The two girls' eyes met each other. The room was so quiet that one could even hear a pin being dropped.
Crane Head Melon
From the same family of gourd/squash. Does it look like a crane's head? I read that when the fruit is tender, it will taste sweet and juicy, like watermelon.
Image Credit | Crane Head Melon - 昆明信息港 via Baidu (鹤首瓜), Red-crowned Crane - China Considers Red-crowned Crane for National Bird via China.org.cn
From the same family of gourd/squash. Does it look like a crane's head? I read that when the fruit is tender, it will taste sweet and juicy, like watermelon.
Image Credit | Crane Head Melon - 昆明信息港 via Baidu (鹤首瓜), Red-crowned Crane - China Considers Red-crowned Crane for National Bird via China.org.cn
Momo Gui entered the room with the crane head melons and was puzzled to find that neither Yuxi nor Yuchen had spoken. Only when she heard Yuchen tell her to withdraw could she not stay in the room any longer.
Yuxi waited for Momo Gui to withdraw before a smile appeared on her face as she said, "San Jie is overthinking. I just find history and the art of war books interesting."
Yuchen didn't go round the curves and skirting the corners and said to Yuxi like how one opened the door and saw the mountain, "Si Mei, it's fine to read history and the art of war books as light reading, but there are some things we shouldn't get involved in. Just because Grandmother and Father don't say anything doesn't mean they don't know about this." She did not object for Yuxi to read history books, as she herself read them, but reading the art of war books was a bit of a problem. Yuxi often went to Dage's courtyard after reading these books. What exactly did she do there her Grandmother and Father knew about it in their hearts. Only Yuxi thought she was being secretive about it.
When their talk had come to this point, there was no point for Yuxi to pretend to be stupid anymore. She laughed at herself and responded, "I didn't expect that just a few trips to Dage's place could bring the attention of my Grandmother and Father towards me." When she was still here, she really couldn't hide any secrets.
Yuxi had never wanted to hide anything from the Old Lady and Han Jingyan, but today, Yuchen's words reminded her. Her life and death were still in the hands of the Old Lady and Han Jingyan. Even if she had the backing of her Eldest Aunt and Dage, if they really wanted to do something to her, she could only suffer and had no way to resist. She had been living in comfort for so long that she had lost her sense of crisis.
When Yuchen caught sight of the sneer on Yuxi's face, her heart felt a little depressed, "Si Mei, I am doing this for your own good. There are some things that once you get tainted with, you can't get rid of them." She didn't know precisely what Yuxi was doing over at Dage's place, but it was certain that it wouldn't be good. At least, it would not be good for Yuxi.
Yuxi sincerely said, "San Jie, thank you." For Yuchen to talk to her like this today and to teach her how to play the flute was genuinely for her own good. It was just that she was also clear that compared to the Old Lady and Han Jingyan, she had to lean back in her relationship with Yuchen. Also, because of this, she would never open her heart to Yuchen. Plus, the two of them were not even sharing the same route in life.
Yuchen didn't need Yuxi's gratitude, "Si Mei, I hope you don't go to Dage's place again. Dage is a man who does great things. What he does is not something we can get involved in."
Yuxi smiled, nodded a little bit and said, "I know." No matter what Yuchen did, it would always be good, and whatever she did would always be wrong, and there would always be ulterior motives behind everything she did. Although she was helpless, this was the reality. She didn't want to explain anymore because she felt it would be unnecessary. [+]
Instead of staying in Tingyun Pavilion for dinner, Yuxi returned to Taoran House.
When Momo Gui noticed Yuxi leave with a solemn expression, she went in and asked Yuchen, "Miss, what's wrong with the Fourth Miss?"
Yuchen sighed slightly, "I told her that she shouldn't go to Dage's side so often. Her heart might not be feeling comfortable right now." From the incident with Heshou Xianzhu, it was clear Dage had been acting too hastily, without even considering the consequences to others at all. If not, why would Jianjun and Jiancheng still be in bed even now? She was distraught that if Yuxi stayed with Dage for a long time, she would also become radical in her actions.
Momo Gui was startled, "Miss, how could you tell Fourth Miss about this? If you told her this way, won't Fourth Miss be furious?" Anyone who knew their private secrets had been pried open would surely not be happy.
