Chapter 1005: Chapter 734: Lamenting Virtue, Cherishing Virtue
This voice belongs to Yu Mingyue.
Shang Ruyi turned her head and saw that Yu Mingyue had already regained her usual sharp gaze. Clearly, she had accepted the loss from the third cup of wine but quickly regrouped, showing that she had no intention of missing anything she needed to accomplish.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
Finally, it has come.
In fact, she was not unprepared for this. After all, she, as Princess Qin, performed a dance for the Western Turkic envoy, and Yu Wenye could not silence everyone present; this matter was bound to become known. Besides, during that time, many wealthy families from Qi County migrated to Central Pass to escape the war, and some rumors were bound to spread.
Later, she was kidnapped by Ashina Zhuxie. Even if the people in Taiyuan weren’t aware, Yu Wenye led twenty thousand troops to the Western Turkic Yatai to bring her back, and people like Yu Mingyue couldn’t possibly be clueless about such a big commotion.
Most importantly—
From the first night they stayed at Yu Wen’s old house in Taiyuan, when Yu Mingyue left Lu Xiao speechless and ashamed, Shang Ruyi had already prepared for this.
Having left such a significant leverage in their hands, Yu Mingyue was sure to use it.
In her view, women were not only possessions of men but were shackled in body and thought, confined to men. Therefore, she would definitely sharpen these matters infinitely, using them as a spear to attack Shang Ruyi.
What was unexpected was that the one who spoke up was Yu Wencheng.
He probably just couldn’t stand her and Yu Wenye and wanted to humiliate them, but Yu Mingyue aimed for something deeper.
That was precisely what Yu Wenye considered all along, even during their time in Taiyuan and throughout the return journey. If Yu Wenye wanted to establish himself in the court, he could only rely on military merits. Currently, Dasheng Dynasty’s biggest obstacle to advance eastward was Liang Shide of Luoyang. If he could achieve this feat, Yu Wenye would be valued again.
However, even if they aimed to capture it, the opposing side, even if not competing, would certainly not allow them to do so smoothly.
Thus, during this night banquet where ministers gathered, they suddenly targeted her. Although the topic was the chastity of the Princess Qin, the actual attack was aimed at discrediting Yu Wenye’s capability to command troops. Even if Yu Wenquan trusted Yu Wenye’s military command, he couldn’t grant him the opportunity to attack Luoyang under such circumstances!
On a deeper level, such words would cause Yu Wenye’s prestige in the army to plummet!
So vicious!
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but clench her teeth.
But just clenching her teeth wasn’t enough. Even if she internally chewed Yu Mingyue to pieces, she couldn’t escape the predicament before her. She needed to use not just her teeth, but her lips and tongue!
Therefore, Shang Ruyi cleared her throat, but before she could speak, she heard Yu Wenye calmly say, "What kind of sacrifice is this?"
"...!?"
Upon hearing this, a gasp of astonishment echoed in the hall.
Not only Shang Ruyi opened her eyes wide in surprise, but the surrounding ministers were also stunned, and Yu Wenquan at the top of the hall was taken aback. Even Yu Mingyue and Yu Wencheng, who were coldly mocking them, momentarily lost their reactions.
For a long time, they seemed disbelieving: "What?"
As soon as the words fell, Yu Wenye’s eyes, sharp as electricity, suddenly targeted Yu Wencheng opposite him. This gaze was like a cold arrow piercing through his chest, causing Yu Wencheng to feel instinctive fear and a faint pain as if his chest really took a hit, leaving him ice-cold and speechless.
Only then did Yu Wenye coldly turn his gaze to Yu Mingyue.
He said, "In this battle, just in the Taiyuan campaign, we exterminated over seventy thousand enemies. The captured and wounded were countless. Ruyi merely slew one Western Turkic envoy and returned unharmed. How does this count as a sacrifice?"
Even facing his gaze, Yu Mingyue’s heart trembled, but having reached this point, she couldn’t retract her previous words. So, she ignored the solemn gaze Yu Wenqian cast toward her through the crowd, sighed lightly, and showed an expression of pity, even heartache, as she sorrowfully said, "As Princess Qin, a dignified Princess Qin, to dance for Turkic people— is this not a sacrifice?"
"What has she sacrificed?"
"Her honor! Isn’t a woman’s honor important?"
Yu Wenye’s gaze immediately turned icy.
