ROHYX Chapter 780 : Psychological Warfare (5)

Yuchen lay in bed listening to the mournful chirping of crickets outside. No matter what she did, she could not fall asleep, so she draped ...

Yuchen lay in bed listening to the mournful chirping of crickets outside. No matter what she did, she could not fall asleep, so she draped a garment over herself, got out of bed and stood by the window looking outside.

The silvery-white moonlight spilt across the ground, and the scattered stars twinkled brightly like luminous pearls scattered across the sky. The night was still as beautiful as ever, but the person who had once admired the view with her was no longer there.

Hearing footsteps outside, Yuchen forced back her tears. When she turned around, she saw Yan Wushuang walking into the room.

Yan Wushuang stood in the middle of the room and asked, "Well? Have you thought it through?" When Yuchen remained silent, he continued, "Stop testing my patience. Once it runs out, it will be too late for regrets." This was an undisguisedly blatant threat. 

Yuchen clenched her fists tightly and asked, "What exactly do you want?" Even now, she still could not discern Yan Wushuang's true objective.

Yan Wushuang replied, "Tell me everything you know about Han Yuxi. You are not permitted to conceal even the slightest detail. Otherwise, what you witnessed that day will be your fate."

Remembering what had happened that day, Yuchen could not help shuddering again. "I have already told you everything there is to tell. What else do you want from me? And why are you so determined to learn about Yuxi? She bears you no grievance or enmity."

As no lamps had been lit in the room, Yuchen could not see Yan Wushuang's expression. Yan Wushuang responded, "You are mistaken. There is enmity between us—a mortal blood feud. If she gains power, she will undoubtedly have me k!lled." Yan Wushuang believed that Han Yuxi was actually the same kind of person as he was—someone who would avenge every grievance. Since he had once sent assassins after Han Yuxi, she would certainly take revenge once she possessed sufficient power.

Yuchen froze for a moment before asking, "Why did you try to k!ll her?"

Yan Wushuang had no intention of explaining himself to Yuchen. Instead, he asked, "From childhood until now, has there ever been anything unusual about Han Yuxi—anything that set her apart from ordinary people?" For a woman to have come this far, she must possess something extraordinary.

Yuchen remained silent.

Yan Wushuang added mildly, "This is the last opportunity I will give you." Yuchen surely understood what would happen if she failed to make proper use of this opportunity.

Yuchen was silent for a moment. Just as Yan Wushuang's patience was about to run out, she finally spoke, "Yuxi possesses great perseverance, and she knows what to take and what to give up."

Only then did Yan Wushuang's expression improve. "She knows what to take and what to give up? What do you mean by that?" His men had questioned the maidservants and older female servants who had attended Yuxi, but none of them had mentioned anything like this. As expected, seeking information about Han Yuxi from Han Yuchen had been the correct decision.

Yuchen explained, "Teacher Song instructed us in the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as poetry, lyric poetry, songs, and rhapsodies, together with blending fragrances and preparing tea. Yuxi was only willing to study chess and calligraphy; she refused to learn anything else. She merely studied painting for two years because Teacher Song forced her."

Yan Wushuang asked, "How old was Han Yuxi at the time?" He learned that Yuxi had only been five years old at the time and had made that choice of her own accord.

A sharp glint flashed through Yan Wushuang's eyes as he asked, "Did no one notice such abnormal behaviour?"

Yuchen shook her head. "It was not considered abnormal. Yuxi's natural aptitude was ordinary, and she couldn't keep pace with Teacher Song, so she made that choice." That was the explanation Yuxi had given at the time. However, the explanation was airtight both emotionally and logically because she had indeed been unable to keep up.

Yan Wushuang did not discuss the matter further. Instead, he continued to inquire, "I heard that Han Yuxi studied pharmacology. Is that true?" If she knew about pharmacology, it would not be easy to poison her. Come to think of it, Han Yuxi seemed to have anticipated that someone would try to assassinate her.

Yuchen nodded. "At the time, she found out that Momo Quan understood pharmacology and knew how to prepare medicinal cuisine, so she studied under her for five years. However, she never mastered it." After pausing, Yuchen continued, "Apart from being proficient in embroidery and reasonably skilled at chess and calligraphy, everything else Yuxi studied remained at the level of half a string of coins¹."

Yan Wushuang asked another question. "Last time, you said that she enjoyed reading. What kinds of books did she like? Or rather, what kinds of books did she frequently read?"

