Three days later, Yan Wushuang received word that Zhou Yan had been captured. Meng Nian looked at Yan Wushuang and said, " Wangye ...
Three days later, Yan Wushuang received word that Zhou Yan had been captured.
Meng Nian looked at Yan Wushuang and said, "Wangye, neither Zhou Xuan nor the former Empress Yu Xiyu died. However, we haven't been able to trace their whereabouts." Yu Xiyu had gone up Ling Mountain, where she died of illness towards the end of the twelfth lunar month. As this occurred around New Year, her funeral was very simple.
The only people Yan Wushuang detested were Zhou Chaixuan and the Song family. He had never paid much attention to Yu Xiyu. Therefore, her death did not attract his attention.
A flash of hostility crossed Yan Wushuang's eyes. "Send word over there. If they still can't trace Zhou Xuan's whereabouts, tell them to see me carrying their heads1."
Meng Nian nodded. "Yes." No one understood their master's hatred for Zhou Chaixuan better than those who served closest to him.
Yan Wushuang went to the rear courtyard and looked at Yuchen, who was observing a vegetarian Buddhist life and reciting prayers. He asked, "Did you know that Yu Xiyu faked her death and escaped?"
Seeing Yuchen's astonished expression, Yan Wushuang knew that she had not known. "Not only did Yu Xiyu survive, but Zhou Xuan survived as well. Zhou Chaijin's alliance with me back then was probably made under Zhou Chaixuan's instructions. I suppose you knew nothing about that either." Yan Wushuang was in a foul mood. He had thought he had taken his revenge, only to discover that his enemy had played him for a fool. Fortunately, he had acted quickly. Otherwise, Zhou Chaijin would have infiltrated the Liaodong Army, and the person who would eventually have died without even a burial place would have been him.
Yuchen's hand, which was tightly gripping her prayer beads, suddenly trembled.
Yan Wushuang chuckled softly. "I always thought Zhou Chaijin truly cherished and respected you. Looking at things now, I suppose it amounted to nothing more than this." These members of the Imperial family were masters at putting on an act. They had even managed to deceive him. He had to admit that he had underestimated them far too much.
A ball of fire burned in Yuchen's heart2. "Those were all confidential matters. There was no reason for me to know them." Back when Zhou Chaijin handed Crown Prince Zhou Xuan over to Yan Wushuang, Yuchen had actually been suspicious. Given Zhou Chaijin's personality, he should never have betrayed his own nephew. Besides, there had also been something not quite right about that child. However, Yuchen had buried all her suspicions deep in her heart3 and never let anyone know what she thought.
Yan Wushuang gave a derisive chuckle and suddenly asked Yuchen a question. "Han Yuxi married Yun Qing, who is wholeheartedly devoted to her. Have you ever envied her?"
Yuchen replied, "She has her life, and I have mine. There's nothing for me to envy." Everyone had their own fate. Some things could not be obtained no matter how much one envied another person.
However, Yan Wushuang responded somewhat wistfully, "Actually, I envy Yun Qing. Through errors made by the yin and yang messengers4, he actually ended up marrying Han Yuxi." For Yun Qing to have married a woman like her, one had to admit that his luck was exceptionally good—at least better than Yan Wushuang's.
Yuchen remembered what Yan Wushuang had asked her earlier, and a crazy idea suddenly popped into her head. "Have you taken a fancy to Yuxi?"
Yan Wushuang laughed. "It's not unreasonable for you to think that way." But he had never even met Han Yuxi, so how could he have possibly fallen for her? Then again, that was not entirely correct. He was, in fact, very interested in Han Yuxi.
Yuchen's face flushed red as she cursed, "You're shameless!" To actually covet a married woman — could anyone possibly be more shameless than that?
The smile on Yan Wushuang's face did not fade. "I'll come over tonight. Wash yourself and wait for me." The words were extremely suggestive, yet, spoken by Yan Wushuang, they sounded utterly calm.
After saying this, Yan Wushuang looked at the Buddhist prayer beads in Yuchen's hand. "Throw all of those things away as well."
Upon returning to the front courtyard, Yan Wushuang said to Meng Nian, "Just what kind of freaking luck did Yun Qing stumble into to actually end up marrying Han Yuxi?" Yan Wushuang did not think much of Yun Qing. In his eyes, Yun Qing was nothing more than a brainless fool. The military achievements that Yun Qing had earned on the battlefield were won by staking his life5, yet no matter how great his accomplishments were, they could not secure him a smooth promotion. Once his reputation spread, he attracted the Song family's attention, and they became determined to eliminate him at all costs. Later, Qin Zhao rose to power and repeatedly tried to harm him, but because Yun Qing felt indebted to Marshal Qin, he continually yielded to Qin Zhao. Yun Qing was indeed remarkably lucky to have survived. Otherwise, grass would long since have covered his grave6. Sometimes even Yan Wushuang felt that fate favoured Yun Qing far too much.
