ROHYX Chapter 684 : Exposed (2)

Jing Wang 1 's efficiency in handling affairs was astonishingly fast — the transfer order for Jiang Hongjin to go to Henan was issued w...

Jing Wang¹'s efficiency in handling affairs was astonishingly fast — the transfer order for Jiang Hongjin to go to Henan was issued within just three days. Henan was a dangerous place, as war could break out at any time. Anyone with any influence or connections would do anything to avoid being sent there.

When Madam Jiang, Yu Shi, heard the news, she fainted on the spot. Being sent to Henan was practically a death sentence, as that region was still at war.

Mama Yue, the old family servant, pinched Madam Jiang awake and comforted her, "Madam, don't panic! Perhaps there's still room to turn this around!" Her Master was the Left Vice Minister of Personnel, after all — as long as he was willing to pull some strings, things should be fine.

However, tears streamed down Madam Jiang's face as she said, "The official document has already been issued—what chance is there of turning things around?" If they had received word earlier, there might still have been time to act. But now that the appointment order had been formally decreed, there was no way to change it.

Jiang Hongjin himself didn't want to go to Henan either. It wasn't the danger that bothered him, but the fact that going there would mean being far away from Yuchen. He approached his father, Jiang Wenrui, and expressed his sentiment, "Dad, I don't want to go to Henan."

Jiang Wenrui replied coldly, "Even if you don't want to go, you must go. Unless you've decided to give up your official career altogether." He was furious about this matter, too. His son had been assigned to Henan, and he had only found out about it once everything had been finalised.

Lowering his head, Jiang Hongjin asked, "Dad, is there really no way out? Henan could fall at any moment—if that happens, I'll surely lose my life." The Northwestern Army was known for killing officials; this was no secret in the capital.

Just as Jiang Wenrui was about to speak, the person he had sent out to gather information returned. In front of Jiang Hongjin, he asked the man, "Who is pulling the strings behind this?"

His trusted aide replied, "Master, it was Jing Wang¹."

Jing Wang¹. Jiang Wenrui was stunned. "How could it be Jing Wang¹?" He thought one of his political rivals was behind this underhanded move. He never imagined that it was Jing Wang¹ himself.

Looking at Jiang Hongjin's pale face, Jiang Wenrui waved the servant away and coldly asked, "When did you offend Jing Wang¹?"

Jiang Hongjin denied it flatly. "Dad, I've never even met Jing Wang¹ — how could I have offended him?" But inside, he was deeply unsettled. He believed Jing Wang¹ must have found out about his feelings for Yuchen, and that this was why he was being sent to Henan to his death.

Jiang Hongjin was already scared out of his wits, yet he still dared to insist he hadn't offended Jing Wang¹ — did he think his father had gone senile? Jiang Wenrui glared coldly and demanded, "Speak! How exactly did you offend Jing Wang¹?"

Unless he'd gone mad, Jiang Hongjin would never dare tell his father the truth. "Dad, I really haven't offended Jing Wang¹."

Jiang Wenrui really wanted to slap his son, but since Jiang Hongjin was due to leave in a few days, it would be embarrassing if he left with a swollen face. So Jiang Wenrui asked angrily, "If you didn't offend him, then why do you look so guilty? Do you take me for an old fool?" He wasn't stupid — if it were merely a verbal slight, an apology would have sufficed, since Jing Wang¹ wasn't known to be petty. Therefore, Jiang Wenrui knew without a doubt that his son must have committed a far greater offence.

Yet Jiang Hongjin stubbornly stuck to his story, insisting he had never offended Jing Wang¹.

Jiang Wenrui ordered his men to lock Jiang Hongjin up in a room before personally questioning his son's personal attendant, Chang'an. With a cold face, Jiang Wenrui demanded, "If you do not tell the truth, I will make sure your whole family dies without a grave." Unless they found out why Jiang Hongjin had offended Jing Wang¹, the matter could not be resolved — and when the time came, not only would Jiang Hongjin lose his life, but even Jiang Wenrui himself would be implicated as well.

