Chapter 1042: Chapter 761: "Filthy Thing
"Because those hawthorn cakes are not edible."
After Yu Wenquan asked the question, the entire Liangyi Hall fell into an unspeakable silence. Although the duration was brief, because everyone held their breath and focused intently, this moment of silence stretched infinitely, growing unsettlingly long.
Even Shang Ruyi’s breathing and heartbeat tightened at this moment.
Just as she was about to speak, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind her, causing her already tense heart to jolt.
It wasn’t just her; upon hearing this sentence, everyone’s heart skipped a beat. Everyone in Liangyi Hall turned their heads, including Yu Wenquan, who lifted his head. They saw a graceful figure stepping in with somewhat flustered yet faintly determined strides. Beside her was Eunuch Yu, looking helpless, as if he wanted to stop her but couldn’t bear to. He kept murmuring, "La—Lady Chu, you can’t do this, the Emperor has not summoned you!"
The person who came was none other than Chu Ruoyan!
At the sight of her, though nothing much had been said, the invisible shackles that had been binding Shang Ruyi’s heart all these days, or rather, all these years, suddenly loosened.
She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and watched as Chu Ruoyan slowly walked to the center of the hall. Ignoring the somewhat frightened expression of Aunt Hui, who seemed to want to step forward to stop her, she knelt down before Yu Wenquan, saying, "Your child greets Your Majesty, wishing the Emperor ten thousand years of life!"
"You—"
Seeing her, Yu Wenquan’s brows also furrowed.
He had been trying to avoid meeting Chu Ruoyan due to her identity as a princess from the previous dynasty. Even though it was her palace maid who had died this time, he didn’t call her to ask questions but instead summoned Yu Wenye and Shang Ruyi.
Yet, unexpectedly, she came on her own.
Moreover, she barged in like this. No wonder Eunuch Yu couldn’t stop her; after all, he had watched her grow up and felt some affection for her in his heart.
At this moment, Eunuch Yu also knelt down, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I, I just said—"
"Enough,"
Yu Wenquan suddenly waved his hand, stopping him from speaking further, and also stopping Aunt Hui from moving forward to take Chu Ruoyan out. He looked down at this once esteemed Princess with no warmth or emotion and said calmly, "Ruoyan, why are you here? I didn’t summon you."
Chu Ruoyan immediately responded, "I came for the sake of the Princess."
"Oh?"
Yu Wenquan raised his eyebrows, recalling the sentence she had uttered before entering and squinting his eyes, "You just said that the hawthorn cakes you sent to Princess Qin are not edible. What’s going on?"
Shang Ruyi instinctively said, "Lady Chu—!"
Although that invisible shackle binding her had disappeared the moment Chu Ruoyan spoke, a greater sense of unease now loomed overhead. Shang Ruyi looked at her worriedly, wanting to say something, but at that moment, a warm hand reached out and grasped her wrist.
It was Yu Wenye by her side.
Though slightly surprised by Chu Ruoyan’s sudden entrance, he quickly regained his composure. From the calm and clear look in his cold, bright eyes that quietly observed Chu Ruoyan, it seemed he had already understood everything.
Shang Ruyi’s heartbeat also gradually became heavy.
She remembered that last night, she and Yu Wenye had prepared for the Emperor’s inquiry that might come the next day. She also anticipated that there might be three possible outcomes to this matter.
The worst was to use the pine branch found in Jian Chun’s hand as evidence to implicate the murderer. Yu Wenquan would never allow this case to implicate Chengqian Hall, so Shang Shoufei would certainly be dragged out. If he started implicating others without care, the Emperor would not allow such a scandal to grow, and it might end with Shang Shoufei’s death. However, Qianqiu Palace and Shang Ruyi would then be branded with the stigma of "trouble" and "scandal," potentially losing the Emperor’s favor from then on.
The middle outcome would be finding out that Chu Ruoyan poisoned Shang Ruyi, yet with Jian Chun dead, it could not be further investigated, thus concluding the case with a scandal of Yu Wenye’s unstable household.
And the best outcome...
Shang Ruyi and Yu Wenye exchanged a glance. Both looked towards Chu Ruoyan, who had slowly stood up and calmly faced Yu Wenye—the outcome no one had mentioned yesterday.
