The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0592 The Identity Of The Assassin Remains A Mystery

Huo Changqing carried Zaozao to the front yard to find Xu Wu. Yun Qing had to watch over Han Shi and couldnʼt spare any attention for Zaozao, which he could understand. But he couldnʼt bear to leave her in the second courtyard.

Seeing Xu Wu, Huo Changqing asked, ”Have you found out the details about that woman?” Xu Daniu had already told him about the incident.

Xu Wu shook his head. ”Weʼve tried all kinds of torture, but the woman still wonʼt confess. However, we have confirmed that she is not the real Xu Chunni.”

A fierce look flashed in Huo Changqingʼs eyes as he rebuked him, ”An impostor? How could none of you discover that she was an impostor?”

Xu Wu made no excuses to avoid his responsibility. ”This is my negligence!” He had to admit that this woman was too cunning. Although she was an impostor, her figure, appearance, and behaviour at the Yun Residence were precisely as they had heard. Most importantly, the woman spoke in Yu City dialect, which managed to fool him.

Huo Changqing shook his head. He wasnʼt trying to blame Xu Wu right now, but he really wanted to know the identity of this woman who had deceived so many people in the Yun Residence: ”Is there no clue at all?”

Xu Wu said, ”There is a little clue.” He had arrested Blacksmith Xu and his wife. At first, they both pleaded innocent, but after being tortured, Blacksmith Xuʼs wife, Du Shi, confessed.

In fact, the incident happened more than three months ago, right after Xu Chunni was beaten by Wang Dalang. Du Shi fell ill because Blacksmith Xu refused to withdraw from the arranged marriage, and Xu Chunni was also in tears all day long. Then a woman came to the mother and daughter and said that she could marry Wang Dalang instead of Xu Chunni.

Du Shi immediately knew that something was wrong and refused. But Xu Chunni didnʼt want to marry Wang Dalang, so she knelt in front of Du Shi and begged her to agree. Xu Chunniʼs idea at the time was very simple. Since someone was willing to take her place and suffer for Wang Dalang, how could she refuse such a good thing? Under Xu Chunniʼs pleading, Du Shi, despite knowing it was inappropriate, agreed for the sake of her daughter.

Huo Changqing asked, ”In other words, this woman stayed with the Xu family for more than three months, and no one discovered anything wrong during those periods?”

Xu Wu nodded. ”No one noticed. Xu Chunni was a reserved person who rarely went out. She had to take care of the sick Du Shi and handle household chores, so she hardly interacted with outsiders. This might be why that woman chose to impersonate Xu Chunni.” Reserved and timid, not good at speaking, and with little interaction with the outside world, the chances of being recognised as an impostor were much lower.

Huo Changqing agreed with this reasoning and asked, ”Didnʼt you say there was a clue? What did Du Shi reveal?”

Xu Wu replied, ”Du Shi said that when the woman first arrived, she spoke with a capital accent. But that alone doesnʼt confirm that she came from the capital.” Learning to speak the Yu City dialect in just over three months—and even adopting a local accent—was no ordinary feat.

Huo Changqing said, ”It seems that Han Jianye was also tricked by her. But thereʼs no way she could have done it alone—she must have had accomplices.” At least in Yu City, there was nothing they couldnʼt investigate if they put their minds to it.

Xu Wu nodded, ”Iʼve already sent people to look into it.”

Huo Changqing said, ”Use this opportunity to root out all the hidden forces in Yu City. Leave none behind.” If they were going to rebel, these people had to be eliminated as well.

Xu Wuʼs expression remained unchanged as he responded, ”Understood.”

Huo Changqing glanced at Zaozao, who was hugging his neck and listening intently. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, ”I heard from Daniu that Zaozaoʼs mother noticed something was off as soon as she saw that woman. Is that true?” Xu Daniuʼs words were usually only half-reliable.

Xu Wu shook his head, ”Iʼve already asked Zijin. She said that Madam only realised something was wrong after she saw the womanʼs appearance.” As for how exactly Madam figured it out, Xu Wu wasnʼt sure—that would have to wait until she woke up.

At the mention of Zijin, Huo Changqingʼs brow furrowed ever so slightly. ”Madam has had several accidents, yet her personal guard remains unscathed.” Such a bodyguard was far from qualified. In his opinion, Zijin should have been replaced a long time ago.

Xu Wu did not speak in Zijinʼs defence because he agreed with Huo Changqingʼs point of view. When a guard sensed danger, his first priority should be to ensure Madamʼs safety, not to deal with the assassin. If everyone had behaved like Zijin, their General would have become a pile of bones by now.

Xu Wu said, ”Zijin grew up with Madam, and their bond is deeper than most. Transferring her away is impossible. However, it would be best to assign two additional female guards to Madam.”

Huo Changqing agreed, ”Send them to her early next year.” The dozen or so trained maids would be more than enough for Han Shi. In truth, Huo Changqing found it puzzling—Yuxi seemed to be a sharp and intelligent woman, yet she had no competent people around her.

After some thought, Xu Wu decided to inform Huo Changqing, ”Yifu, Physician Bai said that this time, Madamʼs body was severely injured, and it would take three to five years to recover. As for the Second Young Miss, she may not survive.” If the child could be raised for three to five years, that would be one thing, but the worst fear was that she might not make it.

Huo Changqing made no comment on this and only said, ”This time, she almost lost her child. I believe she wonʼt dare to be so careless in the future.” The incident was partly the fault of Xu Wu and the others, but Yuxi was also to blame. This wouldnʼt have happened if she hadnʼt worried about Han Jianyeʼs status and kept Hongqi and Hongdou by her side instead.

Xu Wu added, ”Yifu, Han Jianye is still in the courtyard. He refuses to return to the military camp and hasnʼt eaten or slept for days.” Whether Han Jianye ate or not was none of his concern, but if he died in the Generalʼs residence, it would cause a huge problem.

Huo Changqing shook his head, ”Itʼs strange—both Jing Wangfei and your Madam are exceptionally intelligent, yet not a single outstanding descendant has come from the Han family.” At least Han Jianming, though not exceptionally gifted, knew how to make up for his shortcomings and acted on principle. But as for Han Jianye, Huo Changqing didnʼt even bother to comment.

Xu Wu didnʼt know much about the rest of the Han family, but at that moment, he found Han Jianye utterly repulsive. Refusing to eat or drink—if he died, he would only be a burden to others.

Huo Changqing asked, ”Has a message been sent back to the capital?”

Xu Wu nodded, ”Yes, I sent someone on a fast horse to deliver the message yesterday.” Han Ji was a smart man—he understood that while he came from the Han family, he was now a servant of the Yun family. So he approached Xu Wu and suggested that he send a message back to the capital. Although Xu Wu despised Han Jianye, he still respected Old Lady Han and Duke Han, so he accepted Han Jiʼs proposal.

Huo Changqing said, ”Han Ji and the others are indeed useful.” Han Ji, Han Dong, and the others were all talented. Each of them handled their responsibilities flawlessly—otherwise, Madam would have been overwhelmed just by dealing with their familyʼs businesses.

Xu Wu couldnʼt help but say, ”Theyʼre full-blooded brothers, yet the difference between them is so great.” Han Ji and the others were all highly capable and personally trained by Duke Han. Just by looking at these men, one could tell that Duke Han was a man of great ability. As for the Second Master—while he was decent at warfare, his judgement and temperament left much to be desired.

Huo Changqing said, ”A dragon begets nine sons, and each one is different. If he wants to stay, let him stay. Going without food for two or three days wonʼt kill him.” Even within the Yun household, Zaozao and Liuzhi were utterly different from each other.

With Huo Changqingʼs approval, Xu Wu had no further reservations. He mobilised a thousand soldiers from the army and arrested all the spies they had identified in Yu City. As soon as these spies were captured, the interrogations began, and they uncovered even more names.

Huo Changqing scanned the long list of names, his gaze finally settling on one: Zhao Zhuo. ”This Zhao Zhuo—is he Zhao Fengʼs eldest di son, or just someone with the same name?”

Xu Wuʼs expression darkened as he replied, ”Itʼs him—Zhao Fengʼs eldest son, Zhao Zhuo, the Deputy Commander of the Vanguard. I didnʼt expect him to have so much contact with Imperial Court officials lately.” This turned out to be an unexpected but fortunate mistake—they had unintentionally caught a big fish.

Huo Changqing showed no anger. Instead, he remarked, ”Itʼs only natural that Zhao Feng has his own ambitions.” Compared to Yun Qing, Zhao Feng had been in the military much longer. But seniority meant little in the army—what mattered was military merit. And apart from Marshal Qin, no oneʼs achievements could compare to Yun Qingʼs.

Xu Wu asked, ”Yifu, what should we do now?” Zhao Zhuoʼs status was different from the others; a mere confession from a captured spy wasnʼt enough to arrest him.

Taking Zhao Zhuoʼs life would be easy, but it would cause considerable trouble. Huo Changqing said, ”Since itʼs not convenient to take action against him, letʼs hold off for now and let him enjoy a few more days of freedom.” Once Han Shi woke up, Yun Qing could handle the matter himself.

Xu Wu then asked, ”What about the others?”

Huo Changqing replied, ”If their betrayal is confirmed, finish them off.” Since they were disloyal, keeping them around would only invite future trouble. It was best to eliminate them while the opportunity presented itself.

This simple and brutal method shocked many people.

When Madam Zhao heard about this, she asked General Zhao, ”I heard from the steward that Yun Qing executed more than a hundred people today. Were they all involved in the attempt on Madam Yunʼs life?”

General Zhao shook his head, ”Some of them were from the military. Yun Qing is using Han Shiʼs assassination as an excuse to carry out a thorough purge within the army.”

Seeing her husbandʼs grim expression, Madam Zhao felt deeply uneasy and asked, ”Yun Qing wonʼt be thinking of taking action against you, will he?”

General Zhaoʼs face darkened slightly as he replied, ”That is unclear at the moment. But, itʼs obvious that Han Shiʼs attack greatly provoked Yun Qing. I still donʼt know who is really behind this assassination.”

After a momentʼs hesitation, Madam Zhao asked, ”Could it have been the Imperial Court?” Han Shi had been too conspicuous, attracting unwanted attention. Otherwise, those people wouldnʼt have gone to such lengths to kill a mere woman. If anyone was to blame, it was Han Shi herself for being too capable.

General Zhao shook his head and said, ”Unlikely. The situation in the Northwest is unstable, and the Emperor isnʼt foolish enough to provoke Yun Qing by assassinating Han Shi. Whatʼs troubling is that we still donʼt know who is behind this or what their true intentions are.”

Madam Zhao said worriedly, ”I told you before not to get too close to the Imperial Court officials, but you wouldnʼt listen.” She was well aware that both her husband and eldest son had been in contact with the Imperial Court. She had tried to persuade them twice, as she felt it was unwise, but they had refused to heed her warnings.

General Zhao remained silent. There was no point in discussing this now.

きつねʼs Musing

I know General Zhao thought he was the most qualified person to hold the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest, but I never expected him to be the source of information for the Imperial Court.