Chapter 174: Chapter 173: Don’t worry, there won’t be a next time
"You—"
Shang Ruyi wanted to say something, but due to excessive surprise and nervousness, her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible when she opened her mouth.
The only thing she could hear was the other’s sudden heavy breathing.
The scorching breath sprayed onto her face in an instant, and the body covering hers continuously transmitted heat to her, making Shang Ruyi feel like a piece of burning coal, snapping her rational strings in an instant.
She rasped, "What are you doing...?"
She managed to squeeze out a bit of sound, yet this weak voice, in the hardly any gap between the two, revealed a peculiar stickiness. Fragile as it was, it linked every touch and emotion between the two. Shang Ruyi’s own heartbeat started to become irregular, and more chaotic was the heartbeat released from the chest tightly against hers, almost crashing into her own, making both more disordered yet more synchronized.
But the eyes before her were cold.
Not only cold, when faced with her panic and helplessness, the deep eyes were devoid of any light, just staring fixedly at her.
That focus held an abyss deep in the pupils, threatening to absorb her soul and thoughts at any moment.
Shang Ruyi got even more confused.
"Let go of me..."
She instinctively struggled a bit, and with this movement, her face became even hotter.
Only then did she recall that last night, also here, in almost the same temperature and breath, the only difference was their positions. She had been struggling, and the person restraining her had been equally silent and oppressive.
Though their fingers were not interlocked, there was still a sense of entanglement by something invisible but intricate.
This time, however, he released her hands immediately.
Not just released, when Shang Ruyi was in a daze, he instantly rolled off her, lying on his side on the bed.
Her body suddenly felt a chill.
Particularly her wrists—Shang Ruyi instinctively raised her hand to glance at them. There were no marks left from being gripped tightly, but there was a distinct clammy sensation. She didn’t even know how long he’d been holding her wrists to leave behind so much sweat.
Shang Ruyi still hadn’t quite recovered, but her body’s reaction was immediate. She quickly sat up, propped both hands on the bed to move back a bit, trying to distance herself from him. But the bed was only so big, and since she’d been sleeping on the outside, after moving just a little, her body tilted slightly backward, almost falling off.
"Ah—!"
Just as she let out a low cry, that familiar, palm soaked with sweat reached over, catching and pulling her back.
Shang Ruyi leaned forward, nearly toppling over Yu Wenye again.
Those eyes continued to stare at her coldly, as if watching a butterfly caught in a spiderweb struggling hopelessly, looking both weak and ridiculous.
Blushing, she gritted her teeth, reached out to support herself, hurriedly sat upright and dared not move again.
She panted lightly, "Why are you in my bed?!"
Yu Wenye’s eyelids drooped, long lashes covering the deep darkness in his eyes, even up close, it was impossible to read his emotions. Only his voice remained calm, "They sent me back to rest. With people watching, of course, I could only get in—your bed."
"Your bed," these three words were spoken with a hint of gritted teeth, for some reason.
Shang Ruyi’s face reddened further, urgently saying, "But, but once they left, you could have gotten off!"
Yu Wenye raised an eyelid to glance at her.
He got up, climbed over her, and left the bed. As his body left, the bed’s scorching, almost boiling temperature disappeared instantly. Shang Ruyi even felt a cold wind brushing by, sweeping away all warmth from her body and heart in a moment.
Yu Wenye turned his back to her: "Too tired."
"Huh?"
"I was too tired. Before I could wait for them to leave, I fell asleep."
"..."
At this, Shang Ruyi found herself unsure how to respond.
Indeed, the loss of a relative, the immense grief, it was his.
Supporting himself without rest for days, following a serious illness, and still having to deal with all sorts of people at court, busy into the midnight hours, it was he who endured it all.
To blame him for falling asleep due to exhaustion seemed unreasonable.
But—he was the one who disrupted their relationship, getting into her bed without her knowing; not just getting in, but sleeping for a whole night; not just sleeping a whole night, but in the morning, he was even pressing on her—
Especially, all of this happened on the night he had just met with Princess Xinyue.
The more Shang Ruyi thought about it, the more annoyed she became, yet his indifferent attitude made her resentment seem somewhat unreasonable.
She bit her lower lip, after a long pause finally whispered, "Next time, don’t do this again."
"..."
"Even if you’re tired again, you could wake me."
"..."
"I woke up, I can leave, I don’t have to follow you, follow you—"
Saying this, she almost couldn’t continue, and Yu Wenye, who was standing by the bed with his back to her, also paused in his movements of arranging his clothes.
His tall figure subtly tensed, as if it might snap at any moment.
