Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1010 Returning Empty-handed
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief.

She was somewhat glad that she had volunteered to go to Xiazhou this time. If she hadn't tricked Ashina Zhuye into coming to Suizhou, if he had really been persuaded by Wang Shaoqiu to lead troops to aid Luoyang, Yuwen Ye would have been under great pressure and the outcome would have been hard to predict.

Seeing that there seemed to be a smile on her lips, Lu Xiao asked, "Are you feeling lucky?"

Shang Ruyi looked up at her and said, "Ah."

"Are you feeling lucky that you have led them all here, so that your Highness the Prince of Qin will be safe in Luoyang?"

"……Um."

"But you have to know that you are also attracting danger."

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "It's not necessarily true that he is safe in Luoyang. There is no absolute safety on the battlefield, but I am indeed glad that as his wife I can help him, and as the Princess of Qin I can contribute a little to the country, which makes the life of luxury and servants worthwhile over the years."

"..."

"As for the danger, I knew before I set out that this journey would be extremely dangerous. Now it seems that there is only one more person, Wang Shaoqiu."

As he spoke, Shang Ruyi turned around and looked at Lu Xiao, and asked, "Are you afraid of him?"

Lu Xiao's face darkened: "Why would I be afraid of him?"

"..."

"I just don't like this person's eyes."

"Eye?"

"His eyes seem to want to bore a hole into people. It was like this when he was in Jiangdu before."

"Oh?"

Shang Ruyi raised her eyebrows slightly - she didn't think there was anything wrong with Wang Shaoqiu's eyes. At most, the cunning light made people feel uneasy. But Lu Xiao's feeling was not strange. She was born with a beauty. Most men in the world, and even many women, could not take their eyes off her. Speaking of which, she should have been accustomed to being scrutinized, hunted, and even offended by all kinds of gazes, and she always took it calmly. But why did she care so much about Wang Shaoqiu's gaze?

Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, what are they coming for? They definitely won't dare to do anything to you."

Lu Xiao didn't comment, just said: "Oh."

But she still didn't look reassured. After thinking for a while, she said, "From the beginning, you were planning to use Zuo Gong Yi's Tomb as bait to lure them here. Now they are here, but there is only one group of people. The danger of Xiazhou has not been resolved, but they have met us. If you don't get what they want, do you think that Zhuye Khan will let you off easily?"

After saying that, she raised her head and glanced around. The twenty or so guards accompanying Shang Ruyi had already been assigned and were doing their own work in an orderly manner. However, everyone had a solemn expression on his face, and a tense atmosphere enveloped the wilderness.

Lu Xiao said: "If he wants to take action, the people you bring will not be able to resist at all."

"..."

"What are you going to give him?"

Shang Ruyi also looked around, but did not respond. He just said, "Let's go to bed early. Since they are already here, I'm afraid we won't have any peace from tomorrow."

Seeing that she didn't intend to say more, Lu Xiao could only return to her tent with doubts.

Just as Shang Ruyi said, even that night, listening to the whistling wind in the fields outside and the howling of wolves in the distant valley, Lu Xiao almost did not sleep all night. She opened her empty eyes wide and watched the dark tent ceiling gradually illuminated by the morning light. Then the wind died down, but people began to walk and talk again.

She put on her clothes and washed up simply with some things in the tent. When she walked out, she saw Shang Ruyi and Lei Yu already sitting in the open space in front. Wo Xue handed the porridge she had just cooked to Shang Ruyi, then turned around and served a bowl to Lei Yu.

The two were drinking porridge. Shang Ruyi turned around and saw Lu Xiao coming over. He said, "You're up."

"Yes."

Lu Xiao nodded and glanced at Lei Yu again. Although she was a little surprised that Lei Yu, who was from the Turkic side, came here to have breakfast with Shang Ruyi, but since they were so close, she naturally didn't say much. Shang Ruyi said, "I was worried that you didn't sleep well, so I asked them not to call you. The porridge is ready, have a bowl."

Lu Xiao nodded again: "Okay."

So Wo Xue also brought her a bowl of porridge.

Lu Xiao sat down next to Shang Ruyi and drank porridge while turning her head to look at the camp next to them. The Turks got up earlier than them and went to the valley ahead to hunt a wolf and roasted it on the fire. The bonfire was blazing, and the bloody meat was roasted and sizzling. The aroma of meat wafted over with the wind, making some people salivate, but there was no emotion on Lei Yu's face. Instead, he drank the porridge in the bowl very attentively.

After a while, a Turkic soldier crossed the invisible boundary between the two camps and came over. The guards here immediately looked at him nervously, but saw him walk straight to Lei Yu's side and offer a bowl of roasted meat with fragrant oil: "Khatun, this is sent to you by the Khan."

