The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 440 : The Return (3)

🦊: The last one for last week’s chapter. 😅

This chapter has not been edited.

When Yuxi woke up, it was almost noon. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to see Yun Qing sitting next to her.

Yun Qing stroked Yuxi’s forehead and asked gently, “You’re awake?”

Yuxi nodded with a smile and said, “Help me up!” It was embarrassing that she fainted because she couldn’t stand Yun Qing’s body odour just now.

Mama Qu, who was outside, heard the commotion and came in, saying, “Madam, General, lunch is ready.” Yuxi’s mealtimes were fixed, and she usually ate on time unless there was a setback. Even if she had no appetite, she still had to eat. It was this excellent habit that enabled Yuxi to survive this difficult time.

Yuxi had a lot to say to Yun Qing, but no matter how big the issue was, it was no bigger than eating. “He Rui, let’s go eat first!” Whatever she wanted to talk to Yun Qing had to wait until they had their meals.

Qin Zhao received the news of Yun Qing’s return not long after. He coldly asked, “Yun Qing is not dead yet?” Yun Qing was still alive even though many of his men had died. What a fate!

Qin Zhong shook his head. “He is not dead. I heard that he even brought someone back with him.” If Yun Qing was still alive, his General would be in big trouble. Although Qin Zhong was only a steward, there were some things he knew. His General was primarily responsible for the heavy casualties this time. Usually, Yun Qing would only put up with his General for the sake of the deceased Marshal, but now that such a huge thing had happened, Yun Qing would definitely blame his General for this crime.

Qin Zhao said without thinking, “Go to Yun Residence.” Now that Yun Qing was back, he should go and see him. Otherwise, he would be nothing but a laughing stock.

Before Yuxi could finish her meal, she heard Xu Daniu come over to report, “General, Madam, Qin Zhao is here.” The people of the border city were simple and had few rules and manners. Since Xu Daniu did not like Qin Zhao’s way of doing things, he just called him by his name.

Seeing that Yuxi was about to put down her chopsticks, Yun Qing instructed, “Tell him to wait outside.” After saying that, he turned to Yuxi and said, “Don’t pay any attention to him. Just eat yours, and we’ll meet him when you’re done.” Yun Qing ate quickly and finished eating a long time ago. As for Yuxi, she ate and chewed slowly, so Yun Qing was waiting for her right now!

Yuxi still put down her chopsticks and said to Yun Qing, “No matter what, Qin Zhao is now the commander-in-chief of Yu City. How can we not give him a face? Otherwise, how can we work together in the future?”

Yun Qing shook his head. “No harm done.”

Yuxi understood at once that Yun Qing was planning to rip Qin Zhao’s face off. This was the result she wanted to see. If Yun Qing still submitted to Qin Zhao, there was a possibility that this could happen again.

Qin Zhao had been waiting at the Yun Mansion for almost two-quarters of an hour. His face was terribly gloomy as he had never waited for anyone before. This was also the first time he had ever been treated so coldly. But he was also alarmed. Although he had not been on good terms with Yun Qing before, Yun Qing’s attitude towards him was beyond fault. Such an abnormality this time did not bode well for him.

After the page refilled the tea for the fourth time, Yun Qing finally appeared. Not only Yun Qing but also Yuxi came out with him.

It was the first time that Qin Zhao had seen Yuxi. She was wearing a long royal blue satin dress with a pattern of hundreds of golden butterflies. Although she was pregnant, her body was still slim and well-proportioned, except for her belly, which was slightly larger. Her hair was pulled back in a simple top knot. She adorned her bun with an emerald jade hair clasp and covered herself with a plain woven gauze jacket. Her gaze was gentle and calm, and her expression was quiet and serene.

Yuxi was too pregnant to curtsy, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. “General Qin, I am inconveniencing you. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Of course, Qin Zhao wouldn’t argue with a heavily pregnant woman and said, “You’re being modest, Dimei[1].” After saying that, he turned to Yun Qing and said, “I am very pleased that Yun Di[2] has returned safely.”

Yun Qing coldly responded with a few words, “Is that so?” Hitting people without actually hitting them. Yun Qing’s ironic tone ruthlessly slapped Qin Zhao’s face.

Qin Zhao’s face froze for a moment.

As if Yuxi hadn’t heard Yun Qing’s words, she smiled and said to Qin Zhao, “This time, I came out to see General Qin on purpose because I have something to ask of General Qin.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to come out.

Qin Zhao’s heart became alert as he said, “You can just say it. If I can do it, I will definitely not postpone it.” If it was impossible, they must have wanted to force him to do something against his will.

Yuxi smiled before saying, “It’s nothing important. It’s just that I asked the people in my residence to help the injured soldiers earlier. I only wanted to do my part, but I didn’t want too many people to know about it. So I hope General Qin can make it possible.”

Qin Zhao did not know what medicine Yuxi was selling in her gourd[3]. “What does Dimei[1] mean?”

Yuxi suddenly spat in her heart, who is your Dimei[1]? Such a thick-skinned man! “I hope General Qin will not report this matter to the capital. I wonder if General Qin can do that for me?” She also knew that even if Qin Zhao did not report it, those people in the capital would still know about it. But hearsay was different from an official report.

Qin Zhao asked Yun Qing, “I wonder what Yun Di[2] means?” In other words, he never planned to report it, okay? Now that the matter had been deliberately brought up, he didn’t know exactly what they wanted him to do. By now, Qin Zhao dared not underestimate Yuxi.

Yun Qing stated blankly, “It’s just a small contribution. There’s no need to make a big deal out of it.” After saying this, he spoke directly to Qin Zhao, “If you have nothing else to do here, we can leave now.” He planned to find Qin Zhao after dinner! The entire Dingbei Army had been wiped out, and while that could not be avenged for the time being, the person who leaked the military information had to be found.

