Chapter 272: Chapter 254: Only Fairness, No Sentiments
Yu Wenye was slightly startled and looked up at her. He saw Shang Ruyi’s eyes, black and white, sharp and as if trying to see through him.
He immediately understood.
The secret of the little finger, she had already told him, so whether it was out of fairness or as an exchange, she also needed to know one of his little secrets. As she had just said, she is someone who doesn’t like to suffer losses, and this was just the beginning of getting to know each other. Moreover—
Tonight, she would give herself to him.
Since that was the case, how could she remain completely ignorant of his innermost thoughts?
Yu Wenye did not speak immediately, just looked at her silently for a while, then said, "Hmm."
Shang Ruyi involuntarily took a deep breath, becoming nervous.
Compared to the shocking secret she still kept hidden, Yu Wenye was not someone easy to see through at a glance. Coupled with their previous relationship, he always seemed like a block of ice, never melting no matter how close you got, and unwilling to let anyone see what lay hidden deep in his heart.
Now, he had finally melted a little.
After thinking for a while, Shang Ruyi finally said, "Before marrying me, the one they were arranging your marriage with was Princess Xinyue."
Her words were not even a question.
Yu Wenye’s gaze was unwavering; he nodded lightly, "It was her."
Shang Ruyi asked, "Why did you refuse to marry her?"
"...!"
This time, there was a flicker in Yu Wenye’s eyes.
After a moment of silence, he said, "How do you know?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Before, I always thought it was because I broke off my engagement and then decided to marry you, thus obstructing your marriage with Princess Xinyue. I always thought, that you to her, you—"
Seeming to sense her reserved words, Yu Wenye exhaled heavily and said frankly, "I only see her as a sister."
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
Indeed.
Although when she first stumbled upon the two of them meeting at Tinghe Building, Princess Xinyue was crying like a pear blossom drenched in rain, and Yu Wenye discovered her eavesdropping and almost took action against her, making her think they were lovers expressing their feelings to each other; later, during the Northern Border expedition, Yu Wenye was kept by Princess Xinyue at her side, traveling separately from her, the difficulties experienced fueling her bitterness over their relationship.
However, the more time passed, the more she felt something was amiss.
Because all the emotional displays were made by Princess Xinyue; she shed tears in front of Yu Wenye, she demanded Yu Wenye stay by her side, she sought remedies for him everywhere. But Yu Wenye?
He said he was not interested in romantic feelings.
He said from an early age, he only harbored ambitions in his heart.
He said he did not understand what love was, nor did he understand the emotions of being madly in love for someone, lost in passion...
That was definitely not the demeanor of someone blissfully in love with Princess Xinyue.
Besides, they had gone through the Xingluo Granary battle together, his anger towards her, his passion, not to mention that night when his kiss nearly took her breath away, she understood that he harbored feelings for her.
These feelings were completely different from his feelings for Princess Xinyue.
Shang Ruyi took another deep breath and said, "So, you only see her as a sister, and do not have that kind of romantic feelings... Is that the reason why you didn’t marry her?"
"..."
Yu Wenye was silent for a while.
He said, "Sort of."
Shang Ruyi’s heart sank again—sort of?
Could there be another reason?
As she looked at him with some doubt, Yu Wenye also looked at her, a dangerous glint flashing in his cold eyes, and at that moment, Shang Ruyi suddenly realized!
Because of Chu Yang!
Specifically, because of the court!
This time before Yu Wenquan left, he gathered the two of them in the study the night before to discuss important matters for the future. Any of those words reaching the Emperor’s ears would be a heinous crime warranting the execution of nine generations, and these ideas could not have formed over these past few days, or even after Yu Wenye’s incident.
In fact, Chu Yang’s longstanding vigilance against the Yuwen Family, and his hostility toward Yu Wenquan, could be reverse evidence that the Yuwen Family might have always been...
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi’s heart began to pound wildly.
So, this was the real reason Yu Wenye did not marry Princess Xinyue?
She instinctively looked up to say something, but Yu Wenye quickly glanced outside, and Shang Ruyi immediately held back—although they were in a private room, with almost no guests on the second floor, some words could not be said as casually as the teasing ones just now.
Shang Ruyi pondered and finally whispered, "You don’t want to be ensnared?"
Upon closer thought, the marriage between Yu Wenye and Princess Xinyue could not have been proposed by the Yuwen family; it must have been the Imperial Family to initiate, especially since Princess Xinyue was so infatuated with him, she likely volunteered to marry him. And the Emperor, loving his daughter as he did, naturally would not obstruct her from marrying her beloved.
Furthermore, from a public standpoint, the marriage between the princess and the second son of the Yuwen family was also a way to draw the Yuwen family closer.
At that point, everything about the Yuwen family would more likely be under the court’s command.
But Yu Wenye was obviously not someone who could be controlled.
Indeed, when she asked that question, after a momentary chill in his expression, Yu Wenye’s face slowly calmed down, and he softly replied, "Hmm."
Shang Ruyi finally understood thoroughly.
She said softly, "So, afterward, after you came to Uncle’s house and settled the engagement with me, it wasn’t long before news spread within the court of His Majesty the Emperor wanting to kill Duke Sheng, was it because of this matter?"
Yu Wenye nodded, "Hmm."
"So, marrying me, you didn’t oppose, but went along with it?"
"Hmm."
"So—"
Her voice suddenly turned a bit hoarse.
Feeling her grievance, Yu Wenye’s hand, which was holding hers, exerted a bit more strength, almost enveloping her entire small hand in his palm. But Shang Ruyi’s eyes still turned red as she glared at him, "Then why did you treat me like that? Even if you didn’t like me then, you needed me, but you made me feel like I had broken your relationship, preventing you two lovers from being together..."
Yu Wenye held her hand in silence for a while, then said, "But at that time, I really didn’t like you."
"..."
"I can only be fair to those I don’t like, but not affectionate."
With her heart full of grievance, upon hearing this, her heart began to beat out of control. As she looked at him again, her eyes still a little red, they appeared even brighter.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What about now?"
Yu Wenye looked at her for a while and said, "In the future, you’ll understand what it’s like when I’m unfair to someone."