Battle reports were sent to the capital and landed on the Emperor's desk one by one. As he read the latest dispatch, he angrily slammed his palm down on the table and cursed, "A bunch of useless fools!" Fourteen thousand troops against only thirty thousand, yet they had been utterly crushed, suffering devastating losses.
Grand Chancellor Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please send a capable general to the Northwest immediately to stabilise the situation. If Ji Xuan continues to fight like this, the Northwest will soon fall into Yun Qing's hands."
The Emperor asked, "Then who do you suggest?"
Chen Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this subject is willing to lead the campaign against the traitor Yun." By now, in the eyes of the court ministers, Yun Qing was no longer just Yun Qing—he had become 'the traitor Yun'.
The Emperor shook his head. "You are not suitable." Last time, Chen Yu had failed to defeat even a few thousand bandits—how could he possibly handle Yun Qing?
Grand Chancellor Yu recommended Eldest Master Lu, Lu Boda. "Your Majesty, General Lu is a brave warrior with many military achievements. I suggest that Your Majesty issue an edict for him to lead troops to the Northwest and suppress the rebellion." Lu Boda had long been stationed in the southwest and had repeatedly put down rebellions among the ethnic minorities there. Grand Chancellor Yu's recommendation was made purely of concern for the Empire.
The Emperor immediately issued an Imperial Edict, appointing Lu Boda as the Grand General of Pingbei1 and ordering him to lead an army of 100,000 men to crush the rebellion in the Northwest.
However, this news was not good for the Lu family. Second Master Lu rushed to see the Old Master Lu and said, "Father, the Emperor's appointment of my Dage2 as the Grand General of Pingbei1 is more of a curse than a blessing! Yun Qing and the Northwest Army are advancing like an unstoppable force. Even though my Dage2 has been an accomplished general for over twenty years, he may not be a match for Yun Qing."
Old Master Lu remained calm as he responded, "Even if it is a curse, it cannot be avoided." Worrying was useless—could they dare to defy the Imperial Edict?
Seeing his father's composure, the Second Master Lu also calmed down. However, there was still one thing he couldn't figure out. "Father, why do you think Yun Qing decided to rebel at this moment?" Yun Qing's rebellion was unexpected but not entirely surprising. The Emperor, along with the Yu and Song families, had been suppressing him—if he hadn't rebelled, he would have had no way out. But what Second Master Lu couldn't understand was why Yun Qing had chosen to rebel in the middle of winter. Now, there would be no peaceful New Year for anyone.
Old Master Lu replied, "The reason doesn't matter. What matters is that Yun Qing has already rebelled." At this point, it was pointless to speculate on his motives.
Second Master Lu sighed, "Now that Jianye and Ah Lin are both in the Northwest Army, I am afraid they will be implicated."
Old Master Lu responded, "You shouldn't have let Ah Lin join the Northwest Army in the first place." He had disapproved of his second son's decision back then but had ultimately not opposed it to the end.
Second Master Lu deeply regretted it now, but it was too late. "Father, Yun Qing's rebellion should theoretically make the Emperor distrust the Han family. Even if he doesn't punish them, he shouldn't allow Han Jianming to remain as Minister of War. But Han Jianming is still securely in his position."
Old Master Lu glanced at his younger son and asked, "Are you suspecting that Yun Qing's rebellion is connected to Han Jianming?"
Second Master Lu said, "It's not impossible." This suspicion was precisely why he was worried about his son and son-in-law. Otherwise, with Han Yuxi's presence, his family should have been safe—but he feared there was more to this situation than met the eye.
Now, even the Old Master Lu couldn't quite figure out what was going on.
That evening, Han Jianming finally received a letter from the Northwest. After reading it, his face turned pale, then red with anger, and he muttered, "How could this happen?" Although Han Ji had sent a message as soon as Yuxi was in trouble, the journey had been treacherous, and the weather unfavourable, delaying the letter's arrival. Fortunately, Wu Xu had been careful—the messenger was not a man from the Northwest. Otherwise, it was uncertain whether he would have been able to enter the capital at all.
Sensing something was wrong, Han Hao asked, "My Lord, what has happened?" Even when Guye3 had rebelled, the Duke hadn't looked this unsettled.
Han Jianming instructed, "Go and summon Mr Zhao." At that moment, he felt utterly at a loss. He never expected Han Jianye's actions to trigger Yun Qing's rebellion.
When Mr Zhao arrived, he asked, "My Lord, what does the letter from the northwest say?" Seeing Han Jianming's grim expression, he knew it must be something serious.
Han Jianming replied, "Jianye took a woman to see Yuxi, and that woman attacked Yuxi, causing her to be injured and go into premature labour." As he spoke, his face flushed with anger.
Mr Zhao was stunned for a moment. "Was the woman an assassin?" Seeing Han Jianming nod, Mr Zhao was left speechless.
Han Jianming laughed bitterly. "Yuxi is always cautious but would never be on guard against Jianye. These people took advantage of that and succeeded. And Jianye—he's just too simple-minded. He walked right into their trap."
Mr Zhao also found the situation extremely unpleasant. "My Lord, Yun Qing's rebellion happened right after Madam was injured. Could something have happened to her?" With the vast distance between them, information was slow to travel.
Han Jianming shook his head. "Even if she didn't die, in her condition, she's probably half-dead by now." A severe injury followed by premature labour—to survive at all would be a miracle.
When Mr Zhao heard this, his face darkened. "People in the capital will soon start saying that Yun Qing rebelled for Si Gunainai4's sake. Soon, she'll be called a femme fatale."
