News of Yan Wushuang's capture of Huludao 🖼️ quickly spread to the capital. When Yuchen heard the news, her face turned pale. ...
News of Yan Wushuang's capture of Huludao🖼️ quickly spread to the capital.
When Yuchen heard the news, her face turned pale. "Huludao is less than eight hundred li1 from the capital. If they march day and night, they could arrive in five days at most."
Momo Gui was at a loss as well. She was adept at managing affairs within the inner household, but matters beyond it were beyond her understanding. "Wangfei2, don't panic. Let's wait for Wangye3 to return and ask him."
Yuchen hurriedly said, "Wait at the second gate. Tell me the moment Wangye3 returns." If Jing Wang had not given explicit instructions, she would have packed up and fled by now. The capital was far too dangerous now.
Jing Wang returned in the middle of the night. However, he had come to give Yuchen some instructions, not to rest.
When Yuchen heard that Jing Wang was going to the front lines to fight, her whole body swayed as if she were about to collapse. "Wangye3, why must it be you who goes to war? There are plenty of others who can fight!" In the current situation, going to the front line was tantamount to marching to one's death. If he died, leaving her a widow and her child an orphan, what would become of them?
Jing Wang grasped Yuchen's hand and said in a low voice, "Don't panic. Going to the front may actually give me a chance to survive. Staying in the capital would be a dead end."
Yuchen did not understand what he meant.
Jing Wang did not explain further. He only said, "Rest assured. Linlu Pass is easy to defend and hard to attack. Yan Wushuang will never be able to cross it." Linlu Pass, also known as Shanhai Pass📹, was famed as 'the First Pass Under Heaven'.
Yuchen had naturally heard of Linlu Pass, where 'even if only one man held the gate, ten thousand men could not force it open'. However, no matter how formidable the pass was, it would still be vulnerable to attack if there were collaborators inside.
Time was pressing, and Jing Wang had no opportunity to explain further. "After I leave, stay in the wangfu4 and don't go anywhere. Even if the Empress summons you, do not go."
Yuchen had no time to think about anything else. "Don't worry. Once you leave, I'll pretend to be ill and won't go anywhere." She knew this situation was far from simple.
Jing Wang packed a few clothes and left. Before departing, he reminded, "Take good care of Yan-er at home and wait for my return."
Yuchen nodded through her tears. "Don't worry. I will take good care of Yan-er." Her son was her lifeline; she would never allow him to come to any harm.
Jing Wang left the capital overnight with a small group of close attendants, heading for Linlu Pass.
Momo Gui came in and asked, "Wangfei2, what are we to do?" War was extremely dangerous, and Wangye3 had never fought in a battle before. On the battlefield, anything could happen.
Yuchen clenched her teeth and replied, "We must prepare to leave the capital. If the situation worsens, we'll leave immediately." She had no intention of waiting for the rebels to arrive. This kind of thinking was not arrogance on her part—her reputation preceded her. If she fell into rebel hands, her fate would be worse than death.
Momo Gui pointed out, "Wangfei2, there may still be a turning point." Jing Wang had taken away all the most capable guards with him, so leaving the wangfu4 at this time would actually be even more dangerous.
Yuchen said, "We must prepare for the worst."
Yuchen was not the only one to think of this: people from the Duke Han's residence were also beginning to prepare to leave.
Qiu Shi looked at the crystal sapphire hairpin on Ye Shi's head and advised, "When we leave the city, you must not wear any jewellery. Remember that." Wearing such valuable ornaments would be like openly announcing one's wealth to everyone.
Ye Shi nodded. "All right. When we leave, I won't wear any jewellery. I'll put it all in boxes."
Seeing this, Qiu Shi shook her head. "Don't bring anything at all when we leave. We'll be fleeing for our lives—the fewer things we carry, the safer we'll be." If they carried too much, even the carriage wouldn't be able to move quickly.
Ye Shi's face turned pale as she asked, "Mom, if we bring nothing at all, what will we eat on the road with such a large family in tow?" Banknotes had already become worthless—if they didn't bring gold or silver, what else could they take?
Qiu Shi responded, "We'll only bring some gold and silver. Once we're out of the capital, Ming-er will make arrangements. Food and daily necessities won't be a concern. When we reach the northwest, Yuxi will make sure we don't go hungry."
After hesitating for a moment, Ye Shi said, "Mom, Si Mei5 is kind, but we can't rely on her for everything." Ye Shi believed that it was better to have things herself than to wait for others to provide them.
Although they were going to seek refuge with Yuxi, they could not rely on her for everything. Seeing that Ye Shi understood this reassured Qiu Shi. "You don't need to worry about this—Ming-er surely has a plan." Han Jianming had previously lent Yuxi 100,000 taels of silver; with that sum, they had some financial backing.
After a pause, Qiu Shi continued, "We still need to prepare money. If something unexpected happens, not having any money won't do, but we can't pack it in boxes. Didn't I ask you to exchange some of it for gold leaves and beads at the silver shop? Sew those into the inside of your clothes. If it were winter, sewing them into padded jackets would have been ideal.
Ye Shi nodded quickly. "Mom, I'll take care of it as soon as I go back."
Qiu Shi asked again, "Have you prepared the coarse cloth garments I told you to get?" Seeing Ye Shi nod, she continued, "We'll wear these coarse clothes when we leave. Sew the gold leaves and beads into them so that no one will notice." Just as they couldn't wear gold or silver jewellery, they also couldn't wear fine silks and satins; those were all things that would attract thieves.
Ye Shi nodded repeatedly. "I understand, Mom."
Seeing Ye Shi's reaction, Qiu Shi said, "When you go back, change Qiqi and Lil Boy Chang into coarse clothes as well." She intended to let the two children get used to wearing them for a few days; otherwise, if they only changed when leaving the capital, they would surely feel uncomfortable and cry loudly, drawing attention.
Qiu Shi gave Ye Shi many instructions, to which she kept nodding. Indeed, the old saying is true: having an elder in the family is like having a treasure.
If they couldn't take jewellery with them, antiques and calligraphy paintings were even more out of the question. Ye Shi spent several days selecting the most valuable antiques and artwork in the residence. Late at night, while everyone was asleep, she moved all the items into a secret chamber with the help of Qiu Shi, Chief Steward Han Yong, and other trusted aides.
Looking at the more than twenty chests of items, Ye Shi said regretfully, "Mom, we could actually put in more." As the saying goes, even a starved camel is still bigger than a horse6—the Duke's residence had accumulated many fine possessions, and together with the dowries of the three women, filling another twenty chests would not have been a problem.
When Qiu Shi heard what Ye Shi had said, she replied by shaking her head. "It's already good enough if these things could be preserved." Among the more than twenty chests of items, they had filled eight chests with jewellery. Qiu Shi herself had four chests, while Ye Shi and Lu Xiu each had two. Even without counting the antiques and paintings, the jewellery alone was worth several hundred thousand taels of silver.
After leaving the secret chamber, they watched as its heavy door was tightly shut. Everyone then carefully concealed the entrance before finally returning to the Changle Courtyard.
Qiu Shi told Han Yong, "The moment the Duke's men arrive, we will leave the city. Over the next few days, we must not allow outsiders to detect even the slightest flaw in the residence."
Han Yong nodded. "Rest assured, Old Lady. I have arranged everything within the residence properly; no one will notice anything amiss." Ever since Han Jianming left for the northwest, the Duke's household had closed its doors to visitors. Aside from those responsible for purchasing supplies, no one was permitted to leave, so there was little risk of news leaking out.
However, as the saying goes, plans can never keep up with changes. On the very next day, the old Duke Han Jingdong, who had been living away from home at a secondary residence for a long time, returned to the main estate in a state of utter disarray.
When Qiu Shi learned that Han Jingdong had returned, she summoned Mama Li. "Go find out exactly what has happened." As Han Jingdong had been living freely and indulgently at the secondary residence, his sudden return at such a critical moment could only mean that something had gone wrong.
Just as Qiu Shi had expected, Han Jingdong's return to the capital truly meant trouble had occurred. The secondary residence was located on the outskirts of the city, which was now in complete chaos. As the residence was well known, it had attracted the attention of people with bad intentions. Last night, a group of bandits broke in. Fortunately, they were only interested in looting valuables, which allowed Han Jingdong to escape.
After suffering such a fright, Han Jingdong immediately fell ill. No matter how unreliable he was, Ye Shi still summoned a physician to treat him.
After settling Han Jingdong in, Ye Shi went to see Qiu Shi and asked, "Mom, now that Father-in-law is ill, what should we do?"
Qiu Shi responded helplessly, "He is Ming-er's father after all. We can't just abandon him." No matter how bad the marital relationship was, they could not leave Han Jingdong behind in the Duke's residence while fleeing themselves. If they did, their son would inevitably bear a lifetime of condemnation.
Ye Shi lowered her head and said nothing. She was deeply dissatisfied with Han Jingdong; her father-in-law only cared about eating, drinking, and pleasure, and did nothing but cause trouble. Still, as a daughter-in-law, no matter how unhappy she was, she could not voice her feelings.
After Ye Shi left, Mama Li explained the situation to Qiu Shi in detail. "The Old Duke has always been extremely generous with money, which has attracted people with ulterior motives for a long time. Now that the world is in chaos, it's only natural that someone would set their sights on the secondary residence." Not to mention that the residence was outside the city—these days, even in the capital, everyone lived in constant fear.
After a brief pause, Mama Li continued, "Old Lady, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but we absolutely cannot take the Old Duke with us when we leave. Otherwise, no one in this family will survive."
Having served in the Duke's household for so many years, Mama Li knew Han Jingdong well. He was someone who had grown accustomed to indulgence and could not endure even the slightest hardship.
How could Qiu Shi fail to understand? She simply had her own concerns. "If he had died at the secondary residence, that would be one thing. But he is still alive. As long as he is alive, we cannot abandon him—otherwise, how would Jianming face the world?"
Mama Li cursed inwardly: Truly, a scourge lives for a thousand years. Why hadn't he just died at the secondary residence? If he had died there, wouldn't everything have been resolved?
Suddenly, Qiu Shi thought of something and asked, "Did only the Old Duke return? What about Concubine Lian?"
Concubine Lian had been living at the secondary residence for many years, taking care of Han Jingdong's daily needs.
"I'm not entirely sure. But the secondary residence has already been burned down—Concubine Lian probably died there."
Qiu Shi let out a deep sigh. After all, Concubine Lian had stayed by Han Jingdong's side for many years, yet when disaster struck, he cared only about saving his own life and was utterly indifferent to whether she lived or died. Fortunately, Qiu Shi had long since given up on this man and had relied solely on her son for years now.
Footnotes Full List
- 里 lǐ: a traditional unit of length, equal to 150 zhang (市丈), and equivalent to 0.5 kilometre or 0.311 mile
- 王 wáng: king, 妃 fēi: consort
- 王 wáng: king, 爷 ye: lord
- 王 wáng: king, 府 fǔ: residence
- 四 sì: fourth, 妹 mèi: younger sister
- 瘦死的骆驼比马大 (shòu sǐ de luòtuo bǐ mǎ dà): A proverb meaning that even when diminished, an influential or wealthy entity still surpasses others.
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