Looking at him with wide-open eyes and a childlike curiosity, Lei Yu, though burdened with worries, couldn’t help but laugh out loud and pushed him lightly, saying, "You should first go to the King’s Tent and see the Khan, then talk."

Yiasu was pushed back slightly but still refused to leave, stepping closer to her.

"But, what exactly do you want to tell me?"

"..."

"If you don’t tell me, I feel uneasy."

"..."

"Is it something important? Just tell me, even one word will do."

In the cold and fierce wind of the grassland, there was a hint of gentleness, even a seductive atmosphere. Shang Ruyi instinctively turned her face away, hiding to one side, but even if she didn’t look, she could imagine Yiasu leaning towards Lei Yu, looking obedient and sincerely earnest. If there were a tail behind him, it would probably be wagging non-stop like a happy little dog.

Even though she had felt sad for Lei Yu’s marriage earlier, at this moment, she inexplicably felt a touch of joy.

Yiasu was truly good to Lei Yu.

Even though the Khan wanted to see him and whatever business he had was urgent, it was no match for Lei Yu’s word. It showed that in his heart, Lei Yu was the most important.

Marrying such a man, what is there to regret?

But Lei Yu seemed to deliberately tease him, or perhaps the more she "tortured" him, the happier he’d be upon knowing the truth. So she smiled and said, "I won’t tell you unless you go to the King’s Tent. Hurry up, get your business done."

Hearing her speak like this, Yiasu immediately pouted.

The invisible ears atop his head seemed to droop, only managing a dejected "Oh" before turning to walk towards the King’s Tent.

As he walked, he kept turning back, saying, "Quickly go back to your tent, don’t catch a cold."

Lei Yu smiled thinly, but after the smile, watching his back, her gaze revealed a more complex, almost perplexed expression, murmuring, "It turns out, he’s so good..."

These words happened to reach Shang Ruyi’s ears as she approached Lei Yu.

When Lei Yu turned around, she saw the half-smiling expression on Shang Ruyi’s face and immediately said, "Why are you laughing?"

Shang Ruyi didn’t answer right away but watched Yiasu’s reluctant departing figure, then sighed, seeming to reflect, "I’m just thinking, do people tend to miss the forest for the trees?"

Lei Yu’s face darkened, "Oh, you’re actually teasing me now."

Shang Ruyi laughed, "Where am I teasing you?"

Speaking, she stepped forward with a gesture of apology, supporting Lei Yu’s arm and half-pulling her back into the tent. The smell inside had mostly dispersed, leaving only a faint, spicy scent that wasn’t too irritating. She helped Lei Yu sit down, then said, "I’m just happy for you."

"..."

"Before, you said Prince Yiasu was good to you, very good. No matter how I thought, it felt limited."

"..."

"But no matter how I thought, I couldn’t imagine he’d be so good to you."

These words left Lei Yu in a daze. After a moment of silence, a faint, almost guilty expression appeared on her face, "Yes, unexpected."

"..."

"People, maybe that’s the way it always is."

"..."

"Missing the forest for the trees, or perhaps..."

Saying this, she looked at Shang Ruyi, in her already bright and sharp eyes flashed a bit of clarity, "Blinded by hatred, robbed of reason by anger."

"...!"

Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi’s heart trembled slightly.

She instinctively raised her head to meet Lei Yu’s eyes, gently asking, "What do you mean by this?"

Lei Yu also looked at her but didn’t immediately say anything more. After pondering for a long time, she softly said, "I don’t know what happened between you and Feng Chen, but I know there must be some problem between you two. Because this time you came, you hardly mentioned him; and every time you mentioned him, I could feel that you—were very sad and very angry."

"..."

"You don’t want to talk, so I don’t ask, but there are some things I want to say to you; are you willing to listen?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi’s breathing was heavy, but she still nodded.

Lei Yu pondered again for a while, then said, "You know I never had a relationship with him; but you also know, after all, I liked him for these years, so I understand him quite well."

"..."

"He wouldn’t hurt someone he likes."

"..."

"If you are hurt, maybe it was unintentional, or perhaps—could there be some misunderstanding between you?"

"..."

"Ru Yi, I know he likes you. I realized it when you returned to the Eastern Capital shortly after your marriage. Because I can see, his gaze towards you—is different from how he looks at anyone else."

"..."

"Someone, able to find someone they like, and who likes them in return amidst the masses, especially in such chaotic times, knows how rare it is. I don’t want my best friend to miss out, nor do I want you to drift apart or miss each other because of a misunderstanding."

"..."

Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi’s heart trembled more fiercely.

It was because of pain that it trembled.

Misunderstanding?

How could Shen Wuzheng’s death be a misunderstanding?

Just this thought brought another pungent smell, as the maids inside were dusting the bed and bedding, releasing the smell, and this smell provoked a thought in her mind that she had never had before, yet it shocked her immensely.

Could it really be a misunderstanding?!

But how can a person’s life or death be a misunderstanding?

Seeing Shang Ruyi’s somewhat bewildered and stunned look, Lei Yu smiled and said, "When you meet again, give each other a chance to explain clearly."

"..."

Shang Ruyi looked up at her, smiled bitterly, and said, "Meet again?"

"..."

"I’ve already come to this place, whether I can return is still unknown, how to meet again."

Lei Yu smiled and said, "Perhaps he will come to take you?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi just shook her head and smiled bitterly.

Previously, in Jiangdu, she was convinced that Yu Wenye disregarded her life and death in Taiyuan and followed Yu Wenquan to raise troops, but later it turned out that Yu Wenye did not disregard her life and death, instead he risked his life to storm Jiangdu Palace and rescue her.

But this time, could it be the same as before?

Regardless of whether Shen Wuzheng’s life and death is truly a misunderstanding, just speaking of the words she said to him before he left Qi County—how could someone as proud as Yu Wenye tolerate those words from someone and still risk his life to rescue?

Moreover, this place is not Jiangdu Palace.

It’s the grassland, where everyone wishes to execute Yu Wenye, grind his bones into dust—Western Turks!

Seeing Shang Ruyi’s hesitant look, Lei Yu said, "I don’t believe he won’t come."

"..."

"Perhaps when he comes, it will be in a way you could never expect."

"..."

Shang Ruyi couldn’t speak. Firstly, she didn’t want to dampen Lei Yu’s spirit, after all, her words were to comfort her; secondly, her mind was in a mess, she needed some time to sort it out; most importantly—

She couldn’t help but turn her head as the maids also noticed the smell was too strong, taking the bedding outside to air, and as soon as they opened the tent door, a fresh breeze blew in.

Shang Ruyi said, "Let’s talk about it later."

Now is really not the time to discuss these matters.

For some reason, she felt a bit uneasy inside—this time Taiyuan fell, with Ashina Shali’s ruthlessness and his hatred towards Yu Wenye and Central Plains, it’s impossible for him to suffer such a great loss without reacting.

Thinking about this, she looked outside again—

"I wonder, what does Shali Khan want with those two princes?"

|

Meanwhile, Ashina Zhuxie and Ashina Yiasu had already reached the front of the King’s Tent.

Upon seeing them arrive, the soldiers guarding the entrance immediately opened the tent door. Ashina Zhuxie was the first to step in and immediately felt the oppressive atmosphere in the tent, almost suffocating.

He looked up and saw Ashina Shali sitting on the throne in front.

Although he was delighted with the good news of Lei Yu’s pregnancy last night, due to the cold weather, his blind eye had been aching throughout the night, leaving him sleepless, which made him both irritable and angry. When he looked at Ashina Zhuxie entering, the only eye he had left seemed ready to shoot out flames.

Ashina Zhuxie immediately lowered his head and retreated to the side after entering the tent.

Soon, Ashina Yiasu walked in from outside.

Although the atmosphere in the tent was gloomy, as soon as he entered, it was as though sunlight spilled into the tent, followed by a warm breeze. He smiled as he walked to the center of the tent, bowed to Ashina Shali and Lady Jiayuan behind him, and said, "Greetings, Father Khan, Mother!"

Upon seeing him, Ashina Shali’s angry expression softened.

He was almost about to smile but instantly frowned again and angrily said, "Where did you run off to? You couldn’t be found these days!"

Ashina Yiasu hurriedly said, "I went to find something for Ah Yue."

"Indeed,"

He had heard Lady Jiayuan mention it earlier, but wasn’t sure what exactly he went to find. Ashina Shali originally wanted to reprimand him for focusing only on women, but thinking about Lei Yu being pregnant and about to have a grandson—and the future inheritance of the Western Turks—he wasn’t as angry.

He merely glared at him and said, "You only make me worry about you, don’t you!"

"Father Khan, don’t be angry!"

Yiasu smiled with arched eyes, bowed again, and said, "I know I was wrong."

Ledy Jiayuan also whispered in Ashina Shali’s ear, "Khan, since Yiasu has admitted his mistake, please don’t blame him anymore. Still—business matters!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heavy again.

Especially Ashina Zhuxie, who had been silent on one side, slowly lifting his head now, looking towards Ashina Shali in front, saw that only red eye was looking over at him seemingly intentionally.