Han Jianye went to the Lu family with a feeling of uneasiness. When he watched Qiu Yanfu try to take her life before, he thought this incident was solely his fault. So now that he was standing outside the Lu family's main gate, he had a guilty conscience that made him didn't dare to walk in.
When the gatekeeper saw Han Jianye, he smiled and greeted, "It's Si Guye! Si Guye, the Second Lord and the others have all gone on duty."
Han Jianye handed the horse in his hand to Han Yi, who was behind him. He then stated, "I'm looking for Er Bomu." After he said this, he took a giant stride and walked in.
The gatekeeper rubbed his hands together and then shrank back, telling another gatekeeper, "There are still more than ten days to go before the wedding, but Si Guye doesn't have a smile on his face. This doesn't look right!" The last time when Second Master Ye came to withdraw from the marriage, his face didn't look right either.
The other gatekeeper kicked him. "No ivory will come from a dog's mouth. Couldn't you say something auspicious? Indeed. Perhaps something is going on!" It seemed that Second Master Han was not the kind of person who couldn't think and see clearly!
When Second Lady Lu heard that Han Jianye had come to look for her, she was a bit puzzled and at the same time had some uneasiness in her heart. There was nothing wrong with it again, was there? She couldn't help it. She was afraid something that had happened to Second Master Ye occurred again.
The result was, the thing she was afraid of really came true. When she heard what Han Jianye said, the blood in Second Lady Lu's whole body flowed backwards.
After Han Jianye finished telling her, he said with tremendous guilt, "I'm sorry, Bomu. I didn't expect this to happen. I know it's unfair to Ah Xiu, but I can't help it. I have to do it." Han Jianye did not realise that this sentence would cause various interpretations.
Second Lady Lu suddenly felt that the world was whirling. What sin did her daughter have done in her previous life! It was enough that she had met a bastard once, and now another one had come. Wasn't this the same as taking her daughter's life!
Old Woman Jian, who stood beside Second Lady Lu, was much calmer. She looked at Han Jianye and noticed that it didn't seem like he had come to withdraw from the marriage. "Is Second Master Han here to withdraw from the marriage?"
Han Jianye panicked and hurriedly shook his head. "No, I'm not here to withdraw from the marriage. I just came to tell you about this. Since Qiu Yanfu is my San Shen's niece, after such an incident, I have to take her as a concubine. I know it's not right for me to take a concubine before my big wedding with Ah Xiu. But it's already happened, and this is the only way to settle it."
Only when Second Lady Lu heard this did she feel alive again. Although it was better than withdrawing from the marriage, it was disgusting enough to have such a noble concubine around. But Second Lady Lu was the sensible type. Whether she had schemed him or not, Han Jianye would have to take the other party as his concubine. It was something inevitable, and she was unable to stop it. "There are still more than ten days to go before the big wedding, and you're running over here now saying you're going to take a concubine. How do you want Ah Xiu to deal with this?"
Han Jianye bowed his head and said, "I am sorry for Ah Xiu, as she has been wronged even before she married me."
Second Lady Lu snorted and coldly asked, "Then tell me, what are you going to do with this concubine?"
Han Jianye told her his intentions. "If Bomu agrees, I will go back and write down the paperwork for taking her as my concubine. Then, I'll send her to a hamlet in the countryside. Until Ah Xiu gives birth to our firstborn son, she will not be taken back to the residence."
Second Lady Lu asked, "Was this your idea or your mother's?"
Han Jianye bowed his head and answered, "It was my idea. My Mother originally wanted to send her back to Hebei, but since she has lost her innocence, it would be bad for my reputation if she was indeed sent back to Hebei."
When Second Lady Lu heard his words, she felt much more comfortable. From these words, she could see that Han Jianye did not have even a bit of feeling for this Qiu Yanfu, and then again, Lady Han was also disgusted with this woman. [+]
When Han Jianye saw the cold expression on Second Lady Lu’s face, he remembered what Yuxi had specifically told him. "Originally, my Mother was going to bring me over to make amends, but she was so angry about yesterday's incident that she is still unwell; plus, I didn't want Ah Xiu to know about it before the wedding. If I let my Mother come, it would become a big issue, and it would be hard to hide it from Ah Xiu. So I didn't let my Mother come. Bomu, I know it's my fault for being such a jerk, and I'm genuinely sorry for Ah Xiu. But please don't worry, I will treat Ah Xiu well in the future."
Once Second Lady Lu heard his assurance, her heart lost a lot of its turbidity, and she immediately said, "Since it has already happened, there is no point in saying more. Since you have already made up your mind, I don't have anything more to say." There were still more than ten days to go before the wedding, so it was impossible to withdraw from the marriage. Moreover, her daughter had already withdrawn from her marriage once. If she had to do it one more time, she would have to be an oil lamp before the statue of Buddha for life.
Han Jianye had to humble himself down. There was no way around it. He was the one who was in the wrong, so it was necessary to put himself down a bit. However, things went much more smoothly than he had imagined.
Walking out of the Lu family's gate, Han Jianye was in a trance. Had things been settled just like that? Not to mention that he had not been hit with a big stick; he was not even being scolded. Han Jianye always felt that it was unreal. He didn't even think that if the Lu beat him so severely until he couldn't get up from bed before he was about to get married, it would be the Lu family that would lose face. Moreover, when Second Master Ye came to their house to break his engagement, he was about to rip open their face anyway; thus, they might as well beat him up. However, the Lu family had no intention of withdrawing from the Han family marriage, and their daughter would continue her marriage with the Han family. If they made things difficult for Han Jianye right now, Lu Xiu would be the one who suffered.
After Han Jianye had left, Second Lady Lu said with a sad face, "You say, what is this all about? Ah!" This marriage was about to take place soon, but such a mishap suddenly happened.
Old Woman Jian comforted her, "My Lady, you need to relax. At least, Guye didn't set his heart to that woman. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said that he would send her to a hamlet in the countryside."
Second Lady Lu was still uneasy. "What is the status of this Miss Qiu? Tell me about her." If Lu Xiu were to marry into the Han family, the Lu family would naturally need to understand the Han family's situation. This way, Lu Xiu would not be in the dark when she married. It was only that the Second Lady Lu had not taken this person seriously before; so, she had never expected such a mishap to occur.
Old Woman Jian gave a general account of Qiu Yanfu's situation. "Who would have thought that after the Qiao family's marriage withdrawal, she would be thinking of plotting against Guye?"
Second Lady Lu was no fool. After hearing what Old Woman Jian said, she commented, "If this slut can scheme on Jianye, nine times out of ten, someone is playing a dirty trick from behind." Second Lady Lu had also assisted the Eldest Lady Lu in managing the household affairs. If there were no one to help her, Qiu Yanfu would not have schemed against Han Jianye that easily.
Old Woman Jian's eyelids twitched as she questioned, "What my Lady means is, the real mastermind was Ye Shi?"
Second Lady Lu responded, "I'm not sure if she was behind this, but there's definitely her handwriting in it. Otherwise, how could Qiu Yanfu, a cousin who lives in the Han family whom the Han family dislikes, be able to scheme against Guye?" Qiu Yanfu's situation was completely different from Ke Minjie's. Ke Minjie was loved by Madam Ye and had lived in the Ye family for several years. So she had her own inner connections. Hence, it was easy for her to trick Second Master Ye. But Qiu Yanfu was an unpleasant presence in the Han family. If not, why would everyone try to chase her out like she was a rat? In her case, how could she possibly buy off the servants of the State Residence?
As Second Lady Lu thought of this, it tied her intestines into knots. How could one live with such a troublesome older sister-in-law even when one had not yet entered the family?
Second Lady Lu had some regret right now. She should not have agreed to the Han family's marriage proposal at that time. Otherwise, such a thing would not have happened. [+]
Old Woman Jian said comfortingly, "My Lady, let's look on the bright side. At least Lady Han and the future Guye are both looking out for our girl. Even if Ye Shi is difficult, she is only a sister-in-law, not a mother-in-law." A mother-in-law could crush her daughter-in-law as hard as she liked, but if she was a sister-in-law, one should just see her less often if one didn't get along with her.
Second Lady Lu sighed, "What's up with all this?"
Old Woman Jian also thought that her family Miss was really unlucky. Her Miss was just about to forget Ke Minjie when another one, Qiu Yanfu, came. It was good that the current Guye was clear-headed and could not be fooled by that woman. If he were blinded with love just like the one from the Ye family, there would be no place for her Miss to cry.
Since it had come to this, it was useless for them to be upset, and they could only move forward. Second Lady Lu said, "We must not let Ah Xiu know about this. Just let her live out these last ten days in peace and be happy to get married." Getting married was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Second Lady Lu did not want her daughter to marry into the Han family with a gloomy mood.
Old Woman Jian nodded a little. "Don't worry, my Lady, I won't let Miss get wind of it." If her Miss knew about it, it wouldn't do any good for her Miss, except to affect her mood.
Second Lady Lu was in a bad mood, and Qiu Shi was equally so. It was because Mama Li just told her that Yuxi had long known about Qiu Yanfu's scheme against Han Jianye.
Qiu Shi shook her head and argued, "No way. Someone must have framed her. If Yuxi knew about it, how could she not stop it?“
Mama Li also made sure it was correct before she informed Qiu Shi. "My Lady, it is true. But I think there may be something hidden in this matter, so why don't my Lady ask the Fourth Miss yourself." Seeing Qiu Shi's torn face, she reminded, "The person who revealed this news has bad intentions. This person is trying to use this incident to drive a wedge between my Lady and Fourth Miss. My Lady, we can't fall into this person's trap!"
When Mama Li first got the news, she also hesitated to tell Qiu Shi about it. After thinking for a while, she thought it would be better for her to say so. Since the person behind the scenes had revealed this matter, people would know about it sooner or later. It would be better for her to say it personally rather than having someone else tell the First Lady.
Qiu Shi asked hesitantly, "What if Yuxi doesn't want to tell me anything?" She was sure that Yuxi had failed to report what she knew about the incident to her in her heart. It was not that Qiu Shi did not have confidence in Yuxi, but the evidence was too overwhelming.
Mama Li shook her head, "No. I believe that as long as my Lady asks, Miss will talk. My Lady, I have seen how Miss has treated the Second Master all these years. She treats the Second Master as her own brother. Therefore, I do not believe that the Fourth Miss would let something happen to the Second Master." On top of that, a person as intelligent as the Fourth Miss could not possibly do such a thing and handed the sword hilt to someone else. So Mama Li decided that there must be a hidden agenda here.
Qiu looked down for a moment and nodded, "You're right. I’ll go ask her myself." She would feel uneasy until she resolved this matter. Instead of speculating, it would be more appropriate to ask Yuxi directly. If Yuxi couldn't tell her the truth, she could wait until next time!
Noob Translator's Musing
The Author does love to repeat the same scene but with different outcomes. This time, Second Master Ye's being schemed vs Han Jianye's being scheme, a.k.a Ke Minjie's scheme vs Qiu Yanfu's scheme. And...Yuchen has started her quest of understanding's Yuxi's mind. Sadly, she will never be able to.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi