover her.
He propped himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
His body warmth and aura vanished instantly.
Whether it was because of this, Shang Ruyi immediately felt a chill, spreading from deep within her heart, extending to her limbs and bones, as if she would freeze solid the next moment.
She quietly shrank further into the quilt.
Yu Wenye silently watched her, reaching out to tuck the quilt more securely around her.
Whether it was an illusion or not, his face seemed pale too, not just pale, but within his typically stern gaze, there seemed to linger an indescribable pain. The two remained silently facing each other for a long time—actually, it was Shang Ruyi who turned her face aside, while he watched her intently.
Eventually, after an unknown length of time, he finally spoke, uttering the first words between them—
"I’m sorry."
But this time, Shang Ruyi offered no response, she merely lowered her eyelids blankly, and in those once bright pupils, not even light remained.
Yu Wenye said nothing more, simply watching her.
Although he didn’t speak, his eyes flickered, and his chapped lips opened and closed several times, as if trying to say something but ultimately no words emerged.
After a long while, someone knocked on the door, softly saying, "Second Young Master, it’s time—"
Before they finished speaking, Yu Wenye already said, "Understood."
The outsider immediately fell silent.
Yu Wenye looked down at Shang Ruyi a moment longer, ultimately saying nothing, simply sighing softly before standing and leaving.
But as he opened the door to leave, Shang Ruyi’s eyelashes lifted slightly, and only then did she vaguely see, despite wearing a set of brand-new clothes, there were patches of faint red on him. And when he pushed the door open, the person outside impatiently said, "Second Young Master, it’s time to change the dressing."
Yu Wenye said heavily, "We’ll handle it later."
After saying this, he couldn’t help but glance back. Seeing Shang Ruyi still with her eyes lowered blankly, he silently closed the door behind him.
The room immediately fell silent.
There was no need to take a closer look, Shang Ruyi knew she was in a relatively small room. The doors and windows were tightly closed, yet the air had a faint hint of dampness. Furthermore, as her consciousness and senses returned, she felt an almost imperceptible rise and fall, suggesting that this room was a cabin, and they were on a ship.
So... they had already left Jiangdu Palace?
Safely left...
Everything that happened there, the beautiful, the broken, the bloody, the cruel, was now over...?
Shang Ruyi didn’t know if she felt sad or upset at this moment, or perhaps both. Although she had experienced many things, even life and death, holding a long sword, watching the blade slice through the Emperor’s throat, blood staining her entire body, was enough to shatter her heart and mind.
She even wondered why she was still alive?
Wasn’t she already in so much pain she was about to die? Why didn’t she die?
Thinking of this, a single tear unknowingly rolled down from her eye, tracing a silent path over her pale face, finally disappearing into her dark hair.
At this moment, knocking sounds came from outside the door again.
Tushere’s voice sounded: "Miss?"
Upon hearing this voice, Shang Ruyi finally showed a trace of emotion. She slowly lifted her head but found her throat too dry to speak. Tushere had already cautiously opened the door and walked in. Seeing her, Tushere immediately rushed forward with surprise and joy: "Miss! Miss, you’re finally awake!"
"..."
Shang Ruyi stared wide-eyed at her, wanting to say something but unable to speak.
Yet Tushere didn’t need her to speak. The bitterness of separation made Tushere lose her usual restraint; she hugged Shang Ruyi tightly and cried, while pouring out her grievances from these past days.
From her words, Shang Ruyi learned what transpired over these days.
It turned out, that night when Wo Xue took her away from the manor, chaos ensued. The people didn’t know where she had gone, and they also had to face the crisis of Yu Wenye’s severe injury, almost driving Tushere mad.
But fortunately, Yu Wenye recovered quickly and made sense of everything. He immediately led his troops south.
Upon reaching Jiangdu City, it was already under the control of the Imperial Guard. Afraid of being discovered, they had to conceal their presence. Some remained outside the city to assist — Tushere was among them — while Yu Wenye, with Mu Xian and others, entered the city, found old subordinates, and through them, devised a plan to rescue people from Jiangdu Palace on the day of the Cold Food Festival.
Tushere hugged the slender body in her arms tighter, tears soaking through Shang Ruyi’s shoulder. She cried: "Luckily, they rescued you. Miss, it’s such a relief that you’re okay."
Shang Ruyi slightly furrowed her brow.
Perhaps the joy of reunion made the maid lose her composure; she hugged too tightly.
Causing her pain.
And immediately, Tushere sensed Shang Ruyi’s rapid breathing. She quickly released her, seeing Shang Ruyi’s somewhat red eyes, Tushere’s face showed a bit of sorrow. She cautiously said: "Did I hurt you?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi couldn’t speak and merely opened her mouth.
The raspy breath made Tushere understand instantly. She hurriedly brought a cup of tea to her lips, aiding her in drinking while saying: "Don’t worry Miss, the kitchen is already preparing hot food. Have some water first to soothe your throat."
A few sips of water indeed soothed her burning throat substantially.
Also brought some life back to Shang Ruyi’s face.
She raised her head to look at Tushere again, sighed, and softly said: "I caused you worry."
"Miss, don’t say that,"
At this point, she gritted her teeth and said angrily: "Who would have thought Wo Xue was a bad person! Despite being cautious around Chang Wan all the time, I shared my heart with her, but she— it enrages me!"
"..."
"This time, bringing her back, she must not be spared!"
"...?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback: "Her? You captured her?"
Tushere immediately nodded: "Mmm!"
Shang Ruyi was even more surprised, how did they capture Wo Xue?
Tushere saw her confusion and said: "Specifically, I am not clear. I just heard that originally, Master wanted his subordinates to enter the inner palace to rescue Miss, but upon entering, found only Wo Xue’s group there, while you weren’t there."
"..."
Shang Ruyi recalled— Right, at that time, she was taken by Chu Yang to the Bright Hall.
Tushere said: "I heard there were many Imperial Guards where Miss was, Master feared sending too many people would arouse suspicion, so he let Mu Xian lead people to the inner palace, while he alone, along with his old subordinate, went to rescue you."
Speaking of this, she smiled joyfully: "Luckily, he rescued you."
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long time, then said: "Oh."