きつね: A quick note, please pardon Zijin's language in this chapter. 🙇♀️
When Yuxi heard Zijin's words, she didn't even accept the signage but asked, "Are you saying that the man said that it was San Jie[1] herself who said that he had to personally hand the letter over to me?"
Zijin nodded. "Yes, word for word."
Yuxi smiled and said towards Shiliu, "Tell Guard Xu to arrest and interrogate this man to see his real purpose in visiting the residence."
Zijin's face changed slightly as she asked, "Madam, is this person an assassin?"
Yuxi shook her head. "I am not sure, but I am certain that he is definitely not someone sent by Yuchen." The reason was simple. Yuchen had been taught the strictest of teachings. How could she tell a man to personally send the letter to her hands? Moreover, if it were a confidential letter, it would have been sent by her trusted confidant or maids who had accompanied her in the past; at least, these people were known to Yuxi. How could a confidential letter be delivered by an unfamiliar face?
When Xu Wu heard what Shiliu said, he immediately brought his men to arrest this Steward Shi.
It was already too late when Steward Shi realised something was wrong. Steward Shi shouted loudly when he was arrested, "I am the steward of Jing Wangfu[2]. I am here to deliver a letter to Madam for my Wangfei[3]. Why are you arresting me?"
Xu Daniu really found a letter inside Steward Shi's sleeve. Looking at the letter, written in a similar font used by their Madam, Xu Daniu asked, "Should you send this letter to her?"
Xu Wu took the letter and said to the guards beside him, "Keep an eye on him." As for what to do with this man, he would have to ask Madam.
Zijin took the letter first, looked at it carefully, and said, "Madam, the letter is still intact. It has not yet been opened."
Yuxi took the letter, looked at the few words written on the envelope, and said, "This is Yuchen's handwriting." No one was more familiar with Yuchen's handwriting than Yuxi. The two had studied under the same teacher. Although both had learned the plum blossom script, Yuxi had not grasped the essence. On the other hand, the plum blossom script by Yuchen honestly 'looked like a flower from afar, but looked like a word up close, there was a word inside the flower, the word hidden in flower, the flower and the word blend together.' It could be said that Yuchen's script was good enough to be used as a copybook.
Hearing these words, Zijin asked, "Then, didn't we arrest the wrong person, Madam?"
Yuxi laughed lightly. "This letter is indeed written in Yuchen's handwriting. The only problem is that the letter has been opened. Someone has already read it first." Although the other side was careful, she could still see the tell-tale signs. It wasn't that Yuxi had a fantastic skill, but she had learned about it.
Zijin's eyes widened as she asked, "How come I couldn't see it?" She had looked at the letter very carefully and found no signs of it being opened.
Yuxi smiled. "If even you could see it, then they used this tactic clumsily. Have Xu Wu interrogate that man and ask him how he got his hands on the letter that Jing Wangfei[3] wrote to me." Those women in the Imperial Palace's backyard were full of tricks that Momo[4] Quan was worried that Yuxi might also encounter the same scenarios in the future when she married into a high-ranking family, so she told her all these things. Momo[4] Quan had also taught Yuxi many ways to deal with them, which Yuxi had just used.
Zijin urged, "Madam, hurry up and see if this letter is really written by Jing Wangfei[3]. Maybe it has been swapped too!"
After reading the letter, a sneer appeared on Yuxi's face.
Seeing this, Zijin asked, "What is it? Did she write something that will make things difficult for Madam?" The two sisters were thousands of miles apart and had not corresponded for more than half a year, so it would be strange if anything good could come out of this letter!
Yuxi didn't say anything but handed the letter to Zijin. Zijin read it for a long time before finishing it, then said, "I once said there would be nothing good coming from her, and now she requested Madam to persuade the General to join the Crown Prince? She really has the nerve to ask. At that time, when Madam was almost killed twice by Song b*tch, she didn't say a word, pretending nothing was wrong. Now she's acting as a go-between. How disgusting she is!" Yuchen was praised for being beautiful and perfect, but Zijin felt she was fake any way she looked at her.
Yuxi didn't have a smile on her face either. "This letter may not be Yuchen's true intention. In all probability, she had been instructed by the Crown Prince or Jing Wang[5] to write it." The women from the Imperial Family seemed to set themselves high above the masses[6], but in fact, they were bound by many rules. For example, they were not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the outer courtyard, and political matters were even more untouchable. Of course, the most important thing was that Yuchen had advised her to join the Crown Prince, and since Yuchen herself would not get half the benefits, how could she take the initiative to do such a thankless task?
This time, Zijin was straightforwardly cursing. "The Crown Prince and Jing Wang[5]? When that b*tch Song wanted to harm Madam, they pretended they didn't know about it. Now they have the nerve to ask Madam to persuade the General to join them? They really have a big face[7], huh?"
Yuxi said indifferently, "One of them is the Crown Prince, and the other is Jing Wang[5]. How can they not have big faces[7]? It's possible that they might think it's an honour for Yun Qing to be drawn in by them!"
Zijin cursed, "A litter of b*tches." After a pause, she asked, "So what do we do now? Will the General really defect to the Crown Prince?"
Yuxi asked, "Do you think the General will defect to the Crown Prince?"
Zijin said, "I can't say, but Madam must convince the General that he must not do so. The Crown Prince and the Song family are like a pot of snakes and rats[8]. If we defect to the Crown Prince, Madam and the General will not be able to take revenge."
Hearing Zijin's words, Yuxi asked, "You still remember what happened those two times?"
A stern look flashed in Zijin's eyes. "I can't forget it, not for the rest of my life. When I have the chance, I will make that Song b*tch taste what Madam has suffered!" First, that b*tch wanted her Madam's life, and after she couldn't kill her, she ruined her Madam's life. If Madam hadn't been so blessed to be able to subdue Yun Qing, there was no telling what Madam would be right now!
After saying this, Zijin looked calmly at Yuxi and asked, "Madam, don't you hate her?" She could remember her Madam telling Fu Qingluo that she hated that woman.
Yuxi shook her head. "Don't talk about such meaningless things. Go and check the exact origin of that person. How could he have gotten the wangfu[2] signage and Yuchen's letter?" If her guess was correct, it should be someone from the capital.
As Yuxi had expected, it was indeed someone from the capital. Only the group had met with bandits and were killed or injured. Those who didn't die told those bandits about their purpose for coming to Yu City. One of them knew that there was a letter from Yuchen to Yuxi and got a devious intention.
The story of Yuxi's founding of the Qingming Hall had long since spread throughout the northwest. There would be advantages and disadvantages to having such a big reputation. As a matter of fact, one could be targeted. These people thought that if they could get money from Yuxi's side, they would not need to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. A coward would die from starving; the bold would live with his belly full to the point of bursting. Therefore, they took a risk out of desperation, thinking it was time for them to do something.
Zijin's face darkened as she listened to this confession.
Yuxi smiled and asked, "What are they going to do? Do they think of kidnapping me after giving me the letter? Forcing me to pay them?" There were thirty-four guards inside and outside the Yun Residence, and these bandits thought these people only knew to eat cooked rice[9].
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
After listening to this, Zijin commented, "Madam, although this ploy is risky, it may not be unsuccessful." If those bandits managed to take Yuxi as a hostage, it would be useless for them to have more men. Ultimately, they could only take money to get rid of the problem. After all, Madam and the young master's safety was more important than money.
Yuxi said, "Unless he is out of his mind, how could he possibly come to my residence and take me as a hostage for money? Torture him until he tells the truth." This was a pure suic*de mission. Since he had come to die, he must have had a much bigger plan.
After listening to these words, Xu Wu stated, "I also felt that this was not right, so I tortured him until he could not bear it before telling me the truth. This man said that he had grown up in the capital since childhood. When his family's fortunes declined, he had to hurriedly return to his hometown in Ganzhou, which was why he could speak in an authentic capital dialect. He confessed that someone had taken his wife and son and that if he wanted to save their life, he had to do one thing." Speaking until here, he deliberately paused momentarily before continuing, "That was to take the opportunity of delivering the letter to assassinate Madam." When Xu Wu heard this, he broke out in a sweat at that time. Fortunately, Madam was alert and did not meet this person. If she did, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be any accidents.
Yuxi frowned. "This is a clumsy trick." The tactics were a bit clumsy, but if she hadn't been so vigilant, she wouldn't have been able to guarantee that something wouldn't have happened if she had met that person. After all, now that she was pregnant, her agility was not as sharp as before.
Xu Wu promised, "Madam, I will definitely find out the people responsible behind the scenes."
Yuxi acknowledged his promise and pointed out, "The only people I've offended in Yu City are Madam Qin and the Xu family. I think this incident should have something to do with them." The Xu family had always acted boldly. Threatening someone to force them to kill her was really not a big deal to them.
Xu Wu thought for a moment and nodded. "I will have someone look into it seriously." After a pause, Xu Wu said, "I'll have to send someone to inform the General about this." He was not asking for Yuxi's opinion but just letting her know. This matter was too big to be kept from the General, or he would be skinned by the General when he returned.
Yuxi nodded. "You can handle it." It was impossible to conceal such a significant matter even if she wanted to, so it would be better to tell him as soon as possible. Besides, it would be good for Yun Qing to know that his merciful act toward Qin Zhao could harm his wife and child.
When Xu Daniu watched Xu Wu walk out from inside, he went up to him and asked, "Madam wasn't frightened, was she?" The enemies used to try to assassinate the General, but now they changed their target to Madam instead. These people really had no guts. If they had the courage, they should do it for real in the open rather than resorting to such a dirty trick.
Xu Wu shook his head. "Madam is not only not afraid, but she could analyse the matter regarding the letter clearly and logically!" He had initially wanted to bluff his way out of it by saying that the man had come to extort money from them and he would tell the truth to Yun Qing. How could he know that Madam could see something wrong at a glance?
Xu Daniu asked curiously, "What did she come up with?"
Xu Wu answered, "Madam said that the masterminds behind this should be the Qin family and the Xu family." In fact, Xu Wu also suspected the same thing. Madam had offended the Xu family but had no grudges against anyone else.
Xu Daniu asked, "What do we do now?" How dare they poison his Madam? They must have been tired of living.
Xu Wu replied, "If we don't get any evidence, everything we say will be in vain." Based on the Xu family's cunningness, finding some evidence would probably be very difficult.
Footnotes Full List
- San=third, Jie=older sister, short form for Jiejie
- Wang=king, Fu=residence
- Wang=king, Fei=consort
- a term for an elderly woman
- king
- Chinese idiom: be far removed from the masses and reality; hold oneself aloft
- thick-skinned, unashamed; brazen
- The author used 蛇鼠一锅(Shé=snake, shǔ=rat, yī=one, guō=pot) the original saying is a nest of snakes and rats (蛇鼠一窩 Shé=snake, shǔ=rat, yī=one, wō=nest), which means (of bad people) to be working together; to be acting in collusion with one another.
- fig. incapable; good-for-nothing
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi