Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?-Chapter 418 - 367 Seventh Brother

Shang Ruyi sat quietly aside, observing Yu Wenye’s cold, sharp eyes.

She knew deeply that this person inherently didn’t believe in God Buddha, and now, his brother seemed divinely aided, achieving such a great feat abruptly.

This inevitably stirred some abnormal emotions.

"As if divinely aided..."

After a moment of silence, Yu Wenye repeated these four words and suddenly smiled, saying, "Perhaps."

Dabo found it inappropriate to say more about the brothers’ matters, so he merely said, "Second Young Master, before departure, both the Duke and the Eldest Young Master urged me to set off immediately upon meeting the Second Young Master. So, we should depart at once."

Yu Wenye said, "Depart immediately?"

Dabo replied, "Yes, the longer you stay outside, the greater the danger."

"..."

Yu Wenye slightly frowned, and Shang Ruyi listened beside him, anxious.

Previously, Yu Wenye and Shen Wuzheng had meticulously plotted for a long time, finally scheming to make the leaders of Wanggang Village fight among themselves and alienating their relationships. Now, Shi Mi at Yanyue City was meant to shelter those leaving Wanggang Village, but suddenly, Yu Wenye was urged to leave before the opening he spoke of was ready or the people had arrived.

If they were to leave now — wouldn’t it be a case of almost reaching success but failing?

Thus, she said, "But we have some unfinished matters and need to stay two more days."

Dabo glanced at her and then at Yu Wenye, saying, "I heard about the Second Young Master’s actions at Wanggang Village upon arriving as well. If the village can indeed be taken down in one fell swoop, it will benefit the Duke’s future endeavor."

"..."

"But—Second Young Master, Young Madam, what matters are more important than your safety?"

"..."

"In my view, with the Duke supporting Prince Zhao for emperor, many are discontented. Liang Shide and Xiao Yuansui blocking your way mid-route intend to strike at the Second Young Master to weaken the Duke’s power. The Second Young Master and Young Madam should return to Daxing City as soon as possible. That’s the safest place."

"..."

"Staying outside too long, should some unscrupulous elements come forth, wouldn’t it be—"

Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance.

Dabo’s concerns were not unfounded, but to them, leaving now meant completely abandoning Wanggang Village, which they absolutely couldn’t accept.

Yu Wenye said, "I’ll stay here one more day. If there isn’t any accomplishment by tomorrow, I’ll depart."

Seeing his firm resolve, Dabo reluctantly could only say, "Yes."

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded again outside, and the three turned to look. Shantong’er, like a little calf, ran in cheerfully, saying, "Sister Ruyi, Yu Wen’s second brother—hey? You have guests!"

Dabo squinted slightly at Shantong’er, looking serious.

Being a man of the field, he clearly noticed this child’s unusual demeanor, but Shantong’er hardly sensed it, politely placing palms together as a gesture. Shang Ruyi already said, "Why did you come over?"

Shantong’er replied, "I had dinner and saw people still queuing outside, so I came to ask if we’re continuing to distribute rice tonight?"

Shang Ruyi said, "Of course."

She had planned to go out and help after dinner, but with Dabo’s arrival, she wanted to hear more news about Daxing City, which kept her here. At this moment, Yu Wenye suddenly said, "Why don’t you take Shantong’er out to help? I have some questions for Dabo here."

"Oh,"

Shang Ruyi glanced at him, pondered a bit, and said, "Alright."

She then stood up, nodded at Dabo, and led Shantong’er out.

Dabo cautiously rose and bowed to Shang Ruyi, watching her leave, then turned to Yu Wenye, lowering his voice, "Second Young Master, just now that child—"

Yu Wenye said, "Ninth Master of Wanggang Village."

"Ah?! Such a young child?"

"Don’t be fooled by his age; I almost suffered at his hands."

"This..."

Dabo sighed lightly, remarking, "Seems Wanggang Village shouldn’t be underestimated."

Yu Wenye calmly replied, "So this time, regardless of the danger, I must stay here to handle Wanggang Village matters. Otherwise, once Xiao Yuansui commands the village and expands his influence, joining forces with Liang Shide to defend the Eastern Capital will be our greatest obstacle to advancing east."

Dabo quietly said, "Makes sense."

But after saying this, Yu Wenye’s gaze flickered slightly, softening his expression a bit. He looked up at Dabo, saying, "I have another matter to ask you."