Yuchen said wryly, "I also hope she won't go astray. Why was Fourth Sister unable to think properly? Dage is a shizi. He can make mistakes and be able to correct them, but she doesn't have that ability! If people knew that she learned political tactics from Dage, who would dare to marry her in the future." She was shocked when she first heard Momo Gui's guess. She endured it for a long time, but in the end, she could not resist her worries and laid her cards on the table with Yuxi.
Momo Gui knew that Yuchen really treated Yuxi as her own sister. Otherwise, she would not have gone to such great lengths. "I hope Fourth Miss will understand this painstaking effort on Miss' part." She felt that Yuxi did not know that her Miss was doing this for Yuxi's own sake.
Coincidentally, Yuxi had just finished her dinner. Han Jianming sent someone over to call Yuxi to his study, saying he needed her help with something.
Seeing that Yuxi's face was not right, Han Jianming was surprised that he asked, "What's wrong? Why is your face looking this bad? Are you not feeling well?"
Yuxi shook her head and told him, "Today, San Jie told me that Grandmother and Father already know I am learning political tactics from Dage. She advised me not to learn these things from Dage anymore since this will harm me." Yuchen's words were right. A woman who was too clever, and the kind that had her cleverness exposed, would provoke suspicion and defensiveness from other people. It was an oversight that she had not thought of before.
Han Jianming smiled, "What, scared? Want to back out?" It was true that Yuxi was learning about it, but she did not get it from him but practised what she had learned from the books. Only this was something he hadn't told anyone, not even his Grandmother.
Yuxi was silent for a moment before she confessed, "It's not that I want to back out, but I don't want to stand out. I'm a woman, not a man. If people know that I'm studying these things, it will harm me. Even to the extent that it will be hard for the family I will marry into in the future." She could study it independently without coming to Dage's place, which could attract other people's eyes. She was the one who hadn't thought it through before, and now, she hadn't expected she would end up with such a big problem.
Han Jianming didn't say anything as he turned around and took a brocade box from the shelf. Yuxi thought it was a rare treasure but didn't expect that the brocade box contained a map. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.
Yuxi was unable to make head or tail of his action. What was he going to do with the map?
Han Jianming laid the map on the desk and pressed the four corners of the map with paperweights and inkstones. He drew a circle with his fingers and said, "This is the region of Liaodong."
Yuxi looked at Han Jianming and wondered why he was telling her about Liaodong.
Han Jianming pointed to the place marked with the red dot and said, "This is Tong City, and outside of Tong City, there are Donghu people. In the past few years, the Donghu continued to have internal strife because of the struggle for the throne. Just over a month ago, the new king of Donghu had put down the civil strife. Because of this, there will be no more peace for Liaodong."
Yuxi couldn't help but ask, "What does this have to do with me?"
Han Jianming didn't respond to Yuxi's question but withdrew his hand and circled another place. Then he pointed to a red dot and said, "This is the northwest border town, Yu City. Every year, in spring and autumn, the northern barbarians will come to the border town to burn and rob. And the battle there has been unsatisfactory, causing countless deaths and injuries."
Yuxi understood his meaning. The so-called unsatisfactory was for their side to lose more and win less. As Han Jianming pointed to the southwest, she couldn't help but ask, "It's not peaceful there either?"
Han Jianming shook his head and explained, "The Miao and Qiang Rong in the southwest have rebelled. The Imperial Court had sent 100,000 troops there, but they all had been totally wiped out instead of destroying the rebels."
Yuxi opened her mouth, "Is the Imperial Court's army so useless?" The Miao and Qiang Rong were both ethnic minorities with small populations. Even if the 100,000-strong army could not destroy them, the military should not have been totally wiped out. How lousy must these armies be to end up in such a state?
Han Jianming said, "The court's taxes are getting less and less every year, while the expenses are getting more and more every year." After a pause, he continued, "The expenditure of the Emperor and the harem alone accounted for one-fifth of the annual tax."
