chapter 121

After Han Jianye’s marriage to Lu Xiu was finalized, he soon filled in a position of sixth rank official vacancy in the Imperial Guards. In his previous life, after he graduated from his training, he was assigned as a lower seventh rank official position inside the Three Thousand Camp, under the workings of Han Jianming. Comparing now and back then, it was two poles apart, with him in the Imperial Guards now, the two positions that he once held and what he currently was currently holding couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath¹Chinese idiom : two completely different things. It was also at this time that Yuxi deeply felt the gap between the Han family and the Lu family. The Han family had to go to great lengths just to get a position of a lower seventh rank. While the Lu could easily get a sixth rank position for their son-in-law, even when the status gap between the two families wasn’t that large.

Qiu Shi was overjoyed when she heard this news as she took back the reins and began to prepare the betrothal gifts. Han Jianye’s marriage to Lu Xiu was set to be held in the twelve lunar months, and as to why it was set for the end of the year, Yuxi didn’t ask much. Anyway, as long as Han Jianye was betrothed, Yuxi would no longer have to worry about whether Qiu Yanfu would design after Han Jianye or not, but even if she did, she would still be nothing more than a concubine.

Kufu told Yuxi the latest news from the Ye family, “Miss, Ke Minjie is pregnant. It is said that she has been pregnant for more than a month.”

Yuxi laughed, “How did you know?”

Kufu said, “The whole Ye residence know about theis news.” Since everyone in the Ye residence knew about it, it could no longer be a secret.

Yuxi felt a bit strange. According to her personal opinion, Ke Minjie should have been taken care of, but she didn’t expect that Ke Minjie would still scamper for so long and become pregnant. It was really an unexpected news.

As a matter of fact, Eldest Master Ye had long wanted to deal with Ke Minjie. However, Ke Minjie was aware of the danger, so she stayed close to Second Master Ye’s side. While on the other hand, Second Master Ye had a deep-rooted affection for Ke Minjie from a much early time, but previously, he had been constraining himself because of the ethical code. After successfully having a good affair with Ke Minjie, he wished to marry her as his wife, which was the reason why he suddenly lost his mind and ran to the Lu family residence to withdraw his marriage. Eldest Master Ye’s wish to take care of Ke Minjie was known by Second Master Ye. Thus, he was forced to save Ke Minjie by saying that it would also lead to his death.

Eldest Master Ye didn’t care whether Ke Minjie was dead or alive, but he couldn’t help but care about his didi²younger brother. Therefore, Ke Minjie could survive this time and had gotten herself pregnant.

After learning about Ke Minjie’s pregnancy, Eldest Master Ye only said to Lady Ye, “Pour her the medication.” The medication wasn’t just an aborticide, but it would also induce infertility.

Lady Ye shook her head and said, “No, we can’t do this.” It wasn’t because she loathed to give up the child in Ke Minjie’s belly, nor was she cared for the former affection. After Ke Minjie’s failed calculation on Ye Shi, and afterward, she schemed against her son, Lady Ye only had hate for Ke Minjie. Only, after a period of time, she knew that if anything happened to Ke Minjie, her son would also abandon his life.

As Eldest Master Ye listened to Lady Ye, he then asked, “Mother, what are you going to do about this?” His didi²younger brother who excelled in pen and sword³Chinese idiom : fine scholar and soldier, unexpectedly had fallen into the hands of a woman. Of course, if Second Master Ye was not an outstanding person, Old Lord Lu would not have taken a fancy on him and gave him his granddaughter.

Lady Ye also didn’t know what to do with this matter anymore.

Eldest Master Ye went to see Second Master Ye that day. This time, he didn’t come to quarrel. He just asked Second Master Ye, “Would you rather have this woman than your parents, brothers and family?”

Second Master Ye was still young and had a good foundation. He had been recuperating his health for more than a month already and he was almost well. He listened to Eldest Master Ye’s words and felt very painful, “Ge⁴elder brother, short form for Gege, I have long said that Jie-er has nothing to do with all this. I really like her and want to marry her. Moreover, it’s not that I have been unfilial towards my parents or love my brothers after I’ve married Jie-er. So why do you have to force me?”

Eldest Master Ye no longer wanted to waste his breath on his brother, “I have found a vacancy in the Bai households in Yunnan for you. Pack your things and go! From hereafter, you should take care of yourself!” When he reached the door, he turned around and looked at Second Master Ye as he said, “You have chosen the road yourself. Therefore, don’t regret whether your future will end up good or bad.”

A few days later, the transfer order arrived. Ke Minjie proposed a meeting with Ye Shi. Second Master Ye agreed and brought her to the state residence.

Ye Shi was furious when she heard the news, but with old woman Hua’s persuasion, she still met with Second Master Ye. Her reason for seeing Second Master Ye was simply to tell him about what Ke Minjie had done to her that day.

Unfortunately, Second Master Ye did not believe it all. “Dajie⁵eldest sister, Jie-er has already told me that what happened that day was just a misunderstanding. She didn’t know that the medicine in the sachet would be harmful for you. This time around, she comes here just to apologise to you.”

Ye Shi did not want to dispute whether this was a misunderstanding or not. She just asked, “Er Di⁶er=second, di=younger brother, short form for Didi, then you tell me, why would we want to slander her? How did Mother and I treat Ke Minjie before, didn’t you see? You can’t just say that Mother and I have been harsh on her, can you?”

Second Master Ye asked, “Isn’t this all just a misunderstanding?”

Ye Shi lightly laughed, “Then, I won’t say anything about the sachet. I was also being told that Mother was planning to send her back to Suzhou, but in an instant, she went and slept with you. Was that a misunderstanding too? How could there be these many misunderstandings in everything that had happened?”

Second Master Ye felt that he could not make sense with Ye Shi.

Ye Shi is probably the most clear-headed person in the Ye family ᵀᴺErm…no you’re not.. As she saw Second Master Ye’s manner, she stopped talking about Ke Minjie and asked, “Did you hear about the engagement between my younger brother-in-law with Fourth Miss Lu?”

Second Master Ye didn’t say a word. It would have been difficult for him to ignored such a big thing.

Ye Shi did not seem to notice Second Master Ye’s ugly face, as she said, “My brother-in-law got a job as a sixth rank official in the Imperial Guards as soon as the engagement between him and Miss Lu was settled. In just half a month, he took his job in the Imperial Guards like a fish in the water⁷Chinese idiom : be in one’s element. With the support of the Lu family, his future will definitely be bright.” Han Jianye did well in the Imperial Guards, not only because of the Lu family’s reputation, but his own good skill and loyalty attribute also played important parts. Even if he was a straw sack⁸a good-for-nothing, no one would argue because of the Lu family’s huge reputation. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Second Master Ye’s face was a bit embarrassed, “Jie⁹elder sister, short form for Jiejie, how can one rely on a woman? I should earn my own future.” Going up by nepotism wasn’t going to get one very far.

Ye Shi could only chuckle as she said, “Er Di⁶er=second, di=younger brother, short form for Didi really has ambition. However, my only hope that you will not regret it in the future.” At first, she really thought that her younger brother-in-law fell in love with Miss Lu at first sight, but when he suddenly got to fill a sixth rank vacancy, she finally knew that her thought was wrong. What love at first sight? Wasn’t this because the state residence took a fancy to the Lu family’s influence in the army? It was obviously her husband’s handwriting, but even if she knew, what could she do? Could she stop her brother-in-law from marrying Miss Lu? Obviously no. Not only she couldn’t prevent it, she also had to welcome Miss Lu with a smile once she was married to the family.

Second Master Ye could not understand why each of his family members would say that he would regret it. “Dajie⁵eldest sister, I will not regret it.” He would not regret it. He would definitely not going to regret it.

After Second Master Ye left, old woman Hua asked, “Da Nainai¹⁰da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, why don’t you try to persuade Second Master Ye more?”

Ye Shi shook her head and said, ”It’s useless to say anything now. He can’t get out of the net that Ke Minjie has woven. Only when he truly realises what he has lost will he come to his senses.” Without the help from his family, all the previous advantages that he had enjoyed were all gone and even his future official career would not be able to move a single step¹¹Chinese idiom : to be in an (extremely) difficult situation. Of course, it would be a different story if he was assigned to live in Liaodong or Northwest territories where they were rich with future prospects.

The map of the Ming Dynasty. I think this story was based on the Ming Dynasty. Liaodong was at the right corner of the Ming Dynasty border, while Northwest was situated around Shaanxi. Yunnan was situated at the bottom left of the Ming Dynasty map.

Image Credit | Chine Ming – provinces Yongle.svg: Podzemnik (talk · contribs) derivative work: rowanwindwhistler (talk) • CC BY-SA 4.0

Old woman Hua was somewhat unwilling, “Miss, are we really going to just let her go? She did try to harm Da Nainai¹⁰da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house’s child that day and for us to just let her get away with it, I am really unwilling.”

However, Ye Shi suddenly asked, “Nainiang¹²(dialect) wet nurse, you said that when I fell into the water, was it also her doing?” She had never suspected it before, but now, the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it became. Although her biaomei¹³younger female cousin’s temperament was a bit rash, she would not be so mad as to push her into the water.

Old woman Hua was startled, “It couldn’t be, right? At that time, Miss Biao¹⁴family relationship via females hadn’t even met Master Shizi¹⁵heir of noble family yet!” Meaning that, Ke Minjie had no bad motive at that time.

Ye Shi, however, ignored all this and said, “I like to see if she can keep confusing Er Di⁶er=second, di=younger brother, short form for Didi without her child.”

Old woman Hua knew that Ye Shi had an idea, but she was still worried. “The Lady wants to do it too, but she’s worried about the Second Master.”

Ye Shi snorted, “The older Mother gets, the softer her heart has become. If I have to say, she doesn’t want to beat the rats as she is afraid of hurting the jade bottles¹Chinese idiom : originally 投鼠忌器 (tóu shǔ jì qì) which mean not act against an evil so as to prevent harm to innocents. She’s merely thinking that the child in that lowly person’s belly is her own grandson. Don’t worry, we can’t handle her while she’s in the capital. However, within the thousands of miles from the capital to Yunnan, there are plenty of opportunities for us.” She has always been the master who never let others suffer. However, since Ke Minjie had the courage to harm her, then, she would have to bear the consequences.

Old woman Hua worriedly stated, “In case Second Master Ye doesn’t want another woman other than Miss Biao¹⁴family relationship via females, and at that moment, Ke Minjie can’t have a child, once Second Master’s knees are empty, my Lady will surely blame Miss.”

Ye Shi flashed a hint of coldness from the lifted corner of her mouth, “What will I become if I am afraid of the wolf in front and the tiger behind¹⁷Chinese idiom : be full of fears?” After a pause, she continued, “Mama’s worries are unnecessary, and no man won’t be able to hide himself from cheating. Er Di⁶er=second, di=younger brother, short form for Didi is only temporarily confused. In three or five years at most, there will be feelings of animosity between them.” No matter how infatuated Er Di⁶er=second, di=younger brother, short form for Didi was with Ke Minjie, what he could not obtain was always good. Of course, he only got what he wanted only a few days old. When that feeling started to change, she would like to see what would happen to Ke Minjie.

When old woman Hua saw that Ye Shi had made up her mind, she said nothing more.

Yuxi smiled when she heard the news. Yunnan was the land of barbarians and a place where birds would not lay eggs¹⁸deserted place. As long as one had a little connection, one would not have gone there. For the Ye family to send a member, Second Master Ye, to Yunnan, it was unknown what they really meant with this move.

Kufu thought more deeply, “Miss, Ke Minjie is only pregnant for more than a month, and now she has to follow along to Yunnan, which surely will cause her travel-worn. Won’t she fail to save the child because of this?”

Yuxi glanced at Kufu curiously, “What it has to do with us if the child is preserved or not?” For Ke Minjie to give birth to ten, eight or even one child or not had nothing to do with her.

Kufu choked for a moment. She thought her Miss had been wishing for Ke Minjie’s bad luck. Otherwise, why did her Miss pay so much attention to the Ye family?

Yuxi chuckled, “I pay attention to these things, because I have my own purpose.” If one listened more and thought more, then one would not make the same mistakes as others.

Kufu watched as Yuxi walked out the door and asked, “Miss, you’re not going to practice writing anymore?”

Yuxi said, “I want to go for a walk in the garden.” It was boring to stay in the study all day long. It was nice to go for a walk and lighten the mood once a while.