Yun Qing always appeared expressionless when he faced his subordinates. Those unfamiliar with him would feel intimidated upon seeing him li...
Yun Qing always appeared expressionless when he faced his subordinates. Those unfamiliar with him would feel intimidated upon seeing him like this. However, things had changed during this period.
While drinking with Feng Dajun, Yuan Ying remarked with a smile, "Have you noticed that the General's lips have been curling upwards all the time lately? He's in such a great mood. Do you think the General has some happy news that we don't know about?" As one of Yun Qing's trusted aides, Yuan Ying had clearly noticed the changes in him.
Feng Dajun picked up a piece of rabbit meat, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it. "What happy news could there be that we wouldn't know about?" He felt that Yun Qing must simply be one of those people who radiated vitality when something good happened.
Yuan Ying said, "The last time the General was this happy was when Madam was pregnant with the Eldest Young Miss. Do you think Madam might be pregnant again?" When Yuxi was pregnant with Zaozao, Yun Qing was also visibly delighted, always smiling. It was just unclear what the happy occasion was this time.
Feng Dajun popped another peanut into his mouth. "Madam hasn't even been in Haocheng for a month, and besides, she hasn't fully recovered yet—there's no way she could be pregnant. From what I can see, it's more likely that the General is hiding a beauty away in a golden house1."
Yuan Ying laughed speechlessly. "The General is either in the military camp or at the Governor-General's residence—where would he find the time to hide a beauty?" Not to mention that the General had no such intentions, and even if he did, he wouldn't have the time.
Feng Dajun smiled and deliberately changed the subject. "I might be leaving soon." He had stayed in Haocheng because Yun Qing had returned to Yu City, and someone needed to hold the fort here. Now that Yun Qing was back, there was no reason for him to remain.
Yuan Ying asked, "Are you planning to go to Hengzhou or the Western Sea?" He had taken the miraculous medicine that Yun Qing had given him. Although it had greatly improved his health, his lungs could not be cured entirely, meaning he would never lead troops into battle again. Still, working in logistics didn't seem too bad.
Feng Dajun wanted to go to the Western Sea. Only two prefectures had been taken there so far, and a large portion of the territory remained unconquered. Defending cities could not compare to the satisfaction of actively attacking and capturing them.
At the mention of this, Yuan Ying felt slightly puzzled. "Given the General's temperament, if he intended to take the Western Sea, he should have sent out troops long ago. But there's been no movement at all—why is that?"
Feng Dajun saw things very clearly. "I think the issue lies with Madam." Up until now, Yuxi was the only person who could influence Yun Qing's behaviour—not even Huo Changqing could do so.
Yuxi had her reasons for preventing Yun Qing from sending troops to capture the remaining regions of the Western Sea. The Western Sea was a vast grassland rich in resources, but the authorities' oppressive taxation had left the common people living in misery. Now that they had occupied two prefectures and introduced beneficial policies, life there would surely improve after the summer harvest. By then, the people in the unconquered regions would inevitably become restless. Launching an attack under these circumstances would achieve twice the effect with half the effort.
Yun Qing strongly agreed with Yuxi's perspective. It was precisely because he had the people's support that he had been able to take control of Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces so easily. Only a fool would refuse such significant benefits in exchange for waiting another two months. Yun Qing also agreed, of course, because the Imperial Court was preoccupied with its own problems and unable to interfere while rebellions continued to break out in the Western Sea. He wasn't worried that anything would go wrong within three months; otherwise, he would have sent troops immediately.
Yuan Ying frowned. "It's one thing for Madam to take charge of governance—she understands civil administration well enough. But when it comes to warfare, she's completely outside the gate2. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to let her stick her hand in3 this matter?"
Feng Dajun disagreed with Yuan Ying. "Although the General cherishes his wife, there's no way he'd let her get her hands dirty4 with military affairs. He definitely knows where the line is. The real question is—what's going on behind all this?"
Yuan Ying shook his head. "That, I don't know either."
Feng Dajun raised his cup and said, "Enough talk—come, let's drink." As soon as the words left his mouth, he drained a whole bowl of wine. It was only because Yun Qing was there and he could rest later that he dared to drink so boldly. When Yun Qing wasn't around, Feng Dajun would take at most a couple of sips. How could he have dared to drink in such big gulps?
Er Maozi, Feng Dajun's attendant, walked in and reported, "General, Madam and the young masters have arrived." Chang Shi had only set out in the middle of the fourth month, which was why they were only arriving now.
Feng Dajun put down his cup and told Yuan Ying, "My woman has arrived—your wife should be here too. Go back and take a look." Earlier, Feng Dajun had written to Chang Shi, asking her to come to Haocheng along with Yuxi, but he hadn't expected her to ignore his instructions.
Yuxi received news of Chang Shi and the others' arrival less than a quarter of an hour after Feng Dajun did. Although the area had been cleared of bandits and robbers, travelling thousands of li5 with children made it very easy for things to go wrong.
It was already completely dark when Yun Qing returned. His expression was grave as he spoke, "Yuxi, Shengjing has fallen. The defending General, Lin Kang, was killed in battle."
Shengjing was only about a thousand li from the capital. Now that Shengjing had been breached, the capital itself was in danger.
After hearing Yun Qing out, Yuxi furrowed her brow. "Shengjing's walls are far sturdier than those of Huangzhou's, yet it fell in less than three days? And with only nine thousand casualties?"
Shengjing's defences weren't much weaker than Haocheng's. When they had taken Haocheng back then, the cost had been enormous, yet Yan Wushuang had captured Shengjing with shocking ease.
Yun Qing also felt that something was amiss. "If it wasn't a failure of defence, then it must have been an internal failure." With internal and external forces collaborating, even the strongest walls would be useless.
Yuxi pondered for a long while before speaking. "He Rui, I already found it strange when Huangzhou fell back then. At the time, Huangzhou's defences were strong, Lin Fengyuan was an excellent commander, and their reinforcements were solid. Yet it seemed as if Huangzhou fell almost all of a sudden, didn't it?"
Although Yun Qing himself hadn't sensed anything unusual, he trusted Yuxi's judgement. When it came to matters like this, Yuxi was far more perceptive than he was. "What kind of problem do you think it could be?"
Yuxi shook her head. "I need to think this through carefully."
Worried that Yuxi might expend too much mental energy, Yun Qing suggested, "How about we call in Mr Chen and Ding Qingyu to discuss it together? More minds usually mean better ideas."
Yuxi shook her head. "Let me think about it first." If she couldn't figure it out, it wouldn't be too late for her to consult others then. That was simply Yuxi's nature: she preferred to solve things herself and only sought help when she really had to.
After saying this, Yuxi went to the study.
Yun Qing knew Yuxi's habits well—she couldn't be disturbed when she was thinking—so instead of following her, he went to the side room to check on Liu-er.
When Yun Qing reached the side room, Momo Quan was feeding Liu-er her supplementary food. Thanks to the food Momo Quan prepared, Liu-er had put on quite a bit of weight over the past half month.
Yun Qing said, "Let me do it." He could still handle the job of feeding the child.
When they first arrived in Haocheng, Liu-er had been unwilling to let Yun Qing hold her. Not wanting his daughter to grow distant from him, Yun Qing made sure to spend a little time with her every day, no matter how busy he was. The results were good—Liu-er no longer resisted him.
Compared to Zaozao's mischievous antics, Liu-er was almost too quiet. If she were left alone on the bed, she wouldn't cry or fuss. The same went for eating—unless she truly couldn't manage any more, she would eat whatever she was given. Of course, if her body couldn't take it and she threw up, that was another matter.
After feeding her a small bowl of rice paste, Yun Qing wrapped Liu-er up and asked, "Are you full? If not, should I get them to make some more for you?" When Zaozao was six months old, she could eat a large bowl of rice paste. Liu-er's portion was only a third of that.
Liu-er didn't understand; she just looked at Yun Qing with her bright, wide eyes, blinking.
Momo Quan hurriedly said, "General, the Second Young Miss can only eat this much. She can't eat any more than that, or she'll become bloated."
