News of what had happened in the northwest reached the capital five days later. Had it not been for the strict controls at the northwest...
News of what had happened in the northwest reached the capital five days later. Had it not been for the strict controls at the northwest's checkpoints, Yan Wushuang would have received the news within three days at most.
Yan Wushuang set down the intelligence report and remarked with a hint of amazement, "Han Yuxi truly has no ordinary luck!" She had discovered the danger before it even began.
Meng Nian frowned and asked, "Wangye, is Monk Ci'en one of our men?" How had he never heard of someone like this before?
Yan Wushuang shook his head and replied, "No." If the monk were one of his men, he couldn't possibly have been discovered so quickly. He was far too useless.
Meng Nian said, "Now that Han Shi is pregnant, we could use that to our advantage." Han Shi could handle government affairs now without anything else distracting her mind because the Pingxi Wangfu was peaceful. However, if things became lively and troublesome, Meng Nian believed that Han Shi would no longer have the energy to devote to government affairs.
Yan Wushuang naturally understood what Meng Nian meant and immediately shook his head. "You should know about Empress Dugu🔗 of the Sui dynasty, shouldn't you? Han Yuxi wields even greater authority than Dugu Shi did." Han Yuxi held power in her own right. Even if Yun Qing took a beautiful woman into his bed, it would pose no threat to her position.
Meng Nian responded, "Han Shi is excessively jealous. I remember Wangye once said that if Pingxi Wang took a concubine, it would certainly cause a rift between him and Han Shi. That would be an opportunity we could exploit. Furthermore, Han Shi has no son. That is her fatal weakness."
Yan Wushuang glanced at Meng Nian and responded, "That was one time; this is another. As long as Yun Qing has his wits about him, he would never jeopardise his relationship with Han Shi for another woman. To Yun Qing, Han Yuxi is more than just his wife. She is also someone he can entrust his back to." Someone Yun Qing could entrust his back to was someone he could entrust his very life to, someone he trusted absolutely.
No one knew, not even Yan Wushuang himself, that he was jealous of Yun Qing. He envied Yun Qing for having such extraordinary luck, for being able to marry a woman who was intelligent, capable and devoted to him with one heart and one mind2.
Meng Nian murmured, "Wangye, the thing we feared most has happened after all." Yun Qing and Han Yuxi had already grown so powerful that even they had to regard the couple with apprehension.
Yan Wushuang, however, was not worried. He said calmly, "Haven't you noticed that Han Shi has become increasingly assertive? By contrast, Yun Qing hasn't changed very much." It wasn't that Yun Qing hadn't changed at all, but compared with Yuxi, his changes were much smaller.
After chuckling twice, Yan Wushuang continued, "Human desires are endless and limitless. Now that Han Shi has obtained power, she will never be willing to relinquish it. She may even want more and more. By then, they will come into conflict without anyone needing to sow discord between them." Previously, he had indeed considered employing a beauty trap3. However, after thinking it through, he realised a beauty trap3 would be of little use against Yun Qing. Instead, it would only strengthen Han Yuxi's devotion to him. He certainly had no intention of becoming a stepping board4 that strengthened their relationship!
Meng Nian felt rather frustrated. "Wangye, none of the schemes we've used against Han Shi over the years have ever succeeded." Threats, inducements, assassination — nothing had worked. No matter what schemes were devised, Han Yuxi always managed to evade them.
Yan Wushuang smiled. "Previously, that old bald donkey5, Liaotong, claimed that Han Yuxi was fated to carry misfortune6. But from what I can see, this woman's destiny is precisely the opposite of what that old bald donkey5 claimed. She's someone with extraordinarily good fortune." If her luck had been poor, she would never have survived to this day. She would have become a pile of white bones7 long ago.
Meng Nian also felt that Yan Wushuang had a point. "Wangye, what should we do now? Are we simply going to just listen to it and let it be8?"
Instead of answering, Yan Wushuang asked, "What do you think?"
If Meng Nian could ever guess what Yan Wushuang was thinking, the sun would have to rise in the west9. Meng Nian smiled and replied, "I'm certain Wangye already has a plan in mind." Meng Nian held Yan Wushuang in a kind of blind admiration10.
