Shang Ruyi silently looked at her.

Her heart was initially filled with bitterness, but when she heard Lei Yu mention how good Yiasu was to her, she felt a bit of comfort. However, upon hearing the latter part, a surge of unfamiliar bitterness welled up inside her.

She thought of Pei Xingyuan.

In fact, ever since she arrived here and met Lei Yu, she had been trying to avoid thinking about Pei Xingyuan.

Especially not thinking about the forlorn look on Pei Xingyuan’s face when he learned that Lei Yu was to marry far away into the Turkic—knowing full well that it was impossible, yet recalling how they were together in the past still brought a pang of sadness.

They could have had a different life.

But these chaotic times meant many lovers could not be together, and left many dreams shattered far from home.

"...Alright."

Shang Ruyi bit her lips hard, even biting the tip of her tongue, finally swallowing down the words that shouldn’t be said, only responding with that one word.

Lei Yu smiled gently at her.

Once both had calmed their respective emotions, a maid entered quietly and said, "Little Princess, we have prepared hot water, please come take a bath. We can also change the beddings into clean ones."

Lei Yu had dirt all over her from rolling on the grass earlier. Shang Ruyi had wiped her face and hands, but clothes and body were beyond her touch, so naturally, she needed a bath. Moreover, having lain on the bed, the beddings were already dirty.

So, she slowly propped herself up from the bed.

Shang Ruyi hurriedly reached out to support her, asking, "Can you manage on your own?"

Lei Yu glanced at her, smiled, and said, "Do you think I’m like you? Don’t worry, I—I want this child."

Hearing her say this, Shang Ruyi felt a sigh of relief in her heart, but also more helplessness.

As Lei Yu got down to the floor, several maids escorted her to another tent to bathe. Once she was clean, those maids prepared a bucket of hot water for Shang Ruyi as well, since she had been sharing a bed with Lei Yu, and she couldn’t let the now precious Little Princess catch a chill.

Thus, Shang Ruyi also took a bath.

After getting all warmed up and changing into clean clothes, just as she was about to return to Lei Yu’s tent, upon reaching the entrance, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a familiar gaze, seemingly watching in this direction, gazing at her.

Instinctively, she turned her head, looking toward the tent not far from them.

Ashina Zhuxie was standing at the entrance.

The moment Shang Ruyi turned her gaze toward him, he immediately turned back and returned to his tent. Just then, a cold wind blew through, swiftly sweeping away the residual warmth from Shang Ruyi’s post-bath body.

She shivered involuntarily with a sudden chill.

When she returned to the tent, Lei Yu was already lying in bed. Seeing Shang Ruyi return, Lei Yu smiled and said, "Come here and accompany me."

Shang Ruyi also smiled.

She took off her shoes and obediently slipped into the quilt. The warmth of their bodies soon melded together, and Lei Yu said with a smile, "Having someone to sleep with really is different. Plus, you smell way better than Yiasu, and are much softer."

Shang Ruyi gave her a playful glare, "You, ever since getting married, can’t stop saying naughty things?"

Lei Yu chuckled but after the laughter, she let out a gentle sigh and then said, "I’ve only—figured some things out and let some things go. Now I feel much lighter."

"..."

"Since I am already on this path, why not walk it properly?"

As she spoke, she looked at Shang Ruyi and smiled, "Even though you, Feng Chen, and Xingyuan... all surely wish for me to be well, right?"

"..." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Then I should live well for my own sake, too."

Shang Ruyi’s heart subtly trembled again.

Recalling that gaze she met at the tent entrance earlier, her heart grew a bit heavier. Although Lei Yu had only intended to say some comforting words before sleep to help both of them—especially Shang Ruyi—rest well, she hadn’t expected her expression to grow increasingly solemn.

So Lei Yu asked, "What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi remained silent for a moment before lifting her head to look at her. After hesitating for a long time—matters between men and women weren’t something she should normally speak about carelessly, but given Lei Yu’s unique status and position, she couldn’t let her remain ignorant of certain "dangers."

So she said, "Lei Yu, do you, think that Prince Zhu Xie, what do you think of him?"

"Him?"

Lei Yu was taken aback, staring at Shang Ruyi in surprise.

The two of them were already lying in bed, meant to be having intimate pillow talk, so why suddenly bring up Ashina Zhuxie?

Moreover, at the mention of him, an inexplicable, piercing wind seemed to blow through their warm covers, causing Lei Yu to shiver for some unknown reason.

She slightly furrowed her brow, "What’s wrong with him?"

"..."

Shang Ruyi fell silent again, although she found it difficult to articulate, she gathered her courage and directly said, "I think he likes you."

"...!?"

Lei Yu’s eyes widened in an instant.

She looked at Shang Ruyi incredulously, unable to believe what she was hearing, staring blankly at her for a good while before gazing down, as if trying to clarify something in her mind. But no matter how she thought, she couldn’t figure it out, until she finally looked back at Shang Ruyi and said, "Are you joking?"

Shang Ruyi shook her head solemnly.

Lei Yu immediately furrowed her brows.

She lowered her head once more, trying to make sense of what Shang Ruyi had said, but couldn’t see any reason behind it, so she said, "How could he like me?"

"..."

"I mean, what is there about me to like?"

"...!"

Shang Ruyi gave her another playful glare.

Amused yet feeling a touch of sorrow—no wonder Pei Xingyuan never understood his own feelings, let alone confessed to her. In these circumstances, even if Pei Xingyuan was aware of his feelings, Lei Yu probably wouldn’t have received them.

She actually asked, what is there about her to like?

She was entirely likable!

Beautifully born, from a military family, possessing extraordinary skills, gentle and kind, straightforward in temperament, clear distinctions between right and wrong... Shang Ruyi couldn’t even articulate what it was about her that made her unlikable.

Speaking of it, Yu Wenye must have been blinded by Empress Dowager Jiang back in the day...

Otherwise, how could he not like such a wonderful girl standing right in front of him?

But talking about these things now seemed far away, Shang Ruyi fixed her gaze sharply on Lei Yu, earnestly saying: "I’m not lying to you, just now, when you fell from the horse, the first one to rush over and pick you up, was Prince Zhu Xie."

Perhaps like back then—

In Yanmen County, the first to pick her up had been Chu Yang.

It was the kind of feelings that couldn’t be spoken of, yet were deeply hidden in the heart, only bursting forth when they could no longer be contained.