xymnovel Chapter 1129 - 817: This Is His
Chapter 1129 - 817: This Is His
The night was deep and silent.When the Crown Prince and the two Princes, along with a Princess, finally left Liangyi Hall, the lights in the main hall were finally extinguished, and it seemed as though the entire Imperial Palace was suddenly engulfed by a suffocating darkness.
Shang Ruyi, upon returning to Qianqiu Palace, was still unable to calm her nerves.
After a simple bath and changing of clothes, she silently went to bed. As soon as she lay beside Yu Wenye, she heard him let out a deep sigh.
Shang Ruyi immediately raised her head, using the faint glow from the last candle in the hall to observe his somber expression and cold eyes. She softly said, "Did things have to come to this?"
"..."
Yu Wenye slightly raised his eyebrows, looking down at her: "What?"
Shang Ruyi said, "The Crown Prince is marrying Yu Mingyue just to deal with us."
"..."
"Before, during the assassination attempts on the way back from Jiangdu, the Battle of Fufeng, and the later plague... Although Yu Mingyue knows little, after all, she can still know many critical things, which for us—"
For them, it was already enough to be fatal.
Even this time, if it weren’t for Shang Ruyi wanting to see Empress Dowager Jiang due to Chu Ruoyan’s matter, and if it weren’t for Yu Wenquan being elated over Jiang Chong’en’s surrender, allowing her to worship at Dayan Temple, they might not have been able to decipher Jiang Chong’en’s potential false allegiance and emperor assassination plot so quickly and rush to Longmen Crossing. Yu Mingyue might have already achieved a great merit due to this incident.
This time, they indeed won narrowly, but at the cost of a significant "price."
Yu Wenqian and they had almost completely fallen out.
Compared to Shang Ruyi’s worries, Yu Wenye was instead very calm. He looked down at her and said lightly, "Do you think if neither of them gets married, they won’t deal with us?"
"..."
"Then what are those things we went through before?"
Shang Ruyi was startled, and upon further thought, she was speechless.
The assassination attempts on the way back from Jiangdu, the Battle of Fufeng, and the subsequent plague... Indeed, they were Yu Mingyue’s doing, and at that time, she hadn’t married Yu Wenqian yet.
Yu Wenye sighed lightly and said, "No woman can completely manipulate or change a man who lives for power."
"..."
"Most men will only ’praise’ a woman when they are using her. King You of Zhou could light a beacon and tease the feudal lords, but he wouldn’t do it just for Lady Bao. Such things are stories men made up to coax women, and women should not take pride thinking they can really topple a nation, as beauty has always been a scapegoat."
"..."
"Even without this incident, the Imperial Brother had long been irreconcilable with us."
"..."
"And Lord Shenwu’s death merely gave him the best reason—although the reason does cause him pain, the result was inevitable."
"Inevitable?"
The previous words resonated with Shang Ruyi, but these last few words surprised her. She looked at Yu Wenye: "You mean the Crown Prince was always going to marry Yu Mingyue, it was just a matter of time?"
Yu Wenye nodded.
Shang Ruyi slowly furrowed her brows.
She knew the conflict between the brothers was inevitable, but even marrying Yu Mingyue was inevitable...
As she pondered over the recent events, she recalled that phrase "self-deception," which Yu Wenqian had seemingly said calmly but was actually filled with deep pain in Liangyi Hall just now. Her heart vaguely seemed to understand something, and she softly said, "He said he has been ’self-deceived’ these past years, not referring to not starting a family, but rather that he has been traveling for years without cultivating his own power?"
Yu Wenye slightly curled his lips and said, "You finally figured it out."
Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
If he hadn’t reminded her, she might not have thought along these lines—looking at the court, even though many sided with Yu Wenqian after he returned to the secular world and took over Chang An City without bloodshed; after being made Crown Prince, his and Yu Wenye’s power in court was clear and distinct. However, the people behind him weren’t his forces but the "Crown Prince’s" forces. These people stood by him because he became the Crown Prince, harboring hopes in the "Crown Prince."
But once the "Crown Prince" loses power, or he loses his identity as the "Crown Prince," those people would immediately leave him.
Unlike him, those behind Yu Wenye are his own people.
These are the trusted allies who have gone through storm and stress with him over the years, including Mu Xian, Cheng Qiao, Yan Buuai, Dai Junliang, Pei Xingyuan, Shen Tu Tai... and even Shen Wuzheng, who followed Shang Ruyi to his side.
So these people are King Qin’s forces, but more importantly, Yu Wenye’s forces.
In other words, Dong Bizheng’s death made Yu Wenqian realize that during the years he was practicing and traveling the world, he didn’t cultivate his own power in the court. The Shenwu Duke was his maternal family, his greatest support. Dong Bizheng’s death, although the Dong family might still help him, greatly diminished their power. Let alone avenging Dong Bizheng; he might even feel the Crown Prince position is precarious.
After all, with the Shenwu Duke’s death, there aren’t many forces in court that can directly confront Yu Wenye.
He could only find another source of support, and that support could only be another Commandery Prince—
Duke Wushan.
So Yu Wenye said that marrying Yu Mingyue was inevitable because even if Dong Bizheng were alive, one Shenwu Duke wouldn’t be enough for the Crown Prince, and after Shenwu Duke’s death, Yu Wenqian immediately marrying Yu Mingyue was not only a statement but also a means to appease the forces behind him.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath: "So this is his—self-deception."
Yu Wenye said flatly, "If you want to understand power better, you have to let go of the narrow perspective of youthful romance. Otherwise, you’ll always be trapped."
Shang Ruyi gently nodded.
She added, "Then what should we do next?"
Yu Wenye looked at her, half-smiling, "You seem particularly afraid."
Shang Ruyi exhaled heavily, "Of course I’m afraid. I don’t want to get hurt, and I don’t want those around me to get hurt either."
"..."
"Previously, my brother said that if the Crown Prince were to retaliate, he would do two things—harm people and seize power."
Now she roughly understood this seizure of power, marrying Yu Mingyue was the first step, but about harming people, they were still somewhat unclear about whom he would act against?
Yu Wenye was silent for a moment, then suddenly muttered, "These may not be two separate things."
"..."
"And now, King Qi has returned."
"Third Brother?"
Mentioning Yu Wencheng deepened Shang Ruyi’s anxiety. Compared to the little-known Yu Wenqian, Yu Wencheng’s cunning cruelty and unpredictability also made her feel quite apprehensive. Yu Wencheng, due to the Xingluo Granary incident, got injured and returned. He will definitely hold Yu Wenye accountable for this, and if he joins forces with Yu Wenqian again...
Shang Ruyi softly asked, "Do you think Third Brother will also make a move against us?"
"..."
Yu Wenye was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Did you notice where Third Brother was injured?"