After a while, he let out a cold snort, turned his head and gave her a cold glance, saying, "Rest assured, there won’t be a next time—you think anyone truly wants this?"
After speaking, without even washing up in the room, he lifted his foot and walked out without looking back.
The temperature in the room instantly froze.
And Shang Ruyi just sat stiffly on the bed for a long time without moving, until Tushere and Wo Xue, who came to serve them, entered the room and softly asked, "Miss, why did the Lord go outside to wash up?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a long time, then slowly relaxed her body, got out of bed, and said calmly, "Don’t talk too much, quickly help me wash up, there’s still a lot to do outside."
In the following days, they busily ran around and finally got through the busiest and most difficult days.
During these days, as the masters of Duke Mansion, the Second Young Master Yu Wen and Young Madam were united in heart and mind. Although the couple was young, they were extraordinarily composed, and managed the funeral with great decorum, especially during the ceremony when Yu Wenye was promoted by the Emperor to a Second-Grade General, becoming the talk of Eastern Capital City for a time.
Yet, the people in the mansion vaguely felt something was amiss.
Apart from dealing with the guests who came to mourn, the young couple hardly exchanged a word in private.
Even at night, they rested at different times, rarely staying in the same room for more than an incense-long period.
Although this was strange, due to the busyness of the mansion’s affairs, people didn’t have the time to discuss it, and in a few hectic days, it was time for the funeral procession.
The night before, Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi stayed up all night, keeping vigil, until the sky was about to brighten and Shang Ruyi was reluctantly supported to a chair to close her eyes for a while.
But she hadn’t fallen into deep sleep when there was a commotion outside.
She instinctively opened her eyes and quickly got up, seeing a tall, familiar figure bringing a gust of cold air as he came in, with household members and some guests all crowding forward.
"Duke!"
"Duke, you’re finally back!"
"Madam has been waiting for you, Duke..."
Amidst the sobbing sounds, Yu Wenquan pushed everyone aside with both hands and slowly walked to the altar.
His face was pale, eyes red and bloodshot, showing he had hurried back day and night from Liaoxi, and even the mud on his boots and pant legs hadn’t been brushed off as he left footprints step by step towards the memorial tablet, each heavy step seeming to tread on his own heart.
Looking at the few characters that summarized a woman’s entire life on the tablet, repeatedly caressing the words "Yun Mu" with his eyes, he choked for a long time, finally rasping out, "I’m back..."
As soon as he spoke, Yu Wencheng, crying, lunged into his arms.
"Father!"
The collision made Yu Wenquan stagger, his mountain-like figure swayed, almost showing a crack of collapse, Shang Ruyi watched Yu Wencheng’s face bathed in tears, his crying seemingly echoing directly into Yu Wenquan’s heart, she immediately stepped forward, gently pulling Yu Wencheng: "Third Brother, don’t be like this."
Saying that, she looked up at Yu Wenquan: "Father, you are finally back. Mother can finally be at peace."
Hearing this, Yu Wenquan looked at her with reddened eyes.
Tears after several struggles, finally swallowed back.
He gave a heavy "Hmm" in response.
At this moment, Yu Wenye also heard the news and came over from the side hall. Seeing this scene, his eyes reddened, but he calmly walked forward, softly saying, "Father just returned, please go freshen up first. In an hour, the procession needs to start."
As soon as he spoke, Shang Ruyi also turned and instructed, "Quickly prepare hot water, and have hot soup ready for Father, there’s no time for a meal, just bring up a few simple snacks, and be quick."
Although they spoke separately, their instructions aligned, organizing the upcoming matters smoothly.
Although Yu Wenquan was overcome with grief, seeing this, he felt reassured, nodding with tears: "Fine, follow your arrangements."
With that, several maids immediately stepped forward to support him.
The two left in the hall exchanged a glance, then instinctively looked away from each other.
Soon, Yu Wenquan had washed up and dressed, and it was time for the funeral procession. The two sons led the way at the front, handling the rites, while Shang Ruyi followed behind, supporting Yu Wenquan step by step forward.
As he stepped out the gate, he suddenly lifted his head to look ahead, seemingly wanting to say something.
But then he glanced back at Shang Ruyi beside him, and swallowed back the words he wanted to say, sensing the turmoil in his heart, Shang Ruyi continued to support him while whispering at his ear: "Father, Second Brother has tried many ways, but regrettably, the matters weren’t fully resolved..."
"..."
Hearing this, Yu Wenquan slightly trembled.
After a moment of silence, he nodded, letting out a sigh, and said, "Let’s go."