With her head lowered, Yuchen replied, "Yuxi read a very wide variety of books. There were medical texts, travel accounts, popular storybooks, military treatises, and historical works."

Yan Wushuang's attention settled on the military and historical books. "When did she start reading historical works?" Upon hearing that she had started at age 6, Yan Wushuang's expression grew somewhat grave.

Seeing this, Yuchen hurriedly explained, "At the time, Teacher Song was teaching me the Records of the Grand Historian📹, and Yuxi happened to find out about it. She then asked Er Ge to buy her a copy to read herself." In other words, Yuxi had not decided to read historical works on a whim; she had a reason for doing so.

Yan Wushuang did not ask why Song Mingyue had not taught Yuxi. Instead, he asked Yuchen, "The Records of the Grand Historian is obscure and difficult to understand. Was she really able to read it?" Even boys from families steeped in scholarly tradition were generally unwilling to read that book, let alone girls. It was usually only after gaining sufficient life experience or reaching a certain age that someone could focus on reading it.

Yuchen nodded. "She persevered and later switched to reading the Records of the Three Kingdoms🔗. As for whether she actually understood it, I do not know." In this respect, Yuchen knew she was inferior to Yuxi. She believed that studying such an obscure and difficult book would be useless, so she had never devoted herself to learning it.

After a pause, Yuchen continued, "However, after she started reading historical works, she frequently went to see Dage or Adviser Zhao, who served at his side. Each visit would last half a day. I do not know what they discussed." Even if she told Yan Wushuang these things, they would not affect Yuxi.

Yan Wushuang muttered to himself, "No wonder Han Jianming abandoned his title and family estate and took his entire family, young and old, to the northwest." Han Jianming understood what Han Yuxi was capable of and had confidence in her. That was why he had willingly broken the cauldrons and sunk the boats² to seek refuge with her.

Yuchen relaxed her tightly clenched hands. "I have already told you everything I know. There is nothing else." Even if he continued pressuring her, she had nothing more to say.

Yan Wushuang asked, "What about her weaknesses? Apart from what you told me last time, does Han Yuxi have any other weaknesses?" In truth, Yan Wushuang knew that Han Yuxi's greatest weakness was her two daughters.

Yuchen shook her head. "There are none." Fearing that Yan Wushuang would not believe her, she emphasised, "There truly are none. Although Yuxi appears easy to speak with³, she is actually extremely wary of other people."

Upon hearing that Yuxi was extremely guarded around others, Yan Wushuang asked, "Why is she so wary of people? Is there some hidden reason behind it?" When Yuchen remained silent again, Yan Wushuang ordered coldly, "Speak."

Yuchen bit her lip. "When Yuxi was four years old, she contracted smallpox. An accident occurred at the time, and she nearly died. After that, her temperament began to change." It was normal for someone's personality to change after experiencing such a major upheaval. That was also why no one suspected anything when Yuxi seemed to have become an entirely different person.

Yan Wushuang was determined to break the clay pot and question all the way to the bottom⁴. He had a feeling that this accident must have profoundly affected Han Yuxi.

Yuchen felt deeply embarrassed, but she still answered, "At the time, my twin elder brother also contracted smallpox. My grandmother summoned the physician who was treating Yuxi and ordered him to treat my brother instead." After speaking, Yuchen lowered her head. This was the first time she had ever spoken about the incident aloud.

At that moment, Yuchen could not help thinking that perhaps this incident was the reason why, regardless of how kindly she treated Yuxi or how often she attempted to show goodwill, Yuxi had never been willing to share her heart with her.

Yan Wushuang gave a soft laugh. "What did Han Jingyan do to Han Yuxi that caused her to sever all relations with the Third Branch after she was adopted into another branch of the family?"

Yuchen did not provide many details. "My father never liked Yuxi, and our stepmother continually created tension between them. Eventually, the two of them became almost like enemies."

Yan Wushuang asked, "Whose idea was it to break off the engagement with the Chen family?" On the surface, the engagement had been cancelled because Qinxin Gongzhu had set her sights on Chen Ran. However, Yan Wushuang believed there must have been more to the matter.

Yuchen told him about Song Guifei's two attempts to assassinate Yuxi. "Yuxi did not want to lose her life over a marriage arrangement, so she pretended to be ill and had Dage cancel the engagement with the Chen family."

Yan Wushuang nodded. That made sense. "What about her maid named Zijin?" It was only because Zijin had become a fifth-rank military officer and acquired such a prominent reputation that she had attracted Yan Wushuang's attention.