Yuxi let out a long sigh. Even though she was not an official in the Imperial Court, she knew that the taxes from the state treasury should be spent on the army's pay, provisions and officials' salaries. Furthermore, it should also be used for agriculture irrigation works. The Emperor and the harem already used up a fifth of it, so how would the rest of the money be enough for the Imperial Court? However, Yuxi simply ignored the latter part of her sentence since it was useless to pay close attention to it. No one dared to disagree with the amount of money used by the Emperor anyway. "Why is the tax getting less and less? Where have all the money gone?"
Han Jianming answered, "They all have been embezzled by corrupt officials."
Yuxi often read history books, where they had recorded past peasant uprisings. Which peasants could survive when the corrupted officials tax them by force and extort levies? To these peasants, since they had no way to persist, there was no doubt that rising to rebel would lead them to a way out. Therefore, they all rose in rebellion. "Wouldn't the people revolt if they had no way to live?"
Han Jianming felt that Yuxi's time spent reading history books was not in vain. "Rebellion had sparked in Henan at the beginning of the year because corrupt officials imposed excessive taxes. However, those people had all been eliminated by the Imperial Army."
Yuxi was rather horrified. "How come I've never even heard of such a big deal?" After saying that, she knew she had been foolish and let out a bitter laugh. It was indeed a big deal, but because it was not something honourable to be mentioned, the news was suppressed and not allowed to be revealed. It was natural that a girl from a deep boudoir like her would not have heard of it.
After listening to all this, Yuxi seemed to understand what Han Jianming would say to her. "What Dage meant, the world will be in chaos?"
Han Jianming shook his head. "Not yet. But if this goes on, the world will be in chaos sooner or later." Because he was worried about the future chaos, he wanted Han Jianye to marry the girl from the Lu family. When the world was in turmoil, by holding military power, he would be able to save his family and himself.
Yuxi thought for a moment and voiced her opinion, "I have met the 9th Prince, and he is a very skilful person. If he succeeds to the throne, he should be able to control the situation!"
Han Jianming also knew that the 9th Prince was a very skilled person. "No one knows the future. Whether or not the 9th Prince can successfully ascend to the throne is still in question." At this point, he turned the conversation around by asking. "After listening to all of these, what do you think?"
Yuxi shook her head and stated, "I don't have any thoughts on it. For the world to be in chaos is still too far away in the future for me. Even if it does happen now, it won't affect me for a while. But if I don't shy away from this topic, this will upset Grandmother and Father. And if I can't eat it all, I'll have to take it home. Dage, I can't often come to your side anymore." Avoiding upsetting the Old Lady and Han Jingyan was the best thing she should have done. Mainly because Yuxi was worried that if she were exposed, it would be difficult to talk about her future marriage. She had memorised medical books and studied the art of war just in case. However, deep down, she still hoped that she could marry into a good family and live the rest of her life with her future husband and children.
As for the world to be in chaos, it wasn't even that way when she died in her previous life. Well, there were refugees everywhere, but the capital was still too peaceful.
Han Jianming didn't force her and comforted her with a smile, "It's fine if you can't come over." After saying that, he handed a few books on the desk to Yuxi and said, "Take these books back and read them. Once you're done, have someone inform me. I'll change them for you."
Yuxi took those few books with both hands and nodded without even looking at what they were, "Yes, I'll read them when I get back."
PS (Author): O(∩_∩)O~, guess what book Dage has given to Yuxi?
きつね : Well... other books on the art of wars? It's not like he will be giving her books on romance, right? Wait... isn't the book 'The Three Kingdoms' also about war and romance? Can it be…😱
Noob Translator's Musing
So, did Yuchen do the right thing? Should she stop Yuxi, or should she ask Yuxi to reduce spending her time with Han Jianming for Yuxi's reputation's sake? Personally, I prefer the latter. If Yuchen is worried that this act by Yuxi will ruin the State Residence's reputation, then she should tell her subordinate to hush. A piece of news won't come out unless it is intentionally being let out by insiders. If only she knew the aggressive action that Han Jianming had taken against Dage half was Yuxi's doing, what would her reaction be?
Enough with the serious talk. I would also like to take a bit of this space to wish those who celebrated Chinese New Year (I know I'm late by 3 days),
And since today is also a special day for us and the ones we love,
And...
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi