Since Yang Duoming seeks refuge under Yuxi, Yuxi assigns him to gather intelligence on Maicheng and surrounding counties;
After weighing things up, Yuxi said, "I happen to be short of someone to gather intelligence. Would you be willing to take on this task?"
Yang Duoming was briefly stunned but quickly caught on and asked, "Madam, do you want me to go to the capital to gather intelligence?" In truth, he had long expected that joining Yuxi wouldn't easily result in a job right away. What he didn't expect was to be assigned to intelligence work straight off. However, this clearly showed that Madam Yun was not a woman content to stay confined within the inner quarters. For him, this was a very favourable sign.
Yuxi took his words as agreement and said, "Weren't you planning to go to Maicheng to look for Fu Qingluo? Then, first, gather intelligence on Maicheng and the surrounding counties. Where you go afterwards is something we'll decide once the situation in the northwest has stabilised." The decision on whether to send Yang Duoming to the capital was still pending.
Yang Duoming nodded. "Alright. I'll look for Qingluo while gathering information on Maicheng and neighbouring counties. But Madam, how should I pass the intelligence back to you?"
Yuxi replied, "There's no need to send reports back for now. Wait until I've moved to Haocheng, and then you can pass the information on." She had Yang Duoming investigate Lanzhou, Maicheng, and several other places as a trial run to assess his capabilities.
Yang Duoming understood. "Mistress, I know what to do."
Yuxi looked at Yang Duoming and reminded, "If you can truly remain loyal to me for life and never betray me, I will not treat you poorly. But if you dare to betray me, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth." She planned to have Yang Duoming build up his own network of influence, and with intelligence from the Black Widow's side as well, she had no fear of being deceived.
Seeing this, Yang Duoming immediately swore a venomous oath: "If I ever dare to betray Madam, may I die without a grave to rest in, fall forever into the Eighteenth Level of Hell after death, and may the Yang family be cut off with no descendants." That was an extremely severe oath.
Yuxi was a devout believer in gods and spirits, and her expression softened when she heard it. She went inside and fetched a jewellery box full of gold bars, handing them to Yang Duoming. "Gathering intelligence is costly—take these," she said. "There are forty gold bars here, each weighing ten taels. If that's not enough, send someone trustworthy to fetch more." The four hundred taels of gold, equivalent to four thousand taels of silver, would last Yang Duoming for half a year. Yuxi only had him investigate peripheral intelligence for now, and since Yang Duoming was familiar with Maicheng and its surroundings, he had a distinct advantage. However, if he were to go to the capital or the Jiangnan region, that amount of money wouldn't even be enough to plug the gap between the teeth1.
Although Yang Duoming had once been a bandit leader, he and his group only picked up what the Maluo Mountain bandits left behind. Life had always been tough, and he had barely scraped by, never managing to save any money. He hadn't expected Yuxi to hand over four hundred taels of gold in one go—she was indeed generous.
Yuxi said, "You should leave for Maicheng right away—otherwise, if too much time passes, Fu Tianlei might hear about this and come to arrest you." After a pause, she decided to tell him, "Fu Tianlei hates you to the core. He believes you forced Qingluo to marry you, making her a bandit's wife. You may be able to escape this time, but eventually, you'll still have to face him." If Fu Qingluo were around, things would be much easier to handle.
Yang Duoming nodded. "I know. This fault is mine. When the time comes, I'll kneel and apologise to my brother-in-law myself." Although Qingluo had willingly married him, they had not undergone the formal process of three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts, which had caused her great distress.
Yuxi was quite satisfied with this response—it showed that Yang Duoming was a man who could take responsibility. She instructed, "Go now!" Fu Tianlei was good at fighting battles, but he was a complete mess when it came to domestic affairs.
Not far from the Yun residence, Yang Duoming's two sworn brothers, Yan Xi and Shen Xiaomao, were waiting for him. When they saw him come out, they rushed over and asked, "Big Brother, where's Sister-in-law?"
Yang Duoming gave a quick explanation: "I'm heading to Maicheng to find your Sister-in-law. What happened at the Yun residence just now is sure to attract attention. We need to leave here right away." He had initially planned to let Yan Xi enlist in the army, but he was worried that if Fu Tianlei couldn't find him, he would take it out on his two brothers. He decided it would be safer to take them with him.
Yan Xi exclaimed, "If it weren't for you, Xiaomao and I would've died long ago! Big Brother, didn't I say we're sticking with you for life? Wherever you go, we go."
Yang Duoming hadn't wanted to delay their futures, but given their firm refusal to leave, he no longer tried to send them away. Now that he had a job requiring their help, he said, "Since you're not leaving, stay with me. From now on, we move together." Once they got to Maicheng, he would look for some reliable old comrades. However, as he had never done intelligence work before, he was unsure about this task.
Shen Xiaomao asked, "Big Brother, after meeting Madam Yun, did she give you any task?" Their Big Brother had always wanted them to join the army and make a name for themselves, but neither was interested in that path. Nevertheless, Big Brother insisted that he didn't want to hinder their future, saying things like, 'A real man should earn merit and fame'. But now, after just one visit to the Yun residence, he had changed his mind — Shen Xiaomao suspected that something was going on.
Yang Duoming replied, "This isn't a safe place to talk—let's get moving! I'll explain everything once we're out of the city." The longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would become.
After seeing Yang Duoming leave the compound, Xu Wu returned to the inner courtyard and asked Yuxi, "Madam, I don't understand why you accepted Yang Duoming."
Yuxi replied, "Yang Duoming is a capable man. We'll observe him; if he truly submits to us wholeheartedly, he could be instrumental. What we lack right now is talent." Yun Qing had sent some clerks and aides from the army to serve in local townships. He did this for short-term convenience but didn't realise how risky such actions could be. However, this was not something she could explain to Xu Wu and the others just yet.
Xu Wu hesitated before asking, "But what about General Fu? How are we going to explain this to him?" Fu Tianlei hated Yang Duoming to the core, so the fact that Madam had accepted him would create a tricky situation.
After a moment's thought, Yuxi answered, "Yang Duoming shouted out his name at the front gate—he's probably already attracted people's attention. Go tell Fu Tianlei that Fu Qingluo is pregnant and that her current life situation is still uncertain. Yang Duoming is going to find her."
Xu Wu asked with concern, "Madam, what if Fu Tianlei sends men to capture Yang Duoming? What if he wants to kill him once he's caught?"
Yuxi shook her head. "He won't." If Fu Tianlei were truly decisive, maidservants wouldn't constantly crawl into his bed. Had he ordered the first one to be beaten to death with clubs, none of the subsequent problems would have occurred. If he couldn't even bring himself to kill a maid, how could he bear to harm his own sister? Now that the matter between Yang Duoming and Fu Qingluo wouldn't implicate the Fu family, no matter how much Fu Tianlei hated Yang Duoming, he still wouldn't make his sister a widow or let his unborn nephew or niece grow up without a father. Everyone had weaknesses — Fu Tianlei's just happened to be fatal.
Xu Wu still trusted Yuxi's judgement, so he said, "Madam, I'll go tell General Fu right away." This would prevent anyone from using this as an excuse to cause trouble.
When Fu Tianlei heard that Yang Duoming had made it all the way to the city, he shouted, "Why wasn't he arrested?" He hated Yang Duoming intensely—if it weren't for him, he wouldn't have ended up on the path of rebellion.
Xu Wu explained the situation thoroughly, then added awkwardly, "You know our Madam has always been merciful. When she heard Yang Duoming say that Miss Qingluo was pregnant, she couldn't bear it and told him to go and find her immediately."
When he heard that Fu Qingluo was pregnant, Fu Tianlei felt no joy. Instead, he clenched his teeth and spat, "Yang Duoming, I will kill you!"
Looking at Fu Tianlei, brimming with hostility, Xu Wu silently sighed. "General Fu, we don't know Miss Qingluo's current condition. Just let Yang Duoming look for her. I believe he'll find her soon. If you want to settle the score, wait until he finds her first." The wood had already been carved into a boat2—Xu Wu felt it was better to take a broader view of the matter. Of course, if the bandits had taken his own sister, he would probably want to kill the man, too.
Fu Tianlei said nothing.
Xu Wu didn't feel it was appropriate to say more—after all, this was a family scandal. He changed the subject. "General Fu, I heard that the northern barbarian tribes have gathered 200,000 troops and are preparing to attack Yu City." Yu City only had 40,000 defenders left, and all the elite troops had been deployed elsewhere. Xu Wu was worried.
However, Fu Tianlei said, "There's no need to worry. I've already sent a letter to Yun Qing, asking him to redeploy 60,000 troops to reinforce us."
Xu Wu nodded. "That's good." Deep down, though, he knew it had been luck; otherwise, how could a campaign in the dead of winter have gone so smoothly? But a man couldn't rely on luck forever.
Just as Xu Wu returned to the Yun residence, Xu Daniu came to tell him something. His face changed slightly, and he rushed to the back courtyard to report to Yuxi. "Madam, the General has captured Haocheng but lost 100,000 troops in the process." Losing 100,000 soldiers at once was a devastating blow to their strength.
Yuxi's expression flickered between light and dark. She knew capturing Haocheng wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't expected the battle to be so brutal. Thinking there might be more to the story, she asked, "Why were there so many casualties?"
Xu Wu replied grimly, "Ji Xuan had secretly raised 30,000 private troops and used them to defend the city this time. These private soldiers weren't just well-equipped and strong fighters but also fearless." The Northwest Army had run into a tough nut3, which was why they had to pay such a heavy price.
Yuxi lowered her eyes.
Xu Wu hurriedly suggested, "Madam, you should take the Eldest and Second Young Misses to Lanzhou City! It'll be safer there." They could recruit new soldiers if they were short of manpower, but the problem was that newly conscripted men still needed training before they could fight. So, the outcome of this battle was uncertain.
Yuxi shook her head. "I can't leave." If she left, everyone would think that Yu City was no longer defensible, which would shake the army's morale. Anyone else could leave, but not her. She had to stay and wait either for Yun Qing or until the danger had passed.
Xu Wu understood the reason perfectly well, but he was deeply worried. "Madam, it's far too dangerous here. How could we explain anything to the General if anything happens to you?"
Yuxi shook her head. "My mind is made up. Don't try to persuade me anymore."
Footnotes Full List
- This idiom, 不够塞牙缝 (bù gòu sāi yá fèng), is commonly used to describe something so small or insufficient that it's barely worth mentioning, usually referring to food, money, or benefits.
- This idiom, 木已成舟 (mù yǐ chéng zhōu), means that the situation is irreversible; what's done is done; there's no turning back.
- 硬茬 (yìng chá) is a colloquial expression meaning a formidable opponent or difficult challenge.
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