CHAPTER 487: CHAPTER 419: THE PURPOSE BEYOND VICTORY OR DEFEAT

At this moment, Shang Ruyi’s thoughts became chaotic.

Yu Wenqian’s "good match", could it be that he already has feelings for some family’s daughter?

As soon as she thought of this, Shang Ruyi immediately found it strange. This person had just set down his Buddha beads at Dayan Temple yesterday. Could he really have found a good match so quickly in this bustling world?

Though she didn’t know him very well, Shang Ruyi instinctively answered herself with a no.

Even—

She couldn’t imagine what kind of woman could match him...

Is there really such a woman in this world?

While Shang Ruyi was in a state of bewilderment, Yu Wenquan on the other side heard the words "good match" and his eyes suddenly brightened. He turned to his eldest son with hopeful expectation and said, "Qian’er, is it true?"

But Yu Wenqian merely smiled faintly and calmly.

He said, "I don’t know where this ’good match’ my younger brother speaks of originates."

Yu Wenye replied, "When I left the court today, I saw a carriage waiting for elder brother outside the palace gates. The person inside—though I didn’t see clearly—seemed to be from the Yu family."

"..."

"I heard that the Left Brave General has a cherished daughter, aptly named Bright Pearl, who is beautiful and talented."

"..."

"I don’t know who was in that carriage—"

Upon hearing this, Yu Wenquan’s eyes brightened even more. When he turned again to look at Yu Wenqian, he was almost ready to show signs of joy. Yet Yu Wenqian still remained unperturbed and smiled faintly, saying, "It seems my younger brother is worrying about my marriage prospects."

"..."

"It’s only unfortunate that my younger brother might not know that Miss Yu already has a marriage contract set with the eldest son of Su Ji, the Governor of Kuo State. If I were to horizontally take away love, it might ruin my father’s friendship with Uncle Su."

"..."

"So, it seems no such fate exists between Miss Yu and me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Ruyi’s face was already flushed red.

Though she knew she shouldn’t, at this moment, her discomfort and guilt weighed heavily on her heart like a stone—truth be told, in this marriage, Yu Wenye wasn’t exactly "taking away love by force," and there was no affection between Yu Wenqian and herself. Yet, his words last night weren’t wrong; in the eyes of the world, it was Shang Ruyi who abandoned Yu Wenqian.

Hence, any further talks about his "good match" or marriage felt like stabbing a knife into her heart.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed—why did Yu Wenye have to bring this up while she was still present!

She turned her head and glared at him angrily.

Yu Wenye remained indifferent and simply said, "I was too abrupt, I apologize to elder brother."

Yu Wenqian smiled faintly and said, "Be it a good match or unfortunate fate, it all depends on whether the timing is right. I just put down the Buddhist scriptures; it doesn’t seem that fate would come so quickly."

"..."

"If it comes too quickly, it might not be a good match at all."

His words were somewhat mysterious and startled Yu Wenquan, who was his father.

After all, for this eldest son who had been immersed in the Buddhist Law and practicing for so many years to put down the scriptures and return to the Duke Mansion was already an accomplishment in itself. He must not be pushed back into seclusion with talk of marriage.

So he smiled and waved his hand, saying, "That’s right, we’ll talk about it another time."

After speaking, he picked up his chopsticks again, smiling as he said, "Alright, we’ve talked so much; even the dishes will get cold. Let’s eat first. We can talk after the meal."

With that, everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks and started eating, and the matter seemed to have passed.

However, Shang Ruyi did not let it go.

After finishing lunch, everyone sat and drank tea for a while before going back to their rooms to rest. As soon as she entered the door, she immediately raised her head to look at Yu Wenye.

Her gaze was fiery, as if trying to discern some answer from his face.

Yet Yu Wenye met her gaze with a calm demeanor, pouring himself a cup of tea while drinking and then sitting by the low table. As soon as he sat down, Shang Ruyi also sat beside him, still staring intently into his eyes.

Yu Wenye finally said, "What is it?"

Shang Ruyi said, "Why did you say those things just now?"

"What things?"

"About the—good match. Why did you say those things?"

"..."

Yu Wenye raised his eyebrows slightly, "Shouldn’t I have?"

Shang Ruyi’s eyes deepened as she stared at him and said, "You are not someone who jumps to conclusions. Even if you saw the Yu family carriage waiting for elder brother, you would want to find out the identity of the person in the carriage and even the situation of Miss Yu before speaking."

"..."

"Yet, you spoke without clarifying anything, which is not your style."

"..."

"Why exactly?"

"..."

