Chapter 1007: Chapter 734: Lamenting and Cherishing Virtue (Part 3)
"Thank you, Father."
Detecting a certain hint from his tone, Shang Ruyi straightened her back a bit more, turned to Yu Mingyue, and faintly smiled: "Lord Yu, Third Brother, I do not know why you would bring this matter up at this moment before Your Majesty and all the ministers. Perhaps you believe that as a Princess, acting as a dancer is something disgraceful."
Yu Mingyue looked at her, but at this moment, dared not speak lightly.
Earlier, she had been rebutted by Yu Wenye and Shen Wuzheng in turn, her thoughts already completely muddled. Now, even if what Shang Ruyi said was precisely what she wanted, she dared not respond easily, because it was evident that Shang Ruyi had more to say.
Sure enough, seeing her silence, Shang Ruyi continued: "But I never consider it a disgrace as Princess Qin to go and dance for the Turkic people because my goal is not to flatter and please the other party, but to assassinate the Turkic envoy, to win a chance of victory in the Taiyuan war!"
"..."
"I believe, if this was something the Crown Prince could do, King Qin could do, or even King Qi could do, Father would not begrudge sending them, the brothers, to assassinate the Turkic envoy to reclaim the Dragon Raising Land."
As she spoke, she turned her gaze towards Yu Wenquan.
And Yu Wenquan also timely nodded his head. This time, for the Taiyuan battle, sending out two sons, with the youngest originally stationed in Taiyuan, he indeed did not begrudge this, rather believing that as his sons, they should face danger directly.
Thus he said: "Of course."
Shang Ruyi said: "I, as Princess Qin, also bear this responsibility in my heart."
Yu Wenquan said: "Good!"
Shang Ruyi continued: "If we can win the war of Taiyuan with the smallest cost, Father should even less begrudge using strategy. For example, in this Taiyuan battle, starting from exiting Tongguan, King Qin and the Crown Prince have used, respectively, strategies like ’deceiving the heaven to cross the sea’, ’replace one thing with another’, ’watching the fires across the river’, ’wait at one’s ease before the laboring enemy’, ’lead away the tiger’..."
She mentioned several strategy names in succession, Yu Wenquan listened, nodding repeatedly, saying: "These are the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which every military commander must master. Good, very good!"
Shang Ruyi raised her voice: "And also, the Beauty Scheme!"
These three words once again startled everyone present.
But before anyone could react, Shang Ruyi turned her head towards Yu Mingyue and said: "Lord Yu, those previous strategies, the Crown Prince has used, King Qin has used, and the commanders and soldiers of the two troops have all used. Why did you not say that they lost their reputation, yet considered the Beauty Scheme as a disgrace to reputation?"
"..."
"If serving the country and fighting on the battlefield is losing integrity, then who in the world would dare to battle the enemy?"
"..."
"If it truly is so, would the women of the world, in times of national trouble, also forsake the country and allow the state to fall into chaos for the sake of preserving this ’reputation’?"
A few low voices rang out in the grand hall: "Well said!"
Although Shang Ruyi’s words were pressing step by step, they did not really intimidate Yu Mingyue. Instead, those few obscure, unclear voices reverberated above her head like a thunderbolt, and she seemed to lose her senses as if her spirit suddenly dispersed, blankly staring at everything around her.
She murmured: "How can it be like this...how, can it be like this? Isn’t this supposed to be feudal...?"
However, none of the people heard her muttering.
Meanwhile, Shang Ruyi raised her chin, proudly said: "Lord Yu, I do not know what you did this time when you left Tongguan, but when going on campaigns with the army, besides observing the battle and offering suggestions, one can also kill the enemy!"
"..."
"I won’t hesitate to tell you, not only did I kill enemies in this battle, should I have the fortune to ride to battle again with King Qin, I would still wield my sword, killing one if one comes, killing two if two come!"
"No!"
Just as her impassioned words ended, drawing countless admiring and envious gazes, Yu Wenquan, who had been looking at her with a smile, suddenly spoke.
Those present were shocked, Shang Ruyi also paused, looking at him in surprise, only to see Yu Wenquan’s gaze soften after saying those two words. He said: "Let’s leave it for this time. The sword knows no eyes; what if you encounter danger if you go personally to the battlefield again? I cannot afford to lose such a good daughter-in-law."
After saying this, he laughed lightly again, saying: "Under my knees are three sons. My only regret in this life is having no daughter."
"..."
"If I had a daughter, I would certainly teach her to charge with a horizontal blade, to become a heroine. As it appears now—" He said, then looked at Shang Ruyi affectionately, clearly showing appreciation, "My old friend’s in-law has filled this regret for me."
Having said that, he glanced at the pale-faced Yu Mingyue, his gaze sweeping past her, seemingly unwilling to linger on her any longer.
He coldly said: "These words of yours, in the future, you need not speak again."
