Yuxi thought about it for a long time, but she still could not figure out why Wu Kuo had come to her for refuge. At this time, Yun Qing had...
Yuxi thought about it for a long time, but she still could not figure out why Wu Kuo had come to her for refuge. At this time, Yun Qing had gone to the army camp again, so the only person she could discuss the matter with was Han Jianming.
After hearing Yuxi out, Han Jianming smiled and said, "Yuxi, there's really nothing strange about Wu Kuo coming to you for refuge."
Yuxi became even more confused. She had thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't understand. Yet her elder brother knew the reason as soon as he heard about it. "Dage, do you know the reason?"
Han Jianming replied, "Wu Kuo came to rely on you, just as he himself said—he wants to secure a future for his descendants."
Yuxi's heart suddenly jolted, and she asked, "Dage, Wu Kuo came to rely on me just to secure a good future for his descendants? What do you mean by that?"
Han Jianming laughed. "Are you really confused, or are you just pretending to be?" Seeing Yuxi deep in thought, a sense of unease rose in his heart. "You're not planning to spend your whole life with Yun Qing just guarding the Northwest, are you?" He had great faith in Yuxi and Yun Qing, which was why he had moved his entire family here. If they succeeded in the future, he too would have gained merit of following the dragon1. At that time, he might not become a duke, but a marquis would certainly be within reach.
Yuxi finally understood. It turned out that both her elder brother and Wu Kuo believed that she had ambitions to seize the empire. Yuxi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Dage, do I really seem that ambitious in your eyes?"
Han Jianming asked, "Do you really intend to just guard the Northwest?" If Yuxi were truly that innocent and kind-hearted, she would never have encouraged Yun Qing to rebel.
Yuxi said, "Holding the Northwest is already enough for our family to live a peaceful and stable life." She had never even considered seizing the entire empire.
Han Jianming felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen. He had broken the cooking pots and sunk the boats2 by bringing his entire family to rely on Yuxi, yet it turned out that Yuxi had never intended to seize the empire at all. Wasn't this simply making a fool of him?
Seeing that Han Jianming's expression had turned strange, Yuxi hurriedly called out, "Dage, what's wrong with you?"
Han Jianming came back to his senses and shook his head. "I feel a bit dizzy. Maybe I haven't rested well these past few days." He was in a bad mood right now and couldn't think things through calmly.
Yuxi quickly urged, "Then, Dage, you should go back to the courtyard and rest for a while!" If only one person thought this way about her, it might be that person's misunderstanding, but if two or three people thought the same thing, then the problem must lie with her.
When Yun Qing returned and heard that Yuxi was still in the study, he asked Xu Wu, "Who did Madam just discuss matters with?" It was almost mealtime, and if she was still alone in the study, something must have happened.
Xu Wu replied, "Madam just met with the Eldest Master Jiu3. After that, she said no one was to disturb her." Of course, Yun Qing himself was excluded from that restriction.
When Yun Qing entered the room, he saw Yuxi studying a map intently. Once Yuxi was engrossed in something, she was oblivious to the outside world.
After a while, Yuxi noticed Yun Qing standing beside her and asked, "When did you come in? Why didn't you call me?"
Yun Qing smiled and replied, "You were so absorbed that I didn't want to disturb you. Why are you looking at the map?" Usually, it was him who studied the maps; Yuxi rarely touched them.
Yuxi understood Yun Qing very well and didn't dare repeat Han Jianming's words to him; otherwise, it would certainly cause an uproar. She smiled and explained, "I was thinking that if the entire Northwest grew potatoes, then our granaries might not even be big enough to store all the grain."
Yun Qing did not understand farming, but as a general, he paid special attention to one issue. "How do you store these potatoes? And how long can they be kept without spoiling?" Wheat and millet were not only easy to store, but if kept in a dry place, could be preserved for a long time. If these potatoes were difficult to store and could not be kept for long, they could not use them to fill all their fields.
Yuxi had never actually considered this issue before. Just now, she had only casually brought it up to divert attention. But Yun Qing's words reminded her: "I'm not very sure how to store them, but Tian Yang took more than half a year to travel from Fujian back to the Northwest, and the potatoes he brought back were still fit for planting. So keeping them for a year shouldn't be a problem."
Yun Qing said, "We still have to confirm it first."
Yuxi burst out laughing. "I was only making a hypothetical assumption. How could we really plant nothing but potatoes? If we planted everything with potatoes, wouldn't the price of rice and flour skyrocket?" They would only grow a few other crops with higher yields. It was impossible to plant just one kind.
Yun Qing did not mind Yuxi laughing at him and said, "It's already mealtime; we should head back. We can't let Mom, Dasao and the others wait for us." Having lost all his relatives, Yun Qing treated the members of the Han family as his own.
Yuxi's attitude worried Han Jianming. He mentioned the matter to Mr Zhao, asking, "What if Yuxi really ends up staying in this remote corner of the Northwest in the future? What should we do then?" He certainly did not want to spend his entire life stuck in this place.
Mr Zhao was not worried. He told Han Jianming, "Even if Si Gunainai4 didn't have such thoughts before, now that she knows your intentions in coming to the Northwest, she will certainly consider it seriously." Mr Zhao had strongly encouraged Han Jianming to move his entire family to the Northwest. After all, giving up the Duke's title and turning away from one's clan required great courage and support.
Han Jianming also had his concerns. "I'm just afraid this girl only wants a husband, children, and the warmth of the kang bed." Previously, Yuxi had persuaded Yun Qing to rebel because their situation had been extremely dangerous—if they did not resist, they would lose their lives. Now that they had sufficient ability to protect themselves, she might truly only want to settle down quietly in the Northwest.
Mr Zhao shook his head. "Master, if Si Gunainai4 were the kind of woman you described, she would not be governing the Northwest. My Lord need not worry. When the time is ripe, Si Gunainai4 will not be content to remain in the Northwest." Everyone else believed that Yuxi was extremely ambitious, except for Yun Qing.
After finishing his bath and returning to the room, Yun Qing saw Yuxi deep in thought. He sighed softly in his heart, pulled her into his arms, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Yuxi turned the matter over in her mind and told Yun Qing about Wu Kuo. However, she only mentioned Wu Kuo's experiences and his wish to seek refuge with them, leaving out the rest.
After pondering for a moment, Yun Qing said, "Don't worry. I'll place someone beside Wu Kuo when the time comes. If he shows any unusual movement, we'll eliminate him." With those words, Yun Qing had already decided to employ Wu Kuo.
Yuxi responded with a soft 'mm', then casually chatted with Yun Qing. "You have to admit Wu Kuo looks like he just encountered mildew5. Think about it: his own mother is accusing him of murdering his own father! I can't even imagine what he's feeling right now."
Yun Qing thought for a moment and suggested, "Maybe that woman isn't really Wu Kuo's mother."
Yuxi shook her head. "That's impossible. Yu Shi has a powerful natal family backing her, and she isn't weak in character. Even if Wu Meng had an illegitimate son outside, he wouldn't place him under Yu Shi's name to occupy the title of the legitimate eldest son." Yuxi had initially suspected the same thing, but after thinking it through carefully, she felt it was impossible.
Yun Qing could not find a way to counter the argument, yet he remained convinced that Yu Shi could not be Wu Kuo's biological mother. Even a vicious tiger would not eat its own cubs6. If she were his real mother, how could she have possibly done such a thing?
Yuxi had experienced such things herself, so she did not find it unusual. She muttered, "Parents really must not show favouritism; otherwise, it can easily cause siblings to turn against each other and become enemies."
Yun Qing said with a smile, "I treat Zaozao and Liu-er equally." He said this without the slightest sense of guilt. Although he treated Liu-er well, it was clear that Zaozao was his favourite.