After Yunqing and Qin Zhao left, Yuxi went back to the backyard. She entered the study and ordered someone to call Cui Mo, the guard who had returned with Yun Qing.[T/C]

Yuxi asked, “Tell me everything that has happened to you guys during that time!” She already knew some of it, but it was still incomplete, and Yuxi needed to know the details.

Cui Mo told Yuxi from the beginning of their expedition to when they were besieged by 40,000 northern barbarians and fled with incredible difficulty. Then they hid in the jungle, looking for an opportunity to burn the enemy’s provisions, and ran into the deep woods to escape their pursuers.

At the end of his speech, Cui Mo’s face was filled with tears, and he choked up with emotion: “Madam, so many brothers, so many brothers have died like this.” Men never shed tears unless they were deeply grieved. But seeing so many brothers fall one by one in front of him made Cui Mo’s heart bleed.

Yuxi’s heart was also heavy as she said softly, “This revenge, the General will avenge it for you.” It was so close, so close for Yu City to become the second Tong City. She also hoped that such a tragic event would never happen again.

Cui Mo wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. “The General said he would seek justice for all the fallen brothers.”

Yuxi nodded slightly. “You can withdraw.”

Yun Qing accompanied Qin Zhao to the Qin residence. It wasn’t long before several senior generals arrived, including General Zhao. General Zhao looked at the unharmed Yun Qing and patted his shoulder, “It’s good that you’re back.”

Geng Jichen, a die-hard loyalist of Qin Zhao, couldn’t help but lament that Yun Qing was lucky to come back alive and unharmed.

Yun Qing said expressionlessly, “Our battle plan and marching route were crystal clear to the northern barbarians. I was lucky enough to have come back alive.”

As soon as these words were uttered, the faces of everyone present changed drastically. They thought that they had lost the battle this time because they had received false information from their careful investigation, causing them to underestimate the enemies. They didn’t know that this problem existed.

General Zhao was the first to come to his senses. He stared at Yun Qing and asked, “You are implying that the battle plan and marching route have been leaked. Is there any basis for that?” It was not that General Zhao was slow to react, but at that time, everyone had only been thinking about fighting the enemy. After the battle, there were still many things to take care of afterwards, so there was no time to think about anything else.

Yun Qing coldly retold the situation in detail before asking, “If the battle plan and the marching route hadn’t been revealed, how could the northern barbarians still count so accurately? They even sent exactly 40,000 troops to surround us.” Yun Qing’s expression was genuinely murderous at this time, but fortunately, everyone in this room had seen too many deaths, so they were not afraid of him.

Those present were no fools. None of them would believe that this was a mere coincidence. The northern barbarians were clearly planning to wipe out the Dingbei Army.

General Zhao’s face also looked unsightly. Victory and defeat were common matters in military affairs. However, if the battle plan and the marching route were leaked, it would be like handing your head over to the enemy. “But only a few of us here know about these things.”

Kang Donglin was the grumpiest of all. He almost died on the battlefield this time, but suspecting him of leaking military information would bring him a great disgrace! At once, he jumped out and shouted, “I almost died on the battlefield. How dare you say I colluded with the northern barbarians……”

General Zhao sternly interrupted Geng Jichen[5]’s words and said, “I know that all of you here are generals who have experienced hundreds of battles and killed countless enemies. I don’t believe that you would do anything like conspire with the northern barbarians. But we are the only ones who know the battle plan and the marching route. The problem is definitely on our side. There are likely spies among us.”

When Kang Donglin heard these words, he said nothing. He did not believe anyone present had conspired with the northern barbarians to commit treason against the country and their brothers. But there was still the possibility that they were being spied on by the enemy. If they could send spies to the enemy, the northern barbarians could do the same to them. Though many had been caught and killed over the years. But these spies were like weeds. When one was killed, another would grow. It was impossible to kill them all.

Geng Jichen said, “This matter must be thoroughly investigated.” If they didn’t look into it, everyone would continue to feel uneasy!

As soon as these words were spoken, they all looked at Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao’s face was grave as he said, “The news was leaked by Xia Hong.” This matter could not be hidden even if he wanted to, so he could only tell the truth.

Upon hearing this revelation, Kang Donglin exclaimed, “Impossible! How could it be Old Xia? Old Xia was killed in battle. How can you still slander him like this?” Kang Donglin felt that Qin Zhao thought he could smear Old Xia’s name because Xia Hong was already dead.

Qin Zhao said, “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have given Luo Shi to Xia Hong. Although the Crown Prince gifted Luo Shi to me, she was still a member of the Song family. After receiving the military information from Xia Hong, she passed it on to the Song family.” After that last sentence, he should mention how the Song family leaked military information to the northern barbarians because they wanted to kill Yun Qing. Qin Zhao said nothing about it, letting everyone make it up in their own minds.

General Zhao asked, “Do you have any evidence?”

Qin Zhao shook his head. “When we tried to pry open Luo Shi’s mouth to catch the person she was meeting with, that person had committed s*icide. And her contact person was someone from the Song family.” In fact, that person was not actually a member of the Song family but a local from Yu City. And the actual person who was in contact with him was a shopkeeper from the Xu family. It was just that Qin Zhao wanted to take out the Xu family connection in this matter, so he left out all the information about them in between.

Kang Donglin slapped his hand on the table as he shouted and cursed, “They even risked the lives of 100,000 soldiers at risk for the sake of a personal vendetta. D*mn those b*stards!”

Without hard evidence, it was pointless to say more.