CHAPTER 512: CHAPTER 435: PREPARE THE HORSES, LEAVE THE CITY!

In the official office, the first ray of sunlight quietly shone beside the pillow.

And on the bed, a still somewhat pale face seemed to sense something. The long eyelashes covering the thin eyelids trembled slightly and finally opened.

A pair of slightly bloodshot, reddened eyes gradually regained clarity.

It was Yu Wenye.

Even before waking up, he felt waves of soreness all over his body. After recalling carefully, he remembered that he had been tormented by a mild fever all night, barely managing to fall asleep as dawn broke, yet despite this short sleep, he still hadn’t improved much.

Especially since his hand felt weighed down by something heavy, unable to move.

He slowly lowered his head, only to discover that his hand was tightly held by another fair and slender hand, which seemed to have been gripping it the entire night.

It was Shang Ruyi.

She was holding his hand, kneeling by the bed and asleep, her small face pale from exhaustion resting on the back of his hand.

Upon seeing her, Yu Wenye’s breath suddenly became heavier.

She must have been sitting by the bedside all night. After Dai Junliang had invited an old, white-haired doctor over and they learned of his illness, everyone had been busying around. Shang Ruyi had been feeding him medicine, using a cloth soaked in cold water to wipe him down, and until he fell asleep, her busy silhouette seemed ever-present before his eyes.

Only by now had everything finally quieted down.

Seeing her deeply asleep, just as she had been last night, despite the soreness in his body, Yu Wenye couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

He reached out with his other hand, which she hadn’t grasped, and gently caressed her cheek.

Just one touch and Shang Ruyi’s whole body shuddered, immediately raising her head.

"Feng Chen!"

Her voice carried a hint of indescribable hoarseness and trembling, as if she’d just woken up from a nightmare.

In fact, it was indeed a nightmare. Shang Ruyi’s eyes widened, still a little confused, as if her consciousness was still trapped in the dream—especially the terrifying capital scene reflected in her eyes last night, which haunted even her dreams, and the river stained with red blood. She couldn’t snap out of it for quite some time.

Until Yu Wenye chuckled softly: "What’s wrong, had a nightmare?"

The words "nightmare" carried a hint of jest, yet somehow, it caused Shang Ruyi’s heart to tremble.

It seemed she really had a nightmare.

The terrifying scene outside the city yesterday not only invaded her dreams, she even saw Yu Wenye seemingly swallowed by the river with bloody red waves, and even though she stretched out her hand, she couldn’t hold onto him.

The feeling terrified her immensely.

Luckily, after waking up, he was still right in front of her, although his complexion remained pale, his lips devoid of color, but at least—

Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, finally waking up: "You’re awake, are you alright now?"

As she spoke, she reached out to touch his forehead.

Yu Wenye said helplessly, "It wasn’t a big deal to begin with, but you insisted on having Dai Junliang find a doctor, throwing everything into chaos."

"..."

"Luckily, the news didn’t spread, but you also didn’t rest well."

"..."

As he said this, Shang Ruyi’s hand, still touching his forehead, didn’t lower.

Gradually, her brow furrowed even more.

Yu Wenye asked, "What’s wrong?"

Shang Ruyi looked into his eyes, said softly, "You... haven’t the fever gone down yet."

Yu Wenye also frowned. Actually, without feeling it, he could tell he still felt as hot as last night, and the whole body soreness, soft muscles and bones were symptomatic of a mild fever lasting all night. But after this sleep, he did feel somewhat revitalized and reckoned it wasn’t anything serious.

He murmured curiously, "Previously, even if I had a fever, it would never last overnight."

Just as Shang Ruyi was about to speak, an elderly voice came carefully from outside the door: "Great General, General’s wife, are you awake yet? May this old one come in?"

Upon hearing this voice, Shang Ruyi quickly stood up from the bedside.

She tidied her clothes, helped Yu Wenye adjust his appearance, and then said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open, and two people walked in from outside. One of them was Deputy General Dai Junliang—who had discovered Yu Wenye’s illness while bringing a doctor over for the General’s wife’s checkup. But under Yu Wenye’s strict orders, he dared not reveal it outside, having no choice but to stand guard all night in the official office. At this moment, he cautiously looked toward the bed, hoping to see a lively, brave, and fearless Great General.