Meng Nian did not think deeply about it. "Han Shi is wildly ambitious. Marrying a woman like that might not necessarily be a good thing." Meng Nian was also a conventional man who could not tolerate having a woman riding over his head7.
Yan Wushuang raised his head and looked at the sky. "Your thinking is very narrow-minded." And it certainly was. So what if she was a woman? As long as someone was capable, that person could still be put to good use. Moreover, without Han Shi's assistance, Yun Qing could never have made it this far.
Meng Nian fell silent.
Yan Wushuang suddenly laughed. "Do you know what Han Ce Fei8 said just now? She said I had taken a fancy to Han Yuxi." Han Yuchen's mind seemed incapable of thinking about anything except lewd and deeds of the rooster-crowing, dog-stealing sort9.
Meng Nian was Yan Wushuang's trusted confidant and had served beside him for many years, so he knew Yan Wushuang's temperament quite well. "Wangye greatly admires Pingxi Wangfei!" As for being romantically attracted to her, that was absolutely impossible. Wangye had never even met Han Yuxi, so how could he possibly have fallen for her? The reason he paid Han Yuxi so much attention was simply that he regarded her as an opponent. Being someone whom his Wangye considered worthy of being an opponent was, in itself, a kind of distinction.
Yan Wushuang said, "I've heard that Han Yuxi is rounded and smooth like pearl and jade10, with the appearance of someone blessed with good fortune. I wonder if that's true?" Rounded and smooth like pearl and jade—if Yuxi heard someone describe her in those terms, she would probably spit out a mouthful of water in shock.
Meng Nian said, "According to the information we've gathered, Han Shi is quite beautiful." But if that was all she had going for her, how could she possibly keep Yun Qing firmly in the palm of her hand?
Understanding what Meng Nian was thinking, Yan Wushuang snorted disdainfully. "Han Shi has Yun Qing completely under her thumb, not because of her face, but because of this." With that, he pointed to his head. He meant that she relied on her brains rather than her looks.
Meng Nian remarked, "If Han Shi were an ugly eight-monster11, being clever wouldn't help her either." Looks were the foundation. If a woman were so ugly that men recoiled and kept their distance, then no matter how intelligent Han Yuxi was, her intelligence would be completely wasted.
In truth, the reports they had gathered were inconsistent. Some said Yuxi was exceptionally beautiful, some said she was merely ordinary-looking, and others said she had the face of someone blessed with good fortune. There were many different accounts.
Yan Wushuang merely smiled. "Tell me, do you think there really are men who can remain completely unperturbed with a peerless beauty in their arms?" He found this a very interesting question and wanted to test it for himself.
Meng Nian immediately understood what Yan Wushuang had in mind. "Wangye, the beauty scheme12 won't work on Pingxi Wang." It was not as though they had never tried it before; every attempt had ended in failure.
Yan Wushuang chuckled. "The beauty scheme12 isn't useless. It hasn't been used properly. If used well, it can be more powerful than thousands upon thousands of troops13." If Yun Qing and Han Yuxi could be made to turn against each other and become enemies, then the Northwest could collapse without even being attacked. Therefore, to defeat an enemy, one must make them disintegrate from within.
Meng Nian nodded. "If Yun Qing and Han Yuxi were to turn against each other, they would be easy to deal with. But accomplishing that would be difficult." Of the husband and wife, one excelled at warfare while the other excelled at strategy. Together, they were formidable. However, once a rift formed between them, they would be much easier to deal with. But creating such a rift between them was extraordinarily difficult.
Yan Wushuang smiled. "There's no hurry about that." The Northwest could be dealt with last. For now, they first needed to resolve the immediate problems before them.
That evening, Yan Wushuang had Yuchen brought to the courtyard where he was staying. When he entered the bedroom and saw her, her face flushed and her body clad in nothing but a light layer of gauze, even Yan Wushuang, who possessed extraordinary self-control, could not stop his throat from bobbing.
The next morning, Momo Gui held the deathly pale Yuchen in her arms and burst into loud sobs. "Niangniang14, if your heart hurts, then cry it out!" Yuchen would feel at least a little better after crying.
Yuchen murmured, "Prepare some water. I want to bathe."
Yuchen washed herself twice, ate breakfast, and then climbed into bed to sleep. Throughout the entire process, she did not utter another word. Momo Gui was afraid that Yuchen might fall into such despair that she would do something drastic, so she did not leave her side for a moment.
After staying at the Yun residence for nearly a month, Fu Tianlei's residence was finally ready, and he prepared to move his entire family there.
Chen Shi came to bid farewell to Yuxi. During their stay, Yuxi had entertained them according to the highest standard. Even when Chen Shi asked Yuxi to let Momo Quan help nurse her back to health, Yuxi had not refused. Of course, Momo Quan merely prepared the medicine according to the physician's instructions and then handed it to Chen Shi to decoct herself, so the process did not take much time. Otherwise, Momo Quan would definitely have refused.
With a grateful expression, Chen Shi offered her thanks: "Thank you so much for taking care of me during this period, Wangfei. If it weren't for you, I would probably still be confined to bed!" She could now manage to walk nearly half a circuit around the garden by herself.
Yuxi smiled. "General Fu is Wangye's closest friend. This small matter is nothing worth mentioning." What she meant was that she had done all this for Fu Tianlei's sake. Otherwise, she would not have cared what happened to Chen Shi.
Chen Shi's expression stiffened.
Before the two of them had exchanged more than a few words, Meiyun came over to report, "Wangfei, Tan Daren15 and An Daren15 are waiting in the outer courtyard."
Yuxi rose and said to Chen Shi, "My apologies. I need to take care of something first." She no longer had any desire to exchange polite pleasantries with Chen Shi. Otherwise, Chen Shi would undoubtedly borrow a pole and climb upward on it16. Yuxi had already run out of patience with her.
After the Fu family had moved into their own residence, Chen Shi had someone deliver an invitation to Fu Qingluo. Unfortunately, Fu Qingluo declined on the grounds that she needed to safeguard her pregnancy.
Chen Shi's expression turned ugly. "Who knows what exactly Han Shi said to Qingluo?" She recalled that Qingluo had still been perfectly cordial when she first came to visit her, but afterwards, she never came to see her again. Chen Shi later learned that after visiting her, Fu Qingluo had gone to see Han Shi as well.
Mama He said, "Madam, your most pressing priority is to recover your health. Everything else can wait until you've recovered." No one understood better than Mama He how Chen Shi had treated Fu Qingluo.
Chen Shi shook her head. "No. I can't let Qingluo misunderstand me. Once we've settled in, I need to visit her personally." She could not allow Qingluo to become estranged from her.
Mama He tried to persuade her. "Madam, the General still hasn't forgiven Gunainai17, nor has he accepted her marriage. If you go to the Yang residence, the General will be displeased."
Chen Shi pointed out, "It's not as though you don't know the General's temperament. He has always doted on Qingluo more than anyone. The only reason he hasn't forgiven her yet is that he's still angry with her. Once he has calmed down, the siblings will naturally reconcile, and everything will go back to how it was before." After all, they had been husband and wife, sharing the same bed and pillow, for so many years. How could she possibly not understand Fu Tianlei's temperament?
Mama He asked, "Even if you want to visit al still hasn't forgiven Gunainai17, shouldn't you at least tell the General first?" Although Mama He did not know what Yuxi had said to Fu Qingluo, judging from Fu Qingluo's behaviour, it would be difficult for the two sisters-in-law to reconcile and return to how they were before.
Footnotes Full List
- 提头来见 (tí tóu lái jiàn) — come to see me carrying their heads; face execution if they fail
- 心里头一团的火 (xīn li tou yì tuán de huǒ) — a ball of fire in one's heart; intense anger
- 埋藏在心中 (mái cáng zài xīn zhōng) — bury something in one's heart; keep one's doubts or feelings hidden
- 阴差阳错 (yīn chā yáng cuò) — errors made by the yin and yang messengers; an unexpected coincidence or a strange twist of fate
- 拿命博来的 (ná mìng bó lái de) — won by staking one's life; obtained at the risk of one's life
- 坟前早就长满了草 (fén qián zǎo jiù zhǎng mǎn le cǎo) — the grass would long since have covered his grave; he would have been dead for a long time
- 骑在头上 (qí zài tóu shàng) — ride on someone's head; dominate or lord it over someone
- 侧 (cè) — side, 妃 (fēi) — consort
- 鸡鸣狗盗之事 (jī míng gǒu dào zhī shì) — deeds of crowing like a rooster and stealing like a dog; petty, underhanded, or disreputable schemes
- 珠圆玉润 (zhū yuán yù rùn) — pearls round and jade smooth; plump, smooth-skinned, graceful and healthy-looking
- 丑八怪 (chǒu bā guài) — ugly eight-monster; an extremely ugly person, a colloquial insult
- 美人计 (měi rén jì) — beauty scheme; using an attractive woman to seduce, manipulate, or compromise a target
- 千军万马 (qiān jūn wàn mǎ) — a thousand armies and ten thousand horses; an immense military force
- 娘娘 (niáng niáng) — A respectful form of address used for empresses and imperial consorts in the palace.
- 大人 (dàren) — a title of respect toward superiors
- 借杆子往上爬 (jiè gān zi wǎng shàng pá) — borrow a pole and climb upward on it; exploit an opening or concession to press for more
- 姑奶奶 (gūnǎinai) — (respectful form of address for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter
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