Lei Yu said: "I don't want to eat."

After saying that, he glanced around again and said, "Put it down."

The soldier put the bowl aside, saluted again, and turned back.

Lei Yu raised his head and said to Shang Ruyi: "If you don't want to eat it, just give it to your subordinates."

Shang Ruyi smiled. She also knew that this was Ashina Zhuye's "It's impolite not to return the favor", so she asked Wo Xue to take it down and share it with the people below. The guards were naturally not polite and ate heartily. Shang Ruyi asked again: "Are you still the same as before?" She was talking about life habits, because the last time she went to the Turkic yazhang, she found that under the pampering and care of Yia Su, Lei Yu lived a life that was almost the same as in the Central Plains. Even if she wanted to put pepper in her mutton soup, Yia Su would go to the grassland to stop the passing Hu merchants to buy it for her.

Lei Yu was silent for a moment and said "hmm" softly.

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "That's good."

Speaking of which, from the first time I met Lei Yu, she did not give the impression of a gentle and amiable woman, nor was she what ordinary people imagined to be a good wife and mother. However, she enjoyed the most care from her husband, and even in places she didn't know, there were people who were still in love with her.

Things in this world are hard to explain.

Lu Xiao on the side didn't say anything, but looked at Lei Yu with her extremely alert eyes, and from time to time she looked at the situation in the Turkic camp.

After a while, everyone finished their breakfast.

Wo Xue took the used dishes from several people and washed them. Over at the Turkic camp, the bonfire was also put out, and the thick smoke was blown across their camp by a gust of wind. Shang Ruyi just coughed twice and turned around, and saw the tall figure of Ashina Zhuxie crossing the invisible boundary in the middle and walking into their camp.

The guards around him immediately became nervous and stared at him with burning eyes.

However, when he came over, he walked directly in front of Lei Yu and said in a low and gentle voice: "Go back."

Lei Yu looked up at him.

Ashina Zhuxie said, "You want to come over for breakfast, and I've agreed to your request, but you still have to go back to your own place."

"..."

"Besides, they have their own things to do, so don't bother them."

Hearing the last few words, Lei Yu's eyes flickered. He looked at Shang Ruyi again, then slowly stood up with a complicated expression.

At this moment, Shang Ruyi smiled slightly, looked at Ashina Zhuxie and said, "The Khan seems to know that I came to this place to do something."

Ashina Zhuxie looked down at her and said, "Didn't you say last night that the battle in Xiazhou was raging, and I came here for a good time. Then the battle in Luoyang was raging, but you came here. If you didn't have something to do, could it be a good time?"

Shang Ruyi was a little surprised. It was not that he was surprised that he knew he "had something to do", but that he was surprised that the Turkic Khan had such a sharp tongue.

Why haven't you noticed it before?
She thought about it and forced a smile. Just as she was about to say something, Ashina Zhuxie said calmly, "Now that Tianding Mountain is right in front of us, I will be frank with you. Shang Ruyi, you don't have many followers on this trip. If you intend to hide your whereabouts, my people may not be able to find you."

"..."

"Even if my people find out your whereabouts, if you are determined to conceal it, my people may not know what you are doing in Suizhou."

"..."

"Today, I left Xiazhou, where the battle was raging, and came here because of the news you released."

"..."

"That is, Zuo Gong's Tomb!"

Hearing these four words, Shang Ruyi was not surprised, but her heartbeat began to accelerate. Lu Xiao, who was standing next to her, and Lei Yu, who was standing next to Ashina Zhuxie, both showed surprise and some panic on their beautiful faces.

They also didn't expect that Ashina Zhuxie, who had remained silent when he saw them last night, would speak directly at this time. This way, there was no room for maneuver.

Shang Ruyi said: "Khan is a straightforward person."

Ashina Zhuxie sneered, "If you want to play any tricks on me, I can accompany you, but this time, I am not in the mood."

"..."

"So, since you used Zuogong's Tomb to lure us here, it would be best if you could get something from Zuogong's Tomb. Otherwise—"

Shang Ruyi asked: "Otherwise, what?"

Ashina Zhuxie said: "I will not return empty-handed after entering a mountain of treasures. If I cannot find what I want, then bringing some people back can be considered compensation."

"..."

"After all, this isn't your first trip to Turkestan."

Hearing this, the guards around sensed the danger and immediately stepped forward, staring at them nervously.

Shang Ruyi raised his hand to stop them from taking any action.

Although Ashina Zhuye came to their camp alone, he remained motionless at this moment, staring calmly into Shang Ruyi's equally calm eyes, and said, "Or, the battle in Luoyang is raging, I wonder if His Royal Highness the King of Qin of the Great Sheng Dynasty wants to see his Queen on the battlefield."