Chapter 1411 - 1087: Fulfilled Virtue, Wishes Granted

"What’s wrong, you’re only starting to worry now?"

Hearing the calm voice of Shi Yuxin from behind her, Shang Ruyi turned her head. She saw Shi Yuxin holding a bowl of soup, sipping it in small mouthfuls, yet those amber eyes were fixed tightly on Shang Ruyi, as if trying to read something from her.

Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "If I was going to worry, I already started back when you captured me. There’s no need to start now."

Shi Yuxin took another sip of soup, then set the bowl aside and said slowly, "Back then you were only worried about whether we would continue advancing on Chang An. Later you saw us turning south, and with Chang An no longer threatened, naturally you stopped worrying."

"..."

"But now, we’re close to Luoyang, and Hulao Pass will soon be under threat—are you really not worried?"

At these words, Shang Ruyi felt as if a needle had pricked her heart. She looked again at this woman, who appeared rough and unrestrained but was in fact meticulous to the point of dust, and finally let out a long sigh.

Shi Yuxin said, "So I struck home?"

Shang Ruyi did not answer that question, but stared into her eyes. "Then why didn’t you keep advancing on Chang An?"

Shi Yuxin said coolly, "You held Hu Yang Valley for three days, made full use of the terrain. Someone this clever can’t possibly fail to see that with just three hundred Heavy Cavalry, there was absolutely no way to hold Hu Yang Valley. You were bound to ask for reinforcements. And from where you were, given your status, the best place to ask help from would be Tongguan."

"..."

"Yet in these few days, not a single soldier has come from Tongguan."

"..."

"I don’t know what games you’re playing internally, but since the Tongguan Defender hasn’t sent troops here, unless he has ample reason, it’s very hard for him to bear responsibility for the life and death of the Princess Qin. The best course for him is to immediately send men to notify the garrison at Chang An, and when he’s called to account, he can say he abandoned you, the Princess Qin, for the sake of protecting Chang An."

"...!"

"But since Chang An may already have received the news, we’ve lost the initiative."

Shang Ruyi’s heartbeat sank heavily.

In truth, by the last day of the defense she already knew Chu Zhengfei would not send troops to her aid. Even if he did, he would drag his feet until she was captured or killed. What she had not expected was that Shi Yuxin, knowing nothing of the power struggles within Chang An and the Dasheng Dynasty, could deduce the Tongguan Defender’s mindset solely from the fact that Hu Yang Valley had received no reinforcements in three days. It showed just how fine and penetrating this woman’s thoughts were.

Looking at her again, Shang Ruyi’s heart was full of wariness, yet mingled into that wariness was a vague, indescribable hint of admiration.

She asked Shi Yuxin, "Then how do you plan to deal with us?"

Shi Yuxin took another bite of meat, then said, "I’ve given up on Chang An—not only because we’ve lost the initiative, but also because I’ve caught you. Compared to Chang An, using you at Luoyang and Hulao Pass seems to be more useful."

Shang Ruyi furrowed her brows. "You want to use me to trade for Hulao Pass? Then let me advise you to drop that idea."

"Oh? Why?"

"No one will abandon a war for the sake of a single person."

"But you’re not an ordinary person. You’re the Princess Qin."

Shi Yuxin smiled at her again, and only then did Shang Ruyi notice that this valiant female general actually had two dimples when she smiled. It gave her, otherwise brimming with fierce energy, an unexpected touch of sweetness. She said, "And the one guarding Hulao Pass is your husband."

Shang Ruyi’s face darkened.

She certainly heard the implication in Shi Yuxin’s words: to use her, the Princess Qin, to threaten the King Qin who held Hulao Pass. If it had been someone else, or another matter, Shang Ruyi could still parry with words for several rounds. But on this point she could not bring herself to be hard-mouthed. After all, when she had been captured by Ashina Zhuxie, Yu Wenye had clearly been only one step away from entering Taiyuan and claiming the Crown Prince’s seat, yet he had still led his troops north, all the way to the Turkic Yatai, to rescue her.

If this time, again, it is because of her...

Thinking this, a wave of vexation rose in her heart. Her tightly knitted brows formed several vertical lines like hanging needles. Seeing her dejected expression, Shi Yuxin only gave a faint smile and said, "You don’t need to feel bad. If you hadn’t held Hu Yang Valley, who knows what the situation would be now—I’m afraid even that Prince Qin wouldn’t have been able to hold it."

"..."

"What you should be glad of now is that you’ve found precisely the fate you sought."

"..."

Shang Ruyi stared at Shi Yuxin, her brows screwed tight. Since marrying into the Yuwen Family, she had been through many events, and met many friends and foes—Lei Yu, so skilled in martial arts; Empress Dowager Jiang, wise and insightful; Yu Mingyue, who seemed clever but was in fact foolish beyond redemption; and Chu Ruoyan and Lu Xiao, who were both intelligent yet trapped in webs of their own making, and many, many others. Yet there had never been anyone like Shi Yuxin, who was both formidable in combat and quick-witted, able in just a few words to completely get the measure of her.

For the first time, facing an "enemy," she felt a trace of helplessness. After struggling inwardly for a long while, she decided she could not afford to lose face, and said coolly, "Yes, I’ve found the fate I sought. But you may not get what you want. Don’t be too quick to rejoice."

Shi Yuxin smiled. "I know."

"Oh?"

"Before we came, Xiao Yuansui reminded me many times that Second Young Master Yu Wen is not someone easy to deal with."

Shang Ruyi looked at her and said evenly, "As long as you understand."

Shi Yuxin laughed. "I very much want to meet him. Tomorrow, I should be able to see him."

With that, she lifted her head and looked westward. The sun was nearly down; only a last trace of Golden Light still struggled, clinging stubbornly to the western mountain peaks. In the end, it was completely swallowed.

Meanwhile, the men Shi Yuxin had dispatched were pressing on through the night without pause, and finally, at dawn the next day, a rider and his escort entered Xiao Yuansui’s main camp.

The night’s tranquility was instantly shattered.

At the same time, Shi Yutao, sleeping in his own tent, opened his eyes.

He had always slept lightly, and these past few days, after nearly being captured, he had been unable to rest day or night, tossing and turning until just before dawn when he barely managed to doze off. He had just closed his eyes when he heard hoofbeats. He woke with a start, tilted his head to listen for a moment, then heard footsteps outside, as if someone had entered the camp and gone into the Central Army Tent.

Shi Yutao immediately turned over and got up, pulled on a robe in haste, and walked out.

Outside, it was pitch black, with only a few campfires near and far casting light on the patrols passing by. These men merely nodded and saluted when they saw him. Shi Yutao said nothing more and went straight to Xiao Yuansui’s tent. It was blazing with lamplight, suggesting that he too had not slept all night.

Just as Shi Yutao approached, he heard Xiao Yuansui’s excited voice ring out, "What? Shi Yuxin has captured the Princess Qin—she’s captured Shang Ruyi?!"