That afternoon, Yan Wushuang received some good news. Yuchen was pregnant and was already nearly two months along. He instructed his captain of the guards, "Tell Tang Bo to send some nourishing medicinal herbs to Han Ce Fei11." Unlike Yun Qing, Yan Wushuang had no shortage of children. Leaving aside the two children he had hidden away in Liaodong, the pair of sister flowers12 alone had already borne him two sons.
The captain of the guards nodded. "Very well."
When Yuchen learnt that she was pregnant, she was completely stunned. How could this be possible? Hadn't she been using contraception all along? Truth be told, Yuchen would much rather have taken a decoction to terminate the pregnancy. The problem was that she could not obtain such a preparation. Consequently, for the past year, Yuchen had only been able to rely on folk remedies to prevent pregnancy. Unfortunately, the remedies had failed this time.
Momo Gui held Yuchen's hand and comforted Yuchen, "Niangniang13, whether this child is a boy or a girl, the child will be someone Niangniang13 can rely upon. Niangniang13, you should be happy!" At the very least, Momo Gui herself had been delighted when she learnt of Yuchen's pregnancy.
During this period, Yuchen's emotions rose and fell dramatically, and her little monthly days14 had been rather irregular. So when her period was delayed by more than half a month, no one paid much attention. Unexpectedly, she had actually conceived.
Looking at Momo Gui's radiant, smiling face, Yuchen had a sudden thought: "Did you deliberately arrange this pregnancy?" She knew Momo Gui had always wanted her to have another child, but Yuchen herself had been unwilling. Everything had been fine before, yet this time she had unexpectedly fallen pregnant. She could not help but feel suspicious.
Momo Gui's smile froze immediately. After a long moment, she said with a deeply hurt expression, "Niangniang13, I have served by your side for twenty years, and I have never obeyed you openly while defying you in secret15. For Niangniang13 to say such a thing is truly gouging out this old servant's heart16!" She did have her own private wishes, but she had never betrayed Yuchen. Although she desperately wanted Yuchen to conceive and give birth to a child, she had never forced the matter when Yuchen was unwilling.
Seeing this, Yuchen gave a rather bleak smile. "Some madness must have possessed me. How could it possibly have been Momo! Perhaps this is simply fate!" Although Momo Gui had her faults, she had always been loyal, with an unwavering heart.
Momo Gui whispered, "Niangniang13, the most important thing for you now is to protect the pregnancy. Don't think about anything else. Losing the previous child has already damaged your vital essence. If anything three-long-and-two-short117 happens to this child as well, it may truly be very difficult for you to have another child in the future."
Yuchen's expression was dark and impossible to fathom. Even now, she still hadn't decided whether she wanted to keep this child. Not only would keeping the child humiliate her, but it would also cause Yan-er to have troubling thoughts. Yet if she aborted the child and angered Yan Wushuang, the consequences would be more than she could bear. Lost in thought, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
In the evening, Yan Wushuang came to visit Yuchen. At that moment, she was still asleep.
Momo Gui explained from the side, "Wangye, pregnant women tend to be rather sleepy." Yuchen still couldn't put the past behind her, but Momo Gui had long recognised the reality of their situation. If Yuchen refused to compromise and clung to Yan Wushuang, she would ultimately be the one to endure hardship and suffering.
Yan Wushuang gave a brief acknowledgement. "Take good care of her. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally accountable." With that, he turned and left.
After seeing Yan Wushuang off, Momo Gui returned to the room. Looking at Yuchen, who was still frowning even in her sleep, Momo Gui sighed and murmured, "How can there be a man with such a heart and intestines made of iron and stone18?" Her mistress was extraordinarily beautiful and talented, yet Yan Wushuang treated her as though she were invisible. Otherwise, her mistress's life would not have been so difficult.
On his way back, Yan Wushuang encountered Tang Bo.
Tang Bo asked, "Wangye, are you really going to let Han Ce Fei11 give birth to this child?" In Tang Bo's view, it was best not to keep the child. No matter how beautiful Han Yuchen was, the fact remained that she had been married before and had borne children. Simply put, Tang Bo looked down on Yuchen because she was no longer chaste and believed she was unworthy of bearing Yan Wushuang's child.
Yan Wushuang smiled. "I still have a use for Han Ce Fei11. And once she bears me a child, I can be certain that Han Ce Fei11 will be wholeheartedly devoted to me." How could someone as intelligent as Yan Wushuang not know that Yuchen had absolutely no place for him in her heart? However, he did not care. He had neither the time nor the energy to get tangled up in all that talk of love and romance.
