Han Jianming looked at Yuxi's depressed face and told her another piece of good news, "On my way back, I just received news of victory where we've won a battle in Liaodong." Looking at Yuxi's lack of interest, he added with a smile, "The general who won the battle has an interesting name, Qiu Dashan."
Yuxi froze for a moment. "Qiu Dashan?"
Han Jianming nodded. "Not Qiu as in hatred, but Qiu as in qiu called Qiu Dashan. This is the first time I've seen this surname!"
But Yuxi didn't see it that way as she commented instead, "Qiu Dashan. In other words, this name implies that his hatred is as huge as a big mountain. He will always carry it with him so he can't forget it."
Having developed a tacit understanding of each other for so long, Han Jianming knew what Yuxi meant. Qiu Dashan was probably Yan Wushuang. So he shook his head and said, "Yuxi, Great General Tong, the defender of Liaodong, has been in Tong City for over twenty years and has frequent dealings with the Yan family. How could he not know Yan Wushuang? If this Qiu Dashan were Yan Wushuang, Great General Tong would have killed him long ago. How could he still be left alive?" When the Yan family was exterminated, Great General Tong was also their murderer from behind the scenes. With such deep hatred, how could Great General Tong possibly spare the members of the Yan family, not to mention Yan Wushuang, who was well versed in both polite letters and martial arts?
Yuxi said, "Dage, I've heard that there is a skill where one can change one's appearance! Could he have changed his look?"
Han Jianming couldn't help laughing as he responded, "You're piling errors on top of errors. How could there be a skill of changing a person's appearance and physique? Moreover, for army generals, their ancestors must be clearly checked. If it were so easy to impersonate them, there would be no telling how many spies could easily mix in." The interrogation and examination for the general position in the border town were particularly harsh, something Yuxi could not have imagined. That was why Yun Qing's identity had to be exposed. He would have been treated as a spy if he hadn't revealed it.
However, Yuxi shook her head and said, ''Dage, you should still pay attention to this person in the future. Sometimes, the more you think there is no problem, the more problematic it will become. I have a hunch that even if he's not Yan Wushuang in disguise, he's definitely related to him."
Han Jianming felt Yuxi's words made sense as he nodded and said, "I will pay attention to this person in the future. By the way, I want your Er Ge to go to Liaodong. What do you think?"
When Yuxi heard that she wanted Han Jianye to go to Liaodong, she reflexively shouted, "No, you can't send him to Liaodong." Er Ge had died in Liaodong in his previous life, and even his bones could not be found. This incident left a big shadow on Yuxi.
Han Jianming did not expect a strong response from Yuxi and thought she was worried about Han Jianye's safety. Thus, he tried to reason with her, "If your Er Ge stays in the capital any longer, his skill will be wasted." Unless there was a change in dynasty, any further chaos would not reach the capital. So even if Han Jianye were sent to serve a local government, it would be much better than being in the capital. However, Han Jianming was very ambitious and felt he had to let Han Jianye go to the border town to accumulate military achievements faster.
Yuxi shook her head and replied, "I'm not saying I want to keep Er Ge in the middle of the capital. I just think that we can't let Er Ge go to Liaodong. Dage, Liaodong is too chaotic. And you haven't found any news about the dark forces so far." After a pause, she continued, "Dage, if Yan Wushuang is not dead, then he must be hiding in the shadows preparing for revenge. Great General Tong and the Song family are all the people he wants to take revenge on. However, when he wants to deal with these people, he will absolutely involve the innocent ones. Although Er Ge is good at martial arts, scheming is his weakness."
Han Jianming was still a little hesitant.
Yuxi knew that Lu Xiu's elder brother was in Liaodong and that he would have someone to look after him when he went there. The idea was good, but Yuxi was reluctant to let Han Jianye go to Liaodong. "Dage, I think Er Ge is more suitable to go to the northwest." Even if he weren't suitable, she would have to make him be one. Furthermore, going to Liaodong and going to the northwest were the same for Han Jianye.
Hearing this, Han Jianming asked, "Isn't the northwest just as chaotic? Aren't you afraid that your Er Ge will be involved in it?"
Yuxi shook her head and said, "If Er Ge goes to the northwest, he will undeniably be involved in the power struggle."
Han Jianming didn't understand what Yuxi meant. "Speak clearly."
Yuxi smiled and said, "Dage, don't you remember? Er Ge was very close to Yun Qing when they were younger." Since Yuxi knew that the winner, in the end, would be Yun Qing, she naturally wanted Han Jianye to be on Yun Qing's side so that he could seek more benefits. As for whether Yun Qing would accept Han Jianye, Yuxi was not worried at all. For one thing, Han Jianye was an excellent martial artist, not just a mere skeleton, and he was very easy to get along with. For another, with an elder brother who was an Assistant Minister of War, Yun Qing would accept such an ally as long as he had a clear mind.
With hesitation in his eyes, Han Jianming asked, "Why do you think Yun Qing is much better? Yuxi, you must know that Yun Qing's enemies are not only Qin Zhao but also the Song family." If Yun Qing had only had one enemy, Qin Zhao, Han Jianming would have placed his treasure on Yun Qing. But the problem was that Yun Qing's enemies also included the Song family, and Yun Qing's hatred for the Song family was well known even to the Song family. Under such circumstances, how could the Song family allow Yun Qing to sit on the military power in the northwest?
Yuxi said, "Dage, I know you want Er Ge to go to Liaodong because you think it will help him. But has it ever occurred to you that this help from yours is also an obstruction? Since Er Sao's Dage is highly skilful in fighting, Er Ge will be under his eldest brother-in-law's shelter forever. This situation is not good for Er Ge." It wasn't that she was worried about people slandering Han Jianye for nepotism. But she thought that if Lu Xiu's brother didn't want Han Jianye to take risks and put him in a relatively safe position, wouldn't it be the same as making a fool of oneself in trying to be smart.
Han Jianming shook his head and argued, "This won't happen. Lu Gang is not the kind of person who tends to show favouritism, let alone stand in the way of your Er Ge's future."
Yuxi struggled with her words, but in the end, she only got one sentence from Han Jianming. "I will consider it seriously."
Looking at Han Jianming's face, Yuxi knew that any more persuasion would only be useless. She didn't want to force the matter. It wasn't like her Er Ge was going to leave tomorrow anyway. Therefore, she would think of a way once she returned to her yard.
Han Jianming then asked Yuxi a very personal question. "Yuxi, do you have any thoughts about your marriage?" To be exact, he wanted to ask Yuxi what kind of person she was looking for.
Yuxi looked up at Han Jianming, "Dage, as long as the other person is of good character, nothing else is required." There was no need to mention that he needed to be hardworking and motivated; if he were incapable, Dage would not look at him. Therefore, the essential thing was his character.
Han Jianming pondered for a moment and said, "Yuxi, I would like to choose a military general as your husband. What do you think?"
Yuxi answered, "That's fine! But it's best if I can follow him along when he is assigned a position out of the capital so we don't have to be separated from each other." The wives and children of senior generals had to stay in the capital as hostages. However, those senior generals were now grandfathers, and even the few young talents had started their own families. Even if Dage were more discerning, the candidate he chose would be between fifth or sixth rank officer, at most. As long as the candidate was assigned domestically, it was still easy for her to follow along.
Han Jianming smiled and nodded a little, saying, "It's good that you can think like that."
