Chapter 51
After that day, Yao Chunnuan believed Xing Xingyue had understood that they were two different types of people and would stop bothering her. Things had indeed started out just as she had imagined. Previously, she had been avoiding Xing Xingyue, but now, Xing Xingyue would take a detour whenever she saw her from a distance. Two days of peace passed, and Yao Chunnuan was secretly satisfied.
Many people in the General's Mansion knew that the small courtyard in the outer courtyard was where Chief Secretary Yao liked to stroll after meals or when he wanted to take a rest after being tired from work, so everyone would avoid it.
This day was no exception. After finishing her meal, she planned to take a walk in the yard before going back to work.
At this moment, Xing Xingyue, wrapped in a pure white fox cloak and holding up the hem of her skirt, walked straight towards her.
Seeing her approaching with such a menacing presence, Yao Chunnuan, clutching her large watermelon, wanted to turn around and leave. But she also knew Xing Xingyue; she was quite stubborn. In other words, if she wanted to find her, she couldn't avoid her. So she simply waited.
"Sister Yao, I beg you, please ask my brother for mercy on my behalf. Lin Lang and I are truly in love. Please ask him to agree to our relationship."
Yao Chunnuan: ...
She asked the general to agree to their affairs? How could she not know when she had such great power?
"Since you love each other so much, you can't bear to be separated from him. You have to be together whether he agrees or not, right?" If that's the case, why bother making things difficult for him, and why bother making things difficult for me?
"No, no, it's not like that. I really hope my brother can agree to our relationship. My parents have already disagreed. The eldest brother is like a father, so my brother must agree. Besides, getting married is a lifelong thing, why can't they fulfill my wish?" As she spoke, Xing Xingyue burst into tears again.
Yao Chunnuan began to understand. Xing Xingyue was insisting on her brother's consent. Was she trying to use him to retaliate against her parents? An elder brother is like a father, and Xing Changfeng is their biological son. If their biological son agreed, they probably had no choice but to accept it. To put it more deeply, she was just looking for someone to blame. Tsk tsk, I didn't see that.
"What if he simply disagrees?"
"Go and talk to him. He'll definitely listen to you."
Yao Chunnuan: This is fucked. "Sister, can we be reasonable? I'm not the right person to talk about this."
"I think it's appropriate. How about you speak up for me?" Yao Chunnuan kept making excuses, which made Xing Xingyue's tone full of resentment.
Two days ago, her brother never mentioned sending her home again. She was just feeling relieved when she overheard that her brother was planning to bring his parents and family to Yichun. She immediately forgot everything.
She thought she had time to slowly negotiate her brother's approval, but now she didn't have time. Why did Yao Chunnuan ask her brother to send someone to pick up her family? If she hadn't made this request, her brother would definitely not have thought of bringing her parents to Yichun. After all she had caused, shouldn't she help her brother and intercede?
Since she was determined to force her way, she would just show her how to fall out on the spot. Then Yao Chunnuan said those choking words with a straight face, "I don't care what you think, I care what I think."
She had always been so kind and gentle, entirely because of her surname. However, Xing Xingyue spoke softly and gently, but her attitude was soft yet tough, always forcing her to do things she didn't want to do, things that were not within her job scope, which was very annoying.
Her current loyalty lay with the Grand General, or rather the Grand General's Legion, not the Xing Clan. Not to mention that the Grand General hadn't yet harbored any thoughts of rebellion, even if the Xing family wanted to participate and develop it into a family business, the combination and distribution of interests involved would require considerable coordination with the Legion's subordinates. It was premature for Xing Xingyue to rely on her family name to boss her around.
This incident was a good opportunity for her to see the general's attitude. If he insisted on protecting his relatives and siding with them instead of the truth, then she could probably find another way out. She didn't want to have a mother-in-law named Xing to worry about her in the future.
Not to mention, Yao Chunnuan looked quite imposing with his back straight and face stern.
Xing Xingyue stammered, "Yao—" Yao Chunnuan's eyes were so terrifying that she couldn't even pronounce the word "sister." She swallowed the words back, "Don't be like this. I just want you to plead with my brother to make the decision for me."
"Yes!" The general strode forward. "You're just relying on your blood relationship to force us into submission. No matter how much we tell you that Lin Jingshu is not a good person, you remain so steadfast. Very well, I can make the decision for you and fulfill your wish. But Xing Xingyue, this is your own willful choice. Are you mentally prepared to bear the consequences?"
"What?" Xing Xingyue stared at her brother striding towards her with tearful eyes.
The general said gently to Yao Chunnuan, "You go back first."
Yao Chunnuan was looking forward to it. Even after she walked away, she could still vaguely hear what the two of them were saying.
"She is the chief clerk of the shogunate, not your maid, nor can she be summoned and dismissed at will. Do not bother her or anyone in the shogunate with your troubles."
Hearing this, Yao Chunnuan thought to herself, it seems that the general is not very close or doting to his sister, and is rather strict with her. Then how could he have fallen into his sister's trap in the original novel?
********
Wang Lang noticed that the military settlement had recently been emitting a vibrant and progressive atmosphere. Furthermore, there was a subtle sense of competition among the elite soldiers.
Just then, when he came out to fetch some water, he saw two elite soldiers walking to a corner arm in arm and talking in low voices.
"There's an opportunity now. We're going to the capital after the New Year. Do you want to try it?"
"Are you saying that the purpose of going to the capital is to bring Yao Zhubo's family here?"
"Yes. Isn't Chief Secretary Yao going to give birth after the New Year? She probably wants her family to be with her."
Yao Chunnuan's excuse for meeting someone was indeed that she was about to give birth and she wanted her parents to come and see her and take care of her during her confinement.
"Then we must strive for it."
"Then come on, I'll take you to sign up!"
"Ahem, what are you talking about?" Wang Lang said.
The two elite soldiers were startled. When they turned around and saw that it was Wang Lang, one of them scratched his head and said, "There's a mission after the New Year to pick up Yao Zhubo's family. Everyone is vying for it."
In fact, it was not only the family of Yao Zhubo who had to be picked up, but also the families of other high-ranking military officials. However, the generals had their own trusted personal soldiers, and it was not the turn of these small soldiers. What they could strive for was the opportunity of the various members of the shogunate.
Hearing this, Wang Lang was stunned. This sounded a bit sudden, but when he thought about it, it seemed to make sense.
Taking advantage of the moment he was stunned, the two elite soldiers pulled each other and left quickly. Only then did they remember that this man was Yao Zhubo's ex-husband. It was quite embarrassing.
*******
Unlike Yao Chunnuan, who thrived in exile in Yichun, the days of exile for the Han family were, in one word, hard. It was truly too hard. Especially after Yao Chunnuan's promotion, life became even more hopeless under her shadow.
That evening, Han Jinan had just finished a day's work and was dragging his exhausted body home. As he passed through an alley, he was dragged into it.
A moment later, upon learning the visitor's intention, Han Jinan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, "The prince is awake?"
The man glared at him and said, "Don't ask about things that you shouldn't ask about!"
Han Jinan nodded in understanding.
The people in the Cheng'en Mansion looked at his untidy and weather-beaten appearance and shook their heads secretly, thinking, "Tsk tsk, the Han family is really miserable."
"Okay, just don't worry about what the higher-ups said. Just be careful to keep it secret. Take this bag of silver and work hard to climb up. Your status is too low." The visitor said with disdain. With this status, what role can he play?
Han Jinan didn't care about the money and said quickly, "Your Excellency, you don't know that it's extremely difficult for our Han family to climb up in this military settlement. Yao Chunnuan, the chief clerk of the General's Mansion, has a deep prejudice against our Han family. This woman is a real villain, and she is highly valued by General Guanjun. She will definitely suppress us to the utmost and won't give us a chance to recover."
"What do you mean?" The visitor had arrived in such a hurry that he hadn't fully understood the situation in the Yichun military settlement. However, he did know Yao Chunnuan, because she had openly deceived the Han family in court, causing the Han family to be the focus of the Third Prince's attention to this day.
Han Jinan made a plan in his mind and told her all about Yao Chunnuan's hateful deeds.
Because Yao Chunnuan was born in a prisoner labor area, but relied on his own ability to become the general's staff, and did a brilliant job during his tenure, many middle and low-level officers in the army came to the labor area to find Mingzhu.
The team Yao Chunnuan had been in was plowed over and over again by those men with their eyes, like plowing the fields. The laborers under Chen Jin's jurisdiction were highly mobile. Anyone who was acceptable to their eyes would be picked, then replaced by someone else, and then picked again.
Chen Jin was a strange man, perhaps even possessing a strange kind of luck: he always had some outstanding labor assigned to him. So, no matter how much Chen Jin protested, the middle and lower-level officers ignored him and kept plucking him, nearly ripping him bald.
However, the talent that Chen Jin's team could provide was limited after all. There was no other way, so those small leaders, centurions and thousand-man commanders had to shift their attention to other laborers.
He and his family came from prominent families and were quite capable, so naturally, some people were attracted to them.
At first, the whole family was delighted. This was an opportunity; following these low- and middle-ranking officers was much better than ordinary labor. At the very least, it would be a way to get some easy work, so of course they were willing.
They were happily waiting to be taken away, but in the blink of an eye, those little leaders who had taken a fancy to them were pulled aside by their companions to whisper.
When he saw that scene, he instantly had a bad premonition. Sure enough, after these small leaders were whispered to, they were no longer needed.
At that time, he just heard the little leader muttering something while looking at him. It turned out that he was a defeated general of Yao Zhubo, so he could not accept him.
His blood rushed to his chest when he heard that. He was so angry. These soldiers had no courage at all! What a coward, they were actually afraid of a woman!
Once it happens, there will be a second time. Similar situations happen from time to time, and the whole family becomes numb to it. Later, no one cares about them anymore.
He didn't know that a foolish soldier came up to Yao Chunnuan and asked if she still cared about the Han family. Yao Chunnuan answered bluntly and affirmatively that she still cared.
In a word, their path to advancement was completely blocked.
After that, no mid-level or low-level military officers paid any attention to the Han family anymore. They seemed to have reached some kind of consensus and simply ignored the family.
After hearing this, the visitor touched his chin and asked him, "Do you think I can win her over if I try to win her over?"
Hearing this, Han Jinan widened his eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"
The visitor touched his nose and said awkwardly, "We all serve the master, and everything is for the master." Anyway, he was here to lay the groundwork and plant the seeds, so it would be better to choose someone capable than incompetent.
The visitor smacked his lips, then internally affirmed Yao Chunnuan's abilities. The key was her ruthlessness and shamelessness, her indifference to dignity. "You are my enemy, and I will crush you into the dust, leaving you no chance of reappearing."
For example, the very words "I still mind" inevitably earned her the reputation of being narrow-minded and vindictive. Even a man in her position, when asked if he still minded a former rival, would have to feign a few words to demonstrate his magnanimity and tolerance. But she didn't. It was rare to find a woman so unconcerned about her reputation.
"I advise you to give up the idea of winning her over." Han Jinan said.
"Why?"
Han Jinan suppressed his anxiety. He certainly didn't want Yao Chunnuan to be successfully lured over to the Crown Prince's side. Her endless tricks, her relentless ruthlessness in suppressing others, honestly, made him a little annoyed by her. He had a hunch that if they were truly on the same side, he wouldn't be able to defeat her. If that happened, she would squeeze out the Han family's survival space. If the Crown Prince valued talent, would there be any hope for the Han family? Someone like Yao Chunnuan would be best placed on the opposite side of the Crown Prince, and killed by him.
"She was exiled to Yichun due to her involvement with the Wang family, and she was already dissatisfied with the court."
The visitor interrupted him, "This has nothing to do with the Crown Prince, it's the Third Prince's conspiracy. If she wants to hate someone, she should hate the Third Prince, right?"
Han Jinan said nonsense seriously, "She will think it's the prince's inaction."
The visitor thought dissatisfiedly, Han Jinan is talking nonsense, the prince was still unconscious at the time, how could he do anything?
The more Han Jinan spoke, the more he felt that this was the case. "She has no sense of right and wrong. Do you think she hates the Third Prince? I don't think so. When she used the Third Prince to suppress our Han family, it didn't seem like she hated him at all."
"She let you guys fight each other, and you didn't seem to hate her."
"Then she can hate the Crown Prince as well as the Third Prince."
"It's okay to hate them at the same time. But there must be a first and a second hatred, right?" If the third prince ranked first and they ranked second, there would still be a chance to win her over.
Seeing that he still refused to give up, Han Jinan could only say, "It was General Guanjun who saw a talent and promoted her in the midst of hardship. She is quite stubborn."
The visitor agreed with her stubbornness. Ever since the Han family offended her, she has been suppressing them with all her might, without even a moment's slackness. This shows how stubborn she is.
"You have to consider the consequences of being exposed if you fail to win them over."
Upon hearing this, the visitor finally gave up his sudden thought. This was precisely why he had carefully considered and secretly chosen Han Jinan as his target. The Han family had been reduced to dust. The crown prince was their only chance, and they would definitely seize it. From now on, the Han family would be the crown prince's mad dog, hitting wherever he pointed.
Even until he gave up the idea of winning over Yao Chunnuan, he still thought to himself what a pity, what a pity.
In reality, Han Jinan had a persistent question in his mind. If the Crown Prince was so impressed by Xing Changfeng's influence, why didn't he just approach him directly? Surely all the civil and military officials would be reluctant to join the Crown Prince's efforts? And what about the merits of following the emperor? Could it be that Xing Changfeng was unwilling to do so?
But Han Jinan knew this was their chance.
Han Jinan didn't know that the person who came had actually tried to test the waters, but Xing Changfeng's attitude was too ambiguous, so the person gave up the idea of continuing to lobby.
But he didn't think about it. He didn't even tell Xing Changfeng whether the prince had woken up, but let him charge into battle. Xing Changfeng was not stupid, so how could he give a definite answer?
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