Yu Wenye looked at her for a while, then leisurely placed the cup in his hand on the table and said, "Alright, you are indeed not as—foolish—as I thought yesterday."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was about to get angry, but before she could erupt, she saw a hint of coldness flash in Yu Wenye’s eyes. He said calmly, "My words just now were merely meant to test the relationship between him and Yu Dingxing—in fact, I did see the Yu family’s carriage waiting for him. Now it seems that there hasn’t been a rupture between them."

"..."

"Since the relationship hasn’t broken down, there’s only one reason for their contradictory actions — whether or not I lead the troops means different things to them."

"..."

"And the greatest significance of a war is only one —"

"It’s the outcome!"

Shang Ruyi’s emotions were instantly stirred by him, and she forgot her anger, hurriedly said, "But the outcome of a war is nothing more than two things — one is your great victory, becoming a new noble of the court; and the other is failure."

"..."

"So, whether they propose you or not, the purpose lies in these two outcomes, right?"

"..."

Yu Wenye looked at her, his eyes seemed to flicker with a faint hint of joy, which then faded, and he said, "That’s why reading fewer Buddhist scriptures is beneficial for you. Your mind is indeed sharper today than it was yesterday."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi frowned again.

Yu Wenye continued, "However, there’s something I still don’t understand."

Shang Ruyi asked eagerly, "What?"

Yu Wenye said, "If proposing me is because they hope I fail, then not proposing me — perhaps is to wish I need not experience the dangers of war, which means I can’t achieve a successful outcome, but these two results aren’t very different, not worth their completely opposite actions."

"..."

"Yu Dingxing insisting on proposing me, I’m afraid he has other motives besides the success or failure of this war."

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s heart sank as well.

Indeed, Yu Wenye’s mind was much clearer than hers; she only saw the two outcomes of the war, but Yu Wenye evidently saw more.

But —

What could be the reason?

The greatest threat of this war comes from Xue Xian, whom Yu Wenquan gave the evaluation of ’invincible in bravery’. Is this person’s threat really worth making Yu Dingxing react so strongly in the court? Besides, Yu Dingxing, as a military general, should understand that strategies are ever-changing, even if Xue Xian is truly invincible, he may not necessarily win every battle. If Yu Wenye could achieve victory in this war, wouldn’t that be a loss for him?

What other purpose could he have?

Just as Shang Ruyi furrowed her brow, almost lost in thought, Yu Wenye’s slightly chilling voice sounded in her ear again, "However, what I just said is because — as a brother, I hope my elder brother can truly let go of his Buddhist scriptures in his heart and form a bond with someone in the mundane world."

"...Huh?"

Why suddenly mention this?

Shang Ruyi was stunned, looked up at him.

She saw Yu Wenye turn his face to the side, not looking at her, and said indifferently, "This way, you won’t have to engage in what only monks and nuns talk about, those verses with him, right."

Engage verses with him...?

Shang Ruyi looked at him dazedly for a long while, then suddenly realized.

He was referring to — the verse she matched with Yu Wenqian yesterday in that Buddhist hall?!

He still remembered?

Shang Ruyi immediately felt both annoyed and amused, with an indescribable anger, said, "When I matched verses with him, I didn’t even know who he was."

Yu Wenye glanced at her, "Oh."

Clearly, it was his provocation, yet now he looked indifferent, making Shang Ruyi even more angry, she reached out to tug his clothes to make him turn to her, "Yu Wenye, you’re being unreasonable!"

"..."

"At that time, I didn’t know who he was; I was just curious about his identity, so I matched that verse with him."

"..."

"Besides, you clearly heard every word when we matched verses, but when you were alone with the Eldest Princess yesterday, I asked you, but you wouldn’t tell me what you talked about."

"..."

"Today, she even voluntarily helped you."

"..."

"I haven’t suspected much between you and her, so why do you doubt me instead?"

"..."

For some reason, hearing her words, Yu Wenye, whose gaze was already profound, gradually deepened even more, he looked at her with an ambiguous smile, "You don’t suspect us."

"..."

"So, you don’t mind at all, right?"

"..."

For some reason, when he said this, there was a sense of — danger.

Strangely, she once argued with him over his relationship with Princess Xinyue and Empress Dowager Jiang, provoking his cold words, and even uttering the term "separation", so he shouldn’t want her to mind.

But why, when she said this, his expression wasn’t at all pleasant.

And there seemed to be a sign of looming anger?

She suddenly sensed something, tightened her grip on his collar, pulling Yu Wenye’s head down, deeply looking into the depths of his eyes.

Shang Ruyi said, "You want me to mind, don’t you?"