Yun Qing couldn't help but wonder, "When will Liu-er be like Zaozao?" Zaozao had never caused him any worry from childhood until now. But Liu-er had kept his heart perpetually on edge. Even though her health had improved, he was still anxious.
Momo Quan, standing nearby, did not respond. Liu-er was born with congenital weaknesses; she would never have a body as strong as Zaozao's. The reason Momo Quan had advised Yuxi not to conceive within the next two years was that a mother's poor health would burden the child. If Yuxi wanted her future children to be as healthy as Zaozao, she would need to nurse her body back to peak condition.
Shortly after Yun Qing had soothed Liu-er to sleep, Gancao walked in and said, "General, Madam requests that you come to the study. She has something to discuss with you."
After placing Liu-er on the bed, Yun Qing went into the study. Seeing that Yuxi was still writing with her head lowered, he asked, "Yuxi, have you figured out what the problem is?"
Yuxi replied, "I think the Yu family has allied with Yan Wushuang." Unfortunately, she didn't have enough information to be very confident in this deduction.
Yun Qing thought about it seriously and asked, "If the Yu family is allied with Yan Wushuang, what are they trying to gain?" Such an alliance wouldn't benefit the Yu family much.
Yuxi responded, "Ever since the Emperor ascended the throne, he has been suppressing the Yu family. To avoid the blade's edge6, Grand Chancellor Yu claimed illness and stayed home to recuperate. The Yu family is probably trying to force the Emperor to abdicate in order to support Zhou Xuan's rise to power."
Yun Qing felt this theory was unreliable. "Yan Wushuang hates the Emperor to the bone—how could he possibly allow the Emperor's son to take the throne?" Given Yan Wushuang's way of doing things, he would surely wipe them all out completely.
Yuxi smiled slightly. "It would only be a temporary compromise. Once he has gained a firm foothold and his position is secure, even a casual bout of illness would be enough to take that child's life." A mere infant would be easy to deal with.
Yun Qing still shook his head. "Yan Wushuang will use any means necessary to achieve his goals. Someone like Grand Chancellor Yu couldn't possibly fail to realise that allying with Yan Wushuang is like bargaining with a tiger for its skin7."
Yuxi nodded. "Grand Chancellor Yu must have a hidden card8." The only problem was that she didn't know what it was.
Yun Qing fell silent for a moment before saying, "If things are truly as you speculate—if the Yu family formed an alliance with Yan Wushuang and secretly manipulated matters—the Emperor could not possibly be unaware of it." Such a major affair could never have been kept hidden from the Emperor.
Yuxi nodded. "Even if the Emperor didn't know at the beginning, by now he must surely have suspicions. The problem is that Chancellor Yu has spent decades consolidating his power in the capital, so removing him won't be easy." More than half of the Imperial Court officials took orders from Grand Chancellor Yu. Once action is taken against him, there would be no need for Yan Wushuang to march on the capital—the capital itself would already be in chaos. Of course, that would be different if action had been taken covertly.
Footnotes Full List
- 金屋藏娇 (jīn wū cáng jiāo): a classical idiom meaning to keep a mistress hidden away, literally 'hiding a beauty in a golden house'. Often used teasingly or jokingly here.
- 门外汉 (mén wài hàn): literally "someone outside the gate." An idiom meaning a layperson/someone with no expertise in the field.
- 插手 (chā shǒu): "to stick one's hand in," meaning to interfere or get involved (often implying overstepping).
- 沾手 (zhān shǒu): literally "to get one's hands dirty," meaning to touch or involve oneself in something.
- 里 lǐ: a traditional unit of length, equal to 150 zhang (市丈), and equivalent to 0.5 kilometre or 0.311 mile
- 避开锋芒 (bì kāi feng máng): literally "to avoid the blade's edge." It means lying low or avoiding direct confrontation during dangerous political times.
- 与虎谋皮 (yǔ hǔ móu pí): literally 'to negotiate with a tiger for its skin', describing a dangerously foolish deal where one is doomed to be betrayed.
- 底牌 (dǐ pái): literally a 'hidden card' in a game; metaphorically, a secret advantage or last resort.
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