The corners of Tang Bo's mouth twitched as he said, "Wangye, the Emperor is suffering from a mysterious illness, and no one can determine its cause. We can't just let this drag on indefinitely." Although the Emperor was merely a puppet19, having that puppet around saved them a great deal of trouble.
Yan Wushuang commented, "Even if Zhou Jing dies, isn't Zhou Yan still around? That boy is relatively obedient. If I tell him to go east, he would never dare to go west20."
Tang Bo, however, disagreed. "Those are merely outward appearances. How could children of the Imperial Family ever be genuinely obedient and docile? Even if they appear that way, it's all an act." These imperial princes and royal descendants were each better at pretending than the last, and each more ruthless than the one before. Therefore, Tang Bo would never feel at ease unless Yan Wushuang took the Emperor's place for himself.
Yan Wushuang smiled. "The time hasn't come yet. Besides, that boy is still young. There's no need for you to worry." If he were to rise to the throne now, he would certainly provoke the old, sour Confucian scholars21 into condemning him with words and attacking him with their writing brushes22. Although he did not care about their criticism, dealing with it would be troublesome.
While they were still talking, Guo Zhong suddenly ran toward them. He reported to Yan Wushuang, "Wangye, something terrible has happened! Assassins attacked General Qiu on his way to the Yan Wangfu."
Yan Wushuang's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "How is General Qiu now? Has he been injured?" Yan Wushuang had great affection for this childhood companion he had grown up with.
Guo Zhong replied hurriedly, "General Qiu is still unconscious and has not regained consciousness. We don't know whether his life is in danger." If anything unexpected happened to Qiu Dashan, it would be a huge loss for them.
Upon hearing this, Yan Wushuang immediately asked, "Where is he? Where is he now?" When he learned that they had already carried Qiu Dashan to the main entrance, he hurried outside.
A physician arrived and stopped Qiu Dashan's bleeding. After applying fresh medicine and properly bandaging his wounds, he finally said, "Although General Qiu suffered two sword wounds, neither struck a vital area, so his life is not in danger. However..."
Guo Zhong grew anxious and asked, "However, what?"
The physician looked at the unconscious Qiu Dashan and stated, "The wound on General Qiu's thigh has injured his sinews. It won't affect his ability to walk, but he may no longer be able to put much weight on that leg." This outcome wouldn't have affected Qiu Dashan much if he had been a frail, delicate scholar. But he was a man who commanded troops. If he couldn't put any weight on his leg, how could he lead soldiers into battle in the future?
Sensing that everyone was looking at him unfavourably, the physician hurriedly added, "I am not particularly skilled in treating bone and joint injuries. I've heard that Imperial Physician Hong of the Imperial Medical Institute is highly proficient in this field. If he could examine and treat General Qiu, perhaps his leg could still be saved."
Yan Wushuang immediately sent someone to summon Imperial Physician Hong.
Footnotes Full List
- 一心一意 (yī xīn yī yì) — one heart and one intention; wholeheartedly devoted, with undivided affection and loyalty
- 踏板 (tà bǎn) — a board used as a step; something that inadvertently helps another person achieve a goal
- 命中带衰 (mìng zhōng dài shuāi) — carry ill fortune in one's destiny; be destined to suffer or bring bad luck
- 一堆白骨 (yī duī bái gǔ) — a heap of white bones; someone who has been dead for a long time
- 听之任之 (tīng zhī rèn zhī) — listen to it and let it be; allow events to unfold without taking action or intervening
- 盲目崇拜 (máng mù chóng bài) — blind worship; unquestioning admiration or devotion without critical judgement
- 小日子 (xiǎo rìzi) — little days; a colloquial euphemism for menstruation
- 挖老奴的心 (wā lǎo nú de xīn) — dig out this old servant's heart; cause profound emotional pain through hurtful accusations
- 让他往东,绝对不敢往西 (ràng tā wǎng dōng, juéduì bù gǎn wǎng xī) — tell him to go east, and he absolutely would not dare go west; someone who obeys commands unquestioningly and would not dare act contrary to instructions
- 老酸儒 (lǎo suān rú) — old sour Confucian scholars; a derogatory expression for pedantic, rigid and self-righteous traditional scholars
- 文诛笔伐 (wén zhū bǐ fá) — condemn through writing and attack with the brush; launch fierce written criticism and denunciations
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