Lei Yu said faintly, "He’s gone."

"Gone? Where did he go?"

"I don’t know either. It was like he had something to do somewhere. I didn’t ask him."

"..."

Seeing how indifferent she was, as if they were only talking about a stranger, Shang Ruyi’s heart clenched with another wave of sorrow. She knew Lei Yu was not a heartless person; since she’d said Ashina Yiasu had treated her well—very well—she would not be lying. But feelings are feelings; just treating someone well can’t buy back their love.

Still, at this moment she did not want to dwell too much on this. After all, she was still in enemy territory. Even with Lei Yu here, Ashina Shali was moody and unpredictable; once he decided to kill her, no one could stop him.

She had to first understand the situation in the Western Turks.

So, she chattered on with Lei Yu about all that had happened since their separation, and learned more about the Western Turks’ current state. It was indeed as she had previously guessed: the Western Turks’ capital was in Yingsuo, and the reason they had set up a large temporary Yatai here this time was precisely to wage war against the Central Plains.

Taiyuan was indeed one of their military strongholds.

Lei Yu said, "Originally, after Shali Khan took Taiyuan, he planned to move the main forces there, then use Taiyuan as a base to launch campaigns southward. Especially—"

Seeing the deep furrow between her brows, Shang Ruyi immediately understood. "He wants to take revenge on Yu Wenye?"

Lei Yu nodded and said in a low voice, "This Khan’s temperament is inherently violent and irritable. After he was wounded in Yanmen County, he lost one eye, and all these years he has suffered from that old injury. His hatred for Feng Chen has only grown deeper, so this time, colluding with Wang Shaoji and the others to seize Taiyuan was aimed squarely at the Yuwen Family."

"..."

"Although Taiyuan has been taken back this time, from the way he looked yesterday, he’s definitely not going to let this go. Either he will send troops again to retake Taiyuan, or—"

"Or what?"

"Or he might directly march on the Central Pass!"

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but gasp.

Yu Wenquan had only just ascended the throne, his position far from secure. To send troops to recover the Dragon Raising Land, he had already dispatched more than two hundred thousand soldiers, and with Yu Wencheng’s heavy losses, he did not have many usable troops left in his hands. If Ashina Shali really set his sights on Chang An and marched his forces south, could Chang An hold?

At this moment, fear and anger instead washed some of the grief from her heart away, leaving her increasingly calm.

Losing her elder brother was like half the sky collapsing for her.

But what still supported her life were also the uncle and aunt who had treated her like their own child and cared for her meticulously since childhood. No matter what, she had to protect them. That was why, even before she fully understood everything, she had decided to marry Yu Wenye.

Thinking of this, a fresh stab of pain pierced her heart.

But she still drew a deep breath at once, forcefully pressing down that ever-present ache, lifted her head, and looked at Lei Yu with slightly reddened eyes. "Is there any way to resolve it?"

"Resolve it?"

"Yes. Resolve Shali Khan’s hatred for the Yuwen Family, or rather, stop the Turks from going to war?"

Lei Yu gave a bitter smile. "It’s very difficult."

"..."

"As long as Shali Khan remains in power, his hatred for the Yuwen Family will not be resolved, and the Turks’ incursions into the Central Plains will definitely not cease."

"..."

Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s gaze flickered at once.

The two of them were so close, practically "cheek to cheek." Let alone her eyes—even her breathing and heartbeat, Lei Yu could hear clearly. So she immediately sensed that some thought had risen in Shang Ruyi’s heart.

She looked quietly at Shang Ruyi.

Shang Ruyi also raised her eyes to meet hers, her gaze and breathing growing more cautious. "Lei Yu..."

Lei Yu pressed her forehead against hers as well and, in a breath so low only the two of them could hear, said, "I know what you want to say."

"..."

"Back then, when my father and I were cornered, we sought refuge with Liang Shide because we wanted to survive. After we depended on him, he colluded with the Turks; we were helpless, and even my marriage—I could only endure it."

"..."

"But in my heart I still know what kind of person I am, and I know what I ought to do."

"..."

"If the fires of war on both sides could be stilled, I would also feel a little easier in my heart."

Shang Ruyi’s eyes lit up at once. She reached out under the quilt and clasped Lei Yu’s hand, saying softly, "Lei Yu... thank you for still thinking this way."

Lei Yu gave a bitter little laugh. "All I can do is think."

"..."

"After all, right now Ashina Shali holds all the power. And because he himself rose to power as Khan from the position of Left Royal King, he now suspects the other Turkic nobles all the more, and has reclaimed most of the troops they held into his own hands."

"..."

"So, if he wants to invade the south, the Turkic soldiers will definitely march south. If he still wants to retake Taiyuan, then there will certainly be even more grassland cavalry sent to attack Taiyuan Mansion."

"..."

"So when I say we can only think about it, I really mean we can only think about it."

