The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 413 : Ambition (3)

Yuchen was silent for a long time but finally asked the question she had in her mind, “Teacher, why did you do this?”

Teacher Song smiled a little and slowly said, “Yuchen, you shouldn’t ask me this question. You should think about it yourself.”

Yuchen shook her head. “I can’t think.” She really didn’t understand. Even if Teacher Song wasn’t fond of Yuxi anymore, there was no need to put her to death. And what Teacher Song said might happen, but it was only a possibility, not necessarily a certainty.

Teacher Song said, “Is it that you can’t think or don’t want to think about it? I know clearly what kind of person the Fourth Miss is, and so do you. She has an extremely stalwart nature that even men can’t match. It’s fine if she doesn’t have a chance, but as long as Yun Qing controls the 100,000-strong army in the northwest, her ambition will grow over time, and I can’t imagine what will happen in the end.”

Yuchen’s face turned pale as she cautioned, “Teacher, be careful of what you’re saying.” She had previously thought that Teacher Song was saying that Yuxi wanted to seize power and help Yun Qing control the hundred thousand-strong armies in Yu City so that the Imperial Court would have something to fear. But she had never thought that Teacher Song would think that Yuxi would rebel in the future.

Teacher Song added, “The Fourth Miss is extremely selfish with no national righteousness in her heart but only personal interests. Such a person is bound to harm the country and the people.” It started when she snatched Yuxi the right to be her disciple since she already had Yuchen, the outstanding one. But later on, she disliked Yuxi even more. It happened when Yuxi started to express her unhappiness with her father’s false display of affection, her stepmother’s indifference towards her, and her act of currying favour and showing her goodwill to the Lady of the State Residence. These characteristics made Teacher Song look down on Yuxi.

Yuchen sighed. “Teacher, you are worrying too much. Although Yuxi has many shortcomings, she is upright. I believe she would not do something as rebellious and execute nine generations of her enemies.” Other than that, Yuxi was truly filial to Qiu Shi.

Teacher Song shook her head helplessly. “If you had believed me, you people wouldn’t be in this situation right now.” [T/C]

What had happened had already happened, and there was no point in saying anymore. Yuchen advised, “Teacher, don’t talk about this in the future.” She even felt like she could communicate with Teacher Song anymore.

Teacher Song didn’t stay long in Jing Wangfu either. She left in less than half a shichen[2].

After sending Teacher Song away, Momo[3] Gui said, “Niangniang[4], should we be more vigilant? We must not be implicated by the Fourth Miss.”

Yuchen looked at Momo[3] Gui and countered, “It’s not like Yuxi is alone. Not to mention Eldest Aunt and the others, but isn’t Yuxi going to have her own child soon? Do you think she would encourage Yun Qing to rebel under such circumstances? Also, do you think rebellion is as easy as drinking water? There are 100,000 troops in the border city, but they are all busy guarding Yu City. Even if Yun Qing was capable, there was no way they would rebel along with Yun Qing while facing the danger of war and the punishment of having their nine generations of family exterminated. I do believe that Yuxi is ambitious and wants to expand her strength, but I can’t accept that she will rebel.”

Momo[3] Gui still advised her with the same thing she had said before, “It is still necessary for us to be on guard.”

Yuchen was also in a bad mood and extremely annoyed to hear Momo[3] Gui’s words. “On guard? On guard against what? How to guard against it? Yu City is thousands of miles away from here. How can I be on guard? Besides, why should I be the one on guard? What does this even have to do with me?” A married-off daughter was like poured-out water[5]. Even if there were a fight that could cause the extermination of her natal family, it would not be her turn.[T/C]

When Momo[3] Gui saw that Yuchen was angry, she dared not say anything else.

After a long time, Yuchen finally calmed down and stated, “Although Yuxi is intelligent, Yun Qing does not have heaven and earth under his control[7], so Teacher’s worry is completely unnecessary.” It was a man’s world out there, and Yuxi was only a woman, even if she was capable. All else would be in vain if Yun Qing couldn’t hold up by himself, and as far as she knew, Yun Qing wasn’t good at anything other than fighting in battle.

Momo[3] Gui found this argument to be very reasonable.

Yuchen warned, “Not a word of what happened today can be leaked out, especially not half a word of what Teacher said.”

Unfortunately, Yuchen did not expect it to actually happen. That night, Han Jianming found out about this matter, and the news leaked from the Eastern Palace[8]. Of course, Han Jianming did not have such great power to pry information from the Eastern Palace[8], but the Yu family had this ability. When Han Jianming was negotiating with the Eldest Master Yu, he personally told Han Jianming.

Hearing this information, Han Jianming laughed. “Yu Daren[9] must be joking. My Si Mei[10] is talented, which I won’t deny. But to say that she will become a scourge to the Great Zhou Dynasty is really too much of an exaltation.” After a pause, Han Jianming shook his head and laughed bitterly, “To put it mildly, my Si Mei[10] is indeed not lucky enough. It’s already bad enough her biological father extremely hates her, but I never thought that even the teacher who taught her would want her to die.” There was no telling what kind of bad luck Yuxi had.

Eldest Master Yu had naturally made thorough discreet inquiries on Yuxi’s information before he came. He thought Yuxi was very smart but discovered that she was only a little clever. As for her becoming a scourge of the Great Zhou Dynasty, that was really too high praise for her. He only thought so in his heart but did not show it on the surface. “Duke Han, I don’t know if it’s yours or Madam Yun’s idea to do the grain and herb business.”

Han Jianming smilingly said. “Yu Daren[9], I’m not going to hide this from you. This is actually my Si Mei[10]’s idea. She thinks the medicinal herbs and grain business is very profitable and wants to share the pie.” When Han Jianming said sharing the pie meant that Yuxi did not mean to swallow it all in one bite. The reason the Yu family wanted to draw in Yun Qing and help him rise to the highest position was that he was beneficial to them.

When Eldest Master Yu heard these words, the smile on his face deepened. He was not afraid that Han Shi would request money, but he feared that she would not want anything at all. It was better to control people when they had weaknesses. “This matter is too early to say.” To make a lot of money, it would also be necessary for Yun Qing to be in the highest position.

After talking about some more things, Han Jianming asked with a smile, “Yu Daren[9], I heard that the Prefect of Xinping City will take office in the fifth lunar month this year. I wonder, has the candidate been decided?”

Hearing this question, Eldest Master Yu asked him back with a smile, “Why? Do you have a suitable person for it?” Although the Prefect of Xinping City was of the lower fourth rank, it was not such a popular vacancy because one would be posted in the borderlands. But no matter how unimportant it was, it was impossible to just promise it as they pleased.

Guizhou

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Han Jianming replied smilingly, “He’s a disciple of my family, surnamed Tan. He was a jinshi[11]enrolled in the two list[12] in the 18th year of Guangzong. He now serves as a tongzhi[13] in Guizhou.” Many large families would look for young people from poor families but with a natural talent to cultivate, and the State Residence also contributed money to sponsor many young scholars. At that time, they managed to develop a few of them, and somehow, some defected to other forces after taking the examination. Only this Tongzhi[13] Tan did not switch his loyalty despite the weakening of State Residence’s influence. For this reason, Tongzhi[13] Tan’s official career did not go very well. However, after Han Jianming took charge of the family, he gradually rose in rank under Han Jianming’s operation.

Eldest Master Yu knew that this was something that Han Jianming wanted to benefit from. They should give him some benefits if they wished Han Jianming to be their go-between. However, they couldn’t just agree on this matter that easily. “I have to look at this person’s background before we can continue discussing this matter.”

On the whole, the atmosphere was cordial during this negotiation.

When Eldest Master Yu returned home, he went to look for his father and explained all the conditions Han Jianming had proposed. “It is fine if we agree to guarantee the supply of the northwest or Han Shi’s plan to start a medicinal herb and grain business. It’s just that Han Jianming wants to fill the vacancy of Prefect of Xinping City with his man. I suggest we have to think about it again. The location of Xinping City is too special. If the Prefect is a member of the Han family, I’m afraid it will get out of hand.”

Grand Chancellor Yu waved his hand and said, “There’s no harm. We can let Han Jianming fill that post with his man. As long as the local magistrate and tongzhi[13] are our people, that’s enough.” Although the Prefect was the chief official of the prefecture, not everyone could be at the Prefect’s disposal. With their people watching from the side, he believed the Han family couldn’t cause any waves[14].

Eldest Master Yu nodded his head for a moment. After pondering momentarily, he asked, “Father, what do you think about what Song Shi said to Chen Yu?” Although he didn’t believe Han Yuxi could do this, there was nothing wrong with being extra careful. It was also because of their cautiousness that they had been able to come this far.

Grand Chancellor Yu answered, “That woman, Yuxi, is an intelligent one, but Song Shi’s words are an overstatement.” As Yuchen had said, this was a man’s world. Yun Qing was a reckless man who could fight in battle, and Han Shi, as capable as she was as a woman, could not make much of a wave.

Eldest Master Yu suggested, “It’s better to have someone pay more attention to Han Shi!” There was nothing wrong with being careful, and if there was something wrong with Han Shi, they could nip it out early.

Grand Chancellor Grand Chancellor Yu shook his head. “The Crown Prince will have someone keep an eye on her. We don’t need to waste our time and energy on this.” It was not that Grand Chancellor Yu underestimated Yuxi, but if one wanted to be a scourge of the country and the people, one had to have the capital to do so, and it was clear that Han Shi did not have that capital yet. [T/C]

Compared to the calmness of Eldest Master Yu’s side, Han Jianming was almost angry. When he met with Grand Master Yu earlier, he hid his worries, but when he returned home and stayed in the study, he couldn’t pretend anymore.

When Mr Zhao saw Han Jianming’s expression, he thought there was no agreement. “My Lord, if the Yu family has not agreed, let’s just take our time. We can always negotiate.”

Han Jianming responded, “There is no problem on the Yu family’s side.” Although Eldest Master Yu said he would have to think about it first, the matter was eighty to ninety per cent settled.

Mr Zhao was confused at that point. “Since the matter has already been negotiated, why does the Lord Duke look so angry? Did something else happen?”

Han Jianming shared with Mr Zhao the news he heard from Eldest Master Yu. He slapped his hand on the table and exclaimed, “That old woman Song Mingyue is trying to kill Yuxi! I don’t know what exactly has Yuxi ever offended her. What did Yuxi do to deserve this?”

Mr Zhao also looked puzzled. “The Fourth Miss is not even related to her. Why would she say such things?”

Although Han Jianming did not care about internal affairs, she knew that Yuxi was not someone who would not respect her teachers. “I don’t know. But with her words, Yuxi is in a dangerous situation.” It was enough for her to say that Yuxi was deeply scheming, but to say that Yuxi would be a scourge? When Han Jianming thought about this, he wished he could immediately take this vicious old woman, Song Mingyue, life.

Mr Zhao suggested, “This matter must be told to the Fourth Miss as soon as possible. As long as she doesn’t do anything beyond the limits, I believe the Crown Prince should not believe those words from Song Shi.”

Han Jianming said, “I hope so!” This matter should indeed be told to Yuxi as soon as possible, and she could take precautions sooner if she knew.