Chang'an lay prostrate on the ground, trembling as he confessed, "Master, the Second Master is infatuated with Jing Wangfei²." If he spoke up now, only he would be in trouble, but if he remained silent, his whole family would suffer.

Suppressing his fury, Jiang Wenrui demanded, "What else?"

At that point, Chang'an dared not conceal anything, revealing that Jiang Hongjin had encouraged Yurong to visit Jing Wangfu³ frequently. "Master, this servant kept advising the Second Master, but this servant couldn't stop him." Once Chang'an learned that the Second Master had been sending Er Nainai⁴ to visit Jing Wangfu³ more often, he had a feeling that something bad would happen. However, because of his low status, his voice carried little weight, so the Second Master did not listen to him. In the end, the affair truly broke out.

Hearing this, Jiang Wenrui felt as if his whole body had gone hollow. "Bring that beast to me." He couldn't believe that his son had dared to try to seduce Jing Wangfei². The fact that Jing Wang¹ didn't skin him alive but merely sent him to Henan was already a form of mercy.

"Smack..." A heavy slap landed on Jiang Hongjin's face, making his ears buzz and his head throb with sharp pain.

Jiang Wenrui barked, "You beast! Even if you don't want to live, don't drag the Jiang family down with you! Go and pack your things immediately. Roll off to Henan first thing tomorrow morning." If Jiang Hongjin didn't leave the capital quickly, he would probably lose his life.

When Jiang Hongjin reached the door, Jiang Wenrui added, "Han Shi will accompany you to Henan." If he had known that Han Yurong was such a fool, he would never have allowed his son to marry her.

When Yurong learned she had to go to Henan, she screamed, "I won't go! I won't go to Henan!" Henan was at war right now — going there would be like going to one's death.

The old woman servant who conveyed the order said, "Master said that Er Nainai⁴ may choose one of these two options: either go to Henan with the Second Master or return to the Han family." The old woman servant looked down on Yurong. A woman like Yurong could only share wealth and status, not hardships.

Yurong grabbed Luye's hand and said, "Luye, what are we going to do? I don't want to go to Henan; I don't want to die!" She's still so young! Her life had only just begun — how could she die already?

Luye was also extremely frightened. She thought that Jiang Hongjin's trip to Henan must be related to Momo Gui. "Er Nainai⁴, the Master has already decided; it cannot be changed."

Yurong collapsed weakly to the ground, but suddenly stood up quickly. "No — I will go find San Jie⁵; surely she does not want to watch me die? Yes, find San Jie⁵! Luye, hurry and prepare the carriage."

Luye gripped Yuyong's hand and tried calming her, "Er Nainai⁴, calm down. The Master has already issued his order — if you don't go to Henan, you must return to the Han household. Er Nainai⁴, do you really want to return to do that?" If Er Nainai⁴ was labelled as a woman who could not share hardship with her husband, she could forget about having any good days for the rest of her life.

Yurong panicked and cried, "What are we supposed to do? Must we really go to Henan? Haven't you heard that those Northwest troops are like beasts — they won't even spare women. If they take Henan, not a single corpse will be left intact."

Luye shuddered and could think of nothing more to say to console her.

Yurong went to the Wangfu³ and, upon seeing Yuchen, begged her for help.

Yuchen replied expressionlessly, "This is something I can't help you with. But you don't need to worry too much. Yuxi is in the Northwest now—if you ever get into trouble, you can ask her for help. Given Yuxi's current position, keeping you safe won't be a problem."

Yurong wept bitterly and said, "San Jie⁵, Han Yuxi could even act ruthlessly towards her Er Ge⁶ who loved her, so how could she possibly protect me?" Han Yuxi was a ruthless, cold-blooded woman; Yurong dared not seek help from her.

Yuchen replied coolly, "I've already received confirmed news. The rumours in the capital that Yuxi killed her Er Ge⁶ were all false. A few days ago, he was seriously wounded in battle against the Northern Barbarians, but his life is not in danger."