Shang Ruyi said in a low voice, "Thinking about it isn’t a bad thing. Maybe we can come up with some ideas."

Lei Yu looked at her. "What ideas?"

At this moment, neither of them realized that although they were just two women, now without even armor on their bodies, lying on a bed—one sunk in gloom, the other weak and frail—what they were thinking about were all affairs of the state.

And Shang Ruyi, with her brows knitted, was in fact thinking very seriously. After pondering for a long time, she lifted her eyes again to look at Lei Yu and said softly, "Those two Princes of the Western Turks—what is their attitude toward the Central Plains?"

Lei Yu’s gaze flickered slightly.

She lowered her head and thought for a bit, then said, "I’m not very familiar with Ashina Zhuxie. I just feel he’s extremely gloomy. He usually speaks little, just stares at people, staring until one’s back goes cold, yet he won’t say a word. So, I don’t really understand his attitude toward the Central Plains."

"..."

"As for Yiasu—"

Shang Ruyi widened her eyes at her.

Lei Yu was silent for quite a while, then a faint bitter smile surfaced on her face. "I’m not familiar with him either."

"..."

Shang Ruyi was taken aback for a moment.

But she immediately understood as well: marriage, and the other party treating you well, did not necessarily mean the two truly understood each other. All the more so since she had long seen through Lei Yu’s feelings— even if Prince Yiasu married her, he could not instantly capture her heart.

But Lei Yu then continued, "However, he—he is very gentle."

"Oh?"

This was actually the first time Shang Ruyi had heard her use a single word—and such a good word at that—to describe her husband. From the earlier "he treats me very well" to now "gentle," a vague yet bold plan slowly took shape in Shang Ruyi’s mind.

And after those two words "very gentle" left her lips, Lei Yu herself seemed a little dazed. She propped herself up slightly and looked around the inner chamber of the tent. The bed was in the Central Plains style; the dressing table at the head of the bed, and the several huge sandalwood chests leaning against the wall were all to her taste, hauled over the grassland after a long, arduous journey.

She only now realized that in these few days since Yiasu had left, she herself hadn’t noticed, and only at this moment did she recall that something was missing in the tent.

It was the scent of flowers.

Because when Yiasu was here, every day there would be flowers in the tent that he had picked for her on the grassland.

So she murmured again, "Yes, he’s very gentle to me."

"..."

"When he talks to me, he often asks about the local customs and ways of the Central Plains. He seems very interested. From the way he speaks, I don’t hear much hostility toward the Central Plains."

When she got to the last few words, she suddenly woke as if from a dream and lowered her head to look at Shang Ruyi. "You—"

Shang Ruyi nodded. "Mm."

Lei Yu’s expression hardened, but she did not speak immediately. Instead, she lowered her head and thought for a while.

Shang Ruyi watched the flicker in her eyes, as if countless thoughts were crashing about in her mind. Only after quite some time did she see Lei Yu let out a long, heavy breath and say, "In fact, even if we don’t think about this, there are people who have been thinking about it all along."

"Oh?"

Shang Ruyi started, then immediately understood. "That Lady Jiayuan?"

Lei Yu nodded.

Shang Ruyi let out a long breath. She was not dull or slow—yesterday in that King’s Tent she had also seen it clearly. Shali Khan indeed favored Lady Jiayuan, and that lady did have considerable influence over him. From the situation yesterday, and from the fact that Ashina Zhuxie had left the King’s Tent with even wounds on his face in the end, it could be seen that that lady must also have secret connections with several Turkic nobles.

She ought to be making preparations for her own son, that gentle Prince Yiasu.

However—

Yiasu bore no hostility toward the Central Plains; this could be heard from Lei Yu’s words as well. He was a gentle person. If such a man became the Turkic Khan, it might be good for the Central Plains. But the premise was that he could truly grasp power over the Turks.

Those wolfish, tiger-like nobles would not, for no reason, support a gentle prince.

Just like back then, when Yu Wenquan assisted Chu Chengfei.

Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said, "It seems that in this matter, we still need to plan for the long term."

Lei Yu nodded slightly.

After a moment, she smiled again, looked at Shang Ruyi, and said, "You—dragged off to the Turks, you can hardly protect yourself, yet you’re still thinking about stopping the Turks from marching out. That heart of yours—"

Shang Ruyi sensed that she seemed about to mention Yu Wenye.

And the instant she thought of that man, that surge of uncontrollable anger and indescribable sourness rose to her chest at once. She instinctively wanted to stop Lei Yu from going on, but before she could open her mouth, they heard someone pat the main flap of the tent outside and call out loudly, "Little Princess, are you up?"

Both of them immediately pulled themselves together.

Lei Yu got up, put on her clothes, then got out of bed. She turned back to tuck the quilt around Shang Ruyi so she wouldn’t catch a chill from the draft, then went out to open the tent flap and asked, "What is it?"