Yuxi reminded Yun Qing, "From now on, we must treat all the children equally…"
Before she could finish speaking, Yun Qing had already pinned her beneath him. "Then we'll have to work hard…" Seeing how many children the Han family had, he felt that having only Zaozao and Liu-er was far too few.
Yuxi did not push Yun Qing away, but she still said what needed to be said. "Not for now. Momo said we can't have another child within three years." In truth, judging by how quickly her body had recovered, she could conceive again in about a year. However, Yuxi deliberately extended this timeframe, wanting to give herself a little more breathing room.
After all the commotion lasted until midnight, Yuxi was so exhausted that she had no energy left to think about him. Yun Qing kissed Yuxi on the forehead. He was not obtuse—how could he not know that something was on her mind? But since Yuxi did not bring it up herself, he did not ask.
The next morning, Yuxi summoned Wu Kuo and asked, "What kind of business do you think brings in money quickly and safely?"
Wu Kuo shook his head and replied, "There's no such thing in this world as a business that makes money quickly and safely. If you want to make money fast, you have to take huge risks. Since Madam urgently needs money now, Madam could trade in smuggled salt, tea, or horses." Salt, tea, and horses were all commodities controlled by the Imperial Court and could not normally be sold privately. However, the realm was now in chaos, and the Imperial Court had lost control over the local regions. In reality, businesses now simply followed the local authorities' regulations.
Yuxi nodded inwardly, though not the slightest hint showed on her face. "Are there any others aside from these?" Businesses that were both quick and safe did exist—for example, mining gold. Unfortunately, such opportunities could only be encountered, not sought7.
Wu Kuo answered, "Another option is transporting goods beyond the frontier; the profits can also be very large." After a pause, he continued, "Besides that, overseas trade can also bring enormous profits. But trading by sea carries huge risks—once an accident occurs, you could lose everything." These accidents could be caused by either natural disasters or human error.
Yuxi asked, "If we were to sell things like salt and tea, do you have any connections?" Yuxi rejected the idea of doing business overseas outright, as the risks were far too high.
Wu Kuo nodded. "Yes." In fact, the Wu family had originally built their fortune by selling illegal salt. However, he chose not to mention this, so as not to leave a bad impression in front of Yuxi.
The Wu family had been selling illegal salt for many years and was already extremely familiar with this trade. Therefore, he explained everything in great detail, leaving Yuxi with no chance to interrupt.
Yuxi felt that she had been too cautious in the past and lacked any spirit of adventure. If she had started this business earlier, she might already have made a substantial profit. Living an extra lifetime also had its drawbacks, such as a tendency to overthink everything and to be overly cautious.
Once Wu Kuo had finished speaking, Yuxi asked directly, "How much starting capital would be needed?" Given Wu Kuo's extensive experience in this field, it would almost be against heaven's justice if the business didn't make money.
Without even thinking, Wu Kuo immediately named a figure: "One million taels of silver!" He dared to ask for such a sum because he knew that Yun Qing had money on hand.
Footnotes Full List
- 从龙之功 (cóng lóng zhī gōng): the merit of helping someone ascend the throne or seize supreme power. Cultural metaphor: In Chinese imperial symbolism, the dragon represents the emperor.
- 破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu): (fig.) making an irreversible, all-or-nothing decision. Historical origin: a story about the general Xiang Yu, who destroyed his army's retreat to force them to fight to the death.
- 舅 (jiù): wife's brother; brother-in-law
- 四 (sì): fourth, 姑奶奶 (gūnǎinai): (respectful form of address for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter)
- 倒霉 (dǎoméi) — unlucky; ill-fated
- 虎毒不食子 (hǔ dú bù shí zǐ): Even the cruellest person will not normally harm their own child. This idiom is used to emphasise the natural bond between parent and child
- 可遇不可求 (kě yù bù kě qiú): A rare opportunity that cannot be obtained simply through effort; it depends on luck.
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