Yurong opened her mouth, forgetting to cry altogether. "How can that be?"

Yuchen had never liked Yurong much, and she found her even more unbearable after this incident. "I've no reason to lie to you. This news is absolutely true. If one day you truly have nowhere to go, you can ask Yuxi for help. For the sake of your shared bloodline, she won't turn her back on you."

Hearing these words, Yurong knew she had no choice but to go to Henan.

After Yurong had left, Momo Gui approached Yuchen and asked her in a hushed voice, "Wangfei², have you spoken to Wangye about Jiang Hongjin?"

Yuchen let out a laugh. "I'm not that foolish—how could I possibly tell Wangye something 5like that?" She couldn't bring herself to utter the words that her own Meifu⁷ harboured improper desires towards her.

Momo Gui agreed that Yuchen would never make such a foolish mistake. "Then what's going on with Jiang Hongjin being sent to Henan?" Everyone knew that going to Henan was dangerous, and there was no way the esteemed Jing Wang¹ would suddenly send Jiang Hongjin there to his death.

Yuchen glanced at the gemstone ring on her finger and said, "Wangye knows that Yuxi didn't kill Er Ge⁶—that's why he's sending Yurong to Luoyang🖼️".

Now Momo Gui understood. "Does Wangye intend to use Wu Gunainai⁸'s hand to deal with Si Gunainai⁹?" Seeing Yuchen nod, she couldn't help but chuckle. "The relationship between the Si Gunainai⁹ and Wu Gunainai⁸ is only slightly better than that of sworn enemies. By doing so, isn't Wangye turning to any physician he can find in a moment of desperation¹⁰?"

Yuchen also felt that Jing Wang¹'s move was not a wise one—but she couldn't stop it. "This is Wangye's decision; I can't change it." To be precise, Yuchen had no intention of changing it at all.

After pondering momentarily, Momo Gui said, "Wangfei², if you truly want to deal with Si Gunainai⁹, Duke Han would actually be a more suitable choice."

Yuchen replied helplessly, "Momo, don't ever say that again." The idea of letting her Dage¹¹ move against Yuxi was so absurd that only Momo could have come up with it.

Momo Gui spoke anxiously, "Wangfei², now is not the time to be soft-hearted! Si Gunainai⁹ is full of ambition and will never be content to stay confined in the Northwest. The reason her troops haven't attacked Henan or Shanxi isn't because she and Yun Qing don't want to; it's simply because they don't have the means yet. Once that time comes, she'll surely send Yun Qing to seize more cities. I can't even imagine what will happen then."

Yuchen shook her head. "Yuxi lacks the talent to rule and unify the nation, nor the ability to stabilise the realm. Taking the Northwest is already their limit—they can't seize any more cities. What we should worry about now is Yan Wushuang, not Yun Qing and Yuxi. Huangzhou City is less than two thousand li from the capital. If Huangzhou falls, Yan Wushuang's army will march straight into the capital." If the city were to fall, the capital would surely run red with blood.

Momo Gui said, "Wangfei², General Lin will definitely hold the rebels outside Huangzhou City." In truth, Momo Gui herself was far from confident. She only said this to give herself courage.

Yuchen sighed softly. "Let's hope so."

Footnotes Full List

1. 王 wáng: king
2. 王 wáng: king, 妃 fēi: consort
3. 王 wáng: king, 府 fǔ: residence
4. 二 èr: second, 奶奶 nǎinai: young mistress of the house
5. 三 sān: third, 姐 jiě: elder sister
6. 二 èr: second, 哥 gē: elder brother
7. 妹夫 mèifu: younger sister's husband; brother-in-law
8. 五 wǔ: fifth, 姑奶奶 gūnǎinai: (respectful form of address for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter
9. 四 sì: fourth, 姑奶奶 gūnǎinai:; (respectful form of address for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter
10. "病急乱投医 (bìng jí luàn tóu yī)" (lit. "a sick man in desperation will try any doctor") — idiom meaning "to act recklessly out of desperation."
11. 大哥 dàgē: eldest brother

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