CHAPTER 133: CHAPTER 133: MOTHER OF THE NATION

Shang Ruyi panicked as soon as she heard these words: "No, I, I didn’t mean that."

Whether he is a eunuch or an Imperial Guard is not really important. It’s just that Yang Suyi at a glance is a carefree and even, one might say, arrogant and unruly person. With his appearance and demeanor, no one would think he’s someone who has long lived under others, let alone someone who would bow and scrape.

However, when she panicked, the smile on Yang Suyi’s face grew even broader.

He slowly straightened up, his eyes fixed on Shang Ruyi, stepping towards her one step at a time.

Though he was smiling, the leisurely and teasing look in his eyes was as if a hunter was gazing at prey already caught in his trap.

Amused, yet effortlessly in control.

This look made Shang Ruyi very uncomfortable. She almost instinctively knew she should turn around and leave immediately, far away from this person. Yet, his gaze seemed magical; once he fixed his eyes on someone, there was nowhere to escape.

Shang Ruyi stood there unconsciously until he was right in front of her.

With only half a step between them, Yang Suyi stopped, lowered his head to look at her, and their faces were so close.

The last rays of the setting sun slid away between their outlines, disappearing at the end of the distant grassland. The surroundings seemed to darken suddenly, but Yang Suyi’s eyes were even brighter than before.

He held a slight smile at the corner of his mouth: "Am I a eunuch?"

He didn’t touch Shang Ruyi at all. However, from him emanated a chill fragrance, which now seemed entangled with a strange masculine scent and warmth, like an invisible hand pinning Shang Ruyi to the flagpole behind her, almost unable to move.

Seeing him like this, no one would doubt his identity.

Shang Ruyi was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "No."

"Why not?"

"I guess not."

The smile on Yang Suyi’s lips deepened a bit: "Then, what does the Young Madam guess I am?"

"..."

This time, Shang Ruyi was silent for a longer period before she slowly raised her eyes to look at Yang Suyi and said seriously: "Since the Young Master is called Suyi, it seems that you want to do as you please."

"..."

"So, the Young Master should be whoever you want to be."

"..."

Upon hearing this answer, the expression of controlling everything, as if he was at ease with the world, temporarily shattered on Yang Suyi’s face. He looked at the young woman before him, seemingly unbelieving he would hear such an answer.

After a long time, Shang Ruyi heard him exhale deeply.

Then, when he looked at her again, the playfulness in Yang Suyi’s smile had completely faded, leaving only a hint of astonishment. He looked deeply at Shang Ruyi and said, "The last time I said I wanted to make the Young Madam my confidante, the Young Madam did not seem willing and kept me at a distance."

"I—"

"But I still want to say, I wish to make the Young Madam my confidante."

"..."

Shang Ruyi pondered for a moment and softly said, "Then, thank you, Young Master, for thinking highly of me."

Having said this, she finally exhaled deeply, as if freeing herself from some emotion. When she looked up at Yang Suyi again, her gaze was firmer, "Then, please, Young Master, step back; you are too close to me."

Yang Suyi laughed when he heard this but no longer said anything teasing. Instead, he stepped back step by step, retreating to the previous flagpole he had leaned against. Only this time, he did not lean back against it, and those deep eyes still fixed on Shang Ruyi, as if searching for something from her. After a long time, he said, "I truly did not expect that in this world there could be a woman like the Young Madam, so young yet with such dignity and bearing, enough to—"

He paused here, and Shang Ruyi also looked at him.

Only to see Yang Suyi smile at her and say, "Mother of the world."

Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi’s complexion immediately changed, even more unsettled than before when hearing those slightly frivolous words. She said, "Young Master Yang, please watch your language!"

Yang Suyi said, "These words were not meant to offend the Young Madam."

Shang Ruyi said, "But they overwhelm me and carry the risk of deceiving the Emperor. I ask Young Master Yang not to say them again."

"..."

Yang Suyi looked at her for a moment and finally nodded lightly, smiling, "Alright, I will follow the Young Madame’s words."

"..."

"I am someone who has no friends and doesn’t know how to speak among friends. But, every word I say is true."

"Including your name?"

Yang Suyi was taken aback, looking into Shang Ruyi’s eyes, smiling subtly, "Does the Young Madam wish to know my real name?"

As expected.

From the moment she first heard the name Yang Suyi, she knew it wasn’t real. However, she didn’t realize that "Yang Suyi" was lying to her yet could do so so openly. When she looked up into his smiling eyes, Shang Ruyi thought for a moment but still shook her head, "No."

Yang Suyi raised an eyebrow: "Why not?"

Shang Ruyi lowered her head and said calmly, "Since the Young Master takes the name Suyi, there is a sense of doing as one pleases. I also don’t want to disturb others’ intentions."

"..."

This time, Yang Suyi remained silent for a bit longer.

He looked at Shang Ruyi, muttering to himself, "I think I am truly disturbed by you."

Shang Ruyi raised her head to look at him, "What did you say?"

"Nothing,"

Yang Suyi smiled as if to cover it up and immediately changed the topic, saying, "By the way, about last night, the Young Madam must have heard about it by now."

Shang Ruyi nodded.

Yang Suyi took a deep look at her and said, "The King’s Tent really was overturned by the strong wind, and those iron nails and wooden stakes that were thought to be still useful were entirely decayed. I never expected that the Young Madam could so accurately predict."

Shang Ruyi shook her head, "It wasn’t that I could predict; it’s just the natural course of things."

"What do you mean?"

"With the passage of time, things change. It’s not surprising."

"Things change..." Yang Suyi repeated those words, his eyes looking sharply at Shang Ruyi, "So, what the Young Madam truly wants to say is still about the Turkic? You think that this tour to the Northern Border is still a mistake?"

Shang Ruyi pondered for a moment and said, "That depends on what His Majesty the Emperor’s purpose is in touring the Northern Border."

Yang Suyi said, "I also said yesterday that His Majesty’s grand ambition is to unite the hearts of all within the four seas, achieving unity under the heavens. This tour to the Northern Border is to revive the prestige of the Da Ye Dynasty in the North, extending our dynasty’s civil and cultural influence beyond the Great Wall to the far reaches."

At this, he stared intently into Shang Ruyi’s eyes.

"Is that wrong?"