Yuxi asked curiously, "Dage, do you have someone in mind? Well, I hope Dage doesn't pick someone too ugly for me, and he can't be worse than Er Ge at any rate." Han Jianye was like a king kong with glaring eyes, and Yuxi did not want to find a husband who was worse looking than Han Jianye. It wasn't so much the looks she was looking for, but she was worried that she would die crying if she had a daughter who looked like her not-good-looking husband. With her daughter looking like that, she wouldn't be able to marry in the future. [T/C]
When Han Jianming heard this, he smiled. "Don't worry. I'll surely pick a good-looking one. By the way, Yuxi, what you said to Chen Ran last time, I think it was just to make him back off, right? You weren't serious about that, right?" [+]
Yuxi smiled a little. Was she serious about it? She wanted to, but the question was, was there such a man in this world? There were men like that in the opera, but not in real life. Of course, she could not confidently say there was no such man. It's just that in the last two lifetimes, she has seen and never heard of men who didn't take concubines or tongfang and stayed loyal to their wives. "Dage, you're overthinking it. I just know that Chen Ran wouldn't agree to it. That's why I said so."
Han Jianming nodded. "That's good." He guessed that Yuxi was trying to get Chen Ran to back off, but it was never as reassuring as if Yuxi had said it herself.
Yuxi smiled. "If I have such an idea, it's better if I don't marry at all." There was a saying that men were like cats. Where in this world where a cat never stole fish! Instead of letting him go out and steal, it would be better to let him stay at home in comfort. She had the backing of her mother's family and could stand up for herself. Hence, she would not fear those concubines and tongfang stepping over her head.
Han Jianming handed a stack of information on the desk to Yuxi and said, "Take it back and read it!" The contents were all recent events in the capital and the local government.
Back at Taoran House, Yuxi put the things on the desk and pondered how to convince Han Jianming for a long time. It wasn't that Yuxi hadn't thought about going over to convince Han Jianye himself but felt that was the next best thing. The best way was to persuade Dage.
After thinking about it, she could not think of a good way, so she started practising her calligraphy. It was the easiest time for her to calm down when practising calligraphy. After spending awake all night, she still couldn't come up with a good idea.
When Yuxi woke up the next day, she put on her coat and walked out into the yard. There she saw Zijin practising. Zijin's broadsword danced with a flourish, and it was an exciting thing to see.
As Yuxi looked at Zijin, she suddenly had a flash of an idea. She finally thought of a way to convince her Dage not to send her Er Ge to Liaodong, and this method would indeed work.
When Yuxi finished her morning practice, Zisu brought her water to rinse her mouth and clean her face, and when she saw Yuxi's smiling face, she couldn't help but ask, "What good things have you thought of, Miss? Why is Miss looking so cheerful?"
Yuxi kept it a secret. "This is confidential. I can't tell you."
In the evening, Yuxi approached Han Jianming and told him, "Dage, I had a dream last night where I dreamed something happened to Er Ge."
Han Jianming was startled. "How can you have such a dream?" Han Jianming did not suspect that Yuxi had made up a lie to deceive him, and there was no need for that.
Yuxi shook her head and said, "As soon as you said you wanted to send Er Ge to Liaodong, I felt bad. Last night I had a nightmare again, dreaming that Er Ge was killed by the Donghu people and there were no bones left of him. I was so scared that I didn't dare to sleep again."
Han Jianming recalled when he told Yuxi yesterday that he wanted Han Jianye to go to Liaodong; her reaction was violent. If someone else had said they had a nightmare that Jianye was gone, like his mother or Lu Xiu, he would have thought they were overly worried and thus had a nightmare. But Yuxi was different. When people dreamed, it became the opposite in reality. While Yuxi's dream was likely to come true.
Seeing that Han Jianming was silent, Yuxi said anxiously, "Dage, you can't let Er Ge go to Liaodong. I think he will have misfortune. You can send him to the southwest if you think the northwest is bad."
Han Jianming nodded and said, "En, we can't let him go to Liaodong." As for whether or not to send Han Jianye to the northwest, he still had to deliberate on it.
Yuxi was finally relieved.
Noob Translator's Musing
And somewhere, a genie is getting ready to fulfil Han Jianming's wish to get a military general as Yuxi's husband.
Just to clarify, Qiu Shi and Qiu Yanfu's surname is written as 秋 which means autumn.
And to those who celebrate Christmas tomorrow,
Even villains need happy holidays.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi