The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0525 Win Over (1)

This chapter hasnʼt been edited yet.

The Emperorʼs passing did not affect the common people, apart from the restrictions on wearing red and green and the marriage ban. However, it had a significant effect on Yun Qing and Yuxi.

Yuxi told Yun Qing, ”The Crown Princeʼs ascension to the throne will surely lead to a power struggle.” The power struggle in the capital had nothing to do with them, but Yuxi didnʼt want the Crown Prince to succeed. If he succeeded, she would not be far from death.

Yun Qing replied, ”Itʼs not that easy. Even if the Crown Prince wants to seize power, it will take at least three to five years. Right now, Chen Yu is the key. If Chen Yu successfully suppresses the bandits, we will be in a difficult position.” Chen Yu was also very capable. During this time, he selected three thousand men from six weisuo and formed a new army, which he directly named the ʼBandit Suppression Armyʼ. The soldiers Chen Yu brought with him were tasked with training these men. In just half a month, they underwent a remarkable transformation. Yun Qing would have admired him if they had not been on opposing sides. However, since they were enemies, Chen Yuʼs competence was not good for Yun Qing.

Yuxi had a different perspective. She said, ”Chen Yu is indeed very capable, but with Ji Xuan and others around, it wonʼt be easy for him to suppress the bandits successfully. Herui, my concern now is what will happen if you are summoned to the capital after the Crown Prince ascends the throne?” If Yun Qing had to go to the capital, there was a good chance he wouldnʼt return.

Yun Qing was not worried about this as he responded, ”No need to worry. Weʼre going to war in the spring anyway. Even if I receive an Imperial Decree to go to the capital, I can refuse on the grounds that I need to prepare for war.”

Yuxi nodded, agreeing that refusing to go to the capital on the pretext of preparing for war was a reasonable excuse. ”Herui, I think it would be a good idea to store more food.” Apart from remembering the devastating floods in Jiangnan that claimed countless lives in the year she died, Yuxi didnʼt have many other memories. However, she strongly felt that something would go wrong this year. Even though Yun Qing had money now, Yuxi thought it would be wise to store more food.

Yun Qing didnʼt quite agree with Yuxiʼs suggestion. ”The Imperial Court still hasnʼt allocated any money to buy food. We donʼt have the funds.” He didnʼt want to use the hidden money. It would be too risky to expose it, especially in turbulent times. This money was crucial for the well-being of his entire family and those around him, so Yun Qing was very cautious.

Yuxi suggested, ”Letʼs just take out 200,000 taels of silver. After all, there are no markings on those gold and silver, so it shouldnʼt cause us any problems.” Seeing that Yun Qing still disagreed, Yuxi added, ”If not, we can sell the loot hidden in the secret passage. No matter how much money we get, we can exchange it for food.” There were more than ten boxes of gold and silver, which should be worth more than two hundred thousand taels of silver in any case.

Yun Qing didnʼt mind exchanging the hidden loot for food, but he had a concern: ”If we make such a big move to buy food, it will definitely alert the Imperial Court.” It wouldnʼt be good if the Imperial Court suspected them of rebellion.

Yuxi smiled. ”No, it wonʼt.”

Seeing Yuxi so confident, Yun Qing looked puzzled and asked, ”How can you be so sure?” There must be a reason she said that.

Yuxi replied, ”At the end of last year, I wrote a letter to my Dage, expressing my speculation that there might be a drought this year. If the Imperial Court finds out we are buying food, they will surely think we are preparing for the coming drought.”

Yun Qing was startled and hastily asked, ”What did you say? A drought? How did you guess that?” They would have to buy even more food if that were the case. Whenever there was a major disaster, there was always a food shortage. Soldiers would have to fight on empty stomachs, and the people of Yu City would have nothing to eat but wild vegetables and tree roots.

Yuxi chuckled and said, ”I suspect that my secret communications with my Dage have been deciphered, so I deliberately used this method to test the waters.”

Yun Qing was slightly annoyed as he said, ”Such things cannot be predicted at will. If there is indeed a drought this year, do you think the Crown Prince will let you go?”

Yuxi didnʼt care and replied, ”No matter what I do, the Crown Prince will never let me go. You have forgotten that he has long been planning to kill me.” If she hadnʼt known that the Crown Prince wanted to kill her, she wouldnʼt have resorted to this method.

After a pause, Yuxi continued, ”If the Crown Prince truly knows the secret of my communication with my Dage, he might not kill me right away. It would buy me some time. Besides, we can take advantage of this situation and buy more grain in advance so the Crown Prince wonʼt suspect us of rebellion.” In reality, even if they purchased two hundred thousand taels of silver worth of grain, they could only buy eight or nine hundred thousand dan, which would only be enough to feed their hundred thousand troops for two or three months. How could that be called rebellion? One should know that the most important aspect of rebellion was weapons and equipment; having more food alone was insufficient.

Yun Qingʼs expression turned grim, but he didnʼt reprimand Yuxi. He simply reminded her, ”In the future, you must inform me about such matters first. You must not act on your own.” Yuxiʼs actions were equivalent to gambling with her life, which he would never allow.

Yuxi quickly nodded. ”I wonʼt do it again in the future.” Although she said that, she would still do the same if she were in a similar situation. Because she knew that Yun Qing would never allow her to do anything dangerous.

Yun Qing asked the question that had been on his mind: ”Will there really be a drought this year?”

Yuxi shook her head. ”I just made that up. But itʼs been sunny a lot this winter, so Iʼm worried there might be a pest infestation this year.” She had a vague feeling that something terrible would happen this year, but she wasnʼt sure whether it would be a flood, a drought, or a pest infestation.

Hearing this, Yun Qing said, ”In addition to the things in the secret passage, Iʼll add another hundred thousand taels of silver.” Buying more grain would provide an extra layer of security.

Yuxi said, ”We need to do this as soon as possible, or else the price of grain will rise.” It would definitely increase significantly in two or three months. The price would double if there were a natural disaster or something similar.

Yun Qing suggested, ”Since the weather is good, let Han Ji take some people to Jiangnan.” Yun Qing also knew that Han Ji was very skilled in business, so having him as a steward was somewhat of a waste of talent. Yu City was different from the capital; there were fewer people and less interaction, so the role of a housekeeper was much smaller.

Speaking of Jiangnan, Yuxi remembered something and wondered, ”Isnʼt your Biaodi a descendant of the Jiang family, a prominent clan in Jiangnan? Should Han Ji pay them a visit when he goes there?” Yuxi still remembered Old Madam Jiang very clearly.

Yun Qing fell silent for a moment before answering, ”You can decide on this matter.” He certainly wouldnʼt have taken the initiative to contact the Jiang family if it had been up to him. However, having one more friend meant having one more way to go, especially given his longstanding connection to the Jiang family.

Since the topic of the Jiang family was brought up, Yuxi asked a question that had been on her mind for a while, ”Isnʼt Jiang Hongfu your Biaodi? I remember you had a good relationship then, so why didnʼt you stay in touch?”

Yun Qingʼs expression turned somewhat melancholy as he replied, ”My situation was very dangerous, and I was afraid of implicating him, so I severed the ties.” At the time, his situation was extremely dangerous, and he feared the Song family would use Jiang Hongfu against him, so he took the initiative to cut off contact with him. Since then, Jiang Hongfu had never written to him again.

Yuxi sighed quietly and didnʼt pursue the matter any further.

Meanwhile, back in the capital, Han Jianming was feeling quite troubled. The Crown Prince had extended an olive branch to him. Han Jianming asked Mr Zhao, ”What do you think I should do now?” The Yu family couldnʼt be relied upon. However, if he were to ally himself with the Crown Prince, well, the one who would soon become the Emperor, it would essentially mean betraying the Yu family. In that case, the Yu family definitely wouldnʼt treat them kindly. On the other hand, if he didnʼt accept the Crown Princeʼs olive branch, the Crown Prince wouldnʼt be able to deal with Grand Chancellor Yu and Song Guojiu, but it would be very easy for him to deal with Han Jianming. So, Han Jianming was caught in a dilemma.

Mr Zhao had no better solution either. The Crown Prince would ascend the throne in a few days, and it wouldnʼt be wise to offend the future Emperor.

Han Jianming felt somewhat regretful. It would be great if Yuxi were here. Who knows, that girl might have some good suggestions!

Han Gao entered and reported, ”My Lord, my Lady has fainted.”

Upon hearing the news, Han Jianming rushed over. Although Ye Shi couldnʼt give him a son and had many faults, after all these years of marriage, they still had some affection for each other. He didnʼt want anything to happen to Ye Shi.

Han Gao followed close behind, explaining as they walked, ”My Lord, Madam Ye has passed away. My Lady fainted when she heard the news.” When he had left his sentence unfinished earlier, it had caused real anxiety for the listener.

When Han Jianming knew that there was no problem with Ye Shiʼs health, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When they arrived at the Main Courtyard, Han Jianming saw Ye Shi dressed in white with tears streaming down her face. He stated, ”After I change my clothes, Iʼll go to the Ye family.” Since his mother-in-law had passed away, he had to hurry to attend her funeral.

Ye Shi cried sorrowfully, ”My Lord, I didnʼt even get to see her for one last time.” Madam Ye had been burdened with grief in recent years, and her health had deteriorated. Qiu Shi was a kind-hearted person and didnʼt restrict her daughter-in-law from visiting her family, unlike other mothers-in-law. On the contrary, knowing Madam Yeʼs poor health, she often allowed Ye Shi to visit her parentsʼ home. Madam Yeʼs passing came too suddenly this time, and no one had anticipated it.

Han Jianming supported Ye Shi and said, ”Letʼs go and inform Mother.”

How could Qiu Shi not know about such a big thing? When she saw Ye Shi crying as if her tears would never stop, she lovingly said, ”Hurry and go, see if you can lend a hand. Donʼt worry about the residence; your Dimei and I are here!” If it were a happy occasion, they wouldnʼt be able to help, as they were still in mourning. But now that it was a funeral, there was no such taboo.

After Han Jianming and his wife left, Qiu Shi commented, ”This is truly a sin! If it werenʼt for Second Master Yeʼs disobedience and lack of filial piety, Madam Ye wouldnʼt have departed so early.” Madam Ye wasnʼt very old; she was just three years older than her and not yet fifty. Before Second Master Ye broke off the engagement, her health had always been excellent. However, Madam Yeʼs health began to deteriorate after Second Master Ye insisted on marrying Ke Minjie shortly after ending his engagement to Lu Xiu. It was fair to say that Second Master Ye was half responsible for Madam Yeʼs death.

Mama Li said, ”The Old Lady is still the most fortunate. Both the Eldest Master and the Second Master have shown extreme filial piety towards the Old Lady. Who knows how many people in the capital have been saying that the Old Lady has raised her sons well?”

A smile appeared on Qiu Shiʼs face as she replied, ”That is not true. Yuxi is also extremely filial.” She knew very well that her two sons had always been filial, but they werenʼt as considerate as they were now. Yuxi deserved half the credit for this.

きつねʼs OFF-TRACK CORNER

Thereʼs a new Chinese drama, The Double, based on the novel Marriage of the Di Daughter (嫡嫁千金) by Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客). It seemed interesting, as it could keep me hooked until episode 20. I took a break until this episode because I wanted to finish the novel first. Not many C-dramas have been able to keep me hooked like this, except for RESET, a 2022 C-drama.

Aiya~ this two!

P/S: Doesnʼt the actor who played Shen Yunrong (00:22) look like Zhu Yilong?