Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?-Chapter 529 - 447: To be so cherished, it should have been—
For a long time afterward, Shang Ruyi was trapped in a haze between dream and wakefulness, with Shantong’er’s cries, Wo Xue’s sobs, and the worried sighs of Yin Changyue and Dai Junliang echoing in her ears, along with many other fearful or relieved murmurs and clamor.
At the same time, she was caught in a dream.
She knew it was a dream because there was a faint fragrance lingering at the tip of her nose, enveloping her in a warm scent.
That fragrance was like sandalwood, yet also like medicinal herbs.
Just like the scent she had smelled in the nightmares she previously experienced.
So, she was having a nightmare again.
But this time, what she faced was not the soul-rending shadow, but instead being engulfed by darkness, which seemed to turn into a solid form in her dream, tightly wrapping around her, leaving her unable to struggle or even breathe.
So uncomfortable...
So unbearable!
She clenched her teeth, desperately trying to break free, yet she couldn’t move, the feeling of suffocation becoming like a black venomous snake entwining her soul, about to drag her into a pitch-black abyss.
Just then, she suddenly felt a hand lightly fall on the center of her collarbone.
Who is it?
What are they trying to do to me?
Even in a state of unconsciousness, Shang Ruyi felt a burst of anger, but this anger only intensified the oppression in her chest.
At that moment, the hand pinched two fingers together and slowly slid down, finally stopping at the Shanzhong acupoint in the center of her chest, which was the place where her oppression was concentrated.
Then, it pressed hard—
"Ah!"
Shang Ruyi suddenly felt her chest lighten, as if the intangible bindings that had been holding her had all been cut by this point, allowing her to breathe again, and the sudden influx of fresh air was so piercingly invigorating that she was startled into opening her eyes and waking.
Opening her mouth, she spat out a mouthful of murky black water.
With that mouthful of black water expelled, she felt even more relieved and immediately regained some consciousness, but in the next moment, as her consciousness returned, so too did her sensation, and she instantly felt a burning pain all over her body, as if flames were still licking her skin, and her chest was filled with a searing feeling, making each breath feel like torture.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."
Shang Ruyi turned onto her side and began to cough forcefully.
At this moment, a pair of hands reached over, one supporting her shoulder while the other gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.
Those hands also carried the same warm, faintly fragrant aura that seemed to have been drawn out from her dream.
And that fragrance—
Shang Ruyi suddenly trembled, quickly biting her lip to stop coughing, and turned her head.
A handsome face came into view.
"...!"
Almost as soon as she clearly saw this face, Shang Ruyi felt suffocated again.
Because she just realized that she had not been half-awake, but was fully conscious; the seemingly nightmare-exclusive aura was real and right beside her, at this very moment, right before her eyes.
The person before her was Yu Wenqian!
He sat at the edge of the bed, one hand guarding her from falling over while lying on her side coughing at the bedside, and the other hand still resting on her back. The murky black water she had just spat out had splattered onto his hand, even staining a part of his sleeve.
Yet he seemed entirely unconcerned.
Meeting Shang Ruyi’s astonished gaze, filled with disbelief, Yu Wenqian merely smiled softly and said, "You’re awake."
"..."
Shang Ruyi was at a loss for words.
Shock was transitory; instinctively, she forced herself to calm down and almost instinctively sorted out some previous events—Nie Chong, hearing "the eldest young master" from the conversation between Song Yu and Ma Xu, must have been the precursor to the sudden presence of the person before her in Fufeng; it’s no wonder they waited so long in the burning room for Wo Xue, clearly due to the sudden arrival of the Heir of the Duke, sending everyone in the official office into a frenzy to meet him, which left her unable to find anyone for a moment.
But even after calming down and sorting things out, she couldn’t help but feel alarmed.
For she immediately realized she was in an unfamiliar room, lying in a very comfortably arranged bed, and yet, apart from the two of them, there was no one else in the room!
What’s going on?!
Shang Ruyi’s lips trembled gently, too afraid to speak.
Fearful that any word might lead to a scenario even more awkward than before in this situation.
And in that moment of silence, it seemed those gray-green eyes did not miss anything.
Yu Wenqian looked down at her and gently said, "Rest assured."
"..."
"You all survived."
The words "you all" cut through the last invisible restraint binding Shang Ruyi, and she let out a long sigh of relief, a hint of joyful relief unconsciously appearing on her face as she quickly said, "Feng Chen he—"
As soon as she spoke, her throat burned painfully as though sliced with a knife, prompting her to cough again.
Seeing this, Yu Wenqian helped her sit up against the headboard and then got up to fetch a cup of water, personally bringing it to her lips; although Shang Ruyi felt an increasing sense of fiery pain all over as she regained clarity, unsure if it was from being burned or some other injury, she couldn’t lose her composure despite the pain.
She struggled to lift her weakened hand, taking the cup.
And as she lifted her hand, she could see her hand back was red and swollen, as if scalded with hot water.
It must have been the scalding temperatures in the fire scene that left these marks, causing the burning sensation all over her body that left no scars but was deeply uncomfortable.
Shang Ruyi gritted her teeth, enduring the pain as she took a sip from the cup.
```
The cool tea slid down her throat, immediately moistening her entire body, as if her organs, like parched cracked earth, suddenly received a nourishing rain, bringing her back to life.
She let out a long breath.
When she spoke again, her voice was no longer hoarse: "Thank you."
Yu Wenqian simply smiled and reached out to take the cup away.
As he walked away to set the cup down, he said, "You can rest assured, Feng Chen is fine."
"..."
"The previous symptoms haven’t completely subsided, and there’s still a slight fever, but he hasn’t been injured at all, and a doctor has already gone to examine him."
"..."
"I think there won’t be another person in the world who, while so gravely ill and unconscious, can leave that room unscathed."
As Yu Wenqian spoke, he returned to the bedside, looking down at her. His blue-grey eyes were filled with a deep smile, so deep that it was somewhat hard to decipher.
He said, "You have protected your husband very well."
"..."
She didn’t know why, but instead of saying "Feng Chen" or "Yu Wenye," he chose the words "your husband." Hearing this, Shang Ruyi felt a strange heaviness in her heart.
But she couldn’t respond to this.
In fact, until now, she didn’t know what else she could say to Yu Wenye besides asking about him. After all, she hadn’t figured out why there were no other people in this room, just the two of them—and even if the people of Fufeng were unaware of the entanglement between the three of them, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be alone like this from common sense.
This carried the suspicion of being too intimate.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi looked around again and said softly, "I think—"
"If you’re looking for someone to serve you, there’s no need to find anyone else,"
Yu Wenqian slowly sat down at the bedside, calmly looking at her: "In emotion and reason, as your elder brother, I can’t let other men serve you here."
Shang Ruyi furrowed her brow.
She said, "But there are also other women in the official office, right?"
Yu Wenqian said, "I also dismissed them."
"..."
This time, Shang Ruyi couldn’t find words to say.
In other words, their current solitude was intentionally arranged by him.
So he wanted to—
Yu Wenqian said, "Actually, I have something to say to you."
"..."
Shang Ruyi’s breath hitched again.
But she tried her best to appear calm and unaffected, lowering her eyelashes, she said, "Elder brother, what do you want to say?"
Seeing her cautious demeanor, so careful her breath was lightened, Yu Wenqian only gave a faint smile and said, "But before discussing the main issue, I have a question for you."
"..."
His relaxed and then tense manner made Shang Ruyi’s heart race erratically.
She felt as though her emotions were being manipulated by this person, yet she had no way to escape from his control now.
She could only say, "Then what does elder brother want to ask me?"
Yu Wenqian didn’t ask immediately. Instead, he gave Shang Ruyi a deep look, his gaze seemed to grow serious, which made Shang Ruyi even more uneasy.
After a long silence, he suddenly said, "I heard from that maid named Wo Xue that you yourself chose to stay in that room and let her call someone to rescue you two."
Shang Ruyi stated, "Yes."
"Were you aware that staying there, you might have died?"
"I know."
"And yet you still—"
"But the chance of being rescued was greater."
"Oh?"
"Wo Xue would definitely return with people to save us."
"Even if that’s the case, you protected Feng Chen inside like that—we found many people couldn’t stand the heat inside the room, yet you kept, kept, shielding him."
As he spoke to this point, his elegant voice inexplicably lowered in tone, especially when he mentioned "kept."
Shang Ruyi’s brow slightly furrowed.
She lifted her head to look at the attractive face before her, remaining silent for a while before calmly saying, "I didn’t feel like I suffered much, nor did I think of myself as particularly noble, so why does elder brother keep reminding me of these things?"
"..."
Hearing this, Yu Wenye seemed also a bit perplexed.
He looked at Shang Ruyi, stayed silent for a moment, and suddenly smiled, then said, "Perhaps it’s because I can’t help but think about certain things."
"What?"
"I can’t help but think that being cherished like this should have been—"