"Please speak, Second Young Master."

|

On the other side, Shang Ruyi led Shantong’er all the way to the outside of the temple. By this time, the sun was almost setting, and the surrounding light had dimmed. The long line that had originally formed now only had a few people left, but each of these people was emaciated and had a sallow complexion, obviously from very poor families, which was why they were still waiting for rice at this late hour.

Seeing them like this, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart.

At this moment, Mu Xian also arrived at the gate with another cart full of sacks of grain, and the hope in the eyes of those people was almost about to spill over onto the cart.

Seeing them eagerly crowding forward, Shantong’er immediately jumped over to stop them, shouting loudly, "Line up, line up, don’t push; there’s enough for everyone!"

Upon hearing this, the people hurriedly lined up properly.

At this time, Shang Ruyi also walked over, patted Tushere, who was sweaty from busyness, on the shoulder, and said softly, "You sit down and take a rest, I’ll handle it."

Tushere, upon seeing her, immediately said, "Miss, why have you come out again? You’re not in good health and should rest properly. Leave this to me."

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "I’m not that weak."

After saying that, she directly took the wooden shovel from her hand. Tushere had no choice, but she was also reluctant to leave, so she could only stand to the side and watch her open the grain sacks and fill each rice bag for the people in front of her, who all thanked her earnestly before leaving.

Before long, it was dark.

There were still quite a few people in line, so Shang Ruyi asked Mu Xian to light torches and place them under a tree. Mu Xian stood beside her and said softly, "It’s already the second day today, and although many people have come to receive rice, not a single person from Wanggang Village has come."

While distributing rice, Shang Ruyi replied, "Not a single one?"

Mu Xian said, "My people went to look outside the city. Those people did come, but they only hovered at the city gate and did not enter to receive rice."

Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and smiled, "Perhaps, they still can’t find a way to trust us."

Indeed, even she thought that, if she were from Wanggang Village, having just experienced the internal strife between the two leaders and the brothers turning against each other, she would certainly have the mindset of a frightened bird, suspecting ulterior motives even if someone offered a benefit.

Once trust is broken, it’s very hard to rebuild.

Or maybe, just as Yu Wenye said, the people of Wanggang Village need an opening.

Mu Xian smiled wryly and said, "I’m just afraid that after distributing these fifty carts of grain, not a single one of them will come, and we will have wasted three days, not to mention all this grain."

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "In any case, the common people benefited, so it’s not wasted."

Mu Xian blinked, looking at her.

Tushere next to her also nodded and said, "Yes, I heard people in the city praising our Miss and her husband today, calling them benevolent like Bodhisattvas, and that’s not something money can buy."

Shantong’er on the other side nodded repeatedly, "Mm, mm, mm."

Seeing them like this, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but laugh.

As they talked and laughed while working, they didn’t feel too tired, and before they knew it, there were fewer and fewer people in line, until only a few were left.

Shang Ruyi continued to fill rice bags for these people. When the last woman took her rice and left gratefully, there was finally no one left.

Tushere let out a long breath, "Finally done!"

Shang Ruyi turned back to look at her and smiled, "Go back and wash up, and rest early."

Tushere immediately looked at her, "Miss, aren’t you going back?"

Shang Ruyi shook her head, then turned to look ahead again. There were no more people in line, only the deep night and the spot lit by the torch beside her, and she said, "I want to wait a bit longer."

"Wait?"

Tushere said, "No one else will come, right?"

Mu Xian also said, "It’s so late, and the common people should be resting. Young Madam, you’ve been busy all day; you should go back and rest early."

While they were trying to persuade Shang Ruyi, suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps came from the darkness.

Everyone instinctively quieted down.

They all looked ahead and saw a tall black figure slowly walking from afar in the deep night. As the figure approached, the outline became more visible in the torchlight, seemingly a burly man. When he reached the temple gate and came into view, everyone instinctively held their breath.

Standing at the front, Shang Ruyi felt even more of a darkness before her eyes.

An overwhelming sense of dread came over her.

She lifted her head and, with the light from behind, looked into a face like that of a tiger.

In front of her was a burly man in a deep blue cloth outfit, his figure as imposing as a mountain. A bushy beard ran from his earlobe to his chin, almost covering most of his facial features, but one could barely make out a pair of piercing eyes. When he lowered his head to look at Shang Ruyi, she felt as if she were being stared down by a tiger!

She instinctively held her breath.

Everyone around her also unconsciously quieted down, as if even the wind at the temple gate had come to a standstill.

At this moment, Shantong’er was heard saying in a low voice, "Sev, Seventh Brother?"