Yuchen replied, "That was also a coincidence. My Er Ge was studying under Master Yang when he inadvertently discovered that Zijin possessed extraordinary physical strength, so he taught her some fist techniques. When Yuxi saw that Zijin was interested in martial arts, she arranged for her to train under a female armed escort. Later, thieves entered the Duke's Residence. Zijin wanted to protect Yuxi properly, so she begged Master Yang to accept her as his disciple. That girl remained in the mountains for three full years."

Yan Wushuang asked, "Apart from these things, is there anything else?" He then added, "Should you dare to conceal anything from me and I discover it later, you already know what the consequences will be."

Yuchen had already been scared too many times in recent days, making Yan Wushuang's threat far less effective. She admitted, "There may be a few minor matters that I have overlooked." In fact, there was one matter that Yuchen had deliberately withheld: the words Heshou had spoken to her before her death.

Yan Wushuang knew that Yuchen was telling the truth because everything she had said matched the information gathered by his subordinates; she had merely provided more detail. "From now on, you will be Han Ce Fei⁵ of Yan Wangfu."

Yuchen's face turned pale. "I do not want to become some Ce Fei⁵…" Her husband's corpse and bones were not yet cold⁶; how could she possibly remarry?

Yan Wushuang responded indifferently, "A melon twisted forcibly from the vine will not be sweet⁷. If you are unwilling, I will not force you. Tomorrow, I will send you back to the Han family."

If she were sent back to the Han family, what possible good could await her there? Gritting her teeth, Yuchen stated, "I want to go to Lingshan Temple." Spending the rest of her life accompanied by a solitary lamp and an ancient Buddha⁸ would not be so bad.

With a smile, Yan Wushuang commented, "Han Yuchen, you and Han Jingyan are actually the same kind of person. I do not know whether Han Yuxi is the same as both of you." Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and a mouse's offspring is born knowing how to dig holes.⁹ Whether Han Yuxi was truly such a person could only be determined when she encountered a similar situation.

In fact, Yan Wushuang didn't even have to do much to Han Yuchen. Just a few words were enough to frighten her until her gallbladder burst¹⁰ and make her confess everything. After all, Han Yuchen was a vulnerable woman who had never experienced much wind or waves¹¹. It was understandable that his actions had frightened her so badly. Han Jingyan, however, was a third-rank official, yet merely witnessing the punishments had been enough to make him surrender. Yan Wushuang greatly looked down on him for that.

Yuchen lowered her head and said nothing.

Yan Wushuang did not mind. "I will give you one day to consider it. If you still refuse, you may either return to the Han residence or go to Lingshan Temple the day after tomorrow." After speaking, he turned around and strode out of the room.

P.S. (Author June): I saw some of my dear readers saying that I was blackening¹² Yan Wushuang unfairly, and June feels terribly wronged. O(∩_∩)O~ In truth, I quite like Yan Wushuang.

Footnotes Full List

1. 半吊子 (bàn diàozi) — colloquial slang for someone whose knowledge or skill is incomplete and amateurish.
2. 破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) —to eliminate every means of retreat and commit oneself completely to a course of action.
3. 好说话 (hǎo shuōhuà) — to appear accommodating, agreeable, or unlikely to cause trouble.
4. 打破砂锅问到底 (dǎ pò shāguō wèn dàodǐ) — to pursue a question relentlessly until every detail is known.
5. 侧 (cè) — side, 妃 (fēi) — consort
6. 尸骨未寒 (shīgǔ wèihán) — the person has died only recently, making remarriage or moving on seem indecently premature.
7. 强扭的瓜不甜 (qiǎng niǔ de guā bù tián) — a proverb meaning that affection, marriage, or consent obtained by force will not bring happiness.
8. 青灯古佛 (qīngdēng gǔfó) — 'a blue-green lamp and an ancient Buddha'; a figurative expression for a secluded religious life devoted to Buddhist practice.
9. 龙生龙，凤生凤，老鼠的儿子生下来就会打洞 (lóng shēng lóng, fèng shēng fèng, lǎoshǔ de érzi shēng xiàlái jiù huì dǎ dòng) — a proverb meaning that children tend to inherit the nature, abilities, or character of their parents.
10. 吓破了胆 (xià pò le dǎn) — to terrify someone completely.
11. 没经过什么风浪 (méi jīngguò shénme fēnglàng) — to have lived a sheltered life without undergoing serious hardships.
12. 黑 (hēi) — internet slang meaning to portray, criticise, or malign someone in an unfairly negative manner.

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