Free Web NovelChapter 1114: Chapter 802: If You Can’t Dissuade Them, Just Go Along
At this moment, Shang Ruyi roughly understood what Yu Wenye did on this trip.
Just now, Yu Wenye said that Yu Dingxing led his troops across the river and ended up encountering a group of his remaining men who fled to the riverbank. Since Yu Dingxing had long known that Jiang Chong’en on the opposite bank had problems, he crossed the river in pursuit of seizing the merit of escorting, and thus acted without asking questions.
But, this is precisely where the problem lies.
With Yu Wenye’s capability in deploying troops, and given that he would certainly find Fan Cheng’en first, the two forces would merge to encircle Jiang Chong’en’s troops. In this way, it would be nearly impossible for Jiang Chong’en’s men to escape from his grasp, so the so-called "remaining troops" were likely intentionally released by Yu Wenye, intended to clash with Yu Dingxing.
Because only in this way, both sides could engage and cause a battlefield situation where swords and blades do not have eyes!
And that "flying arrow" that blinded Yu Dingxing’s left eye must have come from his hand.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Jiang’s concern was justified.
Indeed, Yu Wenye was infuriated and had no intention of allowing Yu Dingxing to return alive. Furthermore, it wasn’t just about not letting him live; he even decided to cruelly kill Yu Dingxing. Considering his accuracy, at the critical moment at Yanmen Pass, amidst thousands of soldiers surrounding him, he managed to shoot Ashina Shali’s eye with one arrow. This time, it was impossible for him to leave Yu Dingxing anything "remaining"!
However, his target was Yu Dingxing, so why did Yu Dingxing still have one eye left and was even able to return alive.
And yet, it was Duke Shenwu who died?
Upon hearing Shang Ruyi’s question, Yu Wenye’s expression slightly darkened, and a trace of unexpected melancholy appeared in his cold eyes.
Shang Ruyi whispered, "What on earth happened?"
At this time, all the troops had passed through Mingde Gate. Since the Emperor had returned to the palace first and the Crown Prince was to escort the coffin back to Duke Shenwu’s mansion, regardless of whether they were troops returned from the Emperor’s tour or the officials staying in Chang An, they needed to immediately go to the Duke Mansion to pay their respects, thus people around them dispersed one after another. There were also some hesitating whether to come over and greet King Qin and Princess Qin standing there.
Yu Wenye immediately said, "Let’s return to the palace first."
Shang Ruyi deeply nodded her agreement. With so many eyes and ears outside, if their conversation was overheard, it would surely cause trouble. Moreover, with Duke Shenwu’s passing, Yu Wenquan surprisingly allowed the Crown Prince to wear mourning clothes and escort the coffin for him, showing how much he valued this brother-in-law, even if he didn’t give an order, everyone would go to pay their respects for the Crown Prince’s sake, and naturally so would they both.
With that, they immediately boarded the carriage and returned to the palace together with Yu Wenye.
On returning to Qianqiu Palace, Wo Xue had long prepared everything. Yu Wenye first went to bathe, washing off the blood and sweat that clung to him these past days, and changed into a long, snow-white robe before coming back. Seeing that Shang Ruyi had also taken a brief bath and put on a plain long dress, the sky outside had already turned dark.
Shang Ruyi said, "I have prepared a carriage; you should rest a bit, have something to eat, and we will go to Duke Mansion."
Yu Wenye nodded, taking her hand as they sat down.
Though it was called resting, his demeanor showed no relaxation, and even the knot at his brow had not loosened at any point, forming a frown, making him appear much older than before their departure. Shang Ruyi sat before him, couldn’t help but reach out and gently rub his brow.
Yu Wenye said nothing, only looked at her.
Shang Ruyi gently said, "You need to tell me what really happened."
"..."
"We’re about to go pay respects to the Duke; you can’t leave me in the dark, knowing nothing."
"..."
Yu Wenye let out a deep breath and said, "At that time, I shot Yu Dingxing in the left eye, and initially planned to use two more arrows, one to blind his right eye, and another to pierce his throat!"
"...!"
Shang Ruyi’s heart couldn’t help but tremble.
She had long guessed that Yu Wenye intended to brutalize Yu Dingxing, even surmising his manner of killing based on his nature, but upon hearing Yu Wenye’s chilling words, despite the night air’s lingering warmth, she still felt a chill penetrating her bones.
Yu Wenye looked up at her, "Are you scared? Or do you think I’m too cruel?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head, "I’m just not used to it."
"..."
"The Yu family father and daughter previously tried to burn me, a pregnant woman, to death in Dayan Temple. If Shantong’er hadn’t told me about the underground palace, if we hadn’t found its entrance, I would have surely died, and it would have been a death with two lives lost!"
"..."
"That’s what truly cruel."
Cruelty stands in contrast to innocence.
If the other party is not innocent, reciprocating with equally cruel means cannot be considered cruel, but rather a satisfying eye for an eye, as deserved!
Moreover, compared to Yu Mingyue previously sending assassins along their return to Chang An and scheming in the Battle of Fufeng, not once did they not aim to place Yu Wenye in mortal danger. It wasn’t until this time that Yu Wenye effectively fought back, showcasing a considerable amount of patience and grace.
But——
"How then did Duke Shenwu die?"
Upon hearing this question, Yu Wenye’s expression darkened once more, though, this time, he didn’t remain silent for too long, letting out a deep sigh, and said, "Right when I shot the first arrow, the Emperor seemed to have noticed something amiss and ordered the call for retreat. I wouldn’t miss such an opportunity, so I quickly shot the second arrow, but I hadn’t anticipated——"
At this point, his brow furrowed, a rare trace of regret reflecting in his gaze.
"But I hadn’t anticipated that Duke Shenwu was also on the ship, and at that moment, upon hearing the call to retreat, the helmsman suddenly changed course!"
Shang Ruyi immediately understood, "So, the arrow was off target?"
Yu Wenye said, "It wasn’t that I missed; he moved into it."
"..."
"It was also my fault, my sole focus was on Yu Dingxing then, and I hadn’t noticed he was also on board. Logically, in such a battle, the Emperor wouldn’t have allowed him aboard again; plus, he immediately moved towards Yu Dingxing on hearing the call to retreat, combined with the ship’s change in direction, and it just——"
Shang Ruyi’s heart also sank.
At that moment, she thoroughly realized the despair, pain, anger, and resentment in Yu Wenqian’s bloodshot eyes when he looked at her at the city gate just now.
Because Duke Shenwu, Dong Bizheng, had previously complained to the Crown Prince about wanting to return to the battlefield, and Yu Wenqian, for some reason, had mentioned those things to her, also commenting on how the stubborn old man was hard to dissuade; at that time, she merely casually chatted with Yu Wenqian, saying to him——
"If he can’t be dissuaded, then just go along with it."
