Blame the Villain – Chapter 136

Villainous Fake Eunuch (13)

Song Xuyi never thought that Gu Ruyu would make such a request.

Upon careful consideration, it didn’t seem surprising—after all, Gu Ruyu had always been unpredictable.

Song Xuyi did indeed want to find an opportunity to repay Gu Ruyu for saving her life, but she had never considered doing so by personally taking care of Gu Ruyu: after all, taking care of Gu Ruyu seemed extremely dangerous. If Gu Ruyu discovered that she knew she was a woman, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, Song Xuyi didn’t have many choices at this moment:

Gu Ruyu unilaterally made the decision and straightforwardly locked Song Xuyi in the carriage—

“I have never seen such a shameless person!” The system also did not expect this turn of events and cursed loudly.

Held tightly in Gu Ruyu’s arms, Song Xuyi’s whole body stiffened, but at this moment, she didn’t dare to make a move: perhaps because of the injury, Gu Ruyu’s grip on Song Xuyi’s waist was not strong, but due to the previous pull, Gu Ruyu’s wound had already torn open. If Song Xuyi struggled any further, it might worsen Gu Ruyu’s injury.

The system understood that Gu Ruyu was employing the “self-inflicted injury” strategy¹, but what made the system gnash its teeth in anger was that Gu Ruyu had chosen the right tactic, and Xuyi fell for it!

“You’re crazy!” Song Xuyi looked at the bloodstain gradually spreading on Gu Ruyu’s shoulder, incredibly anxious in her heart, but Gu Ruyu seemed not to care about her own injury at all. There was even a faint smile in her eyes as she calmly waited for Song Xuyi’s response…

“I agree with you!”

Song Xuyi bit her lower lip, ultimately unable to watch Gu Ruyu continue bleeding. She took a deep breath and compromised, “Let me go first, and I’ll help you bandage the wound—”

Upon hearing Song Xuyi’s promise, Gu Ruyu finally released her grip on Song Xuyi’s waist.

“Turn around!”

Song Xuyi felt a lump in her throat and couldn’t show a good face to Gu Ruyu. With a cold expression, she pressed Gu Ruyu onto the chair and called a servant to bring the medical kit.

In contrast to Song Xuyi’s icy demeanor, Gu Ruyu’s eyes were filled with obvious joy upon hearing Song Xuyi’s agreement to take care of her. She began to cooperate fully, obediently turning her back, consciously removing her blood-stained outer garment, and lowering her head slightly, appearing unexpectedly docile and resigned.

Absolutely must not let Gu Ruyu take off her inner garment, otherwise, it would truly be impossible to keep up the pretense!

Gu Ruyu turned back to glance at Song Xuyi, her eyes somewhat obscure. Seeing Song Xuyi’s anxious expression, Gu Ruyu slightly smirked, but still obediently released her grip on the collar and knelt in the middle of the carriage.

Song Xuyi bit her lip tightly: she knew that the best way now was to let Gu Ruyu take off the garment on her shoulder. That way, it would be convenient to apply medicine without seeing certain things that were inconvenient to be seen. However, ever since Song Xuyi said, “I’ll do it,” Gu Ruyu seemed to have no intention of doing it herself, just tilting her head to look at Song Xuyi…

Being stared at motionlessly like this by Gu Ruyu, Song Xuyi felt as if her whole body was about to catch fire, her palms becoming sticky with sweat.

“Forgive me!”

Song Xuyi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and finally mustered the courage to pick up the medicine from the ground. With trembling hands, she pulled down the garment on Gu Ruyu’s shoulder—

It seemed that to disguise her figure, Gu Ruyu’s inner garment was extremely loose, making her kneeling posture appear as delicate and graceful as a lone summer lotus in the lake. Such spacious clothing also made it easier for Song Xuyi to pull down the garment. Without using much force, the garment on Gu Ruyu’s shoulder fell—

Gu Ruyu’s body was almost flawless, with perfectly contoured, smooth shoulders. A white, blood-stained bandage abruptly marred the harmonious beauty of her jade-like skin.

Even though she had seen it once before, seeing the red, swollen, and hideous wound on Gu Ruyu’s fair skin still made Song Xuyi feel a pang of heartache. Ignoring her shyness, she quickly reapplied the medicine and rebandaged the wound—

After tying the bandage securely, Song Xuyi finally came to her senses and breathed a low sigh of relief, feeling more exhausted than if she had fought a battle. Just as she was about to pull up Gu Ruyu’s garment, a sudden change occurred—the front of the carriage suddenly became noisy, and with an abrupt stop, the carriage jolted. Song Xuyi, who was squatting to apply the medicine, lost her balance…

Gu Ruyu’s originally loose garment was suddenly pulled down to her waist by Song Xuyi. Unconsciously, Song Xuyi’s other hand reached out to steady herself, only to unexpectedly touch something soft—

—She, she actually didn’t put that thin pad?!

Realizing what she had touched, Song Xuyi instantly withdrew her hand as if electrocuted, and Gu Ruyu’s reaction was equally intense. She almost immediately pulled up her garment and shrank into the corner of the carriage—

Everything happened in a flash.

Looking at Gu Ruyu’s lowered back, and hearing the system’s concerned inquiry, “Xuyi, what’s wrong?” without knowing what had happened, Song Xuyi felt a wave of despair, as if she had fallen into an ice cave—

If she voluntarily severed the hand that had touched Gu Ruyu, could she still cling to a thread of life?

Everything was over!

……

“Please forgive the interruption.”

“There are traces of mountain bandits ahead, and the road has collapsed. For the safety of the Princess, Sir, should we take another route?”

The subordinate at the front of the carriage, unaware of everything happening inside, dutifully proposed the suggestion, completely oblivious to the fact that Song Xuyi’s greatest danger was precisely because of him…

Song Xuyi bit her lip in grief and indignation.

A moment of silence.

After a long time, Gu Ruyu finally raised her head and spoke softly—

“Change!”

“Naturally, the Princess’s safety is the priority.”

The footsteps outside gradually receded, and the carriage fell silent once more.

From the moment Gu Ruyu raised her head, Song Xuyi shrank into the innermost part of the carriage. She could feel that Gu Ruyu was scrutinizing her, but she didn’t dare to lift her head to meet Gu Ruyu’s gaze. Song Xuyi only wished she could turn into a bug and crawl into the cracks of the wooden carriage, avoiding the awkward and despairing situation before her—

“Princess, please don’t be so reckless in the future.”

It seemed like a moment had passed, yet it also felt like a long time, when Song Xuyi heard Gu Ruyu’s hoarse voice from the front: “This servant’s waist is almost bruised by the Princess’s grip—”

Was it the waist? It was clearly…

Song Xuyi’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but look up at Gu Ruyu: Gu Ruyu’s expression seemed unchanged, and her clothes were once again meticulously worn. However, at some point, Gu Ruyu’s meticulously combed hair had fallen, and the loose hair softened the coldness on her face, adding a touch of allure to her already stunning beauty…

Gu Ruyu also seemed somewhat dazed. Even though she was looking at Song Xuyi, her eyes appeared unfocused. Anyone who saw Gu Ruyu at this moment would no longer think she was a man…

Her beauty was scorching.

Song Xuyi’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly lowered her head again:

If she had really unintentionally taken liberties with Gu Ruyu, given Gu Ruyu’s cruelty, she would certainly not help her cover it up—

So perhaps… she really did grab Gu Ruyu’s waist?

That moment was too chaotic, and Song Xuyi couldn’t remember the sensation at the time. Maybe she really had made a mistake!

Thinking this way, Song Xuyi felt a sense of relief, only then realizing that because she was too nervous, her legs had completely gone numb—

To avoid letting Gu Ruyu notice anything unusual, Song Xuyi lowered her head and began picking up the scattered medicine bottles on the ground. Perhaps due to her injury, Gu Ruyu didn’t cause any more trouble afterward. After a short nap at noon, Gu Ruyu even sent a message saying that Song Xuyi was not needed for the afternoon, allowing her to rest well.

Song Xuyi did not want to face Gu Ruyu in the first place, and upon hearing this, she was extremely happy, spending the entire afternoon in great comfort…

Due to the fear of mountain bandits, the convoy began to take a detour through more populated areas, arriving at a bustling market in the evening.

The convoy booked an inn in the area to rest.

Song Xuyi, using the excuse of wanting to buy some storybooks to read on the road, took a few people out of the inn.

Gu Ruyu, needing to recuperate, naturally would not follow Song Xuyi, but she did send additional guards to follow behind Song Xuyi.

Song Xuyi had a clear objective, and after entering the bookstore, she bought a pile of books that she might need. Before long, she returned to the inn.

To Song Xuyi’s surprise, Gu Ruyu’s trusted aide also carried a stack of colorful books, entering Gu Ruyu’s room with a face like ashes.

What was going on?

Gu Ruyu was so busy, did she still have time to read leisure books?

……

Song Xuyi didn’t think much about it, and opened the books she had bought to start searching. Before long, she found what she was looking for—

“Twenty years ago, the long-resented Japanese pirates broke through the city gate, set fire to the Liu family’s residence, and the mansion turned to ashes. The entire Liu clan perished in the fire, including the Liu family’s youngest daughter, Liu Ruyu, who was only five years old…”

The plot summary mentioned the history of He Kingdom:

He Kingdom was actually established less than thirty years ago. The current emperor, Zheng Ye, was originally a fierce general under the former emperor. Zheng Ye had always been ambitious, and he established himself as a king with his own troops. At that time, the former emperor was seriously ill, and the crown prince, Liu Qian, was known for his benevolence and righteousness. With the Japanese pirates coveting from outside and Zheng Ye’s aggressive ambitions from within, to avoid widespread suffering, Liu Qian surrendered after Zheng Ye raised his troops, achieving the transition of power in the most peaceful way.

To show his benevolence, Zheng Ye granted Liu Qian, who had surrendered, a large piece of fief.

Song Xuyi thought that Zheng Ye wanted Liu Qian dead, because that piece of fief was adjacent to the border and frequently faced invasions from foreign enemies. However, contrary to Zheng Ye’s expectations, Liu Qian gathered a group of extraordinary people and used his military prowess like a god, repeatedly resisting the foreign invasions. Under Liu Qian’s leadership, the border became stronger and more prosperous day by day…

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, and no one expected that Japanese pirates would infiltrate the city and, in one night, massacre the entire Liu clan…

A thin page in the history books, yet it represented the loss of hundreds of lives from a living family.

Song Xuyi closed the book and let out a long sigh—

She had always known a saying: history is a little girl, dressed up by people.²

Did the Liu clan of the previous dynasty really die at the hands of the Japanese pirates?

……

And a few years later, Gu Ruyu, at any cost, madly drew the Japanese pirates into the country. It all seemed like a replay of history. Was this really just a coincidence?

Thinking of the nearby room with that girl disguised as a man, wielding power over the court and the common people, Song Xuyi pursed her lips in complex emotions: Gu Ruyu asked her to call her “Ruyu”, but was this “Ruyu” really “Ruyu”?

Song Xuyi couldn’t sleep at all that night.

And in the room next door, Gu Ruyu also tossed and turned. If one looked closely, they would notice her ears were completely red—

What was happening to her?

Since the accident in the carriage, Gu Ruyu felt very uneasy. Whenever she thought of Song Xuyi touching that place, Gu Ruyu’s ears would burn, and she could only let her hair down to cover her unusual reaction…

Gu Ruyu couldn’t help but recall the situation again: when Song Xuyi touched her there, her first reaction wasn’t to push Song Xuyi away. Instead, her legs went soft, and her cheeks turned red—

It was too strange!

Clearly, both of them were women, and it was all just an accident. However, whenever she thought of Song Xuyi, Gu Ruyu’s heart would involuntarily beat faster, and Song Xuyi’s image would constantly linger in her mind…

What made Gu Ruyu feel even more embarrassed was that she had a dream during her midday nap, in which she did many excessive things to Song Xuyi… Upon waking up, Gu Ruyu had to regulate her breathing for a long time to suppress the heat within her body.

Gu Ruyu knew well that she was not a good person, and Song Xuyi had indeed recently made her angry. However, she had plenty of ways to punish someone and wouldn’t resort to such methods in a dream to punish Song Xuyi—

What was all this about, really?

Thinking of her subordinate’s hesitant demeanor, Gu Ruyu put on her outer garment and got out of bed:

An onlooker sees the situation more clearly. Perhaps after reading these books, she could find the answer?

……

“The Princess spent the entire afternoon in leisure, while the boss sulked in the carriage without saying a word. There must be a problem between the two of them, and it’s definitely with the boss. Whether it’s a psychological or physiological issue with the boss, these books cover all kinds of content… To ensure we don’t end up missing limbs in the future, the honorable task of helping the boss solve his dilemmas is now gloriously assigned to you!”

“On this day next year, we’ll send you white chrysanthemums—”³

Unlucky guy: (T＿T)

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LP: Re-translated on August 22, 2024

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1. Self-inflicted injury strategy: A strategy from the ancient Chinese military treatise “The Thirty-Six Stratagems,” where one inflicts injury on oneself to deceive the enemy and gain their trust.
2. History is a little girl, dressed up by people: A saying that suggests history is often manipulated or interpreted according to people’s perspectives.
3. White chrysanthemums: In Chinese culture, white chrysanthemums are often associated with mourning and are used in funerals.