Han Jianming now felt a deep sense of regret. "If I had known, I would have taken the risk of sending Yuxi a letter back then." If he had warned her in advance, this tragedy could have been avoided.
Mr Zhao tried to comfort him. "Maybe things are not as bad as they seem."
Before Han Jianming could respond, they heard Han Hao's urgent voice from outside. "My Lord, the Old Lady needs to see you right away."
Han Jianming's heart sank. What urgent matter could there be at this moment? He quickly left the study and asked the maid who had delivered the message, "What is the matter?"
The maid shook her head. "I don't know. The Old Lady only told me to get you right away." Then, as if she remembered something, she hurriedly added, "But the Old Lady's expression didn't look good."
Han Jianming immediately rushed to Changle Courtyard. When he arrived, he saw that Madam Qiu's face was full of anger. At that moment, he knew that the situation was probably not what he had expected. He calmed down and asked, "Mother, what has happened?"
Madam Qiu said angrily, "Your Er Di5 wrote a letter saying he'd taken a liking to a woman in the Northwest, and they'd even been intimate. She's now pregnant with his child." Imagine how heartbroken Lu Xiu would be if she found out about this!
Han Jianming quickly skimmed through the letter. When he saw the date at the bottom—more than two months ago—he almost coughed up blood. If this letter had arrived earlier, everything that followed might have been prevented.
When Qiu Shi saw his expression change, she became suspicious and asked, "Did you already know about this? Did you deliberately hide it from me?" The messenger sent by Han Jianye had been intercepted en route, which was why the letter had been delayed until now.
Han Jianming shook his head. "Mother, I only just found out myself."
Madam Qiu hurriedly asked, "Did Yuxi tell you? What did she say in her letter? What kind of woman did he fall for?" She had a bad feeling about that woman—otherwise, Yuxi wouldn't have completely avoided mentioning her in her last letter.
Han Jianming hesitated for a long time before finally telling Qiu Shi the truth. He had kept Yun Qing's rebellion a secret from her for fear that it would upset her too much.
Seeing his silence, Qiu Shi grew anxious. "What did Yuxi say? Is that woman no good?" If that woman were a decent person, her son wouldn't have such a grave expression.
Han Jianming sighed. "Mother, that woman is already dead—she was killed by my meifu7." He had wanted to delay the revelation of the rebellion as long as possible, but it was clear that he couldn't hide it any longer. It was better to tell her himself than have her hear it from someone else.
Qiu Shi sensed that something was wrong. "Yun Qing killed her? Why would he do that?" Even if the woman wasn't good, she had nothing to do with Yun Qing.
Han Jianming said, "Mother, this is a very serious matter. You must stay calm and not get upset, okay?" Even though his mother was in good health, she couldn't handle such a shock.
Qiu Shi's face turned pale. "Has something happened to your Er Di5? Or to Yuxi?" Seeing Han Jianming's hesitation, she insisted, "I've lived through all kinds of hardships—I can handle it. Tell me everything."
Han Jianming said, "Mother, the woman Er Di5 wanted to take as a concubine was an assassin. She used his connection as Yuxi's Er Ge6 to attack her, leaving her badly injured and in premature labour. Meifu7 was furious..." Before the words 'rebellion' could even escape his lips, Qiu Shi had already fainted.
After her philtrum was pinched, Qiu Shi quickly regained consciousness. The moment she woke up, she grabbed Han Jianming's hand and asked anxiously, "How is Yuxi? How is she now?"
Han Jianming reassured her, "Yuxi is fine—she is out of danger. The baby is also safe, but because it was born prematurely, it is weak and needs proper care." In reality, Han Jianming had no idea of Yuxi's current condition, but he had to lie so as not to upset his mother any further.
Qiu Shi was not entirely relieved. Women who suffered a difficult birth often had permanent complications. Besides, the baby was only seven months old—whether it would survive was still uncertain. Clutching her chest, her eyes filled with tears as she lamented, "Ming-er, what sin have I committed by raising such a brainless child? How could he take a woman of unknown origin to meet Yuxi?" Countless people wanted Yuxi dead, and she had always been extremely cautious—yet in the end, she had been harmed by her foolish brother.
Han Jianming opened his mouth, unsure if he should mention Yun Qing's rebellion.
Noticing his conflicted expression, Qiu Shi knew there was more to the story. She took a deep breath and said, "Is there anything else? Tell me everything. Don't hide anything from me anymore." Surely, nothing could be worse than this.
Han Jianming said, "Yes. After what happened to Yuxi, Meifu7 raised an army in rebellion. He's already reached the outskirts of Lanzhou." In just over ten days, Yun Qing had conquered most of Gansu, defeating an army of 120,000 with only 30,000 men. It sounded almost like a legend.
The moment Madam Qiu heard the word rebellion, she fainted again. This time, even pressing the philtrum was useless. Han Jianming quickly ordered someone to fetch a physician.
Footnotes Full List
- 平 píng = calm down; make peaceful; pacify, 北 běi = north. Pacification of the North
- 大哥 dàgē = eldest brother
- 姑爷 gūye son-in-law (used by wife's family)
- 四 sì = four/fourth, 姑奶奶 gūnǎinai = (respectful term for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter
- 二 èr = two/second, 弟 dì = younger brother, short form of 弟弟 dìdi
- 二哥 èrgē = second brother
- 妹夫 mèifu = younger sister's husband; brother-in-law
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi