Chapter 104: Escape from reality
Yexue held her most precious possession in her arms for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn’t until Ru Yi stopped sniffing and lifted her head did she slowly pull away.
"Can you take me away from here?" Ru Yi whispered, looking up at her through long wet lashes that made Yexue unable to resist her request.
"Where do you want to go?" Yexue asked, wiping the remaining tears away from her cheeks with the pad of her thumb.
Ru Yi stayed in Yexue’s arms for a while, her emotions slowly setting but not disappearing. They lingered, like something just beneath the surface waiting to rise again.
Her fingers still lightly gripped Yexue’s sleeve. "I just...don’t want to think about any of this. Not tonight." Ru Yi’s voice dropped, fragile but steady. "Even if it’s just for a day, I want to forget."
Yexue didn’t ask any questions, didn’t even hesitate. "Alright," she said simply.
Minutes later and Yexue found a cheap inn they could stay in. "We’ll stay for only one night," she said, opening the door for Ru Yi to step through. "It’s nothing fancy but it’ll give you a much needed peace and quiet."
Ru Yi nodded as she stepped into the small space. "Do you miss it?"
Yexue closed the door. "Miss what?"
"Being the princess, enjoying all that luxury and power." Ru Yi sat at the end of the tiny bed. "It certainly cannot compare to life as you know it now. Having to do chores yourself, the menial tasks that you never had to do your entire life."
"I don’t like to think about it," Yexue said, pulling out a chair. "In a way this feels rather fulfilling."
Ru Yi tilted her head to the side. "How so?"
Yexue poured wine from the flask on the table. "Lieyin is really good with her sword, she trained the imperial guards herself." She pushed a glass into Ru Yi’s hands before taking one for herself. "Qingyue is the mastermind. Whether it was expeditions or bandits...she always knew how to handle everything."
Ru Yi remained quiet, waiting patiently for Yexue to unburden what she felt.
"But me?" Yexue took a greedy gulp of the wine. "I’m very much useless. Whether it’s fighting or solving problems...I just do well enough to support my sisters."
Ru Yi tilted her head to the side. "That’s not true."
"You don’t have to convince me otherwise," Yexue said. "I don’t need your pity." She sighed when she saw how Ru Yi’s shoulder dropped.
She leaned forward and rubbed Ru Yi’s knee in an affectionate gesture. "There’s no need to listen to my sob story. Just drink and relax tonight, you don’t have to worry about anything."
Ru Yi looked at the cup, then at Yexue. She drank a generous amount of wine after that. One cup became two, and then turned into three.
The warmth spread slowly, loosening something tight inside her chest. The noise around them blurred into something distant.
Safe.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Ru Yi wasn’t embracing herself for something.
Yexue leaned back in her chair, watching her over the rim of her cup. "You’re quiet. Are you angry about what I said?"
Ru Yi stared at the table for a moment. "Do you still think about the capital?"
Yexue almost sighed. Not this again.
Ru Yi continued like she hadn’t been expecting an answer. Her voice was softened by the haze of wine.
"I thought leaving it behind would make everything easier." She gave a small, uneven smile. "No more rules, no more serving others...no more being treated like something stuck under someone’s shoe."
Her fingers traced the edge of her cup. "Above all, I wanted freedom. From the politics in the palace, from the crown prince and his unwanted affections." She exhaled. "But, I was wrong."
Yexue’s gaze sharpened slightly.
Ru Yi looked up at her. Her eyes were glassy now, emotions slipping through more easily than before. "The world isn’t easy. It’s just different..."
Her voice wavered slightly.
"I thought I was choosing something simpler and better." A quiet almost deprecating laugh slipped out. "But people are still suffering. Still hurting. Still losing the things they love."
Her grip tightened around her cup. "And I can’t pretend I don’t see it anymore."
Yexue didn’t interrupt or try to deflect. She only listened.
Ru Yi swallowed. "Do you think I made the wrong choice walking away from Han Shuying’s offer?"
The question hung between them. Heavy and honest.
Yexue leaned forward slightly, resting her elbow on the table. "No," she finally answered. "There is no wrong or right choice, only what you believe to be true."
"But you were naive," Yexue added after a while, the wine blunting her words.
Ru Yi huffed softly, a small smile breaking through. "That’s not comforting."
Yexue’s gaze did not waver. "I’m telling you the truth, not trying to comfort you." She paused briefly to take Ru Yi’s hand again. "You thought leaving would make life easier, that was your first mistake."
Her tone softened. "Life is not easy anywhere."
Ru Yi looked at her. Really looked at her.
"All you have to do is take the stone that has been thrown at you and make it into something bearable." Yexue caressed her knuckles with her thumb. "It also helps to have things and people you cherish."
"Like your sisters," Ru Yi replied.
Yexue nodded. "And you, Ru Yi."
"Me?"
Yexue nodded. "Our relationship didn’t start off right, but I’m glad I kidnapped you and forced you to be with me. I would do it again if it meant I could hold your hand like this." She pressed a chaste kiss to Ru Yi’s knuckles.
Ru Yi’s lips parted, her shoulders loosening as she leaned into Yexue without realizing it. "I’m glad you brought me along too."
Yexue’s eyes dropped to Ru Yi’s lips, then painfully back to her eyes. The distance between them was beginning to shrink.
She raised her hand, lightly brushing it against Ru Yi’s cheek, her thumb resting just below her eye.
Ru Yi froze but she did not pull away.
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