Chapter 1055: Chapter 765: Sister-in-law, Are You Well? (Part 3)
For this time, there were quite a few people who came to see Shen Tu Tai off.
In the past, even when Yu Wenye personally went on a campaign, Shang Ruyi would only see him off at the entrance of the residence, watching him go afar. But this time, she followed Yu Wenye, who was seeing Shen Tu Tai off, all the way to the city gates. When the army set off, she even climbed up the city wall, watching the serpentine formation of soldiers marching forward, their synchronized footsteps causing the city wall to tremble slightly.
She instinctively reached out to steady herself on the cold hard battlements.
"Are you alright?"
A warm chest was immediately pressed against her shoulder. Shang Ruyi turned her head and saw it was Yu Wenye who had come to her side, discreetly holding her hand.
Shang Ruyi smiled and shook her head, saying, "I’m fine."
Yu Wenye said, "I told you not to come. The atmosphere of the departing army is too murderous, and you’re pregnant."
Shang Ruyi blinked at him and said, "But didn’t you say before, whether this child becomes a dragon or a worm depends on the mother?"
"Hmm?"
"Then I want him to see early on. If the mother isn’t afraid, how can he be afraid?"
Yu Wenye, hearing this, immediately laughed.
After the incident with the hawthorn cake, some rumors seemed to have leaked out. The nobles and ladies who used to visit every day with their greetings had come less frequently. This past half month, Shang Ruyi finally found some peace and quiet, allowing her to rest, so her belly had started to visibly grow.
Although not as big as those seven or eight months into pregnancy, her belly had a noticeably slight bulge.
One could even imagine how spectacular it would be in a few months.
Yu Wenye, besides feeling proud and pleased, was also more cautious than before. While normally, he wouldn’t mind letting Shang Ruyi interact more with his subordinates, especially the military men, now, with Shang Ruyi being so carefree, it was he who had to constantly be mindful of her getting bumped or catching a draft.
The two had completely switched roles.
So he said, "Yes, you’re not afraid, he’s not afraid, but I’m afraid."
Shang Ruyi laughed so much that her eyes curved into crescents.
After the laughter, she looked around and quietly asked, "By the way, why didn’t Lord Pei come today?"
Ever since she met Pei Xingyuan at the Pei Family last time, they hadn’t met for a while. Besides her brother, Pei Xingyuan was the closest to Yu Wenye, because he was so cheerful and lovable. A few casual words from him could make people laugh; people naturally like to get close to such a person who is like a little sun.
Yu Wenye replied, "He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and has a lot of things to do."
He sighed softly and said, "Never in recorded history has anyone at such a young age been appointed as Assistant Minister. Now, he’s basking in success, but I’m afraid he might make a careless mistake."
Shang Ruyi gently said, "Although Lord Pei seems a bit frivolous at times, he’s reliable when it comes to work."
"..."
"His promotion to Assistant Minister is beneficial for us."
Yu Wenye wasn’t wrong. For Pei Xingyuan, the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue came a bit too soon. In previous dynasties, not even one as young as twenty-plus had served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He truly was in the limelight; but Shang Ruyi understood that this was also because the Emperor, Yu Wenquan, came from a military background, and understood too well the relationship between warfare and supplies.
Currently, the court had the factions of the Crown Prince and King Qin divided. Besides the last time Yu Mingyue acted against her, nothing overt had happened yet. But Yu Wen had to prevent such things from happening, as throughout history, there were too many military generals, though brave and skillful, defeated not on the battlefield, but by infighting in the rear.
In war, especially such as Shen Tu Tai’s advance east through the frontier, with an extended front line, logistical support was extremely important.
Promoting Pei Xingyuan to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue could effectively ensure the logistical support of this war, so that Shen Tu Tai wouldn’t be disturbed by the rear and could wholly focus on capturing the Song and Xu States.
Shang Ruyi covered her mouth and chuckled, "He must be looking quite pleased with himself now."
Yu Wenye also chuckled, "Fortunately, only in official circles."
"Oh?"
Surprised, Shang Ruyi immediately said, "What else?"
Yu Wenye cast a sidelong glance at her and, after checking that no one was paying attention to their conversation, whispered in her ear, "I heard that the other day, Su Qinglan hosted a gathering at the Divine Tired Pavilion, and he actually went. He ended up getting into another quarrel with Liang Youying. If it weren’t for Jiang Xian intervening, he might not even have been able to keep his position as Assistant Minister."
